Impact of power utility rights-of-way on wooded wetland

This study documents the effects of power utility right-of-way construction and maintenance on the vegetation of a wooded wetland in North Reading, Massachusetts, USA. Neither activity had a substantial, long-term negative impact. Except for differences in size and maturity, the vegetation recovered in two years from nearly total destruction caused by construction. Maintenance that included the periodic removal of high-growing species led to the formation of a plant association different from the one occurring naturally, but as diverse and species rich.     

A framework for understanding the consumptive orientation of recreational fishermen

Fishermen were aggregated into high-, mid-, and low-consumptive groups according to the importance they placed on catching fish. Analysis of variance indicated that each consumptive group was unique in the importance it placed on other fish-related variables. Low-consumptive fishermen rated most other aspects of the fishing experience, such as interacting with nature, relaxation, and escaping the daily routine, more important than did high-consumptive fishermen. Low-consumptive fishermen also fished more frequently and were generally more satisfied with their most recent fishing trip than were high-consumptive-oriented fishermen. The three groups can be viewed as different fishing constituencies. By understanding their characteristics, we can gain additional insights into the impacts of management decisions on recreational fishermen and their experiences.     

ALTERNATIVES TO THE USE OF AGRICULTURAL DRAINAGE WELLS1

ABSTRACT: A large number of agricultural drainage wells (ADWs) are located in north-central Iowa. These wells permit sediments, pesticides, nitrate, and bacteria in surface and subsurface drainage water to enter regional aquifers that are currently being used for drinking-water supplies, mostly by rural families and communities. This paper reports some possible alternatives to control the entry of surface and subsurface drainage waters into groundwater systems, and describes a methodology to make comprehensive economic feasibility studies of alternative drainage outlets. The estimated cost of providing main subsurface drains varied from $220 to $960 per hectare. If the use of ADWs was completely eliminated without providing alternative drainage, it is estimated that the average annual loss to the farmers of the area would be at least $270 per hectare in reduced crop yields. Of course, losses would be weather dependent and highly variable. Management practices to reduce the pollutant load in water draining to ADWs are also discussed.     

AN EVALUATION OF WEEKLY AND MONTHLY TIME SERIES FORECASTS OF MUNICIPAL WATER USE1

ABSTRACT: A cascade model for forecasting municipal water use one week or one month ahead, conditioned on rainfall estimates, is presented and evaluated. The model comprises four components: long term trend, seasonal cycle, autocorrelation and correlation with rainfall. The increased forecast accuracy obtained by the addition of each component is evaluated. The City of Deerfield Beach, Florida, is used as the application example with the calibration period from 1976–1980 and the forecast period the drought year of 1981. Forecast accuracy is measured by the average absolute relative error (AARE, the average absolute value of the difference between actual and forecasted use, divided by the actual use). A benchmark forecast is calculated by assuming that water use for a given week or month in 1981 is the same as the average for the corresponding period from 1976 to 1980. This method produces an AARE of 14.6 percent for one step ahead forecasts of monthly data and 15.8 percent for weekly data. A cascade model using trend, seasonality and autocorrelation produces forecasts with AARE of about 12 percent for both monthly and weekly data while adding a linear relationship of water use and rainfall reduces the AARE to 8 percent in both cases if it is assumed that rainfall is known during the forecast period. Simple rainfall predictions do not increase the forecast accuracy for water use so the major utility of relating water use and rainfall lies in forecasting various possible water use sequences conditioned on sequences of historical rainfall data.     

New federalism and state implementation of the Clean Water Act

An important goal of the Reagan administration has been to shift responsibility for many public programs from the US federal government to the states. This New Federalism seeks to restore a proper balance to the federal system and to ensure an effective working partnership between the states and the federal government. Such a partnership is especially important for many environmental laws because these laws often give states primary responsibility for the control and abatement of pollution.This research examines the extent to which the Reagan administration has succeeded in improving intergovernmental environmental relations in terms of state implementation of the Clean Water Act. Data from a 1985 survey of directors of state water quality control programs are compared with responses to a similar survey that the US General Accounting Office conducted in 1979. The latter survey found considerable dissatisfaction on the part of state directors with the quality of their relations with the US Environmental Protection Agency. Although some improvement can be noted between 1979 and 1985, the Reagan administration's efforts to improve intergovernmental relations appear to have been of limited consequence, to the possible detriment of effective implementation of the Clean Water Act.     

‘The good district’: Newbury as a seed‐bed for success

This study analyses the behaviour of high technology and new firms in the Newbury District of Berkshire in terms of employment, location, genealogy, and local economic impact. It finds that encouraged by good communications networks and a ‘resident electronics establishment’, the direct, as opposed to the indirect, employment consequences are generally encouraging, but not widely replicable. Moreover, the general picture of employment growth masks important differences in labour demand across occupations, particularly with respect to ‘traditional male’ skilled manual workers.     

NUTRIENT LOADS TO WISCONSIN LAKES: PART I. NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS EXPORT COEFFICIENTS1

ABSTRACT: Export coefficients (kg/km²/yr) for dissolved ortho-phosphate (OP), total phosphorus (TP), total inorganic nitrogen (TIN), and total nitrogen (TN) were derived for watersheds in Wisconsin using data bases available for 17 basins from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — National Eutrophication Survey, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Three general land use categories, representative of most regions in Wisconsin, were established: forest, mixed, and agricultural. Data for the 17 basins indicated greater exports of OP. TP, TIN, and TN as the percentage of forest decreased and agriculture increased. These region-specific coefficients are compared to the values reported in the literature representing much broader areas of the U.S.     

World data centre for greenhouse gases

News And Comments

World data centre for greenhouse gases     

LOW-HEAD HYDROPOWER IMPACTS ON STREAM DISSOLVED OXYGEN1

ABSTRACT: A method to evaluate the effect of hydropower development on downstream dissolved oxygen (DO) is presented for a low head dam. Water, previously aerated during release over spillways and under gates, is diverted through the hydropower facility without further aeration. The oxygen transfer that occurs as a result of air entrainment at the various release points of a dam is measured. Oxygen transfer efficiencies are calculated and incorporated into an oxygen transfer model to predict average release DO concentrations. This model is used to systematically determine the effect of hydropower operation on downstream DO. Operational alternatives are investigated and a simple operational guide is developed to mitigate the effects of hydropower operation. Combinations of reduced generation and optimal releases from the dam allow the hydropower facility to operate within DO standards.