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Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 28416

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Subhasis Giri

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Guest Editor

Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 14 College Farm Rd, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
Interests: watershed hydrology; water quality; green infrastructure; ecohydrology; climate change; water sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Owing to the increasing number of extreme precipitation events due to climate change concomitant with population growth and anthropogenic activities (e.g., agricultural activities, urbanization), water quality degradation has aggravated throughout the globe. Given the many perspectives regarding maintaining sustainable water resources through contemporary as well as emerging concepts, there is a critical need to create knowledge-based systems to ensure the safety and security of our future generations from a clean water crisis. The ever-increasing threats to water quality degradation are further highlighted through the status and trends of water quality deterioration in major river basins around the world. Therefore, at this juncture it is imperative to i) identify primary factors and their thresholds influencing water quality degradation, and ii) quantify the water quality improvement through various science-based experiments/research in complex human and natural systems.

The overarching objective of this Special Issue entitled “Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment” is to gather various types of research activities (e.g., empirical, conceptual, applied science, as well as literature reviews) on water quality and related topics such as eutrophication and harmful algal blooms in one place. This will enrich our knowledge on sustainable water quality management, which will indirectly bolster the priority of Sustainable Development Goals by United Nation on “access to clean water”. This Special Issue will cover a wide spectrum of topics related to water quality, including:

Understanding eutrophication and harmful algal blooms in waterways using data analytics and machine learning algorithms;
Quantifying the potential impacts of climate and land use change on hydrology and water quality using process-based models;
Applying the variable source area hydrology concept to improve water quality;
Investigating the role of climate and watershed characteristics to better understand water quality and stream integrity using advanced statistical modeling;
Examining the potential of best management practices (BMPs; e.g., agricultural and urban BMPs) to ameliorate water quality deterioration due to climate change and anthropogenic activities;
The fate and transport of bacteria ( coli and fecal coliforms) in agricultural and urban environments;
Quantifying the potential impacts of climate extremes (e.g., drought and flooding) on water quality in river basins;
Socio-environmental systems and complex interaction using agent-based modeling.

Dr. Subhasis Giri
Guest Editor

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Keywords

harmful algal blooms
eutrophication
climate change
variable source area hydrology
best management practices
stream integrity
non-point source pollution
drought
flooding

Related Special Issue

Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment—2nd Edition in Sustainability

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 67706 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimation of Watershed Hydrochemical Responses to Future Climate Changes Based on CMIP6 Scenarios in the Tianhe River (China)

by Jian Sha, Xue Li and Jingjing Yang

Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10102; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131810102 - 09 Sep 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2102

Abstract

The impacts of future climate changes on watershed hydrochemical processes were assessed based on the newest Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) in the Tianhe River in the middle area of China. The monthly spatial downscaled outputs of General Circulation Models (GCMs) were used, and a new Python procedure was developed to batch pick up site-scale climate change information. A combined modeling approach was proposed to estimate the responses of the streamflow and Total Dissolved Nitrogen (TDN) fluxes to four climate change scenarios during four future periods. The Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG) was used to generate synthetic daily weather series, which were further used in the Regional Nutrient Management (ReNuMa) model for scenario analyses of watershed hydrochemical process responses. The results showed that there would be 2–3% decreases in annual streamflow by the end of this century for most scenarios except SSP 1-26. More streamflow is expected in the summer months, responding to most climate change scenarios. The annual TDN fluxes would continue to increase in the future under the uncontrolled climate scenarios, with more non-point source contributions during the high-flow periods in the summer. The intensities of the TDN flux increasing under the emission-controlled climate scenarios would be relatively moderate, with a turning point around the 2070s, indicating that positive climate policies could be effective for mitigating the impacts of future climate changes on watershed hydrochemical processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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17 pages, 1535 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Remote Detection of Cyanobacterial Blooms and Chlorophyll-a Analysis in a Eutrophic Reservoir Using Sentinel-2

by Manuel Viso-Vázquez, Carolina Acuña-Alonso, Juan Luis Rodríguez and Xana Álvarez

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8570; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13158570 - 31 Jul 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2928

Abstract

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms have been one of the most challenging ecological problems faced by freshwater bodies for more than a century. The use of satellite images as a tool to analyze these blooms is an innovative technology that will facilitate water governance and help develop measures to guarantee water security. To assess the viability of Sentinel-2 for identifying cyanobacterial blooms and chlorophyl-a, different bands of the Sentinel-2 satellite were considered, and those most consistent with cyanobacteria analysis were analyzed. This analysis was supplemented by an assessment of different indices and their respective correlations with the field data. The indices assessed were the following: Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Normalized Differences Vegetation Index (NDVI), green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (gNDVI), Normalized Soil Moisture Index (NSMI), and Toming’s Index. The green band (B3) obtained the best correlating results for both chlorophyll (R² = 0.678) and cyanobacteria (R² = 0.931). The study by bands of cyanobacteria composition can be a powerful tool for assessing the physiology of strains. NDWI gave an R² value of 0.849 for the downstream point with the concentration of cyanobacteria. Toming’s Index obtained a high R² of 0.859 with chlorophyll-a and 0.721 for the concentration of cyanobacteria. Notable differences in correlation for the upstream and downstream points were obtained with the indices. These results show that Sentinel-2 will be a valuable tool for lake monitoring and research, especially considering that the data will be routinely available for many years and the images will be frequent and free. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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24 pages, 7386 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Meteorological and Hydrological Drought Analysis and Its Impact on Water Quality and Stream Integrity

by Subhasis Giri, Ashok Mishra, Zhen Zhang, Richard G. Lathrop and Ali O. Alnahit

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8175; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13158175 - 21 Jul 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3833

Abstract

Rising temperature and shifting precipitation patterns due to climate change are likely to intensify droughts throughout the world. Understanding the drought characteristics of possible future scenarios under climate change requires verification of past drought events using appropriate drought indices. Consequently, this study investigates the application of two widely used drought indices, the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and standardized streamflow index (SSI), to characterize historical droughts, drought trends, and their impact on water quality and stream integrity for a selected study basin in New Jersey. Results indicated that both SPI and SSI were able to identify historical drought events, including three drought emergency periods and the most recent drought-watch periods. A significant positive meteorological drought was observed at the western side of the basin, whilst a significant positive hydrological drought was found in the eastern side. The average pollutant concentration of drought periods were lesser than non-drought periods due to reduction of different processes, such as erosion and transport of sediment and nutrients into rivers and streams, during drought periods as opposed to non-drought periods. The findings from this study will serve to bolster the ongoing efforts to formulate better drought management strategies for future climate change in the Raritan Basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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19 pages, 2661 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multidimensional Aspects of Sustainable Biofuel Feedstock Production

by Anna Raschke, J. Sebastian Hernandez-Suarez, A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi and Kalyanmoy Deb

Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1424; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031424 - 29 Jan 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2460

Abstract

Bioenergy is becoming increasingly relevant as an alternative to fossil fuels. Various bioenergy feedstocks are suggested as environmentally friendly solutions due to their positive impact on stream health and ability to sequester carbon, but most evaluations for bioenergy feedstocks have not evaluated the implications of bioenergy crop production holistically to date. Through the application of multi-objective optimization on 10 bioenergy feedstock rotations in a Michigan watershed, a Pareto front is searched to identify optimal trade-off solutions for three objective functions representing stream health, environmental emissions/carbon footprint, and economic feasibility. Various multi-criteria decision-making techniques are then applied to the resulting Pareto front to select a set of most-preferred trade-off solutions, which are compared to optimal solutions from each individual objective function. The most-preferred trade-off solutions indicate that a diverse mix of rotations are necessary to optimize all three objectives, whereas the individually optimal solutions do not consider a diverse range of feedstocks, thereby making the proposed multi-objective treatment an important and pragmatic strategy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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15 pages, 4445 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impacts of Climate Change and Population Growth on River Nutrient Loads in a Data Scarce Region: The Upper Awash River (Ethiopia)

by Gianbattista Bussi, Paul G. Whitehead, Li Jin, Meron T. Taye, Ellen Dyer, Feyera A. Hirpa, Yosef Abebe Yimer and Katrina J. Charles

Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1254; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031254 - 25 Jan 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3657

Abstract

Assessing the impact of climate change and population growth on river water quality is a key issue for many developing countries, where multiple and often conflicting river water uses (water supply, irrigation, wastewater disposal) are placing increasing pressure on limited water resources. However, comprehensive water quality datasets are often lacking, thus impeding a full-scale data-based river water quality assessment. Here we propose a model-based approach, using both global datasets and local data to build an evaluation of the potential impact of climate changes and population growth, as well as to verify the efficiency of mitigation measures to curb river water pollution. The upper Awash River catchment in Ethiopia, which drains the city of Addis Ababa as well as many agricultural areas, is used as a case-study. The results show that while decreases in runoff and increases in temperature due to climate change are expected to result in slightly decreased nutrient concentrations, the largest threat to the water quality of the Awash River is population growth, which is expected to increase nutrient loads by 15 to 20% (nitrate) and 30 to 40% (phosphorus) in the river by the second half of the 21st century. Even larger increases are to be expected downstream of large urban areas, such as Addis Ababa. However, improved wastewater treatment options are shown to be efficient in counteracting the negative impact of population growth and returning water pollution to acceptable levels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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22 pages, 18475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Groundwater Resources in Coastal Areas of Pakistan for Sustainable Water Quality Management Using Joint Geophysical and Geochemical Approach: A Case Study

by Muhammad Hasan, Yanjun Shang, Mohamed Metwaly, Weijun Jin, Majid Khan and Qiang Gao

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9730; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12229730 - 21 Nov 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2908

Abstract

Delineation of fresh/saline groundwater is essential for sustainable water quality management, especially in the coastal areas all around the globe. Seawater intrusion causes substantial degradation in quality of freshwater resources in the coastal areas. The main reason for saltwater intrusion is the changing environment in terms of sea-level rise, climate change, and over-extraction of freshwater resources to meet the growing demands. In this study, an integrated approach of geophysical and geochemical methods was used to assess saltwater intrusion in the coastal areas of Bela Plain, Pakistan. The inverted electrical resistivity computed from 50 vertical electrical sounding (VES) constrained the subsurface into five layers and two aquifers through 3D imaging, such as silty clay and sandy clay containing saline water, and sand, sandy gravel, and gravel containing freshwater. However, the narrow range of resistivity values shows an overlap of saline/fresh groundwater. Such ambiguity in the resistivity interpretation was removed by Dar-Zarrouk (D-Z) parameters. D-Z parameters, namely transverse unit resistance (T_r), longitudinal unit conductance (S_c), and longitudinal resistivity (ρL) estimated from VES, marked a clear distinction between saline and fresh aquifers with a wide range of values. The geochemical method was performed using 20 water samples for the main cations (K⁺, Ca²⁺ Na⁺, and Mg²⁺), anions (SO₄²⁻, HCO₃⁻, Cl⁻, and NO₃⁻), and other parameters (TDS, EC, and pH). Fresh/saline aquifers revealed by D-Z parameters are in good agreement with those delineated by physicochemical parameters and local hydrogeological conditions. This study delineates seawater intrusion of about 13–42 km from Sonmiani Bay in the Arabian Sea towards the inlands of Bela Plain. Therefore, it is expected that this investigation will be helpful in future planning for the management and exploitation of freshwater resources in the study area. Our study suggests that D-Z parameters can be used as the most inexpensive alternative to the traditional geotechnical and environmental tests for the demarcation of fresh/saline groundwater with a large coverage in any coastal or contaminated area under a homogeneous or heterogeneous setting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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14 pages, 2557 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Response of Dissolved Organic Matter during Monsoon and Post-Monsoon Periods in the Regulated River for Sustainable Water Supply

by Mei-Yan Jin, Hye-Ji Oh, Kyung-Hoon Shin, Min-Ho Jang, Hyun-Woo Kim, Bohyung Choi, Zi-Yu Lin, Jeong Sook Heo, Jong-Min Oh and Kwang-Hyeon Chang

Sustainability 2020, 12(13), 5310; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12135310 - 01 Jul 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2048

Abstract

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in rivers are an important factor in pollution management due to the abundance of stored carbon. Using fluorescent spectroscopy, we investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics of DOM compositions, as well as their properties, for two of the major four regulated rivers—Han River (HR) and Geum River (GR) in South Korea. We collected eight sampling sites, four from each of the two rivers (from close to the weirs) in order to observe the integrated effects of different land use (terrestrial input) during the monsoon (July) and post-monsoon periods (September). High integral values of DOM compositions (July: 30.81 ± 9.71 × 10³ vs. September: 1.78 ± 0.66 × 10³) were present in all eight sites after heavy rainfall during the monsoon period, which indicated that Asian monsoon climates occupy a potent role in the DOM compositions of the rivers. Regarding DOM compositions, tryptophan-like and fulvic acid-like components were predominant in HR and GR, especially in GR with high integral values of protein-like and humus components. However, the properties of terrestrial DOM between HR and GR are markedly different. These results considered due to the different land use, where the terrestrial DOM shows a low degree of humification due to a high percentage of agriculture and urban land use in GR. Furthermore, these two rivers are typical regulated rivers, due to their weir constructions. High values of DOM components were present in the downstream of the weirs; however, increasingly high patterns appeared in the HR because of heavy rainfall (511.01 mm in HR; 376.33 mm in GR). In addition, a lower increasing trend of humic-like component was present in the GR due to a low percentage of forest land use/cover. These results suggest that the effect of the weir on rivers can be highlighted by the different percentages of land use/cover under the conditions of the monsoon period. Hence, DOM fluorescence can serve as an effective indicator for providing an early signal for the complex impacts of the different land use and rainfall in the regulated river systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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26 pages, 5880 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improved Representation of Flow and Water Quality in a North-Eastern German Lowland Catchment by Combining Low-Frequency Monitored Data with Hydrological Modelling

by Muhammad Waseem, Jannik Schilling, Frauke Kachholz and Jens Tränckner

Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 4812; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12124812 - 12 Jun 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2836

Abstract

Achievements of good chemical and ecological status of groundwater (GW) and surface water (SW) bodies are currently challenged mainly due to poor identification and quantification of pollution sources. A high spatio-temporal hydrological and water quality monitoring of SW and GW bodies is the basis for a reliable assessment of water quality in a catchment. However, high spatio-temporal hydrological and water quality monitoring is expensive, laborious, and hard to accomplish. This study uses spatio-temporally low resolved monitored water quality and river discharge data in combination with integrated hydrological modelling to estimate the governing pollution pathways and identify potential transformation processes. A key task at the regarded lowland river Augraben is (i) to understand the SW and GW interactions by estimating representative GW zones (GWZ) based on simulated GW flow directions and GW quality monitoring stations, (ii) to quantify GW flows to the Augraben River and its tributaries, and (iii) to simulate SW discharges at ungauged locations. Based on simulated GW flows and SW discharges, NO₃-N, NO₂-N, NH₄-N, and P loads are calculated from each defined SW tributary outlet (SWTO) and respective GWZ by using low-frequency monitored SW and GW quality data. The magnitudes of NO₃-N transformations and plant uptake rates are accessed by estimating a NO₃-N balance at the catchment outlet. Based on sensitivity analysis results, Manning’s roughness, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and boundary conditions are mainly used for calibration. The water balance results show that 60–65% of total precipitation is lost via evapotranspiration (ET). A total of 85–95% of SW discharge in Augraben River and its tributaries is fed by GW via base flow. SW NO₃-N loads are mainly dependent on GW flows and GW quality. Estimated SW NO₃-N loads at SWTO_Ivenack and SWTO_Lindenberg show that these tributaries are heavily polluted and contribute mainly to the total SW NO₃-N loads at Augraben River catchment outlet (SWO_Gehmkow). SWTO_Hasseldorf contributes least to the total SW NO₃-N loads. SW quality of Augraben River catchment lies, on average, in the category of heavily polluted river with a maximum NO₃-N load of 650 kg/d in 2017. Estimated GW loads in GWZ_Ivenack have contributed approximately 96% of the total GW loads and require maximum water quality improvement efforts to reduce high NO₃-N levels. By focusing on the impacts of NO₃-N reduction measures and best agricultural practices, further studies can enhance the better agricultural and water quality management in the study area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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20 pages, 6417 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on the Relationship between Land Use Change and Water Quality of the Mitidja Watershed in Algeria Based on GIS and RS

by Dechao Chen, Acef Elhadj, Hualian Xu, Xinliang Xu and Zhi Qiao

Sustainability 2020, 12(9), 3510; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12093510 - 25 Apr 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3884

Abstract

Many catchments in northern Algeria, including the coastal Mitidja Basin in the north central part of the country have been negatively affected by the deterioration of water quality in recent years. This study aims to discover the relationship between land use change and its impact on water quality in the coastal Mitidja river basin. Based on the data of land use and water quality in 2000, 2010 and 2017, the relationship between land use change and surface water quality index in the Mitidja Watershed was discussed through GIS and statistical analysis. The results show that the physical and chemical properties of the Mitidja river basin have obvious spatial heterogeneity. The water quality of upstream was better than that of downstream. There was a significant spatial relationship between the eight water quality indicators and three land use types, including urban residential land, agricultural land and vegetation. In most cases, settlements and agricultural land are the dominant factors leading to river pollution, and higher vegetation coverage helps to improve water quality. The regression model revealed that percentage of urban settlement area was a predictor for NH₄-N, BOD₅, COD, SS, PO₄-P, DO and pH, while vegetation was a predictor for NO₃-N. The analysis also showed that during this period, urban settlement areas increased sharply, which has a significant impact on water quality variables. Agricultural land only had a significant positive correlation with PO₄-P. The results provide an effective way to evaluate river water quality, control water pollution and land use management by landscape pattern. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Quality Management in the Changing Environment)

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