EMERGING STATE ROLES IN URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT: The technology of urban stormwater management has far outpaced its actual application in new urban development. This article documents that implementation gap, but shows that state and local governmental measures, particularly storm drainage regulations, can lead to improved performance in the private sector. Although state stormwater management programs are in their infancy, they are already having a measurable effect in stimulating the adoption of local governmental programs to manage urban storm water. Pioneering state programs in Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, described in this article, provide models for states contemplating the formulation of stormwater management programs.     

Flood problems in Bangladesh: Is there an indigenous solution?

Bangladesh, situated on the delta of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna rivers, experiences two distinct types of inundations: (a) river floods resulting from excessive runoff contributed by monsoon precipitation and (b) coastal floods induced by storm surges of tropical cyclones. The river floods are normal annual events and human settlements and agricultural practices have adapted admirably well to their regimes. Abnormal floods that occur once in every few years cause serious damage to crops and properties. To minimize flood losses, a number of modern engineering projects have been constructed within Bangladesh. However, the successful solution of the problem would probably require some international collaboration for basinwide unified systems planning, since large parts of the drainage basins of Bangladesh lie beyond its borders. In the absence of such collaboration, internal resources should be utilized for the construction of smaller public projects, such aspolders, and for encouraging and reinforcing various types of indigenous adjustments to floods. There are very few successful indigenous adjustments to coastal floods. Most of the structural solutions, such as community shelters and higher embankments, are expensive public projects that are probably beyond the means of the internal resources of the country.     

FLOODPLAIN STORAGE AND LAND USE ANALYSIS AT THE WOODLANDS,TEXAS1

ABSTRACT: The Woodlands, a totally planned community north of Houston, Texas, was studied in detail in an effort to develop a master drainage plan which minimizes adverse impact on the 100-year floodplain. A total of 40 HEC-1 and HEC-2 computer runs were made to evaluate various development, channelization, and reservoir storage options.     

ESTABLISHING PRIORITIES IN MINE DRAINAGE REDUCTION A COST-EFFECTIVENESS APPROACH1

ABSTRACT Twenty-seven watersheds in the Susquehanna River Basin are severely degraded by acid mine drainage pollution. Approximately 620 miles of significant tributaries as well as 230 miles of principal rivers are either sterile or intermittently degraded by acid slugs. As a result of the acid discharges, many uses of the streams, such as water supply and recreation, are precluded. In the past, acid mine drainage abatement programs did not look beyond the immediate problem area. No considerations were given to the blending effect of natural alkalinity in other streams. Since the abatement of acid mine drainage pollution is extremely costly, a method of minimizing these costs was needed. The systematic, cost-effectiveness approach, discussed in this paper presents such a method. This system allows the water resources planners to control the allocation of funds for maximizing the abatement of acid mine drainage.     

CHANNEL NETWORK EXTENSION BY LOGGING ROADS IN TWO BASINS,WESTERN CASCADES,OREGON1

ABSTRACT: Based on field surveys and analysis of road networks using a geographic information system (GIS), we assessed the hydrologic integration of an extensive logging-road network with the stream network in two adjacent 62 and 119 km² basins in the western Cascades of Oregon. Detailed surveys of road drainage for 20 percent of the 350 km road network revealed two hydrologic flow paths that link roads to stream channels: roadside ditches draining to streams (35 percent of the 436 culverts examined), and roadside ditches draining to culverts with gullies incised below their outlets (23 percent of culverts). Gully incision is significantly more likely below culverts on steep (< 40 percent) slopes with longer than average contributing ditch length. Fifty-seven percent of the surveyed road length is connected to the stream network by these surface flowpaths, increasing drainage density by 21 to 50 percent, depending on which road segments are assumed to be connected to streams. We propose a conceptual model to describe the hydrologic function of roads based on two effects: (1) a volumetric effect, increasing the volume of water available for quickflow and (2) a timing effect, altering flow-routing efficiency through extensions to the drainage network. This study examines the second of these two effects. Future work must quantify discharge along road segments connected to the stream network in order to more fully explain road impacts on basin hydrology.     

排水造林对小兴安岭沼泽湿地土壤酶活性及氮含量的影响

选取不同排水年限的兴安落叶松人工林湿地(1974,1985,1992,2003年排水)和天然兴安落叶松沼泽湿地,研究排水对小兴安岭沼泽湿地土壤酶活性及氮素含量的影响。结果表明:湿地排水造林后,表层土壤脲酶活性降低47.3%~84.3%;蔗糖酶活性降低49.2%~72.4%。表层土壤NH_3-N降低了6.9%~19.7%;NO_3~--N降低了63.2%~80.3%。在垂直剖面上,排水湿地的NH3-N含量随土层深度增加而增大,天然森林湿地随土层深度增加而减小。排水对土壤表层土壤酶活性及各氮素含量影响显著(P<0.05)。     

附着微生物黄铁矾回流对不同温度酸性硫酸盐体系亚铁氧化及总铁沉淀的强化效果

氧化亚铁硫杆菌(A.ferrooxidans)生物氧化Fe2+与石灰中和相耦合是一种具有发展潜力的酸性矿山废水处理工艺.在Fe2+生物氧化段提高Fe2+氧化与总Fe沉淀效率是调控此类废水高效处理的关键步骤,且该阶段常伴有黄铁矾等次生铁矿物的合成.本研究通过摇瓶实验,在p H约2.50的K2SO4(8 mmol·L-1)-Fe SO4(160 mmol·L-1)-H2O酸性硫酸盐体系中按约3×105cells·m L-1的浓度接入A.ferrooxidans,在15℃和30℃两个温度水平下,探究附着微生物的黄钾铁矾回流对体系Fe2+生物氧化与总Fe沉淀行为的影响.结果表明,15℃条件下培养至144h,体系p H变化至2.40,Fe2+氧化率和总Fe沉淀率分别仅为46.7%和12.2%.当体系接入附着微生物黄钾铁矾10 g·L-1时,体系Fe2+在132h即可完全氧化.144 h时,体系p H降低至2.24,总铁沉淀率为25.3%.30℃条件下体系Fe2+在72 h完全氧化,p H变化至1.89,总Fe沉淀率为34.3%.当体系接入回流的黄钾铁矾10 g·L-1时,体系Fe2+完全氧化时间缩短至60 h,p H降低至1.85,总Fe沉淀率为37.3%.本研究不同处理体系所得次生铁矿物均为黄钾铁矾,附着微生物黄铁矾回流对15℃环境所得黄钾铁矾形貌影响不大,均为粘附紧密、表面光滑的晶体形貌.而30℃环境中,附着微生物黄铁矾回流却使得原本较为分散、晶型棱角明显的黄铁矾晶体结构变得紧密而光滑.本研究结果可为酸性矿山废水处理提供一定的参数支撑.     

A CyberGIS Integration and Computation Framework for High‐Resolution Continental‐Scale Flood Inundation Mapping

We present a Digital Elevation Model‐based hydrologic analysis methodology for continental flood inundation mapping (CFIM), implemented as a cyberGIS scientific workflow in which a 1/3rd arc‐second (10 m) height above nearest drainage (HAND) raster data for the conterminous United States (CONUS) was computed and employed for subsequent inundation mapping. A cyberGIS framework was developed to enable spatiotemporal integration and scalable computing of the entire inundation mapping process on a hybrid supercomputing architecture. The first 1/3rd arc‐second CONUS HAND raster dataset was computed in 1.5 days on the cyberGIS Resourcing Open Geospatial Education and Research supercomputer. The inundation mapping process developed in our exploratory study couples HAND with National Water Model forecast data to enable near real‐time inundation forecasts for CONUS. The computational performance of HAND and the inundation mapping process were profiled to gain insights into the computational characteristics in high‐performance parallel computing scenarios. The establishment of the CFIM computational framework has broad and significant research implications that may lead to further development and improvement of flood inundation mapping methodologies.     

The effect of orifice plates with different shapes on explosion propagation of premixed methane–air in a semi-confined pipeline

The effect of internal shape of obstacles on the deflagration of premixed methane–air (concentration of 10%) was experimentally investigated in a semi-confined steel pipeline (with a square cross section size of 80 mm × 80 mm and 4 m long). The obstacles used in this study were circular, square, triangular and gear-shaped (4-teeth, 6-teeth and 8-teeth) orifice plates with a blockage ratio of 75%, and the perimeter of the orifice was regarded as a criterion for determining the sharpness of the orifice plate. The overpressure history, flame intensity histories, flame front propagation speed, maximum flame intensity and peak explosion overpressure were analyzed. The explosion in the pipeline can be divided into two stages: initial explosion and secondary explosion. The secondary explosion is caused by recoiled flame. The perimeter is positively related to the intensity of the recoiled flame and the ability of orifice plate to suppress the explosion propagation. In addition, the increase in the perimeter will cause the acceleration of the flame passing through the orifice plate, while after the perimeter of the orifice reaches a certain value, the effect of the increase in perimeter on explosion excitation becomes no obvious. The overpressure (static pressure) downstream of the orifice plate is the result of the combined effect of explosion intensity and turbulence. The increase in perimeter leads to the increase in turbulence downstream of the orifice plate which in turn causes more explosion pressure to be converted into dynamic pressure.     

A preliminary explore to the forced ventilation on the toxic gas release/dispersion and the hazard mitigation within a petrochemical plant

More than thirty-five years ago, the Bhopal disaster shook the whole world and investigators found out that many people survived just because they turned on the fans in their bedrooms. It was postulated that the forced ventilation played an important role in diluting the toxic gas and saved these people. In order to provide evidence to solve this old mystery, this research employed FLACS software to assess the hazardous degree of a toxic gas (hydrogen sulfide) leakage within a petrochemical process. Series of gas dispersion simulations were performed to actualize the hazardous characteristics and the corresponding risks of the release accident. The study shows that the hazardous level and the hazard range can be greatly influenced when parameters, such as the gas leakage circumstances (atmospheric conditions and wind speed) and the mitigation measures (direction of fans and their speed) are altered.By using explosion-proof fans in different positions and ventilation directions, combined with the natural wind in a certain direction, this research attempts to detect the best combination from various mitigation designs and to compare the influence of fan directions on hazard mitigation. It is also the first time of its kind to simulate the effect of forced ventilation on hazard mitigation within a process plant. The results show that the hazardous level of a toxic release can be effectively alleviated, when the direction of the mechanical ventilation is against the natural wind direction. With the help of the CFD simulation and the quantitative risk analysis technique, different loss prevention strategies can be tested via this method in order to establish a safer working environment.