ALBERT

Description: An experimental campaign is undertaken in order to investigate the hydraulic features of a vertical drop shaft, also considering the influence of a venting system consisting of a coaxial vertical pipe, projecting within the drop shaft with different plunging rates. Three different flow regimes are observed: a “weir flow” for very low head values, where the flow profile is subject to the atmospheric pressure; a “full flow” for high head values, where water flows in a pressurized regime along the whole shaft; and a “transitional flow” for intermediate water head values. Weir flow and full flow can be experimentally investigated under steady-state conditions, whereas transitional flow is a pulsating condition, alternately switching from full flow to weir flow. Considering some significant geometric parameters, a head-discharge relation is sought both for the non-vented and for the vented configurations, by means of an energy balance equation, with specific assumptions about intake losses.

Description: A groundwater risk assessment was carried out for 30 potable water supply systems under a framework of protecting drinking water quality across South Australia. A semi-quantitative Groundwater Risk Assessment Model (GRAM) was developed based on a “multi-barrier” approach using likelihood of release, contaminant pathway and consequence equation. Groundwater vulnerability and well integrity have been incorporated to the pathway component of the risk equation. The land use of the study basins varies from protected water reserves to heavily stocked grazing lands. Based on the risk assessment, 15 systems were considered as low risk, four as medium and 11 systems as at high risk. The GRAM risk levels were comparable with indicator bacteria—total coliform—detection. Most high risk systems were the result of poor well construction and casing corrosion rather than the land use. We carried out risk management actions, including changes to well designs and well operational practices, design to increase time of residence and setting the production zone below identified low permeable zones to provide additional barriers to contaminants. The highlight of the risk management element is the well integrity testing using down hole geophysical methods and camera views of the casing condition.

Description: In the State of Israel, advanced legislation for the management of scarce water resources, including legislation to prevent water pollution, were put in place in the early stages of the State’s formation. Despite that, on-going uncontrolled pollution has deteriorated the quality of water sources for decades, with the main source of pollution being untreated or partially treated domestic wastewater. This has been mainly the result of lack of enforcement of the existing laws. During the 1990s and onwards, a shift to forceful enforcement has been observed and wastewater treatment substantially improved. The paper analyzes the implementation processes of the pollution control legislations (the lack-of and the shift to forceful enforcement) based on an actor-centered approach, using the contextual interaction theory.

Description: The authors wish to acknowledge a funding agency in their recently published paper [1] and make the following correction.

Description: The aim of this study is to determine the impact upon dissolved organic matter (DOM) and removal of disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors of adding an ozone-biological activated carbon (O3-BAC) process after the conventional treatment process (CTP) using water from the Huangpu River in Shanghai, east China. Several metrics, including size fractionation, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP), were employed to accomplish this goal. In the raw water collected from the Huangpu River, the low molecular weight (MW) molecules (MW 〈3 kDa) were absolutely dominant in DOM, accounting for more than 55% of total DOC, and the DOM resulted in a high THMFP level of 472.91 ± 4.63 µg/L after an excessive chlorination. The CTP reduced high MW molecules (MW >10 kDa) by 61% and the low MW molecules (MW 〈3 kDa) by only 8%. The O3-BAC presented an accumulated DOC removal efficiency of approximately 50%, in particular, showing a high degree of the removal effectiveness of low MW molecules. Samplings from the CTP, ozone and BAC were subjected to excessive chlorination to determine the THMFP, and the measured concentrations were 211.89 ± 4.58 µg/L, 169.52 ± 4.55 µg/L, and 124.42 ± 4.27 µg/L, respectively. Therefore, coupled with the THMFP removal rate of 74%, the addition of the O3-BAC process after an existing CTP improved the water quality of the effluent, particularly, in terms of the improved reduction in the precursors of DBPs.

Description: Traditional flood control systems always have a conflict with natural ones, i.e., rivers in cities are usually straight and smooth, whereas natural ones are according to ecological mechanisms. Social and economic developments in the modern world require a new system combining ecological needs and traditional flood control system. Ecological flood control systems were put forward and defined as flood control systems with full consideration of ecological demands for sustainable development. In such systems, four aspects are promoted: connectivity of water system, landscapes of river and lakes, mobility of water bodies, and safety of flood control. In Phoenix Island, Huzhou, needs for ecological flood controls were analyzed from the four aspects above. The Water system layout was adjusted with the water surface ratio, which is the ratio of water surface area (including rivers, lakes, and other water bodies) to the total drainage area, and connectivity as controlling indicators. The designed water levels provided references for landscape plant selection. Mobility of the adjusted water system was analyzed, including flow direction and residence time. On the bases mentioned above, ecological flood control projects were planned with comprehensive consideration of the ecological requirements. The case study indicates that ecological needs can be integrated with flood control to develop ecological flood control systems that do not only prevent floods but also retain the ecological functions of water bodies.

Description: The known occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the built and natural water environment, including in drinking water supplies, continues to raise concerns over inadvertent exposures and associated potential health risks in humans and aquatic organisms. At the same time, the number and concentrations of new and existing pharmaceuticals in the water environment are destined to increase further in the future as a result of increased consumption of pharmaceuticals by a growing and aging population and ongoing measures to decrease per-capita water consumption. This review examines the occurrence and movement of pharmaceuticals in the built and natural water environment, with special emphasis on contamination of the drinking water supply, and opportunities for sustainable pollution control. We surveyed peer-reviewed publications dealing with quantitative measurements of pharmaceuticals in U.S. drinking water, surface water, groundwater, raw and treated wastewater as well as municipal biosolids. Pharmaceuticals have been observed to reenter the built water environment contained in raw drinking water, and they remain detectable in finished drinking water at concentrations in the ng/L to μg/L range. The greatest promises for minimizing pharmaceutical contamination include source control (for example, inputs from intentional flushing of medications for safe disposal, and sewer overflows), and improving efficiency of treatment facilities.

Description: In ancient Hellas, water management began in the early Minoan Era (ca. 3200–1100 BC) and was related to the geomorphology, the geology, the topography, and the local climatic, hydrological, and socio-political conditions. Historical and archaeological evidences show that ancient Greeks had developed even qanat-related technologies since the Classical times. During democratic periods, the focus of water management was on sustainable small scale, safe, and cost effective management practices, and institutional arrangements, whereas in oligarchic periods, emphasis was on the construction of large-scale hydraulic projects, including aqueducts and/or qanats, mostly related to the public sectors. Aqueducts-like qanats are gently sloping, artificially constructed underground galleries, which bring groundwater from the mountainous area to the lowlands, where water is used, sometimes several kilometers away. It is worth noticing that no large-scale lifting techniques were available, and water was transferred from the source (usually a spring) by aqueducts (qanats) from a higher elevation to a lower level by gravity. Historically, the aqueduct-like qanat technology was developed by Persians in the middle of 1st Millennium BC, and spread towards the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. The expansion of Islam led to diffusion of qanats in Mediterranean countries (e.g., Spain, Italy, and Cyprus). Much of the population of Iran and other arid countries in North Africa and in Asia depend on water supply by aqueducts-like qanats, even today. This technology is characterized by its durability and sustainability, although an aqueduct-like qanat is expensive, both in construction and maintenance. It is pointed out that, the technique of tunneling was used during the Classical period in ancient Hellas. Since the well known tunnel at the island of Samos, Hellas, was designed and constructed by Eupalinos (ca. 530 BC), several underground tunnels (with and without well-like vertical shafts) in order to convey water from one location to another one located in a lower level were implemented in this country. Several aqueducts (qanat) paradigms (e.g., in Athens, on islands of Crete and Rhodes, and in the area of Serres in north country), which are in use even today, are presented and discussed. Overall, it seems that water-related problems of modern societies are not very different from those during antiquity.

Description: This research examines stakeholders’ perceptions of and preferences for water markets in agriculture, focusing on the likely barriers that might refrain them from participating in such markets. The research was carried out on the Guadalquivir River Basin and involved semi-quantitative methods, combining a structured survey and focus group discussions. A very simple questionnaire was administered to each irrigation stakeholder (i.e., managers, water right holders and non-holders). The main result is that stakeholders will only keep selling water seasonally as the rights remain linked to the land. Nonetheless, some relevant differences among stakeholders were found. Managers seem to be more interested in selling water than farmers. Another important discrepancy was found between water rights holders and non-holders. Access to a water rights system, types of existing infrastructure, and legal and administrative aspects are also important factors influencing the acceptability of water trading in the study area. These results might be helpful to policymakers who are currently evaluating the potential for water markets in Europe and have little observable market data to work with.

Description: The paper explores how agricultural water pricing could contribute to lowering water demand when uses are unobserved (asymmetric information). The topic of the paper is justified by the fact that most water authorities worldwide do not control water uses at the farm scale. The study draws inspiration from the pricing policies of a Reclamation and Irrigation Board in Northern Italy. It analyses the optimal design of current tariff strategies with respect both to the actual regulator’s goals and the cost recovery objective of an ideal regulator driven by European Water Framework Directive principles and having full information. The analysis is based on the logic of a Principal-Agent model implemented as a mathematical non-linear programming model. Given the current pricing structure and assuming zero transaction costs, the results show a relevant increase in net benefits for the ideal scenario with respect to the actual one as water use costs increase. Benefits differences between the two scenarios mark a limit in value below which mechanisms able to solve the existing asymmetries between the principal and the agents are economically desirable. The study concludes by showing that the current regulator’s discriminatory strategy (pricing structure) would be better justified with higher levels of cost for water use. However, the existence of non-zero transaction costs related to the control of water uses points to the need for further research in order to analyze incentive mechanisms in the absence of water metering.