Non‐point source pollution modelling using Soil and Water Assessment Tool and its parameter sensitivity analysis in Xin'anjiang catchment,China

Non‐point source pollution is a key issue in integrated river basin management around the world and has resulted in water contamination, aquatic ecology deterioration and eutrophication. Xin'anjiang catchment is the key drinking water source area for Hangzhou City, China. A promising model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) was applied to assess the non‐point source pollution and its effect on drinking water. Sensitivity analysis of model parameters was carried out using the Sequential Uncertainty Domain Parameter Fitting 2 sensitivity technique. Water discharge, sediment, total nitrogen and total phosphorus load processes from 2000 to 2010 were simulated, and the spatial distributions of non‐point source pollutants were evaluated at the catchment and administrative country levels. The results show that the hydrological parameters of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool were dominantly sensitive for non‐point source pollution simulation, including CN2, RCHRG_DP, ALPHA_BF, SOL_AWC, ESCO and SOL_K and the characteristic parameters of sub‐basins (viz. HRU_SLP and SLSUBBSN). Also, water quality parameters (viz. CH_EROD, NPERCO, RSDCO and PPERCO, PHOSKD, etc.) have a significant effect on nutrients. The model performance was very satisfactory, especially for runoff, sediment and total phosphorus simulation. The non‐point source pollutant load increased from 2001 to 2010 in the whole catchment. Total nitrogen load increased from 3428 tons (0.59 ton km^?2) to 7315 tons (1.25 ton km^?2), and total phosphorus load increased from 299 tons (0.05 ton km^?2) to 867 tons (0.15 ton km^?2). The contribution of rice land was the largest, accounting for nearly 95%, followed by tea garden (3.56%), winter wheat (1.37%), forest (0.07%) and grassland (0.02%). Moreover, She County and Xiuning County contributed more than half of the non‐point source pollutants. This study was expected to provide a method and reference for non‐point source pollution quantification and to support water quality management implementation in China. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于熵值环境基尼系数法的平原河网区污染物总量分配

为制定科学合理的水污染物总量控制方案,以典型平原河网地区——张家港市为例,构建与人口、资源、经济和水污染物承受能力相协调的单因子环境基尼系数模型,并通过贡献系数判断引起不公平的主要污染物分配单元.利用熵值—环境基尼系数最小化模型,确定张家港市各乡镇基于多元公平性原则的氨氮总量分配方案.结果表明:在水污染物总量分配过程中,污染物削减比例的大小和污染物现状排放量之间并不具有一致性,最终的分配方案要综合考虑多方因素确定.本研究构建的熵值—环境基尼系数最小化模型综合考虑了研究区域社会、经济、资源等多种客观因素,对于平原河网地区,由于其特殊的地理位置和自然条件,人口、资源等分布相对比较均匀,故基于该模型所得到的分配方案充分表现了多元公平性原则,更公平合理.     

Pollution Source Investigation and Water Quality Management in the Carp Lake Watershed,Taiwan

In this study, a full survey of pollutant sources and water quality was conducted, followed by the application of a water quality model (Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program, WASP) to establish strategies of water quality control in Carp Lake, Taiwan. Results of the field investigation show that both point and non‐point source (NPS) pollutants were responsible for the poor water quality. The contributions of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from point source and NPS pollution were 45.9 and 55.1%, respectively. About 80% of total phosphorus (TP) were contributed by NPS. Additionally, point source and NPS pollution discharged 55.5 and 44.5% of NH₃–N load, respectively. The Carlson's Trophic State Index ranged from 61.9 to 69.2 showing serious eutrophic problems in Carp Lake. The calculated BOD, NH₃–N, and TP carrying capacity were approximately 2.8, 0.42, and 0.15 kg per day, respectively. However, the current pollutant loadings are approximately 3.0–5.5 times the calculated carrying capacity. With the help of the calibrated WASP model, remedial strategies for the lake water from short‐term to long‐term were developed. The completion of the small local sewer system to remove 80% of the point source pollution can serve as a short‐term goal while 40–60% of NPS removal by natural treatment systems may serve as a mid‐term goal. Furthermore, 80% of both source point and NPS pollution removal can be considered as a long‐term strategy. Results of heavy metal analysis show that the enriched sediment would be safe for agricultural applications.     

STUDY ON THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF HEAVY－METAL POLLUTANT TRANSPOPT－TRANSFORMATION IN RIVERS

ＳＴＵＤＹＯＮＴＨＥＭＡＴＨＥＭＡＴＩＣＡＬＭＯＤＥＬＯＦＨＥＡＶＹ－ＭＥＴＡＬＰＯＬＬＵＴＡＮＴＴＲＡＮＳＰＯＰＴ－ＴＲＡＮＳＦＯＲＭＡＴＩＯＮＩＮＲＩＶＥＲＳ￥Ｓｕｉ－ｌｉａｎｇＨｕａｎｇａｎｄＺｈａｏ－ｈｕｉＷａｎ（ＰｏｓｔｄｏｃｔｏｒａｌＦｅ...     

河道入湖污染物量计算精度分析

入湖污染物量计算精度的高低决定入湖污染物量分析结果的客观性和准确性.本文以太湖为例,分析2010年环太湖河道入湖污染物量、时空分布情况及多年环太湖河道入湖染污物量变化情势.在此基础上,使用现在已有监测条件分析时段内每日水量水质监测数据计算逐日入湖污染物量时段累积值,并以此作为现有分析计算河道入湖污染物量的最高计算精度值.通过设定不同监测方案、采用不同计算方法分析河道入湖污染物量及其计算精度,认为现有分析计算的河道入湖污染物量已是每日河道水量水质同步监测下河道入湖污染物量的80%左右.针对河道入湖污染物量计算精度的分析可为制定科学的河道入湖污染量监测方案、提高河道入湖污染物量计算精度提供技术支撑.     

Effect of best management practice implementation on sediment and phosphorus load reductions at subwatershed and watershed scale using SWAT model

Identification of areas contributing disproportionately high amount of pollutants (i.e., critical source areas (CSAs)) to streams is important to efficiently and effectively target best management practices (BMPs). Process-based models are commonly used to identify CSAs and evaluate the impact of alternative management practices on pollutant load reductions. The objective of this study was to use the Soil and Watershed Assessment Tool (SWAT) to identify CSAs at the subwatershed level and evaluate the impact of alternative BMPs on sediment and total phosphorus (TP) load reductions in the Pleasant Valley watershed (50 km2) in South Central Wisconsin (USA). The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, percent bias, and coefficient of determination ranged from 0.58 to 0.71, ? 12.87 to 38.33, and 0.67 to 0.79, respectively, indicating that SWAT was able to predict stream flow, sediment and TP loadings at a monthly time-step with sufficient accuracy. Based on the SWAT simulation results, annual average (2006–2012) sub-watershed yield for sediment and TP ranged from 0.06 to 3.14 tons ha?1 yr?1 and 0.04 to 1.9 kg ha ? 1 yr ? 1, respectively. The croplands were the major source of sediment and TP in this watershed ( Z 84%). Reduction in sediment and TP loading ranged from 66%to 99%at the subwatershed level after conversion of croplands to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands in subwatersheds identified as CSAs. On the other hand, reduction in sediment and TP loading with implementation of no-till practices ranged from only 14%to 25%. At the watershed outlet, sediment and TP loading reduction was r 15% after conversion of croplands to CRP grasslands and implementation of no-till practices because only about 8%of the watershed area was targeted for BMPs and/or resuspension of sediment deposited on the stream bed masked the downstream improvements in water quality.     

Agricultural lands are hot-spots for annual runoff polluting the southern Great Barrier Reef lagoon

The world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), continues to be degraded from land-based pollution. Information about the source of pollutants is critical for catchment management to improve GBR water quality. We report here on an 11-year source to sea study of pollutant delivery in runoff from the Fitzroy River Basin (FRB), the largest GBR catchment. An innovative technique that relates land use to pollutant generation is presented. Study results indicate that maximum pollutant concentrations at basin and sub-catchment scales are closely related to the percentage area of croplands receiving heavy rain. However, grazing lands contribute the majority of the long-term average annual load of most common pollutants. Findings suggest improved land management targets, rather than water quality targets should be implemented to reduce GBR pollution. This study provides a substantial contribution to the knowledge base for the targeted management of pollution ‘hot-spots’ to improve GBR water quality.     

Analysis of the sediment sources of flood driven erosion and deposition in the river channel of the Fu River Basin

Studying the characteristics of runoff and sediment processes and revealing the sources of sediment provide key guidance for the scientific formulation of relevant soil erosion protection measures and water conservancy development plans. In the current study, the flow and sediment data of five hydrological stations on the main stream of the Fu River Basin (FRB) from 2007 to 2018 were selected to identify flood events, explore the variation of sediment transport along the FRB, and clarify the sediment sources. The results found that the Jiangyou–Fujiangqiao section is the main source of sediment in the FRB during the flood season. The runoff volume and sediment load during flood events in the Jiangyou–Fujiangqiao section accounted for 35% and 145% respectively of that of Xiaoheba station. These results combined with the change of the sediment load before and after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake (May 12) show that the sediment in this section mainly comes from the Fu River tributary–the Tongkou River watershed. The calculation results for the sediment carrying capacity of the Fu River show that the main stream was in a state of erosion in theory. However, according to the calculation results for the interval sediment yield during flood events, the sediment load at the Xiaoheba station was smaller than that at the Shehong station upstream. The analysis indicates that this was not because of sediment deposition in the river channel, but because of sand mining in the river channel and sediment interception by water conservancy projects. If heavy rainfall occurs in the FRB, the sediment accumulated upstream will move downstream with the resulting flood, and the sediment yield in the FRB may further increase. These research conclusions can provide reference information for improving the prediction and management ability of soil and water loss in the FRB and scientific regulation of the Three Gorges Reservoir.     

The responses of hydrological processes and sediment yield to land‐use and climate change in the Be River Catchment,Vietnam

In this study, we investigated the responses of hydrology and sediment yield with impacts of land‐use and climate change scenarios in the Be River Catchment, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model. The calibration and validation results indicated that the SWAT model is a powerful tool for simulating the impact of environmental change on hydrology and sediment yield in this catchment. The hydrologic and sediment yield responses to land‐use and climate changes were simulated based on the calibrated model. The results indicated that a 16.3% decrease in forest land is likely to increase streamflow (0.2 to 0.4%), sediment load (1.8 to 3.0%), and surface runoff (SURQ) (4.8 to 10.7%) and to decrease groundwater discharge (GW_Q) (3.5 to 7.9%). Climate change in the catchment leads to decreases in streamflow (0.7 to 6.9%) and GW_Q (3.0 to 8.4%), increase in evapotranspiration (0.5 to 2.9%), and changes in SURQ (?5.3 to 2.3%) and sediment load (?5.3 to 4.4%). The combined impacts of land‐use and climate changes decrease streamflow (2.0 to 3.9%) and GW_Q (12.3 to 14.0%), increase evapotranspiration (0.7 to 2.8%), SURQ (8.2 to 12.4%), and sediment load (2.0 to 7.9%). In general, the separate impacts of climate and land‐use changes on streamflow, sediment load, and water balance components are offset each other. However, SURQ and some component of subsurface flow are more sensitive to land‐use change than to climate change. Furthermore, the results emphasized water scarcity during the dry season and increased soil erosion during the wet season. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical and experimental study on dissolved pollutant wash‐off over impervious surfaces

Non‐point source pollution in the impervious surface of city, which including dissolved and particulate pollutants, is a significant source of water pollution. Simple first‐order decay models can generally simulate the cumulative wash‐off process of the particulate pollutants. There is inadequate knowledge as to whether or not they are suitable for dissolved pollutants. This study presents a mathematical wash‐off model for dissolved pollutants, which combines analytical equations for overland flows and the exponential equation for the pollutant wash‐off. A series of laboratory experiments have been conducted to verify this wash‐off model. It shows that the pollutant concentration and pollutant transport rate can be predicted well by the newly developed equations. It is found that the pollutant concentration monotonically decreases to zero as the accumulated pollutants are washed off, whereas the pollutant transport rate first increases to the maximum value and then decreases to zero. The maximum pollutant transport rate is found to increase with the decrease of the arrival time of the maximum value. The difference between the simplified exponential model and the amended wash‐off equation depends on the initial residual percentage (P_c), but the present equation generally provides a more accurate representation of the wash‐off process of dissolved pollutants.     

SIMULATIONS OF SEDIMENT YIELD AND PHOSPHORUS YIELD FROM A WATERSHED IN TAIWAN, CHINA

1 INTRODUCTION Sediment and nutrients from a watershed may adversely affect a downstream reservoir by reducing its capacity or degrading water quality. Among the output nutrients, phosphorus is often a growth-limiting element for aquatic organisms and pla…     

滆湖氮、磷平衡研究

通过１９９２￣１９９３年千岛湖水质、底质、生物和污染源调查,对其水环境质量和污染物输入作了综合评价。结果表明,千岛湖水质状况良好;但局部水域水质污染逐年加重,湖泊已属中营养状态。非点源输入量占入湖污染总量的９５％,其中５０％来自上游安徽来水。建立了对流扩散模型并进行水质预测,提出了千岛湖水环境保护对策。     

降雨动态系统响应曲线修正方法在黄土区域水沙模拟中的应用

采用水沙模型对流域水沙过程进行计算是目前分析和研究黄土地区水土流失、水沙锐减等问题的有效途径由于降雨的时段均化和缺测、漏测、误测等问题,导致水沙模型的重要输入项和动力因子——降雨资料存在误差,进而影响水流和泥沙过程模拟精度因此,本研究将降雨动态系统响应曲线的误差修正方法与概念性水沙模拟模型相结合以提高水沙过程模拟精度此方法将水沙模型的水流模拟部分看作响应系统,通过修正水沙模型的重要输入项——面平均雨量,利用修正之后的面平均雨量系列,通过模型重新计算以提高模型对产汇流和产汇沙过程的模拟精度通过理想案例验证该方法可行性后,选择黄土地区曹坪流域进行检验,结果表明修正后的水流和泥沙过程模拟精度均有显著提高,平均提高幅度分别为17.56%和15.86%.     

Accuracy and precision of methods for estimating river loads

River loads often have to be estimated from continuous discharge data but relatively infrequent sampling of sediment, solute, or pollutant concentrations. Two standard ways of doing this are to multiply mean concentration by mean discharge, and to use a rating curve to predict unmeasured concentrations. Both methods are known from previous empirical studies to underestimate true load. Statistical considerations explain these biases and yield correction factors which can be used to obtain unbiased estimates of load. Simulation experiments with normally-distributed scatter about log-linear trends, and sampling experiments using a natural data set, show that the corrected rating curve method has lower sampling variability than other unbiased methods based on average instantaneous load and is thus the recommended procedure when the rating plot is of the assumed form. The precision of all methods increases with sample size and decreases with increasing rating-curve slope and scatter.     

Interannual variation of suspended sediment load and sediment yield in an alpine catchment

Abstract

The results are described of 16 years operation of a measuring station for the automatic recording of water discharge, bed load and suspended sediment transport in the Rio Cordon catchment, a small alpine basin (5 km²) located in northeastern Italy. Hillslope erosion processes were investigated by surveying individual sediment sources repeatedly. Annual and seasonal variations of suspended sediment load during the period 1986–2001 are analysed along with their contribution to the total sediment yield. The results show that suspended load accounted for 76% of total load and that most of the suspended sediment transport occurred during two flood events: an extreme summer flash flood in September 1994 (27% of the 16-years total suspended load) and a snowmelt-induced event in May 2001 accompanied by a mud flow which fed the stream with sediments. The role of active sediment source areas is discussed in relation to the changes in flood peak—suspended load trends which became apparent after both the 1994 and the 2001 events.     

Factors controlling sediment yield in a major South American drainage basin: the Magdalena River,Colombia

The Magdalena River, a major fluvial system draining most of the Colombian Andes, has the highest sediment yield of any medium-sized or large river in South America. We examined sediment yield and its response to control variables in the Magdalena drainage basin based on a multi-year dataset of sediment loads from 32 tributary catchments. Various morphometric, hydrologic, and climatic variables were estimated in order to understand and predict the variation in sediment yield. Sediment yield varies from 128 to 2200 t km⁻² yr⁻¹ for catchments ranging from 320 to 59,600 km². The mean sediment yield for 32 sub-basins within the Magdalena basin is ∼690 t km⁻² yr⁻¹. Mean annual runoff is the dominant control and explains 51% of the observed variance in sediment yield. A multiple regression model, including two control variables, runoff and maximum water discharge, explains 58% of the variance. This model is efficient (ME=0.89) and is a valuable tool for predicting total sediment yield from tributary catchments in the Magdalena basin. Multiple correlations for those basins corresponding to the upper Magdalena, middle basin, Eastern Cordillera, and catchment areas greater than 2000 km², explain 75, 77, 89, and 78% of the variance in sediment yield, respectively. Although more variance is explained when dataset are grouped into categories, the models are less efficient (ME<0.72). Within the spatially distributed models, six catchment variables predict sediment yield, including runoff, precipitation, precipitation peakedness, mean elevation, mean water discharge, and relief. These estimators are related to the relative importance of climate and weathering, hillslope erosion, and fluvial transport processes. Time series analysis indicates that significant increases in sediment load have occurred over 68% of the catchment area, while 31% have experienced a decreasing trend in sediment load and thus yield. Land use analysis and increasing sediment load trends indicate that erosion within the catchment has increased over the last 10–20 years.     

Stochastic modelling of dispersion in shallow water

A random walk model to describe the dispersion of pollutants in shallow water is developed. By deriving the Fokker-Planck equation, the model is shown to be consistent with the two-dimensional advection-diffusion equation with space-varying dispersion coefficient and water depth. To improve the behaviour of the model shortly after the deployment of the pollutant, a random flight model is developed too. It is shown that over long simulation periods, this model is again consistent with the advection-diffusion equation. The various numerical aspects of the implementation of the stochastic models are discussed and finally a realistic application to predict the dispersion of a pollutant in the Eastern Scheldt estuary is described.     

太湖地区西苕溪流域营养盐污染负荷结构分析

污染负荷研究是实施污染物总量控制、保护水质的基础,由于非点源污染一直是水环境研究的一个难题,致使河流污染负荷估算缺乏合理的估算方法.本项研究针对太湖的富营养化问题,选取太湖上游西苕溪流域,采用GIS的流域分析方法,选取单一土地利用类型的小流域,分析流域土地类型与径流量及流域出口浓度的统计关系,获取不同土地利用类型营养盐污染的产出率,合理估算了西苕溪流域的非点源营养盐污染负荷,并根据西苕溪流域社会经济统计数据及已有的污染产出率研究成果,估算了西苕溪的点源营养盐污染负荷,在此基础上估算了西苕溪流域的营养盐污染总负荷量,分析了不同污染源在总负荷量的比例.最后通过比较估算的总负荷量与实测负荷量,计算了西苕溪流域河网体系对营养盐的降解能力.研究得出, 林地产出径流浓度总氮0.715mg/L、总磷0.039mg/L,耕地产出径流浓度总氮为2.092mg/L, 总磷0.166mg/L,西苕溪流域总氮负荷量为3143.43t/a,非点源污染负荷量为1589.52t/a;总磷负荷量为226.32t/a,非点源为108.36t/a,西苕溪流域河网体系对总氮、总磷的年降解率分别为 35.39%、21.48%.     

Modelling the effects of climatic and hydrological regime changes on the sediment dynamics of the Fraser River Basin,British Columbia,Canada

Future sediment dynamics may be affected by changing climates or hydrological regimes because of the close link between hydrology and sediment erosion, deposition, and transport. Previously, investigations of these potential changes have been constrained by a combination of limited observational data, hydrological drivers, and appropriate mechanistic models. Additionally, there is often ambiguity regarding how to disentangle the impacts of climate and hydrology from direct human factors such as reservoirs and land‐use change, which often exert more control over sediment dynamics. In this study, we utilize a recently developed, large‐scale, distributed, mechanistic sediment transport model to project future sediment erosion, deposition, and transportation within the Fraser River Basin in British Columbia, Canada—a basin with historical water flux and sediment load observations and limited anthropogenic influences upstream of its delta. The sediment model is driven by synthetic land‐surface hydrology derived from Scenarios A1B, A2, and B1 of the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios, which were provided by the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium. Resulting simulations of water flux and sediment load from 1965 to 1994 are first validated against observational data then compared with future projections. Future projections show an overall increase in annual hillslope erosion and in‐channel transportation, a shift towards earlier spring peak erosion and transportation, and longer persistence of the sediment signal through the year. These shifts in timing and annual yield may have deleterious effects on spawning sockeye salmon and are insufficient to counteract future coastal retreat caused by sea‐level rise.     

Critical pollution levels in Umguza River,Zimbabwe

In most countries worldwide regulatory bodies set effluent discharge limits into rivers and other natural water bodies. These limits specify the maximum permissible concentration of defined pollutants that may be discharged into the water body. This limit is conceptually based on the self-purification (assimilative) capacity of the receiving water. However, this self-purification constant is itself a function of the water's pollutant loading. Umguza River situated south west of Zimbabwe, is fed by tributaries that drain an urban catchment and as such is prone to pollution due to human activities in the catchment. This study investigated the levels of pollution in Umguza River that would affect its self-purification capacity. This was achieved by characterising the spatial distribution of a selected range of water quality parameters as well as determining the self-purification capacity of a stretch of the river. Critical pollutant concentrations were determined for some of the parameters that showed high values along the stretch. The selected parameters of interest were dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, phosphates, nitrates, COD, turbidity, ammonia, pH, alkalinity and temperature. The study was carried out from January 2014 to April 2014. The self-purification capacity was determined using a formula that compares the mass flux of a pollutant upstream and downstream of the selected stretch of the river. Statistical analysis was used to establish relationships between the pollutants and the self-purification capacity of the river. The study found that the levels of ammonia and phosphates were very high compared to the regulated limits (2 mg/l vs 0.5 mg/l; and 8 mg/l vs 0.5 mg/l respectively). It was also found that the self-purification capacity varied significantly across pollutants. It was therefore concluded that a critical pollutant concentration exists above which the river completely loses its natural ability to assimilate and decrease its pollutant load over time. It was also concluded that the self-purification capacity depends on the pollutant of concern in the river. It is recommended that the self-purification capacity of a river be determined before regulatory bodies set effluent discharge limits. It is also recommended that the water quality of water bodies draining pollution prone catchments be monitored regularly, besides just monitoring the discharge points.