WATER QUALITY CONCERNS AND REGULATORY CONTROLS FOR NONSTORM WATER DISCHARGES TO STORM DRAINS1

ABSTRACT: Nonstorm water discharges to municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) are notable for spatial and temporal variability in volume, pollutant type, pollutant concentration, and activity of origin. The objective of this paper was to determine whether current technical knowledge and existing U.S. policy support an improved regulatory approach. The proposed policy would use type of discharge as a regulatory basis, merging the concepts of allowability of de minimis discharges and type-based statewide consistent rules. Specific research objectives were to comprehensively identify discharge types, characterize their prevalence in California, analyze relevant local and regional regulatory guidelines, and systematically evaluate opinions of experts about potential water quality impacts. Results demonstrate nonstorm water discharges were widespread in at least one sector, industrial facilities subject to a state permit; one discharge for every four facilities was reported in 1995, even though the permit explicitly prohibits such discharges. Clear consensus exists for minimal water quality concern for some discharge types when considering both municipal guidelines and experts’ opinions. In particular, condensate from a wide range of equipment and discharges from fire fighting equipment testing were found to be of low concern. Discharge types with consensus high concern were largely limited to discharges prohibited under other regulations, such as wastewater and hazardous waste management controls. Some discharge types where no consensus was identified, such as landscape irrigation, nevertheless generated concern for water quality impacts and appear to be relatively widespread. Available information supports technical feasibility of the proposed policy because at least some discharge types show strong consensus for de minimis impacts among regulatory guidelines and opinions of technical experts.     

高速公路降雨径流污染特征及其污染控制

随着高速公路的快速发展,路面降雨径流污染引起了越来越多的关注.从高速公路路面雨水径流中污染物成分及其影响因素、径流污染迁移模型和径流污染物对受纳水体水质的影响等方面,对路面降雨径流污染特征进行了综述,并从工程和非工程措施两方面比较了目前高速公路路面降雨径流污染治理措施的特点和适用条件,最后提出了进一步研究的建议,希望为有关方面的研究提供借鉴.     

Agricultural pesticide residues of farm runoff in the Okanagan Valley,British Columbia,Canada

The objectives of this study were to determine environmental occurrence and concentrations of selected currently-used-pesticides and some transformation products in agricultural farms in the Okanagan Valley (OKV), and to conduct a simple risk assessment of environmental pesticides levels detected in OKV on non-target aquatic organisms. The OKV is the tree fruit country of the Province of British Columbia where considerable amount of pesticides are applied annually. Water, sediment and soil samples were collected at eleven sites in early June and late September following rainfall events and/or extended periods of irrigation from drainage ditches and/or from small streams. Undisturbed reference sites were also sampled. Study results showed that forty of the eighty chemicals analyzed, including organochlorine, nitrogen-containing and organophosphate pesticides commonly used for OKV crops, were detected in runoff and small stream water samples. Among which, endosulfan-sulfate was the most frequently detected chemical. Also, azinophos-methyl (0.699–25.5 ng/L), diazinon (0.088–214 ng/L) exceeded, and α-, β- endosulfan, endosulfan sulphate approached the guidelines for the protection of aquatic life.     

Simulation of Surface Water for Un‐Gauged Areas with Storage‐Attenuation Wetlands1

Abstract: A nontraditional application of the Hydrological Simulation Program – FORTRAN (HSPF) model to simulate freshwater discharge to upper Charlotte Harbor along Florida’s west coast was performed. This application was different from traditional HSPF applications in three ways. First, the domain of the model was defined based on the hydraulic characteristics of the landforms using small distributed parameter discretization. Second, broad wetland land forms, representing more than 20% of this area, were simulated as reaches with storage‐attenuation characteristics and not as pervious land segments (PERLNDs). Finally, the reach flow‐tables (F‐Tables) were configured in a unique way to be calibrated representing the uncertainty of the storage‐attenuation process. Characterizing wetlands as hydrography elements allows flow from the wetlands to be treated as a stage‐dependent flux. The study was conducted for the un‐gauged portion of the Peace and Myakka rivers in west‐central Florida. Due to low gradient tidal influences, a large portion of the basin is un‐gauged. The objective of this study was to simulate stream flow discharges and to estimate freshwater inflow from these un‐gauged areas to upper Charlotte Harbor. Two local gauging stations were located within the model domain and were used for calibration. Another gauge with a shorter period of record was used for verification. A set of global hydrologic parameters were selected and tested using the parameter optimization software (PEST) during the calibration. Model results were evaluated using PEST and well‐known statistical indices. The correlation coefficients were very high (0.899 and 0.825) for the two calibration stations. Further testing of this approach appears warranted for watersheds with significant wetlands coverage.     

Impact of Residential Soil Disturbance on Infiltration Rate and Stormwater Runoff1

Woltemade, Christopher J., 2010. Impact of Residential Soil Disturbance on Infiltration Rate and Stormwater Runoff. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 700-711. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00442.x Abstract: Soil disturbances such as excavation and compaction in residential developments affect lawn infiltration rates and stormwater runoff. These effects were investigated via measuring saturated infiltration rates at 108 residential sites and 18 agricultural sites near Shippensburg, south-central Pennsylvania, using a double-ring infiltrometer. Residential sites included four neighborhoods distributed across three soil series classified as hydrologic soil group (HSG) B. Additional parcel data included date of house construction, percentage impervious area, lawn condition, and woody vegetation condition. Measured infiltration rates ranged from 0 to >40 cm/hour. Analysis of variance indicated significantly different mean infiltration rates (p < 0.001) for lots constructed pre-2000 (9.0 cm/hour) and those constructed post-2000 (2.8 cm/hour). Test results were used to determine a “field-tested” HSG for each site, representing disturbed soil conditions. Stormwater runoff was estimated from residential lots for a range of 24-hour design storms using the TR-55 model and several alternative methods of determining curve numbers, including five different representations of soil conditions. Curve numbers and stormwater runoff were substantially higher when based on field-tested HSGs for lots constructed post-2000 compared with lots built pre-2000 and when based on the HSG for undisturbed soils, documenting the magnitude of possible error in stormwater runoff models that neglect soil disturbance.     

Application of Satellite Microwave Images in Estimating Snow Water Equivalent1

Abstract: Flood forecast and water resource management requires reliable estimates of snow pack properties [snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE)]. This study focuses on application of satellite microwave images to estimate the spatial distribution of snow depth and SWE over the Great Lakes area. To estimate SWE, we have proposed the algorithm which uses microwave brightness temperatures (Tb) measured by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) radiometer along with information on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The algorithm was developed and tested over 19 test sites characterized by different seasonal average snow depth and land cover type. Three spectral signatures derived from SSM/I data, namely T19V‐T37V (GTV), T19H‐T37H (GTH), and T22V‐T85V (SSI), were examined for correlation with the snow depth and SWE. To avoid melting snow conditions, we have used observations taken only during the period from December 1‐February 28. It was found that GTH, and GTV exhibit similar correlation with the snow depth/SWE and are most should be used over deep snowpack. In the same time, SSI is more sensitive to snow depth variations over a shallow snow pack. To account for the effect of dense forests on the scattering signal of snow we established the slope of the regression line between GTV and the snow depth as a function of NDVI. The accuracy of the new technique was evaluated through its comparison with ground‐based measurements and with results of SWE analysis prepared by the National Operational Hydrological Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) of the National Weather Service. The proposed algorithm was found to be superior to previously developed global microwave SWE retrieval techniques.     

Influences of air temperature change on leisure industries – case study on ski activities –

To evaluate the influences of air temperature change on ski activities, thechanges in the numbers of skiers visiting seven ski areas in Japan were predicted in conjunction with climate change. First, having built a model forpredicting snow depth based on the budgets of water and heat using the air temperature and precipitation data collected nationwide, we demonstrated goodagreement between the predicted and observed snow depths (p < 0.01 and the ratios for more than 81% cases ranged from 0.5 to 2). Second, the relationshipbetween the number of skiers and the depth of snow at one of the seven ski areaswas analyzed statistically on a daily basis. In addition, we did the same on amonthly basis at six other ski areas and compared the observed and predictednumbers of skiers (p < 0.01 and the ratios for more than 94% cases ranged from 0.5 to 2). Using this model and the relationship between daily snow depth andnumber of skiers, the changes in skier numbers in the seven ski areas werepredicted for several scenarios with respect to air temperature changes; e.g. a more than 30% drop in visiting skiers was forecast in almost all ski areas in Japan except northern region (Hokkaido) and/or high altitude regions (center of the Main Island) under the condition of a 3 ^°C increase in air temperature. The vulnerability of the ski industry and its adaptationto climate change are discussed.     

REGIONAL RUNOFF SIMULATION FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN1

ABSTRACT: The feasibility of simulating monthly runoff for southeast Michigan, which comprises four major river basins, was evaluated with the Streamflow Synthesis and Reservoir Regulation watershed model. The evaluation covered a 13-year period (1961–73), which encompassed a complete runoff cycle. Results indicate it is feasible to simulate monthly runoff volumes on a regional scale with a single equivalent watershed by using daily precipitation and temperature data. Simulation of regional flows appears particularly attractive for the Great Lakes basin, since the basin consists of many relatively small watersheds. This method also appears promising for development of monthly runoff forecasts by employing average monthly meteorological data distributed on a daily basis. Tests of six-month runoff forecasts show relatively small deterioration with time and offer considerable improvement over climatology.     

南京市雪水中有机磷阻燃剂的污染特征及健康风险评价

采用超高效液相色谱-串联质谱仪（HPLC-MS/MS）分析了南京雪水中的13种有机磷酸酯阻燃剂（Organophosphate esters,OPEs）,研究了其浓度水平及污染特征,利用主成分分析阐述了OPEs可能的来源,并评估了其健康风险.结果表明,雪水中共检出11种OPEs,11种检出OPEs总浓度水平范围为229.1~1175.0ng/L,平均浓度为746.0ng/L,其中∑₁₁OPEs的最大值区域为商业区和住宅区密集的马群,最小值区域为城郊的化工园区.磷酸三（1,3-二氯-2-丙基）酯（Tris（1,3-dichloropropyl）phosphate,TDCPP）和磷酸三（2-丁氧基乙基）酯（Tris（2-butoxyethyl）phosphate,TBEP）是雪水中主要的OPEs污染单体,两者的贡献率分别为26.6%、20.4%.主成分分析表明雪水中TBEP与磷酸三（2-氯异丙基）酯（Tris（1-chloro-2-propyl）phosphate,TCPP）、磷酸三甲酯（TriMethyl Phosphate,TMP）与磷酸三乙酯（Triethyl phosphate,TEP）两两之间可能存在共同的来源,大气的远距离迁移和干湿沉降可能是雪水中附着OPEs的重要原因.不同人群通过饮水摄入11种OPEs的日均暴露量范围为26.6~39.0ng/（kg·d）,通过饮水摄入的OPEs的非致癌风险和致癌风险均低于理论风险值,研究区内雪水中OPEs所致人体健康风险处于较低水平.     

暴雨径流潜流过程及其对分层水库水质的影响

为探究汛期暴雨径流潜入演变过程及其对分层水库水质的影响,以西安金盆水库为研究对象,对2015年6月和2017年10月2次暴雨径流过程中各监测点水温、溶解氧、浊度、总氮、总磷和COD_Mn等水质指标进行持续监测.结果表明：径流量在300~400m³/s时,潜流经历全断面径流-底部潜流-中部潜流3个阶段,最终潜入主库区中部水体.暴雨径流的汇入使水库热分层结构稳定性受到一定破坏,中下部水体溶解氧得到补充.暴雨径流携带的大量泥沙及氮、磷营养盐等污染物质会对水库水质造成较大冲击,2015年6月暴雨径流使水库中层水体总氮、总磷、COD_Mn和浊度从1.60,0.021,3.70mg/L和5NTU增大为2.37,0.100,5.80mg/L和93NTU,水质污染特征为短时高污染负荷.