The Iowa water quality initiative : better water for a better Iowa, 2000

An overview on how to maintain an efficient food production system while protecting Iowa's natural resources.

Aquatic ecology monitoring: water quality, fish, fish catch, sanitation and disease vectors: monitoring No.9, 9th – 12th September 2011

The results reported on were from a monitoring survey No. 9 undertaken between 9th and 12th September 2011 during construction period of the Bujagali Hydropower Project (BHPP). Two pre-construction, baseline surveys in April 2000 and April 2006 were conducted and so far, during construction phase of the project, eight monitoring surveys have been undertaken i.e. in September 2007, April 2008, April 2009, October 2009, April 2010, September 2010, April 2011 and the present one, in September 2011. Since 2009 biannual monitoring surveys have been conducted at an upstream and a downstream transect of the BHPP with emphasis on the following aspects: water quality determinants biology and ecology of fishes and food webs fish stock and fish catch including economic aspects of catch and sanitation/vector studies (bilharzias and river blindness)in addition to the above mentioned studies, a soil pH survey was undertaken on 15th October 2011 in the area behind the reservoir whose filling started a week earlier. The findings of pH status in the catchment of the dam are also contained in this report.

Water quality assessments in the Opeta-Bisina wetland systems and Mburo-Nakivale wetland systems

It is located in eastern Uganda, the wetland system is characterized by open water that is clear with some emergent vegetation mainly of sedges and floating vegetation dominated by the day water lily Nymphaea sp and submerged water weeds. Some patches of Cyperus papyrus exist in areas with minimal agricultural encroachment. The main inflow into the Opeta system is through River Sironko.

A framework for better understanding drinking-water quality in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador: Implications for optimization and protection of municipally supplied water

This research project was driven by the recurring complaints and concerns voiced in the media by residents living in the Valley area of the community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador. Drinking water in this town is supplied by two water treatment plants (a municipality treatment plant and a DND treatment plant), which use raw water from two different sources (groundwater from multiple wells versus surface water from Spring Gulch brook) and use two different processes of drinking-water treatment. In fact, the drinking water supplied in the Valley area has a unique distribution arrangement. To meet demand, the Valley area is served by a blend of treated waters from a storage reservoir (Sandhill reservoir), which is fed by both water treatment plants. Most of the time, treated water from the municipal treatment plant dominates in the mixture. As water travels through the distribution system and household plumbing, specific reactions can occur either in the water itself and/or at the solid–liquid interface at the pipe walls; this is strongly influenced by the physical and chemical characteristics of the water. These reactions can introduce undesirable chemical compounds and/or favor the growth of bacteria in the drinking water, causing the deterioration of the quality of water reaching the consumer taps. In the distribution system in general, these chemical constituents and bacteria may pose potential threats to health or the water’s aesthetic qualities (smell, taste or appearance). Drinking water should be not only safe, but also palatable.

An examination of the usefulness of single-species biomass models for the management of Lake Victoria fisheries

Nile perch (Lates niloticus), tilapia (Oreochromis spp), dagaa (Rastrineobola argentea, silver cyprinid), and haplochromines (Tribe Haplochromini) form the backbone of the commercial fishery on Lake Victoria. These fish stocks account for about 70% of the total catch in the three riparian states Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. The lake fisheries have been poorly managed, in part due to inadequate scientific analysis and management advice. The overall objective of this project was to model the stocks of the commercial fisheries of Lake Victoria with the view of determining reference points and current stock status. The Schaefer biomass model was fitted to available data for each stock (starting in the 1960s or later) in the form of landings, catch per unit effort, acoustic survey indices, and trawl survey indices. In most cases, the Schaefer model did not fit all data components very well, but attempts were made to find the best model for each stock. When the model was fitted to the Nile perch data starting from 1996, the estimated current biomass is 654 kt (95% CI 466–763); below the optimum of 692 kt and current harvest rate is 38% (33–73%), close to the optimum of 35%. At best, these can be used as tentative guidelines for the management of these fisheries. The results indicate that there have been strong multispecies interactions in the lake ecosystem. The findings from our study can be used as a baseline reference for future studies using more complex models, which could take these multispecies interactions into account.

Design investigation of the Lake Calumet Complex: improving water quality to regenerate local industrial, community, and ecosystem resources

This design thesis is an inquiry of the highly industrialized urban landscape of the Lake Calumet Complex on the South Side of the City of Chicago. It examines geologic and anthropogenic strata within this region as waste used for staging various social, industrial, and ecological systems. Today, these social, industrial, and ecological systems are not responsive to each other and certainly do not possess resilient attributes that would allow them to interact within the landscape in perpetuity. The resulting design strategy seeks to re-think the treatment of waste in the landscape into a new framework for future park design. This park will serve as grounds to interweave these complex systems in order to rehabilitate ecosystem functions and improve water quality. Additionally the park hybridizes many social and ecological functions to improve community recreational opportunities and gain public acceptance and appeal.

Water quality trading: credit stacking and ancillary benefits

Ecosystems can provide many services. Wetlands, for example, can help mitigate water pollution from point sources as well as non-point sources, serve as habitat for wildlife, sequester carbon and serve as a place for recreation. Studies have found that these services can have substantial value to society. The sale of ecosystem credits has been found to be a possible way to finance construction investments in wetlands and easements to farmers to take their land out of production. At the same time, selling one ecosystem service credit may not always be enough to justify the investment. Traditionally market participants have only been allowed to sell a single credit from one piece of land, but recently there have been discussions about the possibility of selling more than one credit from a piece of land because it potentially could lead to more efficient ecosystem service provision. Selling multiple credits is sometimes referred to as credit stacking. This paper is an empirical study of the potential for credit stacking applied to the services provided by wetlands in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, specifically nitrogen, phosphorus and wildlife credits. In the setting of our study where costs are discrete rather than continuous we found that wetlands are a cost-effective way to reduce the nitrogen loads from wastewater treatment plants and that stacking nitrogen, phosphorus and wildlife credits may improve social welfare while leading to a higher level of ecosystem services. However, for credit stacking to be welfare improving we found that there needs to be a substantial demand for the credit that covers the majority of the investment in wetlands, while the credit aggregator has a choice between what ecosystem projects to undertake. If the credit that covers the majority of investment is sold first and is the sole basis of the investment decision and the objective is to improve welfare, a sequential implementation of ecosystem credits is not recommended; it would not lead to an increase in the total amount of ecosystem services provided though it would increase profit for the credit producer.

Effects of an introduced clam (Corbicula) on water quality in the Tennessee River Valley. Presented before the second annual Sanitary Engineering Conference, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., May 30-31, 1963.

Mode of access: Internet.

SQMS – A prototype for a supplier quality management system

Within the supply chain, the customer does not simply buy parts or services from suppliers, but also buys supplier capabilities, which results in quality products and services. Having a tool that handles the Inspection as well as the Nonconformance, Complaint, Corrective Action and Concession processes is key to successfully track the supplier performance. Taking as a case study a Supplier Quality Management (SQM) currently in operation in an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for automotive industry, this paper presents a platform to support a Supplier Quality Management System (SQMS), that fits the technical specification ISO/TS 16949 requirements. This prototype is composed by a web platform and a mobile App, having flexibility and mobility as key main characteristics.

Agriculture, Environmental Incentive Payments, and Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay

Nonpoint sources (NPS) pollution from agriculture is the leading source of water quality impairment in U.S. rivers and streams, and a major contributor to lakes, wetlands, estuaries and coastal waters (U.S. EPA 2016). Using data from a survey of farmers in Maryland, this dissertation examines the effects of a cost sharing policy designed to encourage adoption of conservation practices that reduce NPS pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This watershed is the site of the largest Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implemented to date, making it an important setting in the U.S. for water quality policy. I study two main questions related to the reduction of NPS pollution from agriculture. First, I examine the issue of additionality of cost sharing payments by estimating the direct effect of cover crop cost sharing on the acres of cover crops, and the indirect effect of cover crop cost sharing on the acres of two other practices: conservation tillage and contour/strip cropping. A two-stage simultaneous equation approach is used to correct for voluntary self-selection into cost sharing programs and account for substitution effects among conservation practices. Quasi-random Halton sequences are employed to solve the system of equations for conservation practice acreage and to minimize the computational burden involved. By considering patterns of agronomic complementarity or substitution among conservation practices (Blum et al., 1997; USDA SARE, 2012), this analysis estimates water quality impacts of the crowding-in or crowding-out of private investment in conservation due to public incentive payments. Second, I connect the econometric behavioral results with model parameters from the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program to conduct a policy simulation on water quality effects. I expand the econometric model to also consider the potential loss of vegetative cover due to cropland incentive payments, or slippage (Lichtenberg and Smith-Ramirez, 2011). Econometric results are linked with the Chesapeake Bay Program watershed model to estimate the change in abatement levels and costs for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment under various behavioral scenarios. Finally, I use inverse sampling weights to derive statewide abatement quantities and costs for each of these pollutants, comparing these with TMDL targets for agriculture in Maryland.