Impacts of manure management practices on stream microbial loading into Conesus Lake,NY

The microbiology of stream water has a seasonal component that results from both biogeochemical and anthropogenic processes. Analysis of nonevent conditions in streams entering Conesus Lake, NY (USA), indicated that total coliform, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus spp. levels peak in the summer in all streams, independent of the agricultural use in the stream sub-watershed. Prior to implementation of management practices, E. coli in water draining Graywood Gully, a sub-watershed with 74% of the land in agriculture, reached as high as 2806 CFU/100 mL, exceeding the 235 CFU/100 mL EPA Designated Bathing Beach Standard (EPA-DBBS). In contrast, North McMillan Creek, a sub-watershed with < 13% of its land in agriculture, had E. coli maxima generally near or below the EPA-DBBS. Graywood Gully at times had a higher microbial loading than North McMillan Creek, a sub-watershed 48 times larger in surface area. Over a 5-year study period, there was a major decrease in bacterial loading during nonevent conditions at Graywood Gully, especially after manure management practices were implemented, while bacterial loading was constant or increased in streams draining three other sub-watersheds. E. coli levels dropped more than 10 fold to levels well below the EPA-DBBS while the yearly maximum for Enterococcus dropped by a factor 2.5. Similarly, exceedency curves for both E. coli and Enterococcus also showed improvement since there were fewer days during which minimum standards were exceeded. Even so, Graywood Gully at times continued to be a major contributor of E. coli to Conesus Lake. If wildlife represents a significant source of indicator bacteria to Graywood Gully as has been reported, stream remediation, management efforts and compliance criteria will need to be adjusted accordingly.     

Rain and groundwater as phosphorus sources of a small reservoir

At Broa hydroelectric reservoir 82% of phosphorus (P) input is from rivers, 12% from groundwater seepage input and 6% from direct rainfall. The reservoir retains 15% of incoming P, corresponding to 73 mg/m²/year sedimentation. Proportions of water input are 36% from groundwater seepage in the dry season and 68% from seepage and 3% from direct rainfall in the rainy season; the remainder comes from rivers. Average P concentration during the 1996 rainy season was 27 μg/L in rain, 6.1 in groundwater, 68.54 in rivers and 33.56 in outflow.     

Lake Chivero: A management case study

Lake Chivero in Zimbabwe was shown to be hypereutrophic. Historical data showed that the eutrophication process had been arrested in the late 1970s. However, a combination of poor planning, multiplicity of jurisdiction, mismatch between rate of urbanization and waste management investment, recent changes in the local climate and a permissive, immature political system that called for no public accountability resulted in environmental management breakdown leading to hypereutrophication of the lake. The case of Lake Chivero is presented as an example of a wider global issue regarding the status of environmental management in competition with other priorities in emerging democracies.     

Quantification of internal phosphorus load in large,partially polymictic and mesotrophic Lake Simcoe,Ontario

Hypoxia and cyanobacteria still occur occasionally in large, mesotrophic Lake Simcoe, and total phosphorus (TP) concentration has remained relatively constant despite external nutrient load reduction. This may indicate a potential internal P source. Internal load as redox-dependent P release from bottom sediments is hard to determine in such a relatively shallow and mostly mixed lake. This study represents the first attempt to quantify internal P loading over many years for the three main sections of Lake Simcoe. Internal load was determined (a) as in situ estimate based on TP increases between July and October and (b) as gross estimate from the product of experimentally determined P release rates and hypoxic extent of sediment surfaces in space and time. Hypoxic extent was quantified (1) as the hypoxic factor determined from dissolved oxygen profiles below the level of 3.5 mg/L, and (2) as active sediment area release factor (AA) modeled from summer euphotic TP concentration, which is especially useful in the mixed sections. Annual internal load for the whole lake was determined as a near constant 62.2 metric tonnes/yr (86 mg/m²/yr) for 1980–2011 using the gross estimates of the AA approach and 88 t/yr before and 53 t/yr after external load abatement and zebra mussel invasion using in situ estimates. Means of in situ and AA-based estimates for 2000–2011 are in close agreement except for polymictic Cook's Bay. These estimates are 45 to 89% of external load, which suggests that internal loading is an important source of P in Lake Simcoe.     

Detroit River phosphorus loads: Anatomy of a binational watershed

As a result of increased harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in Lake Erie, the US and Canada revised their phosphorus loading targets under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The focus of this paper is the Detroit River and its watershed, a source of 25% of the total phosphorus (TP) load to Lake Erie. Its load declined 37% since 1998, due chiefly to improvements at the regional Great Lakes Water Authority Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) in Detroit and phosphorus sequestered by zebra and quagga mussels in Lake Huron. In addition to the 54% of the load from Lake Huron, nonpoint sources contribute 57% of the TP load and 50% of the dissolved reactive phosphorus load, with the remaining balance from point sources. After Lake Huron, the largest source is the WRRF, which has already reduced its load by over 40%. Currently, loads from Lake Huron and further reductions from the WRRF are not part of the reduction strategy, therefore remaining watershed sources will need to decline by 72% to meet the Water Quality Agreement target - a daunting challenge. Because other urban sources are very small, most of the reduction would have to come from agriculturally-dominated lands. The most effective way to reduce those loads is to apply combinations of practices like cover crops, buffer strips, wetlands, and applying fertilizer below the soil surface on the lands with the highest phosphorus losses. However, our simulations suggest even extensive conservation on those lands may not be enough.     

Biogeochemical characterization,phosphorus sources and intrinsic drivers to its speciation within the Nyanza Gulf of Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria, like many African great lakes, was formed through tectonic activity that formed East African Rift Valley. The lake's ecology has undergone dramatic reorganization dating back to the 1920s, before agricultural mechanization and high urban populations were observed, transforming from it from a desirable to less desirable state. The present study was conducted to better understand Nyanza Gulf's biogeochemical characteristics, phosphorus sources and the driving forces to their speciation. Five littoral‐limnetic‐littoral transects were sampled for water‐associated phosphorus (soluble reactive phosphorus, SRP; total phosphorus, TP_W); sediment‐associated phosphorus (non‐apatite inorganic phosphorus. NAIP); apatite phosphorus, AP; inorganic phosphorus, IP; organic phosphorus, OP; total phosphorus, TP_S); elemental compositions (calcium, Ca; iron, Fe; aluminium, Al; manganese, Mn); organic matter (OM); and organic carbon (OC) contents in the sediment. The SRP and TP_W concentrations ranged from 22.9 to 142.9 μg/L, and 57.1 to 277.1 μg/L, respectively. The littoral sampling sites exhibited relatively higher TP_W concentrations than the limnetic sites. Sheltered bays and sites located off sewerage discharge points had higher NAIP concentrations exceeding 400 mg/kg, compared with strong current areas. The AP and TP_S concentrations ranged from 136.7 to 1,511.3 mg/kg, and 512.5 to 2,254.4 mg/kg, respectively. The AP and TP_S concentrations were generally higher (>500 mg/kg) within the littoral zones compared to the limnetic zones; with the littoral sites located close to documented carbonatite rock substrates manifesting exceptionally high concentrations. Nyanza Gulf's eutrophic/hypertrophic status is derived highly from shoreline erosions of phosphorus‐enriched carbonatite rocks associated with rift valleys and from municipal sewerage discharges. Re‐afforestation, fringing wetland restorations and tertiary treatment of municipal waste waters are vital for its ecological restoration.     

The composition of particulate phosphorus: A case study of the Grand River,Canada

We examined the fractions of particulate phosphorus (PP) in the lower reaches of the Grand River, Canada, to test the hypothesis that the river is a source of both particulate-bound orthophosphate and labile species of PP. At the mouth of the Grand River, the proportion of particulate organic P (POP) was, on average, 57.7% of total PP, which was significantly higher than the proportion of particulate inorganic P (PIP) in PP. Analysis with ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy showed that the proportion of P species other than orthophosphate in the NaOH- EDTA extract was 1.75 times greater than that of orthophosphate. Labile P species (e.g. nucleotides and pyrophosphate) were present in the NMR spectrum; whereas, refractory organic P (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate) was absent. These results suggest that during winter and spring, the Grand River supplies primarily bioavailable phosphorus species in organic forms to Lake Erie, rather than inorganic orthophosphate. These results suggest that labile organic P is contained in PP rather than alkaline extractable inorganic P. Future studies should examine POP species in other rivers of the Lake Erie watershed.     

Lake watershed management: Services,monitoring, funding and governance

This study discusses some insights for adaptive lake management from the perspective of ecosystem services (ES). Based on evidence from 46 advanced Payments for Watershed Services (PWS) projects implemented in 16 developing countries, and an interactive governance interpretation of this evidence, three layers of services for watershed management are distinguished, including (i) ES provided by ecosystems; (ii) land‐water conservation services (CS) provided by upstream citizens; and (iii) intermediary organizing services (OS) provided by watershed management organizations. The three‐layer service perspective indicates the need for management regime shifts regarding monitoring, funding and governance. A multilayer regime shift between monitoring, funding and governance for lake management also is discussed, using a Bolivian PWS scheme as an illustration. It indicates how lake management organizations can provide intermediary OS to coordinate exchanges between upstream payees and downstream payers. Upstream payees provide land‐water CS to obtain supply‐side payments. Land‐water CS improve water‐related ES to enhance downstream land‐water uses. Downstream payers provide demand‐side payments and benefit from better land‐water uses. This study was undertaken to broaden the vision of managing lakes and their watersheds and to guide policymakers, managers and other stakeholders in adopting adaptive management regimes for both locally and globally sustainable development.     

Pollution of Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria, Kenya: A case study for preliminary risk assessment

A preliminary risk assessment was undertaken on the Kenyan part of Lake Victoria to identify the major causes of degradation of water quality. Urban, industrial and agricultural loads were quantified and related to geographical and climatic conditions. A few analyses of persistent contaminants were carried out on fish. Monthly limnological investigations were conducted together with river water quality analyses. Phosphorus loads and consequent eutrophication were identified as the major causes of water quality degradation.     

The impact of agricultural best management practices on downstream systems: Soil loss and nutrient chemistry and flux to Conesus Lake,New York,USA

Six small, predominantly agricultural (> 70%) watersheds in the Conesus Lake catchment of New York State, USA, were selected to test the impact of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on mitigation of nonpoint nutrient sources and soil loss from farms to downstream aquatic systems. Over a 5-year period, intensive stream water monitoring and analysis of covariance provided estimates of marginal means of concentration and loading for each year weighted by covariate discharge. Significant reductions in total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, nitrate, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and total suspended solids concentration and flux occurred by the second year and third year of implementation. At Graywood Gully, where Whole Farm Planning was practiced and a myriad of structural and cultural BMPs were introduced, we observed the greatest percent reduction (average = 55.8%) and the largest number of significant reductions in analytes (4 out of 5). Both structural and cultural BMPs were observed to have profound effects on nutrient and soil losses. Where fields were left fallow or planted in a vegetative type crop, reductions, especially in nitrate, were observed. Where structural implementation occurred, reductions in total fractions were particularly evident. Where both were applied, major reductions in nutrients and soil occurred. After 5 years of management, nonevent and event concentrations of total suspended solids in streams draining agricultural watersheds were not significantly different from those in a relatively “pristine/reference” watershed. This was not the case for nutrients.     

Contribution of bunker silo effluent discharged via a riparian zone to watershed phosphorus loads

Nutrient losses from agricultural operations are a major contributor to the eutrophication of freshwaters. Although many studies have quantified diffuse nutrient losses, less is known about agricultural point-source contributions, such as bunker silos, to watershed phosphorus (P) loads. This study examined the contributions of a dairy farm bunker silo effluent to watershed soluble reactive P (SRP) and total P (TP) losses. The bunker silo effluent discharged to an adjacent stream via a riparian soakaway for ca. 15 years. Prior to the annual refilling of the bunker silo, flow weighted mean concentrations of SRP (TP) were similar between stream locations up and downstream of the farm. After the bunker silo was refilled, flow-weighted SRP (TP) concentrations in the stream increased by factors of 1.5(2.2) during events and 3.1(2.3) during baseflow. Higher P concentrations occurred in the riparian soils receiving bunker silo effluent (525–3125 mg/kg TP, and 0.1–9.9 mg/kg water extractable P (WEP), compared with 525–939 mg/kg TP, and 0.11–1.43 mg/kg WEP on the opposite side of the stream with no bunker silo effluent. Riparian soils impacted by the bunker silo were near P-saturation, and the riparian zone did little to reduce P transfer in shallow groundwater. The net contributions of bunker silo effluent to annual watershed P losses were 32% (SRP) and 22% (TP). This study highlights the importance of agricultural point sources, and the need to quantify their contributions to watershed P budgets to target P remediation effectively.     

太湖流域河网地区湖泊氮磷污染负荷研究——以江苏常熟南湖荡为例

以江苏常熟市南湖荡为例,对当地主要的农业面源、水产养殖面源、畜禽养殖面源、居民生活面源的污染物排放量及南湖荡水体的TN、TP允许纳污量进行估算,并对南湖荡水体的富营养化现状进行评价。结果表明:南湖荡的TN、TP排放量分别为113.8 t/a和18.3 t/a,水体的TN、TP允许纳污量分别为134.4 t/a和6.4 t/a。TN排放量已经十分接近水体TN允许纳污量的上限值,TP排放量已经远远超出水体TP允许纳污量。因此,南湖荡水质已经处在从Ⅲ类水向Ⅳ类水过渡阶段。依据计算得到的富营养化参数,可认为南湖荡处于中度富营养化状态。研究结果可为南湖荡的污染控制和管理提供依据,研究思路和方法可为同类湖泊治理与保护工作提供参考。     

Monitoring the channel process of a stream restoration project in an urbanizing watershed: a case study of Kelley Creek,Oregon, USA

Pacific Northwest (PNW) streams in the United States were impacted by the 20th century development, when removal of instream structure and channelization degraded an aquatic habitat. The lower Kelley Creek in southeast Portland, USA was channelized during the 1930's Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects. Stream restoration reintroduced pool‐riffle sequences and heterogeneous substrates to protect salmonids while mitigating impacts from flooding. We investigated whether the restored pool‐riffle morphology changed substantially following effective discharge events. We examined channel forms for four reaches representing three time periods—pre‐development (two reference reaches), development and restoration. We conducted thalweg profiles, cross‐sections and pebble counts along the reaches to examine how channel geometry, residual pool dimensions and particle size distribution changed following effective discharge events. The effective discharge flows altered the restoration reach more substantially than the reference reaches. The restoration reach decreased in median particle size, and its cross‐sectional geometry aggraded near its margins. However, the residual pool morphology remained in equilibrium. Richardson Creek's reference reach degraded at the substrate level, while Kelley Creek's reference reach remained in equilibrium. The restoration reach's aggradation may have resulted from sedimentation along the nearby Johnson Creek. In contrast, Richardson Creek's degradation occurred as upstream land use may have augmented flows. Stream channels with low gradient pool‐riffle morphologies are ideal for salmonid spawning and rearing and should be protected and restored within urban corridors. The findings of our study suggest that the connectivity of streams and the dynamic fluvial geomorphology of stream channels should be considered for stream restoration projects in humid temperate climates. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The utility of the AC/TC ratio for watershed management: a case study.

A human-impacted watershed was monitored during the dry summer seasons in 2002 and 2003 to investigate the impact of providing access to sewer mains to local village residences. Faecal coliform concentrations were monitored at select sites along the 30-mile stretch of creek, together with faecal streptococci, enterococci and total coliforms. Analysis of the results found that levels of faecal coliforms were inadequate at identifying significant known influxes of human and animal sewage established by sanitary survey. However, the bacterial ratio of atypical colonies to total coliform colonies (AC/TC), obtained from the total coliform membrane filter assay on m-Endo media, correctly indexed human faecal impact of inadequately sewered villages located along the creek. In addition, the AC/TC ratio correctly classified the predominant source of faecal runoff in the creek headwaters as agricultural, and indicated when aged agricultural faecal material was introduced by tributaries. An approach for watershed management that uses the AC/TC ratio in addition to levels of bacteria is proposed.     

Using a GIS transfer model to evaluate pollutant loads in the Lake Kinneret watershed, Israel.

Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is the only large surface water body in Israel, encompassing an area of 167 km2 and supplying some 30% of the country's fresh water. Pollution from anthropogenic sources and water abstraction for domestic and agricultural uses has long been threatening the water quality of the lake. Point-source pollution in the watershed has decreased drastically with the development of wastewater treatment. However, diffuse pollution from agricultural activities is still an unresolved issue. In this paper we present an application of AVGWLF (a GIS-based watershed load model) to the Lake Kinneret watershed. The model allows one to simulate daily stream flows and monthly sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus loads discharged to the lake from the surrounding watershed. Results from simulations yield a satisfactory correspondence between simulated and measured daily water volume. Partition by source of total phosphorus delivered to the lake in the period of 2000-04 confirms the reduction in point source nutrient contribution due to improvement of wastewater treatment facilities in the area. Future management should focus on reduction of nutrients originating from septic systems (point sources) and pasture and cropland areas (diffuse sources). Results from simulations will enable watershed managers to prioritize effective management alternatives for protecting the water quality in the lake.     

黔中高原小流域雨洪资源有效利用试验研究

以拦沙坝式山溪取水工程为例,对黔中高原小流域雨洪资源的有效利用进行了试验研究。结果表明,试验小流域大雨和暴雨发生频率高,雨洪资源利用潜力大,暴雨洪水过程具有陡涨缓落特征,能够维持较长的引水时间,有利于雨洪资源的有效利用。     

历史视角下的湿地演变与恢复保护——以永年洼为例

湿地的恢复与保护是近年来环保领域的热点。用历史视角研究湿地及其周边的演化历程,能极大地丰富对湿地的认识,使湿地的恢复和保护更有针对性。本文以华北地区典型的受高强度人类活动长期影响的自然湿地永年洼为例,尝试从历史视角审视其演变,证明这一方法的有效性,并指出:(1)广府古城的历史长于永年洼的历史,永年洼始终受高强度人类活动影响;(2)永年洼在1949年以后的剧烈萎缩主要是因为水利工程控制来水量和围垦造田,永年洼仍具备成为湿地的条件;(3)永年洼以防洪功能为主、生态功能为次,永年洼的恢复保护应借建设湿地公园的契机,保障湿地来水的水量和水质。