Water Department Research Articles

Composting Horse Manure on Small Farms: Managing Your Compost Bins

This new 5-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences is the second in a two-part series on composting horse manure on small farms. The purpose of this article is to share some how-to tips on building and managing manure compost bins. This article is intended for noncommercial horse owners. Written by Erika Sakers, Mary G. Lusk, Carissa Wickens, and Caitlin Bainum.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss710

Manure Composting for Small Horse Farms

The purpose of this new 5-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences is to present the benefits of composting horse manure on small farms and to provide guidance on how to implement manure composting. This article, the first in a two-part series, is intended for recreational horse enthusiasts managing equine on small (<20 acre) farms. Written by Erika Sakers, Mary G. Lusk, Carissa Wickens, and Caitlin Bainum.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss709

Assessment on urban lakes along the coastal region of Miri, NW Borneo: implication for hydrochemistry, water quality, and pollution risk.

The main purpose of this study is to assess the urban lake water quality along the coastal region of Miri City, Sarawak, East Malaysia. This study concentrates on the hydrochemical characteristics and the mechanisms controlling the suitability of the lakes for domestic, irrigation, and industrial purposes. A total of 15 lake water samples were collected and analysed for physical parameters, major ions, nutrients, BOD, COD, and heavy metals. The results show that Lakes 6, 7, and 8 commonly exceeded the National Drinking Water Quality Standards (NDWQS) limits, particularly in physical parameters and major ions. The cation dominance was Na+ > Mg2+ > K+ > Ca2+, while the anion dominance was Cl- > HCO3- > SO42-. It is inferred that lake 8 was affected by the seawater intrusion through the inlet flow, resulting in an excess concentration of ions present in that lake. The concentrations of heavy metals in these lakes were considerably low, indicating that most of them were from the geogenic source. Most of the lakes were NaCl water type and the main controlling mechanism were weathering and ionic exchange processes, with anthropogenic impacts. Based on the calculated Water Quality Index (WQI) according to the National Water Quality Standards (NWQS), all lakes were suitable for irrigation use (class IV), while most of these lakes fell under the "polluted" index. Apart from that, based on the National Lake Water Quality Standards (NLWQS), all lakes were classified under category D, indicating that the lakes must be kept in good condition. According to the irrigation quality indices, lakes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were the most suitable for irrigation purposes. As for metal pollution indices (HPI and HEI), lakes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 15 were considered safe with low pollution status. From the multivariate statistical analysis, it is deduced that both anthropogenic and geogenic impacts mostly influenced the quality of these lake waters. The outcome of this study will help the policymakers under the national water department in sustainable management of water resources in this region.

Integrated Effects of Vermicompost, Npk Fertilizers, Cadmium And Lead on the Growth, Yield and Mineral Nutrient Accumulation In Spinach (Spinacia Oleracea L.)

An integrated fertilizer experiment was conducted on the spinach plant at the net house of Soil, Water and Environment department under University of Dhaka during the rabi season using pot culture. The intention of the study was to evaluate the integrated effect of vermicompost, NPK fertilizers, Cd and Pb on soil properties, spinach growth, yield and concentration of nutrients. The trial was carried out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) followed by two replications, having twelve treatments, including control. The maximum growth and yield contributing characteristics of spinach plant viz. plant height (23.10 cm), leaf area (61.13 cm2 plant-1), length of leaf (10.85 cm plant-1), no. of leaf (10 plant-1), yield of fresh (10.92g plant-1) and dry materials (1.05g plant-1) found in T12 (vermicompost 5 ton ha-1 + N25P8K10 kg ha-1 + Pb4 kg ha-1). All the growth and yield parameters observed lowest with the sole Cd application and the performance of sole Pb also showed reducing trends compared to other integrated treatments. The highest achievements of macro elements N (0.0798%), P (0.0027%), K (0.0068%) and S (0.0084%) of post-harvest soil with the treated pot in T12 over the control. Mineral nutrients of leaves (N-2.29%, P-1.30% and K-8.24%) were found highest in the same T12. It may be concluded that the maximum production of spinach, sustain the soil productivity and achieve the high nutritional value of the leaf in the treatment T12 (vermicompost 5 ton ha-1 + N25P8K10 kg ha-1 + Pb4 kg ha-1) recommended for its cultivation. J. Biodivers. Conserv. Bioresour. Manag. 2022, 8(2): 13-24

Cholera outbreak associated with drinking contaminated river water in Panyimur and Parombo sub-counties: Nebbi district, Uganda, March 2017

Introduction: On 10thFebruary 2017, Uganda Ministry of Health was notified of a suspected cholera outbreak in Nebbi district. The district experienced numerous cholera outbreaks with the latest in 2016. We investigated to determine the scope, mode of transmission, and exposures. Methods: We defined a suspected case as sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea in a resident (>5 years) from Parombo or Panyimur subcounties in Nebbi district, during 1 January-9 March 2017. A confirmed case was a suspected case with culture-confirmed Vibrio cholerae from stool. We conducted descriptive epidemiology of case-persons to inform hypothesis generation and a case-control study involving 67 case-persons and 134 control-persons to test the hypothesis. Results: We identified 222 suspected case-persons; samples from two yielded Vibrio cholerae O139. Three case-persons died (CFR=1.4%). The epidemic curve indicated a point-source outbreak. Among 67 cases, 40 (60%) drank river water, compared with 56 (42%) of 134 controls (OR 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2- 4.1). Visual assessment revealed that river water had high turbidity and we observed mass open defecation. Conclusion: This outbreak affected two sub-counties and was associated with drinking contaminated river water. We recommended treating drinking water by the community members and health education on drinking water safety and proper waste disposal in the communities. And for long term, the district water department should increase the number and functionality of boreholes or piped water in the communities.

Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners Lead Transformation of Nation's Largest Municipal Utility

Mia Lehrer and Nicole Neeman Brady are both on the all‐female Board of Commissioners for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). In this article, they discuss their experiences instituting governance approaches and board engagement strategies and initiatives in both the conservation of resources and the elevation of women in the traditionally male‐dominated utility fields.

An attention mechanism-based deep regression approach with a sequence decomposition-granularity reconstruction-integration model for urban daily water supply forecasting

With the depletion of globally available water resources and the rapid development of cities, helping managers of urban water departments formulate management plans and accurately forecast urban daily water supply (UDWS) is important. In this paper, to improve the ability of the model to process complex feature information, we proposed a new UDWS forecasting model that adopts the idea of sequence decomposition, secondary granularity reconstruction, and integration forecasting. First, the UDWS sequence was decomposed into multiple intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) using time varying filtering based temporal mode decomposition (TVFEMD) method. Second, fast Fourier transform (FFT) and sample entropy (SE) approaches were utilized to reconstruct the decomposed IMFs to obtain new granularity features (the FFT for the first granularity reconstruction, and the SE for the second granularity reconstruction). Third, an attention mechanism was combined with a long short-term memory model to further mine the local features in each granularity and improve the forecasting accuracy. Finally, the simulated values of all of the granularity were integrated to obtain the UDWS forecast. We applied the proposed model to the actual case of a water plant in Nan'an District, Chongqing, China, and the results had a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2680 m3/d, a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3597 m3/d, and a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 1.461 %. Compared with other models, these results showed that the proposed model had better reliability and accuracy in a practical application UDWS forecasting scenario.

Review: All the Water the Law Allows: Las Vegas and Colorado River Politics, by Christian S. Harrison

Review: <i>All the Water the Law Allows: Las Vegas and Colorado River Politics</i>, by Christian S. Harrison

River Water Quality Implication after the Earthquake

The earthquake of 6.0 Magnitude occurred in the Ranua district of Sabah lasted for 30 seconds on 5th June 2015. This study investigated the various water quality parameters such as turbidity, color, dissolved oxygen, pH, electric conductivity, total dissolved solids, and so on from two monitoring stations (Bambangan and Kimolohing). The secondary data was requested from the Water Department of Sabah, where the Liwagu river is the downstream system of Mesilau. Through the temporal trace of each parameter, the water quality parameters showed an abrupt change one day before the earthquake. Consequently, around two weeks after the quake, it reached its initial state rapidly. After the earthquake, the mean turbidity is 436.25 NTU with a standard deviation of 1416.86 NTU. Its peak was on 17th June with 5550 NTU, total dissolved solids were 58.68 mg/l, and the electrical conductivity was 122.98 μs/cm at the Bambangan station, while it was 673.00 NTU with a standard deviation of 1869.90 NTU and it peaked on 17th June with 3750 NTU in the Kimolohing. The dissolved oxygen hit the lowest level of 3.27 mg/l on 17th June when 4.19 mg/l. The nitrate concentration increased to the maximum of 0.18 mg/l and 0.15 mg/l in the Bambangan, and the Kimolohing station, respectively. The metal concentrations also increased after the earthquake at both stations. However, alkalinity and hardness had decreased since 30th April before the earthquake and continued to decline until 14th August, when it reached the initial level. The value of pH and chloride did not seem to be affected by the earthquake, as the concentration maintained the average level.

An experimental study of Canal Water Purification in Chochocho Bushbuckridge Municipality Mpumalanga Province

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the social, economic, and political feasibilities of providing water purification technologies to rural areas of Bushbuckridge Municipality, specifically Chochocho residents.&#x0D; Methodology: For this study, the following techniques were used: Questionnaire survey, simple survey, Observation, and group focus. Data was collected by fieldwork visiting the community members drinking polluted water and getting information utilizing calling individuals. Random sampling was done for this study from community members in Chochocho in Mpumalanga to collect data from known and unknown individuals and municipal officials. During the survey, we observed that residents were drinking polluted water.&#x0D; Main Findings: The study results show that Moringa oleifera powder cleans polluted water quicker and cheaper than paper filters and homemade filters.&#x0D; Implications of study: The results of this study can serve as a foundation for investors interested in entering the technological market. Therefore, Bushbuckridge municipality needs to develop a business strategy to assist the municipality in approaching water purification markets as a collective and social responsibility in the long term. The findings of this study can help the local municipality and the Department of water and sanitation to provide a water pipeline and erect a water purification plant to supply the community with clean water.&#x0D; Novelty of the study: The study will demonstrate knowledge and skills to the young generation through research, and residents and the young generation will gain more innovative ways how to treat polluted water in Chochocho and increase the good health and livelihoods of residents in Chochocho in Bushbuckridge Municipality.

An Analysis of South Africa's Provision of Emergency Water Supply During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Accountability and Expiration

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the widespread lack of access to adequate water and sanitation in South African informal settlements and rural areas. While the full complexities of the relationship between inequality, COVID-19 and water in South Africa are still unfolding, the importance of access to water emerged early on in the pandemic, and catalysed an emergency response from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). This article analyses the impact of the DWS' COVID-19 response in three ways. Firstly, the available data on the provision of tanks and tankers is examined to highlight the importance of a reliable monitoring system. Secondly, the dangers of prioritising short-term action at the expense of long-term sustainability are discussed with reference to the twin challenges of further reduced municipal revenue and redirected funds. Thirdly, the implications of a future cessation of emergency water supply is considered. This analysis provides evidence and perspectives to guide the post-COVID-19 transition from emergency to routine water services provision, and distils lessons which might be applied to the approaching challenge of water services provision in the context of climate change.

An Analysis of South Africa's Provision of Emergency Water Supply During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Accountability and Expiration

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the widespread lack of access to adequate water and sanitation in South African informal settlements and rural areas. While the full complexities of the relationship between inequality, COVID-19 and water in South Africa are still unfolding, the importance of access to water emerged early on in the pandemic, and catalysed an emergency response from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). This article analyses the impact of the DWS' COVID-19 response in three ways. Firstly, the available data on the provision of tanks and tankers is examined to highlight the importance of a reliable monitoring system. Secondly, the dangers of prioritising short-term action at the expense of long-term sustainability are discussed with reference to the twin challenges of further reduced municipal revenue and redirected funds. Thirdly, the implications of a future cessation of emergency water supply is considered. This analysis provides evidence and perspectives to guide the post-COVID-19 transition from emergency to routine water services provision, and distils lessons which might be applied to the approaching challenge of water services provision in the context of climate change.

Hydro-economic model framework for achieving groundwater, food, and economy trade-offs by optimizing crop patterns

When allocating water resources, stakeholders (such as water departments, agricultural sector actors, and farmers) aim to maximize their benefits. This leads to conflicts between water savings, food security, and profit growth, causing major challenges for water managers. A hydro-economic model was developed to alleviate groundwater sustainability, food security, and economic growth (GFE) conflicts through crop pattern optimization. This model combines groundwater, agronomic, and economic sub-models to simulate spatiotemporal variations in groundwater level, irrigation requirement, crop production, and net profit. The NSGA-II algorithm was used to maximize net profits while minimizing groundwater extraction and food reduction through crop pattern optimization in irrigation areas and under crop production constraints. Then, using the Baoding Plain as the study area, three scenarios with no external water supply and nine scenarios with an external water supply of 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 km3/y were designed. The present crop pattern caused a groundwater decline of 0.32 m/y and an overdraft of 0.61 km3/y. The three scenarios without external water supply showed different options for maximizing net profit, minimizing groundwater extraction, and minimizing food reduction without affecting food production, food self-sufficiency or groundwater sustainability. All three scenarios cannot simultaneously satisfy the GFE target. With an external water supply of 0.3 km3/y, only one scenario met the GFE target; with that of 0.6 km3/y, all scenarios met the GFE target; and with that of 0.9 km3/y, groundwater levels increased, profits overflowed, and food overproduction occurred.

Application of e-TOPSIS for Ground Water Potentiality Zonation using Morphometric Parameters and Geospatial Technology of Vanvate Lui Basin, Mizoram, NE India

Abstract Morphometric analysis is the mathematical analysis of a watershed. Groundwater storage is directly related to the morphometry of a watershed. Remote sensing and GIS gives an opportunity for the scientific and empirical investigation towards groundwater potentiality. The utilization of RS/GIS for scientific investigation into ground water potentiality is quite innovative for the hilly state of Mizoram of India, which faces acute water shortage during the winter season. Vanvate Lui basin of Mizoram was thus chosen for the present study. It is an important source of water for a significant number of rural villages like Zote, Chhipphir, and Lungmovi. The present study analyzed the groundwater potentiality of Vanvate lui basin and undertook groundwater potentiality zonation of Vanvate lui basin using eTOPSIS model. eTOPSIS is an intregated knowledge-based multi-criteria decision-making model assimilating TOPSIS objective weighting method and Shannon Entropy. Areal, relief and linear morphometric aspects of Vanvate lui basin were extracted from ALOS PALSAR DEM for conducting MCDM. It was found that sub-basins 1, 6, 8 and 2 have high potentiality for groundwater storage. Similar, studies were also done on the Donor basin adjacent to the study area for model validation. After applying e-TOPSIS in the Donor basin, it was found that the result of the study matches the groundwater data of Donor basin as provided by the PHE department, Mizoram. The zones found to be under high potential of groundwater in the sub-basins 14, 9, 2, 11, 6 and 5 are the ones where the ground water depth is less than 70 meters as measured by the ground water department of Mizoram state. The present study will help the policymakers, village governance system, district development authorities and P.W.D of Mizoram to take proper steps towards developing the rural life quality, identifying suitable groundwater storage and ensuring proper steps towards watershed management. It is hoped that the research work will help in mitigating the water scarcity problem of the study area during the dry winter season.

Evaluation of liver and kidney functions in common carp fishes due to environmental toxicity with acetamiprid pesticide

This study was applied at Wasit University - College of Science - Department of Life Sciences, Iraq. The experiments were done in the laboratories of the department of biology and some private laboratories. As well as the laboratories of the Ministry of Science and Technology - Department of Environment and Water. Blood samples of carp fish were collected during the period of December 2021- May 2022. Two hundred samples were collected from common carp fish and about 150 samples of fish were exposed to the acetamipridpesticide and 50 samples of fish werenot exposed to the pesticide. The objective of this study was to evaluate of the liver and kidney functionsin common carp due to the toxicity with Acetamiprid Pesticide in Tigris River. There are a significant increase was observed in serum Urea and Creatinineat (P≤0.01) in fish exposed to the pesticide compared with the samples that not exposed to the pesticide.

Pasture’s Role in Climate Change Mitigation

This new 4-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences provides information about the role of native and cultivated pastures in climate change mitigation and the opportunities and challenges for improving carbon sequestration in agroecosystems. Climate change mitigation in the context of this publication refers to actions that reduce the rate of climate change. This information should be of interest to stakeholders, students, scientists, and environmental agencies interested in enhancing ecosystems services provided by grazing lands. Written by Maria Silveira, Rosvel Bracho, Curtis Dell, and Abmael Cardoso.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss708

A Modified Hydrologic Model Algorithm Based on Integrating Graph Theory and GIS Database

Ensuring high quantity and quality of water for humans is becoming more important because of the water supply risks in extreme climates. With increasing urbanization, urban water resource management is becoming increasingly important. The hydrologic analysis of water supply pipelines can help decision-makers understand water pressure, flow rate, water quality, and possible leakages, extending feasible strategies for sustainable development and smart cities. In this study, an improved urban hydrologic analysis model was built by integrating the connectivity of graph theory and the geographic information system (GIS) database. The Neihu Division of the Taipei Water Department in Taiwan was taken as an example to explain the proposed process and method, and 15,131 confluence data items were used to analyze the differences between the proposed method and WaterGEMS. The results show that of the total head parameters, 72% had zero differences, 28% had a difference of less than 1 m, and about 99% of the confluences had a water pressure difference of less than 1 m. The comparison of 120 on-site water pressure measurements showed that about 85% of the confluences had an error of less than 20%. The above results demonstrated the applicability of the proposed method for water resource management on similar scales and its benefit for the development of smart cities.

The willingness to pay for agricultural irrigation water and the influencing factors in the Dujiangyan irrigation area: An empirical double-hurdle model analysis

Water prices are an efficient way to manage and allocate water resources. A scientific and reasonable water price standard can assist farmers to optimize their water allocations and ensure an efficient agricultural water system. However, under the current agricultural water pricing policy, it is difficult for water resource management departments to achieve sustainable operation because of unreasonable water price standards and the unwillingness of farmers to pay for agricultural irrigation water. Therefore, to ensure the sustainable management of agricultural water departments, it is important to design scientific and reasonable water price mechanisms that give full play to the regulatory role of agricultural water prices and encourage farmers to pay agricultural water fees. Based on survey data from 335 farming households in the Dujiangyan Irrigation Area, Sichuan, China, in 2019, a double-hurdle model was used to assess the willingness to pay for agricultural irrigation water. The willingness to pay was positively impacted by age, education level, willingness to participate, the arable land area, the water fee proportion, and water-saving awareness but negatively impacted by the water price standard and the farmers’ perceptions of the water price standard. Based on these results, to encourage farmers to participate in and afford agricultural water payments and to give full play to the water price adjustment function and other countermeasures, it is proposed that 1) water-saving awareness training be strengthened; 2) agricultural modernization be promoted; and 3) water price standards be scientifically and rationally formulated.

A stochastic, daily time-step model for conjunctive water use at local authority level

South Africa has a broadly developed water resource infrastructure, based mainly on surface water, localised groundwater, and limited desalination. The Department of Water and Sanitation projects that increasing requirements will exceed the capacity of the country's bulk water supply systems by 2025. To mitigate water scarcity at a local authority level, more conjunctive water use solutions need to be investigated. A Microsoft Excel 2016 model, estimating supply capacity on a daily basis, was developed for local authorities to better manage their water supply systems. The model utilises synthetically generated stochastic streamflow sequences, based on historical data. Monthly streamflow is disaggregated into daily streamflow and a rainfall-runoff relationship is established to produce synthetic rainfall sequences. Groundwater is modelled using an approach similar to the Aquifer Firm Yield Model. Recharge percentages (rainfall data) are obtained from the Groundwater Resource Assessment Phase 2 project. The Cooper-Jacob model evaluates borehole drawdowns and their effect on surrounding boreholes. Desalination and water reclamation are modelled as one source. The model evaluates and compares the historical, as well as stochastic available yield of a conjunctive use water supply system, for different operational scenarios. The water supply system of Stellenbosch was used as a case study to illustrate the model's functionality.

Nitrogen in the Home Landscape

This document helps homeowners understand how N interacts in the environment through the nitrogen cycle, making maintenance of home landscapes or gardens easier and more sustainable. This document is SL 254, one of a series of the Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date January 2008. Revised March 2011 and August 2022.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss479