淮河流域瓦埠湖流域水体污染研究与现状评价(2011-2015年)

瓦埠湖位于淮河中游南岸,属于淮河流域最大的湖泊.根据2011年8月-2015年12月对瓦埠湖湖区3个监测点位、入（出）湖河流4个监测断面的水质监测数据,选用内梅罗水污染指数法和单因子指数法,以总氮、总磷、铵态氮和高锰酸盐指数为评价指标对瓦埠湖湖区水体和主要入（出）湖河流水质现状进行评价,结果表明：瓦埠湖湖区总体水质状况为轻度污染、Ⅳ类水质,其主要污染源为农业面源污染和生活污染;部分入湖河流受农业氮、磷污染的影响水质较差,其中庄墓河污染情况最为严重.因此,必须加强流域的水环境综合整治工作,控制农业面源污染对流域水环境的影响.     

太湖上游水源区河流水质对景观格局变化的响应关系——以东苕溪上游为例

景观格局演变作为人类活动的综合表征,通过改变水文过程和径流路径,从而影响非点源污染物的发生位置、迁移路径和转化过程,进而对流域水环境产生深刻影响.苕溪作为太湖的主要入湖河流之一,对太湖水环境有着关键的影响作用.本文以发源于杭州市临安区太湖源镇的东苕溪上游区域作为研究对象,在对河流水质进行两个时期监测的基础上,运用相关性分析、冗余分析和逐步回归分析等方法,综合景观组分指数和景观空间配置指数,在子流域尺度上量化景观指数对河流不同水质指标的解释能力,探讨河流水质对流域景观格局的响应规律.结果表明:1)东苕溪上游大部分监测点总氮浓度远超地表水V类水质标准限值,但氨氮和总磷浓度整体较低,部分监测点可达Ⅰ类水质标准.2)在汛期,景观组成中流域的"源"景观比例是影响水质的重要因素,农业用地占比与硝态氮、总氮浓度呈显著正相关,建设用地占比对氨氮、总磷浓度影响显著;而在非汛期,景观配置因子,特别是表征斑块形状的周长—面积分形维数(PAFRAC)对河流水质的影响极显著.3)无论是汛期还是非汛期,林地和草地对河流中污染物均具有显著的削减作用,是流域河流污染防治的关键"汇"景观.4)从整体上来看,河流氮、磷污染与人类活动强度密切相关,增加景观连通性、降低自然景观的破碎化程度可有效改善河流水环境.     

江苏省灌河流域污染特征及污染控制对策

基于2008年江苏省沿海地区灌河流域各城市污染源统计及调查数据,分析灌河流域主要污染物来源构成和污染特征,对污染物入河量进行计算及修正.结果表明:灌河的CODMn入河总量为36944.2 t/a,氨氮入河总量为4366.5 t/a,总氮和总磷入河总量分别为6507.4 t/a、444.6 t/a,各污染源均主要来源于农业污染.同时,针对灌河流域的污染特征,明确各类污染源的治理重点,提出了污染控制对策,为有效保护灌河水环境质量,支撑灌河口和灌河沿线的开发提供依据.     

巢湖流域双桥河底泥疏浚对浮游甲壳动物群落结构的影响

为研究河流底泥疏浚工程对富营养化河流水生生态系统的影响,选取巢湖双桥河开展为期一年的河流生态监测与调查,对比分析了巢湖双桥河疏浚前和疏浚后的水质指标、浮游甲壳动物群落结构及生物多样性指数.研究发现：底泥疏浚后双桥河水质得到明显改善,其中氮、磷营养盐分别削减48.09%和19.09%;底泥疏浚对浮游甲壳动物群落结构影响显著,疏浚后浮游甲壳动物生物量从1.86 mg/L下降到0.25 mg/L,下降了86.40%;疏浚后生物多样性指数高于疏浚前,且受季节影响较大;浮游甲壳动物与水环境因子相关性研究发现：pH、温度、铵态氮、硝态氮、可溶性氮、总氮和氮磷比对浮游甲壳动物总生物量均有极显著影响.研究结果表明,河流底泥疏浚工程能显著削减水体中氮、磷营养盐,并从一定程度上改善河流浮游甲壳动物群落结构,促进河流水生生态系统向健康、安全的方向发展.因此,对于双桥河这种受城市外源污染影响较大的城市污染型河流,在削减外源营养盐特别是氮输入的条件下,实施底泥疏浚工程可以促进其水生生态系统的修复.     

基于四维变分同化法的巢湖流域南淝河水质模拟

针对河流模拟中未知不确定性源对模拟精度的影响,以巢湖流域南淝河为研究对象,建立了基于四维变分同化方法的南淝河干流水质模型,研究了含未知污染源的南淝河水质过程模拟.模型以未知污染负荷的动态变化过程为控制变量,通过同化沿河不同断面的逐日水质监测数据,识别不同河段的逐日入河污染负荷过程来实现水质过程的模拟,改变了常规模型模拟需提前预知并输入污染负荷的应用前提.模拟结果表明,采用四维变分同化方法的水质模拟结果有明显改进,重点河段水质模拟的纳什效率系数从小于0提高到0.5以上.识别的入河污染过程与降雨过程波动总体一致,证实南淝河的入河污染与降雨过程密切;同时,模型也可识别异常的入河负荷,提高模型对水环境问题的诊断分析能力.该方法可推广应用于复杂河流系统,为巢湖等流域污染来源定量解析、水质预测预警及污染管控提供支持.     

新疆艾比湖流域地表水丰水期和枯水期水质分异特征及污染源解析

采用2015年艾比湖流域54个采样点的10个地表水水质指标数据,首先利用水质指数模型(WQI)和地统计学方法对流域水质污染情况进行全局评价,然后利用层次聚类法、判别分析法和因子分析法分析艾比湖流域地表水丰水期和枯水期水质分异特征.在水质时空分异特征研究的基础上,利用主成分回归分析法对艾比湖流域水质进行污染源解析.结果表明:艾比湖流域丰水期WQI值介于38~70之间,枯水期WQI值介于31~71之间,艾比湖流域丰水期的地表水水质污染情况比枯水期严重,而艾比湖、博尔塔拉河和精河靠近艾比湖湖区的河道污染程度均比其他河道严重.由聚类分析和判别分析得出艾比湖流域丰水期和枯水期的水质采样点在空间上均被分成A、B两组,A组包括艾比湖湖区西部、奎屯河、古尔图河和四棵树河,B组包括艾比湖湖区东部、精河和博尔塔拉河.艾比湖流域丰水期和枯水期的水体主要受到化学需氧量、溶解氧、氨氮和悬浮物浓度等指标的影响,B组水质污染指标的值相比于A组的值偏高,B组区域内存在高污染企业,艾比湖流域水环境治理工作需主要集中在B组所包括的艾比湖湖区、博尔塔拉河和精河.(4)艾比湖湖区、精河和博尔塔拉河地表水体的污染主要来自于有机物污染和营养物质污染,其次为工矿业污染;而奎屯河、古尔图河、四棵树河地表水体的污染主要来自于有机物污染,其次为营养物质污染,生物污染的影响较为微弱.该研究结果可为艾比湖流域地表水水环境改善和治理提供一定参考.     

城市富营养化湖泊生态恢复--南京莫愁湖物理生态工程试验

在分析了太湖及其流域所面临的水环境质量问题及其原因基础上,回顾总结了“十五”太湖水环境治理经验,认为源头控制需要长期不懈的努力,太湖流域的湖泊治理要针对太湖平原河网与湖荡水系特色,要重视太湖东部草型湖区生态环境恶化的严重性,必须加强生态修复单项技术间的效应优化和有效集成．根据太湖流域的社会经济发展规划,提出了太湖流域水污染控制技术与水体生态修复工程示范的总体思路是:从污染源头到湖泊出口,依次通过污染源控制、河道截污、湖荡调节、河口净化、湖泊生态修复、出湖疏导等多道防线,有效促使太湖水环境向良性方向转化．在此基础上提出了具体实施建议:全流域污染源削减和太湖水源地典型水域生态修复技术集成与工程示范,同时进行全流域水环境治理强化管理政策与决策支持技术的研究与示范．     

邛海入湖河流水质及其湖区响应特征(2011—2021年)

邛海是云贵高原水域面积>25 km²的11个天然湖泊之一。基于邛海入湖河流与湖区水质监测数据,揭示入湖河流水质特征,并探究其湖区响应。结果表明:2021年,邛海入湖河流水质空间异质性显著,且分为自然型、农业型和城镇型3种类型河流。官坝河等3条自然型河流水质优良,而高仓河等8条城镇型和农业型河流(R4～R11)水质较差,污染物浓度超标严重。2011—2021年,邛海主要入湖河流(官坝河、鹅掌河、小青河)的营养盐浓度呈下降或先增加后下降趋势,水质逐渐改善。流域土地利用变化是导致邛海入湖河流水质空间异质性的主要因素,同时也是河流水质在2011—2021年改善的原因之一。受湖泊水文环境与入湖河流污染类型影响,2017—2021年邛海湖区水环境及其与河流水质响应关系差异性明显:高枧湾水域(L5)水深浅、水环境容量小,主要受纳城镇污水,因而湖区营养盐与叶绿素a浓度高,在2021年达富营养状态;官坝河、鹅掌河与小青河入湖影响区(L1～L3)与小渔村(L4)水域湖水深、水环境容量大,污染物浓度与营养状态指数低,但因汇入的河流污染类型不同,湖区营养水平与河流水质响应存在季节性...     

滇池流域近20年社会经济发展对水环境的影响

滇池是我国著名的高原淡水湖泊,滇池流域是云南省社会经济发展最为活跃的区域.通过对1988-2009年流域社会经济发展和水环境变化情况进行系统调查,分析流域水环境问题的主要影响因素,并在此基础上进行趋势分析.结果表明,近20年来滇池流域人口数量年均增长3.3%,GDP年均增长18%,城市化率提高了17%;伴随着社会经济的快速发展,流域用水总量及污染物排放总量持续增加,由此导致流域主要河流水体水质恶化趋势明显,Ⅴ类水质河流占比增长了近4倍,滇池草海、外海水体水质恶化为劣Ⅴ类,水体水质恶化及湖泊富营养化已成为滇池面临的重要水环境问题,且短期内难以有大的改变.最后从产业结构优化、污水处理系统建设、污水再生利用、农村环境保护、生态补偿机制等方面探讨了解决目前滇池流域水环境问题的主要措施及建议.     

基于改进SWAT模型的灌溉-施肥-耕作对乌梁素海流域营养物负荷及作物产量的影响

不合理的灌溉、施肥和耕作是导致乌梁素海流域农业面源污染的主要根源,乌梁素海作为我国北方地区重要的生态安全屏障,多年来面临着湖泊水环境污染、水生态退化等问题,科学开展湖泊水环境综合治理首先要解决流域内农业面源污染问题. 研究通过修改土壤水平衡、溶质平衡、地下水平衡和作物生长等模块对SWAT 2012原始版本进行改进,并采用改进的SWAT模型构建了乌梁素海流域分布式水文模型,利用实测径流、硝态氮与总磷排放量、地下水埋深以及作物产量校正和验证模型. 基于现状情景,以玉米、葵花和小麦3种主要作物为研究对象,设置了削减灌水量、施肥量及调整耕作方式3种农田管理情景. 基于改进SWAT模型不同情景的模拟结果,计算分析各管理情景下的硝态氮与总磷负荷及对各作物产量的影响. 结果表明,改进SWAT模型具有良好的模拟效果. 不同作物削减5%夏灌水量增产最多达8.41%~10.32%,削减10%秋浇水量均明显减少硝态氮和总磷负荷. 不同作物营养物负荷均随着氮磷施肥削减比例的增大呈现逐渐降低的趋势,但下降曲线逐渐趋于平缓; 各作物产量随氮磷施肥削减比例的增加呈先增加后减少的趋势,其中玉米、小麦氮磷施肥削减比例达20%时产量开始下降,葵花氮磷施肥削减比例达25%时产量开始下降. 不同作物营养物负荷与小麦产量均随耕作方式混合深度与混合效率参数的增大逐渐减小,而玉米和葵花产量则随耕作参数增大逐渐增加. 综合分析,削减5%夏灌水量+削减20%氮磷施肥比例+模板犁耕作组合玉米产量增幅最大达36.5%;削减10%秋浇水量+削减25%氮磷施肥比例+模板犁耕作组合葵花硝态氮负荷降幅最大达42.1%;削减5%夏灌水量+削减20%氮磷施肥比例+免耕组合小麦产量增幅最大达29.1%;而削减5%秋浇水量+削减20%氮磷施肥比例+常规春耕组合小麦硝态氮负荷减少最大达27.2%,总磷负荷减少最大达18.5%. 本研究可为降低流域内面源污染、提高作物产量及减少乌梁素海营养物入湖负荷农业管理措施的实施提供理论依据.     

流域生态学与太湖流域防洪、治污及可持续发展

在评述流域生态学中的水文、湖沼、生态系统、景观、生态经济和生态管理等主要研究内容和复合生态系统、河流连续统、生态交错带、等级系统、格局－尺度－过程、信息系统等概念理论以及流域自然过程、生物功能、系统结构、生态环境、流域生态管理等流域生态学热点问题的基础上,总结分析了太湖流域防洪、治污及可持续发展与流域生态学的关系,指出流域生态学在太湖流域的流域开发、环境治理、区域可持续发展等实践方面起着越来越重要的指导作用,有必要开发深入研究。     

Calibration of paired watersheds: Utility of moving sums in presence of externalities

Historically, paired watershed studies have been used to quantify the hydrological effects of land use and management practices by concurrently monitoring 2 similar watersheds during calibration (pretreatment) and post‐treatment periods. This study characterizes seasonal water table and flow response to rainfall during the calibration period and tests a change detection technique of moving sums of recursive residuals (MOSUM) to select calibration periods for each control–treatment watershed pair when the regression coefficients for daily water table elevation were most stable to minimize regression model uncertainty. The control and treatment watersheds were 1 watershed of 3–4‐year‐old intensely managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) with natural understory, 1 watershed of 3–4‐year‐old loblolly pine intercropped with switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), 1 watershed of 14–15‐year‐old thinned loblolly pine with natural understory (control), and 1 watershed of switchgrass only. The study period spanned from 2009 to 2012. Silvicultural operational practices during this period acted as external factors, potentially shifting hydrologic calibration relationships between control and treatment watersheds. MOSUM results indicated significant changes in regression parameters due to silvicultural operations and were used to identify stable relationships for water table elevation. None of the calibration relationships developed using this method were significantly different from the classical calibration relationship based on published historical data. We attribute that to the similarity of historical and 2010–2012 leaf area index on control and treatment watersheds as moderated by the emergent vegetation. Although the MOSUM approach does not eliminate the need for true calibration data or replace the classic paired watershed approach, our results show that it may be an effective alternative approach when true data are unavailable, as it minimizes the impacts of external disturbances other than the treatment of interest.     

Assessing impacts of agricultural water interventions in the Kothapally watershed,Southern India

The paper describes a hydrological model for agricultural water intervention in a community watershed at Kothapally in India, developed through integrated management and a consortium approach. The impacts of various soil and water management interventions in the watershed are compared to no‐intervention during a 30‐year simulation period by application of the calibrated and validated ARCSWAT 2005 (Version 2.1.4a) modelling tool. Kothapally receives, on average, 800 mm rainfall in the monsoon period. 72% of total rainfall is converted as evaporation and transpiration (ET), 20% is stored by groundwater aquifer, and 8% exported as outflow from the watershed boundary in current water interventions. ET, groundwater recharge and outflow under no‐intervention conditions are found to be 64, 9, and 19%, respectively. Check dams helped in storing water for groundwater recharge, which can be used for irrigation, as well minimising soil loss. In situ water management practices improved the infiltration capacity and water holding capacity of the soil, which resulted in increased water availability by 10–30% and better crop yields compared to no‐intervention. Water outflows from the developed watershed were more than halved compared to no‐intervention, indicating potentially large negative downstream impacts if these systems were to be implemented on a larger scale. On the other hand, in the watershed development program, sediment loads to the streams were less than one‐tenth. It can be concluded that the hydrological impacts of large‐scale implementation of agricultural water interventions are significant. They result in improved rain‐fed agriculture and improved productivity and livelihood of farmers in upland areas while also addressing the issues of poverty, equity, and gender in watersheds. There is a need for case‐specific studies of such hydrological impacts along with other impacts in terms of equity, gender, sustainability, and development at the mesoscale. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrology and water quality in two mountain basins of the northeastern US: assessing baseline conditions and effects of ski area development

Mountain regions throughout the world face intense development pressures associated with recreational and tourism uses. Despite these pressures, much of the research on bio‐geophysical impacts of humans in mountain regions has focused on the effects of natural resource extraction. This paper describes findings from the first 3 years of a study examining high elevation watershed processes in a region undergoing alpine resort development. Our study is designed as a paired‐watershed experiment. The Ranch Brook watershed (9·6 km²) is a relatively pristine, forested watershed and serves as the undeveloped ‘control’ basin. West Branch (11·7 km²) encompasses an existing alpine ski resort, with approximately 17% of the basin occupied by ski trails and impervious surfaces, and an additional 7% slated for clearing and development. Here, we report results for water years 2001–2003 of streamflow and water quality dynamics for these watersheds. Precipitation increases significantly with elevation in the watersheds, and winter precipitation represents 36–46% of annual precipitation. Artificial snowmaking from water within West Branch watershed currently augments annual precipitation by only 3–4%. Water yield in the developed basin exceeded that in the control by 18–36%. Suspended sediment yield was more than two and a half times greater and fluxes of all major solutes were higher in the developed basin. Our study is the first to document the effects of existing ski area development on hydrology and water quality in the northeastern US and will serve as an important baseline for evaluating the effects of planned resort expansion activities in this area. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling the impact of agroforestry on hydrology of Mara River Basin in East Africa

Land‐use change is one of the main drivers of watershed hydrology change. The effect of forestry related land‐use changes (e.g. afforestation, deforestation, agroforestry) on water fluxes depends on climate, watershed characteristics and spatial scale. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was calibrated, validated and used to simulate the impact of agroforestry on the water balance in the Mara River Basin (MRB) in East Africa. Model performance was assessed by Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and Kling–Gupta Efficiency (KGE). The NSE (and KGE) values for calibration and validation were: 0.77 (0.88) and 0.74 (0.85) for the Nyangores sub‐watershed, and 0.78 (0.89) and 0.79 (0.63) for the entire MRB. It was found that agroforestry in the watershed would generally reduce surface runoff, mainly because of enhanced infiltration. However, it would also increase evapotranspiration and consequently reduce baseflow and overall water yield, which was attributed to increased water use by trees. Spatial scale was found to have a significant effect on water balance; the impact of agroforestry was higher at the smaller headwater catchment (Nyangores) than for the larger watershed (entire MRB). However, the rate of change in water yield with an increase in area under agroforestry was different for the two and could be attributed to the spatial variability of climate within the MRB. Our results suggest that direct extrapolation of the findings from a small sub‐catchment to a larger watershed may not always be accurate. These findings could guide watershed managers on the level of trade‐offs that might occur between reduced water yields and other benefits (e.g. soil erosion control, improved soil productivity) offered by agroforestry. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulated soil water storage effects on streamflow generation in a mountainous snowmelt environment,Idaho, USA

Although soil processes affect the timing and amount of streamflow generated from snowmelt, they are often overlooked in estimations of snowmelt‐generated streamflow in the western USA. The use of a soil water balance modelling approach to incorporate the effects of soil processes, in particular soil water storage, on the timing and amount of snowmelt generated streamflow, was investigated. The study was conducted in the Reynolds Mountain East (RME) watershed, a 38 ha, snowmelt‐dominated watershed in southwest Idaho. Snowmelt or rainfall inputs to the soil were determined using a well established snow accumulation and melt model (Isnobal). The soil water balance model was first evaluated at a point scale, using periodic soil water content measurements made over two years at 14 sites. In general, the simulated soil water profiles were in agreement with measurements (P < 0·05) as further indicated by high R² values (mostly > 0·85), y‐intercept values near 0, slopes near 1 and low average differences between measured and modelled values. In addition, observed soil water dynamics were generally consistent with critical model assumptions. Spatially distributed simulations over the watershed for the same two years indicate that streamflow initiation and cessation are closely linked to the overall watershed soil water storage capacity, which acts as a threshold. When soil water storage was below the threshold, streamflow was insensitive to snowmelt inputs, but once the threshold was crossed, the streamflow response was very rapid. At these times there was a relatively high degree of spatial continuity of satiated soils within the watershed. Incorporation of soil water storage effects may improve estimation of the timing and amount of streamflow generated from mountainous watersheds dominated by snowmelt. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太湖流域水环境变化及缘由分析

太湖水环境质量在最近的十年中下降1－2个等级,1990年86．5％的水体为Ⅱ、Ⅲ类,到2000年太湖水体87％Ⅳ类;1990年太湖水体为中－富营养化,2000年太湖水体以富营养化为主,本文通过分析经济社会发展和水环境变化,认为太湖流域工业化与城市化及居民生活水平的提高,吧及不合理的农业生产方式,使水环境面临巨大的压力,环保意识落后、治理能力不足、管理体制不合理是太湖目前水环境恶化的根本原因。     

Effect of watershed subdivision on simulation of water balance components

The present effect of watershed subdivision on simulated water balance components using the thoroughly tested Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model has been evaluated for the Nagwan watershed in eastern India. Observed meteorological and hydrological data (daily rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and runoff) for the years 1995 to 1998 were collected and used. The watershed and sub‐watershed boundaries, slope and soil texture maps were generated using a geographical information system. A supervised classification method was used for land‐use/cover classification from satellite imagery of 1996. In order to study the effect of watershed subdivision, the watershed was spatially defined into three decomposition schemes, namely a single watershed, and 12 and 22 sub‐watersheds. The simulation using the SWAT model was done for a period of 4 years (1995 to 1998). Results of the study showed a perfect water balance for the Nagwan watershed under all of the decomposition schemes. Results also revealed that the number and size of sub‐watersheds do not appreciably affect surface runoff. Except for runoff, there was a marked variation in the individual components of the water balance under the three decomposition schemes. Though the runoff component of the water balance showed negligible variation among the three cases, variations were noticed in the other components: evapotranspiration (5 to 48%), percolation (2 to 26%) and soil water content (0·30 to 22%). Thus, based on this study, it is concluded that watershed subdivision has a significant effect on the water balance components. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple concept for calibrating runoff thresholds in quasi‐distributed variable source area watershed models

Most semi‐distributed watershed water quality models divide the watershed into hydrologic response units (HRU) with no flow among them. This is problematic when watersheds are delineated to include variable source areas (VSAs) because it is the lateral flows from upslope areas to downslope areas that generate VSAs. Although hydrologic modellers have often successfully calibrated these types of models, there can still be considerable uncertainty in model results. In this paper, a topographic‐index‐based method is described and tested to distribute effective soil water holding capacity among HRUs, which can be subsequently adjusted using the watershed baseflow coefficient. The method is tested using a version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model that simulates VSA runoff and is applied to two watersheds: a New York State (NYS) watershed, and one in the head waters of the Blue Nile Basin (BNB) in Ethiopia. Daily streamflow predicted using effective soil water storage capacities based only on the topographic index were reassuringly accurate in both the NYS watershed (daily Nash Sutcliffe (E) = 0·73) and in the BNB (E = 0·70). Using the baseflow coefficient to adjust the effective soil water storage capacity only slightly improved streamflow predictions in NYS (E = 0·75) but substantially improved the BNB predictions (E = 0·80). By comparison, the standard SWAT model, which uses the traditional look‐up tables to determine a runoff curve number, performed considerably less accurately in un‐calibrated form (E = 0·51 for NYS and E = 0·45 for BNB), but improved substantially when explicitly calibrated to streamflow measurements (E = 0·76 for NYS and E = 0·67 for the BNB). The calibration method presented here provides a parsimonious, systematic approach to using established models in VSA watersheds that reduces the ambiguity inherent in model calibration. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How much does dry‐season fog matter? Quantifying fog contributions to water balance in a coastal California watershed

The seasonally‐dry climate of Northern California imposes significant water stress on ecosystems and water resources during the dry summer months. Frequently during summer, the only water inputs occur as non‐rainfall water, in the form of fog and dew. However, due to spatially heterogeneous fog interaction within a watershed, estimating fog water fluxes to understand watershed‐scale hydrologic effects remains challenging. In this study, we characterized the role of coastal fog, a dominant feature of Northern Californian coastal ecosystems, in a San Francisco Peninsula watershed. To monitor fog occurrence, intensity, and spatial extent, we focused on the mechanisms through which fog can affect the water balance: throughfall following canopy interception of fog, soil moisture, streamflow, and meteorological variables. A stratified sampling design was used to capture the watershed's spatial heterogeneities in relation to fog events. We developed a novel spatial averaging scheme to upscale local observations of throughfall inputs and evapotranspiration suppression and make watershed‐scale estimates of fog water fluxes. Inputs from fog water throughfall (10–30 mm/year) and fog suppression of evapotranspiration (125 mm/year) reduced dry‐season water deficits by 25% at watershed scales. Evapotranspiration suppression was much more important for this reduction in water deficit than were direct inputs of fog water. The new upscaling scheme was analyzed to explore the sensitivity of its results to the methodology (data type and interpolation method) employed. This evaluation suggests that our combination of sensors and remote sensing allows an improved incorporation of spatially‐averaged fog fluxes into the water balance than traditional interpolation approaches.