Impact of Sea Level Rise on Groundwater Salinity in a Coastal Community of South Florida1

Guha, Hillol and Sorab Panday, 2012. Impact of Sea Level Rise on Groundwater Salinity in a Coastal Community of South Florida. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 510-529. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00630.x Abstract: Freshwater resources of coastal communities in the United States and world over are threatened by the rate of sea level rise. According to recent estimates by various governmental agencies and climate researchers, the global sea level rise is likely to be between 0.6 and 2.1 m by the year 2100. South Florida is a coastal community and much of its coastline is subject to sea level rise and potential impacts to wetlands and the water resources of the area. To understand what the impact of sea level rise would cause to the groundwater level and salinity intrusion, an integrated groundwater and surface water model was developed for North Miami-Dade and Broward Counties of South Florida. The model was calibrated against daily groundwater heads, base flows in canals, and chloride concentrations for a period of one year and six months. Three separate sensitivity analyses were conducted by increasing the sea level by 0.6, 0.9, and 1.22 m. Results of the simulations shows increase of groundwater heads in some areas from 4 to 15%; whereas the average relative chloride concentrations increased significantly by 100-600% in some wells. The increase in groundwater elevations and chloride concentrations varies from location of the wells and its proximity to the coast. The model results indicate that even a 0.6 m increase in sea level (which is the conservative estimate) is likely to impair the vital freshwater resources in many parts of South Florida.     

Is Urban Stream Restoration Worth It?1

Kenney, Melissa A., Peter R. Wilcock, Benjamin F. Hobbs, Nicholas E. Flores, and Daniela C. Martínez, 2012. Is Urban Stream Restoration Worth It? Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 603-615. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00635.x Abstract: Public investment in urban stream restoration is growing, yet little has been done to quantify whether its benefits outweigh its cost. The most common drivers of urban stream projects are water quality improvement and infrastructure protection, although recreational and aesthetic benefits are often important community goals. We use standard economic methods to show that these contributions of restoration can be quantified and compared to costs. The approach is demonstrated with a case study in Baltimore, Maryland, a city with a legal mandate to reduce its pollutant load. Typical urban stream restoration costs of US$500-1,200 per foot are larger than the cost of the least expensive alternatives for management of nitrogen loads from stormwater (here, detention ponds, equivalent to $30-120 per foot of restored stream) and for protecting infrastructure (rip-rap armoring of streambanks, at $0-120 per foot). However, the higher costs of stream restoration can in some cases be justified by its aesthetic and recreational benefits, valued using a contingent valuation survey at $560-1,100 per foot. We do not intend to provide a definitive answer regarding the worth of stream restoration, but demonstrate that questions of worth can be asked and answered. Broader application of economic analysis would provide a defensible basis for understanding restoration benefits and for making restoration decisions.     

A Question of Boundaries: The Importance of “Revenuesheds” for Watershed Protection1

Patterson, Lauren A., Jeffrey Hughes, Glenn Barnes, and Stacey I. Berahzer, 2012. A Question of Boundaries: The Importance of “Revenuesheds” for Watershed Protection. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(4): 838‐848. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00655.x Abstract: Watersheds transcend jurisdictional boundaries; raising important questions of who should pay for watershed protection, and how can watershed governance be funded? The responsibility and cost for watershed protection has progressively devolved to local governments, resulting in additional negative externalities and financing challenges. Watershed governance structures have formed at the scale of the watershed, but they often lack the financing mechanisms needed to achieve policy goals. Financing mechanisms via local governments provide a reliable source of revenue and the flexibility to address watershed specific issues. We develop a “revenueshed” approach to access the initial challenges local governments face when seeking to finance trans‐jurisdictional watershed governance. The revenueshed approach engages local governments into discussion and implementation of financial strategies for collaborative watershed governance. Legislation places water quality regulations primarily on local governments inside the watershed. The revenueshed approach extends the financial and stewardship discussion to include local governments outside the watershed that benefit from the watershed. We applied the revenueshed approach to the Mills River and Upper Neuse watersheds in North Carolina. Mills River had a partnership governance seeking revenue for specific projects, whereas the Upper Neuse sought long‐term financial stability to meet new water quality legislation.     

Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (warp) Models for Predicting Atrazine Concentrations in Corn Belt Streams1

Stone, Wesley W. and Robert J. Gilliom, 2012. Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) Models for Predicting Atrazine Concentrations in Corn Belt Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 970‐986. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00661.x Abstract: Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) models, previously developed for atrazine at the national scale, are improved for application to the United States (U.S.) Corn Belt region by developing region‐specific models that include watershed characteristics that are influential in predicting atrazine concentration statistics within the Corn Belt. WARP models for the Corn Belt (WARP‐CB) were developed for annual maximum moving‐average (14‐, 21‐, 30‐, 60‐, and 90‐day durations) and annual 95th‐percentile atrazine concentrations in streams of the Corn Belt region. The WARP‐CB models accounted for 53 to 62% of the variability in the various concentration statistics among the model‐development sites. Model predictions were within a factor of 5 of the observed concentration statistic for over 90% of the model‐development sites. The WARP‐CB residuals and uncertainty are lower than those of the National WARP model for the same sites. Although atrazine‐use intensity is the most important explanatory variable in the National WARP models, it is not a significant variable in the WARP‐CB models. The WARP‐CB models provide improved predictions for Corn Belt streams draining watersheds with atrazine‐use intensities of 17 kg/km² of watershed area or greater.     

百色市右江区大气PM10中水溶性无机离子的化学特征与来源

2010年10月至2011年9月采集百色市右江区大气PM10样品,分析PM10及其水溶性无机离子的化学特征与来源。结果表明:(1)百色市右江区大气PM10为13.89～319.44μg/m3,年均117.48μg/m3,年均值超过《环境空气质量标准》(GB 3095-2012)二级标准(100μg/m3)。百色市右江区大气可吸入颗粒物的污染主要出现在春冬季节。(2)水溶性无机离子浓度年均值依次为SO24->NO3->Cl->NH4+>K+>Na+>Mg2+>F-,SO24-、NO3-和Cl-浓度最高,分别占水溶性无机离子的57.7%、14.9%和14.5%。(3)百色市右江区大气PM10呈较强的酸性,高浓度的SO42-可能是导致百色市右江区大气PM10呈较强酸性的主要原因。(4)PM10的季节变化受气温和风速的影响极显著;气象因素对SO42-、NO3-、F-的影响不显著。(5)主因子分析表明,PM10中水溶性无机离子可能来自3个方面,Cl-和NO3-主要来自于当地低烟卤煤燃烧排放的烟气;Mg2+、K+和Na+主要来自于自然源;F-、SO24-和NH4+主要来自于混合源。     

活性污泥的耐盐驯化培养

以某污水处理厂二沉池好氧污泥为接种污泥,采用逐步提高盐度和稳定盐度2种方法对活性污泥进行耐盐性驯化培养,考察驯化结果表明,前一种方法更有利于耐盐菌的培养。对比不同盐度情况下各项指标的去除效果得出:本实验污泥适宜盐度为1%。使用稳定进水盐度的方法,出水指标及各指标的去除率均低于逐步提高盐度法,且镜检结果表明大量微生物死亡。     

新型活性污泥的培养及其处理高盐有机废水

在好氧反应器中,将海泥通过海水和营养物质培养成新型的活性污泥,在处理含盐废水时有较好的活性和沉降性能,对这种新型的活性污泥我们称其为海洋活性污泥。通过10周的培养,海泥的污泥体积指数（SVI）从最初的19 mL/g升高到70 mL/g,对有机废水处理12 h后高锰酸盐指数（CODMn）降解率达到90%,氨氮降解率达到45%。在污泥培养时,营养物质投加频率为一日一次最有利于污泥的培养,又葡萄糖比淀粉更有利于污泥的培养。对于含盐有机废水的处理,海洋活性污泥也比传统活性污泥有优势,甚至对于含盐量6%的高盐有机废水,处理12 h后能达到CODMn降解率达为70%,氨氮降解率达到30%。当NaCl浓度高于6%,海洋活性污泥仍具有一定的活性,但仍能观察到明显的抑制作用。此外,海洋活性污泥具有比传统活性污泥更强的盐度变化抗性,甚至在低盐度下盐浓度变化时,海洋活性污泥的氨氮降解稳定性也优于传统活性污泥。     

清浊分流条件下的混凝-臭氧处理棉针织印染清废水

根据污染源头控制和废水回用的要求,对典型棉针织染整厂的不同生产过程废水排水水质特征进行了统计分析,提出了较实用的废水源头清浊分流方案。在此基础上重点研究了混凝-臭氧组合工艺对清废水处理效果,确定了最优的工艺条件。结果表明,清废水主要为洗水,占废水总量的25%～30%;混凝-臭氧组合工艺的最优工艺条件为：pH为6～9,PAC投加量为48 mg/L,PAM投加量为1.0 mg/L,臭氧接触时间为12 min（臭氧浓度为14.5 mg/L）,这时,清废水COD、色度去除率分别为71%和98%,实践证明,出水水质完全能够满足染整生产。     

西安市大气中多环芳烃的季节变化及健康风险评价

对西安市2009年6月-2010年5月空气中的总悬浮颗粒（TSP）和气态样品进行了连续采样,利用GC—MS对16种PAHs进行分析。∑PAHs浓度（气相＋颗粒相）范围为39．93～1032．46ng／m^3,平均值为197．34ng／m^3;其中,冬季大气中∑PAHs浓度最大,相对浓度的范围为31．21％～72．98％,而夏季的浓度最小;检测出16种2～6环的PAHs,其中以3—4环为主。利用特征分子比值法和因子分析进行源解析,发现研究区PAHs的主要来源为燃煤和机动车尾气排放。通过苯并（a）芘（BaP）等效毒性（BEQ）和苯并（a）芘等效致癌浓度（BaPE）进行健康风险评价,结果显示,西安大气中PAHs的毒性具有明显的季节差异,特别是秋季和冬季大气中PAHs对人类的健康存在较大的潜在威胁。