MUNICIPAL WATER USE AND WATER RATES DRIVEN BY SEVERE DROUGHT: A CASE STUDY1

ABSTRACT: This paper synthesizes and interprets data pertaining to the evolution of average water revenue, water use, and the average cost of water supply in the City of Santa Barbara, California, from 1986 to 1996, a period which included one of the most devastating droughts in California this century. The 1987–1992 drought hit the study area particularly hard. The City of Santa Barbara was dependent exclusively on local sources for its water supply. That made it vulnerable as the regional climate is prone to extreme variability and recurrent droughts. The 1986–1992 drought provided a rare opportunity to assess the sensitivity of municipal water use to pricing, conservation, and other water management measures under extreme drought conditions. Our analysis indicates that the average cost of water rose more than three-fold in real terms from 1986 to 1996, while the gap between the average cost of supply and the average revenue per unit of water (= 100 cubic feet) rose in real terms from $0.14 in 1986 to $ 0.75 in 1996. The rise of $3.08 in the average cost of supplying one unit of water between 1986 and 1996 measures the cost of hedging drought risk in the study area. Water use dropped 46 percent at the height of the drought relative to pro-drought water use, and remains at 61 percent of the pre-drought level. The data derived from the 1987–1992 California drought are unique and valuable insofar as shedding light on drought/water demand adaptive interactions. The experience garnered on drought management during that unique period points to the possibilities available for future water management in the Arid West where dwindling water supplies and burgeoning populations are facts that we must deal with.     

DENSITY CURRENT INTRUSIONS IN AN ICE-COVERED URBAN LAKE1

ABSTRACT: Evidence is presented that snowmelt runoff from an urban watershed can produce density current intrusions (underflows) in a lake. Several episodes of density current intrusions are documented. Water temperatures and salinities measured near the bottom of a 10 m deep Minneapolis lake during the late winter warming periods in 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1995 show significant rapid changes which are correlated with observed higher air temperatures and snowmelt runoff. The snowmelt runoff entering this particular lake (Ryan Lake) has increased electrical conductivity, salinity, and density. The source of the salinity is the salt spread on urban streets in the winter. Heating of littoral waters in spring may also contribute to the occurrence of the sinking flows, but is clearly not the only cause.     

采掘诱发地震的成因及对策

根据煤或岩体的赋存特征及采动后的受力特点，将采矿及掘进等工程进行过程中诱发的地震灾害分为三类，即完整煤岩体受压应力作用的失稳、顶底板受拉应力型地震及断层走滑受剪型诱发地震。文章在分别分析其成因的基础上，研究了采矿诱发三种类型地震的发生条件，提出了防治发生诱发地震的对策。     

物元分析法在大气环境质量评价中的应用

应用物元分析方法构建大气环境质量的综合评价模型，并将该方法用于唐山市大气环境质量评价中，获得了与实际情况基本符合的评价结果。     

亭子口库区水质汞的污染特征及建库后水体中汞的预测

亭子口水利枢纽位于喜陵江平流苍溪县城以上，１５ｋｍ处。本文根据嘉陵江广元段水质监测资料，分析库区地面水体中汞的现状污染特征，并运用沉积物的负指数方程预测库区建坝后水体中汞的浓度。     

4－AAP萃取光度法以蒸馏水代替无酚水测定地面水中挥发酚

４－氨基安替比林（简称４－ＡＡＰ）萃取光度法测酚是灵敏度很高的标准分析方法。该方法要求使用无酚水。本文经过实验分析提出以蒸馏水代替无酚水测定地面水中挥发酚，结果表明，本方法检出限为０．０１７ｍｇ／ｌ，具有较高的精密度和准确度。本法省略了制备无酚水的程序，从而使实验分析得到简化。     

皖南山区中华猕猴桃的气候适宜性区划

本文在简要分析皖南山区气候特征的基础上，根据中华猕猴桃的生长习性，提出了发展只结猕猴桃的适宜栽培高度区划，为合理利用山区气候资源发展猕猴桃生产提供科学依据。     

ClO2处理含铁,锰及细菌饮用水的应用研究

为了除去水中高含量的铁，锰及细菌，采用ＣｌＯ２氧化Ｆｅ＾２＋，Ｍｎ＾２＋和灭菌的方法。研究结果表明，处理后水平铁，锰都末检出，细菌指标符合国家饮用水标准。此法具有工艺简单，操作方便，反应速度快，去除率极高，不产生致癌物质ＴＨＭ、且能很好地除水中的异味及色度等优点。此法适用于各种生活给水系统。