Spatiotemporal patterns of non-point source nitrogen loss in an agricultural catchment

Non-point source nitrogen loss poses a risk to sustainable aquatic ecosystems. However, non-point sources, as well as impaired river segments with high nitrogen concentrations, are difficult to monitor and regulate because of their diffusive nature, budget constraints, and resource deficiencies. For the purpose of catchment management, the Bayesian maximum entropy approach and spatial regression models have been used to explore the spatiotemporal patterns of non-point source nitrogen loss. In this study, a total of 18 sampling sites were selected along the river network in the Hujiashan Catchment. Over the time period of 2008e2012, water samples were collected 116 times at each site and analyzed for non-point source nitrogen loss. The morphometric variables and soil drainage of different land cover types were studied and considered potential factors affecting nitrogen loss. The results revealed that, compared with the approach using the Euclidean distance, the Bayesian maximum entropy approach using the river distance led to an appreciable 10.1% reduction in the estimation error, and more than 53.3% and 44.7% of the river network in the dry and wet seasons, respectively, had a probability of non-point source nitrogen impairment. The proportion of the impaired river segments exhibited an overall decreasing trend in the study catchment from 2008 to 2012, and the reduction in the wet seasons was greater than that in the dry seasons. High nitrogen concentrations were primarily found in the downstream reaches and river segments close to the residential lands. Croplands and residential lands were the dominant factors affecting non-point source nitrogen loss, and explained up to 70.7%of total nitrogen in the dry seasons and 54.7% in the wet seasons. A thorough understanding of the location of impaired river segments and the dominant factors affecting total nitrogen concentration would have considerable importance for catchment management.     

The Isotope Hydrology of a Large River System Regulated for Hydropower

Impoundments, regulation and inter‐basin transfers associated with large hydropower developments affect runoff regimes, water residence times and stream water quality. We used stable isotopes to understand these effects on the river Tay system in Scotland, examining their spatial and temporal variation in surface waters at 22 sites. Spatial patterns of isotopes in stream water were consistent with those of precipitation, being more depleted in streams draining higher, colder northern headwaters and enriched in the milder western headwaters. To a lesser extent, spatial patterns also reflected effects of inter‐basin and intra‐basin water transfers at some sites. Temporal dynamics reflected precipitation inputs modulated by landscape properties, the presence of lakes and reservoirs, and regulation operations. Isotopic variability was highest in headwater tributaries with responsive soils and lowest downstream of lakes and reservoirs. Variability of isotopes in lower river sites was also damped as they integrate contributions from the rest of the catchment. Importantly, regulation from both reservoirs and inter‐basin transfers can distort simple input–output relationships for stable isotopes and affect catchment transit times with implications for water quality and in‐stream ecology. On the one hand, reservoirs and extension of natural lakes have created additional storage, potentially slowing flows; on the other, transfers have increased the volume and rates of water throughput in many of these water bodies, reducing hydraulic turnover times. Such effects tend to be quite localized and are not apparent at the larger catchment scale. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The use of a mass balance phosphorus budget for informing nutrient management in shallow coastal lakes

Eutrophication has degraded ecosystem, cultural and recreational values in Lake Forsyth, a small, shallow, coastal lake in New Zealand. To inform catchment management decisions designed to prevent algal blooms and improve water quality, a sub-catchment scale, mass-balance approach to understanding the behaviour of the critical nutrient, phosphorous (P), has been taken. To determine a P budget for the lake, and identify key P reservoirs, hydrological inflows and outflows were measured over a 15 month period. These were combined with total (TP) and dissolved reactive P (DRP) concentrations in these flows, to determine the external load of P transported to the lake. Lake water was also analysed for TP and DRP concentrations, and chemical extractions were used to determine the mass and mobility of P in the lake sediments. Biomass surveys and chemical digestions were used to quantify the mass of P contained in lake macrophytes. Changes in the lake water P reservoirs were then used to assess the contribution of external P loading relative to fluxes of P from the sediment to the lake water column (internal P loading). More than 7000 kg P per year was delivered to the lake, 68% of which came from a single sub-catchment. P associated with suspended particulate material accounted for 80% of the external P load transported into the lake and 61% of the load delivered over the study period was transported during a single flood event. A reduction of 53% in the external P load is necessary to achieve a recommended areal loading guideline. As the lake has no permanent outflow, this external load and the low flushing rates have created a large legacy reservoir of P in the lake sediments with 70% of external P loads retained in the lake. It is the release of P from these lake sediments rather than fluctuations in external loading that control P concentrations in the lake water column during the blooms of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. The results indicate the importance of targeting both external and internal loading processes in the catchment. The sub-catchment scale, mass-balance approach to determining a P budget and quantifying P reservoirs enable critical source areas for external P loads to be identified, and the potential efficacy of targeted interventions to reduce P sources and minimise P transport, such as wetlands and sediment retention basins, to be assessed.     

Evaluation of Water Balance in a Mountainous Upland Catchment Using SEBAL Approach

Scarcity of water is now the biggest threat in many parts of the world, specially in arid and semi arid regions. Establishing balance between water resources and the demands in a catchment scale basis could be one of the most important strategies to overcome this problem. In this regard, determination and analysis of water balance components (inputs and outputs) would be necessary. This study has focused on estimation of water balance components in arid-mountainous catchment of Manshad in Yazd province of Iran, during the year 2006–2007 using remote sensing and GIS techniques. To estimate actual evapotranspiration (ET_a) of the catchment, time series of MODIS images were obtained and used via Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) approach. Measured precipitation (P) and runoff (R) data of the catchment were also used to calculate water balance equation components. Results indicated that a large volume of catchment water (about 70%) is wasted through evapotranspiration, while the rainfall is not enough to compensate this volume of water during the year. It seems that the negative (descending) trend has become dominant to the water budget of the area and gradually moves to harsh conditions of water shortage in future decades. Therefore, some actions would be necessary to overcome the problem. Water conservation strategies‚ improvement of water use efficiency, and control on agricultural field expansions are some solutions that could be advised for the studied catchment.     

Trend Analysis in Reference Evapotranspiration Using Mann-Kendall and Spearman’s Rho Tests in Arid Regions of Iran

In this research, temporal trends of reference evapotranspiration (ET0) values were investigated in arid regions of Iran. For this purpose, meteorological observations collected from 11 high quality meteorological sites over a 41-year period (1965–2005) were used and statistically significant ET0 trends in the monthly, seasonal and annual time basis were detected using nonparametric Mann-Kendall (MK) and Spearman’s Rho (SR) tests at the 5% significant level. To eliminate the effect of serial correlation on the test results, the Trend Free Pre-Whitening (TFPW) approach was applied. The results of this study indicated that the ET0 trends for some cities were increasing (positive) however, for some sites, they showed decreasing (negative) trends. The most number of significant ET0 trends on a monthly time scale occurred at Birjand but no significant trend was observed at the Bandarabbas, Sabzevar and Semnan sites. On the annual time scale, Mashhad revealed the highest positive trend (7.5 mm per year). On the other hand, Esfahan showed the highest decreasing (negative) ET0 trend of about −6.38 mm per year. In general, the performances and abilities of the MK and SR tests were consistent at the verified significant level.     

SCS-CN Based Quantification of Potential of Rooftop Catchments and Computation of ASRC for Rainwater Harvesting

Rooftop rainwater harvesting, among other options, play a central role in addressing water security and reducing impacts on the environment. The storm or annual storm runoff coefficient (RC/ASRC) play a significant role in quantification of potential of rooftop catchments for rainwater harvesting, however, these are usually selected from generic lists available in literature. This study explores methodology/procedures based on one of the most popular and versatile hydrological model, Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) (SCS 1986) and its variants, i.e., Hawkins SCS-CN (HSCS-CN) model (Hawkins et al. 2001), Michel SCS-CN (MSCS-CN) model (Michel et al. Water Resour Res 41:W02011, 2005), and Storm Water Management Model-Annual Storm Runoff Coefficient (SWMM-ASRC) (Heaney et al. 1976) and compares their performance with Central Ground Board (CGWB) (CGWB 2000) approach. It has been found that for the same amount of rainfall and same rooftop catchment area, the MSCS-CN model yields highest rooftop runoff followed by SWMM-ASRC?>?HSCS-CN?>?SCS-CN?>?CGWB. However, the SCS-CN model has close resemblance with CGWB approach followed by HSCS-CN model, SWMM-ASRC, and MSCS-CN model. ASRCs were developed using these models and it was found that MSCS-CN model has the highest value of ASRC (= 0.944) followed by SWMM-ASRC approach (=0.900), HSCS-CN model (=0.830), SCS-CN model (=0.801), and CGWB approach (=0.800). The versatility of these models lies to the fact that CN values (according to rooftop catchment characteristics) would yield rooftop runoff and therefore ASRC values based on sound hydrological perception and not just on the empiricism. The models have inherent capability to incorporate the major factors responsible for runoff production from rooftop/urban, i.e., surface characteristics, initial abstraction, and antecedent dry weather period (ADWP) for the catchments and would be better a tool for quantification rather than just using empirical runoff coefficients for the purpose.     

Cumulative Effects of Small Reservoirs on Streamflow in Northern Coastal California Catchments

With small reservoirs increasingly employed to meet human water needs, tools that consider cumulative effects of multiple small reservoirs through space and time are essential for understanding impacts of these spatially distributed stresses on catchment hydrology and related ecological processes. We used a GIS-based hydrologic model to predict streamflow impairment caused by 438 small reservoirs in a 743 km² study area in Sonoma County, California, USA. The GIS model was designed to consider the varying effects that these reservoirs have through the project area drainage network, as well as the varying effects they have over time (as reservoirs fill and no longer impair flow downstream). Results indicate that, at the onset of the water year (when reservoirs are assumed to be empty), more than 25 % of the drainage network below reservoirs is impaired by over 50 %. Nine weeks into a normal-type water year, approximately 25 % of the drainage network below reservoirs is impaired by at least 25 %; and at 15 weeks, five percent of the drainage below reservoirs is impaired at least 25 %. Impairment is more persistent in a dry-type year. Nine weeks into a dry year, almost 40 % of the drainage network below reservoirs is impaired by at least 25 %; and at 15 weeks, 25 % of the drainage is impaired by at least 25 %. Results illustrate that impairment caused by reservoirs varies appreciably over space, but as reservoirs fill over time, impairment is lower through most of the drainage network.     

Development and Application of an Integrated Water Balance Model to Study the Sensitivity of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area Water Availability Scenario to Climatic Changes

This study investigates the water availability scenario along Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA) under future climatic changes. TMA, which depends largely on the adjacent Tone river for its water supply, suffers from water shortage almost once in 2–3 yr. A methodology was developed considering integrated approach to ascertain probable impact of climatic changes on the overall water availability along the Tone river and its impact on TMA. Historical trend in hydro-climatic characteristics of the Tone River basin was investigated at the first place to assess the changes and interrelationships. A deterministic water balance model was later developed, integrating natural hydrological balance as well as several water uses and river regulation effects. The natural water balance part of the model was tested for some hypothetical climate change scenarios to observe the sensitivity of the Tone river flow to climatic perturbations. For the worst scenario of precipitation and temperature changes, the unregulated Tone river flow was observed to be reduced by around 20–50%, varying over different months. After considering river regulation effects from reservoirs and diversion, the regulated flow was further analyzed based on some risk indices. Drought risk was observed to be increased significantly for the periods between April–July.     

Enrichment and geoaccumulation of metals in the superficial sediments of Lake Chivero,Zimbabwe

Sediments act as a sink, being an integrator and an amplifier for metals in rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Thus, sediment quality has been recognized as an important indicator of aquatic pollution. The concentrations of aluminium (Al), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn) and sodium (Na) were studied in the surface sediments of Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe, to determine metal accumulation, distribution, pollution status and to distinguish natural background metal levels from human pollution sources. Sediment samples were collected from 17 locations during a two‐year (2014–2015) monitoring period during the hot–dry, hot–wet and cool–dry seasons. The overall mean metal concentrations exhibited the following decreasing order: Fe > Al>Mn > Ca>K > Mg>Na. The Mn levels for all sites and seasons were above the severe effect level (SEL). The highest metal and enrichment factor (EF) values were observed for the hot–wet season, indicating the period when the reservoir received the highest metal pollution from its catchment. The Geochemical index (I_geo) values for Mn for all seasons indicated moderately to strong contamination in sediments. The pollution load index (PLI) for all seasons indicated low pollution levels. Sediment contamination was attributed to natural sources for Al, Na and K and anthropogenic sources for Fe, Ca, Mg and Mn. The levels of studied metals in the Lake Chivero sediments are comparable to other eutrophic lentic systems. The results of the present study provide baseline information necessary for developing future metal pollution control strategies for Lake Chivero and its catchment.     

基于天文效应的流域性特丰水年预报方法及应用

针对造成水库特丰水年的天文条件问题,为了提高水库特丰水年预报结果的可信度,以国家电网公司调度区域内的15座大型水库特丰水年为研究对象,选用太阳黑子相对数、月球赤纬角2个天文因子,采用点聚图法,绘制水库年入库流量与太阳黑子关系分布图、水库年入库流量与月球赤纬角关系分布图、水库年入库流量天文效应区图,分析水库特丰水年在特定天文条件范围内的聚类关系,使15座水库特丰水年平均出现概率提高到正常出现概率的5.1倍。结果表明:水库的特丰水与太阳黑子、月球赤纬角密切相关,在特定的太阳黑子、月球赤纬角范围内高频率发生;基于流域同步性分析,从形成特丰水年的天文条件、天文周期、可公度结构等方面,预报2020年发生1964年型全国多流域水库特丰水、流域大洪水的概率大。     

Integrated Surface–Subsurface Modeling of Fuxianhu Lake Catchment, Southwest China

This paper describes an integrated surface–subsurface modeling study of the Fuxianhu Lake catchment (southwest China). Pollution threats to this important water resource have led to the need to evaluate transport pathways and the overall water balance of the catchment. Catchment inputs to the lake include river inflows, direct overland flow and groundwater discharge, which are incorporated into a mathematical model of the system. Surface runoff and groundwater recharge are estimated using a parsimonious soil–vegetation modeling approach, while groundwater flow is based on the MODFLOW-2005 code. Overland flow and stream discharge are coupled to the groundwater regime through the soil layer and are routed through the catchment to account for surface water flow pathways. The model is tested using the V-catchment benchmark problem and is compared to existing models to demonstrate accuracy and capability. Application of the model to the Fuxianhu catchment provides for the first-order approximation of the average catchment water balance, which comprises such components as evapotranspiration losses (37% of rainfall), surface runoff to the lake (37% of rainfall), and groundwater discharge to the lake (8% of rainfall), amongst others. The computationally efficient approach to surface–subsurface modeling adopted in this investigation presents as an alternative to more complex methods, and allows for the rapid assessment of flow pathways at the catchment scale. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Understanding and management of cyanobacterial blooms in sub-tropical reservoirs of Queensland,Australia

A three year study of two sub-tropical water supply (potable and irrigation) reservoirs - Baroon Pocket and Leslie - aimed to develop an improved understanding and effective management strategy for the control of low level toxic cyanobacterial ‘blooms’. The two reservoirs appear to be typical of those elsewhere in tropical and sub-tropical Australia, being strongly stratified and monomictic if deep, or polymictic to monomictic (depending on inter-annual climatic variation) if shallow. In both reservoirs, thermal stratification appeared to be the key factor influencing the onset and demise of cyanobactenal blooms. Hypolimnetic deoxygenation was rapid during periods of stratification, and high rates of nitrogen and phosphorus release from bottom sediments occurred during anoxia. External nutrient inputs were dominated by episodic storm in-flows following the passing of (sub)tropical depressions, carrying massive sediment and nutrient loads into the reservoirs. As a consequence of this, and coupled with the high degree of internal nutrient recycling and the low national targets for cyanobacterial control in Australia, we believe that reduction of external nutrient inputs alone, through improved catchment management, may not be sufficient to prevent cyanobacterial blooms. Therefore, more emphasis should be given to ‘in-lake’ control strategies such as destratification, biomanipulation and in situ sediment treatment.     

Sustainability of Rainwater Harvesting Systems in Rural Catchment of Sub-Saharan Africa

Sustainability of rainwater harvesting in enhancing water productivity in various biophysical and socioeconomic conditions of SSA is a key in large scale livelihood improvement. A study was undertaken in Makanya catchment of rural Tanzania to assess sustainability of storage type of rainwater harvesting systems including microdam, dug out pond, sub-surface runoff harvesting tank and rooftop rainwater harvesting system. The increasing population in upstream areas of the catchment has forced use of RWH systems for streams and river water abstraction. The agricultural intensification in hillslopes has affected the water availability for downstream uses. Rainfall variability, runoff quality and quantity, local skills and investment capacity, labour availability and institutional support influence sustainability of rainwater harvesting systems.     

Assessment of Rainwater Availability by Building Type and Water Use Through GIS-based Scenario Analysis

Scenario analysis of rainwater harvesting and utilization (RWHU) was performed considering various non-potable water uses in different building types over a year. Six building types were identified in the study area using GIS data: residential houses, offices, commercial buildings, restaurants, public buildings, and “others”. Rainwater storage capacity was considered as 30 mm rainwater depth. Water demand for each building type was calculated as the sum of the individual water uses for toilet flushing, air conditioning, garden irrigation, and cleaning defined in this study as “miscellaneous usages”. To incorporate water quality considerations, rainwater with suspended solids level of less than 2 mg l⁻¹ was used as the quality criterion. The RWHU scenario was compared with other storage and water use scenarios. This study quantified the rainwater availability throughout a year and its seasonal variation and consumption in each building type. The analysis clarified the effectiveness of rainwater utilization for supplementing existing water resources.     

ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS AFFLICTING TAILWATER STREAM REACHES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

The tailwater is the reach of a stream immediately below an impoundment that is hydrologically, physicochemically and biologically altered by the presence and operation of a dam. The overall goal of this study was to gain a nationwide awareness of the issues afflicting tailwater reaches in the United States. Specific objectives included the following: (i) estimate the percentage of reservoirs that support tailwater reaches with environmental conditions suitable for fish assemblages throughout the year, (ii) identify and quantify major sources of environmental stress in those tailwaters that do support fish assemblages and (iii) identify environmental features of tailwater reaches that determine prevalence of key fish taxa. Data were collected through an online survey of fishery managers. Relative to objective 1, 42% of the 1306 reservoirs included in this study had tailwater reaches with sufficient flow to support a fish assemblage throughout the year. The surface area of the reservoir and catchment most strongly delineated reservoirs maintaining tailwater reaches with or without sufficient flow to support a fish assemblage throughout the year. Relative to objective 2, major sources of environmental stress generally reflected flow variables, followed by water quality variables. Relative to objective 3, zoogeography was the primary factor discriminating fish taxa in tailwaters, followed by a wide range of flow and water quality variables. Results for objectives 1–3 varied greatly among nine geographic regions distributed throughout the continental United States. Our results provide a large‐scale view of the effects of reservoirs on tailwater reaches and may help guide research and management needs. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

The conservation value of water supply reservoirs

There are over 500 water supply reservoirs in England and Wales, a total water surface of 20000 hectares, much of which has been flooded this century. Waterfowl, amphibious and aquatic wildlife have all benefited from this change, especially important after so much wetland has been drained and ploughed to increase agricultural production. Modern reservoirs include landscape and conservation in their planning, construction and operation, often leading to their notification as Sites of Special Scientific Interest soon after their construction. Examples in the Anglian Water and Thames Water regions are discussed to demonstrate their value to wildlife as well as fulfilling their prime function for water supply. Pitsford Water (Northamptonshire), Rutland Water (Leicestershire), Staines Reservoirs (Surrey), and Walthamstow Reservoirs (Greater London) show varying levels of conservation planning. Protection from recreational activity is shown to be an essential part of management at these sites.     

An Efficient Method to Correct Under-Dispersion in Ensemble Streamflow Prediction of Inflow Volumes for Reservoir Optimization

Ensemble streamflow prediction (ESP) has been widely used to gain insight on possible future inflows to hydropower reservoirs. However underestimation of climate, model structure and initial condition uncertainty often leads to under-dispersed ESP forecasts. In this paper, we present a novel approach called “Hindcast-mode Uncertainty Estimation” (HUE) to efficiently add variability in ESP forecasts to reduce their under-dispersion. The method was tested on a Canadian catchment used by Rio Tinto – Aluminium division to produce hydropower for their aluminium smelting plants. This project was focused on correcting long-term predictions of freshet runoff volumes to optimize drawdown volumes, with up to 6 months of lead time. It was found that by adding an error term to the hydrological model’s snow water equivalent (SWE) state variable at the time of forecast in hindcasting mode, the resulting simulation could be forced to perfectly reproduce the freshet runoff volume. This error term was computed for all years on record which enabled modeling of the error’s distribution. This distribution can then be sampled from to add noise to the model’s SWE at the start of a new ESP forecast. Results show that the current winter ESP forecasts are strongly under-dispersed for the freshet runoff volume estimation and that the proposed method is able to widen the ESPs to correct the under-dispersion problem. This was validated by using Talagrand diagrams which shifted from a U-shape (prior to HUE) to a uniform distribution (with HUE). The project objectives of correcting the ESP forecast’s under-dispersion in spring runoff estimations was thus attained with minimal effort, bypassing the need to perform more complex ensemble data assimilation techniques.     

Estimation of Small Reservoir Storage Capacities with Remote Sensing in the Brazilian Savannah Region

Small reservoirs play an important role in supporting the local economy in the savannah areas of Brazil and are primarily used for the provision of water for irrigation and watering livestock. Hundreds of small reservoirs have been built in the last few decades in the Preto River Basin, but efficient water management and sound planning are hindered by inadequate knowledge of the number, storage capacity and spatial distribution of reservoirs in the basin. The main reason for the lack of this information is that current methodologies for quantifying the physical parameters of reservoirs are laborious, time consuming and costly. To address this lack of data, a simple method to estimate reservoir storage volumes based on remotely sensed reservoir surface area measured with LANDSAT was developed. The method was validated with a subset of reservoirs in the Preto River Basin for which surface areas, shapes and depths were determined with ground-based survey measurements. The agreement between measured and the remotely sensed reservoir volumes was satisfactory, indicating that remotely-sensed images can be used for improved management of water in the Brazilian Savannah region. With the newly developed methods we found that the Preto River Basin’s 147 small reservoirs can store 19 × 10⁶ m³ of water at full capacity.     

雅砻江和金沙江中下游梯级水库联合优化调度建模及应用Ⅱ——联合优化调度规则分析

为提升长江上游水资源利用效率,在“雅砻江和金沙江中下游梯级水库联合优化调度建模及应用Ⅰ—联合优化调度潜力分析”的基础上,进一步探究了雅砻江和金沙江中下游梯级上下游水库间和不同梯级间的运行规律,绘制了联合优化调度图,并分析了相关电站的蓄放水次序。研究表明:汛前金中、雅砻江梯级水库与金下梯级各水库消落开始次序宜为两河口—龙盘—锦屏一级—二滩—向家坝—白鹤滩—溪洛渡—乌东德,总体消落思路为上游水库优先消落,尽可能的保持下游溪洛渡、乌东德等电站高水位运行,提高流域整体发电效益;汛末各水库蓄水开始次序宜为锦屏一级—龙盘/二滩—两河口—乌东德—白鹤滩/溪洛渡—向家坝,总体蓄水思路为上游水库优先释放防洪库容开始蓄水,减轻下游防洪压力,且来水偏丰年份的蓄水时间相应有所推迟。