System engineering for water pollution control at the watershed level in China

The present water pollution situation at watershed level in China has been systematically analyzed. The causes of water pollution are attributed to the extensive economic developmental pattern, poor wastewater treatment, and a lack of nonpoint pollution control. The problems of water pollution control at watershed level include a lack of thought and approach, developmental delay in the environmental standard system, an inadequate monitoring ability, and an inefficient implementation of laws and regulations. From 2006 to 2020, water pollution control and governance will be a national key specific project of science and technology in China. The strategies of this project include establishing a water pollution control system at watershed level, orienting a healthy aquatic ecosystem, conducting risk management, and using comprehensive methods. The goal is to establish and complete a technological system of pollution control and management in three five-year phases. The main tasks are to develop common technologies, management systems, and mechanisms for lake eutrophication control, river pollution control, urban water environmental pollution control, potable water safety, and water environmental management. The bottlenecks of water pollution control and management in China could be systematically removed, and the demonstration of the system engineering approach will be conducted at selected key watersheds.     

Scenario-based assessment and multi-objective optimization of urban development plan with carrying capacity of water system

• Impact of urban development on water system is assessed with carrying capacity. • Impacts on both water resource quantity and environmental quality are involved. • Multi-objective optimization revealing system trade-off facilitate the regulation. • Efficiency, scale and structure of urban development are regulated in two stages. • A roadmap approaching more sustainable development is provided for the case city. Environmental impact assessments and subsequent regulation measures of urban development plans are critical to human progress toward sustainability, since these plans set the scale and structure targets of future socioeconomic development. A three-step methodology for assessing and optimizing an urban development plan focusing on its impacts on the water system was developed. The methodology first predicted the pressure on the water system caused by implementation of the plan under distinct scenarios, then compared the pressure with the carrying capacity threshold to verify the system status; finally, a multi-objective optimization method was used to propose regulation solutions. The methodology enabled evaluation of the water system carrying state, taking socioeconomic development uncertainties into account, and multiple sets of improvement measures under different decisionmaker preferences were generated. The methodology was applied in the case of Zhoushan city in South-east China. The assessment results showed that overloading problems occurred in 11 out of the 13 zones in Zhoushan, with the potential pressure varying from 1.1 to 18.3 times the carrying capacity. As a basic regulation measure, an environmental efficiency upgrade could relieve the overloading in 4 zones and reduce 9%‒63% of the pressure. The optimization of industrial development showed that the pressure could be controlled under the carrying capacity threshold if the planned scale was reduced by 24% and the industrial structure was transformed. Various regulation schemes including a more suitable scale and structure with necessary efficiency standards are provided for decisionmakers that can help the case city approach a more sustainable development pattern.     

Quantitative Pollution Spill Risk Assessment: Using A Gis-Based System

Federal and State agencies have recently advocated risk-based analysis as a mechanism for advancing regulatory reform and safety determination in marine systems. the present investigation promotes this objective through the development of risk-based environmental planning strategies for oil spill contingency plans. This alternative approach to contingency planning departs from conventional methodology by employing quantitative risk assessment methods to identify hazardous oil spill zones and sensitive environmental areas, R_o and R_e respectively. the product of this conversion is referenced on a single “Risk” layer within a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework allowing coastal managers to evaluate natural resource data with associated elements of oil spill risk. As a new tool for coastal pollution management, risk-based environmental planning strategies have shown potential for evolving more efficient oil spill contingency plans.     

Quantitative Pollution Spill Risk Assessment: Using A Gis-Based System

Federal and State agencies have recently advocated risk-based analysis as a mechanism for advancing regulatory reform and safety determination in marine systems. the present investigation promotes this objective through the development of risk-based environmental planning strategies for oil spill contingency plans. This alternative approach to contingency planning departs from conventional methodology by employing quantitative risk assessment methods to identify hazardous oil spill zones and sensitive environmental areas, R_o and R_e respectively. the product of this conversion is referenced on a single “Risk” layer within a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework allowing coastal managers to evaluate natural resource data with associated elements of oil spill risk. As a new tool for coastal pollution management, risk-based environmental planning strategies have shown potential for evolving more efficient oil spill contingency plans.     

Role of rural solid waste management in non-point source pollution control of Dianchi Lake catchments, China

In recent years, with control of the main municipal and industrial point pollution sources and implementation of cleaning for some inner pollution sources in the water body, the discharge of point source pollution decreased gradually, while non-point source pollution has become increasingly distressing in Dianchi Lake catchments. As one of the major targets in non-point source pollution control, an integrated solid waste controlling strategy combined with a technological solution and management system was proposed and implemented based on the waste disposal situation and characteristics of rural solid waste in the demonstration area. As the key technology in rural solid waste treatment, both centralized plant-scale composting and a dispersed farmer-operated waste treating system showed promise in rendering timely benefits in efficiency, large handling capacity, high quality of the end product, as well as good economic return. Problems encountered during multi-substrates co-composting such as pathogens, high moisture content, asynchronism in the decomposition of different substrates, and low quality of the end product can all be tackled. 92.5% of solid waste was collected in the demonstration area, while the treating and recycling ratio reached 87.9%, which prevented 32.2 t nitrogen and 3.9 t phosphorus per year from entering the water body of Dianchi Lake after implementation of the project.     

浅议恶臭污染的健康风险研究

恶臭兼有感官污染和有害气体污染的两重性。开展恶臭健康风险评价研究对恶臭基准/标准的制定、污染控制和风险管理有着重要意义。本文简述了恶臭污染的特殊性和健康危害,分析了恶臭污染的健康风险评价方法,最后就如何开展恶臭健康风险研究提出4点建议。     

A decision framework for estimating the cost of marine plastic pollution interventions

Marine plastic pollution has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Although there has been a surge in global investment for implementing interventions to mitigate plastic pollution, there has been little attention given to the cost of these interventions. We developed a decision support framework to identify the economic, social, and ecological costs and benefits of plastic pollution interventions for different sectors and stakeholders. We calculated net cost as a function of six cost and benefit categories with the following equation: cost of implementing an intervention (direct, indirect, and nonmonetary costs) minus recovered costs and benefits (monetary and nonmonetary) produced by the interventions. We applied our framework to two quantitative case studies (a solid waste management plan and a trash interceptor) and four comparative case studies, evaluating the costs of beach cleanups and waste-to-energy plants in various contexts, to identify factors that influence the costs of plastic pollution interventions. The socioeconomic context of implementation, the spatial scale of implementation, and the time scale of evaluation all influence costs and the distribution of costs across stakeholders. Our framework provides an approach to estimate and compare the costs of a range of interventions across sociopolitical and economic contexts.     

农村面源污染治理的政策与管理服务体系优化——以上海郊区农村为例

农村面源污染控制不仅是技术问题,也是管理体制与机制问题,探讨并完善农村面源污染治理的政策、管理与服务体系已成为当前研究的热点与难点。以上海郊区农村为例,梳理总结农村面源污染及其控制现状;在肯定当前治理效果的同时,识别其局限性,指出农业政策与环境保护政策的不协调、农村发展模式转变下制度与服务体系的相对滞后是根本原因;针对当前农村面源污染重要的贡献者——化肥、农药、畜禽粪便以及农村生活污水,分别从改革农业补贴制度、重构实现农村多重价值的制度以及完善农业生产服务体系等方面给出了治理的对策与建议。     

A comparison of the water management systems in France and China

This paper compares legal systems for water management in France and China, with a focus on integrated water resources management and regarding in particular the formulation of policies and their implementation. The research shows that China has committed itself to the efficient management of water resources through the development of various policy tools during the current period. This commitment, however, has often been interrupted and distorted by politics, resulting in the neglect of socioeconomic and environmental priorities. France has developed a legislative framework and practical instruments to apply integrated water resources management at the river basin level since the 1960s. This experience and the current implementation of the European Water Framework Directive brings elements that can contribute to Chinese society meeting its water challenges.     

苏格兰农业非点源污染管理措施评述及启示

农业是苏格兰非点源污染的主要来源,也是苏格兰水体污染的主要原因。介绍了苏格兰农业非点源污染的管理措施,包括:制定治理农业非点源污染的法律法规,并实施财政补贴的经济措施,以激励农场主采取科学的生产方式;通过修建人工湿地、缓冲带等技术措施减少农业非点源污染的影响,从而使河流水质得到提高。最后,探讨了对于苏格兰控制农业非点源污染的管理措施,中国可借鉴的经验,指出中国可从立法、经济措施、技术措施等方面完善农业非点源污染的管理,保护水环境。     

Fully integrated approach: an alternative solution of coupling a GIS and diffuse pollution models

As a tool for management, query, visualization and analysis of spatially referred information, GIS has been recognized as a method to aid the modeling of diffuse pollution and visualize the results in a spatial context. A common question in integrating diffuse pollution models and GIS is to choose a suitable coupling approach, in which the feature of diffuse pollution models should be taken into account. In this paper, we report on our experience in coupling a distributed diffuse pollution model with a GIS. A prototype of fully integrated system is developed in this paper. This system has high flexibility, extendibility and great data management efficiency. Differences in applicability of loose coupling, tight coupling and fully integrated approaches are addressed. It is concluded that the fully integrated approach can avoid tanglesome data exchange and routine execution and more robust than loose and tight coupling approaches and is suitable for distributed diffuse pollution modes.     

Strategy for the Control of Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution in the Wider Caribbean Region

The pollution of the marine environment caused by land-based sources threatens or impairs the health of the ecosystems and the value of human uses of the coastal waters. the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region agreed to take all appropriate measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution. in the first meeting of the Contracting Parties, the development of a protocol on the control of marine pollution from land-based sources was recommended as a measure to protect the marine environment.

A small group of experts from the Caribbean Region formulated a strategy for controlling land-based sources of marine pollution. Due to the diverse nature, resources and capabilities of the countries comprising the Region, the pollution control strategy suggested by the group of experts included the following techniques or their most appropriate combination: (1) pollution prevention measures, (2) effluent limitations, (3) water quality limitations, (4) environmental planning, and (5) best management practices. the desirable control strategy should be based on a system of discharge permits in the case of point source pollution, which includes effluent and water quality limitations. the technology based effluent limitations could be applied as a short-range strategy to control pollution from industrial and domestic point source discharges. the use of water quality standards could become part of a long-range strategy for controlling point sources. for nonpoint sources, it would be virtually impossible to develop effluent limitations. Thus, the implementation of best management practices and effective environmental planning would be the most reasonable control strategy for non-point sources. However, pollution prevention measures could consist of a “black list” of substances that should be completely banned, and a “grey list” for those that should be strictly limited. These lists should be adopted or appropriately modified for the conditions of the Wider Caribbean Region.

The development of control based on the water quality of the receiving body of water involves the collection and analysis of effluent and ambient data to develop water quality based permit limits and to assess compliance with these permits. Finally, any marine pollution control strategy developed by the countries of the Region should be mutually agreed upon and implemented within a period of ten years from the ratification of a protocol on land-based sources of marine pollution.     

Control concept and countermeasures for shallow lakes’ eutrophication in China

Research on lake eutrophication in China began in the early 1970s, and many lakes in China are now known to be in meso-eutrophic status. Lake eutrophication has been showing a rapidly increasing trend since 2000. Investigations show that the main reasons for lake eutrophication include a fragile lake background environment, excessive nutrient loading into lakes, excessive human activities, ecological degeneration, weak environmental protection awareness, and lax lake management. Major mechanisms resulting from lake eutrophication include nutrient recycling imbalance, major changes in water chemistry (pH, oxygen, and carbon), lake ecosystem imbalance, and algal prevalence in lakes. Some concepts for controlling eutrophication should be persistently proposed, including lake catchment control, combination of pollutant source control with ecological restoration, protection of three important aspects (terrestrial ecology, lake coast zone, and submerged plant), and combination of lake management with regulation. Measures to control lake eutrophication should include pollution source control (i.e., optimize industrial structural adjustments in the lake catchment, reduce nitrogen and phosphorus emission amounts, and control endogenous pollution) and lake ecological restoration (i.e. establish a zone-lake buffer region and lakeside zone, protect regional vegetation, utilize hydrophytes in renovation technology); countermeasures for lake management should include implementing water quality management, identifying environmental and lake water goals, legislating and formulating laws and regulations to protect lakes, strengthening publicity and the education of people, increasing public awareness through participation in systems and mechanic innovations, establishing lake region management institutions, and ensuring implementation of governance and management measures.     

Interactive pollutants and joint abatement costs: Achieving water quality standards with effluent charges

This paper extends earlier work on the standards and prices approach to pollution control by considering simultaneously spatial considerations, interactive pollutants, and joint abatement costs. The form of environmental constraints appropriate to water pollution problems is discussed in detail and the implications for the standards and prices approach to water pollution control are assessed. The presence of interactive pollutants and joint abatement costs is shown to have important implications for both the theoretical properties and the implementation of the standards and prices approach.     

Strategien zur Sedimentbewertung – ein Überblick

Background Being an important determinant in aquatic ecosystems, sediments have gotten more and more into focus of scientific and public discussions. While water quality has been significantly improving during recent years, highly contaminated sediments in many European rivers will still have ongoing impact for several centuries from now. Hence, monitoring and assessment of sediment quality are crucial for national legislation as well as the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Aim On the occasion of the retirement of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.?c. Volker Storch, this article reviews the various concepts of sediment assessment and introduces case studies in sediment toxicology which have been carried out in Heidelberg and surrounding areas. Results and Discussion Initially, the article portrays benefits and drawbacks of chemical analytics and biotest systems. The individual approach has only limited informative value, but combining both perspectives allows for a comprehensive characterization of the state of sediments. As examples of toxicity evaluation based on this strategy, weight-of-evidence studies for tiered investigations and integrated sediment assessment are presented. In addition, a combination of chemical fractionation, bioanalytic investigations and chemical analysis – known as ‘effect-directed analysis’ (EDA) – is discussed. This integrated concept eventually aims at the identification of hazardous substance classes or even of single compounds. Finally, the article raises the issue of sediment mobility as an important parameter for risk analyses of highly contaminated legacy sediments within further WFD implementation. Outlook Using various case studies, the article outlines the potentials of integrated approaches for cause-effect analysis of complex environmental samples within aquatic ecosystems as well as for action programs of management plans dealing with chemically polluted rivers. Effect-directed analysis in particular, but also the combined application of acute and mechanism-specific bioassays together with in-situ investigations, complemented by investigations on sediment mobility, appear promising with regard to comprehensive sediment assessment weight-of-evidence studies.     

化学品环境风险管理需求与战略思考

在广泛调研收集化学品环境风险与污染危害等资料基础上,结合化学品环境管理的国内外形势与现状,针对我国目前存在的化学品环境管理体制不完善、环境风险防控工作滞后和技术支撑能力不足等问题,从国家战略层面分析了我国化学品全生命周期环境与健康风险管理需求,提出了我国化学品环境风险管理中长期发展目标及行动计划。行动计划涵盖了健全化学品法律法规和制度体系、系统开展化学品危害筛查和风险评估、推动有毒有害化学品的限制与淘汰、加强有毒有害化学品环境污染防治、提升化学品风险评估与管理能力和促进产业绿色发展等方面建议,对于我国加快构建完善的化学品风险管控制度和技术体系具有重要的参考和借鉴意义。     

珠三角地区POPs农药的污染现状及控制对策

概述了中国及国际社会对持久性有机污染物（Persistent Organic Pollutants,POPs）的关注情况。并通过对POPs农药在珠江三角洲地区（Pearl River Delta Area,PRD）使用情况的调查，以及对珠江三角洲地区POPs农药在各环境介质中的污染现状的文献综述，结合环境污染数据以及POPs农药污染调查工作中得到的数据和信息，对该地区POPs污染的可能原因和环境中可能存在的新近污染源进行了初步探讨。同时也指出了当前珠江三角洲地区在POPs农药削减与淘汰工作中所遭遇到的缺乏完善的管理体系等困难，并针对问题提出了包括加大科研投入，加强基础研究，掌握污染物来源和去向，加强替代药物的研究，建立和实施更严格的环境法规以及标准，加强环境监测能力建设，建立POPs农药污染的信息公开机制等一系列的控制对策。     

Portuguese coastal zones and the new coastal management plans

Coastal zones in Portugal, as interface areas between land and sea, have problems related to the growing human pressure in terms of changes in land use associated with urban and industrial occupation, new accessibility (ports, motorways) and traffic flows, intensification of recreational use (beaches, water sports) and excessive fishing. Impacts include deterioration of water quality and sediments; alteration and degradation of natural habitats; new hydrodynamic situations; major landscape changes: and rapid changes in habits and way of life of the local populations and increased exposure of populations and assets to natural and induced risks (storms, accidents, spills, explosions). Plans for the Management of the Coastal Zone (POOC) have been developed and seven of them have been approved, while two similar plans are at a final stage of preparation. Together they cover the entire coast of Portugal. Their implementation and assessment could be a first step towards an integrated management of the Portuguese coastal zones. River Basin Management Plans (PBH) have been concluded and recently approved for the whole country. However, these plans do not consider estuarine systems and some other issues related to coastal systems. The National Water Plan (PNA) is under public presentation and discussion. Several ‘key messages’ are presented in this paper as a contribution for assessment of the proposals of this plan on issues related with coastal waters.     

Uncertainty analysis on aquatic environmental impacts of urban land use change

Uncertainties hamper the implementation of strategic environmental assessment (SEA). In order to quantitatively characterize the uncertainties of environmental impacts, this paper develops an integrated methodology through uncertainty analysis on land use change, which combines the scenario analysis approach, stochastic simulation technique, and statistics. Dalian city in China was taken as a case study in the present work. The results predict that the Fuzhou River poses the highest environmental pollution risk with a probability of 89.63% for COD in 2020. Furthermore, the Biliu River, Fuzhou River, Zhuang River, and Dasha River have 100% probabilities for NH₃-N. NH₃-N is a more critical pollutant than COD for all rivers. For COD, industry is the critical pollution source for all rivers except the Zhuang River. For NH₃-N, agriculture is the critical pollution source for the Biliu River, Yingna River, and Dasha River, sewage for the Fuzhou River and Zhuang River, and industry for the Dengsha River. This methodology can provide useful information, such as environmental risk, environmental pressure, and extremely environmental impact, especially under considerations of uncertainties. It can also help to ascertain the significance of each pollution source and its priority for control in urban planning.     

Water environmental planning and management at the watershed scale: A case study of Lake Qilu, China

Water environmental planning and management has become essential for guiding the water pollution control activities. Past water pollution control activities have been site specific, with little thought on water quality standard reaching at the watershed scale. Based on the watershed approach, a seven-step methodological framework for water environmental planning and management was developed. The framework was applied to water environmental planning and management of the Lake Qilu watershed in Yunnan Province, China. Results show that the reduction amount of total nitrogen (TN) under the plan is 1,205 tons per year so that the target of environmental capacity can be reached in 2020. Compared with traditional methods, the framework has its prevalence and could be generalized to analogous watersheds.