Costs and benefits of urban erosion and sediment control: The North Carolina experience

The EPA’s new nonpoint source pollution control requirements will soon institutionalize urban erosion and sediment pollution control practices nationwide. The public and private sector costs and social benefits associated with North Carolina’s program (one of the strongest programs in the country in terms of implementation authority, staffing levels, and comprehensiveness of coverage) are examined to provide general policy guidance on questions relating to the likely burden the new best management practices will have on the development industry, the likely costs and benefits of such a program, and the feasibility of running a program on a cost recovery basis. We found that urban erosion and sediment control requirements were not particularly burdensome to the development industry (adding about 4% on average to development costs). Public-sector program costs ranged between $2.4 and $4.8 million in fiscal year 1989. Our contingent valuation survey suggests that urban households in North Carolina are willing to pay somewhere between $7.1 and $14.2 million a year to maintain current levels of sediment pollution control. Our benefit-cost analysis suggests that the overall ratio is likely to be positive, although a definitive figure is elusive. Lastly, we found that several North Carolina localities have cost recovery fee systems that are at least partially self-financing. This article is based on research by the authors for the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources (DEHNR). The views are those of the research team and do not necessarily reflect the position of DEHNR.     

HYDROLOGIC MODELING OF LAND PROCESSES IN PUERTO RICO USING REMOTELY SENSED DATA1

ABSTRACT: An integrated, multi-disciplinary effort to model land processes affecting Mayaguez Bay in western Puerto Rico is described. A modeling strategy was developed to take advantage of remotely sensed data. The spatial, interannual, and seasonal variability of sediment discharges to the bay were also evaluated. Classified images of remotely sensed data revealed the spatial distribution and quantities of land use classes in the region and aided in the discretization of the watershed into homogeneous regions. These regions were modeled using a geomorphic modeling technique based upon spatially averaged parameters. Simulation results from the modeling effort compared favorably with observations at two locations within the watershed. Results showed that runoff and sediment loads from the area exhibit a marked seasonal trend and that deforested areas located in the foothill regions of the watershed contribute a disproportionate share of the sediment load to the bay. In years when rainfall distributions are uniformly distributed over the area, the sediment yields may be up to 100 percent higher than years when the rainfall is concentrated in the heavily forested mountainous regions.     

GROUND-WATER TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS AT LYONS FERRY FISH HATCHERY,WASHINGTON1

ABSTRACT: The well field serving the Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery has experienced reduced water temperatures following continued, periodic withdrawal of large volumes of water. In January 1985, the well field temperature was 49°F, which is less than the optimal 52°F for raising salmon and steelhead trout. The aquifer supplying the hatchery is in hydraulic and thermal connection with the Snake River and a flooded embayment of the Palouse River. Ground-water temperatures in the well field cycle on an annual basis in response to changes in surface water temperature and pumping rate. Numerical simulation of the well field, using a simplified mixing cell model, demonstrates the coupling of well field hydraulics and aquifer thermal response. Alternative pumping schedules indicate that it is feasible to adjust ground-water pumping to effectively store heat in the aquifer during the summer months when surface water temperatures are elevated. Sensitivity analysis of this model indicated that the primary controls of the system's thermal response are the volume of the aquifer assumed to contribute to the well field and temperature of the overlying surface water body.     

COMPARISON OF BANK EROSION AT VEGETATED AND NON-VEGETATED CHANNEL BENDS1

ABSTRACT: Following major floods in 1990 which resulted in widespread bank erosion in southern British Columbia, four streams typical of the region were evaluated for the effect which riparian vegetation played in reducing erosion. A total of 748 bends in the four stream reaches were assessed by comparing pre- and post-flood aerial photography. Bends without riparian vegetation were found to be nearly five times as likely as vegetated bends to have undergone detectable erosion during the flood events. Major bank erosion was 30 times more prevalent on non-vegetated bends as on vegetated bends. The likelihood of erosion on semi-vegetated bends was between that of the vegetated and non-vegetated categories of bends.     

New perspectives in ecotoxicology

The task of regulating potentially harmful chemicals in the environment is presently hindered by the lack of appropriate concepts and methods for evaluating the effects of anthropogenic chemicals on ecosystems. Toxicity tests at the molecular and physiological levels have been used successfully as indicators of adverse effects on test organisms and have been extrapolated to humans to establish a basis for risk assessment. However, laboratory measurements of effects upon individuals do not translate readily into potential effects upon natural populations, in part because natural populations interact with other populations and with the physical environment. Even more difficult to assess are the deleterious impacts of anthropogenic chemicals on ecosystems, because of effects on species interactions, diversity, nutrient cycling, productivity, climatic changes, and other processes.Effects on ecosystems resulting from chemical stresses are outside the realm of classical toxicology, and an ecosystem-level perspective is essential for the consideration of such effects; but the science that deals with ecosystem-level effects,ecotoxicology, is still developing. This article synthesizes the topics discussed at a workshop on ecotoxicology held by the Ecosystems Research Center at Cornell University. Topics covered include: the regulatory framework in which ecotoxicological research must be applied; ecosystem modification of toxicant fate and transport; how ecosystem composition, structure, and function are influenced by chemicals; methods currently available for predicting the effects of chemicals at the ecosystem level; and recommendations on research needs to enhance the state of the science of ecotoxicology.     

近10年长三角城际运输联系初步研究

通过对长三角地区1994—2003年各个城市客运量、货运量的分析,总结出近10年来该区域城际运输联系的基本特征。长三角客运量向交通轴线集中,交通走廊经济效应日益突现,货运量多中心分布,极化效应明显。长三角地区经济的快速发展是城际运输联系增强的推进器,区内交通轴线成为重要经济增长轴,南翼浙江借助于港口优势,其经济高速发展态势直逼北翼的苏南地区。     

山西省空间运输联系的时空演化研究

对1990年以来山西省的客、货运状况进行了分析，总结出该区域空间运输联系的时空演化特征：山西省客、货运分布的廊道效应凸现，中心城市的极化效应逐渐减弱，与环渤海地区的货物交流日益密切，交流物种以煤炭、原材料为主，并对这些特征的影响因素进行了具体剖析，认为城市、生产力、路网的布局、对外联系、产业结构是影响山西省空间运输联系的主要因素。     

电石公路运输事故特征与安全条件的研究

基于电石生产销售实际以及公路运输特征,笔者系统研究了电石公路运输应该具备的道路条件、人员条件、车辆条件、包装条件、仓储条件、自然条件、装卸条件、承运与交付条件;提出了电石道路运输耐压力、耐冲击、耐震动、耐水、耐低气压的实验设计;分析了电石公路运输事故的主要原因并结合电石公路运输事故中典型的火灾事故的特征;给出了电石火灾的水泥罐车灭火方法以及电石运输事故的紧急救援预案。     

液氯槽罐车公路运输事故原因分析及建议措施

近年来,液氯槽罐车公路运输事故频发,对社会及环境造成了极大负面影响。本文结合“3.29”液氯泄漏事故等典型事故,从人、车辆及罐体、道路环境和管理四个方面分析归纳了导致液氯槽罐车公路运输事故的主要原因,并提出相应的建议措施。     

A COMPARISON OF SINGLE‐CELL AND MULTICELL CULVERTS FOR STREAM CROSSINGS1

ABSTRACT: Single‐barrel culverts are a common means of roadway crossings for smaller streams. While this culvert design provides an economical solution for a crossing, the adverse effects of conveying the stream through a single opening can be far reaching. The single‐barrel culvert is typically sized for a design storm much greater than the channel forming discharge. This oversizing causes an interruption of the normal flow patterns and sediment transport for the system. Shallow depths at low flow in the pipe and perching at the outlet can impede fish passage. Multicell culverts (where the main culvert at the channel invert is sized for bankfull discharge, and additional pipes are placed at the floodplain elevation to convey overbank flow up to the design discharge) have been recommended as a best management practice to minimize erosion and improve fish passage. This flume study scaled a prototype single‐barrel culvert to both a single‐cell model, and a multicell design to compare outlet scour and flow depths within the culvert. The results provide designers and planners with evidence of the benefits of multicell culverts to justify the higher cost of installation compared to single‐barrel culverts.