Using watershed function as the leading indicator for water quality

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 850-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan L. Aron ◽  
Robert K. Hall ◽  
Michael J. Philbin ◽  
Robin J. Schafer

Diffuse nonpoint source (NPS) pollutants, such as sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, and pathogens, have become the primary cause of water quality impairments in the United States of America. Resource management agencies in the USA are expanding the use of tools for the assessment of ecosystem function in water quality programs to control NPS pollution to meet US Clean Water Act objectives. Assessing the ecosystem function of upland and riparian areas provides the context for monitoring data that can improve the targeting of best management practices for NPS pollution, and be a leading (early) indicator for more timely decisions about aquatic habitat and water quality. Assessment of watershed function can be applied to prioritizing resources, developing indicators, monitoring aquatic habitat and water quality, and implementing adaptive management plans to restore degraded ecosystems that are producing NPS pollution. This paper presents three examples of progress in the institutionalization of this approach to water quality programs for sustainable and healthy watersheds that affect federal, state, tribal, and private landowners. Future work should refine the approach by evaluating the benefits, costs, and effectiveness of the use of watershed function in water quality programs.

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 839-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin E. Scott ◽  
Mansoor D. K. Leh ◽  
Brian E. Haggard

Abstract Pathogens are a major cause of water quality impairment and public health concern world-wide. In the United States, each state is tasked with developing water quality standards (WQS) to protect the designated use(s) of waterbodies. Several streams in the Illinois River Watershed in northwest Arkansas are currently listed as impaired due to elevated levels of pathogens. Our objective was to evaluate Escherichia coli (E. coli) numbers at 29 stream sites, compare these numbers to the applicable WQS, and investigate the relationship between E. coli numbers and land cover variables. E. coli numbers in samples collected at most sites were within allowable limits, although there were several instances of violations of the WQS. Violations were variable from year to year at some sites, and elevated levels of E. coli were spatially localized during baseflow. Violations also were positively related to pasture land cover in the drainage area, and particularly within the riparian buffer area. This relationship was non-linear, or threshold based, where there was a significant increase in the mean E. coli exceedances when riparian pasture land cover was greater than approximately 50%. These results can be used to identify specific stream reaches where E. coli numbers might be elevated and the implementation of best management practices can be geographically targeted.


2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 751-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Wiegand ◽  
C. A. Flinders ◽  
G. G. Ice ◽  
B. J. Malmberg ◽  
R. P. Fisher

The connections between forest products operations and water resources in the United States is considered and, where possible, quantified. Manufacture of wood, pulp, and paper products and the influences of forest management and forest products manufacture on water quality are discussed. Most fresh water in the US originates in forested areas. Responsible harvesting strategies, best management practices, and forest re-growth combine to minimize or eliminate changes in water availability and degradation of water quality due to harvesting. Relative to alternative land uses and large-scale disturbance events, forested areas produce the highest quality of fresh water. Water inputs for the manufacture of forest products total about 5.8 billion m3 per year, an amount equal about 0.4% of the surface and groundwater yield from timberland. Approximately 88% of water used in manufacturing is treated and returned directly to surface waters, about 11% is converted to water vapor and released during the manufacturing process, and 1% is imparted to products or solid residuals. Extensive study and continued monitoring of treated effluents suggest few or no concerns regarding the compatibility of current effluents with healthy aquatic systems.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 501e-502
Author(s):  
Cody J. White ◽  
Michael A. Schnelle ◽  
Gerrit W. Cuperus

A survey was designed to assess high-risk areas with respect to environmental contamination, specifically how it relates to water quality. Oklahoma growers of all economic levels, retail and/or wholesale, were queried at their place of business for their current state of implementing best management practices (BMPs) and other strategic actions that could potentially affect current and future water quality standards. Specific areas such as the physical environment of the nursery, primary pesticides and fertilizers used, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices, and employee safety training were covered as well as other aspects germane to preserving and protecting current water quality and related environmental issues. More than 75 nurseries were surveyed and given the opportunity to participate in future training at Oklahoma State Univ. Results indicated that nurseries have not fully implemented many BMPs, but have adopted fundamental IPM approaches. The stage is set for the implementation of the next phase of expansion and refinement into ecologically based programs such as propagation and sale of low pesticide input plant materials, improved cultural practices, and the integration of environmentally sound management approaches. As an example, many growers are in the process of phasing out calendar-based pesticide application programs in favor of aesthetic and/or economic threshold-driven pesticide spray programs.


1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (3-5) ◽  
pp. 379-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mostaghimi ◽  
P. W. McClellan ◽  
R. A. Cooke

The Nomini Creek Watershed/Water Quality monitoring project was initiated in 1985, as part of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983, to quantify the impacts of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) on improving water quality. The watershed monitoring system was designed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the quality of surface and groundwater as influenced by changes in land use, agronomic, and cultural practices in the watershed over the duration of the project. The primary chemical characteristics monitored include both soluble and sediment-bound nutrients and pesticides in surface and groundwater. Water samples from 8 monitoring wells located in agricultural areas in the watershed were analyzed for 22 pesticides. A total of 20 pesticides have been detected in water samples collected. Atrazine is the most frequently detected pesticide. Detected concentrations of atrazine ranged from 0.03 - 25.56 ppb and occurred in about 26 percent of the samples. Other pesticides were detected at frequencies ranging from 1.6 to 14.2 percent of all samples collected and concentrations between 0.01 and 41.89 ppb. The observed concentrations and spatial distributions of pesticide contamination of groundwater are compared to land use and cropping patterns. Results indicate that BMPs are quite effective in reducing pesticide concentrations in groundwater.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1547
Author(s):  
Jian Sha ◽  
Xue Li ◽  
Man Zhang ◽  
Zhong-Liang Wang

Accurate real-time water quality prediction is of great significance for local environmental managers to deal with upcoming events and emergencies to develop best management practices. In this study, the performances in real-time water quality forecasting based on different deep learning (DL) models with different input data pre-processing methods were compared. There were three popular DL models concerned, including the convolutional neural network (CNN), long short-term memory neural network (LSTM), and hybrid CNN–LSTM. Two types of input data were applied, including the original one-dimensional time series and the two-dimensional grey image based on the complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition algorithm with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) decomposition. Each type of input data was used in each DL model to forecast the real-time monitoring water quality parameters of dissolved oxygen (DO) and total nitrogen (TN). The results showed that (1) the performances of CNN–LSTM were superior to the standalone model CNN and LSTM; (2) the models used CEEMDAN-based input data performed much better than the models used the original input data, while the improvements for non-periodic parameter TN were much greater than that for periodic parameter DO; and (3) the model accuracies gradually decreased with the increase of prediction steps, while the original input data decayed faster than the CEEMDAN-based input data and the non-periodic parameter TN decayed faster than the periodic parameter DO. Overall, the input data preprocessed by the CEEMDAN method could effectively improve the forecasting performances of deep learning models, and this improvement was especially significant for non-periodic parameters of TN.


Diabetology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-94
Author(s):  
Alexander Little ◽  
Kevin Murphy ◽  
Patrick Solverson

The prevalence of diet-induced obesity and type-2 diabetes remains a growing concern in the United States. As best management practices still include improved diet and physical activity, bioactive food components, contained within functional foods, show promise in curbing the cardiometabolic complications associated with excess weight and diabetes. Quinoa is an emerging candidate crop for its versatility in wide-ranging growing conditions as one approach to address food security, but it also contains several components that may serve as a dietary tool for post-industrial countries struggling with the health complications of caloric excess. Preliminary rodent feeding studies demonstrate that components within quinoa, namely, phytosteroids, phenolics, polysaccharides, and peptides, can prevent adiposity, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia. Mechanistic activity may involve reduced lipid absorption and adipogenesis, increased energy expenditure and glucose oxidation and corrected gut microbiota. Other intestinal actions may include blocked carbohydrate digestion with enhanced incretin signaling. Evidence in clinical trials is lacking and future research spanning cells to the clinic is needed to further elucidate the interesting preliminary reports reviewed here. Quinoa offers several unique attributes that could be harnessed to improve the dietary management of obesity and diabetes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 1683-1693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira H. Daroub ◽  
Timothy A. Lang ◽  
Orlando A. Diaz ◽  
Sabine Grunwald

Author(s):  
Mariel R. Estrella

Rapid population growth and urbanization over the years has put pressure on natural resources threatening various fragile ecosystems. Naga river in the Philippines became a mute witness to the adverse effects of human activities on its waters. The present study took into account the waste management practices of households along the Naga river to elucidate its relation to the bio-physicochemical state of the river. The comparative analysis of water quality assessment data indicates that there is an observable deterioration of water quality due to its decreased level of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and above normal pH level. This can be attributed to the continued practice of the households of throwing and discharging 34% and 78% of their solid and liquid wastes, respectively, directly into the river. However, there is a trend of improvement in the Naga river's water quality in terms of other parameters. The study also revealed that the size of built up areas and the household population along the Naga river is not necessarily proportional. Land use and the large household population along the Naga river was found to have higher adverse impacts on the water quality and current state of the Naga river. KEYWORDS: Naga River, water quality, waste management, community survey


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