Identifying and alleviating low flows in regulated rivers: the case of the Rivers Bulbourne and Gade,Hertfordshire, UK

This paper examines evidence for the occurrence and causes of low flows, and strategies for their mitigation, in two regulated, chalk‐fed streams. The rivers occupy adjacent catchments of similar topography, have long histories of water exploitation and land‐use change, and are subject to conflicting demands of water resource development and increased pressure for environmental improvement. In one case, a strategy of low‐flow mitigation based upon reduced groundwater abstraction has been proposed. Although flows are shown to be declining through time, and low flows are more common over the last decade, analysis of rainfall records and groundwater levels produce inconclusive evidence for the causes of low flows. Despite their natural similarities, the catchments are shown to have very different sensitivities to low flow. When concentrating upon quantity of low flow, the River Gade appears to be most compromised, but when consideration is taken of water quality, the Bulbourne is more severely affected. An examination of catchment changes over a longer time period provides the best rationale for these sensitivities and contrasts. The study illustrates the potential danger of starting with a solely climatic–hydrological perspective to low flows which then progresses to a hydrological ‘solution’. Consideration of catchment land‐use history, and of the importance of water quality, suggest limited applicability of reduced abstraction in mitigating low‐flow problems in these kinds of environments. The study reinforces calls for further studies of groundwater–surface water interaction as essential inputs to appropriate and sustainable water resource management strategies. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Addressing uncertainties in the environmental sustainability of limno‐reservoirs: insights from the synthesis of multidisciplinary research

Large reservoirs in the Mediterranean area exhibit a variety of negative impacts resulting from exploitation of their water, many a result of large water‐level fluctuations. Water managers in Spain have implemented various mitigation measures to reduce these negative impacts. One such measure is construction of small dams in the riverine zone of large reservoirs to create a small waterbody with a constant water level (i.e. a ‘limno‐reservoir’) to provide the environmental and recreational services that the main reservoir cannot provide due to water‐level variations. To this end, the Pareja Limno‐reservoir was built in 2006 in a sidearm of the Entrepeñas Reservoir (Guadalajara, central Spain). As its environmental sustainability was not assessed prior to construction, however, there are some uncertainties about the ability of the limno‐reservoir to provide the expected environmental and recreational services. Accordingly, a multidisciplinary study was conducted on the Pareja Limno‐reservoir to shed on its environmental sustainability. This study addressed three relevant issues associated with the limno‐reservoir, focusing on water availability, water quality and the risk of sediment filling. This study reviews the research conducted to date, including an integrative discussion that endeavours to address these issues. The Pareja Limno‐reservoir is currently a successful tourist and recreational aquatic resource. The results of this study, however, reveal its recreational and environmental value may be reduced, especially as a constant water level at the maximum capacity of the limno‐reservoir cannot be guaranteed. The conclusions of this study may be useful for reservoir managers by providing guidelines for assessing the environmental sustainability of limno‐reservoirs.     

Environmental Flows in a Human‐Dominated System: Integrated Water Management Strategies for the Rio Grande/Bravo Basin

Water management in the transboundary Rio Grande/Bravo (RGB) Basin, shared by the US and Mexico, is complicated by extreme hydrologic variability, overallocation, and international treaty obligations. Heavy regulation of the RGB has degraded binationally protected ecosystems along the Big Bend Reach of the RGB. This study addresses the need for integrated water management in Big Bend by developing an alternative reservoir operation policy to provide environmental flows while reducing water management trade‐offs. A reach‐scale water planning model was used to represent historical hydrology (1955–2009), water allocation, and reservoir operations, and key human water management objectives (water supply, flood control, and binational treaty obligations) were quantified. Spatially distributed environmental flow objectives and an alternative reservoir rule curve were developed. We simulated current and alternative water management policies and used an iterative simulation–evaluation process to evaluate alternative policies based on water system performance criteria with respect to specified objectives. A single optimal policy was identified that maximized environmental flows while maintaining specified human objectives. By changing the timing but not the volume of releases, the proposed reservoir re‐operation policy has the potential to sustain key ecological and geomorphic functions in Big Bend without significantly impacting current water management objectives. The proposed policy also improved water supply provisions, reduced average annual flood risk, and maintained historical treaty provisions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi‐scale modelling of land‐use change and river training effects on floods in the Rhine basin

Land‐use changes effects on floods are investigated by a multi‐scale modelling study, where runoff generation in catchments of different sizes, different land uses and morphological characteristics are simulated in a nested manner. The macro‐scale covers the Rhine basin (excluding the alpine part), the upper meso‐scale covers various tributaries of the Rhine and three lower meso‐scale study areas (100–500 km²) represent different characteristic land‐use patterns. The main innovation is the combination of models at different scales and at different levels of process representation in order to account for the complexity of land‐use change impacts for a large river basin. The results showed that the influence of land‐use on storm runoff generation is stronger for convective storm events with high precipitation intensities than for long advective storms with low intensities. The simulated flood increase at the lower meso‐scale for a scenario of rather strong urbanization is in the order of 0 and 4% for advective rainfall events, and 10–30% for convective rain storms with a return period of 2–10 years. Convective storm events, however, are of hardly any relevance for the formation of floods in the large river basins of Central Europe, because the extent of convective rainstorms is restricted to local occurrence. Due to the dominance of advective precipitation for macro‐scale flooding, limited water retention capacity of antecedent wet soils and superposition of flood waves from different tributaries, the land‐use change effects at the macro‐scale are even smaller, for example at Cologne (catchment area 100 000 km²), land‐use change effects may result in not more than 1–5 cm water level of the Rhine. Water retention measures in polders along the Upper and Lower Rhine yield flood peak attenuation along the Rhine all the way down to the Dutch border between 1 and 15 cm. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fish response to modified flow regimes in regulated rivers: research methods,effects and opportunities

Globally, rivers are increasingly being subjected to various levels of physical alteration and river regulation to provide humans with services such as hydropower, freshwater, flood control, irrigation and recreation. Although river regulation plays an important role in modern society, there are potential consequences which may negatively affect fish and fish habitat. While much effort has been expended examining the response of fish to fluctuating flow regimes in different systems, there has been little in the way of a comprehensive synthesis. In an effort to better understand the effects of river regulation on fish and fish habitat, we conducted a systematic review of available literature with three goals: (1) summarize the various research methodologies used by regulated river researchers, (2) summarize the effects found on fish and fish habitat and (3) identify opportunities for future research. The results of the synthesis indicate that a wide variety of methodologies are being employed to study regulated river science, yet there is a gap in incorporating methodologies that examine effects on fish at a cellular level or those techniques that are interdisciplinary (e.g. behaviour and physiology). There is a clear consensus that modified flow regimes in regulated rivers are affecting fish and fish habitat, but the severity and direction of the response varies widely. Future study designs should include methods that target all biological levels of fish response, and in which detailed statistical analyses can be performed. There is also a need for more rigorous study designs including the use of appropriate controls and replicates. Data on physical variables that co‐vary with flow should be collected and examined to add explanatory power to the results. Increased multi‐stakeholder collaborations provide the greatest promise of balancing ecological concerns with economic needs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitivity of water quality indicators in a large tropical reservoir to selected climate and land‐use changes

This study compared the sensitivity of water quality in tropical Aguamilpa Reservoir, as represented by normalized algae mass and dissolved oxygen, to selected projected changes from global climate change and development. The sensitivity of reservoir stratification as an indicator of reservoir sensitivity also was analysed. Model simulations indicated the reservoir was more sensitive to changes during the warm‐dry season than at other times. Both indexes (normalized algal mass and dissolved oxygen mass) were more sensitive to changes in air temperature (climate change) and nitrogen loading (development) than to changes in flow. The sensitivity to air temperature was similar to, but generally less than, the sensitivity to nutrient inflow. At the bounding values for change (3 °C for temperature; 50% increase in nitrogen loading), the algae mass sensitivities were 0.15 mg L^?1 per 3 °C and 0.2 mg L^?1 per 50% nitrogen load increase, and the dissolved oxygen mass sensitivities were 0.7 mg L^?1 per 3 °C and 2.0 mg L^?1 per 50% load increase. Changes in air temperature and nitrogen loadings affect the reservoir in different ways, air temperature mostly changing the timing of the algal growth with little change in peak values, while nutrient loadings change the peak values with little change in the timing. While the sensitivities are similar, the total algal mass change is significantly larger for nitrogen loading, compared to air temperature changes. These results imply global climate change effects can be partially mitigated by implementing management measures in the surrounding watersheds to minimize nutrient inflows, especially nitrogen in the case of Aguamilpa Reservoir.     

The calculation of riverine ecological instream flows and runoff profit‐loss analysis in a coal mining area of northern China

The northern Shaanxi province of China has severe water shortages, especially in coal mining areas, and it is very important to calculate the riverine ecological instream flows (EIFs) and analyse the runoff profit‐loss situation. Using the Kuye River as a case study, the EIF was calculated for different years and seasons using the instream flows rate (IFR) method and compared with the Tennant and the minimum monthly average flow (MAF) methods. The recommended value of the Kuye River EIF was obtained by an analysis of the results of these three methods. The river runoff profit‐loss situation associated with the EIF was also calculated and the main reason for the loss explained. The Kuye River EIF was calculated to be 1.69 to 11.14 m³/s by the IFR method, 1.94 to 8.50 m³/s by the Tennant method, and 3.81 to 10.87 m³/s by the MAF method. Based on these results, the EIF annual recommended value of the Kuye River was 4.00 m³/s for the 1961–2010 period. The wet season (July–October), average season (March–June), and dry season (November–following Feb) EIFs were 6.50, 3.50, and 2.00 m³/s, respectively. The Kuye River had a large surplus runoff within the EIF prior to1999, but from 1999 to 2010, the runoff and EIF were very close and the April to June average runoff did not meet the EIF. The main factors that affected the river runoff were rainfall, temperature, water and soil conservation, coal mining, and water consumption for industry and domestic use, with coal mining becoming a more important factor since 1999. This case study provides important technical support and guidance for the ecological restoration of the Kuye River basin, and the concept can be applied to other similar coal mining areas.     

Spatial patterns of fish communities in the Upper Mississippi River System: assessing fragmentation by low‐head dams

We assessed the similarity of fish communities among river reaches to assess community‐level fragmentation by low‐head dams in the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). The spatial coverage of standardized electrofishing sampling used in the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) was extended for three of the six regional trend areas (RTA; pools 4, 13, and the Open River Reach) to include river reaches (outpools) immediately upstream and downstream from the standard RTA from 15 June to 31 October 2000. Additionally, pools 19 and 20 were sampled in September 2000. Cluster analysis and non‐metric multidimensional scaling of community composition and structure data revealed two major groups, upper and lower reaches, and four (for composition) or five (for structure) sub‐groupings of river reaches. In general, all outpools grouped with the nearest RTA for both community composition (no exception) and community structure (one exception). This suggests that fragmentation of fish communities from low‐head dams is minimal. Mantel correlations demonstrated strong inverse association between the similarity of fish communities with the distance between reaches. Habitat variables measured during electrofishing collections were significantly correlated with spatial variation of fish composition and community structure, but provided only marginal improvements to correlations with distance between reaches alone. Furthermore, habitat variability among river reaches also was related to distance between reaches. Determining the extent to which variation of fish communities is related to habitat or demographic processes (e.g. migration, larval drift, source‐sink dynamics) will be challenging for this system. Although low‐head dams on the UMRS may restrict movements for individuals and populations of certain fish species, we found little evidence that these effects have led to substantial, community‐level fragmentation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Status and Trends in Biotic Integrity in a Sub‐Tropical River Drainage: Analysis of the Fish Assemblage Over a Three Decade Period

We characterized the biotic integrity of the sub‐tropical Duero River, Mexico, comparing current and past index of biotic integrity (IBI) scores with results of an environmental quality index (EQI), inventorying abiotic characteristics and human impacts, and documenting ecosystem changes over the last three decades. We sampled the fish community and measured environmental variables during the dry season of 2009 at 19 sites. We compared 2009 findings with fish data obtained in 1986 and 1991 at nine of the sites. The correlation between the IBI and EQI was high (r² = 0.79, p = 0.0002), indicating that the IBI accurately characterized environmental condition. Thirteen sites were degraded (68%) based on IBI scores, three were fair (16%) and three had good conditions (16%). Based on the EQI, 12 sites were classified as poor (63%), two as fair (11%) and five as good (19%). A cluster analysis of nine abiotic variables and the IBI values yielded three groups: six sites with good integrity and environmental quality, eight with high chemical oxygen demand and four with high total dissolved solids. A discriminant analysis (square canonical correlation: 0.922, and Wilks' lambda significance: 0.001) identified biochemical oxygen demand, distance to vegetation and total dissolved solids as the main predictors. Compared to 1986 and 1991, 2009 IBI values and ratings had declined significantly (multiple response permutation procedure A = 0.16, p = 0.0005), indicating a trend of environmental deterioration, with scores and ratings at 7 of 9 sites lower in 2009. One site had declined from good to fair, one from good to poor, five from fair to poor, one had remained fair and one had remained good. Degradation was related to excessive human water use, reduced river flows, increased wastewater discharge, deforestation, erosion, and invasive species, and mismanagement of preserved sites (springs), all of which highlight an urgent need to reverse declining environmental conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同水质评价方法的应用比较研究——以丹江口水库入库河流为例

为准确了解丹江口水库直接入库河流水质状况及其主要污染因子,基于2015年16条入库河流河口水质监测成果,分别采用单因子评价法、综合污染指数法和主成分分析法对水质进行评价。3种评价方法均得出神定河、泗河和犟河水质较差的结论;筛选出的主要污染因子大致相同,为总氮、高锰酸盐指数、五日生化需氧量、氨氮和总磷;不同评价方法对河流水质状况评价结果和污染因子排序略有不同,单因子评价法只能给出评价类别,综合污染指数法和主成分分析法适用于不同时空的水质变化比较。结合当前丹江口库区水质管理工作,建议适当调整泗河、神定河、犟河水质管理目标,除水质类别外,建议增加主要污染因子的消减目标。     

基于百分位数法的中国不同强度小时降雨频次空间分异格局及其变化模态研究(1961-2013)

高分辨率的降水数据有助于科学认识全球增暖背景下不同强度降雨事件的空间分异特征。采用1961—2013年中国545个气象观测站的小时降水数据,基于50%和90%分位数,将小时降水事件分为弱降雨、中等强度降雨、强降雨和总降雨四类事件,从气候态特征、波动特征、变化趋势和时空变化模态四个方面诊断了上述四类小时降雨频次的空间演变特征。结果表明:(1)基于50%和90%分位数阈值的方法表明中国小时降雨阈值具有明显的东高、西低,沿海高、内陆低的空间分异特征。(2)中国不同强度小时降雨频次在1961—2013年呈现出东南高、西北低的空间分异特征,其中从东北至西南存在一个介于东南和西北之间的过渡带,其不同降雨频次介于东南和西北之间。(3)中国不同强度小时降雨频次波动特征首先呈现出东南波动小,西北波动大;其次呈现出南方波动小,北方波动大的空间分异特征。中国不同强度小时降雨频次均在长江流域呈现出增加趋势,强降雨和总降雨频次在京津冀地区也明显趋于增加。(4)基于EOF分析的结果表明中国不同强度小时降雨频次在长江流域趋于增加是最主要的模态特征,该模态小时弱降雨、中等强度降雨、强降雨和总降雨频次的方差解释率分别达62.49%、59.41%、46.26%和67.20%。     

Examining the ecological consequences of restoring flow intermittency to artificially perennial lowland streams: Patterns and predictions from the Broken—Boosey creek system in northern Victoria,Australia

The reinstatement of natural flow regimes is a rapidly emerging issue in river restoration worldwide. In northern Victoria, Australia, efforts are presently underway to restore a natural, intermittent flow regime to several streams which have received perennial diversions for both irrigation and stock and domestic water‐supplies for over 100 years. A pipeline to deliver water to landholders will significantly reduce transmission losses throughout the system allowing irrigation canals and diversion weirs to be decommissioned. The motivation for flow alteration in this system lies primarily in reducing inefficiencies in water delivery which, in turn, will be used to meet escalating demands on water resources. The ecological impact of the flow regime shift on these streams is likely to be substantial. This study utilized an existing artificial hydrological gradient (from perennial to intermittent) in two creek systems, to explore relationships between flow regime and a range of ecological variables. These data provide a benchmark against which to assess ecological changes once flow has been altered and form the basis for predicting changes that can assist future management decisions. Data collected from 10 sites across a strong hydrological gradient detected clear differences in geomorphology, water quality and biotic assemblages (macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fish). By examining the relationship between flow regime and the distribution of biota we identify both the positive and negative outcomes of restoring naturally intermittent flow regimes within artificially perennial lowland streams. The reinstatement of intermittent flow regimes in artificially perennial streams will continue in many parts of the world as water delivery via these systems becomes increasingly uneconomical. While flow restoration may in principle be regarded as a positive step, these findings emphasize the need to consider fully the ecological consequences of restoring historical hydrological regimes to streams within the context of other human induced catchment disturbances. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of low‐head dams on fish assemblages in subtropical streams: Context dependence on species category and data type

Anthropogenic disturbances may cause cosmopolitan species to replace endemic species, which will alter both the within‐community diversities and between‐community similarities of stream fish assemblages. In this study, we used data collected from headwater streams within the Xin'an basin, China, to evaluate the effects of low‐head dams on the alpha diversity and community similarity of fish assemblages. Our aims were to determine whether the changes in fish diversities and similarities related to dam‐associated disturbance are dependent on the species category (i.e., indigenous vs. native‐invasive species) or data type (i.e., occurrence‐based vs. abundance‐based indices). We found that low‐head dams significantly decreased the alpha diversity of the indigenous species in the impoundments but increased that of the native‐invasive species. However, the magnitude of this change was weakened if the two categories of fishes were not distinguished. Additionally, low‐head dams significantly decreased the occurrence‐based similarities of the indigenous fishes but increased those of the native‐invasive fishes. Despite the positive correlation between the occurrence‐based and abundance‐based indices, the former significantly overestimated the community similarities. Although most pairs of communities showed the same direction of changes for the two indices, some cases presented contrasting outcomes, including “perceived homogenization” (i.e., occurrence‐based differentiation but abundance‐based homogenization) and “perceived differentiation.” Our results suggest the importance of distinguishing indigenous and native‐invasive species and considering both occurrence‐based and abundance‐based indices in future research on how anthropogenic activities affect fish diversities and similarities in streams.     

Linking a spatially explicit watershed model (SWAT) with an in‐stream fish habitat model (PHABSIM): A case study of setting minimum flows and levels in a low gradient,sub‐tropical river

As changes in landuse and the demand for water accelerate, regulators and resource managers are increasingly asked to evaluate water allocation against the need for protection of in‐stream habitat. In the United States, only a small number of river basins have the long‐term hydrograph data needed to make these assessments. This paper presents an example of how to bridge the conceptual and physical divide between GIS‐based watershed modelling of basin‐discharge and in‐stream hydraulic habitat models. Specifically, we used a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for the Hillsborough River to produce data for use in a Physical HABitat SIMulation (PHABSIM) model of the same river. This coupling of models allowed us to develop long‐term discharge data in ungauged river systems based on watershed characteristics and precipitation records. However this approach is not without important limitations. Results confirm that accuracy of the SWAT‐predicted hydrograph declines significantly when either the DEM resolution becomes too coarse or if DEM data are resampled to a coarser or finer resolution. This is due to both changes in the size and shape of the river basin with the varying DEMs and subsequent shifts in the proportions of land use, soils and elevation. Results show the use of 30 m DEMs produced hydrographic patterns amenable for using in‐stream habitat protocols like PHABSIM model, especially where little or no hydrographic and land use information exists. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Water‐related bird assemblages in an urban pond ‘archipelago’: Winter patterns of bird species occurrence,abundance and richness

This study reports on the patterns of species occurrence, abundance and richness of a wintering water‐related bird assemblage in an ‘archipelago’ of 70 small artificial urban ponds (AUPs) embedded in a metropolitan landscape (Rome, central Italy). A total of 20 species in 26 AUPs were sampled. Only the largest AUPs (>0.1 ha) contained all these species, except for Gallinula chloropus. The highest total mean species abundance was observed in the largest ponds, with statistically significant differences evident among size classes. Two significant spatial thresholds in species abundance and richness were observed (between 0.01 and 0.1 ha; between 0.1 and 1 ha in size). The abundance of single species was correlated with their frequency of occurrence. Ponds in urban areas must be larger than 0.1 ha to host a rich winter assemblage of birds, with a further increase in richness noted with a surface area larger than 1 ha. The highest number of species was observed in the larger ponds (>1 ha). The species richness of each AUP is directly correlated to their size (log‐transformed species–area relationship: log S = 3.515 + 0.497 log A; R² = 0.76). Further research should be conducted to confirm these patterns and to implement information useful for planning and management of artificial ponds in urban areas for this purpose.     

The Sanaga discharge at the Edea Catchment outlet (Cameroon): An example of hydrologic responses of a tropical rain‐fed river system to changes in precipitation and groundwater inputs and to flow regulation

The Sanaga River is one of Sub‐Saharan Africa's largest and greatly regulated rivers. Available flow data for this hydrosystem largely cover the pre‐ and post‐regulation periods. From comparisons between unregulated (hypothetical) and observed scenarios, it has been possible to separate and to quantify hydro‐climatic (groundwater + rainfall) change effects from anthropogenic impacts (especially dam‐related alterations). To appreciate shifts in the river regime, discontinuity detection tests and the IHA model were applied to discharge data series reflecting average and extreme flow conditions, respectively. Results obtained principally from the Hubert segmentation method reveal that a major discontinuity occurred in 1970–1971 separating a surplus phase between 1945–1946 and 1969–1970, and a deficient and much contrasted one, from 1971/1972. This implies that the Sanaga catchment is dominantly affected by hydro‐climatic changes. However, wide land cover/land use changes experienced here since 1988 have resulted in an increase in surface runoff. Additional quickflows linked to these changes may have partly compensated for the substantial decline in the dry season rainfall and groundwater inputs observed from this date. Although at the monthly scale, dam‐related impacts on average flows increase with stage of regulation, the seasonal variability of the river regime remains generally unaffected. A comparison of the IHA statistics, calculated from unregulated and observed streamflow data, show that hydrologic shifts occurring in maximum and minimum discharges are mostly significant from 1971/1972 and are mainly due to the action of dams. Minimum flows appear, however, widely impacted, thus reflecting the prime objective assigned to the existing reservoirs, constructed to supplement flows for hydroelectricity production during the dry season. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.