Public Attitudes to In-House Water Recycling in England and Wales

This study, which is based on responses from over 300 individuals in England and Wales, explores how a willingness to use a water-recycling system of specific configuration varies against a number of factors which are linked to system design, system scale, system context, and water-conservation behaviour. Findings show that there is broad willingness to accept in-house water recycling provided that public health is not compromised.     

Water-Quality Monitoring in Anguilla

Anguilla is a UK overseas (non-independent) territory in the Caribbean. It is a small middle-income island with a population of 13 000, and recent statistics indicate that it is more dependent on tourism than any other country or territory in the world. Rapid population growth and development have placed more emphasis on the need for human health and environmental protection. For the first time, a systematic water-quality monitoring programme has been developed, based on the realities of the local situation, e.g. low resource base, limited capabilities, dependence on household rainwater catchment, storage cisterns, and a poor water-supply network. Development of the programme incorporated the key themes of pragmatic, realistic, incremental, responsive, and consultative approaches.     

A prolog based expert system for the allocation of quality assurance program resources

The worldwide proliferation of fraudulent materials has brought about the need for a new approach to the control of purchased material quality. Nuclear power, defense, aerospace and many other industries are affected by the supply of poor quality clones that presume to be original replacement parts. Safety considerations abound as these highly defective materials are used in systems that are critical to the preservation of human lives. Commonly utilized quality assurance programs have not effectively stopped the influx of fraudulent materials. These programs fail to concentrate inspection efforts on materials and inspection attributes that would effectively prevent the acceptance of fraudulent materials. herein a solution is presented to this problem in the form of an expert system application. Information commonly available in industry is formulated into a knowledge based system wherein advisories are given to the user regarding key purchased material receipt inspection strategies.     

Mapping Turbidity, Surface Temperature and Water Circulation Patterns with the Aid of Satellite Imagery

Water turbidity, surface temperature and circulation of Barton and Wroxham Broads, two of the Norfolk Broads, were studied using one reflective (TM1) and the thermal (TM6) TM band. The results indicated that the through-flowing path of the River Ant in Barton Broad is the major influence on the distribution of these parameters. In Wroxham Broad, both turbidity and surface temperature displayed a uniform distribution. This could be explained by the absence of a predominant direction of flow.     

Daily impact of climate on the pattern of urban family life : Indigenous courtyard houses of Baghdad regions of the hot-dry climates Part I: Daily shifts or daily movements in summer

During the day, there are considerable variations in the climatic factors prevailing in these regions. This is especially so during the 24-hour daily cycle of the long, hot and dry summer (mid-May to midOctober). Such climatic conditions have had a considerable impact on the daily living pattern of family life in the same season, particularly in the urban areas. During the same 24-hour cycle, they have compelled the inhabitants to shift their living activities both vertically in section and horizontally in plan; they do this in pursuit of more acceptable, if not, desirable internal thermal environmental ambience.     

Investigation of Petroleum Refinery Effluent Treatment in an Aerobic Fixed-film Biological System

T he feasibility of treating a synthetic toxic waste and a petroleum refinery effluent was evaluated using a four-stage, fixed-film aerated bioreactor with a 50 I capacity and a surface area-to-volume ratio of 72. The process performance at various waste strengths and influent flow rates was found satisfactory.
Organic loading proved to be a better operational or design parameter. Treatment efficiency decreased as the loading was increased. An organic loading of 42 g COD/m2d or less is recommended to ensure good quality effluent. The reactor coped with organic and hydraulic overloads because of the good oxygen transfer capacity and the considerable quantity of attached biomass attained. Staging of the reactor was effective in damping excessive loadings.
Treatment of the refinery waste in the bioreactor removed up to 80 per cent of the COD and reduced the oil, sulphide and amm.N concentrations substantially, but polishing of reactor effluent using alum treatment improved effluent quality for potential reuse.     

A knowledge-based system for sensor selection

This paper presents a Knowledge-based system (KBS) developed to allow users, who may not be knowledgeable about sensors, to select sensors suitable for their specific needs. The KBS runs on a micro-computer. The selection criteria are user specified and are based on the desired measurement parameters. The system output includes all of the operational and dimensional parameters of the recommended sensor, price, and vendor information.     

Extension of the QUASAR River-Water Quality Model to Unsteady Flow Conditions

A modification of the well-known water-quality model 'quality simulation along river systems'(QUASAR) is presented in order to extend its ability, so that it may be considered applicable under unsteady-flow conditions. An aggregated dead-zone travel-time parameter, based on (a) the kinematic wave velocity (celerity) of the flow wave and (b) the behaviour of the solute within so-called 'dead zones', has been incorporated into the existing model formulation. This extends the current continuously-stirred tank reactor-based model process to account for the behaviour of solute under unsteady-flow conditions. The enhanced water-quality model has been validated by application to the Colorado River.     

The Microbiological Quality of Private Water Supplies

This paper provides a detailed assessment of the microbiological quality of a selection of private water supplies. Samples were taken from 91 supplies and analyzed for total coliforms, faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci. The microbiological quality of the samples was generally poor, with almost 50% of the supplies failing to meet the required standards on at least one occasion. Given the high level of sanitary microbiological failures, there is the possibility that harmful microorganisms could be present and a significant risk to health cannot be discounted.