Statistical Analysis of Water Quality Parameters in Seven Major Serbian Rivers during 2004‒2013 Period

Rivers on territory of the Republic of Serbia can be separated to three sea drainage basins: Black, Adriatic and Aegean. Majority of rivers belong to the Black Sea drainage basin. The Danube is the most important river in Serbia and one of the most important rivers of Europe. All rivers investigated in this paper represent direct or indirect tributaries of the Danube River and as that, they are belonging to the Black Sea drainage basin. In this study, the water quality status and the spatial and temporal trends of seven major rivers in Serbia were assessed through the application of ten parameters of Water Quality Index. Ten year (2004–2013) public database of environmental data was used. Into considerations were taken differences between every river individually and difference between sample positions on every single river. Based on the chemical parameters of water quality, it can be seen that the biggest rivers in Serbia show different values of WQ parameters. The highest WQ value is measured on the Drina River, while the lowest value is measured on the Ju?na Morava and the Tisza River. Analyses of parameters per period of year show that there is a statistically significant difference between values during warm and cold periods.     

The impact of environmental factors on the distribution pattern of aquatic plants along the Danube River corridor (Slovakia)

The aim of the study was to evaluate pattern of the aquatic macrophyte species distribution along the Danube fluvial corridor in Slovakia, and to identify the impact of environmental abiotic parameters on macrophyte species diversity. Field sampling was performed in the period 1999–2005 from the boat. Aquatic habitats were divided into 365 survey unit (SU). The survey of aquatic macrophytes and abiotic parameters followed the European standard approach EN 144184 2003. The plant mass estimate (PME – a semi-quantitative estimation of the amount of individual species in a SU, which takes into account three-dimensional development of plant stands) was estimated according to a five-point-scale in each SU; environmental pattern, were assessed over six abiotic parameters (river km, bank type, sediment type, flow velocity class, land-use type, and heavily man-modified water bodies). Altogether, four hydrologic connectivity types of aquatic habitats were distinguished: the Danube River, Open Arms, Separated Arms, and Seepage Water-bodies.

In total, 54 aquatic macrophytes were recorded for the whole data set of the Danube fluvial corridor. The PME data of true aquatic macrophytes and the length of SUs created a basis for numerical derivates, relative plant mass (RPM), mean mass indices (MMT, MMO) and the distribution ratio (d).

The results correspond with comparable studies on this topic: the highest macrophytes species diversity occurred in Separated Arms. On the contrary, macrophytes had the lowest richness in the Danube River main channel, although their diversity was slightly higher in heavily man-modified water bodies (such as the hydropower plant's reservoir and the abandoned main channel of the so-called Old Danube). Our results suggest that the lateral connectivity types of the river water bodies, primarily characterised by different hydrologic dynamics and human impact expressed as land-use types are responsible for the variability of aquatic macrophyte assemblages along the Danube corridor in Slovakia.     

Muskingum equation based downstream sediment flow simulation models for a river system

Applications of sediment transport and water flow characteristics based sediment transport simulation models for a river system are presented in this study. An existing water–sediment model and a new sediment–water model are used to formulate the simulation models representing water and sediment movement in a river system. The sediment–water model parameters account for water flow characteristics embodying sediment transport properties of a section. The models are revised formulations of the multiple water inflows model describing water movement through a river system as given by the Muskingum principle. The models are applied to a river system in Mississippi River basin to estimate downstream sediment concentration, sediment discharge, and water discharge. River system and the river section parameters are estimated using a revised and the original multiple water inflows models by applying the genetic algorithm. The models estimate downstream sediment transport rates on the basis of upstream sediment/water flow rates to a system. Model performance is evaluated by using standard statistical criteria;downstream water discharge resulting from the original multiple water inflows model using the estimated river system parameters indicate that the revised models satisfactorily describe water movement through a river system. Results obtained in the study demonstrate the applicability of the sediment transport and water flow characteristics-based simulation models in predicting downstream sediment transport and water flow rates in a river system.     

The current state of the Ingoda River ecosystem (Eastern Transbaikalia)

The current state of the Ingoda River ecosystem is assessed. The orographic features, economic development, the structure of aquatic organism communities, and water quality allow the authors to substantiate the division of the river ecosystem into four areas for more sound water management. General estimation of the Ingoda water quality in different sites have shown that the river’s water is clearing its upper reaches, moderately polluted upstream of Chita, heavily polluted downstream of the city, and polluted downstream of Karymskaya Station.     

The European research project on reed die-back and progression (EUREED)

Reeds (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel) are dying back at a fast rate in sizeable areas of Europe, with significant impacts on important wetland functions (biodiversity, stability of river and lake margins, water quality) and local economy. EUREED is a European strategic fundamental research initiative that aims at analyzing the mechanisms which control the growth dynamics and stability of reed-dominated ecosystems, at modelling and predicting how the ecosystem is disturbed by human activities and climate change, and at developing remedial management options. Expected achievements include (i) assessment of the functional role of reed-dominated ecotones as nutrient accumulators and transformers and as sources for atmospheric greenhouse gases, (ii) an ecosystem model capable of predicting future changes in ecosystem functioning in relation to climatic conditions, trophic status and water table management, (iii) assessment of genetic diversity of reed populations and its relation to die-back, and (iv) development of management tools, including preventative and restorative measures in relation to die-back. The project is carried out by research groups with complimentary skills and expertise from nine European countries. A reference study site is selected in each country as the basis for the field studies. The reference sites cover boreal-mediterranean and oceanic-continental climatic gradients, and the observational and experimental studies at these sites will permit interpolation between sites and extrapolation of results to the European scale.     

山溪性城市河流水环境综合整治体系研究

分析了山溪性城市河流水环境特征及其存在的问题,提出了水安全、水环境、水景观、水文化和水经济五位一体的综合整治模式,并阐明了其综合整治的具体内容.最后以丽水市内河水环境建设工程为例,详细介绍了山溪性城市河流的防洪排涝、供水、生态用水及水质安全的保障系统、水环境保护方案、水景观和水文化建设体系及水经济开发方案,为山溪性城市水环境的综合整治提供了借鉴.     

一种水污染的综合控制模型

本文将水质预测及水污染控制措施有机地结合,选取水环境容量和污染指数作为水污染控制的参数,这样,一给对流－扩散水质方程的求解除就是实现本研究目的的关键,本研究彩和的模型在现有的水质模型基础上有所改进,因为其采用四点隐格式对水质进行预测,推求可接给污染物的环境容量值有为保证水质而陷定的污染物浓度值,从而制定相应的水污染控制措施,为整体考虑各种污染物的情况,建议彩和河流的污染指数进而推求综合污染指数,总之,本研究为水质保护提供了科学的计算方法,该法对水污染及污水对河道水质的影响是实用有效的。     

Extreme hydrological events in the Danube River basin over the last decades

The article discusses the considerable changes in hydrometeorological conditions that occurred in the Danube River basin over the period from the late XX century to the early XXI century. Mention is made of the air and water temperature rise, softening of ice conditions, and, above all, the noticeable increase in the river water runoff. Particular attention is given to the recent extreme hydrological events in the Danube River basin: the disastrous rainfall flood that occurred in August 2002, the extremely high spring-summer floods in 2006 and 2010, and the extraordinary low-flow period in summer 2003. The meteorological reasons for these events have been analyzed. Specific features in the development and transformation of flood waves along the Danube River are discussed in detail, including the impact of the Iron Gate-1 Reservoir on these processes.     

Analysis of flood propagation changes in the Kienstock—Bratislava reach of the Danube River/Analyse des changements de propagation des crues dans le tronçon Kienstock—Bratislava du Fleuve Danube

Abstract

In the first part of this study, a flood wave transformation analysis for the largest historical floods in the Danube River reach Kienstock–Bratislava was carried out. For the simulation of the historical (1899 and 1954) flood propagation, the nonlinear river model NLN-Danube (calibrated on the recent river reach conditions) was used. It was shown that the simulated peak discharges were not changed significantly when compared to their historical counterparts. However, the simulated hydrographs exhibit a significant acceleration of the flood wave movement at discharges of between 5000 and 9000 m³ s^-1. In the second part, the travel time-water level relationships between Kienstock and Bratislava were analysed on a dataset of the flood peak water levels for the period 1991–2002. An empirical regression routing scheme for the Danube short-term water level forecast at Bratislava station was derived. This is based on the measured water level at Kienstock gauging station.     

A water quality model for the Tigris River downstream of Sadam Dam,Iraq

Abstract

The present work describes the development and calibration of a mathematical model for the Tigris River downstream of Sadam Dam. The river stretch studied is 75 km long extending from the Sadam Dam to Mosul city. The field work was conducted during the period from July to September 1986. Water samples were collected bimonthly from specified sampling points. The model simulates river assimilation capacity for a variety of water quality parameters by performing the numerical solution of a set of differential equations representing the aquatic system under steady state conditions. Generally, a noticeable increase in the concentrations of water quality parameters arising from water impoundment was observed. A good agreement was found between measured and simulated concentrations of water quality parameters. However, discrepancies noticed during model calibration were attributed to the assumptions adopted in the model formulation, to lack of field data, and to exclusion of some variables in model building.     

River basin management, Bulgarian case study

The master plans for the management of river basins have been elaborated. The territory of Bulgaria is divided into four main hydrological zones - Danube, Black Sea, East and West Mediterranean hydrological zones. The rivers from Danube zone discharged directly to the Danube river, the North boundary of the country. All rivers from the eastern part of Bulgaria discharged directly to the Black Sea. The rivers from East and West Mediterranean hydrological zones discharged to Mediterranean Sea after flowing trough Greece and/or Turkey. The main river basins in Bulgaria were subjects to the evaluation of master plans.During the elaboration of the master plans the following elements have been investigated:

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Demographical characteristics of the stakeholders in the river basin.

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Economical overview of the stakeholders.

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Estimation of surface water availabilities and resources; Water quantity.

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Groundwater overview and estimation of available groundwater resources.

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Water quality of surface and ground water; sediment load.

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Estimation of water use for domestic, irrational, agricultural and industrial water supply.

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Ecosystems in the river basin; Tundja river basin ecosystems.

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Master Plans elaboration for 2010.

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Water balance calculations for 1998 and 2010.

The aim of this paper is to present an overview of Tundja river basin management. Tundja is one of the biggest tributaries of Mariza river and it is join it in the territory of Turkey. The basin belongs to the East Mediterranean hydrological zone. The hydrological investigations and estimations of natural river flow along the main river body and it’s tributaries will be discussed in details. The calculations concern 1961-2004 study period. Long-term assessment has been performed. The characteristics of the monthly, annual, minimum and maximum river discharges have been obtained.     

Entropy principles in the prediction of water quality values at discontinued monitoring stations

A new methodology for predicting water quality values at discontinued water quality monitoring stations is proposed. The method is based upon the Principle of Maximum Entropy (POME) and provides unbiased predictions of water quality levels at upstream tributaries and on the mainstem of a river given observed changes in the distribution of the same water quality parameter at a downstream location. Changes in the values of water quality parameters which are known a priori to have occurred upstream, but which are not sufficiently large to account for all the observed change in the same water quality parameter at the downstream location are able to be incorporated in the method through the introduction of a new term in the basic entropy expression. Application of the procedure to water quality monitoring on the Mackenzie River in Queensland, Australia indicates the method has considerable potential for prediction of water quality at discontinued stations. The method also has potential for identifying the location of causes of observed changes in water quality at a downstream station.     

Entropy principles in the prediction of water quality values at discontinued monitoring stations

A new methodology for predicting water quality values at discontinued water quality monitoring stations is proposed. The method is based upon the Principle of Maximum Entropy (POME) and provides unbiased predictions of water quality levels at upstream tributaries and on the mainstem of a river given observed changes in the distribution of the same water quality parameter at a downstream location. Changes in the values of water quality parameters which are known a priori to have occurred upstream, but which are not sufficiently large to account for all the observed change in the same water quality parameter at the downstream location are able to be incorporated in the method through the introduction of a new term in the basic entropy expression. Application of the procedure to water quality monitoring on the Mackenzie River in Queensland, Australia indicates the method has considerable potential for prediction of water quality at discontinued stations. The method also has potential for identifying the location of causes of observed changes in water quality at a downstream station.     

Integrating water management,habitat modelling and water quality at the basin scale and environmental flow assessment: case study of the Tormes River,Spain

Abstract

Multidisciplinary models are useful for integrating different disciplines when addressing water planning and management problems. We combine water resources management, water quality and habitat analysis tools that were developed with the decision support system AQUATOOL at the basin scale. The water management model solves the allocation problem through network flow optimization and considers the environmental flows in some river stretches. Once volumes and flows are estimated, the water quality model is applied. Furthermore, the flows are evaluated from an ecological perspective using time series of aquatic species habitat indicators. This approach was applied in the Tormes River Water System, where agricultural demands jeopardize the environmental needs of the river ecosystem. Additionally, water quality problems in the lower part of the river result from wastewater loading and agricultural pollution. Our methodological framework can be used to define water management rules that maintain water supply, aquatic ecosystem and legal standards of water quality. The integration of ecological and water management criteria in a software platform with objective criteria and heuristic optimization procedures allows realistic assessment and application of environmental flows to be made. Here, we improve the general methodological framework by assessing the hydrological alteration of selected environmental flow regime scenarios.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Guest editor M. Acreman

Citation Paredes-Arquiola, J., Solera, A., Martinez-Capel, F., Momblanch, A., and Andreu, J., 2014. Integrating water management, habitat modelling and water quality at the basin scale and environmental flow assessment: case study of the Tormes River, Spain. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 878–889.     

A review of ecological restoration techniques in fluvial rivers

Rivers play an important role in people's living and agricultural production, however, intense human activities have broken the original ecological balance, and affected structures and functions of the river ecosystem. To restore the damaged river ecosystem back to a healthy status, effective ecological restoration measures need to be implemented. The main problems that the damaged rivers face are either the locally altered hydrological processes affected by construction of hydraulic facilities, or the deterioration of water quality resulted from pollution emissions, or both. In this study, ecological restoration techniques of the rivers affected by engineering control or pollution are reviewed respec-tively. In addition, three kinds of methods, i.e. physical, chemical and biological–ecological methods are introduced in details for the rivers affected by water pollution. At present, the development of river restoration techniques shows the following trends: 1) the scale of ecological restoration is becoming larger; 2) ecological restoration measures are required to meet multiple objectives; and 3) the man-agement of water environment is changing from water quality management to aquatic ecosystem management.     

Long-term trends of physical, chemical and biological variables in the River Danube 1957–1995: A statistical approach

: A 39-year series (1957 – 1995) of data on fourteen physical, chemical and biological variables from the Austrian section of the River Danube west of Vienna – Nußdorf was analysed statistically to detect long-term trends of the variables in relation to human activities (represented by time), discharge and water temperature. ¶ Principal component analysis distinguished four main components explaining 72 % of the total variance: PC1 contains total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, ammonium and potassium permanganate values, PC2 contains nitrate-N, chloride and oxygen, PC3 contains BOD5 and nitrite-N, and PC4 contains numbers of bacteria. Trends in time were most pronounced for variables in PC1, but also occurred in PC2; variables in PC3 and PC4 had no trends. Seasonal patterns were marked for variables in PC2, slightly less in PC1, and least in PC3 and PC4. Concentrations were minimal in summer and maximal in winter, inversely related to discharge (maximal in summer). Following reductions in point-source nutrient inputs to the Danube, in both Germany and Austria, mean concentrations in the river have fallen by at least half since the 1980s. Chloride and nitrate-N also show trends towards lower concentrations. The Danube is well-oxygenated, with concentrations near air saturation values.¶ A mathematical relationship between concentrations of the variables and river discharge (Q), water temperature (T) and time (t), was established to determine mean trends and predictions against a background of considerable seasonal and stochastic variability; for the single variables Q explained 0 – 20 % and T explained 2 – 58 % of the variation in the concentrations. The relationship was highest for variables in PC2 and lowest for those in PC3 and PC4, where Q and T had little or no influence.¶ Reasons for rising and falling long-term trends with time are discussed in detail. Austria now contributes only minor proportions to the nutrient load of the Danube, which is causing eutrophication of the Black Sea downstream, and water quality of the Austrian section of the river is good.¶ The advantages and problems of statistical process analysis are discussed in relation to environmental monitoring programs and the different specific requirements of compliance monitoring.     

WATERSHED CONSIDERATIONS FOR INTEGRATED STREAM MODELING

lINTRoDUCTIONAbroadobjectiveofcooperativeresearchattheNorthwestWatershedResearchCenterandEco-HydraulicsResearchGroupistodevelopdetailedunderstandingofthetemporalandspatialvariabilityofstreamflow,sedimentandwaterquaIityconstituentsinacontinuumfromheadwatersthroughestuaries.Thispaperpresentsselectedaspectsofourongoingresearch,focusedonstreamsystemsinsemi-arid,uplandrangelandwatersheds.Publicawarenessoftheroleofriversinregionalecologicalsystems,andconcernforpreserving,enhancingandrestorin…     

A dynamic riparian forest structure model for predicting large wood inputs to meandering rivers

Fluvial processes strongly influence riparian forests through rapid and predictable shifts in dominant species, tree density and size that occur in the decades following large floods. Modelling riparian forest characteristics based on the age and evolution of floodplains is useful in predicting ecosystem functions that depend on the size and density of trees, including large wood delivered to river channels, forest biomass and habitat quality. We developed a dynamic model of riparian forest structure that predicts changes in tree size and density using floodplain age derived from air photos and historical maps. Using field data and a riparian forest chronosequence for the 160-km middle reach of the Sacramento River (California, USA), we fit Weibull diameter distributions with time-varying parameters to the empirical data. Species were stratified into early and late successional groups, each with time-varying functions of tree density and diameter distributions. From these, we modelled how the number and size of trees in a stand changed throughout forest succession, and evaluated the goodness-of-fit of model predictions. Model outputs for the early successional group, composed primarily of cottonwoods and willows, accounted for most of the stand basal area and large trees >10 cm DBH for the first 50 years. Post-pioneer species with slower growth had initially low densities that increased slowly from the time of floodplain creation. Within the first 100 years, early successional trees contributed the most large wood that could influence fluvial processes, carbon storage, and instream habitat. We applied the model to evaluate the potential large wood inputs to the middle Sacramento River under a range of historical bank migration rates. Going forward, this modelling approach can be used to predict how riparian forest structure and other ecosystem benefits such as carbon sequestration and habitat quality respond to different river management and restoration actions.