AN ANALYSIS OF RISING IRRIGATION COSTS IN THE GREAT PLAINS1

ABSTRACT: Irrigation costs are rising rapidly on the 32 million acres irrigated with ground water. Ground water levels are declining under about 15 million of those acres adding to increased costs. However, from 1975 to 1982, 75 to 80 percent of increased ground water irrigation costs were due to higher nominal energy prices and interest rates. In real dollars, adjusted for inflation, these costs have risen faster than other irrigation costs and the real rise in commodity prices has been very small. A continuation of rapidly rising costs and slowly rising prices will shorten the economic life of those aquifers experiencing declining water levels. That same condition of prices and costs place all ground water irrigators in a disadvantaged position compared to nonirrigators and could cause a decline in ground water irrigation.     

A REMOTE SENSING APPROACH FOR MODELING WATER RESOURCE USE1

Remote sensing data combined with other spatially referenced data were used to predict water resource use in an irrigated area of Central Oregon. Crop type and irrigation method were determined using color infrared aerial photography and thermal infrared imagery, respectively. These data were combined with crop consumptive use and irrigation method application efficiency values to determine total water applied to a transect sample through the heart of the study area. This information, when integrated with data on canal leakage and storage reservoir seepage, allowed the researcher to predict total water use for the entire management unit. The model developed allowed the researcher to attain results accurate to within 92.0 percent of actual values, suggesting that predictive water use models which use such techniques have tremendous potential for providing water resource managers with near real-time statistics required for making wise management decisions.     

BENEFITS OF POLLUTION CONTROL ON MASSACHUSETTS’ HOUSATONIC RIVER: A HEDONIC PRICING APPROACH1

ABSTRACT: This paper illustrates one mode of analysis for estimating the benefits of water pollution control projects. Results indicate regional benefits associated with an abatement program instituted for point source pollution along the Housatonic River during the 1960's were substantial. Studies of this kind can aid regulatory and recreation resource administrators in devising and evaluating environmental programs.     

EVALUATING DIRECT BENEFIT ESTIMATION PROCEDURES FOR IRRIGATION PROJECTS: A SIMPLIFIED APPROACH1

ABSTRACT: An integral part of evaluating the net benefits generated by an existing or proposed irrigation project is the assessment of the associated impacts in commodity markets. Traditionally, these impacts have been measured by either assuming no change in commodity prices and calculating net returns to project farmers, or by allowing commodity prices to fall in accordance with a given elasticity of demand and subtracting commodity production costs from the associated area under the commodity demand curve. In either case, it is implicitly assumed that supply is perfectly inelastic. This article establishes that traditional approaches to measuring direct benefits are biased. Formulae are presented for calculating the maximum absolute and relative error which may result from using these techniques as a function of project size. Direct benefit estimates are then evaluated for three irrigation projects in Nebraska, illustrating how these results can be used to improve project evaluation procedures.     

崇明岛地下水资源的利用现状及保护措施

未来地下水资源短缺,特别是由于地面沉降、地表退化、海平面上升等引起的地下水位下降。将对沿海地区的地质环境及人类的生存发展产生极大的影响。通过对崇明地区地下水资源利用现状以及影响地下水位下降的影响因素分析,提出了改善传统的灌溉系统来减少地下水资源的使用、海岸沿线修建人工湖泊防止海水入侵、鼓励农民大面积种植水稻、制定管理措施严格控制地下水的开采总量、进一步加强崇明岛地面沉降动态监测与研究等相应的防范措施。强调控制地下水位的下降,以减轻淡水资源短缺所造成的危害。具有特殊而重要的意义。     

京津冀地区燃煤电站不同污染控制情景下的环境效益分析

近年来火电行业大气污染物排放控制标准和要求不断趋严,继超低排放后一些企业进一步探索更为严格的排放控制要求下的污染治理措施。为探求京津冀地区火电行业大气污染物执行不同排放要求下产生的环境效益,以2013年京津冀地区火电行业污染源现状为基准情景,采用双向耦合WRF-CMAQ模式分别对燃煤电站执行超低排放和近零排放要求的环境影响进行预测模拟,综合分析不同控制要求下区域大气环境质量改善情况,从环境效益角度提出京津冀地区执行近零排放的建议。     

北京通州灌区土壤和河流底泥中有机氯农药残留的研究

2007年6月在北京通州污水灌区、清污混合灌区和清水灌区采集土壤和河流底泥样品共28个,参考EPA标准对样品进行处理和分析,研究了26种有机氯农药(OCPs)的残留及分布情况,探讨了有机氯农药含量与总有机碳(TOC)以及有机氯农药组分之间的相关性.结果表明:从污水灌区到清水灌区有机氯农药的总量上并未出现明显递减的趋势,土壤和河流底泥中残留的有机氯农药主要是滴滴涕(DDTs)、六六六(HCHs)和六氯苯(HCB)类,三者占有机氯农药残留总量的97.89%.OCPs质量分数平均值为36.18 ng·g-1,其中DDTs占OCPs的72.85%,大部分样品中DDT与DDE+DDD的质量分数之比都小于1,说明这些土壤和河流底泥中DDTs主要来自历史残留物.同时,除了两个样品外,其它样品的α-HCH/γ-HCH比值均小于1,平均值为0.63,表明林丹是这些采样点中HCH的主要新的污染源.沉积物中TOC、DDTs、HCHs和HCB类农药含量与有机氯农药总含量之间显著相关,在决定有机氯农药含量和分布上起着重要的作用.     

广东省清洁生产企业情况分析及效果评价

对广东省75家清洁生产企业开展清洁生产的情况进行了分析,这些企业通过清洁生产工作获得了较好的经济效益和环境效益,直接经济效益达到9．39亿元/a,实现废水减排2991．71万t／a,COD排放减少0．94万t／a,SO2减排0．55万t/a,环境效益显著。     

辽河流域县级污水处理厂建设环境效益浅析

介绍了辽河流域县级污水处理厂的建设概况,对建设污水厂所涉及的9个市的生活污水排放现状进行了分析,通过计算得出了2010年拟建污水厂县城的生活污水及主要污染物的排放量,并分析了污水厂建成后带来的环境效益。     

青铜峡灌区水稻田化肥氮去向研究

青铜峡灌区是我国古老的特大型灌区和粮食主产区之一,灌区农田氮肥的过量施用已经导致化肥氮向水体流失.用15N示踪微区试验方法研究了青铜峡引黄灌区习惯灌溉量条件下水稻田化肥氮素去向.结果表明,施氮量为当地习惯施氮300kg.hm-2时,水稻吸收的化肥氮在籽粒中最多,氮肥的当季利用率为45.93%,吸收的土壤氮约占52.63%;作物中的回收率为27.90%,在0～90cm土壤中的残留率为23.31%,作物-土壤体系中的回收率为51.21%,氮肥的损失率为48.79%;氮肥除了被当季作物吸收和部分以矿质氮残留在土壤中外,灌区19×104hm2的水稻田化肥氮年流失量为2.78×104t,生产1000kg水稻(净籽粒),排放纯氮20.17kg;在0～90cm土壤层中均有化肥氮残留,残留化肥氮主要富集在表层0～30cm,在60～90cm检测到化肥氮,说明青铜峡引黄灌区在习惯灌溉量条件下,水稻田当季的化肥氮淋溶到90cm以下,成为浅层地下水的潜在污染源.