Modeling Ungauged Watersheds: Bibliography

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342 MODELING UNGAUGED WATERSHEDS
only on one single sub-system, independently of the MODELING UNGAUGED WATERSHEDS

rest. This will open optimization of the total urban
drainage system rather than optimizing each subsystem THORSTEN WAGENER
individually. The Pennsylvania State
University
BIBLIOGRAPHY University Park, Pennsylvania
1. Andrews, T. (2002). Building better integrated network data.

World Water Environ. Eng. July: 26.
INTRODUCTION
2. Andersen, H.S., Larsen, L.C., Lindberg, S., Tamasauskas, H.,
and Mark, O. (2004). MIKE URBAN—Integration of Mod-
Models of watershed hydrology are irreplaceable tools in
elling and GIS. 6th Int. Conf. Urban Drainage Mod-
elling—UDM’04, Dresden, Germany.
today’s research and practice. Their areas of application
are wide reaching, from water management and flood
3. Lindberg, S, Nielsen, J.B., and Carr, R. (1989). An inte-
grated PC-modelling system for hydraulic analysis of
forecasting, to their use as load models for water quality
drainage systems. 1st Aust. Conf. Tech. Comput. Water Ind.: studies. A vast number of these models have been
Watercomp ’89, Melbourne, Australia. developed since the 1960s and they differ in temporal
4. James, W. and Robinson, M.A. (1984). PCSWMM3, Version and spatial discretization, processes described, and in
3 of the runoff, executive and extended transport blocks the constituent equations used. However, there are also
adapted for the IBM-PC, Proc. Stormwater Water Qual. similarities that have consequences for the way these
Modelling Conf., sponsored by USEPA and Ontario Ministry models are commonly applied. All models of watershed
of Environment, Burlington, Ontario, Sept. 6–7, published hydrology aggregate the real hydrologic system on a
by CHI Hamilton, pp. 39–52. particular element scale in space and time. The spatial
5. Johansen, N.B., Linde-Jensen, J.J., and Harremoës, P. scale might vary from grid cells of tens of meters to
(1984). Computing combined system overflow based on models that treat the whole catchment as a single
historical rain series. Chalmers University of Technology, unit, and the temporal scale might vary, for example,
3rd Int. Conf. Urban Storm Drainage, Göteborg, Sweden.
from 15-minute intervals to monthly time steps. It is
6. Blanc, D., Kellagher, R., Phan, L., and Price, R. (1995). common to assume homogeneity of processes or watershed
FLUPOL-MOSQITO, models, simulations, critical analysis
characteristics on scales smaller than the one applied, that
and development. Water Sci. Technol. 32(1): 185–192.
is, parameters are assumed to be effective on a certain
7. Garsdal, H., Mark, O., Dørge, J., and Jepsen, S.-E. (1994).
scale (Fig. 1), although the heterogeneity of the real world
MOUSE TRAP: Modelling of water quality processes and
the interaction of sediments and pollutants in sewers.
on smaller scales is sometimes described by distribution
Specialized Int. Conf.: Sewer Phys. Chem. Biol. Reactor, functions (2). The characteristics of each model element,
Aalborg, Denmark. for example, storage or infiltration capacity, are described
8. Alam, J.M. (2003). Two-dimensional Urban Flood Modeling by parameters within the model. A common problem is that
for Real Time Flood Forecasting for Dhaka city, Bangladesh. the scale on which these characteristics can be measured
AIT Thesis no. WM-02-06. Asian Institute of Technology, are usually different, mostly smaller, than the scale of
Thailand. the model element. The effect of this difference between
9. Nania L., Gomez M., and Dolz, J. (2002). Analysis of risk model and measurement scale is that one has to revert
associated with urban runoff, case study: City of Mendoza, to alternative methods to estimate model parameters.
Argentina. 9th Int. Conf. Urban Drainage, Sept. 8–13, The usual approach is to observe the responses of the
Portland, OR. real hydrologic system, for example, streamflow, and
10. Schmitt T.G., Schilling, W., Saegrov, S., and Nieschulz, K.P. compare them to predictions of the model. The modeler
(2002). Flood risk management for urban drainage system then adjusts the model parameters, in a process usually
by simulation and optimisation. Global Solutions for Urban referred to as calibration, until model predictions and
Drainage, 9th Int. Conf. Urban Drainage, Sept. 8–13,
observations are as close as possible. Calibration can be
Portland, OR.
performed using manual or automatic techniques and the
11. Mark, O., Weesakul, S., Apirumanekul, C., Boonya Aroon-
available literature on this subject is immense. Between
net, S., and Djordjević, S. (2004). Potential and limitations of
3 to 10 years of observations are required for calibration,
1-D modelling of urban flooding. Accepted for J. Hydrol.
depending on the model complexity and the informational
12. Boonya-aroonnet, S., Weesakul, S., and Mark, O. (2002).
Modelling of urban flooding in Bangkok. 9th Int. Conf. Urban
content of the data (3). Shorter periods can suffice when
Drainage, Portland, OR. the data sufficiently trigger the response modes of the
13. Rauch, W. et al. (2002). Mathematical modeling of integrated
model (4).
urban drainage systems. Water Sci. Technol. 45(3): 81–94. Alternatives to model calibration have to be found
14. Foundation for Water Research. (1998). Urban Pollution
when no or insufficient time series of the variable under
Management (UPM) Manual, 2nd Edn. FR/CL 0009. investigation are available for this process. This is a
15. Mark, O. et al. (2002). A real-time hydrological information
common problem, even in countries that have extensive
system for Bangkok. Int. Conf. Urban Hydrol. 21st Century, measuring networks such as the United Kingdom that has
Oct. 14–18, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. more than 1400 gauging stations (5). It is also possible
16. Wangwongwiroj, N., Schlütter, F., and Mark, O. (2003). that sufficiently long streamflow time series are available
Principles and practical aspects of an automatic calibration but that the modeling objective is the prediction of a
procedure for urban rainfall-runoff models. Accepted for the different variable, for example, groundwater levels. Then,
J. Urban Water. a calibration with respect to the variable under study
MODELING UNGAUGED WATERSHEDS 343
the critical issues’’ (12, p. 17). This problem has led to

Heterog.
Input Output a more holistic approach to flood management in some
countries. In the United Kingdom, for example, there is
a move to replace event-based modeling with continuous
Measurement approaches (13,14).
Identical Identical
Homog.
MODELING THE CONTINUOUS WATERSHED RESPONSE
Input Output
(x eff, qeff) Several approaches to estimating parameters in ungauged
watersheds are available for continuous simulation
models. The two most common approaches are (1) the
Figure 1. Definition of effective parameters and differences in
scale between measurements and hydrologic modeling. (Modified
derivation of regression relationships between model
from Reference 1). parameters and watershed characteristics (5,6,15–17)
and (2) estimation of parameter values from measurable
watershed (mainly soil) properties (18–23).
would not be possible. With respect to the modeling of In the first approach, a chosen model structure
ungauged watersheds, there is also a difference whether is calibrated to a large number of watersheds for
the required predictions are limited to particular events which sufficiently long and informative observations are
or whether continuous simulation is required. Some available. An attempt is then made to derive regression
reasonable estimates for event-based models can be equations that predict its value using a combination of
derived, but this is not the case for continuous models several watershed characteristics. A separate equation
where the predictions are highly uncertain (6). These two is commonly derived for each model parameter. The
cases are therefore treated separately here. parameter values in the ungauged watershed can then be
estimated using the derived equations and a prediction
can be made. Figure 2 shows a typical procedure for
MODELING THE EVENT-BASED WATERSHED RESPONSE
extrapolating parameters from gauged watersheds using
regression analysis (6). The steps are as follows (Fig. 2):
Empirical models are usually used for modeling individual
(1) Select catchments and their characteristics. (2) Select
events. In these models, the response characteristics of
and calibrate the local model structure. (3) Select and
watersheds (e.g., mean annual flood or the percentage
calibrate the regional model structure. (4) Predict flow
runoff) are related to watershed descriptors (e.g., area,
at the ungauged site. Currently, this is probably the
drainage density, or dominant soil types) using regression
most often applied technique; however, Wagener et al. (6)
equations (7;8, p. 301).
found considerable uncertainty in typical predictions using
Another empirical approach that is very popular
this approach.
for event-based modeling in ungauged watersheds in
Sometimes, it might be possible to derive at least
many parts of the world is the curve number (CN)
some of the model parameters directly from measurable
method. This approach was originally developed by the
watershed characteristics. The scale difference between
Soil Conservation Service for watersheds in the United
model parameters and measurements might be relatively
States (9;10, pp. 147 et ff.). The basis of this technique
small for some parameters if the model uses a very fine
is the assumption that the ratio of direct runoff to total
spatial distribution, or simple equations can be used to
precipitation is equal to the ratio of retained water to the
derive these parameters from a combination of watershed
potential maximum retention. The value of the potential
characteristics. Koren et al. (22), for example, show how
maximum retention S can be calculated using values
storage capacities can be estimated from soil properties
for CN:
1000 such as field capacity and wilting point. These properties
S= − 10 (1) are usually derived from point samples analyzed on
CN
the laboratory scale. This makes using these values for
where S is calculated in inches. Actual values for CN lumped parameter estimation questionable because there
(0–100) given in tables or graphs are a function of soil is generally no theory that allows the estimation of the
type, land use, and antecedent moisture conditions (10, effective values within different parts of a heterogeneous
pp. 148–149), which makes this approach so attractive for flow domain from a limited number of small scale or
modeling ungauged watersheds. These graphs and tables laboratory measurements (8). On the other hand, this
were originally derived from measured rainfall-runoff data approach does not assume that all the model parameters
on a small watershed or hillslope scale (8, p. 184). are independent as in the earlier mentioned regression
These parametrically simple event-based models have technique. The idea of Koren et al. (22) is therefore
been applied with some success (7,11). However, there is a rather to derive good initial estimates for a subsequent
trend to move from event-based models to those that pro- calibration procedure in gauged watersheds, that is,
vide continuous simulation because the initial conditions to reduce the calibration effort, and also for ungauged
for event-based models are a major source of uncer- watershed and distributed modeling approaches. Very few
tainty. A recent workshop report on challenges in hydro- examples can be found in the literature where models,
logic predictability noted ‘‘in watershed rainfall-runoff using only measured parameters, have been applied
transformation . . . initial and boundary conditions are without further calibration. It is unlikely that reliable
344 MODELING UNGAUGED WATERSHEDS
Gauged
catchment 1
I1 q
1,
f
q1 1
I2 Gauged
Local q 2, f 2 Regional
catchment 2 f* Ungauged
model q2 model catchment*
structure structure
N
I
fN
q qN
,
N
Gauged
catchment N
q*
I*
Q*
Figure 2. Schematic description of the statistical regionalization approach. (Modified from Reference 6).
predictions can be obtained by this approach from the 7. IH. (1999). Flood Estimation Handbook (5 volumes). Centre
current generation of model structures. for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK.
8. Beven, K.J. (2000). Rainfall-Runoff Modeling: The Primer.
John Wiley, Chichester, U.K.
CONCLUSION 9. SCS (1972). National Engineering Handbook, Section 4,
Hydrology. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
The ungauged problem is currently an area of extensive 10. Chow, Ven Te, Maidment, D.R., and Mays, L.W. (1998).
research and it can be expected that considerable progress Applied Hydrology. McGraw-Hill, New York.
will be made during the coming years (6,24,25). The 11. NERC (1975). The flood studies report (5 volumes). Natural
complexity of the problem requires a holistic approach Environment Research Council, Wallingford, UK.
that can be provided only by a wide variety of hydrologists 12. (National Research Council). (2003). Predictability & Limits-
working on different topics. However, the potential value to-Prediction in Hydrologic Systems. National Academy Press,
of the scientific outcome is very high. Current predictions Washington, DC.
in ungauged watersheds have to be considered as very 13. Lamb, R. (2000). An approach to the calibration of a concep-
uncertain though and must be used carefully in decision- tual rainfall-runoff model for flood frequency estimation by
making. continuous simulation. Water Resour. Res. 35: 3103–3114.
14. Wheater, H.S. (2002). Progress and prospects for fluvial flood
modelling. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. 360 (1796): 1409–1431.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 15. Jakeman, A.J. et al. (1992). A systematic approach to
modelling the dynamic linkage of climate, physical catchment
1. Grayson, R. and Blöschl, G. (Eds.). (2000). Spatial Patterns descriptors and hydrological response components. Math.
in Catchment Hydrology. Cambridge University Press, Comput. Simul. 33: 359–366.
Cambridge, UK. 16. Seibert, J. (1999). Regionalisation of parameters for a
2. Moore, R.J. and Clarke, R.T. (1981). A distribution approach conceptual rainfall-runoff model. Agric. Forest Meteorol.
to rainfall runoff modeling. Water Resour. Res. 17(5): 98–99: 279–293.
1367–1382. 17. Abdullah, F.A. and Lettenmaier, D.P. (1997). Application of
3. Yapo, P.O., Gupta, H.V., and Sorooshian, S. (1996). Auto- regional parameter estimation schemes to simulate the water
matic calibration of conceptual rainfall-runoff models: Sensi- balance of a larger continental river. J. Hydrol. 197: 258–285.
tivity to calibration data. J. Hydrol. 181: 23–48. 18. Beven, K.J., Kirkby, M.J., Schoffield, N., and Tagg, A. (1984).
4. Jakeman, A.J. and Hornberger, G.M. (1993). How much Testing a physically-based flood forecasting model (TOP-
complexity is warranted in a rainfall-runoff model? Water MODEL) for three UK catchments. J. Hydrol. 69: 119–143.
Resour. Res. 29(8): 2637–2649. 19. Parkin, G. et al. (1996). Validation of catchment models for
5. Sefton, C.E.M. and Howarth, S.M. (1998). Relationships predicting land-use and climate change impacts. 2. Case study
between dynamic response characteristics and physical for a Mediterranean catchment. J. Hydrol. 175: 595–613.
descriptors of catchments in England and Wales. J. Hydrol. 20. Refsgaard, J.C. and Knudsen, J. (1996). Operational valida-
211: 1–16. tion and intercomparison of different types of hydrological
6. Wagener, T., Wheater, H.S., and Gupta, H.V. (in press). models. Water Resour. Res. 32(7): 2189–2202.
Rainfall-Runoff Modeling in Gauged and Ungauged Catch- 21. Loague, K.M. and Kyriakidis, P.C. (1997). Spatial and
ments. Imperial College Press, London. temporal variability in the R-5 infiltration data set: Déjà
CORPS TURNED NIAGARA FALLS OFF, ON AGAIN 345
vu and rainfall-runoff simulations. Water Resour. Res. 33:

2883–2896.
22. Koren, V., Smith, M., and Duan, Q. (2003). Use of a priori
parameter estimates in the derivation of spatially consis-
tent parameter sets of rainfall-runoff models. In: Q. Duan,
H.V. Gupta, S. Sorooshian, A.N. Rousseau, and R. Turcotte
(Eds.), Calibration of Watershed Models. American Geo-
physical Union Water Science and Application Series, 6,
pp. 239–254.
23. Atkinson, S.E., Woods, R.A., and Sivapalan, M. (2002). Cli-
mate and landscape controls on water balance model com-
plexity over changing time scales. Water Resour. Res. 38(12):
1–17.
24. Sivapalan, M. (2003). Prediction in ungauged basins: A
grand challenge for theoretical hydrology. Hydrological
Processes(invited commentary). 17(15): 3163–3170.
25. Sivapalan, M. et al. (2003). IAHS decade on predictions in
ungauged basins (PUB), 2003–2012: Shaping an exciting
future for the hydrological sciences. Hydrological Sci. J. 48(6):
867–880.
CORPS TURNED NIAGARA FALLS OFF, ON

AGAIN
FRANK BALON
Buffalo District,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Niagara Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the

World, attracts millions of tourists each year. But 30 years
ago tourists flocked to see an unprecedented sight the
mighty Falls reduced to a mere trickle by the engineering
skill of Buffalo District.
Niagara Falls is 19 miles downstream from Lake Erie.
Goat Island divides the Niagara River into two channels,
separating Niagara Falls into American Falls on the The stark contrast between Niagara Falls with water and without
actually increased tourist volume to the area
American side and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side.
Public concern arose in the mid-1960s regarding the
talus (rock fragments) accumulation at the base of the
American Falls, which many felt detracted from its natural Falls. The Falls remained dry until November 25, 1969,
beauty. Three major rockfalls occurred in 1931, 1954 and when a backhoe removed the cofferdam.
1959, depositing about 130,000 cubic yards of rock at the Once stripped of its cascading white waters, the 1,100-
Falls’ base. foot-wide, 200-foot-high precipice revealed sights never
In 1965, Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps of before seen. One rock outcrop closely resembled a human
Engineers to study the measures needed to preserve and profile. Another giant block of rock at the fall’s base was
enhance the beauty of the American Falls. The results of larger than most houses in the city of Niagara Falls.
the Corps’ study were submitted to the International Joint Special measures were taken to prevent damage to
Commission (IJC) which, at the request of the American aquatic life in the American Falls channel. Terrestrial
and Canadian governments, began an independent inquiry vegetation in the channel’s small islands were protected
in 1967. The Commission established the American Falls
and irrigated. Sprinklers kept Rochester shale wet on the
Study Board, which included representatives from the
face of the American Falls. In addition, railings at viewing
Corps, Environment Canada, and eminent landscape
areas were relocated and mass rock was stabilized to
architects to consider possible alternatives for preserving
protect workers and the viewing public from injury.
American Falls’ future.
While American Falls was dewatered, the board
The IJC recommended to both countries that American
conducted a detailed geologic exploration. Forty-six core
Falls be temporarily dewatered to facilitate a timely and
holes, totaling 4,882 feet, were bored. Dye and water
thorough study. The governments agreed, and on June 12,
testing on the completed holes identified weak points
1969, a rock cofferdam stopped the flow over American
in the rock mass. Face mapping included topographic,
stratigraphic and structural studies. Additional testing
This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the included terrestrial photogrammetry of the Falls’ face,
public domain in the United States of America. mapping rock fractures and joints, and measuring both
346 OPEN CHANNEL DESIGN
‘‘I’ve seen the Falls five or six times before, in winter

and in summer,’’ said a tourist quoted in the June 13, 1969
issue of the Buffalo Courier Express. ‘‘But this is the best
time to see it. It’s so unique.’’
Public opinion was considered very important. Public
displays describing the Falls and the Board’s undertakings
were exhibited in both countries. The dewatering program
received intensive national and international media
coverage. Public opinion was strongly in favor of
maintaining the Falls’ natural appearance, leaving the
accumulated talus fully intact.
In the end, the board agreed. After exhaustive deliber-
ation, the IJC recommended that the U.S. and Canadian
governments leaving the talus totally intact, considering
the cost of removal, the irreversible nature of the project,
and the resulting accelerated erosion. In addition, the IJC
concluded that artificial means should not be employed to
prevent further erosion of the Falls’ crest.
The timeless beauty of majestic Niagara Falls continues
to inspire and serve as a symbol of international
cooperation between the U.S. and Canada. A 1975 IJC
report to both governments stated that ‘‘consideration
of the preservation and enhancement of the beauty of
the American Falls cannot be limited to their physical
aspects. The appeal and fascination of the Falls mean
Workers were lowered by cranes, in safety cages, to inspect the different things to different people. Their beauty is in the
face of the falls eye, the mind, and the heart of the beholder.’’
water pressure in rock joints and horizontal movement in

the adjacent rock mass. OPEN CHANNEL DESIGN
‘‘It was thrilling to walk on the American Falls
riverbed shortly after dewatering and to view closely XING FANG
the huge exposed boulders,’’ said Andrew Piacente, Lamar University
a civil engineering technician in the Water Control Beaumont, Texas
Branch. Piacente served as the district engineer’s field
representative to the American Falls Working Committee
and the American Falls Board of Control during An open channel flow is a flow having a free surface, which
the project. is subject to atmospheric pressure. This type of flow is typ-
Talus studies involved examining the cobbles and ically found in rivers, creeks, irrigation canals, drainage
boulders to determine their size, rock type and condition. conduits or ditches, culverts, spillways, and sanitary sew-
The talus blocks were photographed and mapped. Talus ers. When water flows partially in a closed conduit (e.g.,
depth ranged from 25 to 50 feet. sewer pipe), this flow should be treated as an open channel
The board considered three alternative methods for flow. Open channel design is to design a channel to carry
removing all or part of the talus, and estimated the time a certain amount of flow from one location to another
and costs associated with each. The rock removal methods under any provided channel geometry and topographic
involved using either a cableway system between the U.S. conditions. Design discharge that a channel needs to con-
and Canada, large cranes on and below the Falls’ crest, vey/carry is predetermined by a hydrological analysis.
or a large rock crusher together with a portable conveyor. The analysis could be a simple application of the rational
The board determined a cableway with land disposal to be method (Q = CIA, where Q is the peak discharge, C is
the most practical method. the watershed runoff coefficient, I is the average design
Data gathered from the geologic exploration was used rainfall intensity, and A is the upstream watershed area)
to build a realistic model of the American Falls 1/50th or a complex watershed hydrological modeling, which may
its actual size. The model, built by Ontario Hydro, include rainfall design hyetograph, rainfall loss estima-
included removable talus blocks, which allowed accurate tion, transformation of rainfall excess into runoff, and
simulation of various talus arrangements. The turbulence, hydrograph routing at rivers detention/retention ponds,
mist, illumination, and volume of water were all closely and reservoirs.
duplicated. Parameters to define channel geometry include chan-
Far from ruining the Falls’ tourist appeal, the nel shape, cross-sectional area (A), wetted perimeter (P),
dewatering significantly increased tourist volume. People hydraulic radius (R), top width (T), and hydraulic depth
traveled thousands of miles to see the Corps unparalleled (D). Table 1 gives proprieties for common geometric chan-
engineering feat. nel shapes. Side slope of a channel (z, z1 , z2 in Table 1)
OPEN CHANNEL DESIGN 347
Table 1. Geometric Properties of Different Channel Cross Sections

Channel Definition Area (A) Wetted Perimeter (P) Hydraulic Radius (R) Top Width (T) Hydraulic Depth (D)
by
Rectangle By b + 2y b y
b + 2y
√ (b + zy)y (b + zy)y
Trapezoid with equal (b + zy)y b + 2y 1 + z2 √ b + 2zy
b + 2y 1 + z2 b + 2zy
side slopes
√ zy
Triangle with equal zy2 2y 1 + z2 √ 2zy 0.5y
side slopes 2 1 + z2
( ( by + 0.5y2 (z1 + z2 ) by + 0.5y2 (z1 + z2 )
Trapezoid with by + 0.5y2 (z1 + z2 ) b + y( 1 + z21 + 1 + z22 ) ( ( b + y(z1 + z2 )
b + y( 1 + z21 + 1 + z22 ) b + y(z1 + z2 )
unequal side slopes
( ( 0.5y2 (z1 + z2 )
Triangle with 0.5y2 (z1 + z2 ) y( 1 + z21 + 1 + z22 ) ( ( 2(z1 + z2 ) 0.5y
unequal side slopes y( 1 + z21 + 1 + z22 )

sin θ θ − sin θ
Circle (θ − sin θ )d20 /8 0.5θ d0 1− d0 /4 d0 sin(0.5θ ) or 2 y(d0 − y) d0 /8
θ sin θ/2
8y2 2T 2 y 3A
Parabola 2/3 Ty T+ 2/3y
3T 3T 2 + 8y2 2y
π
π − 2 r2 + (b + 2r)y (θ/2 − 2)r2
Round cornered − 2 r2 + (b + 2r)y (π − 2)r + b + 2y 2 b + 2r +y
2 (π − 2)r + b + 2y b + 2r
rectangle Y > r
T2 r2 T√ 2r A √ A
Round-bottomed − (1 − z cot−1 z) 1 + z2 − (1 − z cot−1 z) 2[z(y − r) + r 1 + z2 ]
4z z z z P P
triangle
Symbol definition: y is depth; b is bottom width; z, z1 , and z2 are side slopes of horizontal versus vertical; do is diameter; and r is radius for rounded corners of rectangle and triangle.
Angle θ = 2 cos−1 [(do − 2y)/do ], which ranges from 0 to 360 degrees.
is given as the horizontal increase with a unit vertical Table 2. Typical Manning’s n Coefficients (1)
increase. Except for rectangular channels, hydraulic depth Type of channel Minimum Normal Maximum
is not equal to the water depth y (Table 1) because the
depth of water is variable in each cross section along flow Riveted and spiral steel 0.013 0.016 0.017
lines. Hydraulic depth or mean depth (A/B) is therefore Coated cast iron 0.010 0.013 0.014
used and computed by dividing the cross-sectional area Uncoated cast iron 0.011 0.014 0.016
Galvanized wrought iron 0.013 0.016 0.017
(A) by the width of the free surface (i.e., top width B).
Black wrought iron 0.012 0.014 0.015
Wetted perimeter (P) is the total length of the channel
Corrugated metal 0.021 0.024 0.030
boundary at a section wetted by the flowing liquid, and Glass 0.009 0.010 0.013
hydraulic radius (R) is determined by dividing channel Cement mortar 0.011 0.013 0.015
cross-sectional area (A) by wetted perimeter (P). For very Finished concrete 0.010 0.012 0.014
wide natural rivers (top width B is much larger than water Concrete culvert, 0.010 0.011 0.013
depth D), hydraulic radius is approximately equal to mean straight
depth D. Concrete culvert with 0.011 0.013 0.014
The flow in an open channel is uniform if the depth bends, connections
of flow does not vary along the length of the channel. Concrete sewer with 0.013 0.015 0.017
manholes, inlets, etc.
The volumetric flow rate (discharge in ft3 /sec or m3 /sec) in
Wood stave 0.010 0.012 0.014
a uniform open channel flow can be determined from
Clay drainage tile 0.011 0.013 0.017
the Continuity (conservation of mass) Equation 1 and Brick work 0.012 0.015 0.017
Manning’s Equation 2: Earthen channel, 0.017 0.020 0.025
straight, clean
Q = VA (1) Channel, straight with 0.022 0.027 0.033
m short grass, few weeds
V = R2/3 S0 1/2 (2) Natural creeks and small 0.025 0.030 0.033
n
streams (clean,
where V is the mean velocity of flow at a cross section, straight, full stage, no
m = 1.0 (m1/3 /s) in SI units or m = 1.49 (ft1/3 /s) in English rifts or deep pools)
Major streams (top width 0.025 — 0.060
(British Gravitational) units, n is the Manning’s roughness
at flood stage greater
coefficient (dimensionless), R is the hydraulic radius, S0 is than 100 ft)
the channel bed slope, and A is the cross-sectional area. Flood plains (pasture 0.030 0.035 0.050
Typical values of n for various channel conditions are with high grass)
given in Table 2. For channels with different roughness
348 OPEN CHANNEL DESIGN
coefficients (ni , i = 1, . . . , N) over the cross section (e.g., design a concrete trapezoidal channel capable of carrying
main channel and floodplain), a composite roughness (ne ) 500 cfs with a channel slope of 0.0002 ft/ft. If one uses
can be calculated by Equation 3 (2,3): the best hydraulic section for trapezoidal channel given in
Table 3 and applies Manning’s equation Equation (2) as
 2/3

N given below, water depth (y) is determined as 8.8 ft and
3/2
 Pi ni  channel width is 10.1 ft:
 
 i=1 
ne = 
 N


(3) 1.49 √ 2 y 2/3
  500 cfs = 3y (0.0002)1/2 (4)
Pi 0.015 2
i=1
If a channel is placed in erodible material, the
For a composite channel (not simple geometry in permissible velocity method can assure channel stability.
Table 1), one should apply Manning’s equation to compute For a trapezoidal unlined channel design, approximate
discharges for each subchannel and summarize them to permissible side slopes for various materials are given
obtain the discharge in the whole channel. in Table 4 and maximum permissible velocities and
For open channel design, channels should be classified roughness coefficients n are given in Table 5. One may
as nonerodible channels and erodible channels. Most use the best hydraulic section concept as the first
nonerodible channels are constructed and lined by using estimate of the geometry for an erodible channel by
concrete, rip-rap, interlocking blocks, geotextiles, and using permissible side slope. If the velocity of the best
vegetation, which can withstand erosion satisfactorily hydraulic section at the design discharge is greater than
under all operational velocities. Unlined channels formed the maximum permissible velocity, one needs to redo the
in natural materials (e.g., sand, gravel, sandy loam, firm design by using the maximum permissible velocity as the
soil, stiff clay) are generally erodible, especially under high design velocity.
velocity as encountered, e.g., during floods. To prevent the
overtopping of channel lines by surface waves and surges,
a freeboard is recommended; it is defined as the vertical Table 4. Channel Side Slopes for Various Kinds of
Materials (1)
distance from the top of the channel to the water surface at
the design discharge. An average freeboard from 1.4 ft to Side Slopes
3.6 ft for discharges from 10 to 3000 ft3 /sec, respectively, Materials (Horizontal:Vertical)
is recommended by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (4).
Rock Nearly vertical
Number of economical factors, for example, cost for land Muck and peat soils 1/4:1
requisition controlled by channel top width, cost for lining Stiff clay or earth with concrete lining 1/2:1 to 1:1
channel controlled by wetted perimeter and materials, and Earth with stone lining 1:1
cost of excavation controlled by channel area, can affect Firm Clay 1 1/2:1
final selection of channel geometry. Loose Sandy soil 2:1
In open channel design, the dimensions of a channel Sandy Loam 3:1
are computed for uniform flow; and Manning’s equation
(Equation 2) is applied after channel cross section (e.g.,
rectangle or trapezoid) and design discharge are specified. Table 5. Maximum Permissible Velocities and Manning’s
For lined channel design, one typically designs the channel n Values for Common Channel Materials (1,5)
with the best hydraulic section (Table 3), where the
Materials V (ft/s) Manning’s n
channel section has the least wetted perimeter for a given
cross-sectional area and the channel is most hydraulic Fine sand 1.50 0.020
efficient. The best hydraulic section may not give the Sandy loam 1.75 0.020
most economical channel because it could result as a very Silt loam 2.00 0.020
wide channel with a higher cost for land requisition. The Firm loam 2.50 0.020
Stiff clay 3.75 0.025
semicircle has the least perimeter among all sections with
Fine gravel 2.50 0.020
the same area, but it may not be the most practical to Coarse gravel 4.00 0.025
construct with conventional materials. If one wants to
Table 3. Best Hydraulic Sections (1)

Wetted Hydraulic Mean
Area Perimeter Radius Top Width Hydraulic
Cross Section A P R T Depth, D
√ 2 √ √
Trapezoid (half of hexagon) 3y 2 3y 1/2 y 4/3 3y 3/4 y
Rectangle (half of a square) 2y2 4y
√ 1/2 y√ 2y y
Triangle (half of a square) y2 2 2y 1/4 2y 2y 1/2 y
Semicircle √ 0.5π√y2 πy √ 1/2 y 2y√ 0.25π y
Parabola T = 2 2y 4/3 2y2 8/3 2y 1/2 y 2 2y 2/3 y
Note: y = Maximum water depth in cross section.

ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND TRACE ELEMENTS IN FRESHWATER STREAMBED SEDIMENT AND FISH 349
If one wants to design an earth trapezoidal channel

using sandy loam and capable of carrying 500 cfs with
channel slope of 0.0002 ft/ft, first design the channel for
a best hydraulic cross section, which means that the
hydraulic radius is half of the water depth (y). For a
sandy loam channel, the recommended side slope m = 3
and application of Manning’s equation results in a water
depth of 8.2 ft and a flow velocity of 2.55 ft/s, which is
great the maximum permissible velocity (Vmax ) for sandy
loam (Table 5). One has to use the maximum permissible
velocity method to redesign the channel cross section:
1.49 23 1 1.49 23 1
V = 1.75 = RH S 2 = RH (0.0002) 2
n 0.02
∴ RH = 2.14 ft
∴ A = by + 3y2 = Q/V = 500/1.75 = 285.7 (5) Urban stream
√
∴ P = b + 2y m2 + 1 = b + 2y 10 = A/RH
= 285.7/2.14 = 133.5 (6)
Using a trial-and-error method to solve Equations 5

and 6, one can get y = 2.27 ft and b = 119.0 ft. The final
channel cross section with a 1-ft freeboard gives:
√
Ptot = 119.0 + 2(3.27) 10 = 139.7 ft (42.58 m)
T = 119.0 + 2 × 3 × 3.27 = 138.6 ft (42.25 m)
Atot = 119.0(3.27) + 3(3.27)2 = 421.2 ft2 (39.0 m2 )
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Chow, V.T. (1959). Open-Channel Hydraulics. McGraw Hill,

Boston, MA.
2. Einstein, H.A. (1934). Der Hydrauliche oder Profil-radius. Agricultural stream
Schweizerishe Bauzeitung 103(8): 89–91.
3. Horton, R.A. (1933). Separate roughness coefficients for
channel bottom and side. Eng. News Record 111(2): 652–653. their relation to land use. One such study is being done in
4. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (1952). Linings for Irrigation the Puget Sound Basin, which is located in northwestern
Canals. Washington State and includes streams and rivers that
5. Fortier, S. and Scobey, F.C. (1926). Permissible canal veloci- drain to the Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the
ties. Tran. ASCE 89: 940–954. Strait of Juan de Fuca, but does not include marine waters.
The basin encompasses 13,700 square miles; forest, urban,
and agriculture are the principal land uses.
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND TRACE
ELEMENTS IN FRESHWATER STREAMBED
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
SEDIMENT AND FISH FROM THE PUGET
SOUND BASIN Organochlorine Compounds—Highest concentrations
of organochlorine compounds in streambed sediment were
DORENE E. MACCOY
at an urban site on Thornton Creek near Seattle, where
ROBERT W. BLACK total chlordane, DDT, DDD, and DDE were found to exceed
National Water Quality Canadian sediment quality guidelines. Concentrations are
Assessment Program
compared to Canadian guidelines because there are no
U.S. Geological Survey
sediment quality guidelines in the State of Washington.
Highest concentrations of organochlorine compounds in
As part of the National Water-Quality Assessment
sculpin (a bottom-feeding fish) were found at the Thornton
(NAWQA) Program, the USGS is investigating contam-
Creek site. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and total
inants in streambed sediment and aquatic organisms and
DDT (DDT + DDD + DDE) exceeded New York State
criteria for protection of fish-eating wildlife at Thornton
This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the Creek, and total PCB’s exceeded these criteria at the West
public domain in the United States of America. Branch Kelsey Creek at Bellevue, another urban site.
350 ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND TRACE ELEMENTS IN FRESHWATER STREAMBED SEDIMENT AND FISH
observed in this study can cause precancerous tumors in

fish (Eisler, 1987).
Trace elements—Concentrations of arsenic, cad-
mium, lead, mercury, and zinc frequently exceeded for-
est and reference conditions in streambed sediment and
sculpin in urban streams.
Effects—Elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead,
mercury, and zinc may not be of concern in a naturally
metal-rich region such as Puget Sound because the
aquatic system has adapted to this type of environment,
but excessive amounts of these elements can affect
the nervous, respiratory, circulatory, and reproductive
systems of aquatic organisms, as well as affect their
development and feeding habits (Rand and Petrocelli,
1985).
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Streambed sediment and whole sculpin tissue were

analyzed to assess the occurrence and distribution of
contaminants and to better understand the fate of
contaminants in the environment (Table 1). We collected
samples in September 1995 from 18 sites, which were
characterized on the basis of the predominant land use
in the stream’s basin—4 agricultural sites, 9 urban sites,
2 forest sites, and 3 reference sites, which are mostly
forested and receive minimal impact from humans. At
each site we collected the top 2–3 centimeters of streambed
sediment in depositional areas; predatory bottom-feeding
fish (sculpin) were collected from 17 of these sites.
(See Crawford and Luoma, 1994, and Shelton and Capel,
1994, for a more complete description of the methods used.)
Fine-grained sediment and tissue accumulate trace
Forest stream elements and organic compounds associated with anthro-
pogenic (human-related) activities. Sculpin are bottom-
feeding fish that are not usually consumed by humans but
Concentrations are compared to New York State criteria are eaten by other fish and fish-eating wildlife. Organic
because there are no criteria for protection of fish-eating compounds analyzed for were organochlorine pesticides,
wildlife in the State of Washington. total PCBs, and other organic compounds (of the other
Effects—Elevated levels of organochlorine compounds organic compounds, only PAH values that exceeded Cana-
such as DDT and PCBs are toxic to all animals dian guidelines are reported because they may have the
and can bioconcentrate in tissue, cause tumors, and most potential to harm aquatic and related organisms).
cause hormonal and behavioral problems. They can also
suppress the immune and respiratory systems and cause
EVALUATION OF DATA
abnormal development in aquatic species. The primary
effect on aquatic communities is to reduce numbers of
We compared our data to guidelines and criteria for organic
sensitive species, allowing species that are more resistant
compounds to show possible adverse effects to aquatic
to contaminants to become dominant (Harte and others,
1991).
PAHs—Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentra- Table 1. Contaminants Analyzed for in Streambed
tions in streambed sediment exceeded Canadian guide- Sediment and Whole Sculpin Tissue from the Puget
lines in most urban streams and were highest at the West Sound Basin
Branch Kelsey Creek at Bellevue.
Contaminant Sediment1 Tissue
Effects—Many PAHs, such as benzo(a)anthracene,
benzo(a)pyrene, and chrysene, are carcinogenic, causing Organochlorine compounds 31 pesticides; 26 pesticides;
tumors in fish and other animals, and are acutely total PCBs total PCBs
toxic to some organisms. Noncarcinogenic PAHs, such as Other organic compounds 64 not analyzed2
fluoranthene, phenathrene, and pyrene, are also toxic to Trace elements 44 22
some organisms. The effects on aquatic organisms of the 1
Finer than 2.0 millimeters for organic compounds, finer than 63.0
PAHs found in sediment at Kelsey Creek are unknown, micrometers for trace elements.
but concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene as high as those 2
Tissue analysis too costly for this study.
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND TRACE ELEMENTS IN FRESHWATER STREAMBED SEDIMENT AND FISH 351
organisms and fish-eating wildlife, and to local forest and

reference conditions for selected trace elements to show
possible effects of land use (Fig. 1).
Organic compounds—We compared levels of organo-
chlorine compounds and PAHs detected in sediment
to draft interim freshwater sediment quality guidelines
developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the
Environment (CCME). These guidelines were developed
from toxicity and species abundance data for benthic
organisms from studies throughout North America and
represent total concentrations in sieved and unsieved
sediment samples (CCME, 1995). The guidelines used are
the threshold effects level (TEL), below which adverse
effects to aquatic organisms are expected to occur rarely,
and the probable effects level (PEL), above which adverse
effects are predicted to occur frequently. Concentrations
that exceed these guidelines may or may not have adverse
effects on aquatic organisms; the comparisons should be
used to indicate potential sediment quality problems that
may warrant further study.
We compared concentrations of organochlorine com-
pounds in sculpin to New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) criteria (Newell Figure 1. Puget sound basin.
and others, 1987). These criteria were determined from
laboratory experiments using fish-eating wildlife and are
considered one of the best sets of criteria for evaluating Trace elements—We compared concentrations of
the effects of contaminated fish tissue on wildlife. selected trace elements in streambed sediment and sculpin
Figure 1 table. Organic compounds that exceed Canadian probable effects levels (PEL) and New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)criteria, and trace elements that exceed median of forest and reference
conditions at sampling sites in the Puget Sound Basin
Site Sediment Tissue
Bertrand Creek near Lynden arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, zinc zinc
Nooksack River at Brennan chromium, nickel, zinc arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury,
nickel, zinc
Thornton Creek near Seattle arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, arsenic, lead, mercury, PCBs
nickel, zinc, DDT
Duwamish River at golf course at Tukwila arsenic, cadmium, lead, zinc arsenic, mercury
Springbrook Creek at Tukwila arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, no tissue sampled
nickel, zinc
Miller Creek near Des Moines arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, arsenic, lead, mercury
nickel, zinc
North Fork Skokomish River at Staircase Rapids arsenic, chromium, nickel, zinc arsenic
Leach Creek near Steilacoom arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, arsenic, zinc
zinc
Big Soos Creek above hatchery near Auburn arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel
—
Fishtrap Creek at Flynn Road arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, arsenic, mercury
zinc
Nooksack River at North Cedarville nickel
—
North Creek below Penny Creek near Bothell arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead mercury, arsenic, mercury
nickel, zinc
Juanita Creek at La Juanita arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury
zinc
West Branch Kelsey Creek at Bellevue arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury,
nickel, zinc, PAHs zinc, PCBs
Rock Creek at Cedar Falls near Landsburg arsenic, cadmium chromium, nickel, zinc
Rock Creek near Maple Valley cadmium, lead, zinc mercury
Green River above Twim Camp mercury arsenic, nickel, zinc
Newaukum Creek near Black Diamond cadmium, lead, zinc
—
tissue to median concentrations from the forest and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are by-products
reference sites. Land-use impacts may cause concentra- of a variety of industrial products. Manufacture was
tions from the agricultural and urban sites to exceed stopped in the 1970’s. There are over 209 breakdown
these medians. products of PCBs, and total PCB refers to the sum of
all forms detected.
PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are natu-
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS DETECTED IN STREAMBED
ral by-products of forest fires. Other sources include the
SEDIMENT
steel and petroleum industry, the manufacture of coal
tar and asphalt, power generation, burning trash, and
Organochlorine pesticides were detected at 3 of the 18 vehicle emissions. Tons are emitted to the atmosphere
sites sampled for streambed sediment: an agricultural and introduced to aquatic environments through oil
site on Fishtrap Creek in the northern part of the basin, spills and sewage discharge.
an urban site on Thornton Creek near Seattle, and a
reference site on Rock Creek near Maple Valley. The
highest concentrations were found at the urban site on ORGANOCHLORINE COMPOUNDS DETECTED IN TISSUE
Thornton Creek (Fig. 2).
PAHs were most frequently detected in streambed Total PCBs and/or at least 1 of 26 organochlorine pesticides
sediment samples from urban streams. The highest were detected in tissue at 2 agricultural and 6 urban
concentrations were found in the sample taken fromWest sites. The highest concentrations and greatest ranges of
Branch Kelsey Creek at Bellevue (Table 2). (See also organochlorine compounds were detected at the Thornton
Tables 3–7.) Creek site (Fig. 3).
Definitions of organic compounds found in the Puget

Sound Basin
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is an organo-
chlorine insecticide banned from use in the U.S. in
1972. Total DDT refers to the sum of DDT and its
breakdown products DDE and DDD.
Chlordane is an organochlorine insecticide banned
from use in the 1980’s. Total chlordane refers to the
sum of cis-chlordane, trans-chlordane, cis-nonachlor
and trans-nonachlor.
HCB (hexachlorobenzene) is a fungicide used as
a seed and soil treatment, restricted from use in
the 1980’s.
Dieldrin is an organochlorine insecticide with
restricted use in the U.S. since the1970’s. Figure 2. Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides in stream-
Heptachlor epoxide is a breakdown product of the bed sediment from selected sites in the Puget Sound Basin
organochlorine insecticide heptachlor. It was used in compared to Canadian criteria.(TEL, threshold effects level; PEL,
the U.S. until the1970’s. probable effects level). 1 No published Canadian data for HCB.
Table 2. Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Streambed Sediment that Exceed Canadian
Guidelines [values in micrograms per kilogram, dry weight; nd, not detected or below 50 micrograms per kilogram
method detection limit; bold, above TEL; italics, above PEL]
Site Name Benzo(a)anthracene1 Benzo(a)pyrene Chrysene1 Fluoranthene2 Phenanthrene2 Pyrene2
Fishtrap Creek 54 53 50 91 nd 87
Duwamish River 52 Nd 56 91 nd 79
Springbrook Creek 370 450 520 890 370 770
Juanita Creek 76 73 83 150 78 120
West Branch Kelsey Creek 680 1700 950 2800 850 2300
Leach Creek 57 62 65 100 51 94
Miller Creek 100 120 130 230 120 200
North Creek Nd Nd nd 61 nd 56
Thornton Creek 220 310 270 470 200 410
Rock Creek near Maple Valley 270 Nd 200 320 150 240
Rock Creek at Cedar Falls 50 54 63 nd 160 nd
1
Weakly carcinogenic (Eisler, 1987).
2
Noncarcinogenic.
Table 3. Organochlorine Compounds in Sediment from the Puget Sound Basin, September 1995 (micrograms per kilogram dry weight in less than 2 millimeter
size fraction bottom material unless otherwise specified; MDL, method detection limit; nd, nondetect or below MDL; (), detection below MDL; E, detection level
different from MDL, —, no published Canadian guidelines)
Agricul- Agricul- Agricul- Agricul-
tural tural tural tural Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Forest Reference Reference Reference
North
Green Fork
Interim Interim Duwamish North River Rock Skokomish
Canadian Canadian River West Creek Above Creek River
Sediment Sediment Fishtrap Newaukum Big Soos at Juanita Branch Miller Below Twin Nooksack Rock at Cedar at
Quality Quality Bertrand Creek at Creek Above Golf Springbrook Creek Kelsey Leach Creek Penny Thornton Camp River Creek Falls Staircase
Guidelines, Guidelines, Creek Flynn Near Nooksack Hatchery Course Creek at Creek Creek near Creek Creek Creek at Near Near Rapids
Threshold Probable Near Road at Black River at Near at at La at near Des Near Near near North Maple Lands- Near
Effects Effects Lynden, Lynden, Diamond, Brennan, Auburn, Tukwila, Tukwila, Juanita, Bellevue, Steilacoom, Moines, Bothell, Seattle, Lester, Cedarville, Valley, burg, Hoodsport,
1 1
Site Type MDL Level Level WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA
USGS site number 12212500 12212100 12108500 12213140 12112600 12113390 12113375 12120490 12119850 12091300 12103326 12125900 12128000 12103380 12210700 12118500 12113375 12056495
Aldrin 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Chloroneb 5.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(20) nd nd
Dacthal (DCPA) 5.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Dieldrin 1.0 2.85 6.67 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 1.3 nd nd nd nd nd
Endrin 2.0 2.67 62.4 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(10) nd nd
353
Heptachlor 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Heptachlor epoxide 1.0 0.6 2.74 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Hexachlorobenzene 1.0 — — nd 2.6 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Isodrin 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Lindane 1.0 0.94 1.38 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
(gamma-BHC,
gamma-HCH)
Mirex 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Oxychlordane 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Pentachloroanisole 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
PCB 50 34.1 277 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Toxaphene 200 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Endosulfan 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
alpha-BCH 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
beta-HCH (beta-BHC) 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(5) nd nd
cis-Chlordane 1.0 4.5 8.9 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 1.6 nd nd nd nd nd
cis-Nonachlor 1.0 — — nd 2.5E nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
cis-Permethrin 5.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(20) nd nd
o, p -DDD 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(5) nd nd
o, p -DDE 1.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
o, p -DDT 2.0 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
(continued overleaf )
Table 3. (Continued)
tural tural tural tural Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Forest Reference Reference Reference
North
Green Fork
Interim Interim Duwamish North River Rock Skokomish
Canadian Canadian River West Creek Above Creek River
Sediment Sediment Fishtrap Newaukum Big Soos at Juanita Branch Miller Below Twin Nooksack Rock at Cedar at
Quality Quality Bertrand Creek at Creek Above Golf Springbrook Creek Kelsey Leach Creek Penny Thornton Camp River Creek Falls Staircase
Guidelines, Guidelines, Creek Flynn Near Nooksack Hatchery Course Creek at Creek Creek near Creek Creek Creek at Near Near Rapids
Threshold Probable Near Road at Black River at Near at at La at near Des Near Near near North Maple Lands- Near
Effects Effects Lynden, Lynden, Diamond, Brennan, Auburn, Tukwila, Tukwila, Juanita, Bellevue, Steilacoom, Moines, Bothell, Seattle, Lester, Cedarville, Valley, burg, Hoodsport,
1 1
Site Type MDL Level Level WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA
o, p -Methoxychlor 5.0 — — nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
p, p -DDD 1.0 3.54 8.51 nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 4.6 nd nd nd nd nd
p, p -DDE 1.0 1.42 6.75 nd 1.8 Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 6.9 nd nd 1.7E nd nd
p, p -DDT 2.0 — — nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 8.1 nd nd nd nd nd
p, p -Methoxychlor 5.0 — — nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(20) nd nd
trans-Chlordane 1.0 — — nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 1.2 nd nd nd nd nd
354
trans-Nonachlor 1.0 — — nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 1.7 nd nd nd(5) nd nd

trans-Permethrin 5.0 — — nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(8) nd nd nd(20) nd nd
organic carbon (grams 8.1 20 8.5 3.2 19 3.9 20 4.5 13 3.1 4.8 11 9.1 5.9 12 2502 14 11
per kilogram)
inorganic carbon nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 0.2 nd nd 0.9 nd nd nd nd nd
(grams per
kilogram)
organic + inorganic 8.1 20 8.5 3.2 19 3.9 20 4.5 13 3.3 4.8 11 10 5.9 12 250 14 11
carbon (grams per
kilogram)
particle size (percent 5 9 7 8 19 5 26 5 10 5 9 4 7 4 33 17 4 6
< 62 micron)
duplicate size fraction 8 6
(percent <62
micron)
1
CCME(Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment), 1995, Protocol for the derivation of Canadian sediment quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life: Winnipeg, Manitoba, report CCME EPC-98E, Task Group on Water Quality
Guidelines, 38 p.
2
The value for organic carbon is very high for this sample. The value has been verified by the U.S. Geological Survey National Laboratory, but may not represent typical conditions in this stream.
Table 4. Metals in Streambed Sediment from Sites in the Puget Sound Basin, September 1995 (micrograms per gram unless otherwise specified, in less than 63
micron size fraction dry weight; MDL, method detection limit; nd, not detected or below MDL; (), detection below MDL)
tural tural tural tural Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Forest Reference Reference Reference
North
Green Fork
Big Duwamish North River Rock Skokomish
Fishtrap Soos River West Creek Above Creek River
Creek Newaukum Creek At Juanita Branch Miller Below Twin Nooksack Rock at at
Bertrand at Creek Nooksack Above Golf Creek Kelsey Leach Creek Penny Thornton Camp River Creek Cedar Staircase
Creek Flynn Near River Hatchery Course at Creek Creek Near Creek Creek Creek at Near Falls Rapids
Near Road at Black at Near at La at Near Des Near Near Near North Maple near Near
Lynden, Lynden, Diamond, Brennan, Auburn, Tukwila, Juanita, Bellevue, Steilacoom, Moines, Bothell, Seattle, Lester, Cedarville, Valley, Landsburg, Hoodsport,
Site Type MDL WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA
USGS site 12212500 12212100 12108500 12213140 12112600 12113390 12120490 12119850 12091300 12103326 12125900 12128000 12103380 12210700 12118500 12117695 12056495
number
Aluminum (%) 0.005 4.5 5.4 6.2 8.4 6 7.1 7.3 6.9 6.3 7.2 5.8 6.7 7.5 8.7 3.9 7.2 7.9
Antimony 0.1 1 1 0.5 0.7 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 0.5 0.6 1 0.6 0.6
Arsenic 0.1 15 21 6.2 nd 23 12 12 16 10 15 33 19 2.5 7 5.3 7.9 7.7
Barium 1 400 600 370 630 410 430 520 530 420 500 490 510 390 580 230 370 670
Beryllium 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
355
Bismuth 10 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Cadmium 0.1 0.6 0.9 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.4 1.5 0.7 0.8 0.7 1.4 0.2 0.1 0.7 0.3 0.2
Calcium (%) 0.005 1.6 1.9 1.8 2.8 2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.5 2.3 2.1 2.5 1.9 3.4 2.2 1.9 1.1
Cerium 4 30 32 35 44 34 36 39 32 35 36 27 35 54 40 15 36 88
Chromium 1 78 95 50 140 99 57 110 110 93 110 120 120 26 80 54 65 110
Cobalt 1 23 26 20 24 16 17 17 18 15 16 15 18 17 21 8 17 22
Copper 1 26 38 45 50 40 44 29 82 29 44 28 58 31 40 42 44 48
Europium 2 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Gallium 4 12 10 13 17 12 15 14 14 11 14 12 13 19 18 8 14 19
Gold 8 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Holmium 4 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Iron (%) 0.005 21 8.6 4 4.8 4.1 4.9 3.8 3.9 3.2 3.6 4.1 4.2 4.4 4.4 1.7 3.7 4.4
Lanthanum 2 14 15 15 21 15 17 17 15 16 17 12 16 23 19 10 18 40
Lead 4 12 30 21 8 18 33 43 110 71 73 46 190 7 nd 23 13 13
Lithium 2 10 20 20 30 20 20 20 30 10 20 20 20 30 20 20 20 50
Magnesium (%) 0.005 0.75 0.98 0.87 2.4 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 0.9 1.1 1 1.3 0.78 1.9 0.57 0.87 1.4
Manganese 4 1300 9200 3200 800 1500 1700 1500 2300 3800 930 2200 2100 850 750 570 1000 940
Molybdenum 2 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 0.07
Mercury 0.02 0.06 0.09 0.1 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.08 0.34 0.08 0.15 0.18 0.53 0.34 0.06 0.11 0.1 nd
Neodymium 4 15 15 17 20 16 18 18 15 15 16 12 17 26 20 9 17 40
North
Green Fork
Big Duwamish North River Rock Skokomish
Fishtrap Soos River West Creek Above Creek River
Creek Newaukum Creek At Juanita Branch Miller Below Twin Nooksack Rock at at
Bertrand at Creek Nooksack Above Golf Creek Kelsey Leach Creek Penny Thornton Camp River Creek Cedar Staircase
Creek Flynn Near River Hatchery Course at Creek Creek Near Creek Creek Creek at Near Falls Rapids
Near Road at Black at Near at La at Near Des Near Near Near North Maple near Near
Lynden, Lynden, Diamond, Brennan, Auburn, Tukwila, Juanita, Bellevue, Steilcoom, Moines, Bothell, Seattle, Lester, Cedarville, Valley, Landsburg, Hoodsport,
Nickel 2 58 70 30 120 60 31 63 57 37 57 52 65 19 61 23 36 54
Niobium 4 nd 4 8 11 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 10 14 10 4 10 15
Phosphorus (%) 0.005 0.21 0.26 0.21 0.13 0.18 0.19 0.12 0.16 0.09 0.09 0.28 0.18 0.12 0.12 0.16 0.13 0.14
Potassium (%) 0.05 0.5 0.67 0.61 1.3 0.7 0.89 0.81 0.82 0.71 0.82 0.62 0.79 1 1.2 0.41 0.59 1.6
Scandium 2 11 13 14 19 13 15 16 15 13 15 12 15 20 17 7 13 17
Selenium 0.1 0.9 1.4 1.2 0.7 1 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.4 1.6 0.6 0.9 0.7 4.6 1.1 1.4
Silver 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.4 2.2 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.2
Sodium (%) 0.005 1.1 1.3 1 2.1 1.5 1.6 2 1.6 2 2 1.5 1.9 1.3 2.2 0.85 1.3 1.6
Strontium 2 230 240 210 480 240 300 310 260 310 330 250 310 180 630 190 220 190
356
Sulfur (%) 0.05 0.14 0.17 0.16 0.2 0.13 0.1 0.07 0.13 0.05 0.05 0.17 0.14 0.07 0.32 0.28 0.08 0.1
Tantalum 40 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Thorium 4 4.1 nd(3.1) 7.3 3.9 nd(4.5) 8.8 4.2 4.8 5.2 3.5 3.8 4.9 4.1 4.6 11
Tin 10 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Titanium (%) 0.005 0.32 0.37 0.38 0.53 0.37 0.45 0.44 0.42 0.42 0.44 0.33 0.44 0.56 0.5 0.18 0.44 0.49
Uranium 0.05 1.47 1.99 1.35 2.4 1.85 1.68 1.85 1.91 1.78 1.79 1.94 1.86 1.81 1.61 3.14
Vanadium 2 65 120 100 160 110 110 120 120 110 120 120 120 100 140 54 110 130
Yttrium 2 18 17 20 20 18 19 18 16 17 17 15 17 35 19 14 15 26
Ytterbium 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 3 2 1 1 2
Zinc 4 130 250 150 99 93 140 140 470 180 190 180 330 94 85 95 88 110
Organic + 0.01 5.68 6.62 8.21 1.19 6.66 3.68 2.9 6.37 2.44 3.07 10.7 5.11 5.43 0.84 22.71 8.89 3.91
inorganic
carbon (grams
per kilogram)
Inorganic carbon 0.01 0.17 0.17 0.04 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.01 0.06 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.05 0.05 0.01
(grams per
kilogram)
Organic carbon 0.01 5.51 6.45 8.17 1.18 6.63 3.66 2.88 6.34 2.41 3.06 10.1 5.08 5.4 0.82 22.2 8.84 3.9
(grams per
kilogram)
1
Table 5. Semivolatile Organic and Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Compounds in Streambed Sediment from the Puget Sound Basin, September 1995
(micrograms per kilogram unless otherwise specified in less than 2 millimeter size fraction, dry weight; MDL, method detection limit; nd, not detected or below
MDL; (), detection below MDL; E, detection level different from MDL,—, no published Canadian guidelines)
Site Type tural tural tural tural Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Forest Reference Reference Reference
Canadian
Interim
Sediment
Quality North
Guidelines Green Rock Fork
for Canadian Big Duwamish North River Creek Skokomish
Polycyclic Interim Fishtrap Soos River West Creek Above At River
Aromatic Sediment Creek at Newaukum Creek At Branch Miller Below Twin Nooksack Rock Cedar at
Hydro- Quality Bertrand Flynn Creek Nooksack Above Golf Juanita Kelsey Leach Creek Penny Thornton Camp River Creek Falls Staircase
carbons Guidelines Creek Road Near River Hatchery Course Creek Creek Creek Near Creek Creek Creek at Near Near Rapids
(Threshold (Probable Near at Black at Near At at La at Near Des Near Near Near North Maple Lands- Near
Effect Effect Lynden, Lynden, Diamond, Brennan, Auburn, Tukwila, Juanita, Bellevue, Steilcoom, Moines, Bothell, Seattle, Lester, Cedarville, Valley, burg, Hoodsport,
1 1
Compound MDL Levels) Levels) WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA
USGS site number 12212500 12212100 12108500 12213140 12112600 12113390 12120490 12119850 12091300 12103326 12125900 12128000 12103380 12210700 12118500 12117695 12056500
1,2,4- 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Trichlorobenzene
Dichlorobenzene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
1,2- 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 13E nd(250) 28E nd
Dimethylnaphthalene
357
1,3-Dichlorobenzene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
1,4-Dichlorobenzene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
1,6- 50 — — nd 17E nd 19E nd 23E nd 15E nd nd nd 15E nd 23E 93 120 nd
Dimethylnaphthalene
1-Methyl-9H- 50 — — nd 16E nd 26E nd nd nd 36E nd nd nd 35E nd 19E nd(250) 25E nd
fluorene
1- 50 — — nd 13E nd 16E nd 28E 27E 70 21E 25E 16E 31E nd 12E nd(250) 100 nd
Methylphenanthrene
1-Methylpyrene 50 — — nd 30E nd nd nd 35E 37E 100 37E 33E nd 71 nd nd nd(250) 48 nd
2,2 -Biquinoline 50 — — 38E nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd 29
2,3,6- 50 — — nd 11E nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 13E nd(250) 42E nd
Trimethylnaphthalene
2,4-Dinitrotoluene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
2,6- 50 — — 23E 33E 26E 23E 41E 29E nd 25E nd nd nd 25E nd 43E 110 79 nd
Dimethylnaphthalene
2,6-Dinitrotoluene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
2-Chloronaphthalene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
2-Chlorophenol 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Pentachlorophenol 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) 21E nd
2-Methylanthracene 50 — — nd 22E nd nd nd 35E 36E 58 27E 30E nd 50E nd 30E 140 25E nd
3,5-Xylenol 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 22E nd(250) nd nd
4-HCY 50 — — nd 13E nd nd nd nd 28E 150 23E 33E 27E 55 nd nd 95 20E nd
Penphenanthrene
Canadian
Interim
Sediment
Quality North
Compound MDL Levels)1 Levels)1 WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA
4-Bromophenyl- 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
phenylether
4-Chloro M-Cresol 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
4-Chlorophenyl- 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
phenylether
Acenaphthene 50 — — nd 17E nd nd nd nd nd 41E nd 21E nd 19E nd nd nd(250) 18E nd
358
Acenaphthylene 50 — — nd 22E nd nd nd nd nd 38E nd nd nd 39E nd nd nd(250) 20E nd

Acridine 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd 32E 36E 130 28E 35E 31E 54 nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Anthracene 50 — — nd 28E 22E nd 23E 28E 40E 160 25E 36E 29E 71 nd nd 84 9E nd
9,10-Anthraquinone 50 — — nd 30E nd nd nd 38E 45E 310 33E 56 29E 89 nd nd nd(250) 48E nd
Azobenzene 50 — — nd 21E nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 24E nd(250) 36E nd
Benzo(a)anthracene 50 31.7 385 nd 54 26E 35E 31E 52 76 680 57 100 35E 220 nd 37E 270 50E nd
Benzo(a)pyrene 50 31.9 782 nd 53 nd nd 27E 45E 73 1700 62 120 36E 310 nd nd nd(300) 54 nd
Benzo(b)fluoranthene 50 — — nd 66 nd nd 41E 65 92 970 84 120 49E 260 nd nd nd(340) 55 nd
Benzo(c)quinoline 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene 50 — — nd 34E nd nd nd 37E 58E 440 43E 62E 35E 170 nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Benzo(k)fluoranthene 50 — — nd 41E 22E nd 25E 50 74 790 57 110 34E 230 nd nd nd(230) 34E nd
bis(2-Ethylhexyl) 50 — — 53 180E 67 61E 55 110 120 2400E 270 220 93E 990E 55 74E 1100E 51E 84
Phthalate
Butylbenzyl 50 — — 44E 44E 43E 45E 39E 44E 46E 87 42E 90 45E 110 46E 39E nd(250) 35E 50
Phthalate
C8-Alkylphenols 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Carbazole 50 — — nd 15E nd nd 20E 29E 38E 180 25E 38E 27E 63 nd nd nd(250) 12E nd
Chrysene 50 57.1 862 24E 50 15E 12E 25E 56 83 950 65 130 31E 270 26E 11E 200 63 nd
Di-n-butyl Phthalate 50 — — 73E 41E 44E 50E 45E 60 62 59 45E 52 48E 58 72E 42E 300 38E 53
Di-n-octyl Phthalate 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 140E 55E nd nd nd nd 55E nd(250) 53E nd
Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 280 nd 36E nd 93 nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Dibenzothiophene 50 — — nd 17E nd 20E nd nd 20E 63 21E 25E 29E 38E nd nd nd(250) 25E nd
Canadian
Interim
Sediment
Quality North
1 1
Compound MDL Levels) Levels) WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA WA
Diethyl Phthalate 50 — — 27E 18E 24E 29E 25E 20E 20E 28E 24E 25E 27E 29E 28E 24E 150 16E 23
Dimethyl Phthalate 50 — — nd 9E nd 8E nd 19E nd nd nd nd nd 10E nd 9E nd(250) 50 nd
Fluoranthene 50 111 2355 34E 91 28E 16E 42E 91 150 2800 100 230 61 470 nd 16E 320 36E nd
9H-Fluorene 50 — — 50 20E 50 25E 23E 17E 21E 69 23E 28E 27E 39E nd 17E 130 18E nd
Hexachlorobenzene 50 — — nd(1) 2.6 nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd
Indeno[1,2,3- 50 — — nd nd nd nd 33E 52 79 1600E 58 92 37E 300E nd nd nd(250) nd nd
cd]pyrene
Isophorone 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Isoquinoline 50 — — nd nd nd 19E nd nd 26E nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 97 nd nd
N-Nitroso- 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Diphenylamine
359
N-Nitroso-Di-n- 50 — — nd 20E nd nd nd nd nd 36E nd nd nd 36E nd nd nd(250) 29E nd

Propyl
Amine
Naphthalene 50 — — nd nd(5) nd 14E nd nd nd 11E nd nd nd nd(5) nd 10E 71 30E nd
Nitrobenzene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Pentachloroanisole 50 — — nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd(1) nd
Pentachloronitrobenzene 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Phenanthrene 50 41.9 515 13E 47E 21E 16E 28E 46E 78 850 51 120 28E 200 14E 20E 150 160 nd
Phenanthridine 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd 30E 61 nd 26E nd 41E nd nd nd(250) 21E nd
Phenol 50 — — 31E 14E 23E 9E 25E 45E 31E 30E 17E 16E 26E 29E 31E 8E 120 11E 18
Pyrene 50 53.0 875 33E 87 26E 15E 37E 79 120 2300 94 200 56 410 nd 17E 240 39E nd
Quinoline 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
bis(2- 50 — — nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(250) nd nd
Chloroethoxy)methane
p-Cresol 50 — — nd nd 150 82 330 64 62 34E 28E 28E 31E 35E nd 360 130 23E nd
Organic Carbon 8.1 20 8.5 3.2 19 3.9 4.5 13 3.1 4.8 11 9.1 5.9 12 2502 14 11
(grams per
kilogram)
Inorganic Carbon nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 0.2 nd nd 0.9 nd nd nd nd nd
(grams per
kilogram)
Organic + inorganic 8.1 20 8.5 3.2 19 3.9 4.5 13 3.3 4.8 11 10 5.9 12 250 14 11
Carbon (grams per
kilogram)
1
CCME (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment), 1995, Protocol for the derivation of Canadian sediment quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life: Winnipeg, Manitoba, report CCME EPC-98E, Task Group on Water Quality
Guidelines, 38 p.
2
Table 6. Organochlorine Compounds in Whole Sculpin Tissue from Sites in the Puget Sound Basin, September 1995 (micrograms per kilogram wet weight unless
otherwise specified; MDL, method detection limit; nd, nondetect or below MDL; E, estimated value MDL; (), detection different from MDL)
Rock North
Green Creek Fork
Fishtrap Big Duwamish North River At Skokomish
Creek Soos River West Creek Above Cedar River
at Newaukum Creek At Juanita Branch Miller Below Twin Nooksack Rock Falls At
Bertrand Flynn Creek Nooksack Above Golf Creek Kelsey Leach Creek Penny Thornton Camp River Creek Road Staircase
Creek Road Near River Hatchery Course At Creek Creek Near Creek Creek Creek At Near Near Rapids
Near at Black at Near At La At Near Des Near Near Near North Maple Lands- Near
Lynden, Lynden, Diamond, Brennan, Auburn, Tukwila, Juanita, Bellevue, Steilacoom, Moines, Bothell, Seattle, Lester, Cedarville, Valley, burg, Hoodsport,
USGS site number 12212500 12212100 12108500 12213140 12112600 12113390 12120490 12119850 12091300 12103326 12125900 12128000 12103380 12210700 12118500 12117695 12056500
Aldrin 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
DCPA 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Dieldrin 5 nd 7.2 nd nd nd nd 10 9.9 nd 7.9 nd 27 nd nd nd nd nd
Endrin 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Heptachlor 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Heptachlor epoxide 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 6.9 nd nd nd nd nd
Hexachlorobenzene 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd 7.1 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
360
Lindane (gamma HCH) 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd

Mirex 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Oxychlordane 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd 9 nd nd nd nd 12 nd nd nd nd nd
Pentachloroanisole 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Total PCB 50 nd nd nd nd nd nd 110 120 nd nd nd 310 nd nd nd nd nd
Toxaphene 200 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Alpha-BHC 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
Beta-BHC 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
cis-Chlordane 5 nd 11 nd nd nd nd 14 12 6.2 9.1 nd 30 nd nd nd nd nd
cis-Nonachlor 5 nd 6.4 nd nd nd nd 5.8 nd nd nd nd 12 nd nd nd nd nd
Delta-BCH 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
o,p -DDD 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
o,p -DDE 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
o,p-Methoxychlor 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
p,p -DDD 5 nd 8.1 nd nd nd nd nd 17E nd nd nd 55E nd nd nd nd nd
p,p -DDE 5 30 27 nd nd nd nd 18 18 5 7.5 5.1 97 nd nd nd nd nd
p,p -DDT 5 nd(6.4) 21 nd nd nd nd nd(5.8) nd nd 7.5 nd 64 nd nd nd nd nd
p,p-Methoxychlor 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
trans-Chlordane 5 nd 5.2 nd nd nd nd nd 7.2 nd nd nd 14 nd nd nd nd nd
trans-Nonachlor 5 nd 14 nd nd nd nd 15 14 6 13 nd 32 nd nd nd nd nd
Sample weight 10 10 10 10 10 10 10.1 10 10 10 9.9 10.2 10 10 10 10 10
Lipids % 4.2 3 2.1 2 2.3 4.2 9 4.1 4.2 3.6 2.4 5.3 3.1 7.6 2.1 2.4 4.1
Table 7. Metals in Whole Sculpin Tissue from Sites in the Puget Sound Basin, September 1995 (microgram per gram or ppm dry weight; MDL, method detection
limit; nd, nondetect or below MDL; (), detection different from MDL)
Rock North
Green Creek Fork
Fishtrap Big North River at Skokomish
Creek Soos Dwamish West Creek Above Cedar River
At Newaukum Creek River at Juanita Branch Miller Below Twin Nooksack Rock Falls at
Bertrand Flynn Creek Nooksack Above Golf Creek Kelsey Leach Creek Penny Thornton Camp River Creek Road Staircase
Creek Road Near River Hatchery Course at Creek Creek Near Creek Creek Creek at Near Near Rapids
Near At Black at Near at La at Near Des Near Near Near North Maple Lands- Near
Lynden, Lynden, Diamond, Brennan, Auburn, Tukwila, Juanita, Bellevue, Steilacoom, Moines, Bothell, Seattle, Lester, Cedarville, Valley, burg, Hoodsport,
USGS site 12212500 12212100 12108500 12213140 12112600 12113390 12120490 12119850 12091300 12103326 12125900 12128000 12103380 12210700 12118500 12117695 12056500
number
Arsenic 0.2 nd 0.4 nd 0.4 0.3 1.1 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.5
Barium 0.1 2.3 3.7 2.6 8.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 1.3 1.3 1.9 5.1 4.1 2.9 6.5 3.2 9.2 3.2
361
Beryllium 0.2 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(0.3) nd nd nd nd nd nd

Boron 0.2 0.7 1 0.5 0.9 0.4 1.1 2.1 1.2 0.9 1.6 1.2 1.6 1 2.7 0.6 0.4 0.4
Cadmium 0.2 nd nd nd nd nd nd 0.3 0.2 nd nd nd(0.3) nd nd nd nd nd nd
Chromium 0.5 1.3 1.4 1.7 2.3 1.4 1.5 1.1 1 1 0.9 1.4 1.3 1.7 1.4 1.7 2.1 1.4
Cobalt 0.2 nd 0.2 0.3 0.7 nd 0.2 0.2 0.2 nd nd nd(0.3) nd 0.3 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.3
Copper 0.5 2.9 3.5 2.2 3.4 2 2 1.9 6.8 1.8 2.3 1.6 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.1 1.2
Iron 1 167 160 79.7 250 84.4 153 45.5 46.7 54.9 73.2 40.3 71.3 71.7 113 29.6 51.7 156
Lead 0.2 nd nd nd 1.1 nd nd 0.2 0.3 nd 0.2 nd(0.3) 1 nd nd nd nd nd
Manganese 0.1 11.2 32.6 21.6 18.6 16.8 13.6 28.5 21.1 57.6 7.3 32.1 15.5 6.1 17 9.6 10.1 7.8
Mercury 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.33 0.14 0.66 0.76 0.23 0.16 0.31 0.31 0.25 nd 0.18 0.4 0.1 nd(0.1)
Molybdenum 0.2 nd nd nd 0.3 nd 0.2 nd 0.2 nd nd nd(0.3) nd 0.2 0.2 nd 0.2 nd
Nickel 0.2 1 1.1 1.3 3.7 0.9 1.3 1 0.8 0.7 0.8 1.3 1.1 1.8 1.7 1.3 2.1 0.8
Selenium 0.1 1.2 2.1 2.6 3.6 1 1.3 2.4 1.2 2.7 0.7 2.7 1.5 2.7 4.8 3.6 2.4 4.8
Silver 0.2 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(0.3) nd nd nd nd nd nd
Strontium 0.1 31.3 49.8 65.2 98.9 57.5 44.4 38.2 27.4 32.4 32.4 75 43.7 28.1 66.6 79.2 123 105
Uranium 0.2 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(0.3) nd nd nd nd nd nd
Vanadium 0.1 nd 0.4 0.5 1.7 0.3 1 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.3 1 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.4
Zinc 0.5 129 41 61.5 71 59.1 51 66.5 128 71.4 49.6 58.6 58.1 68.1 58 66.7 72.4 55.9
% water 78.3 76.9 79.9 80.1 78.6 77.4 72.8 74.9 77.6 75.8 77.3 75.7 78.5 74.2 76.5 78.2 75
TRACE ELEMENTS DETECTED IN STREAMBED SEDIMENT

AND WHOLE SCULPIN TISSUE
Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead,

mercury, nickel, and zinc were elevated in streambed
sediment and sculpin from agricultural and urban
sites compared to concentrations from the forest and
reference sites. Arsenic and the heavy metals cadmium,
Figure 3. Organochlorine compounds in whole sculpin tissue
lead, mercury, and zinc had the highest concentrations
from selected creeks in the Puget Sound Basin compared to
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the greatest range of concentrations at urban
(NYSDEC) criteria. sites compared to those from the agricultural and the
combined forest and reference sites, indicating possible
enrichment of these elements in the urban areas (Fig. 4).
The concentrations detected do not necessarily have
negative impacts on the environment, but do suggest
that land use may have led to increased levels of
these elements.
READING LIST
CCME (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment),

1995, Protocol for the derivation of Canadian sediment quality
guidelines for the protection of aquatic life: Winnipeg, Manitoba,
report CCME EPC-98E, Task Group on Water Quality
Guidelines, p. 38.
Crawford, J.Kent, and Luoma, Samuel N., 1994, Guidelines for
studies of contaminants in biological tissues for the National
Water-Quality Assessment Program: U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report 92-494, p. 69.
Eisler, R., 1987, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon hazards to
fish, wildlife, and invertebratesa synoptic review: Laurel, Md.,
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Biological Report 85 (1.11), p. 81.
Harte, John, Holdren, Cheryl, Schneider, Richard, and Shirley,
Christine, 1991, Toxics A to Z—a guide to everyday pollution
hazards: Berkeley, Calif., University of California Press,
p. 479.
Newell, Arthur J., Johnson, David W. and Allen, Laurie K.
1987, Niagara River biota contamination project-Fish flesh
criteria for piscivorous wildlife: New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation, Division of Fish and Wildlife,
Bureau of Environmental Protection, Technical Report 87-3,
p. 182.
Rand, G.M., and Petrocelli, S.R., 1985, Fundamentals of aquatic
toxicology methods and applications: New York, Hemisphere
Publishing Corp., p. 666.
Figure 4. Concentrations of selected trace elements detected in Shelton, L.R., and Capel, P.D., 1994, Guidelines for collecting and
streambed sediment and whole sculpin tissue collected in the processing samples of stream bed sediment for analysis of trace
Puget Sound Basin compared to the median of forest and reference elements and organic contaminants for the National Water-
site data. (n, number of samples; +1 replicate, one replicate Quality Assessment Program: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File
sample data included; <, less than). Report 94-458, p. 20.
IMPERVIOUS COVER—PAVING PARADISE 363
IMPERVIOUS COVER—PAVING PARADISE levels of imperviousness (10 to 20%). Increased impervious

surfaces alter stream hydrology resulting in lower flows
SANDRA BIRD during droughts and higher peak flows during floods.
U.S. Environmental Roadways and other impervious areas channel pollutants
Protection Agency directly into streams without their being processed during
transport through the soil. With advance planning and
THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPERVIOUS COVER identification of at-risk watersheds, total impervious cover
can be reduced during development within a watershed,
Nonpoint source pollution is pollution from diffuse and steps can be taken to mitigate the impacts of added
sources such as urban/suburban areas and farmlands; impervious cover.
this is now recognized as the primary threat to water
quality in the United States. As urban and suburban
GIS AND SPATIAL DATA
development increases, the amount of land covered with
impervious surfaces—areas where infiltration of water A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer
into the underlying soil is prevented—also increases. system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating,
Roadways and rooftops account for the majority of this and displaying geographically referenced information (i.e.,
impervious area. Research in recent years has consistently data identified according to set locations). The way maps
shown a strong relationship between the percentage of and other data have been stored or filed as layers
impervious cover in a watershed and the health of the of information in a GIS makes it possible to perform
receiving stream. Scientists generally agree that stream complex analyses.
degradation consistently occurs at even relatively low With the aid of GIS software, a human analyst can
efficiently and accurately identify and categorize ground
features visible in computer-generated versions of aerial
photographs that represent true map distances available
throughout the nation. High-resolution satellite imagery
is rapidly expanding use of remote sensing techniques for
impervious cover estimation. Classified land cover data
are now available throughout the country. Detailed road
networks and block level census data are other GIS data
sources available to aid in estimating impervious cover.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Impervious cover is proposed as an indicator of aquatic

conditions for sub-watersheds throughout the country.
Researchers are focusing on methods that would be
useful in doing region-wide environmental assessments.
The usefulness of impervious cover as an indicator is a
function of the ease and accuracy for estimating it. Testing
is underway to determine with what degree of accuracy
impervious cover can be estimated for sub-watershed areas
from data available throughout a region.
RESEARCH SUMMARY
An impervious cover test data set for 56 sub-watersheds in

Frederick County, MD was developed and used to evaluate
different estimation techniques suitable for application
to a regional-scale characterization. Using a combination
of data sources, researchers were able to estimate the
percentage of impervious cover in a watershed to within
+/− 1%.
Additional impervious cover data sets are being
developed from aerial photographs for approximately 209
watersheds in the Atlanta, GA area for two time periods.
These data sets will be used to confirm estimation methods
and to determine the accuracy of methods to project
Examples of impervious cover
future changes in impervious surface area. The estimation
technique that was developed in this research project can
This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the be used by local and national agencies to target watersheds
public domain in the United States of America. for monitoring and mitigation efforts.
364 PHYTOREMEDIATION BY CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS
PHYTOREMEDIATION BY CONSTRUCTED irrigation water, crop tissues, foodstuff, biosolids, and

WETLANDS fertilizers are now becoming available (2). In addition to
the human impact, some contamination problems result
RUPALI DATTA from geologic activity. For example, reports on reduced
DIBYENDU SARKAR iron in Denmark, fluoride in Bavaria and Moldova, and
ALPANA KHAIROM arsenic in Bangladesh and India illustrate the fact that
natural geochemical conditions may cause locally elevated
CHACHAREE THERAPONG
concentrations of metals (1).
University of Texas at San
Environmental remediation technologies use physical,
Antonio
chemical, or biological processes that attempt to eliminate,
San Antonio, Texas
reduce, isolate, or stabilize a contaminant or a multitude
of contaminants (3). Depending on the technology used,
the process may take place either at the location of
A constructed wetland is a wastewater treatment facil-
ity that duplicates the processes in natural wetlands. the contamination (in situ), or the contaminated soil
Constructed wetlands are complex, integrated systems or water may be removed for ex situ treatment. The
in which water, plants, animals, microorganisms, and cost of environmental remediation using conventional
the environment interact to improve water quality. Phy- techniques can be very high, a fact that has turned
toremediation, defined as cleansing of the environment out to be the driving force in the development of new
using vegetation, is the primary water treatment pro- remediation technologies. Phytoremediation, defined as
cess in constructed wetlands. The advantages of phy- the cleansing of the environment using vegetation, has
toremediation using constructed wetlands are that it is emerged as an effective, inexpensive, and environmentally
environmentally friendly, a sustainable technology, and friendly alternative for remediating contaminated soil and
cost-effective; the primary disadvantages are potentially ground water (4). Commercial use of phytoremediation
incomplete removal of pollutants and pest attraction. Suc- is currently rather limited; most of the technologies
cessful implementation of phytoremediation technology in being developed are primarily at the experimental stage.
constructed wetlands is a function of a number of inter- The most developed and widely used phytoremediation
related biophysicochemical factors, including the types technique is the use of constructed wetlands for treating
and fate of toxicants, characteristics of soil and sedi- wastewater from municipal sewage treatment facilities
ment, plant species and plant uptake, hydrology and water and industrial processing operations (5).
flow, and microbial population. Hence, phytoremediation Wetlands prevent floods, store water for times of
by constructed wetlands generally reflects an integrated drought, and most importantly, clean silt and pollutants
multidisciplinary effort that combines plant biology, micro- from runoff by trapping sediment and contaminants. By
biology, surface chemistry, hydrology, and environmental doing so, they prevent chemical and sedimentary pol-
engineering. The initial construction of wetlands, taking lution of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters; hence, envi-
into account all these factors to design the most appropri- ronmentalists refer to wetlands as nature’s kidneys (6).
ate and effective method for removing target pollutants is The physicochemical properties of wetlands provide many
labor-intensive and expensive, but low maintenance and positive attributes for remediating contaminants (7). The
operating costs make constructed wetlands a much more rhizosphere of wetland vegetation provides an enriched
economically viable alternative to conventional physical culture zone for microbes involved in degradation (8).
and chemical treatments. Above all, the use of plants Furthermore, sediments or soils in wetlands display
in environmental cleanup may guarantee a greener and reducing conditions, which promotes certain remediation
cleaner planet for us and for future generations. reactions (9). Chemical pollutants are also taken up by
wetland plants, where they are accumulated and biotrans-
formed to less toxic and/or immobile states (10) or are
INTRODUCTION volatilized into the atmosphere (11). Plants also supply
fixed carbon to sediments, which is an energy source for
The rising demands of modern day society for economic bacterial transformation of chemical contaminants (12).
development and improved standards of living are leading Constructed wetland ecosystems are typically character-
to increased use of raw materials (1). The use of chemicals ized by carefully selected and induced biophysicochemical
has played a key role in the development of agriculture, properties favorable for chemical, bio- and phytoremedia-
industry, housing, transport, textiles, and health. Their tion of contaminants, such as enhanced surface retention,
use has contributed significantly to the rise in the complimentary redox conditions, hyperaccumulating veg-
standard of living among populations around the world, etation, and degrading microbial population, and hence,
but a major side effect has been the continuous release provide conditions that help transform harmful pollutants
of both natural and man-made substances, including to less harmful products or essential nutrients that can be
gases, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, soluble used by the biota (13).
organic compounds, suspended solids, and nitrogen and Although natural wetlands and terrestrial phytore-
phosphorus compounds into the air, water, and terrestrial mediation are traditionally used for removing wastes,
environments. Recent research is increasingly focused on phytoremediation using constructed wetlands is becoming
the ecological and human health effects of contaminants, more popular due to their efficiency in treating pollutants
and guidelines or standards on soil, drinking water, and cost-effectiveness. This article provides an overview
PHYTOREMEDIATION BY CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS 365
of the types of constructed wetlands, their advantages and to remain below the top surface of the medium. The
disadvantages, the pollution removal mechanisms (with sizes of these systems range from small on-site units
particular emphasis on phytoremediation attributes), and designed to treat septic tank effluents from individual
their effectiveness in removing organic pollutants, nutri- homes, schools, apartment complexes, and parks that
ents, pathogens, and heavy metals. treat a few hundred gallons of wastewater per day to
1.5 × 107 liters per day systems that treat municipal
wastewater (15). There are approximately 100 SF systems
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS in the United States that treat municipal wastewater, the
majority of these treat less than 3.8 × 103 m3 /day (15).
A constructed wetland is a designed, man-made complex The most commonly used vegetation in SF wetlands
of saturated substrates, emergent and submerged veg- includes cattail (Typha sp.), bulrush (Scirpus sp.), reed
etation, animal life, and water that simulates natural (Phragmites sp.), and sedge (Carex sp.). The submerged
wetlands for human use and benefits (14). Constructed plant roots provide a substrate for microbial processes.
wetlands offer an economical and largely self-maintaining Because most emergent macrophytes can transmit oxygen
alternative to conventional treatment of water contami- from leaves to roots, there are aerobic areas on the root
nated by a variety of pollutants such as organic chemicals, surfaces. The remainder of the submerged environment in
toxic metals, and nutrients (14). SF wetlands tends to remain devoid of oxygen (17). These
Wetland systems are typically described in terms of the systems are very useful in removing biochemical oxygen
position of the water surface (15). Accordingly, there are demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), metals, and
two basic types of constructed wetlands: organic pollutants.
• subsurface flow systems Free-Water Surface Flow Systems

• free-water surface flow systems
Free-water systems (FWS) are designed to simulate
natural wetlands, such as bogs, swamps, and marshes
Subsurface Flow Systems
where water flows over the soil surface at a shallow depth
A subsurface flow (SF) wetland is specifically designed (Fig.1). In FWS wetlands, water flows over a vegetated
for treating certain types of wastewater and is typically soil surface from an inlet point to an outlet point. The
constructed as a bed or channel containing appropriate sizes of FWS wetlands systems range from small on-site
media (Fig. 1). Coarse rock, gravel, sand, and other soils units designed to treat septic tank effluents to large units
have been used, but a gravel medium is most common that occupy more than 40,000 acres (15). Similar to SF
in the United States and Europe (15). The medium is systems, the most commonly used emergent vegetation
typically planted with the same types of vegetation includes cattail, bulrush, and reeds (17). The plant canopy
present in marshes, and the water surface is designed formed by the emergent vegetation shades the water
Subsurface flow
Berm Inlet Outlet
From septic tank
Bed media
To dispersal
Impervious liner
Free water surface
Inlet
Outlet
Berm To
dispersal
Soil
Low permeability
From septic tank Figure 1. Subsurface flow and free-water sys-
tems (16).
surface, prevents the persistence and growth of algae, • They can be aesthetically pleasing and may also
and reduces wind-induced turbulence in the water flowing provide additional benefits such as wildlife habitat,
through the system (15). Submerged portions of the living public recreation, environmental education, and
plants, the litter accumulated from the previous growth, groundwater recharge (6).
and the standing dead plants provide a substrate for the
microorganisms responsible for biological treatment in the However, there are certain obvious disadvantages and
system. Oxygen is available at the water surface and on negative side effects from the operation, maintenance, and
living surfaces, allowing for aerobic activities. However, effectiveness of constructed wetlands:
the bulk of the activities in the wetland is anaerobic (15).
The low velocity and laminar flow of the influent in FWS • Constructed wetlands require a continuous supply of
systems result in very effective removal of TSS that water and also require water level management to
contain BOD components, fixed forms of total nitrogen sustain vegetation (6).
(TN) and total phosphorus (TP), trace levels of metals, and • They require more land area than the conven-
complex organics. The particulates are either oxidized or tional treatment plants, if advanced treatment is
reduced and release soluble forms of BOD, TN, and TP, desired (14).
which are either adsorbed by soil/sediment or removed by • Surface wetlands attract mosquitoes and may cause
microbial or plant populations in the wetland (15). other pest problems (14).
The use of FWS constructed wetlands has increased
• Treatment efficiency may vary based on the effects of
significantly since the late 1980s. SF wetlands are not
season and weather (6).
now typically selected for larger flow municipal systems.
The higher cost of the rock or gravel media makes a large • High levels of ammonia can destroy vegetation in
SF wetland uneconomical compared to a FWS wetland wetlands (6).
despite the smaller area required for a SF wetland (15). • The long-term effectiveness of constructed wetlands
Cost comparisons have shown that at flow rates above is not well documented. Wetland aging may con-
60,000 gallons per day, it is usually cheaper to construct tribute to a decrease in contaminant removal rates
a FWS wetland system. However, there are exceptions over time.
where public access, mosquito, or wildlife issues justify
selecting a SF wetland. Currently, FWS systems are POLLUTANT REMOVAL MECHANISMS
widely distributed in 32 states in the United States (15).
Pollutant removal processes occur by interaction with
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CONSTRUCTED wetland vegetation, the water column, and the wetland
WETLANDS substrate. The processes may be physical, chemical, or
biological (20).
Constructed wetlands provide various advantages. This Physical pollutant removal processes in wetland sys-
widens their appeal among professionals, from engineers tems occur due to the presence of plant biomass and
and those involved in the workings of wastewater substrate media. Plants physically retard the pathways of
treatment facilities to the environmentalists and people sedimentation; the soil or gravel substrate acts as a filter
concerned with recreation. Unlike some water issues in bed, thereby aiding physical removal of suspended solids
which the advantages to one group are disadvantages by straining (20).
to another, the effective operation of constructed wetlands Chemical reactions between inorganic pollutants can
can provide broad benefits to a wide range of interests (18). lead to their precipitation from the water column as
Some of the more obvious benefits are listed here: insoluble compounds. Exposure to atmospheric gases
and sunlight can lead to the breakdown of certain
• Constructed wetlands are less expensive to build organic pollutants and destruction of pathogens. Antibiotic
than other treatment options. There is no need chemicals can also play a role in removing pathogens from
for high cost, electromechanical equipment or for wastewater (20).
high consumption of electrical energy. If properly Biological processes play a major role in removing pollu-
constructed and maintained, the wetlands provide tants in constructed wetland systems. Six major biological
efficient treatment of wastewaters (6). reactions have been identified as aiding the pollutant
• Operating and maintenance expenses (energy and removal performance of wetlands, photosynthesis, res-
piration, fermentation, nitrification, denitrification, and
supplies) are low. They require only periodic (rather
than continuous) on-site labor (6). biological phosphorus removal (7). A more detailed discus-
sion of biological mechanisms, particularly in regard to
• They are tolerant of fluctuating hydraulic and bio- and phytoremediation, is presented in a later section.
contaminant loading rates (19). As in any other biological wastewater treatment sys-
• They facilitate water recycling and reuse (15). tem, wetland process rates depend on various environmen-
• Constructed wetlands have great tolerance for tal factors, such as temperature, pH, oxygen availability,
varying amounts of wastewater loading. The loading and hydraulic and pollutant loads (21,22). Under some
rates can be altered by varying livestock production environmental conditions, process rates may slow down or
levels, changing climatic conditions, and changing cease altogether, or even reverse, releasing pollutants. In
management (6). general, the effectiveness of pollutant removal processes
that rely on biological activities may be reduced due to Conversely, more rapid subsurface flows increase oxy-
a decrease in metabolic activities caused by low temper- gen delivery, thereby slowing the decline in redox (7).
ature; many metabolic activities are less effective if the Plant roots can transport oxygen to the surrounding
pH is either too high or too low (20). Hydraulic overload- rhizosphere (28–30) along with plant tissue air spaces
ing occurs when the flow exceeds the design capacity, connected to belowground biomass (31). Complex inter-
thus reducing the actual hydraulic retention time. Pol- actions among the microbial community, plant species
lutant overload occurs when the influent pollutant loads composition, soil/sediment characteristics, and hydrology
exceed the process removal rates; for example, nutrient create a complex set of remediation reactions in wetland
overloads can cause excess algal bloom leading to eutroph- ecosystems (7).
ication, and decomposition of excessive organic matter can Phytoremediation reactions are influenced by seasonal
consume dissolved oxygen resulting in anaerobic condi- variability of physical and chemical characteristics in
tions (20–22). Nutrient and organic matter overloading response to terrestrial and climatic events (7,32). Plant
may even reverse many pollutant removal processes (20). photosynthesis and standing crop biomass exhibit dra-
matic seasonal changes in nearly all tidal freshwater
vegetation communities (9). Long-term ecological succes-
PHYTOREMEDIATION ATTRIBUTES OF CONSTRUCTED sion can shift plant species composition in the wetlands
WETLANDS thereby altering phytoremediation characteristics because
phytoremediation by one wetland community may not
Phytoremediation using wetlands is a potentially econom- be the same as that which the new successional plant
ical remediation alternative that plays an important role community develops (7). Hence, successful long-term phy-
in sustaining and restoring the environment. It has been toremediation must carefully consider the management
an important aspect of constructed wetlands, which have implications of secondary successions to avoid ecological
been used successfully to detoxify large volumes of wastew- shifts away from optimal plant community structure (33).
ater that contain dilute concentrations of contaminants. Given all the factors that can influence the effectiveness
Pollutants in wastewater are generally removed by plants of a wetland system and keeping in mind that specific
in a symbiotic association with beneficial soil bacteria (23). requirements vary depending on the functional role
For many years, scientists and engineers have observed of wetland plants in the treatment systems, broad
improvement in the quality of water flowing through nat- generalizations can still be made about the characteristics
ural wetlands. This knowledge is of invaluable importance of plant species that are most suitable for constructed
in designing the most effective constructed wetland sys- wetland wastewater treatment systems (34):
tems. However, assessing the phytoremediation potential
of constructed wetlands is still a rather complex issue due • ecological acceptability, that is, no significant weed
to variable conditions of hydrology, soil/sediment types, or disease risks or danger to the ecological or genetic
plant species diversity, and seasonal effects on plant integrity of surrounding natural ecosystems;
growth and water chemistry (24). Williams (7) provides an • tolerance to local climatic conditions, pests, and
analytical assessment of the phytoremediation attributes diseases;
of constructed wetlands, as discussed following. • tolerance of pollutants and hypertrophic water-
The physicochemical properties of wetlands pro- logged conditions;
vide many positive attributes for remediating contami- • ready propagation and rapid establishment, spread,
nants (7). The expansive rhizosphere of wetland herba- and growth;
ceous shrub and tree species provides an enriched
• high pollutant removal capacity, either through
culture zone for microbes involved in degrading pollu-
direct assimilation or storage, or indirectly by
tants (8,25,26). Most wetland soil/sediment zones have
enhancing microbial transformations.
strongly reducing conditions (9). Remediation reactions
that require reducing conditions are enhanced under the
Cattails (Typha sp.), bulrushes (Scirpus sp.), reeds
low redox potential of wetland systems (27).
(Phragmites sp.), and sedges (Carex sp.) generally meet
However, anaerobic reducing conditions also decrease
these requirements and hence, are the typical macrophytes
the depth to which plant roots penetrate, restricting
(rooted plants that anchor to the substrate) of choice in the
plant uptake and rhizosphere actions to shallower aquifer
majority of constructed wetland systems, including both
levels (7). Zones of wetlands interfacing with flowing water
subsurface flow and freshwater surface flow types (20).
systems can provide conditions for aerobic oxidation-
dependent degradation reactions. Redox conditions within
rhizospheres can also be altered by oxygen delivery by EFFECTIVENESS OF PHYTOREMEDIATION IN WETLANDS
plant roots (28).
The oxidation states of wetlands are also strongly Constructed wetlands can remove a range of pollutants,
related to hydrology. The rise and fall of the water table including biodegradable organic substances, metals, and
can greatly alter redox zones (7). Soil porosity, percola- nutrients. Natural wetlands have lower efficiency in
tion rates, and horizontal hydrologic conductivity rates removing pollutants than constructed wetlands (10). The
control the rate of oxygen delivery to subsurface lay- growth and adaptation of plants to anoxic conditions
ers. Slower vertical and horizontal flow rates with high in wetland sediments drives many of the biological and
microbial activity quickly produce reducing conditions. chemical processes to transform the pollutants to a
variety of forms that differ in mobility and toxicity (12). metals precipitated as inorganic compounds or metals
For example, the activity of plant roots alters the complexed by humic substances or metals adsorbed onto
surrounding conditions in the sediment, enhancing the hydrous oxides are potentially bioavailable, and metals
rate of transformation and fixation of metals (35). precipitated as insoluble sulfides and metals bound to the
The following section, derived primarily from crystal lattice of minerals are essentially unavailable (45).
Williams (7) and Sundaravadivel and Vigneswaran (20), Because of reducing conditions, the depth of wetlands to
presents a review of the performance of both constructed which plants can penetrate is limited, and this restricts
and natural wetlands in regard to phytoremediation of the the uptake of contaminants and rhizosphere actions to
aforementioned three major classes of chemical pollutants. shallower levels (7).
Understanding the role of phytoremediation in metal
Removal of Organics removal from wetlands has progressed over the years
Organic contaminants, such as trichloroethylene (TCE) from basic uptake studies to quantification of chemical
and pesticides, have been remediated effectively by a speciation and bioavailability and the role of genetic
variety of phytoremediation actions of terrestrial and wet- engineering in metal hyperaccumulation (46–50). In New
lands species (7). Cunningham et al. (36) identified the Zealand, submerged, rooted aquatic species, such as
following phytoremediation actions for successfully remov- Ceratophyllum demersum, were hyperaccumulators of
ing organic contaminants: accumulation into biomass, arsenic (CF or concentration factor of 20,000) compared to
phytovolatilization, cellular degradation, and rhizosphere cattail, Typha orientalis (CF of 100), a popular wetland
degradation. Hybrid poplars have had increasing success plant species (46). Water hyacinths (Eichhornia crassipes),
in phytoremediating TCE (37) and other volatile organic well known for their use in wastewater treatment, have
compounds (VOCs). Several VOCs, including TCE, were also been found effective in accumulating heavy metals
removed from surficial groundwater and subsequently and in the uptake of pesticide residues, PCB, DDE, DDD,
degraded by poplar (Populus deltoids x trichlocarpa) test and DDT (47,51). Apparently, water hyacinths carried out
plots near toxic disposal sites in Maryland (38). Nietch phytoremediation by root sorption, concentration, and/or
et al. (39) experimented with bald cypress (Taxodium dis- metabolic degradation (47). Duckweed (Lemna minor) and
tichum) to remediate TCE and found that the TCE flux water velvet (Azolla pinnata) both effectively removed iron
through bald cypress into surrounding air space decreased and copper at low concentrations; however, water velvet
from day to night and from August to December. Much of does not grow from May to October, and such production
this flux was controlled by evapotranspirational seasonal- seasonality translates to a limited phytoremediation
ity. interval (52).
Nzengung et al. (40) summarized phytoremediation Removal of heavy metals by wetland hydrophytes
research on halogenated organic chemicals (HOC) by presents the problem of plant biomass collection to pre-
Elodea candensis, Myriophyllum aquaticum, Salix nigra, vent decomposition, thus recycling accumulated metals,
and Populus deltoides and identified four major phy- because many of the wetland plant species typically
toremediation processes: (1) rapid sequestration by par- undergo much faster decomposition compared to terres-
titioning to lipophilic plant cuticles; (2) phytoreduction trial species (7). Phytomining, the recovery of accumulated
to less halogenated metabolites; (3) phytooxidation to trace metals, might be side benefits of phytoremediation;
haloethanols, haloacetic acids, and unidentified metabo- however, concerns about plant matter getting into the
lites; and (4) assimilation into plant tissues as nonphy- food chain by direct consumption or by decomposition
totoxic products. Additional types of VOC, semivolatile, pathways (49) include considerable ecological and human
and nonvolatile compounds were evaluated for their phy- health problems. Careful harvesting techniques must be
toremediation potential by hybrid poplar (41). Burken and used to prevent loss of metal-enriched plant biomass.
Schnoor (41), developed the transpiration stream concen- Biomass recycling is a major concern because even wave
tration factor (TSCF) and the root concentration factor action can remove fresh biomass prior to harvesting (7).
(RCF) for 12 such compounds, including aniline, phenol,
nitrobenzene, benzene, atrazine, and toluene. Newman
Removal of Nutrients
et al. (42) reported phytoremediation via reductive dechlo-
rination by Populous trichocarpa and emphasized the Removal of macronutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus, by
ecological concern of selecting a phytoremediating species stabilized constructed wetlands is a complex cyclic process
that grows well in the local habitat, while not ecologically believed to involve a number of ‘‘conceptual compart-
destabilizing existing communities. In another study, Ens- ments,’’ such as soils, sediments, and litter/peat (80%
ley (43) reported that duckweed (Lemna gibba) reductively of the total nutrient load), water column (15–20%), and
dechlorinates chlorinated phenols. plants/other biota (5%) (20,53). The primary mechanisms
of nutrient removal from wastewater in constructed wet-
Removal of Metals lands are microbial processes such as nitrification and
Wetland sediments are generally considered a sink for denitrification as well as physicochemical processes such
metals and, in the anoxic zone, may contain very high as the fixation of phosphate by iron and aluminum in the
concentrations of metals in a reduced state (44). As such, soil filter (17). The hydraulic retention time, including the
the bioavailability of metals in wetlands is low compared length of time the water is in contact with the plant roots,
to that in terrestrial systems with oxidized soils. Water- affects the extent to which the plant plays a significant
soluble and exchangeable metals are most bioavailable, role in the removal or breakdown of pollutants (17).
A survey of literature on the nutrient removal effi- over the last decade, but much more research is needed to
ciencies of constructed wetlands indicates extreme vari- determine the capabilities of plants and microorganisms
ations (20). Phosphorus removal efficiency is strongly to remove pollutants from wastewater. As more wetland
dependent on loading rate, 65–95% removal is achieved projects are undertaken and further field-based research
at loading rates less than 5 g/m2 /y. However, removal is conducted, the treatment possibilities of constructed
efficiency decreases to 30–40% or even less when phospho- wetlands will be better understood.
rus loadings are greater than 10–15 g/m2 /y (54). Nitrogen
removal efficiencies reportedly decline at mass loading
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performance. In: Constructed Wetlands for Water Quality Environmental Health Sciences Program, School of Public
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UNRECOGNIZED POLLUTANTS 371
47. Gupta, G.C. (1980). Use of water hyacinths in wastewater quality. That notwithstanding, the priority pollutants
treatment. J. Environ. Health 43(2): 8082. remain the focal point of water quality investigation and
48. Debusk, T.A., Laughlin, R.B., Jr., and Schwartz, L.N. (1996). management. Limited attention is given to the evaluation
Retention and compartmentalization of lead and cadmium in and regulation of the many thousands of other potential
wetland microcosms. Water Resour. 30(11): 2707–2716. pollutants that are in municipal and industrial liquid and
49. Khan, A.G., Kuek, C., Chaudhry, T.M., Khoo, C.S., and solid wastes, even in light of the myriad of other chemicals
Hayes, W.J. (2000). Role of plants, mycorrhizae and phy- currently in commercial and personal household use, and
tochelators in heavy metal contaminated land remediation. those that come into use annually.
Chemosphere 41: 197–207.
Daughton (1) highlighted the growing concern about
50. Datta, R. and Sarkar, D. (2004). Effective integrations of soil unrecognized, unregulated pollutants, indicating that over
chemistry and plant molecule biology in phytoremediation of 22 million organic and inorganic substances exist, with
metals: An overview. Environ. Geoscience 11(2): 53–63.
nearly 6 million commercially available. The current water
51. Wang, Q., Cui, Y., and Dong, Y. (2002). Phytoremediation of quality regulatory approach addresses fewer than 200 of
polluted waters: Potentials and prospects of wetland plants.
these chemicals. He also noted,
Acta Biotechnol. 22 (1–2): 199–208.
52. Jain S.K., Vasudevan, P., and Jha, N.K. (1989). Removal of ‘‘Since the 1970s, the impact of chemical pollution has focused
some heavy metals from polluted water by aquatic plants: almost exclusively on conventional ‘‘priority pollutants,’’ espe-
Studies on duckweed and water velvet. Biological Wastes 28: cially on those collectively referred to as ‘‘persistent, bioaccumu-
115–126. lative, toxic’’ (PBT) pollutants, ‘‘persistent organic pollutants’’
53. Faulkner, S.P. and Richardson, C.J. (1990). Physical and (POPs), or ‘‘bioaccumulative chemicals of concern’’ (BCCs).
chemical characteristics of freshwater wetland soils. In:
The ‘‘dirty dozen’’ is a ubiquitous, notorious subset of these,
Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment, 2nd Edn.
comprising highly halogenated organics (e.g., DDT, PCBs).
D.A. Hammer (Ed.). Lewis, Chelsea, MI, pp. 41–72.
54. Faulkner, S.P. and Richardson, C.J. (1993). Physical and The conventional priority pollutants, however, are only one
chemical characteristics of freshwater wetland soils. In: piece of the larger risk puzzle.
Constructed Wetlands for Water Quality Treatment, CRC
Press, Boca Raton, FL, p. 41. Regulated pollutants compose but a very small piece of the
55. Watson, J.T., Reed, S.C., Kadlec, R.H., Knight, R.L., and universe of chemical stressors to which organisms can be
Whitehouse, A.E. (1990). Performance expectations and exposed on a continual basis.
loading rates for constructed wetlands. In: Constructed
Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment, 2nd Edn. D.A. Hammer
Similarly, Dr. K. Hooper of the Hazardous Materials
(Ed.). Lewis, Chelsea, MI, pp. 319–351. Laboratory, California EPA Department of Toxic Sub-
56. Juwarkar A.S., Oke, B., Juwarkar, A., and Patnaik, S.M.
stances Control, recently noted (2),
(1995). Domestic wastewater treatment through constructed ‘‘Over the past 25 years, tens of thousands of new chemicals
wetland in India. Water Sci. Technol. 32(3): 291–294. (7 chemicals per day) are introduced into commerce after
57. Billore, S.K., Singh, N., Sharma, J.K., Dass, P., and Nel- evaluation by USEPA. Few (100–200) of the 85,000 chemicals
son, R.M. (1999). Horizontal subsurface flow gravel bed con- presently in commerce are regulated. We have reasons to believe
structed wetland with phragmites karka in central India. that a much larger number than 200 adversely affect human
Water Sci. Technol. 40(3): 163–171. health and the environment.’’
58. Shreshtha, R.R., Haberl, R., and Laber, J. (2000). Approach
of constructed wetland technology transfer to Nepal. Proc. 1st Periodically, unregulated chemicals that are in use
World Water Congr. Int. Water Assoc., Paris, July 2000, IWA, are discovered to be widespread pollutants, posing a
London, UK. significant threat to public health and the environment.
Examples of such findings and illustration of the need
to address the broader issue of previously unrecognized
UNRECOGNIZED POLLUTANTS pollutants are presented below.
G. FRED LEE EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUSLY UNRECOGNIZED

ANNE JONES-LEE POLLUTANTS
G. Fred Lee & Associates
El Macero, California Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs)
Increasing attention is being given to pharmaceuticals
and personal care products (PPCPs) as environmen-
INTRODUCTION tal pollutants. At the California Bay Delta Authority
(CBDA) Contaminant Stressors Workshop, Dr. Christian
The U.S. water pollution control program focuses on Daughton, Chief, Environmental Chemistry Branch, US
the control of a limited group of chemicals, the 126 EPA National Exposure Research Laboratory, addressed
current ‘‘priority pollutants.’’ The chemicals included on this issue in his presentation entitled, ‘‘Ubiquitous Pollu-
the list of priority pollutants were originally selected tion from Health and Cosmetic Care: Significance, Con-
in the mid-1970s through a litigation settlement. The cern, Solutions, Stewardship—Pollution from Personal
list did not receive appropriate peer review for its Actions’’ (1).
representation of the chemical contaminants of most Daughton (1) pointed out that a wide variety of
pressing importance to public health and environmental chemicals that are introduced into domestic wastewaters
372 UNRECOGNIZED POLLUTANTS
are being found in the environment. Various chemicals Hazard Assessment recently conducted an evaluation of
(pharmaceuticals) used by individuals and to treat the hazards of perchlorate in drinking water. The 4 µg/L
pets, outdated medications disposed of into sewage action level for perchlorate in drinking water was based
systems, and treated and untreated hospital wastes on the detection limit; it has been revised to 6 µg/L based
discharged to domestic sewage systems end up in receiving on the recent OEHHA evaluation.
waters for domestic wastewater treatment plant effluents.
Further, transfer of sewage solids (‘‘biosolids’’) to land, Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE)
industrial waste streams, landfill leachate, releases from
Another unrecognized, unregulated pollutant is the poly-
aquaculture of medicated feeds, etc. also introduce these
brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) used as a flame
chemicals into the environment. Many of these chemicals
retardant on furniture and other materials. Hooper (2)
are not new and have been present in wastewaters for
recently discussed finding PBDE in human breast milk
some time. However, they are only now beginning to be
and in San Francisco Bay seals, and the fact that archived
recognized as potentially significant water pollutants and
human breast milk shows that this contamination has
are largely unregulated as water pollutants.
been occurring for over 20 years. According to McDon-
According to Daughton (1),
ald (5) of the California Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment,
‘‘PPCPs [Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products] are
a diverse group of chemicals comprising all human and
veterinary drugs (available by prescription or over-the-counter; ‘‘Approximately 75 million pounds of PBDEs are used each
including the new genre of ‘‘biologics’’), diagnostic agents year in the U.S. as flame retardant additives for plastics
(e.g., X-ray contrast media), ‘‘nutraceuticals’’ (bioactive food in computers, televisions, appliances, building materials and
supplements such as huperzine A), and other consumer vehicle parts; and foams for furniture. PBDEs migrate out
chemicals, such as fragrances (e.g., musks) and sun-screen of these products and into the environment, where they
agents (e.g., mehylbenzylidene camphor); also included are bioaccumulate. PBDEs are now ubiquitous in the environment
‘‘excipients’’ (so-called ‘‘inert’’ ingredients used in PPCP and have been measured in indoor and outdoor air, house
manufacturing and formulation).’’ dust, food, streams and lakes, terrestrial and aquatic biota,
and human tissues. Concentrations of PBDE measured in fish,
marine mammals and people from the San Francisco Bay
Although the full range of impacts of PPCPs is just region are among the highest in the world, and these levels
beginning to be investigated, PPCPs are being found appear to be increasing with each passing year.’’
to have adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems. For
example, Daughton (1) discussed the relationship between PBDEs are similar to PCBs and are considered
PPCPs and endocrine disrupters, which are believed carcinogens. Some of the PBDEs are being banned in
to be responsible for causing sex changes in fish. In the United States and in other countries.
addition, in a feature article in Environmental Science
and Technology, Eggen et al. (3) reviewed a number of Pesticides
the issues pertinent to understanding the impacts of
PPCPs and other chemicals that can cause endocrine Another example of unidentified pollutants was given by
disruption, DNA damage/mutagenesis, deficiencies in Kuivila (6). She discussed the fact that approximately 150
immune system, and neurological effects in fish and other pesticides used in California’s Central Valley exist that
aquatic life. (Additional information on PPCPs is available are a threat to cause water quality problems in the Delta
at www.epa.gov/nerlesd1/chemistry/pharma/ index.htm.) and its tributaries. The current pesticide water quality
regulation program considers only about half a dozen
Perchlorate of those.
Perchlorate (ClO4 − ), used in highway safety flares and

other applications, is another example of a chemical CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
that is now being found in surface and groundwaters in
sufficient concentrations to pose a threat to human health. The presence of untold, unregulated pollutants in
Perchlorate is derived from several sources. Silva (4) of the environmental systems, as illustrated above with the
Santa Clara Valley, CA Water District, noted the potential examples of PPCPs and others, is not unexpected based on
for highway safety flares to be a significant source of the approach that is normally used to define constituents
perchlorate contamination to water, even when the flares of concern in water pollution control programs. Based on
are 100% burned. According to him, one fully burned flare the vast array of chemicals that are used in commerce,
can leach up to almost 2,000 µg of perchlorate, and many of which are or could be introduced into aquatic
systems from wastewater and stormwater runoff, it is
‘‘A single unburned 20-minute flare can potentially contam- likely that many other chemicals will be discovered in
inate up to 2.2 acre-feet [726,000 gallons] of drinking water the future that are a threat to public health or aquatic
to just above the California Department of Health Services’ ecosystems. A pressing need exists to significantly expand
current Action Level of 4 µg/L [for perchlorate]’’ (4). water quality monitoring programs to specifically search
for new, previously unrecognized water pollutants. As
Silva also pointed out that more than 40 metric demonstrated by the perchlorate and PBDE situations,
tons of flares were used/burned in 2002 alone in Santa monitoring programs that focus on priority pollutants
Clara County. California’s Office of Environmental Health stand to be significantly deficient in properly defining
POLLUTION OF SURFACE WATERS 373
constituents of concern with respect to impairing the this fact, we disregard it by polluting our rivers, lakes, and
beneficial uses of waters. oceans. We are slowly but surely harming our planet to the
point where organisms are dying at a very alarming rate.
BIBLIOGRAPHY In addition to innocent organisms dying off, our drinking
water has become greatly affected, as is our ability to use
1. Daughton, C.G. (2004). Pharmaceuticals and personal care water for recreation. To combat water pollution, we must
products (PPCPs) as environmental pollutants: Pollution understand the problem and become part of the solution.
from personal actions. Presented at the California Bay- Surface water pollutants are generally classified into
Delta Authority Contaminant Stressor Workshop, Sacramento, these eight major categories:
CA. Contact Daughton at daughton.christian@epa.gov. Also
see http://search.epa.gov/s97is.vts and http://www.epa.gov/esd/ 1. sewage and waste
chemistry/pharma/tracers.htm.
2. infectious agents
2. Hooper, K. (2003). Lessons from the PBDEs—the value of
monitoring community body burdens using breast milk. In: 6th 3. particulate soil and mineral matter
Bienniel State of the Estuary Conference, The San Francisco 4. dissolved toxic pollutants.
Bay-Delta Estuary: Changes and Challenges, San Francisco
5. mineral and chemical compounds
Estuary Project, Oakland, CA.
3. Eggen, R.I.L., Behra, R., Burkhardt-Holm, P., and Escher, B.I.
6. radioactive nuclides
(2004). Challenges in ecotoxicology: Mechanistic understand- 7. thermal pollutants
ing will help overcome the newest challenges. Environ. Sci. 8. organic chemical exotics
Technol. 38(3): 58A–64A.
4. Silva, M.A. (2003). Safety flares threaten water quality with Surface water should be free from the following
perchlorate. Report of Santa Clara Valley Water District.
contaminants (1):
http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Water Quality/
Protecting your water/ Lustop/Perchlorate.shtm.
1. Compounds that impart color, turbidity, and
5. McDonald, T.A. (2003). The risk posed by the PBDEs, a class
of flame retardants. In: 6th Bienniel State of the Estuary odor such as greases, oils, toxic metals, phenols,
Conference, The San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary: Changes and organics
and Challenges, San Francisco Estuary Project, Oakland, CA. 2. Toxic radionuclides that acutely affect the physiology
6. Kuivila, K. (2000). Pesticides in the Sacramento-San Joaquin of humans, animals, and aquatic organisms
Delta: State of our Knowledge. Abstracts from the CALFED 3. Substances that may precipitate to form objection-
Bay-Delta Program Science Conference 2000, Sacramento, CA. able deposits or float on the surface as oil, scum,
or debris
READING LIST 4. Heavy materials that check the growth of aquatic
flora and fauna
Daughton, C.G. (2004) ‘‘Non-Regulated Water Contaminants:
Emerging Research,’’ Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 24 (7–9): 5. Thermal effluents should not increase the water
711–732. temperature by 3 to 5 ◦ F.
Ternes, T.A., Joss, A., and Siegrist, H. (2004). ‘‘Scrutinizing 6. Substances that are likely to enhance the growth of
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Wastewater undesirable aquatic life
Treatment,’’ Environ. Sci. Technol. 38(20): 393A–399A.
Components of surface water are listed in Table 1.
POLLUTION OF SURFACE WATERS

Table 1. Typical Analysis of Some Surface Watersa
NITISH PRIYADARSHI
Component (ppm) Xb Yc
Ranchi University
Jharkhand, Ranchi, India Silica 9.5 1.2
Calcium 4.0 36.0
Magnesium 1.1 8.1
INTRODUCTION Iron (III) 0.07 0.02
Total hardness as CaCO3 14.6 123
According to the American College Dictionary, pollution is Sodium 2.6 6.5
defined as ‘‘to make foul or unclean; dirty.’’ Water pollution Potassium 0.6 1.2
Sulphate 1.6 22
occurs when a body of water is adversely affected by the
Chloride 2.0 13
addition of large amounts of materials to the water. When
Nitrate 0.41 0.1
it is unfit for its intended use, water is considered polluted. Bicarbonate 18.3 119
Comprising over 70% of the earth’s surface, water Total dissolved solids 34 165
is undoubtedly the most precious natural resource that
a
exists on our planet. Without the seemingly invaluable Reference 2.
b
X: Pardee Reservoir, Oakland, California, U.S.A., 1976 (water supply
compound of hydrogen and oxygen, life on the earth would source for East Bay Area of San Francisco).
be nonexistent. It is essential for everything on our planet c
Y: Niagara River, New York, U.S.A. (water supply source for city of
to grow and prosper. Although we as humans recognize Niagara Falls).
374 POLLUTION OF SURFACE WATERS
SOURCES OF SURFACE WATER POLLUTION Impact of Mining

In many countries, water pollution related to the mining
Surface water comes in direct contact with the atmosphere,
industry can be traced back to older times compared
streams, rivulets, and surface drains. So a continuous
with that caused by other industries. The characteristics
exchange of dissolved and atmospheric gases occurs and
of waste water from mining industries vary greatly
wastes are added through water conveyance.
depending on the kind of mine (3).
There are many causes of surface water pollution
but two general categories exist: direct and indirect con-
Metal Mining Industry. Many kinds of wastewater are
taminant sources. Direct sources include effluent outfalls
discharged. For example, mine water, ore dressing water,
from factories, refineries, waste treatment plants, decom-
wastewater from smelters, in general, contain metal ions,
posed plant animal matter, and radioactive materials and
sulfuric acid and suspended solids at high concentrations.
wastes. Indirect sources include effluent contaminants
that enter the surface water supply from surface soils Coal Mining Industry. Wastewater from coal mines
and from the atmosphere via rainwater. Soils contain the consists mainly of mine water, coal dressing water, trace
residue of human agricultural practices (fertilizers, pesti- and major elements and contains a large quantity of
cides, etc.) and improperly disposed of industrial wastes. suspended solids.
Atmospheric contaminants are also derived from human
practices (such as gaseous emissions from automobiles, Sulfur Mining. In general, wastewater from sulfur mines
factories, and even bakeries). contains large quantities of sulfuric acid and iron and has
a low pH.
Impact of Livestock Production Practices on Surface
Water Quality Stone-Quarrying and Clay-Supply Industries. These in-
Livestock practices that can impact surface water qual- dustries supply limestone, building stones, porcelain clay,
ity include both intensive and nonintensive operations. and so on. Wastewater from the sites of these industries
Intensive operations include feedlots (>500 head of cat- generally contains large amounts of suspended solids.
tle), dairies, and wintering sites; nonintensive operations Mining activities generate large quantities of solid wastes
include pasture, cow-calf operations, and watering sites in most cases from large heaps. Such wastes not only
for cattle. Waste management and disposal can also pollute surface water by exuding toxic substances and also
impact water quality. Livestock density is not the only by rapid generation of suspended solids in surface water
factor affecting water quality; siting and management are when the heap is washed away by a heavy rainfall or
also important considerations. Water quality parameters a flood.
related to livestock production include nutrients (nitrogen
Food Processing Industry
and phosphorus), microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, faecal
coliforms, Cryptosporidium, Giardia), and organic materi- A common characteristic of wastewater from all types of
als such as livestock wastes. food processing industries is the high organic content.
Materials contained in wastewater can be divided roughly
Impact of Pesticides on Surface Water Quality into carbohydrate, protein, fat, and mixtures of them. In
many instances, wastewater contains oil, nitrogen, and
Pesticides can move into surface water by both point
phosphorus. In starch production, sugar refining, and
and nonpoint source pollution. Point source pollution
brewing, the BOD level of waste water is especially high.
occurs when pollutants originate from a single event or
fixed site. Point source events include chemical runoff Paper and Pulp Industries
during improper storage, mixing/loading, disposal or mis-
application to waterbodies. Nonpoint source pollution is These are typical water consuming industries, and the
the movement of pesticides from areas across watersheds levels of COD and suspended solids in wastewater
over time into the surface water. Runoff (water flow) are extremely high. A large quantity of waste paper
and erosion (soil particles) are common forms of non- fiber is also discharged as suspended solids together
point source pollution of surface water from agriculture. with wastewater.
Pesticides are most susceptible to runoff immediately after
application when they are in the ‘‘mixing zone.’’ The mixing Iron and Steel Industry
zone is the thin layer (1/10 to 1/3 inch) at the soil surface. Wastewater from the cooling and cleaning processes for
coke furnace gas contains ammonia, cyanide, and phenols.
Impact of Fertilizers on Surface Water Quality There is also wastewater from the dust collecting process
Fertilizers given to crops are not always fully consumed; of each furnace that contains suspended solids (coke dust
part remains in the soil absorbed by soil colloids and and ore) and that from the pickling process, which contains
influences the quality of surface water when it is dissolved. acid, iron, and oil.
Chemical fertilizers consist mainly of relatively simple
Electroplating Industry
compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which
are nutritive elements for plants. Nitrogen when that Toxic substances released through wastewater are various
enters surface water tends to cause eutrophication of lakes heavy metals (cadmium, zinc, copper, etc.), cyanide,
and other surface water reservoirs. hexavalent chromium, acids, and alkalies.
POND AQUACULTURE—MODELING AND DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS 375
Additional Forms of Water Pollution development and growth of the warm water fish, such as
carp, throughout the considerable part of the year.
Additional forms of water pollution exist in the forms
An attempt to approach the time-vertical distribution
of petroleum, radioactive substances, and heat. Petroleum
of penetrating solar radiation and temperature is pre-
often pollutes surface waterbodies in the form of oil from oil
sented in descriptive form and in simple mathematical
spills. Besides supertankers, offshore drilling operations
language. The majority of the material is obtained from
contribute a large share of pollution. One estimate is
constructed carp ponds situated in a temperate climate
that one ton of oil is spilled for every million tons of
(φ = 49◦ 52 N, λ = 18◦ 48 E). Both the differentiated pond
oil transported. This equals about 0.0001%. Radioactive
morphometry and the various periods of their use allow
pollution can be human-made or natural. Radioactive
following their effects on the physical environment. Their
substances are produced as waste from nuclear power
average surface area is equal to some thousand square
plants and from the industrial, medical, and scientific use
meters, and the average depth varies from 120 cm in the
of radioactive materials, or they can come from naturally
warm season to 200 cm in winter. The simultaneous time-
occurring radioactive isotopes in water like radon. Specific vertical distribution of temperature is presented in ponds
forms of waste are from uranium and thorium mining whose surface areas are from some hundred to some thou-
and refining. sand square meters and from 20–120 cm deep (Fig. 1).
The last form of water pollution is heat. Heat is a The gravitational water flow through the ponds requires
pollutant because increased temperatures result in the inclination of their bottoms from the water inlet to its
deaths of many aquatic organisms. These increases in outlet. In deeper ponds, the difference in depth between
temperature are caused by discharges of cooling water shallow and deep places can exceed 1 m. Dikes one to two
from factories and power plants. meters high above the water surface limit the wind stress,
especially in smaller ponds.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Two periods limited by water temperature are distin-
guished; warm—from the beginning of April to the end
of October, when the water temperature is above 4 ◦ C,
1. Sharma, B.K. and Kaur, H. (1994). Water Pollution. Goel,
Meerut, India, p. 56.
and cold—from November till March, when the temper-
ature drops below 4 ◦ C. Most of the examples presented
2. Snoeyink, V.L. and Jenkins, D. (1980). Water Chemistry. John
Wiley & Sons, New York, p. 6.
deal with period from May till September, when the ther-
mal conditions stimulate growth and development of the
3. Trivedi, P.R. and Raj, G. (1997). Water Pollution. Akashdeep,
New Delhi, India, p. 11.
carp organism.
In the warm part of the year the water feeding ponds
compensates only for evaporation and infiltration losses.
During the winter, the scanty water flow through ponds
POND AQUACULTURE—MODELING AND
covered with ice protects them from oxygen deficiency.
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS The solar radiation flux density was monitored in the
wavelength range 0.3–3.0 µm.
MARIA A. SZUMIEC
Polish Academy of Sciences The Warm Season
Chybie, Poland
Absorbed solar radiation is the main source of heat in
shallow waters; the greatest heat losses take place in the
SOLAR RADIATION AND TEMPERATURE IN SHALLOW evaporation process (1). In early spring, solar radiation
STAGNANT WATERS
Physical environment plays a controlling role in all

processes and events that occur in waters. Knowledge
of water’s dynamic characteristics and model elaboration
is basic. Shallow stagnant waters are characterized by
the individuality resulting from their small capacity.
This is displayed in their receptivity to external factors,
such as weather variability, that differentiates them from
lakes. In a temperate climate, quick and distinct changes
in meteorological events are displayed in variations in
the solar radiation that penetrates into shallow waters,
thus, in variations in light and thermal conditions. These
changes are then transferred directly and/or via chemical
processes to different levels of the biological chain. In
fishponds, the final link in the chain is the stenothermic
organism which is affected by the ambient temperature
in a complex way. Penetrating light plays the decisive Figure 1. View from the air over the ponds of the Institute of
role in fish survival, limiting the concentration of oxygen Ichthyobiology and Aquaculture of the Polish Academy of Sciences
dissolved in the water. The thermal conditions inhibit at Gołysz.
376 POND AQUACULTURE—MODELING AND DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Values of α in ponds are approximately ten times higher

R W cm−2 × 100
than in most lakes, where they usually are computed per
0 2 4 6 8
0 1 m (4–6). A wind whose speed exceeds 3 m s−1 stimulates
Summer the circulation of the entire water stratum and also limits
the penetration of vertical radiation to a certain degree.
20 This distinct stratification of vertical radiation manifests
in a distinct vertical decrease in temperature and oxygen
content in ponds (Fig. 3).
40 Spring
In late summer in the deeper parts of ponds fertilized
Depth, cm
or densely stocked with carp, the oxygen concentration

decreases below the saturation point (7). Macrophytes
60 limit the radiation penetrating into ponds; however, the
largest decrease occurs below dense floating plants. During
sunny, calm days, the regular diel and seasonal solar
80 radiative cycles follow the Sun’s elevation in the whole
water stratum (Fig. 4).
They can be approximately represented at all the depths
100
by the geometric function
Figure 2. Density of the vertical solar radiation flux R under the
free water surface in ponds during sunny and calm days; higher R(z, t)d = {AR (z, t) sin[π/TR (z, t)]}d
extinction presents ponds with a denser carp stock.
Amplitude AR,d and period TR,d decrease approximately
penetrates to the pond bottom. At night, cooling of the exponentially with depth. A decrease in TR,d shortens the
surface layers makes the whole water stratum circulate; day at the bottom (8). The seasonal cycle of R(z, t)s follows
a breeze enhances this process. Favorable light conditions the Sun’s elevation only in the surface water layer (Fig. 5).
during the day and nutrients released from the bottom In the deeper parts, the average monthly radiative flux
during water circulation stimulate the development of R decreases from May to September owing to decreasing
flora and fauna and distinctly diminish the radiative flux water transparency.
penetrating to the bottom. Intensive absorption of the long An equation for the distribution R(z, t)s of sea-
waves and intensive scattering of the short waves of the sonal–vertical solar radiation in ponds during sunny day is
radiative spectrum lead to high extinction in the surface not a simple geometric function, though it can be satisfac-
layers and to an exponential decrease of R with the pond torily computed using the first terms of the Fourier series
depth z (Fig. 2). On sunny days under the free water
surface, R(z) takes the form of R(z, t)s = {n A(z) sin[nπ/T(z)t + ϕ(z)]}s
R(z) = R0 e−αz where (A, T, ϕ)s are the seasonal amplitude, period, and
phase of R(z, t)s in the period from May–September.
The coefficient α of vertical extinction is equal to 0.02 cm−1 The greater the surface area of ponds, the greater the
in spring and increases in late summer; it also increases role of wind in water circulation and in radiation extinc-
in ponds densely stocked with carp (Fig. 2) (2,3). tion (9). Momentary cloudiness deforms the time–vertical
Radiation W cm−2 × 100 Primary production W cm−2 × 100 Water temperature, °C

0 2 4 6 8 0 3 5 8 10 16 18 20 22 24
0
Summer
20
40
Depth, cm
Spring
60
80
100
Figure 3. Example of the simultaneous vertical distribution of radiative flux, primary
production, and water temperature in ponds on a sunny, calm summer day.
POND AQUACULTURE—MODELING AND DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS 377
0.08 Spring Summer
0.06 0.1 cm
R W cm−2
0.04
50 cm
0.02 0.1 cm
50 cm
0.00
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 3 6 9 12 15 18 21
Figure 4. Diel cycles of radiative flux in ponds
Hours Hours on sunny days.
5 24
0.1 cm
4
22
Water temperature, °C
R W cm−2 × 100
20
2
50 cm
1
18
120 cm
0 80 cm
M JU JL A S 6 am 2 pm 4 am 50 cm
Months 16 20 cm
Figure 5. Seasonal cycles of radiative flux in ponds on Hours
sunny days. Figure 6. Simultaneous smoothed diel temperature cycles in
ponds of different average depths on a sunny, calm summer day.
radiative flux and diminishes its density; cloudiness main-
tained for a whole day causes the daily radiative amplitude is additionally limited in ponds covered by ice. Only
to approximate zero. transparent ice allows radiation to penetrate to the
In shallow waters, the time–vertical distribution of bottom and to create favorable conditions for primary
the temperature ϑ is chiefly a resultant value of the production. Under nontransparent ice, water flow through
absorbed radiation and heat losses in the evaporation ponds is required to improve oxygen conditions. In non
process. During sunny, calm days, temperature cycles frozen ponds, the action of wind in stirring water ensures
are semiregular geometric functions; that have with sufficient oxygen concentration for the fish.
a slightly quicker increase in temperature during the The first autumnal deep cooling equalizes and lowers
morning hours and a distinctly slower decrease in the temperature in the whole water stratum to 4 ◦ C. A
the afternoon (Figs. 6 and 7). During the night, the further temperature decrease is manifested in inverse
temperature difference between surface and bottom water stratification. Strong wind accompanied by cooling stirs
layers approaches zero. The diel amplitude and vertical the water, obstructs freezing, and lowers the temperatures
gradient decrease exponentially as the average depth z of in the whole stratum, sometimes even below 0.1 ◦ C. In
the pond increases (10,11). ponds covered by ice, the temperature in the lowest water
In May, when sunny but cold northern air masses layers is heated from the bottom and usually increases
advect, the temperature in very shallow waters, for to 2–2.5 ◦ C. Such vertical temperature distribution is
example, about 20 cm deep, can decrease to a few degrees normally maintained from the end of December to early
in the early morning and increase to over 25 ◦ C at noon. March. The warm, windy weather in the second half of
These great time variations may be lethal for some this month removes the ice cover and raises the water
organisms, such as e.g., carp fry (12). temperature to 4 ◦ C, equalizing differences between the
surface and the bottom (10).
The Cold Part of the Year In a temperate climate, the ice cover usually disappears
In late autumn and in winter, the radiative flux reaches one or more times from ponds (13), at first leading to
only a few percent of that recorded in summer and momentary water heating and, under the consecutive
378 POND AQUACULTURE—MODELING AND DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Water temperature, °C
19 21 23 19 21 23 19 21 23 19 21 23
0
30
Depth, cm
60
90
Figure 7. Simultaneous vertical temperature dis-
tribution in ponds of different average depths on a
sunny, calm summer day. 120
30
20
10
0
Water temp., °C, ice thickness, cm
10
8
6
4
2
0
30
20
10
0
10
8
6
Figure 8. Examples of the average diel 4
temperature patterns in the pond’s bot- 2
tom water layer during winter for 0
momentary disappearances and perma- N D J F M
nent ice cover. Months
cooling, to a deep temperature decrease (Fig. 8). This amplitude and vertical gradient. During winter in ponds
creates unfavorable conditions for warm water organisms, covered by ice, the temperature in the bottom water layer
for example, it increases the mortality of carp juveniles. is maintained between 2 and 2.5 ◦ C. Short warm weather
periods lead to the momentary disappearance of ice and
SUMMARY to a temperature increase, the consecutive cooling—to a
considerable temperature decrease.
The individuality of shallow stagnant waters, such as carp
ponds, results from their small capacity and differentiates
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of their physical environment from lake environments.
The density of the solar radiative flux that penetrates
1. Szumiec, M. (1969). Bilans cieplny stawów karpiowych na
into water and the vertical temperature and oxygen
przykładzie Gospodarstwa Gołysz. (Thermal balance of carp
stratification in ponds situated in a temperate climate are ponds by example of Gołysz Experimental Farm). Acta
characterized by high extinction and vertical gradients, Hydrobiol. 11: 137–178.
approximately ten times higher than in most lakes. 2. Szumiec, M.A. (1982). The influence of meteorological condi-
Vertical extinction and attenuation increase from spring tions and eutrophication on some physical elements of the
to late summer. Despite its high variability, average water bodies environment. Acta Hydrophysica 27: 217–221.
diel radiative courses can be represented by a simple 3. Szumiec, M.A. and Augustyn, D. (1985). Studies on intensi-
geometric function, the seasonal distribution by the first fication of carp farming 3. Meteorological conditions, solar
several terms of the Fourier series. The diel cycle of water radiation, and water temperature in ponds. Acta Hydrobiol.
temperature in ponds corresponds to the annual cycle in 27: 159–172.
lakes. The effect of increasing pond depths is displayed 4. Stenz, E. (1953). Strahlungsdurchlässigkeit einiger Seen
in the exponential decrease of the diel temperature Polens. Acta Geoph. Pol. 1: 44–55.
PUMPING STATIONS 379
5. Hutchinson G.E. (1957). A Treatise on Limnology. Vol. I. John Reservoirs and settling basins even out the water
Wiley & Sons, New York, p. 1015. supply reducing fluctuation in the water level and because
6. Szumiec, M. (1975). Wpływ kierowanej eutrofizacji na energiȩ of reduced velocity of water flow, allow debris either to
słoneczna̧ przenikaja̧ca̧ w gła̧b stawów. (The effect of settle out or float to the surface. The reduced water flow
controlled eutrophication on solar radiation penetrating into also reduces the impact from objects in the water, which
ponds). Acta Hydrobiol. 17: 149–182. reduces the required strength of the intake structure.
7. Szumiec, M. (1971). Solar radiation, water temperature and It is preferable to obtain the water from a high-quality
primary production in carp ponds. Pol. Arch. Hydrobiol. 18:
spot. For example, in many reservoirs, a preferred area
175–187.
is about 1 meter below the surface. As the level of
8. Szumiec, M.A. (1986). Weather impacts on carp farming.
the reservoirs change, this entails for a fixed structure,
Aquaculture Hungarica (Szarvas) 5: 179–189.
multiple ports located at different levels and valved so that
9. Szumiec, M. (1981). Wpływ cech morfometrycznych
the desired level may be chosen. Low entering velocities
zbiorników typu stawowego na bilans ciepła i temperaturȩ
are desirable to avoid heavy loading of floating matter,
wody. (The influence of the morphometry of pond—type
reservoirs on the heat balance and water temperature). sediment, and fish. Velocities of less than 0.5 ft/sec are
Przegl. Geofiz. 26: 143–160. preferable. Higher velocities result in heavier loading
10. Szumiec, M.A. (1984). Termika stawów karpiowych. (Thermal and greater maintenance requirements of the intakes.
properties of carp ponds). PWN, Warszawa, p. 136. Current and foreseeable environmental conditions should
11. Goubier-Martin, M. (1991). Climat et aquaculture. Applica- be considered when siting the intakes. For example, winds
tion aux etangs de la Dombes. Doctorat de Geographie sous that stir up sediments near shore may necessitate siting
la direction de Mr. Marcel Leroux, Professeur. Universite the intake away from the shoreline, as may pollution
Jean Moulin—Lyon III, Faculte des Letters et Civilizations. caused by shoreline development. Submerged intakes are
Laboratoire de Geographie Physique, p. 483. possible if they do not interfere with navigation. Some
12. Szumiec, M.A. and Białowa̧s, H. (2002). Effect of temperature small stations may employ floating intakes in which the
and genetics on carp juvenile survival in ponds. EAS intake is mounted on a floating structure such as a raft
Conference ‘‘Pond Aquaculture in Central and Eastern Europe and connected to the pump with flexible pipe.
in the 21st Century. Special Publication No. 31, 71–74. Pumps are guarded by physical barriers such as inlet
13. Szumiec, M.A. and Augustyn, D. (1997). Warunki hydromete- grids or screens located upstream of the pump. These are
orologiczne w sezonie hodowlanym 1996 i w zimie 1995/1996. usually arranged in series, beginning with those that have
(Hydro-meteorological conditions in the farming season 1996
the largest openings and, by necessity, are the largest
and in winter 1995/1996). Komunikaty Rybackie 2: 12–16.
and strongest and proceeding to more restrictive barriers.
These barriers must be cleaned periodically to prevent the
accumulation of debris from severely restricting the water
PUMPING STATIONS flow. Cleaning may be manual or automatic.
JOSEPH D. BANKSTON
Louisiana State University PUMPS
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
A pump (or pumps) is the second major component of a
pumping plant. A pump must be capable of producing the
Surface water pumping stations are employed either to required head while delivering the desired flow rate. It
move water from an available surface location to where must also be able to handle the suction lift and the water
it is wanted or to remove it from a location where it is quality or lack thereof. The latter is dependent on the
not wanted. Examples of the former include municipal or water—its corrosiveness (salty water or chemical laden)
industrial water supply and irrigation, whereas municipal and how much and what kind of trash or debris it may
drainage pumps are examples of the latter. contain. An appropriate pump is constructed of materials
Although differing in purpose, all have similarities of that resist the corrosive characteristics of the water and of
function and components. A pumping station must provide a design that is capable of handling the anticipated debris.
a water inlet for water to flow to the pump, a pump suitable The head, suction lift, and flow rate are dependent
for the water and delivery requirements, and a means on the piping system and the pump’s characteristics.
of powering the pump. Although these requirements are The piping system and pump interact to determine the
interdependent to some degree, a reasonable approach is operating point of the pump—flow rate and pressure.
to consider them in order. The pump cannot independently control these parameters.
As the flow rate increases, the head (pressure) required
WATER INLET to force the water through the pumping system also
increases. A pump will typically have reduced capacity
Surface water frequently carries with it flotsam, jetsam, (flow) as the head it is pumping against increases. Thus,
and aquatic species, both plant and animal, which must as the flow rate increases, the pressure a pump is capable
be prevented from entering the pump without severely of producing decreases while the pressure required to
restricting the flow of water. In addition, surface water move the water increases. The operating point occurs at
levels often fluctuate. Settling basins, reservoirs, grids, that flow rate under which the pressure produced by the
screens, and multiple intakes or floating intakes have pump is equal to the pressure required to move the water.
been used to address these problems. The efficiency of a pump varies greatly with its operating
380 PUMPING STATIONS
point, with maximum efficiency occurring at a particular factors may include ability to do the job, reliability and
flow rate and falling off at higher or lower flow rates. availability of the power source and fuel supply, cost of
Manufacturers typically list an operating range in equipment and installation, expected useful life, cost and
which the pumps performance is satisfactory; outside this ease of maintenance, convenience of operation, and the
range, the efficiency of the pump may be low and damage cost of energy to operate.
to the pump could occur. The required output of a pumping With the large variety of motors and engines available,
plant often varies over time. In order to avoid operating a suitable example of either should be available and
outside of the pumps designed range, a pumping station capable of powering the chosen pump. In general, internal
may employ multiple pumps or, when feasible, storage. combustion engines become more applicable as the power
Multiple pumps, although more costly initially, allow the requirements and hours of use increase. Fuel efficiency of
flexibility of operating the pumps at an efficient operating higher horsepower engines is usually better than for low
point and also supply redundancy in case of pump failure. horsepower engines (when each is properly matched to the
Water is stored to equalize pumping rates over time. load), and the higher fixed costs of engines as compared
One example of storage is a system of drainage canals that with motors can be spread over more operating hours as
themselves are drained by a pump (as in New Orleans, the hours of use increase. In addition, engines may be
where much of the city lies below sea level and water must operated at varying speeds that provide more flexibility
be pumped to provide drainage). The drainage canals than most electric motors.
provide storage volume as well as a means of flowing Advantages to electric motors exist if the cost of
the water to the pumping station. Economies result from providing service and the cost of electricity, including
operating smaller pumps at their rated loads rather than energy, demand, and standby charges, are not prohibitive.
large pumps at conditions less than optimum for the pump. The electric motor provides ease of operation, long
Two types of pumps are typically used in pumping life, requires minimal maintenance, and maintains its
stations—centrifugal and axial flow. Centrifugal pumps performance level year after year. In addition, initial
use centrifugal force to move water from one point to costs are usually less than the cost of internal combustion
another and to develop pressure. Water enters at the engines, and the reliability is higher. They can, however,
center of an impeller, where it is spun and forced at a be shut down by the loss of electrical power. If the ability
high velocity to the outer edge by the rotating impeller. to operate during times when power is frequently lost (for
The water is discharged into a casing where some of example, during periods of flooding after a hurricane) is
the velocity is converted into pressure. In an axial flow a necessity, or the pumping station is located in an area
pump, both the water flow and the force exerted on the that suffers from frequent power outages, the internal
water by the pump is in a straight line along the axis of combustion engine may be a better choice.
the pump. Axial flow pumps use a propeller or screw to Natural gas engines and electric motors are dependent
apply force to the water. Axial flow pumps are particularly on the availability of natural gas service and electric
suited for high-volume low-head (pressure) applications. service, respectively. If this service is not available, or the
Their efficiency is high, especially when the head is in cost of obtaining it is too great, than diesel, gasoline, or
the range of 8 to 20 feet. An advantage of an axial flow LPG engines, which can be supplied with fuel from storage
pump is its ability to handle some debris. Centrifugal tanks, become the feasible power sources. Storage tanks
pumps, particularly high efficiency ones, often have close allow considerable freedom in siting the power unit, but
tolerances and may not handle trash as well. Centrifugal they also present additional concerns. The tanks should
pumps are capable of operating efficiently at higher heads be designed to prevent pollution caused by leaks, spills,
than axial flow pumps. or evaporation, which includes guarding against leaks or
Suction lift is suction that a pump must apply to suck spills and provides a means of containing the spill and
water into its inlet. It includes the height the pump is of cleaning after a spill. For this reason, underground
located above the water source, the friction loss in the tanks are usually avoided. Above-ground tanks have
pipe leading from the water source to the pump, and the their own sets of problems. They are more vulnerable
energy imparted to the water as velocity. The amount of to attack or vandalism and tend to have a greater degree
suction lift that a pump can produce is limited and varies of fuel evaporation than underground tanks. Not only does
with the individual pump. Excessive suction lift can cause evaporation result in fuel loss, it may also lead to higher
inefficient operation, damage to the pump, or a failure to gum content of the fuel and poor engine performance and
operate. For these reasons, it is preferable for the pump to clogged filters, which, if severe enough, can prevent an
be immersed in the water source or for the water to flow engine from operating. Adulteration of the fuel can occur
to the pump under gravity. by the condensation of water inside the tank or, in the case
of diesel fuel, by bacteria that feed on the fuel.
POWER Energy costs are estimated under the conditions at
which the pumping station operates. A thorough analysis
Pumps are powered by electric motors or internal requires the expected operating schedule including
combustion engines. Internal combustion engines include loading, time of occurrence, and duration of operation.
diesel, gasoline, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas Loading is particularly important in determining internal
(LPG) engines, with diesel being the most common. Each combustion engine fuel usage as the efficiency of delivered
power source has advantages and disadvantages, many power is greatly impacted by the degree to which the
of which are site- and application-dependent. Deciding engine is loaded. For example, Dr. Claude Boyd of Auburn
REGULATED RIVERS 381
University obtained comparative efficiency data of an of human society (see Water in History). Dams have been
engine under different loading conditions. The engine, built to impound rivers and store runoff in large reservoirs
running at 1800 rpm, required 1.6 gal/hr of fuel to provide for use in dry seasons, in drought years, for long-distance
4.9 horsepower. Increasing the load to 16.9 horsepower, transfer to centers of high water demand—for irrigation
a greater than three-fold increase, required 2.0 gal/hr, agriculture or urban use—and for hydroelectric power
or only 25% greater fuel consumption. Similarly, the production. It has been estimated that 800,000 dams of
same engine running at 950 rpm required 0.7 gal/hr to all sizes have been built on the world’s rivers. The largest
supply 4.8 horsepower and 1.2 gal/hr to supply 16.7 have dams over 150 m high and reservoirs with storage
horsepower. Under these different loading conditions, capacities greater than 25,000 million cubic meters or
the number of horsepower hours produced by the same have a hydroelectric generation capacity of more than
engine for each gallon of fuel consumed ranged from 3.1 1000 MW. Today, large dams contribute directly to about
to 13.9. Although not generally as sensitive to loading 15% of global food production and nearly 20% of the world’s
as internal combustion engines, electric motors also fall electricity supply (1). However, these dams, reservoirs,
off in efficiency when underloaded, particularly at 50% or and diversions have had widespread ecological impacts.
less of capacity. Energy costs for electricity is impacted Worldwide, reservoirs have drowned about 1 million km2
by operating schedule as electric charges for commercial of land and in the United States 25,000 km of fast-flowing
customers include demand and service charges in addition main rivers have been converted into stillwater lakes and
to energy costs. Demand and energy charges are charges on the Columbia-Snake system alone, 822 km of river
for having electric power available, even if it is not used. habitats have been replaced by reservoirs. Here, the focus
Maintenance costs can significantly affect the viability is on the regulated rivers downstream from dams.
of a particular power option. Maintenance costs are By 1994, it was estimated that nearly 80% of the
considerably higher for internal combustion engines than large river systems in Europe, the former Soviet Union,
for electric motors. Exact costs are difficult to pin down the United States, and Canada were at least moderately
as they depend on duty cycle, cost of labor, degree of regulated by dams, reservoirs, and diversions (2). In the
maintenance, and the individual engine or motor. A rough United States, the nation’s major rivers, the Mississippi,
rule of thumb is to access internal combustion engines a 1 Colorado, and Columbia, are completely regulated by a
to 1.5 cent per horsepower-hour maintenance cost penalty combination of large dams and weirs. Impoundments trap
in comparison with electric motors. a river’s sediment load and about 25% of the global flux
of river sediments is trapped in reservoirs. Reservoirs can
READING LIST also alter the water quality of the river downstream of
the dam, especially the annual pattern of temperature
Auley, R.H. and Knutson, G.D. (1993). Cost comparison: engine variations. However, the major impact of dams and
vs. electric, Irrigation J. May-June. reservoirs is to regulate the flow regime along the river
Bankston, J.D. and Baker, F.E. (1995). Powering aquaculture below the dam and in many cases also to significantly
equipment, Southern Regional Aquaculture Center Publication reduce the total runoff (3).
No. 375.
In the 1990s, worldwide annual water withdrawals
New, L.L. (1992). Pumping Plant Efficiency and Irrigation Costs.
of 4430 km3 /yr represented between 35% and 50% of
Texas Agricultural Extension Service, The Texas University
the average annual renewable resource, and irrigation
System.
agriculture consumed some 2500 km3 of water. Obvious
Electric Power Research Institute. (1988). Small Cogeneration
System Cost and Performances, Project EM5954.
indicators of unsustainable water use include the failure of
the Hwang He and Colorado Rivers to reach the sea in dry
seasons and the shrinkage of the Aral Sea by 25,000 km2 .
REGULATED RIVERS In the case of the Nile River, the influence of the Aswan
Dam on the flow regime extends for 1000 km, changing the
GEOFFREY PETTS hydrographic conditions over the continental shelf of the
University of Birmingham southeast Mediterranean. Ecological indicators include
Birmingham, United Kingdom the loss of productive floodplain wetlands, dramatic
changes of channel size and shape, the degradation of river
and floodplain fisheries, and the incursion of saltwater into
The regulation of river flows by dams and reservoirs coastal floodplain and delta areas.
has been fundamental to the advancement of civilization, Flow regulation includes the reduction of average
and as dryland development continues, river regulation annual runoff; reduced seasonal flow variability or reversal
for water supply and power production continues to be of the seasonal pattern to meet irrigation demands; altered
central to economic growth. However, river ecosystems timing of annual extremes, reduced flood magnitudes,
have evolved to become adapted to the natural pattern and the imposition of unnatural, short-duration pulses
of flow variability from season to season and from year associated with hydropower generation. Until the 1960s,
to year. Flow regulation has had dramatic impacts on most dams and reservoirs were designed and operated
both running-water and floodplain ecosystems, resulting with little regard for the river and its flow-dependent
in major changes in biodiversity and to fisheries. ecosystems. In most cases, the only discharges from the
River regulation involving the redistribution of water in dam were compensation flows—often a constant minimum
space and time has been fundamental to the advancement flow—to meet the needs of industry along the river,
382 RESERVOIRS-MULTIPURPOSE
especially for water mills, and other riparian uses, with riverine ecosystems (5). This issue is addressed in this
higher flows during the rare periods of dam spill. volume under Environmental Flows.
During low flow periods, many regulated rivers became
dry until unregulated tributaries restored some flow.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A survey in 1987 by the Institute of Hydrology of
supply, regulating, and hydropower reservoirs in the
1. WCD (2000). Dams and Development: A Framework for
United Kingdom showed mean compensation flows to Decision-making. World Commission on Dams, Earthscan,
the river below the dam of 15–17% of average daily London.
flow, but for reservoirs operated only for water supply 2. Dynesius, M. and Nilsson, C. (1994). Fragmentation and flow
the compensation flow was zero. In dryland areas, often regulation of rivers in the northern third of the World. Science
minimum flows were increased during the natural low- 266: 753–762.
flow season to meet the needs of irrigation and other 3. Petts, G.E. (1984). Impounded Rivers. John Wiley, Chichester,
abstractors downstream, and along many rivers minimum UK.
water levels have been raised by weirs to meet navigation 4. Petts, G.E. and Gurnell, A.M. (2005). Dams and geomorphol-
requirements. ogy. Geomorphology, Washington, DC.
All reservoirs regulate floods. The basic concept of flood 5. Postel, S. and Richter, B. (2003). Rivers for Life. Island Press,
regulation is empty space and reservoirs having a large Washington, DC.
flood-storage capacity in relation to the annual runoff can
exert complete control upon the annual hydrograph of the
river downstream. However, even when a reservoir is full RESERVOIRS-MULTIPURPOSE
to spillweir level, temporary storage of floodwaters within
the lake plays an important role in reducing the maximum SHARAD K. JAIN
rate of outflow from the reservoir when the water area of National Institute of Hydrology
a reservoir is 2% or upward of the catchment area. Along Roorkee, Uttranchal, India
many regulated rivers, the mean annual flood has been
reduced by more than 25% and there are examples where
NEED FOR RESERVOIRS
the 50-year flood has been reduced by over 20%.
Flood regulation and the maintenance or increase of
minimum flows has led to major changes in the size Reservoirs are developed for two main functions. The first
and shape of river channels (4). Degradation has occurred is to store water to even out the fluctuations in river
immediately below some dams because of the trapping of flow and match the availability to demand. Generally, the
the sediment load behind the dam, but the reduction of major part of annual stream flow is available during the
few months of the rainy season, but the demand for water
channel size in response to the reduced flood magnitudes
arises all year round. Therefore, it is necessary to store the
has been dramatic—channel capacities being reduced by
excess water in the months of high flows and use it when
50% or more in some cases. Rates of channel narrowing
the natural stream flow is inadequate to meet the demand.
have been particularly rapid along some semiarid rivers
The water stored in a reservoir may also be diverted to
where the maintenance of perennial flows encouraged
faraway places where it is needed.
the rapid establishment and growth of woody vegetation
The second function is to raise the level of the water
on exposed sediments. Elsewhere, rapid aggradation has
upstream of the dam to provide a hydraulic head. The
occurred at confluences between regulated rivers and
creation of storage and head allows dams to generate
tributaries carrying high sediment loads forming deltas
electricity. The other important purpose of a reservoir is
and bars that can extend for several kilometers below to control flooding in downstream areas.
the confluence. The early Mesopotamians were the first dam builders.
In the past, the most disturbing feature of regulated The Sumerians built networks of irrigation canals in the
rivers was that the environmental changes resulting plains along the lower Tigris and Euphrates Rivers about
from regulation were not anticipated. A scientific journal, 6500 years ago. Earth and rock-filled dams had been built
Regulated Rivers, was founded in 1988 to provide a focus around the Mediterranean, in the Middle East, China,
for synthesizing studies of the environmental impacts and Central America by the late first millennium B.C. The
of river regulation. In 2002 the journal changed its remains of impressive dams and aqueducts in Spain are
name and emphasis to River Research and Applications, fine examples of the ingenuity of Roman engineers. South
reflecting major changes in both research on, and Asia has a long history of dam building. Long earthen
management of, regulated rivers. For 25 years attention embankments were built to store water for irrigation. The
had been moving to the determination of flows required to remains of the Indus Valley civilization which flourished
protect water-dependent ecosystems. By the start of this 4000 to 5000 years ago show that these people had built
millennium there had developed a vanguard movement well-planned networks of water supply and drainage
to restore regulated rivers and to reconnect rivers with works. The oldest reservoir in operation today is the
their floodplains; to advance decision-making processes Aftentang reservoir (capacity 100 million m3 ), constructed
to balance consumptive water use with that needed to west of Shanghai during 589 to 581 B.C. (1). The oldest
maintain a healthy river; and to allocating our limited continuously operating dam still in use is the Kofini flood
water resources to meet the needs of both humans and control diversion dam and channel constructed in 1260
RESERVOIRS-MULTIPURPOSE 383
B.C. on the Lakissa River upstream of the town of Tiryns, zones by drawing imaginary horizontal planes at various
Greece, which it continues to protect. elevations. The lowest zone is the dead (or inactive)
Worldwide, there were more than 36,000 large dams zone. The bulk of the storage capacity for conservation
by 1986 (2); many more have been constructed since then. is provided in the conservation (or active) storage zone.
The Asian continent accounts for more than 64% of all The top level of the conservation zone is termed the
dams, and China has built most of them. Engineers of the full reservoir level (FRL) or normal pool level. If the
former USSR have built most of the large reservoirs; they storage space above the FRL is exclusively reserved for
are followed by engineers from Canada. More than 80% of flood control, the maximum storage capacity is dead plus
the dams in the world are earth and rock-filled types. active storage. The maximum water level (MWL) is the
A reservoir contains a number of structural features highest elevation to which the water is allowed to rise in
other than the main dam. Spillways are used to discharge a reservoir.
water when the reservoir level threatens to become Dead storage is provided in a reservoir for accumulating
dangerously high. Dams built across broad plains may sediments or to provide the minimum head for the turbines
include long lengths of ancillary dams and dikes. A of a hydropower dam.
schematic diagram of a reservoir is given in Fig. 1.
A reservoir project requires huge amounts of money, Reservoir Storage–Yield Analysis
manpower, land, and other resources and significantly
The procedures estimating the storage capacity needed
affects the environment, population, and economy of the
to meet given demands or the possible yield from a
region. Once these projects are in place, it is not easy to
given project constitute the storage–yield analysis. The
undo their impacts. Therefore, they should be carefully
reservoir storage–reliability–yield relationship relates
planned to impart the maximum possible benefit to the
inflow characteristics, reservoir capacity, release, and
national economy.
reliability. The inflow process, the reservoir storage, and
the outflow process constitute the stream-flow regulation
Multipurpose Reservoirs system. Its components are the reservoir storage capacity
The typical purposes of a reservoir are water supply (S), yield (q), and a measure of reliability (R). The
for domestic and industrial uses, irrigation, navigation, relationship among these variables can be symbolically
generation of hydroelectric power, recreation, and flood designated by a function (3):
control. Depending on the purposes served by the
reservoir, it may be classified as either single purpose or φ = φ(S, q, R) (1)
multipurpose. A single purpose reservoir serves only one
purpose. A multipurpose reservoir serves a combination of where S > 0, q > 0, 0 < R 100%. This function is called
purposes. As a rule of thumb, the bigger a reservoir, the the regulation regime function, or storage–yield function.
more purposes it can serve. Critical period techniques are the earliest methods of
While planning a reservoir, all available data should storage–yield analysis. The critical period is the period in
be analyzed, and, if necessary, further information should which an initially full reservoir, passing through various
be gathered so that the best decisions are made with states (without spilling), empties. The mass curve method
respect to location, size and type of structure, and proposed by Rippl was the first rational method for
auxiliary facilities. After the best site is selected from computing the required storage capacity of a reservoir.
amongst the potential sites, additional investigations are This simple method is commonly used in the planning
carried out to finalize the project details. These include stage. Define a function X(t) as
engineering, geologic and hydrologic investigations, and
economic analysis. The water yield at a site is commonly X(t) = t x(t) dt (2)
estimated using flow duration curves.
where x(t) represents inflows. The graph of X(t) versus
time is known as the mass curve. The reservoir capacity
Storage Zones in a Reservoir
is obtained by finding the maximum difference between
For ease of analysis and operation, the entire reservoir cumulative inflows and cumulative releases for the most
storage space is conceptually divided into a number of critical period of recorded flow. This method, although
River
Freeboard
Top of dam
MWL Surcharge storage Spillway

Flood control storage
FRL
Conservation storage
Undersluices
Dead storage level
Dead storage Dam Figure 1. Schematic diagram of
a reservoir.
simple and straightforward, has a few shortcomings. It is Conflicts in a Multipurpose Reservoir

suitable when the draft is constant, and it is not possible While operating a multipurpose reservoir, a number of
to consider evaporation losses properly. The sequent peak conflicts can arise in satisfying various purposes. These
algorithm overcomes some of the limitations of the mass are as follows:
curve method.
Systems analysis techniques such as optimization Conflicts in Reservoir Space. These conflicts occur when
and simulation are frequently used for storage–yield a reservoir (of limited storage) is required to satisfy
analysis. Among the optimization techniques, linear incompatible purposes, for example, water conservation
programming and dynamic programming have been and flood control. The satisfaction of conservation purposes
particularly suitable. Simulation is a widely used requires the reservoir to be filled to the maximum extent,
technique for solving a variety of problems in designing whereas the objective of flood control is best met when
and operating a water resources system. The reason is the reservoir has sufficient vacant space. The critical
that this approach can be realistically and conveniently decision in regulation is whether to fill the reservoir or
used to examine and evaluate the performance of a set of keep it vacant.
alternative options. The simulation approach can be used
as a stand-alone method or can be used to modify further Conflicts among Purposes. Conflicts can also arise
and test the results of critical period or optimization among conservation purposes when the pattern of water
methods. McMahon and Mein (4) describe storage–yield use is different and the requirement of storage space for
analysis techniques in detail. one purpose is not in conformity with the other. The
water required for uses such as irrigation, municipal, and
Flood Control Storage Capacity industrial water is consumed and cannot be shared with
any other use.
The requirement of storage for flood control conflicts
with the requirements for conservation. Conservation Conflicts within the Same Purpose. A deficit of water in
requirements, such as water supply and hydropower a reservoir can be distributed over time in different ways.
generation, require the storage space to be full, whereas A typical decision is whether to cut the supply now so that
flood control requires empty storage space. there is a small deficit for a longer period or to postpone the
The demands for water supply and hydroelectric power cut for the future and risk a bigger shortage for a shorter
are relatively deterministic, whereas the demand for time. The impact of these two decisions will be different.
flood control storage is highly stochastic. Furthermore,
the usual time period for analysis of conservation is Simple Approaches to Reservoir Operation
1 month, whereas for flood control, it is of the order of A reservoir is operated according to a set of rules to store
a few hours. The storage requirement can be estimated by and release water, depending on the purposes it is required
using the design flood hydrograph. An initial reservoir to serve. The release decisions are made in accordance
level at which this flood hydrograph impinges on the with the available water, current and forecasted inflows,
reservoir is assumed. The maximum level attained by the demands, weather outlook, and time of the year. The
reservoir is computed by routing the hydrograph through drawdown–refill cycle of a reservoir is usually 12 months
the reservoir. The maximum height of a dam is obtained long, except when the reservoir capacity is large in relation
after adding the freeboard to this level. to stream flows. In many regions of the world, the filling
and drawdown periods are distinctly separated.
RESERVOIR OPERATION
Standard Linear Operating Policy
The efficient use of water resources requires judicious The simplest of reservoir operating policies is the standard
design and also proper operation. After a reservoir comes linear operating policy (SLOP), graphically represented in
into being, the benefits that could be reaped depend largely Fig. 2. According to this policy, if the amount of water
on how well it is operated. Reservoir operation forms available in a particular period, is less than the target
an important part of planning and managing a water demand (T), all available water is released. If the available
resources system. Postconstruction, detailed guidelines water is more than the target demand but less than target
are given to the operator which enable him to make demand plus available storage capacity, a release equal to
appropriate management decisions. A reservoir operating the target demand is made, and the excess water is stored
policy specifies the amount of water to be released from in the reservoir. If there is no space to store the excess
storage at any time depending on the state of the reservoir, water even after meeting the target demands, all the water
demands, and any information about the likely inflow to in excess of the maximum storage capacity is released.
the reservoir. The operating problem for a single-purpose Note that SLOP is a one-time operating policy; future
reservoir is to decide about the releases to be made, so implications of the current decision are ignored. This type
that the benefits for that purpose are maximized. For of time-isolated release of water is neither beneficial nor
a multipurpose reservoir, additionally, it is required to desirable. Though this policy is not used in day-to-day
allocate the release optimally among various purposes. operation, it is frequently used in planning studies.
The complexity of the problem of reservoir operation
depends on the extent to which the various intended Rule Curves
purposes are compatible. If the purposes are compatible, A rule curve or level specifies the desired storage to
comparatively less effort is needed for coordination. be maintained in a reservoir during different times of
RESERVOIRS-MULTIPURPOSE 385
Full
Empty reservoir
Release reservoir
T 45°
45°
Figure 2. Graphical representation of standard lin-
T Smax + T Storage + inflow
ear operating policy.
the year while trying to meet various demands. The viz., normal, dry, and wet. An operating schedule that
implicit assumption is that a reservoir can best satisfy gives some leverage to the operator to use his experience
its purposes if the storage levels specified by the rule and hydrologic forecasts is termed a flexible schedule.
curve are maintained at different times. Different rule Of course, this requires using detailed input data, good
curves may be developed for different purposes, such as models, trained manpower, and careful planning. But at
water supply for domestic and industrial use, irrigation, the same time, the benefits can be very large.
hydropower generation, and flood control. The rule curve
as such does not give the releases from the reservoir; these Concept of Storage Zoning
depend on actual inflows and demands. The entire reservoir storage space can be conceptually
The derivation of rule curves depends on the type and divided into a number of zones by drawing imaginary
purposes of the reservoir. The data from the critical period horizontal planes at various elevations. The sizes of these
are used for this purpose. Clearly, if the reservoir can zones can vary with time as shown in Fig. 3.
meet the demands during the critical year, it will be able Reservoir operators are expected to maintain the
to serve its purpose for all other years. These days, many reservoir level within the specified zones. This conceptual
software packages are available for preparing rule curves. division of a reservoir into a number of zones and the rules
While operating a reservoir following rule curves, if governing the maintenance of reservoir levels in a specified
the reservoir level at any time is above the rule curve, zone are based on the assumption that, at a specified time,
releases are made to meet all conservation demands. If an ideal storage zone exists for the reservoir and benefits
the reservoir water level is in the vicinity of the rule curve can be maximized by keeping the storage in this zone.
level, the release is restricted so that the reservoir level This concept is in some way akin to a rule curve and has
does not fall appreciably below the rule curve. If for some the added advantage that it gives more flexibility to the
reason, the reservoir level drops below the rule curve, the decision-maker.
release should be curtailed with the objective of returning
to the rule curve at the earliest. Operation of a Multireservoir System
Rule curves implicitly reflect the established trade-off The benefits from the joint operation of a system of reser-
among various project objectives in the long run. These voirs can be substantially larger than the sum of benefits
curves specify only the ideal levels to be maintained; from the operation of individual reservoirs. A system may
the operators can use their experience and judgment to consist of reservoirs in series, in parallel, or a combination.
distribute the excess or deficit to maximize benefits. The Various approaches for developing operating policies for a
operation of a reservoir may become quite rigid by strictly system of reservoirs have been discussed by Wurbs (5).
following the rule curves. To provide flexibility, different While managing multiple reservoirs, all reservoirs
rule curves may be specified for different circumstances, are maintained in the same zone at any time, to the
Flood control zone

Storage
Conservation zone
Buffer zone
Smin
Dead storage zone
J F M A M J J A S O N D Figure 3. Variation of reservoir zones with
Time time.
extent possible. This is necessary to have balance among represents the inflow hydrograph. The line ZZ represents
reservoirs after an unexpected or extreme hydrologic the nondamaging carrying capacity of the river channel
event. There are three approaches for balancing reservoir downstream of the reservoir. From point B to point D, the
contents. The first, known as the ‘‘equal function’’ policy, natural flow in the river exceeds its safe carrying capacity.
is to keep all reservoirs at their same zonal position. If there were no reservoir, the flood water would have
The second is based on a reservoir ranking or priority spilled over the channel banks and caused damage during
concept—the entire zone of the lowest ranking reservoir the time B to D. The moderated release from the reservoir
is used fully before drawing water from the next lowest under ideal operation is given by the dotted curve AGDF.
ranking reservoir, and so on. The third concept is based on As soon as the inflow begins to increase, the release is
a ‘‘storage lag’’ policy. Withdrawals from the zones of some gradually increased, till some point G where the release
reservoirs are made before withdrawals are begun from equals the safe carrying capacity. While the inflows from
the same zones of other reservoirs. After a certain volume point B to D exceed the safe carrying capacity of the
has been released from the initial group of reservoirs, downstream channel, the release is maintained within a
releases are made from all reservoirs, maintaining the safe range by storing the volume in the segment BCD in
percentage difference of the available zone volumes. the flood control zone of the reservoir. After point D, the
Conditional rules are also used to regulate multiple- inflows continue to fall rapidly but the release, while still
reservoir systems. These policies define reservoir releases in a safe zone, exceeds the inflow, so that the reservoir is
as a function of the existing storage volumes and the time quickly emptied.
of the year and also as a function of the expected natural This is an ideal situation which is possible only if the
inflows into the reservoirs for some prespecified future perfect foreknowledge of the hydrograph is available. In
time period. actual operation, the release curve will deviate from the
ideal shape. For example, if the operator makes smaller
Reservoir Operation for Flood Control releases in the early part of the hydrograph, it is likely
A storage reservoir with gates is one of the most effective that the reservoir will completely fill before point D. In
means of flood control. The moderation of a flood through that eventuality, the operator will be forced to make
storage is achieved by storing part of the flood volume releases at rates exceeding the safe carrying capacity of
in the rising phase of the hydrograph and releasing it the downstream channel thereby causing flood damage.
gradually in the receding phase of the flood. The degree Conversely, if at the beginning of a flood, the operator
starts making higher releases in the expectation of a major
of moderation or flood attenuation depends on the empty
flood and such a flood does not occur, the reservoir may
storage space available in the reservoir when the flood
not fill to the desired level by the end of the filling season.
impinges it. The flood control pool must be emptied as
quickly as downstream flooding conditions allow; this will
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING FOR RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT
reduce the risk of highly damaging future releases, should
major floods occur in quick succession. Determination of the reservoir operating policy for efficient
In multipurpose reservoirs located in the regions where management of available water is a complex problem.
floods can be experienced at any time and flood control is Many attempts have been made to solve this problem
one of the main purposes, space is permanently allocated using optimization and simulation models.
for flood control at the top of the conservation pool. The Optimization is the science of choosing the best solu-
amount of space depends upon the magnitude of likely tion from a number of possible alternatives. Optimization
floods. If the floods are experienced only in a particular methods find a set of decision variables such that the objec-
season, space is allocated only during that season. tive function is optimized. Linear programming (LP) and
Reservoir regulation consists of storing the peak flows dynamic programming (DP) techniques have been exten-
over and above the safe (nondamaging) carrying capacity sively used in water resources. Loucks et al. (6) illustrated
of the channel at the damage point in the reservoir. The applications of LP, nonlinear programming (NLP), and DP
reservoir is emptied after the passage of the flood to make to water resources. Yeh (7) presented a state-of-the-art
space for controlling subsequent floods. In Fig. 4, ABCDE review and discussed in detail the various optimization
models for multipurpose, multireservoir operating prob-
lems. Simonovic (8) provided a state-of-the-art review and
C applications of the systems approach to reservoir manage-
ment and operation. Wurbs (9) reviewed the application of
optimization, simulation, and network-flow models.
Simulation is the process of designing a model of a
system and conducting experiments with it to understand
Discharge
Z B D Z the behavior of the system and to evaluate various

G F strategies for operating it. The essence of simulation
is to reproduce the behavior of the system. It allows
controlled experimentation without disturbing the real
E
system. However, simulation analysis does not yield
A
an immediate optimal answer which can be arrived at
Time
iteratively. The simulation technique is possibly the most
Figure 4. Ideal operation of a reservoir for flood control. powerful tool for studying complex systems.
DAM REMOVAL AS RIVER RESTORATION 387
The simulation models associated with reservoir opera- 3. Klemes, V. (1981). Applied Stochastic Theory of Storage
tion include the mass-balance computation of reservoir in Evolution, in Advances Hydroscience. V.T. Chow (Ed.).
inflows, outflows, and changes in storage. They may Vol. 12. Academic Press, New York.
also provide an economic evaluation of flood damage, 4. McMahon, T.A. and Mein, R.G. (1986). River and Reservoir
hydropower benefits, irrigation benefits, and other similar Yield. Water Resources Publications, Colorado.
characteristics. A large number of reservoir planning and 5. Wurbs, R.A. (1996). Modelling and Analysis of Reservoir
operating studies have used simulation models because System Operations. Prentice-Hall, New York.
such models can provide a more realistic representation of 6. Loucks, D.P., Stedinger, J.R., and Haith, D.A. (1981). Water
reservoir systems and their operations. They also allow Resources Systems Planning and Analysis. Prentice-Hall,
added flexibility to derive responses which cannot be Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
readily defined in economic terms (recreational benefits, 7. Yeh, W.W.-G. (1985). Reservoir management and optimiza-
preservation of fish and wildlife). The results of simu- tion models: a state-of-the-art review. Water Resour. Res.
21(12): 1797–1818.
lation models are easier to explain to decision-makers
and system operators because the ideas inherent in sim- 8. Simonovic, S.P. (1992). Reservoir system analysis: closing
gap between theory and practice. Journal of Water Resources
ulation modeling can be understood easily. Thus, these
Planning and Management, ASCE 118(3): 262–280.
models are effective tools for a dialogue with operators
9. Wurbs, R.A. (1993). Reservoir system simulation and opti-
and decision-makers.
mization models. J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage, ASCE
A number of general-purpose computer software pro- 119(4): 455–472.
grams are available nowadays that can be used for analysis
10. HEC (1982). HEC-5 Simulation of Flood Control and
related to planning, design, and operation of multipurpose Conservation System, Program Users Manual. The Hydrologic
reservoirs. Some well-known simulation models are the Engineering Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Davis,
HEC-5 model developed by the Hydrologic Engineering USA.
Center, (10), the Acres model (11); the Streamflow Synthe- 11. Sigvaldason, O.T. (1976). A simulation model for operating
sis and Reservoir Regulation (SSARR) Model (12), and the a multi-purpose multi-reservoir system. Water Resour. Res.
Interactive River System Simulation (IRIS) model (13). 12(2): 263–278.
Jain and Goel (14) presented a generalized simulation 12. USACE (1987). SSARR Users Manual: Streamflow Synthesis
model for conservation operation of a multipurpose reser- and Reservoir Regulation. US Army Corps of Engineers,
voir system. Lund and Guzman (15) discussed derivation Portland, Oregon, USA.
of operating rules for reservoir systems. 13. Loucks, D.P., Salewicz, K.A., and Taylor, M.R. (1989). IRIS:
An Interactive River System Simulation Model, General
Real-Time Reservoir Operation Introduction and Description. International Institute for
Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria.
A multipurpose reservoir can be efficiently operated if
14. Jain, S.K. and Goel, M.K. (1997). Software for Reservoir
the time interval between the occurrence of an event
Analysis. Report No. UM-1/96–97, National Institute of
and the execution of the control adapted for that event Hydrology, Roorkee.
is short. In real-time operation, release decisions for a
15. Lund, J.R. and Guzman, J. (1999). Derived operating rules
finite future time horizon are made based on the condition for reservoirs in series or in parallel. J. Water Resour. Plann.
of the reservoir at the instant when these decisions are Manage., ASCE 125(3): 143–153.
made and the forecast about the likely inflows/demands
over this time horizon. After a certain time interval, the
new information about the system becomes available, the DAM REMOVAL AS RIVER RESTORATION
forecasts are updated, and the decisions are modified.
Real-time operation is especially suitable during floods CHIH TED YANG
where the catchment response changes rapidly and Colorado State University
decisions have to be made quickly and adapted frequently. Fort Collins, Colorado
Successful application of the real-time operating procedure
requires a good telemetry system through which data
can be observed on-line. Real-time flood forecasting River is a dynamic system. It makes spatial and temporal
involves estimating discharge in a river at some period adjustments of its channel geometry, profile, and pattern
prior to its occurrence. It is very useful in real-time to maintain a dynamic equilibrium condition compatible
operation because the forecast leadtime proves useful in with changing independent variables or constraints
mitigating some of the adverse effects of flooding. Real- applied to the river system. The dynamic adjustments of a
time hydrologic forecasting depends, to a large extent, on river are accomplished through the processes of scour,
timely availability of good quality hydro-meteorological sediment transport, and deposition. Human activities,
data at a forecasting station. especially the construction and operation of dams, have
profoundly affected most rivers in the world. As a result
BIBLIOGRAPHY of these activities, many rivers have lost their ability
to maintain or recover their dynamic equilibrium and
1. Morris, G.L. and Fan, J. (1998). Reservoir Sedimentation functions at a self-sustained level. The main purpose of
Handbook. McGraw-Hill, New York. river restoration is to reestablish the basic functions of
2. ICOLD (1988). World Register of Large Dams, International transporting water and sediment to sustain the ecosystem
Commission on Large Dams, Paris. of rivers and their corridors.
388 DAM REMOVAL AS RIVER RESTORATION
Dams are built and operated for flood control, irrigation, • Excessive downstream river channel aggradation,
water supply, hydropower generation, navigation, recre- channel widening, bank erosion, increase of flood
ation, and environmental purposes. Each dam was stage, plug water intake structure, turbidity, and
designed to last for a given useful lifetime with certain descrupt aquatic habitats
economic and other benefits in mind. A dam can also • Adverse impact on water quality
impose certain risk to downstream residents and prop-
erties. Most of the dams, especially small dams, were • Excess sediment removal cost and difficulties of
designed with an estimated useful life of 50 to 100 years. finding appropriate sediment storage site
A dam may be removed because of one or more than one • Head cutting of tributaries
of the following factors:
Engineering considerations of dam removal include
• Economics
complete or partial removal; materials used in the
• Dam safety and security dam construction; rate of dam removal and reservoir
• Legal and financial liability drawdown; and ability to draw reservoir pool and
• Ecosystem restoration construction of bypass channel or low-level outlets. Table 1
• Fish passage improvement summarizes some of the factors that need to be considered
• Site restoration in dam removal.
Dam removal can be an engineering method for river
• Recreation
restoration. Because of the dynamic nature of river
Sediments are trapped in reservoirs after the completion adjustments in response to natural and manmade events,
of dams. The amount of sediments trapped in a reservoir comprehensive studies of possible responses of a river must
depends on the trap efficiency of the reservoir, which be carried out before a dam’s removal. Lane (1) proposed
is a function of sediment inflow, ratio between average the following qualitative equation to maintain a dynamic
annual inflow and reservoir volume, reservoir shape, and equilibrium among sediment load Qs , sediment size d,
the dam’s operational rules and facilities. A detailed water discharge Q, and river slope S.
sediment management plan must be developed before a
dam’s removal to prevent: Qs d ∝ QS (1)
Table 1. Relationship Between Dam Decommissioning and Sediment Management Alternatives [modified from ASCE (4)
by Randle and Greimann (5)]
Sediment Dam Decommissioning Alternatives
Management
Alternative Continued Operation Partial Dam Removal Full Dam Removal
No Action • Reservoir sedimentation • Only applicable if most of the dam is • Not applicable.
continues at existing rates, left in place.
• Inflowing sediment loads are • The reservoir sediment trap
reduced through watershed efficiency would be reduced.
conservation practices, or • Some sediment may be eroded from
• Reservoir operations are the reservoir.
modified to reduce sediment trap
efficiency.
River Erosion • Sluice gates are installed or • Partial erosion of sediment from the • Erosion of sediment from the
modified to flush sediment from reservoir into the downstream river reservoir into the downstream river
the reservoir. channel. channel. Erosion rates depend on
• Reservoir drawdown to help flush • Potential erosion of the remaining the rate of dam removal and
sediment. sediment by sluicing and reservoir reservoir inflow. The amount of
drawdown. erosion depends on the ratio of
reservoir width to river width.
Mechanical • Sediment removed from shallow • Sediment removed from shallow • Sediment removed from shallow
Removal depths by dredging or by depths before reservoir drawdown. depths before reservoir drawdown.
conventional excavation after • Sediment removed from deeper • Sediment removed from deeper
reservoir drawdown. depths during reservoir drawdown. depths during reservoir drawdown.
Stabilization • The sediments are already stable • Retain the lower portion of the dam • Construction of a river channel
because of the presence of the to prevent the release of coarse through or around the existing
dam and reservoir. sediments or retain most of the reservoir sediments.
dam’s length across the valley to • Relocate a portion of the sediments
help stabilize sediments along the to areas within the reservoir area
reservoir margins. that will not be subject to
• Construction of a river channel high-velocity river flow.
through or around the reservoir
sediments.
DAM REMOVAL AS RIVER RESTORATION 389
where Q and Qs = water and sediment discharge, the least lost and most suitable method for river restora-
respectively; d = sediment particle diameter, and S = tion purposes. This method also requires detailed studies
channel slope. of the hydrologic, hydraulic, sediment transport, scour,
Yang (2) introduced the following quantitative equation deposition, and river morphology. Because of the complex-
for the prediction of dynamic adjustment of a river based ity of these studies, computer models are often used by
on his unit stream power equations (3,4) experienced engineers to simulate and predict the dynamic
J adjustment of a river after the dam removal.
VS The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ HEC-6 (8) and
Ct = I (2)
ω Bureau of Reclamation’s GSTARS3 (9) and GSTAR-
1D (10) are some of the commonly used computer models
or J
Qt QS in public domain. Bureau of Reclamation’s models and
=I (3) user’s manuals can be downloaded by users by going
Q WDω
to http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/sediment/ and following the
where W = channel width, D = channel depth, ω = links therein. In addition to computer models, physical
sediment fall velocity, Ct = total bed-material concentra- models are also used for short-term simulation and
tion, Qt = total bed-material load, and I, J = coefficients. prediction of erosion, sediment transport, and deposition
Because sediment fall velocity is directly proportional during the dam removal process.
to the square root of sediment diameter and J has an Dam removal and river restoration often require a mul-
average value of 1.0 for rivers, (3) can be simplified to tidisciplinary team approach with team members consist
of engineers, environmentalists, river morphologists, fish-
Qt d0.5 Q2 S Q2 S ery and aquatic experts, and representatives from local
= = (4)
K WD A community. Useful references include, but are not limited
to, books on Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Pro-
where A = channel cross-sectional area, d = median sedi-
cess, and Practice (11), Erosion and Sedimentation Man-
ment partial diameter, and K = a site-specific parameter.
ual (12), and Sediment Transport: Theory and Practice (7).
Equation (4) was used by Yang (7) for the prediction
of river morphologic changes because of the construction
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and operation of a dam. Equation (4) can also be used for
the prediction of dynamic adjustments of a river after the 1. Lane. (1955). Sediment Transport. McGraw-Hill, New York.
removal of a dam. 2. Yang, C.T. (1986). Dynamic adjustment of rivers. Proceedings
The rate and timing of a staged reservoir drawdown of the 3rd International Symposium on River Sedimentation,
during the dam removal process should follow the Jackson, MS, pp. 118–132.
following criteria, especially for the purpose of river 3. Yang, C.T. (1973). Incipient motion and sediment transport.
restoration (6): J. Hydraulics Division, ASCE 99(HY10): 1679–1704.
4. Yang, C.T. (1979). Unit stream power equations for total load.
• The drawdown rate is slow enough so downstream J. Hydrol. 40: 123–138.
flood wave does not cause damages. 5. American Society of Civil Engineers. (1997). Guidelines for
• The release of coarse sediment is slow enough not to Retirement of Dams and Hydroelectric Facilities, New York.
cause excessive downstream aggradation. 6. Randle, T.J. and Greimann, B. (1992). Chapter 8 Dam
• The concentration of fine sediment is not too great or Decommissioning and Sediment Management. In: Erosion
duration too long to cause an unacceptable impact on and Sedimentation Manual. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Technical Service Center, Denver, CO.
water quality and aquatic environment.
7. Yang, C.T. (1996). Sedimentation Transport: Theory and
During the dam removal process, a comprehensive Practice. McGraw-Hill, New York (reprint by Krieger
monitoring program should be carried out to determine Publishing Company, 2003).
8. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (1977). Generalized Computer
• Reservoir sediment erosion and redistribution Program, HEC-6, Scour and Deposition in Rivers and
• Hill slope stability along reservoir and downstream Reservoirs, User’s Manual. The Hydrologic Engineering
Center, Davis, CA (revised 1993).
river channel adjustment
9. Yang, C.T. and Simões, F.J.M. (2002). User’s Manual for
• Water quality and suspended sediment concentration Generalized Sediment Transport model for Alluvial River
• River bed aggradation and flood stage Simulation version 3.0 (GSTARS3). U.S. Bureau of Reclama-
• Aquifer characteristics tion, Technical Service Center, Denver, CO.
• River channel plan form and channel geometry 10. Yang, C.T., Huang, J.C., and Greimann, B.P. (2004). User’s
Manual for Generalized Sediment Transport for Alluvial
adjustments
Rivers—One Dimension (GSTAR-1D). U.S. Bureau of Recla-
• Effect of large woody debris mation, Technical Service Center, Denver, CO.
• Effects on coastal process 11. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Work Group. (1998).
Stream Corridor Restoration—Principles, Processes, and
Sediments in a reservoir can be removed by dry excavation, Practice.
mechanical dredging, hydraulic dredging, sediment con- 12. Yang, C.T. (2004). Erosion and Sedimentation Manual. U.S.
veyance by river flow, and partial sediment removal and Bureau of Reclamation Technical Service Center, Denver,
reservoir stabilization. Sediment removal by river flow is CO.
390 RIPARIAN SYSTEMS
RIPARIAN SYSTEMS transformations of constituents important in aquatic

chemistry and watercourse health. Energy flow into the
THEODORE A. ENDRENY riparian system, which provides riparian biota growth,
SUNY-ESF reproduction, and maintenance, is derived principally
Syracuse, New York from high-energy sunlight and the use of its short-
wave radiation in autotrophic photosynthesis to form
organic material from water and carbon dioxide. In
Riparian areas are those along the bank of a watercourse, the presence of an electron donor, such as oxygen,
which is a relatively narrow transition zone between a the organic material is harvested for its energy by
downslope aquatic waterbody and an upslope terrestrial heterotrophic organisms in respiration, the reverse process
watershed. Riparian areas are predominantly associated of photosynthesis. Because this energy is associated with
with a river or stream, but also define the bank of a the organic material, the food web energy flow has an
lake, wetland, or other standing water. The riparian associated mass cycle. In this cycle, the carbon and
system refers to the atmospheric, vegetation, and soil associated nutrients (e.g., phosphorous and nitrogen) pass
components; their physical, chemical, and biological through numerous organisms up the food web, and after
properties; and their interaction with each other and the excretion or organism death, the carbon and nutrients
upslope terrestrial and downslope aquatic hydrologic cycle. stop moving up the food web and are either transformed
It is important to recognize that riparian areas may border or decomposed back to their inorganic forms as part of
both influent and effluent streams, known as those that mineralization. Microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, and
lose or gain water to the groundwater. rotifers (e.g., worms) are the key agents in transformation
and decomposition.
DEFINITION Riparian input constituents include nutrient species
(e.g., nitrogen and phosphorous), chemical pollutants from
Riparian systems may be wetlands, but there are agrochemicals (e.g., herbicides and pesticides), metals
nonwetland riparian areas, and there is no jurisdictional from urban and industrial activities (e.g., lead, zinc, and
definition of a riparian system as there is for wetlands, copper), organic materials from watershed activities (e.g.,
defined under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 waste from livestock or domestic pets and vegetative
CFR 328.3(b)). For a discussion of the wetland function of debris), suspended solids (e.g., sand, silt, and clays from
riparian areas, see the entry for WETLANDS. As for wetland eroded soils), pathogens from wildlife (e.g., Giardia and
areas, various federal agencies have attempted to define Cryptosporidium), and in residential areas, thermally
riparian systems to help in identify them. According to heated water and human trash.
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), either the In time, the riparian system may accumulate these
presence of a set of obligate water-loving vegetative species constituents from surface water that slows and deposits
(e.g., phreatophytes that have water-table roots) different entrained constituents, from soil adsorbing (at the sur-
from that of adjacent areas or more rigorously growing face) and absorbing (internal to the structure) dis-
vegetative species similar to upslope areas distinguish the solved or entrained constituents, from vegetation tak-
riparian area. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ing the constituents into its root or stem system, or
considers that riparian areas are further distinguished from water stores that fill in the surface or subsur-
from the surrounding lands by saturated soils resulting face zone. Biochemical processes operating in the ripar-
from a shallower depth to the water table, which implies ian system may transform material inputs that are
a distinct hydrologic regime. retained, and another component of inputs that exceed
storage may then discharge as outputs with subse-
SYSTEM INPUTS, OUTPUTS, AND TRANSFORMATIONS quent wind advection, seasonal and storm based surface
runoff, seasonal watertable fluctuations, and subsur-
A riparian system, in hydroecological terms, can be face flow.
viewed from its inputs, outputs, and transformations. Riparian atmospheric and surface component trans-
Inputs arrive via the atmosphere, surface soil, and formations include mainly photolysis, saprophytic decay,
subsurface soil media, and outputs may travel within animal digestion, and weathering. Microbial (e.g., fungi
these same media after hydrologic and biochemical fluxes and bacteria) subsurface transformations are likely to
between and within the atmospheric, vegetative, and soil fluctuate between those of aerobic and anaerobic con-
components. Atmospheric inputs include short-wave, or ditions as the water table fluctuates. Fungi are solely
solar, and long-wave radiation, wet and dry precipitation, aerobic, but bacteria can operate in both aerobic condi-
and wind-advected constituents. Surface inputs include tions and anaerobic and have a greater range of trans-
upslope storm runoff water, overbank water from a flooded formative options. Two governing principles for micro-
watercourse, eroded soil, as well as sorbed, entrained, and bial transformations of chemicals require that they be
dissolved chemical species. Subsurface inputs include local energetically favorable and that enzymes are available
and regional discharge from upgradient groundwater flow as catalysts.
paths, bank storage from the watercourse, and dissolved The biodegradation potential for a chemical is deter-
and entrained chemical species. mined by the free energy change in its reaction with other
Riparian systems are open systems that provide environmentally available chemicals. This is determined
complex and useful chemical sinks, sources, and internal from knowledge of the reduction–oxidation, or redox,
RIPARIAN SYSTEMS 391
potential of the riparian area, which has an ecological as well as deep groundwater flows that upwell into the
sequence from aerobic (O2 ) to denitrification (NO3 − ), to stream at its base and bypass the microbial populations
manganese reduction (MnO2 ), to iron [Fe(OH)3 ] reduction, (see Fig. 1). Additional management interventions include
to sulfate reduction (SO4 2− ), to methanogenesis (CO2 ). removing accumulated sediment berms from the upslope
Given that many enzymes are extremely specific and that edge of zone 3, as needed, and replacing vegetative
mutations occur in bacteria, some individuals in a given materials that are not fixing or assimilating nutrients
strain of bacteria may accomplish transformations not at target efficiency.
observed in other individuals. Vegetative riparian structure and function for the
adjacent watercourse, it has been widely documented,
VEGETATED RIPARIAN BUFFERS provide critical resources for aquatic ecosystem health.
Inside the United States, a great deal of this work
Riparian zones supporting forest or grass cover are was performed in the Coastal and Piedmont Regions
described structurally as vegetative filter strips (VFS) in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina; studies in
or functionally as riparian buffer zones (RBZs). Three southern Finland and Sweden are also widely cited (2).
defined zones for the riparian buffer have been identified Most studies have focused on nutrient transformations
by the USDA (1) for agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) of nitrogen and phosphorous, and results indicate that
runoff and water quality management. The most upslope nutrient retention varies as a function of nutrient load,
area is zone 3 and as proposed, contains grasses that slow riparian upslope steepness, and riparian buffer width, as
NPS runoff velocities and allow settling out of entrained well as vegetative types, health, subsurface flow paths,
constituents such as sediment and sorbed pollutants. The and microtopography (e.g., surface short-circuiting). Total
middle area, zone 2, dedicated to managing forestland nitrogen reduction estimates given for subsurface inputs
that captures overland flow leaving zone 1, provides are between 67 and 89% (3). Phosphorous reduction
a root-based carbon substrate for microbes (fungi and in U.S. riparian buffers ranges from 41 to 93% (4),
bacteria) transforming nutrients in subsurface flow, as and removal efficiency, it has been observed, decreases
well as income for the landowner. The near-stream with time.
area, is zone 1, which is an undisturbed forest, provides
function and habitat for the aquatic system. There are no RIPARIAN BUFFER BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
fixed recommendations for the width of these zones, and
many landowners are cautious about dedicating otherwise In U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
revenue generating land for forested buffers. In some research in the mid-Atlantic highland areas of Pennsylva-
states, recommended widths for the entire buffer have nia, Maryland, and Virginia, random sampling networks
averaged between 10 and 30 m. of benthic macroinvertebrate health, recorded as a biotic
In zone 1, direct biotic and abiotic controls of the index (BI), trend strongly with riparian habitat health.
vegetative buffer on the aquatic system are many. The For watersheds with land use stress, such as agricultural
vegetative canopy provides cover from incoming solar or residential occupancy, stream reaches that have low
radiation and blocks outgoing evening long-wave radiation BI values (e.g., impaired) were also areas where riparian
for stable temperature control, as well as protection habitat was typically absent or degraded, whereas reaches
from predators. The vegetative zone also drops large that have high BI values had attendant healthy ripar-
wood debris into the watercourse for in-stream habitat; ian habitat. Recommendations from these studies include
creates turbulent eddies (e.g., hydraulic circular flows) and using forested riparian areas as watershed restoration
conditions favorable for mobile species seeking to feed or and best management practices (BMPs) to reduce upslope
rest by creating areas of refuge from strong downstream pollutant loads and improve aquatic health.
currents; and provides substrate for aquatic plants and Hydrologic investigations in urban environments,
sessile organisms. Further, the vegetative root wads and such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded
downed stems along the bank provide soil stability and Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) research site
erosion control, and the small woody and leaf debris enter in Baltimore, Maryland, have found differences between
the aquatic food web and feed shredders, nymphs; algae, urban and rural riparian systems. Although the riparian
and trout.
Zone 3 and 2 overland flow interception, slowing,
settling, and filtering of runoff-entrained constituents Terrestrial zone
requires that the runoff enter in a thin, dispersed sheet Riparian zone
and that concentrated channels of flow be removed and Aquatic zone
flow respread. Methods for spreading the flow include 1 Riparian
constructed and natural methods (e.g., limbs from a microbial
tree). In addition to surface channels of short-circuited zone
flow discharging directly to the watercourse and thereby 2
avoiding riparian storage and transformation, flow can
also preferentially short-circuit in the subsurface soil. Figure 1. Flow paths from terrestrial to the aquatic zone
Such short-circuiting might include preferential flow showing (1) passage through the riparian microbial zone and
through macropores and agricultural tile drains that (2) bypass beneath the riparian microbial zone where nutrient
pass too quickly for effective microbial transformation, transformations occur.
392 RIVERS
system in both urban and rural cases is the transition RIVERS

between terrestrial and aquatic processes, the gradual
blending of these zones found in rural areas is more PIERRE Y. JULIEN
abrupt in urban areas. In fact, in areas where streams CHIH TED YANG
have been channelized for flood control, leveed from their Colorado State University
natural floodplain, and upslope ground water recharge has Fort Collins, Colorado
been reduced by impervious cover, urban riparian systems
are drier than their counterpart rural systems. In such
cases, vegetative species that are obligatory water loving Rivers are natural streams typically larger than a creek.
will not survive in the urban riparian system that has The distinction may be somewhat subjective, but creeks
greater depth to the water table and more pronounced cannot be traveled by boat and rivers can. Rivers are
mesic periods. Instead, the more common species found the result of precipitation and runoff over land surfaces,
in urban riparian systems are obligatory highland, or dry followed by surface erosion and sediment transport.
tolerant, trees and shrubs. As water runs off to lower elevations, the erosion of
For new storm water management under the Clean the underlying earth and soil carves channels into the
Water Act, known as the Municipal Separate Storm landscape. These natural channels convey the floodwaters
Sewer System (MS4), the USEPA has required permitting from rainfall and snowmelt and also drain the aquifers
for most municipalities to document pollutant discharge during periods of low flow. Rivers are perennial when there
reductions. These reductions may be obtained by BMPs is flowing water all year round. Rivers that dry out during
and for retrofitting to existing urban structure, will part of the year are ephemeral streams, also called arroyos.
require smaller footprint design and engineering than Related nouns include riverbank or riverside to describe
a traditional 10 to 30 m wide riparian system. One the banks of a river, as well as riverbed to designate the
BMP design that borrows water treatment functional stream bottom. Other adjectives related to rivers include
components from riparian buffers is referred to as a riverine, riparian, fluvial, and fluviatile.
vegetated bioretention device, or rain garden. In a USEPA The discharge, or rate of outflow, of a river depends on
Factsheet, this device is suggested for redirecting runoff the channel width, flow depth, and flow velocity. The flow
from parking lots, driveways, and urban streets, when velocity depends on the flow depth, or hydraulic radius,
collocated with storm drain inlets, vertically through the slope of the river, and the roughness of the riverbed.
the BMP and into the groundwater or a subsurface The volume of water that flows through a river is affected
drainpipe. The mixture of vegetation, soils, and microbes by the duration and intensity of rainfall precipitation or
will transform and reduce total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN, snowmelt in the drainage basin of the river. Over geologic
e.g., ammonia and organic nitrogen) by 68 to 80%; times, it is possible for rivers to be deflected into a different
total phosphorous by 70 to 83%; lead, copper, and drainage system. This phenomenon is called a capture and
zinc metals by 93 to 98%; and total suspended solids, results in an increase in drainage area.
organics, and bacteria by 90% (5). Given that this system Traditionally river systems have been classified as
is intended for urban areas where water tables are, young, mature, or old depending on their stage of devel-
deeper plant species should be drought tolerant, and opment over geologic times. A young river typically flows
in colder regions, salt tolerant in areas where roads in a steep valley and has a steep bed slope and numerous
are deiced. riverbed irregularities. Cliffs or escarpments and differ-
ences in the resistance of rocks create irregularities in
BIBLIOGRAPHY a riverbed and can thus cause rapids and waterfalls.
Young systems are characterized by discontinuous lon-
1. Welsch, D. (1991). Riparian Forest Buffers—Function and gitudinal profiles, lakes, and variable hydraulic geometry.
Design for Protection and Enhancement of Water Resources At a mature stage, the river valley has a wide floor and flar-
USDA-FS Pub. No. NA-PR-07-91. U.S. Department of ing sides and more pronounced erosion by its tributaries.
Agriculture, Radnor, PA. An old river system tends to have regular longitudinal
2. Haycock, N., Burt, T., Goulding, K., and Pinay, G. (Eds.). profiles and a gradual decrease in riverbed slope in the
(1997). Buffer Zones: Their Processes and Potential in downstream direction. Geologic discontinuities such as
Water Protection. Quest Environmental, Hertfordshire, UK, faults and active tectonics can cause sudden changes in
pp. 1–326.
bed elevation that effectively can rejuvenate old fluvial
3. Correll, D.L. (1997). Buffer zones and water quality protection: systems. The age classification of rivers is diminishing in
general principles. In: Buffer Zones: Their Processes and
popularity now that quantitative studies of river behavior
Potential in Water Protection. N. Haycock et al. (Eds.). Quest
are more common.
Environmental, Hertfordshire, UK, pp. 7–20.
The topography of natural rivers depends on the
4. Uusi-Kamppa, J., Turtola, E., Hartikainen, H., and Ylaranta,
T. (1997). The interactions of buffer zones and phosphorous
balance between the quantity of sediment in the stream
runoff. In: Buffer Zones: Their Processes and Potential in Water and its transport capacity. A river is alluvial when it can
Protection. N. Haycock et al. (Eds.). Quest Environmental, transport its own riverbed sediment and can form its own
Hertfordshire, UK, pp. 43–53. channel geometry. The weathering process of the land of
5. USEPA. (1999). Storm Water Technology Fact Sheet: Biore- a given watershed produces large masses of alluvium that
tention. EPA-832-F-99-012. U.S. Environmental Protection can be carried by rivers over geologic periods. An alluvial
Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC. river tends to eliminate irregularities and form a smooth
RIVERS 393
Table 1. Water and Sediment Loads of Selected Riversa

Discharge
Catchment
Water Sediment
Area
River 106 km2 m3 /s mm/yr. 106 ton/yr mm/yr
Amazon 7.0 100,000 450 900 90

Mississippi 3.9 18,000 150 300 55
Congo 3.7 44,000 370 70 15
La Plata/Parana 3.0 19,000 200 90 20
Ob 3.0 12,000 130 16 4
Nile 2.9 3,000 30 80 15
Yenissei 2.6 17,000 210 11 3
Lena 2.4 16,000 210 12 4
Amur 2.1 11,000 160 52 15
Yangtse Kiang 1.8 22,000 390 500 200
Wolga 1.5 8,400 180 25 10
Missouri 1.4 2,000 50 200 100
Zambesi 1.3 16,000 390 100 50
St. Lawrence 1.3 14,000 340 10 6
Niger 1.1 5,700 160 40 25
Murray-Darling 1.1 400 10 30 20
Ganges 1.0 14,000 440 1,500 1,000
Indus 0.96 6,400 210 400 300
Orinoco 0.95 25,000 830 90 65
Orange River 0.83 2,900 110 150 130
Danube 0.82 6,400 250 67 60
Mekong 0.80 15,000 590 80 70
Hwang Ho 0.77 4,000 160 1,900 1,750
Brahmaputra 0.64 19,000 940 730 800
Dnjepr 0.46 1,600 110 1.2 2
Irrawaddi 0.41 13,000 1,000 300 500
Rhine 0.36 2,200 190 0.72 1
Magdelena (Colombia) 0.28 7,000 790 220 550
Vistula (Poland) 0.19 1,000 160 1.5 5
Kura (USSR) 0.18 580 100 37 150
Chao Phya (Thailand) 0.16 960 190 11 50
Oder (Germany/Poland) 0.11 530 150 0.13 1
Rhone (France) 0.096 1,700 560 10 75
Po (Italy) 0.070 1,500 670 15 150
Ishikari (Japan) 0.016 230 450 6 270
Tiber (Italy) 0.013 420 1,000 1.8 100
Tone (Japan) 0.012 480 1,250 3 180
Waipapa (New Zealand) 0.0016 46 900 11 5,000
a
After Reference 1.
gradient from its source to its base level. The lowest level the convex bank of the river decreases transport capacity
to which a river flows is called the base level. Sea level is and results in sediment accumulation and aggradation
the ultimate base level, but a lake or reservoir may serve through time to form point bars. As it approaches base
as a local and temporary base level. level, downward cutting is replaced by lateral cutting,
Slight changes in sediment transport capacity or in and the river widens its bed and valley and develops a
sediment supply to a stream can result in a significant sinuous course that forms exaggerated loops and bends
change in bed elevation and planform geometry. For called meanders. A river may open up a new channel
instance, if a stream receives more sediment than it across the arc of meander, called a neck cutoff, thereby
can transport the result is aggradation, or a raise in cutting off a river segment and creating an oxbow lake as
riverbed elevation through time. Conversely, when the shown in Fig. 1.
sediment transport capacity exceeds the upstream supply, River velocity is one of the primary factors that control
the water will erode the riverbed and riverbanks and the quantity and size of rock fragments and sediment
degrades the riverbed. carried by the river. When rivers reach oceans, lakes,
Similar changes normally take place laterally in river or reservoirs, the decrease in flow velocity results in net
bends. Typically, the velocity increases on the concave deposition of the sediment load. Part of the load carried
riverbank and the increased sediment transport capacity by the stream is deposited in the riverbed or on the
results in erosion and lateral migration of a meandering floodplain beyond the channel. The flow of water during
channel. Simultaneously, the decreased flow velocity near floods exceeds the conveyance of the stream channel, and
394 RIVER AND WATER FACTS
• Currently, 600,000 miles of our rivers lie behind an

estimated 60,000 to 80,000 dams.
Oxbow • The United States has 3,500,000 miles of rivers. The
lake 600,000 miles of rivers lying behind dams amounts
to fully 17% of our river mileage.
Sedimentation
Clay plugs • The Missouri River is about 2,540 miles long, making
it the longest river in North America. The Nile is the
longest river in the world at 4,132 miles as it travels
Lateral migration Neck cutoff northward from its remote headwaters in Burundi to
Figure 1. Oxbow lake formation process. the Mediterranean Sea.
• The 8 longest rivers in the U.S. are (in descending
order) Missouri, Mississippi, Yukon, St. Lawrence (if
the water level increases to overtop the riverbank and you count the Great Lakes and its headwaters as one
flood adjacent floodplains. As the velocity reduces further system), Rio Grande, Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio.
on the floodplain, the deposition of sediment forms natural • The 8 largest rivers in the U.S., based on volume, are
levees. Over long periods of time, landforms produced by (in descending order) Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Ohio,
deposition include floodplains, deltas, and alluvial fans. Columbia, Yukon, Missouri, Tennessee, Mobile.
Some typical characteristics including the watershed • Water covers nearly three-fourths of the earth’s
size, the water and sediment discharges of large rivers surface.
are presented in Table 1. The flow and drainage area • Most of the earth’s surface water is permanently
of the Amazon far exceed that of any other river. On frozen or salty.
the other hand, the Yellow River (Huang Ho) and the • Over 90% of the world’s supply of fresh water is
Ganges have tremendous sediment concentrations for very located in Antarctica.
large streams. Several textbooks describe the mechanics
• The earth’s total allotment of water has a volume of
of river formation. Some of the recommended texts for
about 344 million cubic miles. Of this:
future reading and reference in river morphology and
• 315 million cubic miles (93%) is sea water!
river mechanics include Julien (1), Yalin and da Silva (2),
Wohl (3), Yang (4) and the recent text of Bridge (5). • 9 million cubic miles (2.5%) is in aquifers deep
below the earth’s surface.
• 7 million cubic miles (2%) is frozen in polar ice caps.
BIBLIOGRAPHY • 53,000 cubic miles of water pass through the
planet’s lakes and streams.
1. Julien, P.Y. (2002). River Mechanics. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, UK.
• 4,000 cubic miles of water is atmospheric moisture.
2. Yalin, M.S. and da Silva, A.M.F. (2001). Fluvial Processes. • 3,400 cubic miles of water are locked within the
IAHR Monograph, Bern, Switzerland. bodies of living things.
3. Wohl, E. (2000). Mountain Rivers. Water Resources Mono- • If all the world’s water were fit into a gallon jug, the
graph, AGU, Washington, DC. fresh water available for us to use would equal only
4. Yang, C.T. (1996). Sediment Transport: Theory and Practice. about one tablespoon.
McGraw-Hill, New York. • It doesn’t take much salt to make water ‘‘salty.’’ If
5. Bridge, J.S. (2003). Rivers and Floodplains, Forms Processes one-thousandth (or more) of the weight of water is
and Sedimentary Record. Blackwell, New York. from salt, then the water is ‘‘saline.’’
• Saline water can be desalinated for use as drinking
water by going through a process to remove the salt
RIVER AND WATER FACTS from the water. The process costs so much that it
isn’t done on a very large scale. The cost of desalting
sea water in the U.S. ranges from $1 to $16 per
National Wild and Scenic Rivers 1000 gallons.
System - National Park Service
• The overall amount of water on our planet has
WATER FACTS remained the same for two billion years.
• The United States consumes water at twice the rate
of other industrialized nations.
• River Lengths
• 1.2 Billion—Number of people worldwide who do not
• The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System has
have access to clean water. 6.8 Billion—Gallons of
only 11, 303 river miles in it—just over one-quarter
water Americans flush down their toilets every day.
of one percent of our rivers are protected through this
• Each day almost 10,000 children under the age of 5
designation, and this protection is often contended.
in Third World countries die as a result of illnesses
contracted by use of impure water.
This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the • Most of the world’s people must walk at least 3 hours
public domain in the United States of America. to fetch water.
RIVER AND WATER FACTS 395
• By 2025, 52 countries—with two-thirds of the world’s accounts for only 1% of all the water used in the
population—will likely have water shortages. U.S. each year.
• The average single-family home uses 80 gallons of • Eighty percent of the fresh water we use in the U.S.
water per person each day in the winter and 120 is for irrigating crops and generating thermoelectric-
gallons in the summer. Showering, bathing and using power.
the toilet account for about two-thirds of the average • More than 87% of the water consumed in Utah is
family’s water usage. used for agriculture and irrigation.
• The average person needs 2 quarts of water a day. • Per capita water use in the western U.S. is
• During the 20th century, water use increased at much higher than in any other region, because of
double the rate of population growth; while the global agricultural needs in this arid region. In 1985, daily
population tripled, water use per capita increased by per capita consumption in Idaho was 22,200 gallons
six times. versus 152 gallons in Rhode Island.
• Water use in the United States alone leaped from 330 • A corn field of one acre gives off 4,000 gallons of water
million gallons per day in 1980 to 408 million gallons per day in evaporation.
per day in 1990, despite a decade of improvements in • It takes about 6 gallons of water to grow a single
water-saving technology. serving of lettuce. More than 2,600 gallons is required
• On a global average, most freshwater with- to produce a single serving of steak.
drawals—69%—are used for agriculture, while • It takes almost 49 gallons of water to produce just
industry accounts for 23% and municipal use (drink- one eight-ounce glass of milk. That includes water
ing water, bathing and cleaning, and watering plants consumed by the cow and to grow the food she eats,
and grass) just 8%. plus water used to process the milk.
• Water used around the house for such things as • About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a
drinking, cooking, bathing, toilet flushing, washing day’s food for a family of four.
clothes and dishes, watering lawns and gardens, • The average American consumes 1,500 pounds of
maintaining swimming pools, and washing cars food each year; 1,000 gallons of water are required
396 RIVER AND WATER FACTS
to grow and process each pound of that food.—1.5 species (mostly songbirds) depend on riparian areas
million gallons of water is invested in the food eaten for nesting or migration.
by just one person! This 200,000-cubic-feet-plus of
• Fully 80% of all vertebrate wildlife in the Southwest
water-per-person would be enough to cover a football
depend on riparian areas for at least half of their life.
field four feet deep.
• Of the 1200 species listed as threatened or endan-
• About 39,090 gallons of water is needed to make an
automobile, tires included. gered, 50% depend on rivers and streams.
• Only 7% of the country’s landscape is in a • One fifth of the world’s freshwater fish—2,000 of
riparian zone—only 2% of which still supports 10,000 species identified—are endangered, vulnera-
riparian vegetation. ble, or extinct. In North America, the continent most
studied, 67% of all mussels, 51% of crayfish, 40%
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimate that
of amphibians, 37% of fish, and 75% of freshwater
70% of the riparian habitat nationwide has been lost
mollusks are rare, imperiled, or already gone.
or altered.
• More than 247 million acres of United States’ wet- • At least 123 freshwater species became extinct during
lands have been filled, dredged or channelized—an the 20th century. These include 79 invertebrates, 40
area greater than the size of California, Nevada and fishes, and 4 amphibians. (There may well have been
Oregon combined. other species that were never identified.)
• Over 90% of the nearly 900,000 acres of riparian • Freshwater animals are disappearing five times
areas on Bureau of Land Management land are in faster than land animals.
degraded condition due to livestock grazing. • In the Pacific Northwest, over 100 stocks and
• Riparian areas in the West provide habitat for subspecies of salmon and trout have gone extinct and
more species of birds than all other western another 200 are at risk due to a host of factors, dams
vegetation combined—80% of neotropical migrant and the loss of riparian habitat being prime factors.
SEDIMENT LOAD MEASUREMENTS 397
• A 1982 study showed that areas cleared of riparian floods that collectively account for a very small portion of
vegetation in the Midwest had erosion rates of 15 to time when access and safety problems are acute (1).
60 tons per year.
• One mature tree in a riparian area can filter as much
MODES OF SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
as 200 pounds of nitrates runoff per year.
• At least 9.6 million households and $390 billion Two modes of sediment transport by rivers, suspended
in property lie in flood prone areas in the United load and bed load, are usually recognized on behavioral
States. The rate of urban growth in floodplains is grounds. Suspended load refers to the relatively fine
approximately twice that of the rest of the country. part of the total sediment load that is transported in
• If all the water in the Great Lakes was spread evenly continuous or intermittent suspension. For sediment to
across the continental U.S., the ground would be remain in suspension, flow turbulence and velocity must
covered with almost 10 feet of water. be sufficiently great to counter the tendency of suspended
• One gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. sediment to settle to the riverbed. The two main factors
determining sediment settling velocity are grain size and
density. Bed or traction load refers to the relatively coarse
RIVER LENGTHS part of the total sediment load that is transported along or
close to the riverbed by rolling, sliding, or saltation. The
It’s not so easy to define how long a river is. If a number latter term refers to sand movement in a series of hops
of tributaries merge to form a larger river, how would you across a riverbed in a distinct, concentrated layer.
define where the river actually begins? Here, we define The two modes of sediment transport are not supple-
river length as the distance to the outflow point from the mentary concepts because a certain grain size can be
original headwaters where the name defines the complete transported in suspension by a given discharge but as
length. (Source: Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1986). bed load by another smaller discharge. Einstein et al. (2)
proposed two alternative modes on the basis of experimen-
tal work on the Enoree River in South Carolina, United
WORLD States. Wash load is the finer part of the total sediment
load that is not present in bed material in significant
Estimates for the length of the world’s rivers vary wildly quantities and is supplied to and transported through
depending on season of the year, who is doing the the measurement reach. Bed-material load is the coarser
measuring, the capabilities of the cartographer and his part of the total sediment load that is composed of grains
equipment and sources. However, the biggest cause of found in bed material in appreciable quantities and is
disagreeing measurements is the inclusion or exclusion transported at a rate dependent on stream discharge.
of tributaries. For example, many sources lump the For Einstein et al.’s (2) measurement reach on the Enoree
Mississippi and Missouri Rivers into one river system, River, 96% of the measured suspended sediment during a
making it one of the longest in the world. The same flood was finer than 0.351 mm, and not more than 7% of the
is true of rivers such as the Ob-Irtysh system in Asia. bed material was finer than 0.351 mm. The rate of trans-
Considered as a whole, it is one of the ten longest rivers port of sediment coarser than 0.351 mm was a function of
in the world. Removing the Irytish drops the Ob down discharge, whereas the transport rate for sediment finer
to 15th position—assuming the rivers ahead of it also than 0.351 mm was related to upstream sediment supply,
weren’t measured with massive tributaries included. Here, irrespective of whether it was transported in suspension
we have tried to separate the major tributaries. You can or by traction. This limiting grain size varies among rivers
easily find other sources that disagree with these numbers; depending on watershed geology, relief, rainfall, vegeta-
please do not send us further questions on this. tion, land use, channel form, and flood peak discharge and
These numbers were taken from the Encyclopedia its variability.
Britannica and tributaries were separated out with help
from sources like Comptons Encyclopedia and others. Vertical, Lateral and Temporal Distribution of Suspended
Sediment at a River Cross Section
SEDIMENT LOAD MEASUREMENTS If suspended sediment exhibits a uniform vertical and

lateral distribution and changes little during short periods
WAYNE D. ERSKINE of time, then the suspended load can be measured
State Forests of New South at any point in a river cross section to obtain a
Wales mean concentration. Hyperconcentrations of suspended
Beecroft, New South Wales, sediment (400 − 1000 kg/m3 ) in the Yellow River, China,
Australia were uniformly distributed in the vertical (3). However,
a large body of similar work on other rivers without
hyperconcentrated suspended sediment has usually shown
‘‘No matter how sophisticated, analysis and interpretation that the minimum concentration is found at the water
can never substitute for well collected data’’ (1). These surface and the maximum concentration is found near
words are particularly appropriate for stream sediment the riverbed (4,5). Furthermore, the coarsest fractions,
loads because most sediment moves during rare, large which are usually sand, exhibit the greatest variation (5).
398 SEDIMENT LOAD MEASUREMENTS
Nevertheless, Curtis et al. (4) reported that concentrations 1. the flow velocity at the sampler intake should be the
of particles as small as 1 or 2 µm (clay) in the Amazon same as stream flow velocity,
River still showed slight but discernible differences 2. the sampler should cause minimum flow disturbance
between the riverbed and surface. They concluded that at the sampling point, and
suspended sediment fluxes based only on surface samples
3. the sampler intake should be oriented into the flow
are likely to contain significantly large errors.
in both vertical and horizontal planes (7).
A number of studies reviewed on the lateral variation of
suspended sediment concentration at a cross section found
Six main types of suspended sediment samplers have been
that variations of 20% were common and that some were
identified (7–10):
as large as 70% (5). This is caused by lateral variations in
flow velocity and depth (and the consequent development
1. instantaneous samplers
of mobile bedforms) and by incomplete mixing of sediment-
2. point-integrating samplers
laden inflows from small tributaries into large rivers
(Fig. 1). The latter effect needs to be evaluated carefully 3. depth-integrating samplers
before selecting a field measurement site that should 4. single stage samplers
exhibit well-mixed conditions (Fig. 1). 5. pumping samplers
Measured instantaneous fluctuations in depth-integra- 6. continuous monitoring techniques.
ted (see below) suspended sediment concentration can vary
by up to 24% (5,6). The problems of vertical, lateral, and Instantaneous samplers collect a water–sediment mixture
temporal variations in suspended sediment concentration at a single time at a single point in a vertical in the
at a cross section are considerable and indicate that stream. Clearly, they cannot account for any temporal,
suspended sediment samples must be collected during vertical, or lateral variations in concentration and hence
a meaningful period of time from the full flow depth at are not recommended for use in sediment load programs.
multiple verticals on a river cross section. However, they are appropriate for other water quality or
limnological programs. Point-integrating samplers collect
Suspended Load. The suspended sediment load (Qs in a water–sediment mixture at a predetermined depth in
tonnes/day) is calculated from: a single vertical of a river cross section during a short
time period and, therefore, are time-integrated samplers.
Qs = 0.0864QCs (1) A valve is used to open the nozzle, and a separate
air exhaust expels the air displaced by the sample. A
where Q is the discharge (m3 /s) and Cs is the suspended series of depth settings acceptable for point-integrating
sediment concentration (mg/L). samplers was found (11). The U.S. Federal Inter-Agency
It is, therefore, necessary to know the discharge at the Sedimentation Project (6,8,10) developed a series of such
measurement site and also the mean suspended sediment samplers (USP61, USP 63, USP 72); USP 61 is illustrated
concentration to calculate reliable suspended loads. For in Fig. 2.
this reason, sediment load measurement sites should be Depth-integrating samplers continuously collect a
located at well-mixed sections at river gauging stations. water–sediment mixture at a rate proportional to the flow
Three requirements for an efficient suspended sediment velocity from the water surface to near the bed as they are
sampler are lowered and raised at a uniform rate at a series of verticals
at a river cross section (6,9,10). The resultant suspended
sediment concentration is a time- and velocity-weighted
mean. Gregory and Walling (7) recommended that the
vertical transit rate (the rate of lowering and raising)
should not exceed 40% of the maximum flow velocity
in the vertical. The intake nozzle diameter can also be
changed to ensure that the sample bottle capacity is not
exceeded for deep and/or fast streams. The U.S. Federal
Inter-Agency Sedimentation Project (6,8,10) developed a
series of such samplers (USD 43, USDH 48, USDH 59,
USDH 75, USDH76, USDH 81, USD 49, USD 74, USD
77); USDH 48 and 59 are illustrated in Fig. 2. There is an
unsampled zone about 0.1m high immediately above the
bed for depth-integrated samplers because of the inclined
sample bottle (Fig. 2) to ensure that bed material is not
scooped into the nozzle when the sampler reaches the
bed. Depth-integrated samplers have been the accepted
Figure 1. Upstream view of the Sacramento River at Knights standard for hand field measurements of suspended load
Landing, California, showing a muddy plume originating from for the last 50 years (6,7,9,10).
the tributary in the middle left of the photograph which follows Depth-integrated suspended sediment sampling is
the right bank for some distance before completely mixing with conducted according to either the equal transit rate (or
the less turbid mainstream flow (W.D. Erskine photograph). equal width increment) method or the equal discharge
SEDIMENT LOAD MEASUREMENTS 399
(a) (b) Hand

Wading line
rod
Intake
nozzle
(c) (d) Sampling

Cable stage
4
Exhaust
Bung 3
Intake Figure 2. Suspended sediment sam-
2 plers from Reference 7. (a) USDH 48
depth-integrating sampler; (b) USDH
Sample 1
59 depth-integrating sampler; (c) USP
bottle 61 point-integrating sampler which
can also be used as a depth-integrating
sampler if the valve is left open; and (d)
single-stage (rising stage) samplers.
increment method (8,9). The equal transit rate method suspended by a float; the intake is set at an appropriate
involves moving the sampler at a constant rate between proportion of the flow depth (12). The boom should be
the water surface and the bed at each of a series of verticals at least twice as long as the maximum expected stage,
equally spaced across the channel. No prior knowledge and the intake should be set at an acceptable depth,
of the velocity pattern is required at the sampling site 0.6 was adopted by Eads and Thomas (12). The boom
to obtain a mean suspended sediment concentration for rises and falls with the flood stage and can be depressed
the whole section. Edwards and Glysson (8) developed by transported large woody debris to avoid damage
guidelines for determining the number of verticals needed because it is oriented downstream. Nevertheless, a single
to achieve a given relative standard error based on pump sampler intake still equates to a point-integrating
the percentage of sand in the sample and an index of approach to sampling (12), and the representativeness of
variability computed from the flow velocity and depth. The the sample intake point must always be determined.
equal discharge increment method involves dividing the Pump samplers can be programmed to collect
cross section into a series of segments of equal discharge water–sediment samples at specific turbidity thresh-
and collecting depth-integrated samples at the centroid olds (14) or by various stratified or variable probability
of each segment. Clearly, the latter method can be used plans that reduce the variance in the sediment load.
only when complete velocity–area gauging has also been Thomas and Lewis (15) evaluated flow-stratified, time-
completed and calculated. This is not always the case. stratified, and selection-at-list time (SALT) sampling
Single-stage samplers are a type of automatic point- plans and found that
integrating device (10). They consist of a sample bottle
equipped with intake and exhaust tubes which fills • time-stratified sampling generally gives the smallest
automatically when the stream first reaches the stage that variance in storm sediment loads;
submerges the sampler (Fig. 2). Such samplers usually do • flow-stratified and SALT sampling have difficulties
not collect a sample representative of the mean suspended only with small storms because of lack of data; and
sediment concentration at the cross section and can be • flow-stratified sampling produces the lowest variance
contaminated by postinundation flows which can pass for longer, more complex hydrographs that have
through the sampler. numerous peaks.
Pump samplers remotely obtain detailed time series
variations in suspended sediment concentrations at a A number of simultaneous pump and depth-integrated
fixed point in the stream and are required for accurate samples should be obtained to determine if the pump
load determinations (9,10,12). Sampler intakes should sample intake position is appropriate to produce sus-
be set either at a fixed position characterized by pended sediment concentrations that are equivalent to,
sufficient flow turbulence to ensure minimum variation or can be converted to equivalence with, depth- and width-
in concentration throughout the cross section (13) or on a integrated samples (12,13). Pumped-sample suspended
depth proportional intake boom (12). The latter consists sediment concentrations obtained from a single, fixed-
of a hinged boom attached to the riverbed at a pivot and position intake in a zone of turbulent flow generally varied
400 SEDIMENT LOAD MEASUREMENTS
within 10% of depth-integrated samples without a consis- samplers due to local hydraulic effects (32). To operate effi-
tent trend to over- or underestimate concentrations (13). ciently, the sampler must have a reasonable fit between
Pump-sample suspended sediment concentrations col- the sampler base and the riverbed and will not sam-
lected by a constant depth proportion intake were closely ple satisfactorily when the bed is highly irregular (21).
related to depth- and width-integrated samples (r2 = 0.98) The inlet orifice diameter of the original Helley–Smith
but pumped concentrations were higher for concentra- sampler (76.2 mm) closely approximates the unsampled
tions above approximately 100 mg/L (12). These results zone between the intake nozzle and the bed for a depth-
highlight that pump samplers should be used for auto- integrated suspended sediment sampler (22). Therefore,
matic suspended sediment sampling, providing that the depth-integrated suspended load samplers collect inter-
resultant concentrations are equivalent to, or can be con- mittently suspended bed material and wash load whereas
verted to equivalence with, depth- and width-integrated pressure-difference bed load samplers collect sediment
samples. moving by rolling and sliding, bedform migration, and
The most common continuous monitoring technique saltation.
uses turbidity and measures the attenuation or scatter- There is considerable temporal and spatial variability
ing of an incident beam of radiation or light. Turbidity inherent in bed load transport rates (20,21,29,32,33) which
can be measured with an in situ probe at frequent time makes field measurements difficult. Bed load fluxes
intervals, and the resultant values can often be con- measured at a fixed sampling point during constant
verted to depth- and width-integrated suspended sediment discharge on a sand-bed stream that has dune bedforms
concentrations (13,14,16–18). Reported r2 values for rela- range from near zero to approximately four times the mean
tionships between depth-integrated suspended sediment rate, and about 60% are less than the mean (29,32,33).
concentration and turbidity can be as high as 0.90 to Field measurements indicate that highest transport rates
0.99 (13,15). However, such relationships are usually site- occur in the center of the channel and diminish near
specific and more reliable where suspended sediment is the margins (32). The U.S. Geological Survey provisional
dominated by silt and clay (14,16). method for bed load gaugings entails two complete
traverses of a cross section and at least 20 equally spaced,
Bed Load. A range of different portable and permanent point measurements for 30–60s at least 0.5m apart on
bed load samplers has been developed for use in sand- each pass (21). Although instantaneous bed load fluxes
and gravel-bed rivers, but their performance has often are highly variable, it is usually possible to define a
been poor (19). Portable samplers include baskets (7,19), mean flux for a given discharge, provided thorough field
trays (7,19), pressure-difference samplers (19–23), acous- measurements are made (21,32). Marked differences in
tic meters (19), and pumps (24). Permanent samplers are bed load fluxes and their relationship to discharge occur
between pools and riffles (21).
associated with major in-stream structures and include
vortex tubes (25), pits (19), slot with a conveyor belt emp-
tying into a continuous weighing hopper (26,27), and the BIBLIOGRAPHY
Birkbeck bed load sampler (28). The latter consists of slots
1. Thomas, R.B. (1985). Measuring Suspended Sediment in
in the riverbed fitted with boxes resting on water-filled Small Mountain Streams. U.S. Dept. Agr. For. Serv. Pacific
pressure pillows and combined with pressure transducers Southwest For. Range Expt. Station Gen. Tech. Report PSW-
for stream height measurement (28). Most early samplers 83, Berkeley, CA.
were unsatisfactory because of inaccurate measurements, 2. Einstein, H.A., Anderson, A.G., and Johnson, J.W. (1940). A
variable and poor sampling efficiency (19), inconsistent distinction between bed-load and suspended load in natural
sampler placement on the riverbed, and the oscillatory streams. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 21: 628–633.
nature of bed load transport (19,29). The slot with a 3. Boliang, Z. and Zhan, N. (1982). Analysis of the vertical
conveyor belt (26,27) is the most innovative and reliable distribution of high sediment concentrations in the Yellow
technique devised to date but is also very expensive. River and studies of methods of observation. Int. Assoc.
The Helley–Smith pressure-difference bed load sam- Hydrol. Sci. Publ. No. 137: 421–430.
pler was designed and developed by the U.S. Geological 4. Curtis, W.F., Meade, R.H., Nordin, C.F., Jr., Price, N.B., and
Survey, Water Resources Division to be compatible with Sholkovitz, E.R. (1979). Non-uniform vertical distribution of
depth-integrated suspended sediment samplers (22) and is fine sediment in the Amazon River. Nature 280: 381–383.
one of the most accurate (20,21,23). For sediments whose 5. Task Committee on Preparation of Sedimentation Manual
diameters are between 0.5 and 16 mm, the sampler has Committee on Sedimentation of the Hydraulics Division.
(1969). Sediment measurement techniques: A Fluvial sedi-
a near-perfect sampling efficiency that is higher for finer
ment. J. Hydraul Div. Proc. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng 95: 1477–1514.
sediment and lower for coarser sediment (20,21). Sample
6. Benedict, P.C. (1948). Determination of the suspended
bags can be filled to about 40% capacity with sediment
sediment discharge of streams. Proc. 1st Fed. Inter-Agency
larger than the mesh size without reducing hydraulic Sedimentation Conf., Denver, 1947, Bureau of Reclamation,
efficiency (20,21). Larger than standard sampling bags U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Washington, DC, 55–65.
and increased bag mesh size improved sampling efficien- 7. Gregory, K.J. and Walling, D.E. (1973). Drainage Basin Form
cies in streams that have high sand and organic matter and Process. Edward Arnold, London, p. 456.
fluxes because of reduced bag plugging (23,30,31). Short 8. Edwards, T.K. and Glysson, G.D. (1999). Field methods
sampling times also increase sampling efficiency in the for measurement of fluvial sediment. Techniques of water-
same streams (31). Thin-walled samplers (1.5 mm) also resource investigations of the United States Geological
measure larger sand fluxes than thick-walled (6.3 mm) Survey C2(3) Applications of Hydraulics, Washington, DC.
SEDIMENTATION 401
9. Guy, H.P. and Norman, V.W. (1970). Field methods for 29. Carey, W.P. (1985). Variability in measured bedload-
measurement of fluvial sediment. Techniques of water- transport rates. Water Res. Bull. 21: 39–48.
resource investigations of the United States Geological 30. Beschta, R.L. (1981). Increased bag size improves Helley-
Survey C2(3), Washington. Smith bed load sampler for use in streams with high sand
10. Witzigman, F.S. (1965). A summary of the work of the Inter- and organic matter transport. Int. Assoc. Hydrol. Sci. Publ.
Agency Sedimentation Project. Proc. 2nd Fed. Inter-Agency No. 133: 17–25.
Sedimentation Confer., 1963, U.S. Dept of Agric. Misc. Publ. 31. O’Leary, S.J. and Beschta, R.L. (1981). Bedload transport in
970: 166–177. an Oregon coast range stream. Water Res. Bull. 17: 886–894.
11. Federal Inter-Agency Sedimentation Project, Measurement of 32. Pitlick, J. (1988). Variability of bed load measurement. Water
Sediment Discharge of Streams. (1948). Federal Interagency Resour. Res. 24: 173–177.
Sedimentation Project Report No. 8, Minneapolis, MN. 33. Hubbell, D.W., Stevens, H.H., Jr, Skinner, J.V., and Beverage,
12. Eads, R.E. and Thomas, R.B. (1983). Evaluation of a depth J.P. (1985). New approach to calibrating bed load samplers.
proportional intake device for automatic pumping samplers. J. Hydraul. Eng. 111: 677–694.
Water Res. Bull. 19: 289–292.
13. Walling, D.E. and Teed, A. (1971). A simple pumping sampler
for research into suspended sediment transport in small SEDIMENTATION
catchments. J. Hydrol. 13: 325–337.
14. Lewis, J. (1996). Turbidity-controlled suspended sediment CHIH TED YANG
sampling for runoff-event load estimation. Water Resour. Res. PIERRE Y. JULIEN
32: 2299–2310. Colorado State University
15. Thomas, R.B. and Lewis, J. (1995). An evaluation of flow- Fort Collins, Colorado
stratified sampling for estimating suspended sediment loads.
J. Hydrol. 170: 27–45.
16. Kunkle, S.H. and Comer, G.H. (1971). Estimating suspended Sedimentation is a science of interest to geologists,
sediment concentrations in streams by turbidity measure- river morphologists, environmentalists, and engineers.
ments. J. Soil Water Conserv. 26: 18–20. Geologists are interested in the formation, mineral
17. Walling, D.E. (1977). Assessing the accuracy of suspended content, and age of sedimentary rocks. River morphologists
sediment rating curves for a small basin. Water Resour. Res. are interested in the formation of rivers, their patterns,
13: 531–538. and profiles. Environmentalists are interested in the
18. Walling, D.E. (1977). Limitations of the rating curve impacts of sediments on water quality, aquatic habitat,
technique for estimating suspended sediment loads, with and ecosystems. Engineers are interested in the movement
particular reference to British rivers. Int. Assoc. Hydrol. Sci.
of sediment and its impact on the engineering design and
Publ. No. 122: 34–48.
operation of hydraulic structures. Due to these differences
19. Hubbell, D.W. (1964). Apparatus and techniques for mea-
of interests and emphases, sedimentation studies can vary
suring bedload, U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Supply Paper 1748,
from qualitative to quantitative or a combination of both.
Washington, DC.
This article emphasizes the hydraulics of sediment
20. Emmett, W.W. (1980). A field calibration of the sediment
transport. Due to the complexity of sediment transport,
trapping characteristics of the Helley-Smith bedload sampler.
only basic assumptions and approaches used by engineers
U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 1139, Washington, DC.
are summarized here. More detailed descriptions and
21. Emmett, W.W. (1981). Measurement of bed load in rivers. Int.
analyses of sediment transport, scour, and deposition can
Assoc. Hydrol. Sci. Publ. No. 133: 3–15.
be found in text books such as those by Julien (1), Yang (2),
22. Helley, E.J. and Smith, W. (1971). Development and
Simons and Sentürk (3), and Yalin (4).
calibration of a pressure difference bedload sampler. U.S.
Geol. Surv. Open File Report.
Sediment transport can be classified as bed load,
suspended load, and total load. Two basic approaches are
23. Johnson, C.W., Engleman, R.L., Smith, J.P., and Hanson,
used to study sediment transport, the probabilistic and
C.L. (1977). Helley-Smith bed load samplers. J. Hydraul Div.
Proc. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng. 103: 1217–1221. deterministic approaches. Einstein (5) developed the most
well-known probabilistic theory for sediment transport.
24. Langley, H.I. (1976). Bedload sampling by pumping. Sym-
posium on Inland Waterways for Navigation, Flood Control Engineering applications of Einstein’s transport functions
and Water Diversions. Vol. II, Colorado State University, Fort are limited due to laborious computation procedures
Collins, 1976, Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., N.Y.: 945–959. and extensive field data requirements. However, the
25. Hayward, J.A. and Sutherland, A.J. (1974). The Torlesse modified Einstein method (6) has been used by engineers
stream vortex-tube sediment trap. J. Hydrol. (N.Z.) 13: to estimate total bed-material load where direct bed load
41–53. measurements are difficult to obtain.
26. Leopold, L.B. and Emmett, W.W. (1976). Bedload measure- The deterministic approach assumes that there is a
ments, East Fork River, Wyoming. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA one-to-one functional relationship between the dependent
73: 1000–1004. variable of sediment transport rate, or concentration,
27. Leopold, L.B. and Emmett, W.W. (1977). 1976 bedload and independent variables. Commonly used independent
measurements, East Fork River, Wyoming. Proc. Nat. Acad. variables are water discharge, average flow velocity, water
Sci. USA 74: 2644–2648. surface or energy slope, shear stress, stream power, and
28. Reid, I., Layman, J.T., and Frostick, L.E. (1980). The unit stream power.
continuous measurement of bedload discharge. J. Hydrol. Figure 1 shows that unit stream power has the
Res. 18: 243–249. strongest one-to-one correlation with sediment discharge.
402 SEDIMENTATION
(a) (b)
10
Total sediment discharge qt, (kg/s)/m]

10
Total sediment discharge qt, (kg/s)/m

1.0
1.0
0.1
0.1
0.01 Plane bed 0.01 Plane bed

Dune Dune
Transition Transition
Standing wave Standing wave
0.001 0.001
0.1 1.0 10 100 0.1 1.0 10 100
Water discharge Q, cm3/s Average velocity V, m/s
(c) (d)
10
10

1.0
1.0
0.1
0.1
0.01 0.01
Plane bed Plane bed
Dune Dune
Transition Transition
0.001 0.001
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 0.01 0.1 1.0 10
Water surface slope S Shear stress t, kg/m2
(e) (f)
10
20000
Total sediment concentration Ct, ppm
1.0
10000
0.1
1000
0.01 Plane bed 100 Plane bed

Figure 1. Relationships between total Dune
Dune
sediment discharge and (a) water dis- Transition Transition
charge, (b) velocity, (c) slope, (d) shear
stress, (e) stream power, and (f) unit 0.001 10
0.01 0.1 1.0 10 0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1
stream power, for 0.93-mm sand in an
8-ft wide flume (7). Stream power tV, (m−kg/s)/m Unit stream power VS, (m−kg/kg)/s
Yang’s 1973 (8) dimensionless unit stream equation is where Cts = total sediment concentration in ppm by
weight, VS = unit stream power, U∗ = shear velocity, υ =
ωd
log Cts = 5.435 − 0.286 log − 0.457 kinematic viscosity of water, ω = fall velocity of sediment,
υ
d = median sediment particle diameter, V = average flow
U∗ ωd U∗ velocity, S = slope, and Vcr = critical flow velocity at
log + 1.799 − 0.409 log − 0.314 log
ω υ ω incipient motion.

VS Vcr S The independent variables in Eq. 1 can be measured
log − (1)
ω ω directly in the field except the fall velocity of sediment.
SEDIMENTATION 403
The fall velocity can be obtained from figures based on Table 1. Summary of Rating of Selected Sediment
experimental results recommended by the U.S. Inter- Transport Formulasa
Agency Committee on Water Resources, Subcommittee on Formula
Sedimentation (9). The fall velocity can also be computed Number Reference Type Comments
by Rubey’s 1933 formula (10).
1 Ackers and White Total load Rank = 3b
The sediment concentration or sediment load computed
2 Engelund and Hansen Total load Rank = 4
from different formulas can vary drastically from each
3 Laursen Total load Rank = 2
other and from measurements. Figure 2 shows comparison 4 MPMEc Total load Rank = 6
among the computed total sediment discharges using 5 Yang Total load Rank = 1, best
different formulas and the measured results from overall
the Niobrara River near Cody, Nebraska. Table 1 predictions
summarizes the ratings of some of the commonly 6 Bagnold Bed load Rank = 5
used sediment transport formulas by the American 7 Meyer-Peter and Müller Bed load Rank = 7
Society of Civil Engineers Task Committee for users 8 Yalin Bed load Rank = 8
to consider. a
Reference 12.
Riverbed sediment particles are not uniform in size. b
Based on a mean discrepancy ratio (calculated over observed transport
Computations of sediment transport by size fraction rate) from 40 tests using field data and 165 tests using flume data.
c
Meyer-Peter and Müller’s formula for bed-load and Einstein’s formula for
are necessary to obtain realistic results for engineering
suspended load.
purposes. Computer models are often used to simulate and
predict the process of scour, transport, and deposition in
rivers and reservoirs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ the movement of sediment, scour, and deposition are
HEC-6 (13) model and the Bureau of Reclamation’s subjects of concern. The Bureau of Reclamation’s models
GSTARS 2.1 (14) and GSTARS3 (15) are some of the and user’s manuals can be obtained by going to
commonly used models in the public domain for solving http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/sediment/ and following the
river engineering and river morphology problems where links therein.
1000
n
rse
wn
Lau
Bro
100 in-
te
ns
Ei
ey
ys
Lac
bo
Du
r
le
and
ül
M
Total sediment discharge, kg/s
nd
ish
ra
Ingl
te
ch
e
er
-P
its
et
er
-P
ok
ey
er
h
Sc
M
ey
M
10
ds
iel
Sh
en
ns
Ha
nd
n
ch
ctio
da
en
i
fun
lun
let
Bl
ffa
ge
load
To
En
1.0
ed-
by
's b
Col
Measured
,
n
Yang s unit stream power eq.

stei
Ein
Figure 2. Comparison among measured total

0.1 sediment discharge of the Niobrara River
1.0 10 100 1000
near Cody, Nebraska, and computed results of
Water discharge, m3/s various equations (11).
404 SEDIMENTATION AND FLOTATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY the removal of particulate matter from waters and

wastewaters is simple gravity settling, often referred to as
1. Julien, P.Y. (1998). Erosion and Sedimentation. Cambridge ‘‘sedimentation.’’
University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 434. In water and wastewater treatment, four general
2. Yang, C.T. (1996). Sediment Transport: Theory and Practice. classes of sedimentation can occur: Type 1, discrete
McGraw-Hill, New York (reprint by Krieger, 2003), p. 396. settling; Type 2, flocculent settling; Type 3, hindered
3. Simons, D.B. and Sentürk, F. (1977). Sediment Transport or ‘‘zone’’ settling; and Type 4, compression settling.
Technology. Water Resources Publication, Washington, DC, In Type 1 settling, particles settle individually with no
p. 807. interparticle interactions. Consequently, no change in
4. Yalin, M.S. (1972). Mechanics of Sediment Transport. Perga- particle size occurs (i.e., floc formation). This system
mon Press, Los Angeles, CA. is often analyzed using Stokes’ Law, based on a force
5. Einstein, H.A. (1950). The Bedload Function for Sediment balance on a single particle settling in a viscous medium
Transport in Open Channel Flows. U.S. Department of under laminar flow conditions. The development and
Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Bulletin No. application of this method of analysis is demonstrated
1026. in a subsequent subsection.
6. Colby, B.R. and Hembree, C.H. (1955). Computation of Total In flocculent settling, small particles aggregate to form
Sediment Discharge, Niobrara River near Cody, Nebraska. larger particles. As the particles increase in size, the
U.S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 1357. particle settling velocity increases (for particles of equal
7. Yang, C.T. (1972). Unit stream power and sediment trans- density). In order to make this process occur, chemicals
port. J. Hydraul. Div. ASCE 98(HY10): 1805–1826. are added to induce particle coalescence/coagulation and
8. Yang, C.T. (1973). Incipient motion and sediment transport. to promote the formation of ‘‘floc.’’ In water treatment, a
J. Hydraul. Div. ASCE 99(HY10): 1679–1704. coagulant such as [hydrated] aluminum sulfate (‘‘alum’’),
9. U.S. Interagency Committee on Water Resources. (1957). ferric sulfate, ferric chloride, silica, clays, and polymers can
Subcommittee on Sedimentation. Report No. 12, Some all be used to promote the formation of larger particles.
Fundamentals of Particle Size Analysis. In order to determine the optimum coagulant dose for a
10. Rubey, W.W. (1933). Settling velocity of gravel, sand, and silt particular water, bench-scale tests must be performed.
particles. Am. J. Sci. 25: 325–338. Further, it should be noted that the effectiveness of
11. Yang, C.T. (1977). The Movement of Sediment in Rivers. individual coagulants can be highly pH-dependent. For
Geophysical Survey 3. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, example, the formation of Al(OH)3 (↓) through the addition
pp. 39–68.
of alum requires 5 ≤ pH ≤ 8 and sufficient alkalinity for
12. ASCE. (1982). ASCE Task Committee on Relations between the reaction to initiate, as presented in Eq. 1. (Note that
Morphology of Small Streams and Sediment Yield of the
alum can also be hydrated with 18 H2 O.)
Committee on Sedimentation of the Hydraulics Division. J.
Hydraul. Div. ASCE 108 (HY11): 1328–1365.
Al2 (SO4 )3 · 14H2 O + 3Ca(HCO3 )2 → 2Al(OH)3 (↓)
13. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (1977). Generalized computer
program, HEC-6, Scour and Deposition in Rivers and ALK
Reservoirs, User’s Manual. The Hydrologic Center, Davis, +3CaSO4 + 14H2 O + 6CO2 (1)
CA (revised 1993).
14. Yang, C.T. and Simões, F.J.M. (2000). User’s Manual for Hindered or ‘‘zone’’ settling occurs when interparticle
GSTARS 2.1 (Generalized Stream Tube model for Alluvial interactions inhibit the discrete settling of adjacent
River Simulation version 2.1). U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, particles. In this case, particles tend to remain in a
Technical Service Center, Denver, CO. fixed position with respect to one another. Consequently,
15. Yang, C.T. and Simões, F.J.M. (2002). User’s Manual for the agglomerated particles settle as a zone and a
GSTARS3 (Generalized Sediment Transport model for distinct solid-liquid interface develops at the top of the
Alluvial River Simulation version 3.0). U. S. Bureau of settling mass. This process occurs without the addition of
Reclamation, Technical Service Center, Denver, CO.
chemical coagulants. In Type 4 or ‘‘compression settling’’,
a structure is formed in which settling occurs via gravity
compression of the structure, because of the weight of
SEDIMENTATION AND FLOTATION particles. Compression settling typically occurs in samples
with high solids concentration, such as the secondary
ROGER C. VIADERO
clarifier in wastewater treatment or in sludge thickening
West Virginia University
facilities (1,2).
Morgantown, West Virginia
Analysis and Modeling

SEDIMENTATION To develop an understanding of the physics involved in
sedimentation, it is useful to examine the simplest case
Overview of discrete settling. Based on the general force balance
presented in Fig. 1, the velocity of a solid spherical particle
Waters and wastewaters typically contain particulate of a given diameter and density settling in a viscous
matter ranging from a few microns to centimeters in medium can be determined according to Eq. 2a.
diameter, although the actual size distribution is often
highly variable. One of the most common methods for Fgravity − Fbuoyant − Fdrag = mp as (2a)
SEDIMENTATION AND FLOTATION 405
vs dp ρw vs dp
Fbuoyant Fdrag Re = = (6)
µw νw
When spherical particles settle in a viscous medium under

laminar flow conditions (Re < 1), the first term in Eq. 5
predominates (i.e., CD 24/Re) and the expression for
settling velocity becomes more simple:
Rigid sphere
+ z direction g(ρp − ρw )dpi 2
vsi (Stokes’) = , Re < 1 (7)
vs 18µw
Note: Assume one-
dimensional motion. This form of the settling velocity is known as ‘‘Stokes’
Equation.’’ As most waters and wastewaters contain
particles of many different sizes, an additional subscript
Fgravity
‘‘i’’ is typically added to denote particles of the same size in
Figure 1. General force balance for a solid spherical particle an otherwise heterogeneous distribution. Consequently, a
settling in a viscous medium. different settling velocity would have to be calculated for
different size particles (1,2).
where Fgravity = gravitational force, Fbuoyant = buoyant Application

force, Fdrag = drag force, mp = particle mass, and as =
acceleration of settling particle. If it is presumed that a In order to adequately analyze particle removal through
terminal settling velocity has been reached (i.e., as = 0), sedimentation, it is necessary to establish a framework
the force balance can be rewritten as: for analysis. In this case, consider the longitudinal cross
section of a settling basin shown in Fig. 2. Assume a
dvs uniform distribution of particles at the entrance, along
Fgravity − Fbuoyant − Fdrag = mp as = mp =0 (2b) which particles can enter at any height. Further, any
dt

0
particle that settles into the sludge zone is permanently
removed from the system. Now, define the ‘‘critical settling
The terms in the force balance can be written explicitly as velocity’’ (vsc ) as the settling velocity of the smallest
presented in Eqs. 3a, 3b, and 3c. particle that will be 100% removed. To further ease the
analysis of this system, the critical settling velocity vector
Fgravity = Vp gρp (3a) will be broken into its horizontal (vh ) and vertical (vsc )
components. Note that in sedimentation, we are primarily
Fbouyant = Vp gρw (3b) concerned with motion in the vertical direction, so the
v2s vertical component of the settling velocity is often labeled
Fdrag = CD Ap ρw (3c) ‘‘vsc .’’ The trajectory of particles with a velocity, vsi , equal
2
to vsc is also presented in Fig. 2. In this case, 100% of the
where Vp = particle volume, g = gravitational constant particles are removed from the system, regardless of their
(9.8 m/s2 ), ρp = density of particle (typical value = entry position at the inlet.
1,400 kg/m3 ), ρw = density of water (1,000 kg/m3 under Similarly, the trajectory of particles with a settling
standard conditions), CD = drag coefficient, Ap = cross- velocity greater than vsc is presented in Fig. 3. [The
sectional area of the particle, and vs = particle set- trajectory of particles with a critical settling velocity
tling velocity. (dashed lines) has been added to Fig. 3 for reference.]
Based on the general force balance presented in In this case, 100% of the particles are removed from the
Fig. 1, and using Eqs. 2 and 3, the settling velocity for system, regardless of their entry position at the inlet.
spherical particles of a given diameter and density can be The trajectory of particles with vsi < vsc is presented
determined as: in Fig. 4. By examining the trajectories of these particles,

4 g(ρp − ρw )dp
vs = , Re ≥ 1 (4)
3 CD ρw
E Trajectory of particle with
n velocity, vsc O
As only one-dimensional motion is considered, vector t u
vh
notation has been dropped and the sign convention r t
presented in Fig. 1 is used throughout. a l
The drag coefficient for rigid spheres can be calculated n vsc e
according to Eq. 5, where CD is a function of the hydraulic c vsc t
e vsc
flow regime, established using the Reynolds number, Re,
given in Eq. 6.
Sludge zone
24 3 Figure 2. Trajectory of particles with a settling velocity equal to
CD = +√ + 0.34 (5)
Re Re vsc .
406 SEDIMENTATION AND FLOTATION
Chemical addition; coagulant

E
Trajectory of particle with
n O
velocity, vsi > vsc.
t u
r t
a l
n vsi vsc e
c t
e vsi
vsc
Sludge zone
Chemical addition;
Figure 3. The trajectory of particles with a settling velocity disinfectant
greater than vsc .
Backflush Sludge out
sludge out
we can see that it is possible to have some particles Figure 5. Schematic showing location of sedimentation in typical
‘‘escape’’ through the outlet. Likewise, some particles may water treatment process.
become trapped in the sludge zone, depending on their
respective position at the inlet and the magnitude of vsi
relative to vsc . Consequently, when the settling velocity Influent
of an individual particle is less than the critical settling
Primary
velocity, fractional particle removal will occur; the fraction treatment
of particles removed when vsi < vsc is given by Eq. 8 (1,2). Solids out Sludge out
vsi
Fr = (8)
vsc
Secondary
Process Design and Implementation treatment
In a typical water treatment process, sedimentation fol- Waste sludge
recycle Chemical
lows coagulation and flocculation, as presented schemati- addition;
cally in Fig. 5. In activated sludge wastewater treatment, disinfectant
two sedimentation basins are used, as presented in Fig. 6. Figure 6. Schematic showing location of two sedimentation
With regard to sedimentation basin design, it is common to basins used in activated sludge wastewater treatment.
determine the hydraulic detention time, θH , and hydraulic
surface loading rate, S, presented in Eqs. 9 and 10, respec-
tively. Typical design parameters for sedimentation tanks Table 1. Typical Design Parameters for Sedimentation
used in primary and secondary wastewater treatment are Tanks Used in Primary Wastewater Treatment (1)
presented in Tables 1 and 2, respectively (1,3). Primary Treatment Followed by
Secondary Treatment Range Typical
Vbasin = θH · Q (9)
Hydraulic detention time, hr 1.5–2.5 2.0
Q
S= (10) Average overflow rate (average flow), 800–1,200
A gal/ft2 ·d
Overflow rate (peak flow), gal/ft2 ·d 2,000–3,000 2,500
where Vbasin = volume of sedimentation basin, θH =
hydraulic detention time, Q = water/wastewater flow rate, Primary Treatment Followed by Waste
and A = basin surface area. Activated Sludge
Hydraulic detention time, hr 1.5–2.5 2.0

Average overflow rate (average flow), 600–800
Trajectory of particle with gal/ft2 ·d
velocity, vsi < vsc. Overflow rate (peak flow), gal/ft2 ·d 1,200–1,700 1,500
E
n O
t u
The data presented in Table 1 are for general reference
vsi purposes. In actual system design, factors such as water
r t
a l flow rate, basin depth, and desired solids removal must be
n vsc e considered (4).
c t
e vsc vsi
FLOTATION
Sludge zone
Figure 4. The trajectory of particles with a settling velocity less Flotation is a process for the separation of particulate
than vsc . matter from liquids in which bubbles are introduced into
SEDIMENTATION AND FLOTATION 407
Table 2. Typical Design Parameters for Sedimentation Skimmer

Tanks Used in Secondary Wastewater Treatment (3) Thickened
sludge
Secondary Treatment Range
Pump
Average overflow rate (average flow), gal/ft · d
2
400–800
Effluent
Overflow rate (peak flow), gal/ft2 · d 1,000–1,200 Flotation tank
Average solids loading rate, lb/ft2 · d 0.8–1.2 Feed sludge Pressure
Peak solids loading rate, lb/ft2 · d 2.0 release valve
Depth, ft 12–20 Pump
Air
Figure 8. Schematic of a typical dissolved air flotation process
used to thicken activated sludge. (Note: no recycle).
a wastewater and the solid particles rise with the bubbles.
The particulate matter is then skimmed off the water
surface and clarified water is removed from the bottom of
the basin (1). A comparative schematic of sedimentation and particles rise to the top. The application of vacuum
and flotation processes is presented in Fig. 7. Flotation flotation is generally limited to small operations, because
is typically applied in cases where particles are difficult higher capital and operating costs associated with
to remove via sedimentation; examples include synthetic maintaining a closed reactor system.
fibers in the textile industry, wood fibers in the pulp and
paper industry, and oily wastewaters (5). Flotation is also
FLOTATION VERSUS SEDIMENTATION?
used in activated sludge thickening (1).
In general, air flotation and dissolved air flotation are
the two types of flotation processes used most widely in The selection of either sedimentation or flotation as
industry. In air flotation, air is introduced via fine bubble a solid/liquid separation process depends on a large
diffusers. In this process, problems with diffuser clogging number of factors, including particle density, overflow
are common. Additionally, a large fraction of the operating rate, aesthetic requirements, sludge volume production
cost is associated with the need to supply large amounts rate, ease of operation, and availability of reliable design
of power to force air bubbles through the diffusers. data. However, the guidelines presented in Table 3 can be
Dissolved air flotation (DAF) is different from air used to compare and screen these processes for potential
flotation mainly in the conditions under which air enters application.
the system. A schematic of a typical DAF process used
to thicken activated sludge is presented in Fig. 8 (1). In BIBLIOGRAPHY
dissolved air flotation, air is injected into wastewater
under pressure. In typical wastewater applications, air is
1. Metcalf and Eddy. (2003). Wastewater Treatment, Disposal,
pressurized to 345–483 kPa (3.4–4.8 atm; 50–70 psi) (5), and Reuse, 4th Edn. McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA.
which results in an increase in the solubility of air in
2. Tchobanoglous, G. and Schroeder, E. (1987). Water Quality.
water. When the pressure is released to the atmosphere, Addison Wesley, Reading, MA.
the excess dissolved air comes out of the aqueous phase and
3. Water Pollution Control Federation. (1985). Clarifier Design.
rises. In order to enhance the particle removal efficiency Manual of Practice FD-8.
of DAF processes, it is common to add chemicals that
promote flocculation to the influent prior to pressurization.
Reagents used for this purpose are similar to those used Table 3. General Guidelines/Comparison for Selection of
in coagulation/flocculation processes (e.g., alum, polymers, Sedimentation and Flotation Processes
etc.) (1,5).
Vacuum flotation is a third technique in which Flotation Sedimentation
wastewater is saturated with air under atmospheric Generally favored when Substantially less complicated
pressure. A vacuum is applied to the wastewater in particles with low density to operate (e.g., fewer
an enclosed tank, where the air is pulled from solution (low specific gravity) are to be maintenance and operating
removed. problems, requires less
skilled staff than flotation
processes).
Fdrag Fbuoyant Can be used when space and/or Requires less power for
Air Vb
bubbles capital are limited because operation.
higher overflow rates can be
applied, which results in
smaller tank requirements.
Odor problems can be Can easily be designed from
Fgravity minimized because of the lack the wealth of reliable
Vs Fbuoyant > Fgravity + Fdrag of septic conditions. performance data available.
A thicker sludge and,
Sedimentation Flotation consequently, a lower sludge
volume is produced.
Figure 7. Comparative schematic of sedimentation and flotation.
408 RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION
4. Reynolds, T. and Richards, P. (1995). Unit Operations and Table 1. Sediment Transported by Selected Riversa
Processes in Environmental Engineering, 2nd Edn. PSW
Drainage Average Sediment Erosion Modulus,
Publishing, Boston, MA.
River Area, km2 Concentration, kg/m3 ton/km2 /yr
5. Eckenfelder, W. (2000). Industrial Water Pollution Control,
3rd Edn. McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA. Nile 2,978,000 1.25 37
Missouri 1,370,000 3.54 159
Colorado 637,000 27.5 212
RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION Indus 969,000 2.49 449
Irrawaddy 430,000 0.70 695
SHARAD K. JAIN Brahmaputra 666,000 1.89 1090
National Institute of Hydrology Red 119,000 1.06 1092
Roorkee, Uttranchal, India Ganges 955,000 3.92 1519
Liaohe 166,300 6.86 240
Yangtze 1,807,200 0.54 280
Yellow 752,400 37.6 2,480
The detachment and transportation of soil is termed soil
a
erosion. Every stream carries some sediment in suspension Adapted from Reference 2.
and moves larger particles along its bed. The deposition
of sediment in channels or reservoirs creates a variety all the sediments, and the particles begin to deposit. First,
of problems, such as raising stream beds, meandering the larger suspended particles and most of the bed load
and overflow along the banks, and, of course, depletion of are deposited at the mouth of the reservoir. The smaller
storage capacity in reservoirs. particles remain in suspension for a long time and some
The sediment content in river waters varies with flow may leave the reservoir with water.
conditions. It is small in lean flow months, but it attains
a maximum value during floods. The total quantity of RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION
sediment transported annually to the sea by rivers of the
world is about 2 × 1010 tons or about 13.5 km3 in volume. The accumulation of sediments is one of the principal fac-
Worldwide, reservoirs are annually losing about 1% of tors that threaten the longevity of reservoirs. Sometimes
their storage capacity or about 65 km3 /year. The rate of a project is not constructed just because the silting rate is
loss of reservoir storage in the United States is about so high that the reservoir will fill up before the investment
0.22%/year which is equivalent to 2020 million m3 /year. is fully recovered.
Based on weighted average data from 144 reservoirs in The ultimate destiny of all reservoirs is to be filled
India, the annual loss of gross storage was estimated by sediment. There are instances of reservoirs filling up
at 0.44%. within a few years of their operation. The Sanmexia dam
Sediment source and reservoir locations are not was the first major dam on the middle reaches of the
uniformly distributed; the problem is really severe in some Yellow River. In the first 18 months after dam closure,
countries. China has more than 80,000 reservoirs that are 1.8 billion metric tons of sediment accumulated in the
annually losing, on average, 2.3% of their storage capacity reservoir, representing a trap efficiency of 93% (3). The
due to sedimentation. Xinghe Reservoir in Shaanxi Province took 2 years to
construct but only 1 year to fill with sediment.
INTRODUCTION The right approach to solving a reservoir sedimentation
problem has three segments: (1) collect and analyze
Soil erosion is considerably high in arid climates. In India, field data, (2) set up appropriate models, and (3) develop
about 5333 million tonnes (16.35 t/ha) of soil is detached an operational policy for the reservoir. Deposition and
annually due to agriculture and associated activities. Of scouring may differ considerably when different operating
this, about 29% is carried away to oceans by rivers. Nearly policies are adopted.
10% of it is deposited in reservoirs resulting in loss of The sediment deposits in a reservoir can be divided
1–2% of storage capacity (1). The sediment transport of in three groups: topset beds, foreset beds, and bottomset
selected rivers is given in Table 1. beds (see Fig. 1). Topset beds are composed of large size
Each sediment particle transported by flow is affected sediment deposits but may also have fine particles. These
by two dynamic forces: a horizontal component acting extend up to the point where the backwater curve ends.
in the direction of flow and a vertical component due The downstream limit of the topset bed corresponds to
to gravity; there is also the force of water turbulence. the downstream limit of bed material transport in the
The specific gravity of soil materials is about 2.65, so reservoir. These deposits cause a minor reduction in
particles of suspended sediment tend to settle to the reservoir storage capacity. The foreset deposit is the face
channel bottom, but upward currents in the turbulent flow of the delta deposit advancing toward the dam. It is a
counteract gravitational settling. The sediment inflow and transition zone that has steeper slopes and decreasing
outflow in natural river reaches are mostly in balance. A grain size. The bottomset beds consist of fine sediments
reservoir changes the flow characteristics and its sediment that are deposited beyond the delta by turbidity currents or
transport capacity. Because the reservoir width is much nonstratified flow. This pattern of deposits may change due
bigger than the river width, the velocity of flow entering to reservoir drawdown, slope failures, and extreme floods.
into it decreases tremendously and there is a dampening of For proper reservoir management, knowledge about
turbulence. Consequently, the flow is unable to transport the sediment deposition pattern in various zones is
RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION 409
Foreset bed The trap efficiency can be computed from the sediment
Topset bed Bottomset bed inflow and outflow data. Brune (4) analyzed data from
Max. lake level 44 reservoirs in the States; 40 were normal ponded
Delta reservoirs whose catchment areas vary from 0.098 sq.
deposits Normal lake level km to 478,110 sq. km and CI ratios range from 0.0016 to
Muddy 2.05. The database also included two desilting basins and
lake two semidry reservoirs. This analysis revealed that the
deposits laws of sediment deposition are the same for all types of
reservoirs and the factors influencing the trap efficiency
are independent of the size of the reservoir. Brune
(4) presented a set of envelope curves between CIR and
Figure 1. Sediment deposit zones in a reservoir.
trap efficiency (see Fig. 2) that shows a semilogarithmic
curvilinear relation between trap efficiency and CIR.
essential. Timely remedial measures can be undertaken Sedimentation and Life of a Reservoir
with correct knowledge of the sedimentation processes in
a reservoir. A common procedure for tackling a sediment The term life of a reservoir appears to be a misnomer
problem is to designate a portion of reservoir storage because reservoirs do not have a single well-defined life
for sediment accumulation. But this approach does not which denotes two functional states: ON and OFF. Rather,
solve the problem; it merely postpones the date when it they show a gradual degradation of performance. The ‘life’
becomes serious. of a reservoir for different purposes will be affected at
different times. Murthy (5) defined the following terms
Factors Influencing Reservoir Sedimentation connected to the life of a reservoir.
Two dominant factors that influence the rate of silting Useful Life. The period during which the capacity
in a reservoir are (1) capacity to inflow ratio (CIR) and occupied by sediment does not prevent the reservoir from
(2) sediment content in the water flowing in. The other serving its intended primary purpose.
factors are the texture and size of the sediment, the trap Economic Life. This is determined by the time
efficiency of the reservoir, and the method of reservoir after which the effect of various factors, such as
operation. The CIR is the ratio of reservoir storage capacity physical deterioration by sedimentation and changing
to mean annual inflow. A reservoir whose CIR is more requirements for project services, cause the operating costs
than 50% is considered hydrologically large, may have of the reservoir to exceed the additional benefits from its
significant carryover, and its trap efficiency will also continuation.
be large. Note that the sediment inflow depends on the Design Life. The period that is adopted for economic
catchment area, too. All other things remaining the same, analysis. This is either the useful life or the shorter
a dam of the same capacity in an upper catchment will of the expected economic life or fixed span of life (say
have a higher rate of silting compared to a dam of the 50/100 years).
same design but constructed lower down in the valley.
Full Life. The number of years required for full
The two principal factors mentioned above have a
depletion of reservoir capacity by sedimentation.
complete range of interplay. A reservoir that has a small
CIR and small sediment inflow and one that has a large
CIR and large sediment inflow may have more or less LOSS OF STORAGE CAPACITY
the same rate of sedimentation. A high rate of silting can
also be expected from a high CIR and a high sediment Observations show that in reservoirs that have small
content in the inflow. On the other hand, a high CIR and sluicing capacity with respect to normal floods and have
low sediment content in inflows will result in a low rate no upstream reservoirs, the siltation rate is comparatively
of silting. high in the first 15–20 years and thereafter it falls off
and may ultimately become negligible. From the data
Trap Efficiency
The trap efficiency of a reservoir is the ratio of sediment 100
Sediment trapped, percent
retained in the reservoir to the sediment inflow. It depends

primarily on the sediment characteristics, the detention 80
time of the inflow, the method of reservoir operation, and Median curve for normal ponded
60 reservoirs
the age of the reservoir. A small reservoir on a large
stream passes most of its inflow so quickly that the finer 40 Envelope curves for normal ponded
sediments are discharged downstream. A larger reservoir, reservoirs
on the other hand, may retain water for several years and 20
After brune (4).
the outflow from it may be completely devoid of suspended
sediments. The trap efficiency of a reservoir decreases 10 −3
10 10−2 10−1 100 101
with age as the reservoir capacity is reduced by sediment
Capacity - inflow ratio
accumulation. Thus complete filling of the reservoir may
require a very long time. Figure 2. Brune’s curves (4).
410 RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION
of reservoir capacity surveys, Shangle (6) found that The unitweight of the sediment deposits can be
the sedimentation rates in major reservoirs (storage > estimated from:
100 million m3 ) in India that have completed more than
50 years of their useful lives varied from 0.30 to 4.89 γ = 16.05(Wc Pc + Wm Pm + Ws Ps )
Ha-m/100 sq. km/year. The rate for those major reservoirs
that have completed less than 50 years of their useful lives where γ is unitweight in kg/m3 ; Pc , Pm , Ps are percentages
varied from 0.34 to 27.85 Ha-m/100 sq. km/year. Deyi and of clay, silt, and sand, respectively, of the incoming
Fan (7) derived an empirical formula to determine the sediment; and Wc , Wm , Ws are the coefficients of clay,
average annual loss rate of reservoir capacity. silt, and sand, respectively, which may be obtained from
The rate of siltation of a reservoir normally shows a the table above (15).
falling trend with time. A plausible explanation is that the
obstruction by the dam causes the dips and flanks of the Distribution of Sediments in Reservoirs
storage basin to fill up with silt in early years. A stage Sediment distribution in a reservoir is important, and
comes when the river section adjusts itself to carry the this requires careful consideration in planning and design
normal discharge and disposal of the suspended load in stages. The pattern of sedimentation helps in predicting
the area of the reservoir is harmonized with the condition the extent to which services will be affected at various
of the flow. Besides, the progressive development of deltas times and the remedial actions to be taken. The designer
above the reservoir helps in trapping some of the silt is interested to know the height of sediment accumulation
load. Shrinkage and settlement of deposited silt also takes to fix the sill elevation of the outlets, the penstock gate
place with time due to superimposed loads of additional elevation, and to estimate the region where a delta would
silt. This results in reduction in silt volume. However, a be formed and the consequent increase in backwater levels.
complete explanation of this behavior is not available. Finally, the pattern is necessary to plan for recreational
facilities. Four types of distribution patterns of deposits
Unit Weight of Sediments Deposited in a Reservoir have been identified (3):
The unitweight of sediments is the dry weight (kg)
Delta Deposits. These deposits contain the coarsest
per unit volume (cubic meter) of the material. It has
fraction of the sediment load that is rapidly deposited
been observed that the density of deposited sediment
in the zone of inflow.
varies from 500–2000 kg/m3 . The important factors that
influence the unit weight of deposited sediment are Wedge-shaped Deposits. These are thickest at the dam
the manner of reservoir operation, the texture and size and become thinner moving upstream.
of sediment particles, and the consolidation rate. The Tapering Deposit. These occur when deposits become
reservoir operation is the most influential of these factors. progressively thinner moving toward the dam.
If the water level of a reservoir is lowered from time to Uniform Deposits. The thickness of these deposits is
time, the deposited sediment is exposed to the Sun and more or less uniform in the reservoir. Such deposits are
air and gets dense. There may be considerable time for not very common.
consolidation before floods. The degree of consolidation
depends on the weight of overlying material, its exposure, The consequences of reservoir sedimentation are
sediment size, and time. The reservoir is always filled gradual reduction in benefits. The extent of loss depends
that has a low density of deposit. Power and irrigation on the type and nature of the purposes being served and
reservoirs belong to the intermediate class. Generally, the rate of loss of storage capacity. The loss turns out to be
lower densities are observed in the vicinity of a dam really high when the replacement cost of the lost storage
under submerged conditions whereas higher densities are is considered.
noticed in the upstream portions of reservoirs. A commonly used empirical method to estimate the new
Lara and Pemberton of U.S.B.R. developed a method reservoir profile is discussed next.
for estimating the initial unitweight of sediment deposits
when the size analysis of the incoming sediment and Empirical Area Reduction Method
the proposed reservoir operating schemes are known. Based on the analysis of the sediment survey data of many
Reservoir operations were classified in different types reservoirs in the United States, it was found that the sedi-
as follows: ment distribution pattern depends on reservoir geometry,
operation, and sediment characteristics. Depending upon
Reservoir Type Reservoir Operation Wc Wm Ws the elevation–capacity characteristics, reservoirs are clas-
sified into four types: (a) gorge, (b) hill, (c) flood plain–foot
I Sediment always 26 70 97 hill, and (d) lake. Empirically derived sediment distribu-
submerged or nearly tion curves are used to distribute the sediment through-
submerged out the reservoir section. The Empirical Area Reduction
II Normally moderate to 35 71 97 method, as revised by Lara (8), is the most popular for
considerable reservoir predicting a new reservoir bed profile. It is necessary first
drawdown to estimate the amount of sediment deposited in the reser-
III Reservoir normally empty 40 73 97 voir. The computational steps have been given in many
IV Riverbed sediments 60 73 97 books, such as Morris and Fan (3).
RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION 411
RESERVOIR SURVEYS Canal

Reservoir
Sediments accumulated in an existing reservoir can be
Clean water
determined by periodically running sediment surveys.
to reservoir
It is a direct measurement procedure for assessing the
volume and pattern of deposits. Sediment data collected
during the surveys are analyzed to determine the specific
weights of the deposits, their grain size distribution, Diversion
sediment accumulation rates, and reservoir efficiencies. River
Recent advances in technology have considerably reduced Figure 3. An offstream reservoir.
the effort to carry out reservoir surveys and analyze data.
The advantages of reservoir surveys are as follows: flood that has brought in a heavy sediment load. A
survey may also be run following the closure of a major
1. The reservoir survey can be less costly than contin-
dam constructed upstream in the same catchment. An
uous sediment measurement at several locations in
upstream dam reduces the free drainage area and hence
the catchment.
reduces the sediment inflow.
2. The accuracy of these surveys is usually very high, Remote sensing techniques, enabling acquisition and
particularly if advanced equipment is used. analysis of synoptic data over a broad spectral range,
3. It is possible to estimate the total sediment (bed and are an alternative to the conventional way of data
suspended) load carried by a river. acquisition and processing. This technique is highly cost-
and time-effective compared to conventional methods.
There are some limitations of the reservoir sedimenta-
The methodology for assessing reservoir sedimentation
tion survey:
is described by Goel et al. (9).
1. Such surveys do not provide any information about
CONTROL OF SEDIMENT INFLOW INTO A RESERVOIR
the variation of sediment yield with time and
give only the total sediment accumulated since the The problem of reservoir sedimentation is complex but not
last survey. unmanageable. It can be largely controlled by judicious
2. This method does not provide subcatchmentwise design, construction, and management. The Yellow River
sediment yield. in China is notorious for very high volumes of sediments
3. This approach is not very effective where sedimen- in its water. The Sanmenxia Dam was the first dam built
tation is small as the errors of measurement may in the middle reach of the Yellow River in China. After the
mask the true sedimentation rates. impounding commenced, about 1.8 billion metric tonnes
of sediments accumulated during the first 18 months,
4. To find the total sediment inflow, information about
representing a trap efficiency of 93%. The balance between
sediment outflow is also needed.
sediment inflow and outflow was restored by providing
It is essential to have an accurate map of the reservoir high capacity bottom outlets, and reservoir operation was
on an appropriate scale before commencing a survey. substantially changed.
Important reservoir features, such as the full reservoir There are various ways to manage the sedimentation
level (FRL) along the periphery, the position of the dam, problem, and the effectiveness of an approach depends
outlets, inflowing streams, etc., along with other details on the site conditions. A single technique will not work
such as the position of nearby bridges, roads, and villages everywhere. Broadly, the methods are
should be marked on the map. Horizontal and vertical • Control the sediment inflow into the reservoir.
control points are fixed at a suitable interval on the
• Do not allow the entering sediment to settle in
reservoir circumference. Next, cross-sections are planned
the reservoir.
at a suitable spacing, depending on the reservoir size.
The contour and range methods are two basic • Remove the settled sediment from the reservoir.
techniques for surveying reservoirs. The selection of a Regarding the first approach, broadly, there are three
method depends on the quantity and distribution of ways to prevent sediment from entering a reservoir.
sediment indicated by field inspections, the shape of the These are (1) constructing reservoirs away from streams,
reservoir, the purpose of the survey, and the degree of (2) physical barriers in the way of sediment movement, and
accuracy desired. The volume of accumulated sediment (3) better watershed management to check soil erosion.
is computed by subtracting the revised capacity from the
original capacity at a given reservoir elevation (usually Offstream Reservoirs
the FRL). If the site conditions permit, a reservoir can be constructed
The frequency of surveying reservoirs depends on the away from the main stream (Fig. 3). This reservoir is
sediment accumulation rate and the cost of a survey. filled with water of low sediment concentration that is
Reservoirs that have high accumulation rates are surveyed diverted from the main river. The flows that contain high
more often than those with lower rates. Generally, the amounts of sediment load are excluded from diversion. An
reservoirs are surveyed every 3 to 10 years. Special additional advantage of an offstream reservoir is that only
circumstances may necessitate a change in the established a desired amount of flow is diverted to it, and therefore,
schedule. A reservoir might be surveyed after a major its capacity can be limited.
412 WATER FROM SATURATED RIVER SEDIMENT—SAND ABSTRACTION
Check Dams Sediment laden water

A check dam is a small dam a few meters high that is
constructed across a stream in the headwater region to Clean water to
control channel erosion. Most of the incoming sediment reservoir
is deposited behind the check dam and relatively clear
water comes out downstream. These dams can be highly
effective in controlling reservoir sedimentation. The cost River Diversion
of a small check dam is not very high. These dams are
more efficient for sediment trapping if they are spaced
Figure 5. Sediment bypass.
farther apart. These dams are not a long-term solution
to the problem because they do not control the sediment
erosion, and once the reservoir behind the check dam is BIBLIOGRAPHY
filled with sediments, it no longer serves the purpose.
1. Dhruva Narayana, V.V. (1995). Research in Soil and Water
SEDIMENT ROUTING Conservation in India with Special Emphasis on Watershed
Management. Scientific Contribution No. INCOH/SAR-5/95,
This is an effective method for controlling reservoir sedi- National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, India.
mentation. It includes methods to manage the hydraulic 2. Qiang, N. and Dai, D. (1980). The problems of river sedimen-
behavior of the reservoir to allow the maximum sediments tation and the present status of its research in China. In:
to pass through. The concepts of sediment routing were Proceedings of the International Symposium on River Sedimen-
tation, Beijing. The Chinese Society of Hydraulic Engineering
developed in China. The guiding principle is discharge the
(Vol. 1). Guanghua Press, UNESCO, pp. 19–39.
muddy water, impound the clear water. It is an environ-
3. Morris, G.L. and Fan, J. (1998). Reservoir Sedimentation
mental friendly approach because the characteristics of
Handbook. McGraw-Hill, New York.
sediment transport are not significantly changed.
4. Brune, G.M. (1953). Trap efficiency of reservoirs. Trans. Am.
Reservoir Drawdown Geophys. Union 34(3): 407–418.
5. Murthy, B.N. (1977). Life of Reservoirs, Technical Report No.
Typically, the rising limb of the hydrograph carries 19. Central Board of Irrigation and Power, New Delhi.
larger amount of sediments than the falling limb. In this
6. Shangle, A.K. (1991). Reservoir Sedimentation—Status in
approach, the reservoir water level is bought down in the India. Jalvigyan Sameeksha, Vol. V. INCOH, National
beginning of a flood to pass turbid flow without deposition. Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, India, pp. 63–70.
Density Currents 7. Deyi, W. and Fan, J. (1991). Method of preserving reservoir
capacity. In: Lecture Notes of Regional Training Course
A density current is the gravity flow of fluid under, over, on Reservoir Sedimentation and Control. Central Water
or through another fluid of approximately equal density Commission, New Delhi.
or density whose differs by a small amount from that of 8. Lara, J.M. (1962). Revision of Procedures to Compute Sediment
the primary current. Density currents are generated when Distribution in Large Reservoirs. US Bureau of Reclamation,
sediment-laden water enters a relatively still waterbody. Denver, CO.
The density current venting approach (Fig. 4) provides a 9. Goel, M.K., Jain, S.K., and Agrawal, P.K. (2002). Assessment
clear unhindered path to sediment-laden flows that are of sediment deposition rate in Bargi reservoir using digital
released through low-level outlets. image processing. Hydrological Sci. J. 47(S): S81–S92.
Sediment Bypass
This arrangement, shown in Fig. 5, prohibits sediment- WATER FROM SATURATED RIVER
laden flow from entering the reservoir. It consists of a SEDIMENT—SAND ABSTRACTION
diversion structure upstream of the dam by which the
flows with heavy sediment concentration are diverted to STEPHEN W. HUSSEY
a bypass channel or conduit which joins the main river Dabane Trust
downstream of the dam. As a result, relatively ‘clean’ Burnside, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
flows enter the reservoir.
Water is available in the saturated sediment of sand-

Plunge point
filled rivers. The removal of water from this sediment
is known as sand abstraction. Despite the terminology,
Clear it is not the removal of sand but of water from a
Density current water surface dry, seasonal river where the water is retained
Delta in the sediment, not abstraction of water from a
deposits
flowing river.
Wherever there is erosion of land within the catchment
area of a river, soil, sand, or gravel is carried into the river
Figure 4. Venting of density current through bottom outlet in channel. The river becomes silted with sediment retained
a reservoir. in depressions in the riverbed, behind rocks, and where
WATER FROM SATURATED RIVER SEDIMENT—SAND ABSTRACTION 413
the slope of the river is sufficiently low for sediment to be

deposited rather than washed away.
In arid and semiarid areas, the sediment that accrues is
often coarse grained, and, as the river basin drains, water
is retained in the sediment in useable quantities. In spite
of the intermittent flow of seasonal rivers, as the rivers
drain and dry out, water is held in the sediment.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
History and Traditional Use

There have been sand-filled rivers for centuries in arid
and semiarid areas where intermittent rainfall and long
dry periods exist (Fig. 1). These rivers have become
increasingly filled with sediment since the land has become
populated and built up. As surface water dropped into
the sediment, people had to dig down to find their daily
water requirements. This practice continues today in many
arid areas.
Traditionally, people lived in river valleys, and as the
seasonal rivers dried out, they excavated inverted cone-
shaped holes to expose the water level in the sediment.
As the loose, unstable sand continually filled the hole,
people were forced to re-excavate their holes. A natural
development was to insert an opened ended drum into the
river sediment as a liner. This made a ‘sand well’ that
was more stable and did not fill with sand after every use
(Fig. 2). The water abstracted was then used for domestic,
livestock, and small-scale gardening purposes.
Typical Uses
Domestic Use. A properly managed sand-abstraction Figure 2. Traditional sand well.
system provides a suitable source of water for domestic
use. A variety of schemes have been developed ranging
from small-scale, individual families using basic hand
pumps to reticulated systems for small towns.
Irrigation Schemes. These range from small family gar-

dens to large-scale commercial schemes. Where gardens
can be established on low river banks (above the flood
line), sand-abstraction systems provide an excellent, low-
cost option for conveying water to nutrition gardens. One
Figure 3. A small-scale community garden where water is drawn

by hand pumps from the sand river in the background.
small hand pump (for instance, a Rower) is sufficient

to irrigate adequately more than 200 m2 of garden—an
average size brushwood-fenced garden (Fig. 3).
Livestock Watering. Sand-abstraction systems provide

a very suitable source of water for livestock, even in less
Figure 1. Typical sand river. than optimum conditions. A hand pump, either driven
directly into the sand, discharging into a portable trough 9. The technology can be used in various other medias
on the river sand, or a more complete system drawing such as tube wells and gravel beds.
water onto the river bank are both appropriate livestock
watering systems. Disadvantages
1. The system is as vulnerable as any other supply
Livelihood. Sand abstraction can provide water for to inadequate recharge from poor rainfall and to
small-scale, rural industry such as brickmaking, house- seasonal water losses.
hold construction and repair, and small livestock projects. 2. As there is no confined aquifer at the point of
abstraction, if sites are not carefully selected, water
can drain away from the site.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
3. If not adequately secured, equipment can be washed
away in flash floods.
Advantages
4. The system is based on environmental degrada-
1. Clean, naturally filtered water free of the contam- tion, it works only where there has been severe
ination associated with open surface water such soil erosion.
as dams. 5. At some sites, silt layers form and move through the
2. The water has a natural taste free from mineral salt river sand to clog installations.
contamination often associated with groundwater. 6. In certain conditions, infiltration galleries and well
3. Easy to access when compared with the labor points may be subject to bio-fouling.
involved in building a dam or digging a well.
4. On the traditional and small-scale level, the EPHEMERAL RIVERS
technology does not require pumps and expensive
drilling equipment. It is a low-level technology that In ephemeral river systems, people have, for generations,
people can operate for themselves without outside been drawing water from river pools and from the river
intervention. sand. The system works best in large, slow-flowing rivers
5. Lower cost per cubic meter yield of water compared that cross extensive plains away from the watershed.
with ground- or surface water developments. Conditions for sand abstraction are ideal where rivers
cut through igneous soils. Soils in these areas tend to
6. Where extensive sediment deposits exist, large
contain large proportions of coarse-grained sands that are
volumes of water can be held.
carried into and remain in the river systems and allow
7. Reduced evaporation from water retained in the large volumes of water to be retained. The system is
sediment as opposed to open surface water. dependent to some degree on continuing soil erosion and
8. Low environmental impact from installation of sand- is inappropriate in small fast-flowing rivers below the
abstraction systems. watershed that contain small amounts of unstable sand.
Table 1. Comparison of Community Water Supply Quality—Groundwater and Sand-Abstraction Systems—Zimbabwe

Recommended Max Allowed Source Source Source Source Open Source ‘Safe’
Limit Limit Borehole 1 Borehole 2 Borehole 3 Sand Abst Sand Abst
Conductivity (mS/m) 70 300 460 400 940 50 40

pH 6–9 5.5–9.5 7.3 7.5 8.1 7.9 7.3
Turbidity (NTU) 1.0 5.0 30 120 55 20 6.5
Total hardness 20–230 650 1100 110 370 130 120
Calcium (CaCO3 ) NS NS 780 20 100 120 68
Magnesium (CaCO3 ) 100 150 320 90 270 10 52
Sodium (Na) 100 400 390 600 910 20 9.7
Potassium (K) NS NS 6.5 4.0 5.8 1.5 1.5
Iron (Fe) 0.1 1.0 6.6 11.0 0.9 0.5 1.1
Manganese 0.05 1.0 2.6 0.4 0.2 0.1 2.8
Alkalinity (CaCO3 ) NS NS 610 190 500 360 200
Chloride 250 600 22 110 58 2 8
Sulfate 200 600 1600 1700 290 1.7 <0.01
Phosphate NS NS 0.1 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01
Ammonia total nitrate nitrogen 6.0 10.0 0.3 0.1 0.5 <0.01 <0.01
– – <0.01 <0.01 0.5 <0.01 <0.01
Fluoride 1.0 1.5 0.9 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01
Approx dissolved salts 500 1500 2300 2000 4700 250 200
(WHO) (WHO)
Oxygen absorbed 4 h, 27 ◦ C NS NS 2.0 <0.01 8.0 3.3 <0.01
a
NS: not significant.
b
WHO
WATER FROM SATURATED RIVER SEDIMENT—SAND ABSTRACTION 415
The system is conditional on water freely percolating can operate and maintain. In their simplest form,
through sediment to the point of abstraction. Silt and while still ensuring a protected water supply,
clay create an impenetrable barrier to an abstraction buckets are quite adequate for drawing water.
system, and thus sand abstraction in such conditions 2. Sand-abstraction sites can be identified by villagers,
is not an appropriate option. The ideal situation is a whereas groundwater sources generally require
slow-flowing, wide river that has deep, coarse sediment. either a geophysical survey or dowsing. A greater
The ideal site is above a natural rock barrier or in a sense of ownership and responsibility is thus
depression of the riverbed (typically, a former pool), which promoted by sand-abstraction schemes.
is continually recharged by water percolating from an 3. Many groundwater sources are deep and beyond the
expanse of sand above. capacity of village people to operate and maintain.
The system can be made to work on smaller rivers that Boreholes are expensive to drill and can seldom
contain coarse-grained sand by constructing a subsurface be undertaken by rural communities on their own.
dam to retain sediment. This consists of a barrier to retain In many areas, the aquifers are small and are
the water in the sediment. It is constructed across the river quickly overabstracted, resulting in blocked fissures
from the riverbed to the surface of the river sediment. A and ultimately dry boreholes or wells. Boreholes
further possibility is a sand dam that is an impoundment, and wells in sandstone localities are prone to
generally a weir, constructed to raise the level of river collapse or become completely blocked by fine
sediment. The impoundment is designed to silt up over sediment that slowly percolates into the borehole
several years; the entire length of the wall is raised by and granite areas.
only some 0.3 to 0.5 meters a year. Coarse-grained sand 4. Small-scale units that can be managed by a Village
is impounded and the finer silt is washed out of the weir Water Committee are a very practical option,
each year. Water can be abstracted from these dams as especially in the Southern Hemisphere, considering
through any other sand-abstraction system. the large number of possible sand-filled river sites.
5. In some rivers, there is a possibility that flooding
GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT will wash the well point (abstraction point) away.
A further complication is that silt layers can move
Suitable ephemeral rivers are extensive in much of through the river sand and clog installations. Only
southern Africa, parts of east Africa, the Sahel, the practical experience can rule out these possibilities.
Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, the Southeast
United States, parts of Mexico, and parts of Latin America METHODS OF ABSTRACTING WATER FROM SAND
and Australia. The technology of sand abstraction is
particularly used in these arid and semiarid areas: There are several systems of sand abstraction that have
been developed over the years. Each depends on equipment
southern Africa—South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, that can be installed into the water-bearing river sand
Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia; and at all times remain in free moving water. Schemes
east Africa—Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia. range in size from small-scale, hand-operated supplies
right through to large-scale mechanized (diesel or electric-
WATER QUALITY powered) irrigation schemes on large rivers (Figs. 4 and 5).
Well Screens
Unlike groundwater supplies, where water may be
contaminated with mineral salts, water obtained from Well points or well screens, whose slots are generally 0.5,
sand-abstraction sources is generally not tainted. Surface 1.0, or 1.5 mm wide, prevent entry of river sand into the
water supplies are very quickly contaminated by livestock
that wade, urinate, and defecate in the water. Surface
water should, therefore, not be considered fit for human
consumption without treatment. Where extensive sands
exist, the entire waterway acts as an enormous sand filter
bed for a sand-abstraction system. Water drawn from
a properly constructed scheme may thus be considered
potable and require no treatment. However, unprotected
sites can become clogged with deposits of clay or fouled
with livestock droppings.
SUSTAINABILITY—VILLAGE-LEVEL OPERATION AND

MAINTENANCE
1. Sand-abstraction systems draw water from river

sands, and thus they are typically shallow water
sources requiring only simple hand pumps, which
communities that have few tools and little expertise Figure 4. Small-scale, hand pump sand-abstraction scheme.
Figure 6. Well points suitable for small-scale sand-abstraction

system.
Figure 5. Submersible pumps drawing water for a commercial

irrigation scheme from the sand of the Limpopo River in the
background.
‘manifold’ (a large diameter pipe) is laid on the water-
bearing sand. Well points are installed at an angle into
the sand and connected alternately at each side of the
pump system. Slot size is selected in accordance with the
manifold. The manifold is connected to a suction pump on
coarseness of the river sand so that sand whose grain
the riverbank. The number of well points, manifold size,
size is a diameter greater than the slot is prevented from
and piping to the riverbank are calculated according to the
entering. Smaller sand is initially drawn through the slots
velocity of water required in different parts of the system
but coarser sand quickly collects around the immediate
and on the quantity of water required. This is probably
screen and then blocks the entry of finer sand; thus a
the most common system presently used, and, in general,
natural graded filter is developed around the well point.
all necessary materials are readily available.
One or more well screens are connected to a suction
pump on the river bank. Installations are done either
when the river water is at its lowest level so that the well Infiltration Galleries
screen can be dug into the sand, or when the river sand is
saturated with water to full depth. Well screens can then Many original sand-abstraction installations were gravity
be pushed, or ‘jetted,’ into the lower levels of sand in an supply systems and consisted of a number of intercon-
artificial ‘quicksand’ condition, caused by a water jet from nected well points. Sand had to be kept out of the pipes so
a motorized centrifugal pump. This system of installation that water could run in and flow to a sump or false well on
is relatively technically complex and depends on materials the riverbank from where it could be pumped out. Modern
and equipment not readily available (Fig. 6). synthetic materials have recently improved the potential
of this system; before they were introduced, it was difficult
to keep sand out. However, it is still difficult to ensure
Manifold and Well Points
that the pipe system is sufficiently deep in the sand to
This system depends on low velocity of water at the point keep it in water year-round. Further, it necessitates a lot
of abstraction, sufficient to draw off water without drawing of digging into the riverbank. It is relatively inexpensive
sand into the system. It is best installed toward the end of and does not require complex equipment or expertise to
the dry season when the river water level is at its lowest. operate or maintain. A windlass or basic hand pump can
River sand is removed to the water-bearing level and a be used to draw water.
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT 417
Caisson erosion) and overland flow on bare soils or land without

dense vegetative cover to protect soils. It may be checked
Water is abstracted through the slotted base of a large
on farm soils by such farm management practices as
(1.0 to 1.5 m diameter) flat cylindrical or slightly conical
contour plowing, crop rotation, and mulching. Accelerated
‘caisson’ connected by pipes to a suction pump on the
erosion is the speeding up of erosive processes, such
riverbank. The ‘caisson’ is dug into river sand as deeply as
as deforestation, overgrazing, and construction, either
possible, and as the water level drops during the season, it
directly or indirectly, by the intervention of humans. Its
is lowered to keep it in water continually. As in any of the
most obvious effects can be seen in the alteration of a river’s
systems, the installation is complete once a level has been
regime by improper land use or by human intervention into
reached that remains in water year-round. This system
the catchment area. Other important sediment sources
is more awkward due to the continual redigging and
are deposits of mass wasting phenomena, driven by
lowering, but once at its lowest point, can be used where
gravity, such as rockfalls, rockslides, landslides, debris
silt tends to accumulate because of the large surface area
flows, and mudflows, exposed to fluvial processes of
for abstraction. However, slow recharge through the silt to
erosion, transportation, and sedimentation. The subjects of
the abstraction zone can significantly impede abstraction.
these processes are fluvial sediments—solid particles and
particles of rock material that have been transported from
COST-EFFECTIVENESS their sources and deposited elsewhere by flowing water.
A sediment particle is a solid particle, which settles after
Small-Scale Schemes being suspended in a fluid, but the term usually includes
all detritus produced by erosion processes and deposited
Small sand-abstraction installations do not require any by fluvial, lacustrine, marine, glacial, and aeolian agencies
complex machinery such as tractors, graders, drilling rigs, in the process of sedimentation. The term fluvial sediment
or welders. People at the village level can undertake the is usually reserved for unconsolidated material found in a
installations themselves using primarily locally available fluvial system.
equipment. Well points can be easily fabricated in PVC or
steel and either jetted, driven, or dug into the saturated
sediment. Water can then be abstracted with basic low- PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
tech pumps that do not require expensive operation and
Sediment transport involves the two-phase flow of a
maintenance.
water–sediment mixture. The most important physical
properties of water as a nearly incompressible fluid are
Commercial Schemes
the mass density of the fluid (mass of fluid per unit
Some heavy machinery is needed for initial preparation volume), the specific weight of the fluid (fluid weight per
of the river. However, overall, there is less material to unit volume of fluid), the dynamic viscosity (proportional
be removed when installing sand-abstraction well points factor between the shear stress causing fluid deformation
or infiltration galleries than in the constructing an earth and the deformation rate), and the kinematic viscosity (the
embankment dam. Pumps that would typically be used to dynamic viscosity of a fluid divided by the mass density
draw water from a dam or aquifer-based irrigation scheme of the same fluid). Both the density and the viscosity of
may also be used in systems based on sand abstraction. water decrease as the temperature increases.
The most important physical properties of sediments
as a solid phase can be divided into
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
— the properties of a single sediment particle: the
MATJAZ MIKOS mass density of solid particles (the mass per
University of Ljubljana unit volume), the specific weight of solid particles
Ljubljana, Slovenia (the solid weight per unit volume of solid),
the submerged specific weight of a particle (the
difference between the specific weights of solid
SEDIMENT SOURCE AREAS particles and water), the specific gravity (the
dimensionless ratio of the specific weight of a
Sediment transport is a natural process of transporting solid particle to the specific weight of a fluid at
solid particles called sediments from erosion sources a standard reference temperature), the sediment
to deposition or sedimentation areas. This process has size (e.g., sieve diameter, fall diameter, nominal
been shaping landscapes throughout geological time. diameter), the sediment shape (different shape
Sediments, sedimentary rocks, and the process by factors and indexes, e.g., sphericity), and the
which they were formed are scientifically studied by sediment roundness (different indexes using the
sedimentology. sharpness of the edges or corners of a particle to
One important source of sediments is soil erosion. classify particles from angular to rounded);
Geologic soil erosion occurs as surface removal of farm, — the bulk properties of sediments: the particle size
forest, and other erodible soils in the form of sheet erosion, frequency distribution (measured by wet or dry
interrill and rill erosion, gully erosion or deflation, mainly sieving equipment such as mechanical shakers
caused by impacts of raindrops (splash erosion, rain or sedimentation tubes and represented as a
418 SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
histogram or a cumulative curve) and corresponding or a completely rough regime. Typically, gravel-bed rivers
particle size parameters (mean, median, mode, fall within the completely rough regime, and sand-bed
sorting, skewness, kurtosis), the angle of repose rivers fall within the transition and partially hydrauli-
(usually given as the slope angle of a cone of cally smooth regime. Shear velocity appears in both the
submerged loose material under incipient sliding Shields parameter and the shear velocity Reynolds num-
conditions), the porosity (the volume of voids per ber, so it is possible to define the Shields diagram using
total volume), the void ratio (the volume of voids per the dimensionless particle diameter as an abscissa. For
volume of solid), the unit weight (the weight of solid hydraulically rough turbulent flows, the critical shear
and water in voids per unit volume), and the dry stress becomes linearly proportional to sediment size.
unit weight (the weight of solid per unit volume). A velocity approach equivalent to the Shields approach
defines the relationship between critical flow velocities
The most important physical properties of a water- and the mean sediment size in the form of a diagram (e.g.,
sediment mixture are the specific weight of the mixture Hjulstrom diagram) or defines the relationship between
(the total weight of solid and water in voids per unit dimensionless critical average flow velocity (expressing the
volume), the specific mass of a mixture (the total mass of ratio between the average critical flow velocity at incipient
solid and water in voids per unit volume), the volumetric motion and the sediment fall velocity in clear water) and
sediment concentration (the volume of solids divided by the shear velocity Reynolds number (Yang criterion).
the total volume), the dynamic viscosity of a mixture The probabilistic approach to incipient motion (pro-
(a function of the dynamic viscosity of water and the posed by Gessler), gives the mean condition that there is
volumetric sediment concentration), and the kinematic a 50% chance for a given sediment to move under speci-
viscosity of a mixture (the dynamic viscosity of a mixture fied flow conditions (turbulence fluctuations) and sediment
divided by the mass density of the same mixture). conditions (particle position, orientation, and protrusion
into the flow with respect to particles of different sizes and
to bed forms).
INCIPIENT MOTION
Due to the stochastic nature of sediment transport, MOVEMENT OF FLUVIAL SEDIMENTS

it is difficult to define precisely the flow condition at
which a sediment particle will begin to move. Fluid When flow conditions exceed the criteria for incipient
flow around sediment particles resting on the bottom motion, sediment particles on a streambed start to move.
of the flow exerts forces that tend to initiate motion. Once a sediment particle in a stream is in motion, the
The resisting force of noncohesive sediment relates to applied hydraulic load governs the mode of its motion.
submerged particle weight. Threshold conditions occur Generally, there are two modes of motion: near or on the
when the hydrodynamic overturning moment of forces streambed and in suspension.
acting on a single particle exceeds the resisting moment. Sediment that moves near or on the streambed is
Then the particle is in incipient motion, thus defining called bed load transport. Bed load can sometimes be
the threshold condition for sediment transport. The divided into contact load, composed of particles rolling,
hydrodynamic forces acting on a noncohesive sediment sliding, or pushing, and saltating load, composed of
particle are the submerged particle weight, the lift force, particles bouncing, hopping, or jumping. The size of the
the drag force, and the resistance force. Most incipient particles that can be transported by saltation is usually
motion criteria are derived from either the shear stress correlated with the flow velocity and water density. The
or the velocity approach. Because of the stochastic nature bed load, the amount of solid material carried on or near
of sediment transport, probabilistic approaches have also a streambed, usually amounts to less than 10% of the
been introduced. total sediment transported in large alluvial rivers. In
The well-known Shields shear stress approach deter- mountain rivers and steep high-gradient streams, the
mines the threshold condition from the shear stress, major part of the total load may actually be bed load due
the submerged specific weight of the particle, the par- to numerous mass-movement processes in the watershed
ticle diameter, the kinematic viscosity, and gravitational and in-channel erosion of deposited fluvial sediments, such
acceleration. These factors are grouped into two dimen- as in pools. Under fully developed sediment transport
sionless quantities: the dimensionless shear stress called conditions, there is a steady exchange between bed load
the Shields parameter (relating the shear stress and and suspended load.
the submerged weight of a sediment particle), and the Suspended load refers to sediment that stays in
shear velocity Reynolds number (expressing the ratio of suspension for an appreciable length of time. In most
sediment size to the laminar sublayer thickness). The natural streams, sediments are mainly transported as
threshold of motion for granular material of uniform size suspended load. Discharge-weighted total suspended
depends on whether laminar or turbulent flow condi- solids concentrations range from practically 0 mg L−1
tions prevail around the sediment particle; it is given (clear water) during low flows in mountain environments
in the form of a Shields diagram showing an experimen- to several kg L−1 during high flows in the form of
tally determined relationship between both dimensionless hyperconcentrated flows, which typically occur in tropical
quantities at the threshold condition. The value of the crit- regions and in loess or volcanic ashes.
ical Shields parameter depends on whether the boundary Based on the modes of sediment transport, the total
is in a hydraulically smooth regime, a transition regime, load is the sum of the bed load and the suspended load.
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT 419
Based on the source of material transported, the total may carry a large quantity of small particles in suspension,
load can also be classified as the sum of the bed-material and although its (suspended) transport capacity is high, its
load and the wash load. The wash load consists of fine flow competence is small. Conversely, a small but rapidly
materials that are finer than those found in the streambed. flowing stream can move relatively large particles (i.e., it
The amount of wash load depends mainly on the supply has a high flow competence) although its transport (bed
from the watershed, not on the hydraulics of a stream. load and suspended load) capacity is small because of its
Consequently, it is difficult to predict the wash load based limited water discharge.
on the hydraulic characteristics of a stream. Sediment yield is defined as the mean sediment load
An important part of a lowland stream’s load may also (total sediment discharge) carried by a stream per unit
be a dissolved load carried in solution. The proportion area of the catchment area; it gives some measure of
varies according to the climate, the chemical nature of the rate of erosion in a drainage basin in addition to
the rocks, and the proportion of runoff contributing to the transport capacity of the stream itself. To establish
the stream flow in relation to the amount of groundwater the sediment budget of a catchment area, knowledge of
flow. The quantity of dissolved solids is given by the total sediment production in sediment source areas as well as
concentration of dissolved material in water, measured by sediment yield and sediment transport capacity of streams
complete evaporation of a given quantity of water. The is important.
parameter is of use in any examination of the rate of
chemical denudation and of the dissolved load of streams.
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT FUNCTIONS
Discharge-weighted total dissolved solids concentrations
range from 5000 mg L−1 in arid saline environments to
Sediment transport is the mass transfer of solids by
5 mg L−1 in tropical rainforest regions.
flowing water. Its mathematical representation in the
form of a transport function needs the determination of
TRANSPORT CAPACITY OF STREAMS sediment transport rates, given as the mass or weight of
solids (sediment particles) transported through a cross
The ability of a stream to transport sediment, as measured section of a stream per unit time. Specific sediment
by the maximum quantity (mass or volume) of sediment transport rates are often given only per unit bed width
that can be carried past a specific point in the stream to be then multiplied by the active streambed width.
in a given unit of time is called transport capacity. Some of the classical formulas for estimating sediment
The transport capacity increases as the water discharge transport rates were derived mainly for bed load,
becomes greater or the stream gradient becomes steeper, neglecting suspended load. In the way they approach the
and decreases, as the particle size of the sediment becomes relation between water discharge and bed load discharge,
larger. Stream transport capacity is a function of bed these bed load formulas can be divided into groups that
width; for a given water discharge and gradient, the flow use shear stresses, energy slope, water discharge, bed
velocity near the streambed is lower in a wide, shallow forms, probability—turbulent flow fluctuations, stochastic
stream than in a narrow, deep one. modeling of single particle step lengths and rest periods,
The sediment discharge ratio in a stream is the regression of laboratory data, and the equal mobility
ratio between the sediment discharge and the water hypothesis as a basis for estimating bed load rates.
discharge. When defining sediment discharge, the total The starting point for suspended load equations is
solid transport in a stream through its cross section is the vertical distribution of time-averaged velocities and
taken regardless of the mode of sediment motion. The sediment concentrations at given hydraulic conditions.
sediment-rating curve is then an empirical expression of It can be obtained from the exchange theory that
the relationship between the stream water discharge and states that under steady-state equilibrium conditions,
the stream sediment discharge at a given point. It is the downward flux of sediment due to the fall velocity
shown as an equation where the sediment discharge is must be balanced by the net upward flux of sediment due
defined as the water discharge multiplied by the mean to turbulent fluctuations. To obtain the suspended load
sediment concentration and can then be written as a in many such transport functions, one should know the
potential function of water discharge. suspended sediment concentration at some distance above
Flow competence is a term that is used in fluvial the streambed.
geomorphology and hydrology to indicate the ability of Most total load equations are actually total bed-
a stream to move particles of a particular size as bed load. material load equations. In the comparison between
It refers to the largest particle size that can be carried by computed and measured total bed-material load, wash
a particular stream velocity. The largest particle that can load should be subtracted from the measurement before
be transported increases generally as a high (e.g., sixth) the comparison in most cases. There are two general
power of the stream velocity. The stream flow velocity at approaches to determining total load. The first is to
the bed is controlled by such factors as stream gradient compute bed load and suspended load separately and
and hydraulic radius. At equal water depth and gradient, then add them together to obtain total load. The second
near-bed flow velocity is higher in a wide shallow stream, is to determine the total load function directly without
where the hydraulic radius is practically the same as the dividing it into bed load and suspended load. A sediment
average water depth, than in a narrow deep one, where, particle may be transported as bed load at one time and
on the contrary, the hydraulic radius is much less than the as suspended load at another time or location. Except
average water depth. But a large, slowly moving stream for coarse materials, which are mainly transported as
420 SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
bed load, total bed-material load equations should be The armoring process can be combined with incipient
used for determining sediment transport capacity in motion criteria to compute the extent of stream degrada-
natural streams. tion. When there is not enough coarse material to develop
an armor layer, degradation can be computed using the
stable slope approach. This method computes the volume
STREAM AGGRADATION AND DEGRADATION
of eroded material in a given stream reach due to limited
sediment supply. The limiting slope or final stable slope of
Sediment transport is a process that interrelates erosion
the stream can be computed using a sediment transport
and sedimentation. When the rate of sediment supply from
equation. When there is downstream bedrock or other type
upstream is higher than a stream’s sediment transport
of fixed control in the stream, the limiting slope will start
capacity, the streambed will start to aggrade at a rate
at that point and extend in the upstream direction.
defined by the difference between the rate of sediment
supply and the sediment transport rate of the stream. The
flow in the stream will be saturated with sediment, its DOWNSTREAM FINING IN STREAMS
transport capacity fully used. But if a stream’s sediment
transport capacity exceeds the rate of sediment supply Sediment transport is definitely selective in many ways
from upstream, the balance of sediment load has to come and thus is interrelated to sorting processes. Generally,
from the channel itself. In this case, the channel starts sorting is defined as a process by which materials are
to degrade. graded according to one of their particular attributes,
The particle size distribution of the bed material on a such as shape, size, and density. In sedimentology, the
streambed generally depends on the magnitude of the natural sorting of sediments by particle size is a basis for
applied hydraulic loads in relation to the mobility of classification into well sorted or poorly sorted deposits.
sediment particles of different sizes. In natural gravel- Sediments that have been repeatedly reworked by marine
bed and sand-bed rivers, size nonuniformity of fluvial waves or have traveled a long distance downstream in a
sediments is rather a general rule. The applied hydraulic fluvial system are usually well sorted into different-sized
load expressed as the applied shear stress can move none particles, because different particle sizes have different
of the particles (zero sediment transport, no motion), settling velocities. In general, sediments transported by
finer and more exposed particles only (weak sediment glaciers and mass movement are poorly sorted. Fluvial
transport, partial motion), or all particles (fully developed sediments tend to be well sorted.
sediment transport, full motion). It is normally observed Sorting processes in a stream can be observed in
that without motion of finer particles, the streambed three directions: laterally (e.g., differences between coarser
surface is composed of the original bed material. Due to sediments in the thalweg and finer sediments on a bar),
motion of finer particles at a hydraulic load not sufficiently vertically (e.g., differences between coarser armor layer
high to displace coarser particles and because of the and finer sublayers), and longitudinally (downstream
nonuniformity of the bed-material size, finer material is decrease of mean sediment size due to decreasing
transported at a faster rate than coarser material, and flow competence).
the remaining bed material on the bed surface becomes The abrasion of fluvial sediments covers attrition
coarser. The bed load fractions are finer than those of processes during passive and active phases of sediment
the bed surface. This stage of the sediment transport transport, such as breakage, chipping, wearing, and
is called the selective transport phase. The transition grinding. Consequently, fluvial sediments change their
between the zero sediment transport stage and the weak particle size distribution as sediment particles are size-
sediment transport stage is smooth. This coarsening dependently reduced in size and their roundness generally
process (vertical sorting) on the streambed stops once increases. Only breakage, more common in steep high-
a layer of coarse material completely covers the streambed gradient streams or bedrock reaches, will increase the
and protects the finer materials beneath it from being angularity of sediment particles.
transported. After this process is completed, the streambed Downstream fining is a process in natural streams that
is armored; the coarser layer is called an armor layer. Due describes an approximately exponential decrease in mean
to the variation in the flow condition of a natural stream sediment size under ideal conditions. It covers sorting
(flood waves), usually more than one layer of armoring processes and fluvial abrasion, as well as in situ processes
material is required to protect finer material beneath it such as chemical or frost weathering of temporarily
from being eroded. When the applied hydraulic load is stored but exposed fluvial sediments, for example, on
large enough to break the coarse armor layer, the finer a bar. Generally, sorting is the prevailing process
particles are no longer shielded by stable coarser particles. responsible for fining; especially in specific situations as
All available particles of all sizes enter into motion and when a gravel-bed river suddenly turns into a sand-bed
are found as bed load, as soon as the applied hydraulic river. Abrasion generally prevails in steep high-gradient
load exceeds the threshold of motion of coarser particles. streams, where flow competence is high and sorting is
This concept is referred to as the equal-mobility concept thus less pronounced. The exponential decrease is often
for which all fractions of sediment enter into motion at disrupted in sedimentary links, where fresh sediments
the same value of applied shear stress. When the armor from tributaries flow laterally into a stream. When
layer breaks, the transition between the weak sediment sediment transport over longer reaches of a stream is
transport stage and the fully developed sediment transport to be modeled, sorting processes and fluvial abrasion of
stage is rather sharp. sediment particles should therefore be accounted for.
STOCHASTIC SIMULATION OF HYDROSYSTEMS 421
MODELING OF SEDIMENT TRANSPORT Graf, W. (1998). Fluvial Hydraulics—Flow and Transport

Processes in Channels of Simple Geometry. John Wiley,
Chichester, UK.
On one hand, the problem can be studied practically
Raudkivi, A.J. (1998). Loose Boundary Hydraulics. A. A. Balkema,
in the field by observing and measuring most relevant
Rotterdam, CO.
process parameters or in a laboratory using physical
Simons, D.B. and Sentürk, F. (1992). Sediment Transport Tech-
(hydraulic) modeling. On the other hand, it can be studied
nology—Water and Sediment Dynamics. Water Resources Pub-
theoretically using numerical modeling and also using lications, Littleton, CO.
appropriate field and laboratory data for model validation.
Van Rijn, L.C. (1993). Principles of Sediment Transport in Rivers,
Sediment transport can be thus defined as a natural Estuaries and Coastal Seas. Aqua Publications, Amsterdam.
process manifesting in sediment-laden flows, and it is
Wohl, E. (2000). Mountain Rivers, Water Resources Monograph
usually studied as part of applied mechanics (e.g., river 14. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.
mechanics) or river (loose boundary) hydraulics. The main
Yalin, M.S. (1992). River Mechanics. Pergamon Press, Oxford,
problem to be solved is to establish functional relationships UK.
that relate hydrodynamics (water movement) to sediment
Yang, C.T. (1996). Sediment Transport—Theory and Practice.
movement or vice versa. McGraw-Hill, New York.
For sediment-laden flow, three types of movement can
be differentiated:
STOCHASTIC SIMULATION OF
— the mixture may be considered a Newtonian fluid HYDROSYSTEMS
(the volumetric concentration of solids is very small,
e.g., less than 1%)—typically sediment transport in DEMETRIS KOUTSOYIANNIS
streams and rivers falls into this category; National Technical University
— the mixture behaves as a quasi-Newtonian fluid (the Athens, Greece
volumetric concentration of solids remains small,
e.g., less than 8–10%)—typically turbidity currents INTRODUCTION
and concentrated suspension fall into this category; Simulation is defined as a technique for imitating the evo-
— the mixture behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid lution of a real system by studying a model of the system.
(the volumetric concentration of solids becomes The model is an abstraction, a simplified and convenient
important, e.g., more than 8–10%)—typically mathematical representation of the actual system, typi-
hyperconcentrated flows (turbidity currents and cally coded and run as a computer program. If the model
suspensions) and debris flow fall into this category. has a stochastic1 element, then we have stochastic simu-
lation. The term stochastic simulation sometimes is used
At low sediment concentration and low deformation rates, synonymously with the Monte-Carlo method.
sediment-laden flow obeys Newton’s law of deformation. Stochastic simulation is regarded as mathematical
The governing equations of motion are the continuity experimentation and is appropriate for complex systems,
and the dynamic equations. These equations can be whose study based on analytical methods is laborious or
given in different coordinate systems, such as Cartesian, even impossible. For such systems, stochastic simulation
cylindrical, or spherical, in one, two, or three dimensions. provides an easy means to explore their behavior by
Modern mathematical models are two- or three- answering specific ‘what if’ questions. Moreover, stochastic
dimensional models, which can be divided into two groups: simulation can be viewed as a numerical method for
coupled and uncoupled models. Coupled models solve solving mathematical problems in several fields such as
the governing equations for continuity (mass-balance) statistical inference, optimization, integration, and even
and dynamics (momentum-balance) of two-phase flow equation solving. Under certain conditions, stochastic
simultaneously; uncoupled models solve hydrodynamic simulation is more powerful than other more common
equations separately from the sedimentologic equations. numerical methods (e.g., numerical integration of high-
An important advantage of coupled models is that they can dimensional differential equations).
handle intensive unsteady-state processes, such as river 1
The term stochastic is etymologized from the Greek verb
changes during a dam break or flash flood waves. Sediment σ τ oχ άζ oµαι initially meaning to aim, point, or shoot (an arrow)
transport numerical models can predict morphological at a target (σ τ óχoς is a target). Metaphorically, the verb meant
changes and help river engineers to take appropriate to guess or to conjecture (the target). The modern Greek meaning
measures. Contemporary numerical models use computer is to imagine, to think, to meditate. It appears that the word
power extensively to account for nonuniformity of fluvial stochastic is found in English since the seventeenth century, and
sediments when developing fractional models rather than the obsolete meaning pertains to conjecture. Its use as a scientific
term is attributed to the Swiss mathematician Jakob Bernoulli
using different mean diameters of sediment.
(1654–1705), who in his famous masterpiece Ars Conjectandi
realized that randomness and uncertainty are important aspects
of our world and should be objects of scientific analysis. In
READING LIST its modern sense, stochastic can be regarded as synonymous
with random or probabilistic, but it is mostly used for processes
Chien, N. and Wan, Z. (1999). Mechanics of Sediment Transport. that indicate a mixture of structure and randomness; the term
ASCE Press, Reston, VA. stochastic process was used in 1932 by A. N. Kolmogorov.
422 STOCHASTIC SIMULATION OF HYDROSYSTEMS
Due to their complexity, hydrosystems, including for generating flows correlated in time, and Beard (8)
water resource systems, flood management systems, and Matalas (9) for generating concurrent flows at sev-
and hydropower systems, are frequently studied using eral sites.
stochastic simulation. A generalized solution procedure The classic book on time series analysis by Box and
for hydrosystems problems, including systems identifica- Jenkins (10) also originated from different, more fun-
tion, modeling and forecasting, hydrologic design, water damental scientific fields. However, it has subsequently
resources management, and flood management, is dis- become very popular in stochastic hydrology. Box and
cussed. Emphasis is given on the stochastic representation Jenkins developed a classification scheme for a large fam-
of hydrologic processes, which have a dominant role ily of time series models. Their classification distinguishes
in hydrosystems. Peculiarities of hydrologic and other among autoregressive models of order p [AR(p)]; moving
geophysical processes (seasonality, long-term persistence, average models of order q [MA(q)]; combinations of the
intermittency, skewness, spatial variability) gave rise to two, called autoregressive-moving average [ARMA(p, q)]
substantial research that resulted in numerous stochastic models; and autoregressive integrated moving average
tools appropriate for applications in hydrosystems. Four [ARIMA(p, d, q)] models. However, despite a large fam-
examples of such tools are discussed: (1) the multivari- ily, Box-Jenkins models do not fully cover the needs of
ate periodic autoregressive model of order 1 [PAR(1)], hydrologic modeling, as they do not comply with some
which reproduces seasonality and skewness but not long- peculiarities of hydrologic and other geophysical processes.
term persistence; (2) a generalized multivariate stationary This gave rise to substantial research that resulted in
model that reproduces all kinds of persistence and simul- numerous stochastic tools appropriate for application to
taneously skewness but not seasonality; (3) a combination water resources.
of the previous two cases in a multivariate disaggrega-
tion framework that can respect almost all peculiarities
except intermittency; and (4) the Bartlett-Lewis process UTILITY OF STOCHASTIC SIMULATION IN
that is appropriate for modeling rainfall and emphasizes HYDROSYSTEMS
its intermittent character on a fine time scale.
Due to the significant uncertainties inherent in hydrosys-
tems, among which the major uncertainty is hydrologic
A BRIEF HISTORY uncertainty (related to the unknown future of inflows to
hydrosystems), an estimate of a system’s reliability is
Synthetic stream-flow records were first used early
important for its design and operation. The reliability of
in the twentieth century by Hazen (1) in studies of
a system is defined as the probability that a system will
water supply reliability. Their construction, however,
perform the required function for a specified period of
was not based on the theory of stochastic processes,
time under stated conditions (11, p. 434). Reliability is
then not developed, but on merging and rescaling
the complement of the probability of failure or risk, the
observed records of several streams. This early work
probability that ‘‘loading’’ will exceed ‘‘capacity.’’ In many
emphasizes the need for long synthetic records and the
instances, the risk can be estimated by analytical means,
importance of simulation in water resources technology.
so stochastic simulation is not required. For example, in
The foundation of stochastic hydrology followed the
the design of dikes that confine a river’s flow, the risk of
significant developments in mathematics and physics in
overtopping dikes can be estimated in a typical probabilis-
the 1940s, as well as the development of computers.
tic manner, provided that a long enough record of floods of
Specifically, it followed the establishment of the Monte
the river exists (some decades). The estimating procedure
Carlo method, which was invented by Stanislaw Ulam in
includes selecting a probabilistic model (e.g., an extreme
1946. Notably, Ulam conceived the method while playing
value distribution function), fitting the model based on
solitaire during convalescence from an illness, in an
the available record, and estimating the probability that
attempt to estimate the probabilities of success of the
a flood will exceed the discharge capacity of the designed
plays. As Ulam describes the story in some remarks later
river cross section (the estimate of the latter is a matter of
published by Eckhardt (2), ‘‘After spending a lot of time
hydraulics). Behind this procedure, there are two implicit
to estimate them by pure combinatorial calculations, I
assumptions that make the methodology appropriate for
wondered whether a more practical method than ‘abstract
this problem:
thinking’ might not be to lay it out say one hundred
times and simply observe and count the number of
successful plays.’’ Soon after, the method grew to solve 1. The project under study (the dikes) does not modify
neutron diffusion problems by himself and other great the natural flow regime, so that if the project had
mathematicians and physicists in Los Alamos (John von been constructed many years before, the observed
Neumann, Nicholas Metropolis, and Enrico Fermi), and flow record would not be altered. Thus, the assumed
was first implemented on the ENIAC computer (2,3). The probabilistic model, although fitted to past data, is
‘official’ history of the method began in 1949 when a paper still valid after construction of the project.
was published by Metropolis and Ulam (4). 2. The quantity (flood discharge) whose exceedance was
In the field of water resources, the most significant assumed to be the risk is the same quantity, for
initial steps were the works by Barnes (5) for gener- which we have observed data. Thus, the probabilistic
ating uncorrelated annual flows at a site from normal model that was constructed for this quantity can
distribution, Maass et al. (6) and Thomas and Fiering (7) yield the risk directly.
In many cases, however, these assumptions are not as required and of any arbitrary length. The utility
valid. Let us first examine the case where assumption 2 of a long time series becomes obvious in steady-state
is untrue. For example, we may have available rainfall simulations (12, p. 1220), when estimating a low value
data, from which we can construct a probabilistic model of the probability of failure (risk). For example, in a
for extreme rainfall intensity, and wish to estimate problem where the accepted probability of failure is 1% per
the probability of exceeding the flood discharge. In year, apparently several hundreds of simulated years are
this case, we can use a simple one-to-one mapping needed to detect a few failures. The utility of ensemble time
(transformation) of rainfall to discharge values (e.g., to series (as opposed to the unique observed record) becomes
adopt the relation known as the rational formula), so obvious in nonsteady-state problems (i.e., in terminating
that the risk of exceeding a certain discharge level simulations) and in forecast problems in which the initial
equals the risk of exceeding the corresponding rainfall conditions (present and past values of the processes of
level. This methodology usually incorporates serious interest) are known. In these cases, stochastic simulation
oversimplifications and ignorance of certain factors that offers the possibility of different sample paths of the
affect the actual hydrologic process (e.g., retention and quantity of interest, instead of having a single value at
infiltration). A more realistic methodology is to use a more a time, so that we can estimate expected values and
detailed model that transforms a rainfall series (not each confidence zones.
isolated value) into a discharge series, also considering all
processes involved in this transformation. In this case, we COMPONENTS AND SOLUTION PROCEDURE OF
can use simulation to obtain a discharge series. STOCHASTIC SIMULATION
Assumption 1 can be untrue in many cases as well.
For example, constructing a dam will alter the flood The components and the steps followed in the stochastic
regime at the dam and downstream, as the spillway simulation of a hydrosystem are shown in Fig. 1. The
outflow does not equal the natural inflow (attenuation entire procedure includes two main model components
occurs due to temporal flood storage). The construction (marked 1 and 2 in Fig. 1) and two simpler procedures
of a storm sewer will also modify the contributing areas (marked 3 and 4 in Fig. 1). The first model component
and flow times in the area (in addition, it is impossible is the stochastic model of inputs, which produces a vector
to have observed data for the sewer discharge in its X(µ, ω) of hydrological inputs (e.g., a time series of rainfall,
design phase). Another typical example is a reservoir (see evaporation, and river flow, depending on the problem
the entry RELIABILITY CONCEPTS IN RESERVOIR DESIGN), whose studied) to the hydrosystem, where µ is a vector that
storage (a quantity that determines the risk, which is the contains the parameters of hydrologic inputs (all estimated
probability of emptying the reservoir) did not exist before from the available records of observations) and ω denotes
the construction of the reservoir. Obviously, in all these a sample path realization of the random variables (i.e., ω
cases where assumption 1 is not valid, assumption 2 is can be thought of as representing the randomness in the
also not valid. Thus, we will proceed as in the previous system, e.g., all random numbers in a simulation run). At a
paragraph where simulation is the most appropriate minimal configuration, the vector of parameters µ includes
procedure for obtaining a series of data values for the mean values, standard deviations, autocorrelations (at
quantity of interest. least for lag one), and cross-correlations (for multiple-
Even in an existing project (e.g., an existing reservoir), site models).
where the quantity of interest can be measured directly The second component is the transformation model
to obtain a historical record, simulation may be necessary which takes the inputs X(µ, ω) and produces the outputs
again to assess the impacts of several possible changes Z(X(µ, ω), λ) (e.g., river flow, if X is rainfall and
in the future that were not experienced in the past. For evaporation, or reservoir release and storage, if X is
example, a change in water use (e.g., an increase in water river flow); here the vector λ contains parameters of the
demand) and a change in land use or climate, which alters transformation model (e.g., parameters that determine
water availability, calls for simulation to estimate a series the hydrologic cycle in a basin and/or parameters that
for the quantity of interest in the scenario examined. determine the operation of a specific project such as
The previous discussion explains why in most studies a reservoir).
of hydrosystems (except cases where both assumptions The third component is a procedure that takes
listed previously are valid), it is necessary to simulate to the outputs Z(X(µ, ω), λ) and determines a sample
transform some input time series of initial quantities into performance measure L((Z(X(µ, ω), λ)) of the system that
some output time series of the final quantities of interest. corresponds to the sample realization represented by
By grace of the power of computers, the simulation ω. This performance measure depends on the problem
methodology has greatly replaced older methodologies examined; for instance, in a flood design problem, it can be
that used simplified one-to-one transformations. But why the risk of exceeding a specified flood level; in a reservoir
should simulation be stochastic? design problem, it can be either the risk of emptying a
In stochastic simulation, the input time series are no reservoir or the attained release for a stated reliability.
longer the observed records but synthetic time series By repeating the execution of these three components
constructed by an appropriate stochastic model. An using different simulation runs, represented by different
observed time series is unique and has a limited length ω, we can obtain an ensemble of simulations and a sample
equal to the period of observations. On the contrary, of performance measures, from which we can estimate
a stochastic model can produce as many time series the true (independent of ω) performance measure of the
Parameters of Parameters of
hydrologic transformation
Randomness, w inputs, m model, l
Parameter space, q
1. Stochastic model of inputs (stochastic hydrologic simulation)
m, w)
Hydrologic inputs (e.g., river flow, rainfall, evaporation), X(m
2. Transformation model (hydrosystem simulation)
System outputs (e.g., flood, water availability), Z (X(m

m, w),l
l)
3. Procedure for estimating the performance measure (e.g., risk)
Sample performance measure of the system, L (Z(X(m

m, w), l))
Figure 1. Schematic representation of the 4. Ensemble average (or time average in steady-state simulation)
components and the solution procedure in
hydrosystem simulation. Rectangles repre-
sent the components of the solution proce-
dure, and parallelograms represent inputs Performance measure of the system, J (qq)
and outputs of the different components.
system J(θ ) := E[L(Z(X(µ, ω), λ))], where E[ ] denotes the known as white noise) Vi that have a specified distribution
expected value and θ := (µ, λ). However, if the system function (e.g., Gaussian). This is known as generation of
is stationary and ergodic (in other words, if we have random numbers; a concise introduction to this topic can
a steady-state simulation), L will tend to J, as the be found in Papoulis (13) and a more detailed presentation
simulation length tends to infinity. Therefore, a single can be found in Ripley (14). If it can be assumed that Xi is
instance of the sample performance measure, estimated stationary (i.e., it has a probability distribution function
from a simulation of large length, is an adequate estimate that does not vary in time, which is typically the case if
of the true performance measure. This is the case, for the time step is a year), the unstructured sequence of Vi
instance, in a reservoir simulation of constant water can be converted to a structured sequence Xi by means of
demand. Conversely, if the water demand is growing in a recursive relationship, whose general form was studied
time (a common situation in practice), the simulation is by Box and Jenkins (10). From the large family of Box-
no longer steady-state, and numerous runs, typically of Jenkins processes, those that have been widely used in
a short length, must be performed to estimate the true stochastic hydrology are special cases of the equation,
performance measure.
In the following part of the article, we will focus on the Xi = aXi−1 + a Xi−2 + bVi + b Vi−1 (1)
model component 1, the stochastic model of inputs.
where a, a , b, and b are parameters that are estimated
from the autocovariance properties of the process Xi . The
TYPICAL BOX–JENKINS MODELS special cases are
Let Xi denote the process of interest (e.g., rainfall or 1. the iid or white noise or AR(0) process in which
streamflow at a site) where i denotes discrete time. To a = a = b = 0; b = 0;
generate a time series of Xi , we start generating a sequence 2. the Markovian or AR(1) process in which a = b =
of independent identically distributed variables (iid, also 0; a, b = 0;
3. the AR(2) process in which b = 0; a, b, a = 0; truncated to represent this discontinuity; this is not so
4. the ARMA(1, 1) process in which a = 0; a, b, b = 0. easy, nor common. To model intermittency, alternative
two-state processes, such as two-state Markov chains (17,
The complete form of (1), known as the ARMA(2, 1) p. 302) and point process models (18) have been proposed.
process, has been not used so frequently in hydrology. The
special cases listed preserve autocovariance properties for Skewness. Another peculiarity of hydrologic processes
lag 0 (case 1) to lag 2 (cases 2 and 3); beyond these lags, is the skewed distribution functions observed mostly on
the model autocovariance is zero (case 1) or tends to zero fine and intermediate timescales. This is not so common
exponentially (cases 2–4). in other scientific fields whose processes are typically
Gaussian. Therefore, attempts have been made to adapt
standard models to enable treatment of skewness (19–22).
PECULIARITIES IN STOCHASTIC REPRESENTATION OF
Skewness is caused mainly by the fact that hydrologic
HYDROLOGIC PROCESSES
variables are nonnegative and sometimes intermittent.
Therefore, successful modeling of skewness indirectly
Simple stationary models, such as previously described,
contributes to avoiding negative values of simulated
are often not the best choice in hydrologic modeling
variables; however, it does not eliminate the problem,
because of several peculiarities of hydrologic processes;
and some ad hoc techniques (such as truncating negative
the most important are discussed here.
values) are often used in addition to modeling skewness.
Seasonality. When the timescale of interest is finer
than annual, hydrologic processes cannot be regarded as Spatial Variation. Hydrologic processes evolve in both
stationary because of the effect of the season of the year on time and space. Typically, time series models consider
the properties of the process. A simple method often used to only temporal evolution. The most precise mathematical
take into account seasonality is to standardize the process representation of hydrologic processes can be achieved
Xi using seasonal values of mean and standard deviation by extending the indexing set of the process from one
by setting Yi := (Xi − µi )/σi and assuming that Yi is a dimension (representing time) to three dimensions (one
stationary process that can be modeled, for instance, by (1); for time and two for space). However, multidimensional
here µi and σi denote the mean and standard deviation, modeling is not easy and has been implemented only
respectively, of Xi , which, it is assumed, vary with i in a few cases (for example in continuous time and
in a periodic manner. This standardization approach, space modeling of rainfall; 23). A midway solution, which
however, is flawed; the stationarity assumption for Yi is the most common in stochastic hydrology, is to use
implies that, apart from the mean and standard deviation, multivariate models, that describe the temporal evolution
other statistical properties of Xi like autocorrelation and of the process simultaneously at a number of points. The
skewness do not vary in season, which is not true. A same method can be used directly to model more than
more precise way of modeling seasonality is to assume a one cross-correlated hydrologic process (e.g., rainfall and
cyclostationary (also known as periodic) process, that is runoff) at the same location simultaneously.
expressed as in (1), but has parameters a, b a , b , . . ., and In the following sections, we give some characteristic
statistics of the noise variables Vi that vary with i in a examples of models that respect these peculiarities and
periodic manner. together can deal with a large spectrum of problems in
stochastic hydrologic simulation:
Long-Term Persistence. Box–Jenkins models such as (1)
are essentially of the short memory type; their autocorre- 1. The multivariate periodic autoregressive model of
lation structure decreases rapidly with lag time. However, order 1 [PAR(1)], which reproduces seasonality and
the study of long historical time series of hydrologic and skewness but not long-term persistence;
other geophysical processes has revealed that autocorre- 2. A generalized multivariate stationary model that
lations may be significant for large lags of 50 or 100 years. reproduces all kinds of persistence and simultane-
This property is related to the tendency of stream flows to ously skewness but not seasonality;
stay above or below their mean for long periods, observed 3. A combination of the previous two cases in a
for the first time by Hurst (15), or, equivalently, to mul- multivariate disaggregation framework that can
tiple timescale fluctuations of hydrologic processes (16). respect almost all the previously listed peculiarities,
Therefore, models such as (1) are proven inadequate in except intermittency which such types of models may
stochastic hydrology, because it is important that the long- not easily handle;
term persistence of hydrologic processes is reproduced (see 4. The Bartlett–Lewis process that is appropriate for
the entry RELIABILITY CONCEPTS IN RESERVOIR DESIGN). modeling rainfall and emphasizes its intermittent
character on a fine timescale, but only on a single
Intermittency. On fine timescales, some hydrologic
point basis.
processes such as rainfall and in some cases stream flow
appear as intermittent processes; thus, rainfall alternates
The Multivariate PAR(1) Model
between two states, dry (zero rainfall) and wet (positive
rainfall). This is manifested in the marginal probability Let Xs := [Xs1 , Xs2 , . . . , Xsn ]T represent a hydrologic process
distribution of rainfall depth by a discontinuity at zero. on a subannual (e.g., monthly) timescale (δ) and at n
Box–Jenkins processes such as that in (1) need to be locations (the subscript T denotes the transpose of a vector
or matrix). The PAR(1) model is similar to the AR(1) model A GENERALIZED MULTIVARIATE STATIONARY MODEL
but has periodically varying parameters. In a multivariate RESPECTING LONG-TERM PERSISTENCE
setting, it is expressed by
The most difficult and often the most important task
Xs = as Xs−1 + bs Vs (2) in simulating hydrologic processes on an annual scale
is to reproduce long-term persistence. The Box–Jenkins
where as and bs are (n × n) matrices of parameters and Vs processes are inappropriate for this purpose. Other types
is a vector of innovations (independent, random variables of models such as fractional Gaussian noise (FGN) models
in both time and location) of size n. The time index s can and broken line models (whose comprehensive discussion
take any integral value, but the parameters as and bs are can be found in Ref. 24) have several weak points
periodic functions of s whose period k := 1 year/δ (e.g., 12 such as parameter estimation problems, narrow type of
if δ is one month). This model can reproduce the following autocorrelation functions that they can preserve, and
set of statistics: their inability to reproduce skewness and simultaneously
to perform in multivariate problems. In a recent
1. the mean values, i.e., the k vectors µs := E[Xs ] each paper (22), all these problems were remedied; the proposed
of size n; generalized methodology can perform in multivariate
problems for all categories of statistics listed in points
2. the variances and lag-zero cross-covariances among
1–4 of the previous section and, in addition, for the
different locations, i.e., the k matrices σss :=
autocovariances at all locations for any lag r.
Cov[Xs , Xs ]
The setting of the method is stationary, rather than
= E[(Xs − µs )(Xs − µs )T ] (where Cov[ ] denotes co-
cyclostationary, so all statistics and parameters are not
variance), each of size (n × n);
functions of time, which is reflected in the notation used.
3. the lag-1 autocovariances at each location, i.e., the k For example, the autocovariance for lag τ is denoted as
1 n T l
vectors γs,1 := [γs,1 , . . . , γs,1 ] , where γs,τ := Cov[Xsl , γτ := [γτ1 , . . . , γτn ]T where γτl := Cov[Xil , Xi−τ
l
]. Remember
Xs−τ ] = E[(Xs − µs )(Xs−τ − µs−τ )], each of size n
l l l l l
that long-term persistence implies nonignorable autoco-
(notice the notational identity γs,0 l
≡ σssll ); variances for high lags (e.g., of the order 102 − 103 ).
4. the third moments, the k vectors ξs = µ3 [Xs ] = Such autocovariances can be described by a power-type
E[(Xsl − µls )3 , l = 1, . . . , n]T each of size n (where (as opposed to the exponential type of ARMA processes)
µ3 [ ] denotes the third central moment of a random function such as
variable or random vector).
γτl = γ0l (1 + κ l β l τ )−1/β
l
(7)
The model parameters as and bs are typically
determined by the moment estimators that are where κ l and β l are constants. This generalized auto-
covariance structure (GAS) incorporates as special cases
as = diag(γs,1
l l
/γs−1,0 , l = 1, . . . , n) (3) the exponential ARMA type structure (for β = 0) and the
FGN structure (for a special combination of κ l and β l ;
bs bTs = σss − as σs−1,s−1 as (4) see Ref. 22). The constants κ l and β l can be estimated by
fitting Eq. 7 to the sample autocovariance estimates; note
These equations are extensions of the seasonal model of that Eq. 7 can be used for lags beyond a certain lag τ0 ,
those for the stationary Markov model given by Matalas thus allowing the possibility of specifying different values
and Wallis (19, p. 63). In an alternative estimate, a full (i.e., the historical values of the sample autocovariance
(rather than a diagonal) matrix as can be derived, which estimates) for smaller lags.
enables preserving the lag-1 cross-covariances among In each of the locations, the process Xil can be expressed
different locations. However, the more parsimonious in terms of some auxiliary variables Vil , uncorrelated in
formulation in Eq. 3 is sufficient for most cases. The time i (i.e., Cov[Vil , Vm
k
] = 0 if i = m), but correlated in
calculation of bs , given the product bs bTs from Eq. 4, is different locations l for the same time i by using
not a trivial issue. A generalized methodology to do this
q
operation, also known as the extraction of the square
Xil = al|r| Vi+r
l
(8)
root of a matrix, was proposed by Koutsoyiannis (21).
r=−q
Another group of model parameters are the moments of
the auxiliary variables Vs . The first moments (means) are This equation defines the so-called symmetrical moving
obtained by average (SMA) scheme. Like the conventional (backward)
E[Vs ]= b−1
s (µs − as µs−1 ) (5) moving average (MA) process, the SMA scheme transforms
a sequence of temporally uncorrelated variables Vil into
By definition 1, the variances are Var[Vs ] = [1, . . . , 1]T , a process with autocorrelation by taking the weighted
and the third moments are obtained by average of a number of Vil . In the SMA process, the
weights alr are symmetrical about a center (al0 ) that
−1
µ3 [Vs ] = b(3)
s (ξs − a(3)
s ξs−1 ) (6) corresponds to the variable Vil . The number of variables
Vil that define Xil is 2q + 1, where q is theoretically
where a(3)
s and b(3)
s denote the matrices whose elements infinity but in practice can be restricted to a finite
are the cubes of as and bs , respectively. number, as the sequence of weights alr tends to zero for
increasing r. Koutsoyiannis (22) showed that the discrete been tackled by the so-called disaggregation models, which
Fourier transform sla (ω) of the alr sequence is related to were initially proposed by Valencia and Schaake (25)
the power spectrum slγ (ω) of the process (i.e., the discrete and improved since then by the contribution of several
Fourier transform of the sequence of γτl ) by researchers (for an outline of such contributions, see
Refs. 26 and 27). These are purposely designed models
sla (ω) = 2slγ (ω) (9) to generate a process at the finer timescale given than
at the coarser one. Specifically, they do not model the
process of interest in the lower level timescale itself,
This enables easy and fast (using the fast Fourier
but rather they are hybrid schemes simultaneously
transform) computation of the sequence of alr , even if the
using both timescales. Sometimes (owing to nonlinear
terms of the sequence are thousands. The computation
transformations of variables) these models cannot ensure
includes transforming the sequence of γτl to slγ (ω),
consistency with the higher level process. Then, adjusting
calculating sla (ω) from Eq. 9, and inversely transforming
procedures are necessary to restore consistency (26,28).
sla (ω) to the sequence of alr .
A different approach was recently proposed by Kout-
The auxiliary variables Vil , by definition, have unit
soyiannis (29), which is a generalized framework for
variances, means E[Vil ], and third central moments µ3 [Vil ] coupling stochastic models on different timescales. This
given by approach couples two independent stochastic models
    appropriate, respectively, for the coarser (annual) and
s q
a0 + 2 finer (e.g., monthly) scales using a transformation that
aj  E[Vil ] =µ,
l a30 +2 a3j  µ3 [Vil ] = ξl
modifies the output of the latter to become consistent with
j=1 j=1
(10) the series produced by the former model. To demonstrate
Their variance–covariance matrix c := Cov[Vi , Vi ] has this approach, we will assume that the coarse scale model
elements clk that can be expressed in terms of σ lk (the is the multivariate SMA model described in the previous
elements of the variance–covariance matrix σ of Xi ), and section, which produces annual series Zi , and the finer
the sequences ali and aki by scale model is the multivariate PAR(1) model described
two sections before, which produces monthly series Xs .
q Consistency of the two series requires that they obey
clk = σ lk / al|r| ak|r| (11)
ik
r=−q
Xs = Z i , (15)
Given the matrix c, the vector of variables Vi = s=(i−1)k+1
[Vi1 , Vi2 , . . . , Vin ]T can be generated using the simple
multivariate model, where k is the number of fine-scale time steps within
Vi = bWi (12) each coarse-scale time step (k = 12 in our example). The
annual series Zi is generated first. The finer scale model
where Wi = [Wi1 , Wi2 , . . . , Win ]T is a vector of innovations is run independently of the coarser scale one, without any
with unit variance, independent both in time i and in reference to the known Zi , and produces monthly series X̃s .
location l = 1, . . . , n, and b is a matrix of size n × n If we aggregate the latter on the annual scale (by means of
such that Eq. 15), we will obtain some annual series Z̃i , which will
b bT = c (13) apparently differ from Zi . In a subsequent step, we modify
X̃s thus producing Xs consistent with Zi (in the sense
The other parameters needed to define model Eq. 12 that they obey Eq. 15) without affecting the stochastic
completely are the vector of mean values E[W] and third structure that characterizes X̃s . For this modification, we
moments µ3 [W] of Wi1 . These can be calculated in terms use a linear transformation Xs = f(X̃s , Z̃i , Z̃i ) which has
of the corresponding vectors of Vi1 , already known from been termed the coupling transformation. This is given
Eq. 10, by by (29)
Xi∗ = X̃i∗ + h(Z∗i − Z̃∗i ) (16)
E[W] = b−1 E[V], µ3 [W] = (b(3) )−1 µ3 [V] (14)
where
STOCHASTIC DISAGGREGATION TECHNIQUES
Xi∗ := [X(i−1)k+1,...,
T T T
Xik ] (17)
Seasonal models that can reproduce the long-term Z∗i := [ZTi , ZTi+1 , X(i−1)k
T
]T (18)
persistence of hydrologic processes do not exist at present.
If the timescale of interest is finer than annual and, h= Cov[Xi∗ , Z∗i ]{Cov[Z∗i Z∗i ]}−1 (19)
simultaneously, respecting of long-term persistence is
important, a two-scale approach is followed. A stationary and X̃i∗ and Z̃∗i are defined in terms of X̃s and Z̃i in a
stochastic model like that described in the previous section manner identical to that of the definition of Xi∗ and Z∗i .
is used to generate the annual time series. These are It is clarified that the vector Xi∗ contains the monthly
then disaggregated into a finer timescale so that the values of all 12 months of year i for all examined locations
periodicity and short-term memory of the process of (e.g., for five locations, Xi∗ contains 12 × 5 = 60 variables)
interest are respected. Traditionally, the latter task has and the vector Z∗i contains (1) the annual values of the
current year; (2) the annual values of the next year; and (3) been the most widespread approach to representing
the monthly values of the last month of the previous year intermittent hydrologic processes, particularly, rainfall.
(e.g., for five locations, Z∗i contains 3 × 5 = 15 variables). As a representative example, we summarize here the
Items (2) and (3) of Z∗i are included to ensure that the rainfall model based on the Bartlett–Lewis process;
transformation will preserve the covariance properties this was chosen due to its wide applicability and
among the monthly values of each year and also the experience in calibrating and applying it to several
covariances for the previous and next years as well. Note climates. Accumulated evidence of its ability to reproduce
that at the stage of the generation at year i, the monthly important features of the rainfall field from the hourly
values of year i − 1 are known (therefore, in Z∗i , we enter to the daily scale and above can be found in the
monthly values of the year i − 1), but the monthly values literature (30–32). This type of model has the important
of year i + 1 are not known (therefore, in Z∗i , we enter feature of representing rainfall in continuous time; the
annual values of the year i + 1, which are known). statistical properties on any discrete timescale are directly
The quantity h(Z∗i − Z̃∗i ) in Eq. 16 represents the obtained from those in continuous time, and this enables
correction applied to X̃ to obtain X. Whatever the value of model fitting combining statistics of different timescales.
this correction, the coupling transformation will ensure The Bartlett–Lewis rectangular pulse model assumes
preservation of first- and second-order properties of that rainfall occurs in the form of storms of certain
variables (means and variance-covariance matrix) and durations and each storm is a cluster of random cells;
linear relationships among them (in our case the additive each storm has constant intensity during the time period
property, Eq. 15). However, it is desirable to have this it lasts. These are the general assumptions of the model
correction as small as possible so that the transformation (Fig. 2):
does not seriously affect other properties of the simulated
processes (e.g., the skewness). It is possible to make 1. Storm origins ti occur following a Poisson process
the correction small enough, if we keep repeating the at rate λ (this means that durations between
generation process for the variables of each period (rather consecutive storm origins, ti − ti−1 , are independent
than performing a only single generation) until a measure identically distributed following an exponential
of the correction becomes lower than an accepted limit. distribution whose parameter is λ).
This measure can be defined as 2. Origins tij of cells of each storm i arrive following a
Poisson process at rate β.
= (1/m)||Zi∗ − Z̃∗i || (20) 3. Arrivals of each storm i terminate after a time vi
exponentially distributed with parameter γ .
where Zi∗ and Z̃i∗ are respectively, Z∗i and Z̃∗i standardized
4. Each cell has a duration wij exponentially dis-
by the standard deviation (i.e., Zi∗l := Z∗l ∗l 1/2
i /{Var[Zi ]} ), m tributed with parameter η.
∗ ∗
is the common size of Zi , and Z̃i , and || · || denotes the
5. Each cell has a uniform intensity Xij with a specified
Euclidian norm.
distribution.
POINT PROCESS MODELS In the original version of the model, it is assumed that
all model parameters are constant. In a modified version,
On even finer timescales such as daily or hourly, parameter η is randomly varied from storm to storm using
the intermittency of hydrologic processes dominates, a gamma distribution of shape parameter α and scale
and stochastic models like those described earlier parameter ν. Subsequently, parameters β and γ also vary
can hardly describe it. Point process models have so that the ratios κ := β/η and φ := γ /η are constant.
t1 t2 t3
Time
t 21 ≡ t 2 t 22 t 23 t 24
v2
w21 w23
w22 w24
X21 X24
X22 X23
Time
Figure 2. Explanatory sketch for the Bartlett–Lewis rectangular pulse model.

The distribution of the uniform intensity Xij is typically BIBLIOGRAPHY

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model fitting.
method. J. Amer. Stat. Assoc. 44: 335–341.
5. Barnes, F.B. (1954). Storage required for a city water supply.
CONCLUDING REMARKS J. Inst. Eng. Australia 26(9): 198–203.
6. Maass, A., Hufschmidt, M.M., Dorfman, R., Thomas, H.A.,
Stochastic simulation is a powerful method, easily
Jr., Marglin, S.A., and Fair, G.M. (1962). Design of Water
applicable, and extremely flexible. Its main advantage is
Resource Systems. Harvard University Press, Cambridge,
its ability to perform in complex systems describing them MA.
faithfully, without simplifying assumptions. However, it
7. Thomas, H.A. and Fiering, M.B. (1962). Mathematical syn-
is an approximate procedure, and the accuracy of its thesis of streamflow sequences for the analysis of river basins
results depends on the sample size. In addition, it is by simulation. In: Design of Water Resource Systems. A.
a slow procedure, as the estimation error decreases Maass, M.M. Hufschmidt, R. Dorfman, H.A. Thomas, Jr.,
inversely proportional to the square root of the simulation S.A. Marglin, and G.M. Fair (Eds.). Harvard University Press,
length (i.e., for half the error, we need four times Cambridge, MA.
greater simulation length). Today, this is not a major 8. Beard, L.R. (1965). Use of interrelated records to simulate
problem as the progress in computer technology makes streamflow. Proc. ASCE, J. Hydraul. Div. 91(HY5): 13–22.
attainable even a vast simulation length in reasonable 9. Matalas, N.C. (1967). Mathematical assessment of synthetic
computer time. hydrology. Water Resour. Res. 3(4): 937–945.
In addition to the estimation error due to a finite sim- 10. Box, G.E.P. and Jenkins, G.M. (1970). Time Series Analysis,
ulation length, another significant source of uncertainty Forecasting and Control. Holden Day.
is always the limited historical records (based on hydro- 11. Chow, V.T., Maidement, D.R, and Mays, L.W. (1988). Applied
logic measurements), which are used to fit probabilistic Hydrology. McGraw-Hill, New York.
or stochastic models. This source of uncertainty, which 12. Winston, W.L. (1994). Operations Research, Applications and
concerns the simulation method and also any method, Algorithms, 3rd Edn. Duxbury, Belmont, CA.
including an analytical one, is forgotten sometimes, so the 13. Papoulis, A. (1990). Probability and Statistics. Prentice-Hall,
following points of caution should be stressed: London.
14. Ripley, B.D. (1987). Stochastic Simulation. John Wiley &
• The choice of a particular stochastic model and Sons, New York.
the estimation of its parameters are always based 15. Hurst, H.E. (1951). Long term storage capacities of reservoirs.
on available historical records, which are the only Trans. ASCE 116: 776–808.
authentic source of information. 16. Koutsoyiannis, D. (2002). The Hurst phenomenon and
• Simulated (synthetic) hydrologic records do not fractional Gaussian noise made easy. Hydrol. Sci. J. 47(4):
replace historical records. 573–596.
• The generation of a synthetic record (whose length 17. Haan, C.T. (1977). Statistical Methods in Hydrology. The
is usually a multiple of that of the historical record) Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA.
does not add any information nor does it extend the 18. Waymire, E. and Gupta, V.K. (1981). The mathematical
historical record length. structure of rainfall representations, 2, A review of theory
of point processes. Water Resour. Res. 20(10): 1453–1465.
In conclusion, the following points should be added: 19. Matalas, N.C. and Wallis, J.R. (1976). Generation of synthetic
flow sequences. In: Systems Approach to Water Management.
• In problems that can be solved analytically (as in A.K. Biswas (Ed.). McGraw-Hill, New York.
the example of the design of dikes discussed earlier), 20. Todini, E. (1980). The preservation of skewness in linear
stochastic simulation is not the preferable method. disaggregation schemes. J. Hydrol. 47: 199–214.
• Stochastic simulation becomes a powerful numerical 21. Koutsoyiannis, D. (1999). Optimal decomposition of covari-
method when studying a complex system and analyt- ance matrices for multivariate stochastic models in hydrology.
ical (or other numerical) methods are not applicable, Water Resour. Res. 35(4): 1219–1229.
are very difficult, or require oversimplifying assump- 22. Koutsoyiannis, D. (2000). A generalized mathematical frame-
tions for the system. work for stochastic simulation and forecast of hydrologic time
series. Water Resour. Res. 36(6): 1519–1533.
Acknowledgment 23. Waymire, E., Gupta, V.K., and Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. (1984). A
The review by the editor and the comments by A. Efstratiadis are spectral theory or rainfall intensity at the meso-β scale. Water
gratefully appreciated. Resour. Res. 17(5): 1273–1985.
430 STORAGE AND DETENTION FACILITIES
24. Bras, R.L. and Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. (1985). Random Func- regulatory agency. A surface detention pond is typically
tions in Hydrology. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. much larger in area and used for regional stormwater
25. Valencia, D. and Schaake, J.C. (1973). Disaggregation pro- management, and it is a depressed or excavated area
cesses in Stochastic Hydrology. Water Resour. Res. 9(3): with earth embankments. Figure 1 shows a schematic of
211–219. inflow hydrograph (after urban development) and outflow
26. Grygier, J.C. and Stedinger, J.R. (1988). Condensed disaggre- hydrograph from the outlet of a detention pond, and the
gation procedures and conservation corrections for stochastic peak flow of outflow hydrograph is equal to or smaller than
hydrology. Water Resour. Res. 24(10): 1574–1584. the peak flow before development, which is much lower
27. Koutsoyiannis, D. (1992). A nonlinear disaggregation method than the peak flow in the inflow hydrograph. From Fig. 1,
with a reduced parameter set for simulation of hydrologic one can see that the required volume of a detention pond
series. Water Resour. Res. 28(12): 3175–3191. is equal to the difference in area under inflow and outflow
28. Koutsoyiannis, D. and Manetas, A. (1996). Simple disaggre- hydrographs.
gation by accurate adjusting procedures. Water Resour. Res. Detention ponds can be classified as wet or dry ponds,
32(7): 2105–2117.
depending on whether the principle outlet is constructed
29. Koutsoyiannis, D. (2001). Coupling stochastic models of above the lowest point in the depression. The wet pond,
different time scales. Water Resour. Res. 37(2): 379–392.
also known as the retention pond, is designed to retain
30. Rodriguez-Iturbe, D., Cox, R., and Isham, V. (1987). Some some of the inflow inside the pond. About 80% or more
models for rainfall based on stochastic point processes, Proc. of detention facilities in the United States and Canada
R. Soc. London, A 410: 269–298.
are dry ponds during no rain season, and they provide
31. Rodriguez-Iturbe, D., Cox, R., and Isham, V. (1988). A point the maximum capacity for runoff detention during the
process model for rainfall: further developments. Proc. R. Soc.
next rainfall event. Sometimes pipes or channels may
London, A 417: 283–298.
be necessary to divert inflow into detention facilities
32. Onof, C. and Wheater, H.S. (1993). Modelling of British rain-
if the detention pond is outside of the main drainage
fall using a random parameter Bartlett-Lewis rectangular
pathway (off-line pond). An on-line pond is positioned
pulse model. J. Hydrol. 149: 67–95.
along the drainage pathway, and all runoff naturally
pass through it without any inflow diversion or collection
system. Detention storage designs must consider the
STORAGE AND DETENTION FACILITIES
size of the pond, site selection, outflow structure (weir
XING FANG or orifice) design, construction of pond (cutting and
Lamar University filling), maintenance cost, and estimates of service life.
Beaumont, Texas Multiple ponds may be necessary to achieve the detention
requirement under certain site conditions, particularly
where the topography is flatter.
The increase of population in the cities results in Design criteria for detention ponds vary widely. In
urbanization of undeveloped areas, which increases the United States, detention regulations are typically
impervious areas, e.g., paved roads, parking facilities, adopted at the municipal or county level. Design of a
residential houses, and commercial property development. detention pond like any other hydrologic design is always
The effects of urbanization include a pronounced impact associated with one or more design storm events, e.g.,
on the characteristics of an area’s hydrology; i.e., typically specified as a certain return period. For example,
urbanization leads to an increase of peak flow rate and a drainage district is to design a detention pond to hold all
a reduction of the time to peak of runoff hydrographs. runoff for a 300-acre developed area during a 100-year, 24-
A common practice in storm water management is that hour rainfall event. The 100-year, 24-hour rainfall for the
the increase in peak flow rate caused by urbanization study area is 12 inches. If available land for the detention
must be mitigated by reducing the peak flow rate to pond is 40 acres, what will be the depth for the pond? The
attain the predevelopment value by using storage and depth will be 7.5 ft (300 acre × 12 inches/40 acre/12). This
detention facilities. A storage and detention facility (pond
or basin) is a low-lying area (natural or constructed), which Post development
is designed to hold a specific amount of runoff temporarily hydrograph (Pond inflow)
and used to attenuate peak flow rate. Once runoff has
been collected in a detention facility, it is released to Required pond volume
(Integration of hydrograph difference)
downstream conveyances (e.g., channels, bayous, or lakes)
Flow rate
in a controlled manner such that downstream flooding Pre−development

peak flow rate
and other adverse impacts are prevented or alleviated.
Detention facilities can be surface and underground
storage basins. Underground detention facilities are often Routed post−development
used for small commercial development and consist of a hydrograph (pond outflow)
series of connected large pipes or prefabricated custom
chambers manufactured specifically for underground
detention; e.g., a supermarket can install an underground
Time
detention pipe system under its parking lot to satisfy
the zero runoff increase requirement specified by a Figure 1. Routing of runoff hydrograph through detention basin.
STORAGE AND DETENTION FACILITIES 431
detention pond design is simple because the pond holds all site-specific constraint for pond construction includes
runoff during the rainfall event and the district plans to underlying bedrock that would require expensive cutting
manually control outflow-gate to release the flow after the operations to excavate. In designing the wet detention
rainfall event. This design does not require any hydrologic pond, the site must have adequate base-flow from the
routing analysis, but it requires a large amount of land groundwater or from the drainage area to maintain the
requisition (40 acres). permanent pool. The storage capacity of the detention
The design of the storage volume (size) and outlet pond may be maintained properly by designing the outlet
structure often requires knowledge of the predevelopment structure properly (appropriate opening size), so that the
peak flow and an estimate of the inflow hydrograph velocity of the water through the outlet as well as through
under urbanized conditions. It needs to perform hydrologic the pond does not cause erosion of the bed material, interns
routing analysis for the inflow hydrograph into the pond. which may cause clogging of the outlet opening.
Hydrograph routing (1) can predict the temporal and The detention pond design process can be summarized
spatial variation of an inflow hydrograph as it traverses as the following steps:
a river reach or reservoir (pond). Routing through a
detention pond is meant to solve the continuity equation 1. Select appropriate site and shape for detention pond
by using the storage–outflow relation. The storage-outflow design, and select material for detention structure
relation is typically determined from two relationships: construction.
outflow (discharge) versus water surface elevation and 2. Estimate inflow hydrograph and the peak inflow
storage (volume) versus water surface elevation. The from watersheds to the detention pond.
first relationship is determined by the outflow structure
3. Estimate the volume of water that can be stored
design, and the second one is determined by the detention
in the detention pond and establish an elevation-
pond geometry (change horizontal area with respect to
storage relationship from the geometry of the pond.
elevation) from contour or topographic maps.
Hydraulic analysis for detention pond design deter- 4. Select the proper type of outlet structure and design
mines outflow through the outlet under different water the outlet opening.
surface elevations inside the pond, and outflow rate 5. Perform hydrologic routing analysis to determine
depends on type and geometry of the outlet. The most the peak flow rate of the outflow hydrograph, to
common outlet structures for detention ponds can be of check weather it is smaller than the allowable one
orifice-type, weir-type (broad-crested, sharp-crested, spill- (peak rate before development) or it is safe, which
ways, and v-notch weir), or a combination of the two. does not cause flooding at downstream. If it does not
The exit flow can be classified as submerged or free and satisfy the criteria, redesign the outlet or increase
depends on the effective head of water surface on the the height of the retaining structure to increase
upstream side of the outlet structure. The outflow from the storage.
each type of outlet structure is a function of several vari-
ables. For the flow through the orifice-type (e.g., a culvert), Estimation of the size of a detention pond can also
it is function of orifice area and the difference between the be accomplished by some simplified methods (1), e.g.,
head water elevation and the centroid of the orifice. For natural storage loss method, modified Rational triangular
the weir-type outlet (emergency spillway), it is function hydrograph method, and NRCS TR-55 procedure, and
of effective crest length and the head over the weir crest. by using computer software packages. Under normal
For the V-notch weir, it is a function of the notch angle operation of a detention pond, it is assumed that
and the head over the notch bottom. The riser pipe acts sufficient storage is available to regulate a flood without
as weir at low heads and like an orifice at higher heads. overtopping of the pond. Under special circumstances,
The equations required to calculate the outflow from the the emergency operation scheme is implemented when
detention pond for different outlet structures can be found the storage capacity is limited and inflows caused by
in many textbooks and design handbooks (2,3). heavy rainfall events (with a return period longer than
A detention pond can be formed in a low-lying area by the design return period) are expected to exceed the
only constructing the earth embankment with the outflow storage capacity (overtopping). Therefore, an emergency
structure and it could be fully constructed, i.e., digging spillway should be provided to control overflow relief for
a pond for certain depth (construction cost is high but large storms. The detention pond can also be designed to
sometimes that is the only choice). The side slopes of improve the water quality by removing some pollutants
a constructed pond should be stabilized where needed through sedimentation and other mechanisms as runoff is
to prevent the erosion. The side slopes should be 3H: temporarily stored in the pond before the water is draining
1V or flatter (4). Outlets should have trash racks, and to another natural water body.
course gravel packing should be provided if a perforated
riser outlet prevents clogging of the riser caused by BIBLIOGRAPHY
accumulation of sediment particles. Criteria for selecting
the site for install of a pond should include the site’s ability 1. Viessman, Jr., W. and Lewis, G.L. (2003). Introduction to
to support the environment as well as the cost effectiveness Hydrology, 5th Edn. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
of locating a pond at that specific site. The pond should 2. Roberson, J.A., Cassidy, J.J., and Chaudhry, M.H. (1997).
be located where the topography of the site allows for Hydraulic Engineering, 2nd Edn. John Wiley & Sons, New
maximum storage at minimum construction cost (5). A York.
432 URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF WATER QUALITY ISSUES
3. McCuen, R.H. (1998). Hydrologic Analysis and Design, 2nd assessing the characteristics of stormwater runoff and
Edn. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. its impacts on receiving water quality. Another source of
4. Mays, L.W. (1990). Hydraulic Design Handbook. McGraw Hill, information on the impact of urban stormwater runoff-
New York. associated chemical constituents on water quality is the
5. NVPDC (Northern Virginia Planning District Commission). Stormwater Runoff Water Quality Science/Engineering
(1990). Evaluation of Regional BMPs in the Occoquan Newsletter available from http://www.gfredlee.com.
Watershed. Annandale, VA.
REGULATING URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF WATER

URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF WATER QUALITY IMPACTS
QUALITY ISSUES The U.S. EPA (4) promulgated the national regulations
G. FRED LEE that require cities with populations greater than 100,000
to develop stormwater runoff water pollution control
ANNE JONES-LEE
programs to control pollution to the maximum extent
G. Fred Lee & Associates
practicable (MEP) using best management practices
El Macero, California
(BMPs). These requirements are also applicable to
highway stormwater runoff. The EPA did not define
MEP or the BMPs that are to be used. Urban
INTRODUCTION
stormwater runoff pollution is to be regulated by National
Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits
Urban creeks and lakes can provide important habitats that ultimately require compliance with water quality
for aquatic life, as well as aesthetic assets to communities. standards. Although NPDES permits for domestic and
A key component of this resource is the quality of water in industrial wastewater discharges are to prevent violations
these waterbodies. This chapter is devoted to a review of of water quality standards at the point of discharge
water quality problems in urban creeks and lakes caused or at the edge of a mixing zone if provided for, the
by stormwater runoff-associated pollutants. NPDES permits issued to municipalities for controlling
The primary function of many urban creeks is the urban stormwater pollution, while requiring ultimately
conveyance of stormwater to prevent flooding. Often they compliance with water quality standards, did not specify a
have been channelized to assist in achieving rapid removal date by which compliance with water quality standards is
of stormwater from an urban area. This channelization, to be achieved. The current regulations require the use of
coupled with the development (paving) in the urban creek a BMP ratcheting-down process to ultimately, but as of yet
watershed, is at odds with providing high-quality aquatic at an undefined date, control violations of water quality
life habitat. Urban creek flows can vary from a few cubic standards in the runoff. Justification for this difference
feet per second of groundwater-based flow to a thousand in approach for regulating urban stormwater runoff,
or more cubic feet per second during flood flow conditions compared with urban wastewater discharges, develops
associated with major runoff events. The high flows from the significantly different characteristics of urban
are detrimental to developing and maintaining desirable stormwater runoff.
aquatic life habitat. Urban creeks also are frequently ASCE (5) and CASQA (6) list a variety of ‘‘BMPs’’ that
receptacles for waste materials, litter and debris, including are advocated for the ‘‘treatment’’ of urban stormwater
shopping carts, yard waste, and so on. At the same time, runoff to control water pollution, including ponds that
urban creeks and lakes can provide important aesthetic allow settling of some chemical constituents, grassy areas
amenities and, in some cases, recreational fisheries and that allow settling and removal of some chemicals, and
nursery areas for aquatic life. The fisheries in urban infiltration basins that allow infiltration of the stormwater
creeks can range from a sustainable trout fishery to carp- into groundwaters. These BMPs were largely based on
or minnow-dominated waters. Some urban lakes provide hydraulic factors without evaluation of their effectiveness
good warmwater sport fisheries for bass, bluegill, and in treating stormwater runoff to achieve water quality
so on. standards. To the contrary, it has been found that ponds
The Center for Watershed Protection report entitled, (detention basins), grassy swales, and so on cannot be
‘‘Impacts of Impervious Cover on Aquatic Systems’’ (1), considered adequate for treating urban stormwater runoff
contains information on some aspects of the impact of to achieve compliance with water quality standards.
urban stormwater runoff on water quality. This report The cost of retrofitting conventional BMPs to developed
is an expansion/update of earlier work by Schueler (2) urban areas has been estimated to be on the order of
on the impact of urbanization (paving) of an area on $1 to $3 per person per day for the population served
the waterbodies receiving the runoff from the area. by the storm sewer collection system. These costs are
Burton and Pitt (3) developed a Stormwater Effects primarily for the acquisition of land and effectively restrict
Handbook, which provides background information on implementation of these BMPs to new developments
the water quality problems associated with stormwater where their cost can be incorporated into the cost of
runoff from urban and, to a lesser extent, rural areas. the development. Although conventional BMPs are being
They discuss impacts on receiving water uses and sources installed especially in new developments, the most popular
of stormwater pollutants. Most of this over-900-page conventional BMPs will not be adequate to treat urban or
handbook is devoted to a discussion of approaches for highway stormwater runoff to achieve compliance with
URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF WATER QUALITY ISSUES 433
water quality standards. To achieve compliance with Lee and Taylor (11,12) presented the results of a study
water quality standards for urban area and highway of heavy metal concentrations and aquatic life toxicity in
stormwater runoff, it will be necessary to construct, ten different Upper Newport Bay (Orange County, Cali-
operate, and maintain treatment works of the type used fornia) watersheds during 1999–2000. Several watersheds
in advanced wastewater treatment. The costs of such had predominantly urban land use. Lee and Taylor found
retrofitted treatment works in developed areas is projected several heavy metals, including copper, zinc, and lead,
to be on the order of $5 to $10 per person per day. These in concentrations above water quality criteria/standards.
very high costs will require that a different approach be Through toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) studies,
developed for regulating urban area stormwater runoff. Lee and Taylor (12) found, as have others, that heavy
metals in urban residential area and highway stormwater
runoff are in nontoxic forms. However, this is not neces-
EVALUATION OF WATER QUALITY IMPACTS OF
sarily the case for heavy metals in industrial stormwater
STORMWATER RUNOFF
runoff. Several examples exist in which heavy metals such
as zinc from galvanized roofs or copper from copper roofs
Although there has been considerable work on the can be present in industrial stormwater runoff in suffi-
chemical characteristics of urban stormwater runoff, cient concentrations and available forms to be toxic to
little work has been devoted to evaluating the water aquatic life.
quality/beneficial use impacts of this runoff. Especially in
light of the tremendous costs associated with providing for
Aquatic Life Toxicity
treatment/control of stormwater runoff, it is important to
properly assess whether a chemical constituent derived Several constituents are normally present in urban-area
from stormwater runoff that is present in an urban stormwater runoff that could cause aquatic life toxicity.
stream or lake is in a chemical form that is toxic or The constituents of greatest concern are the heavy
bioavailable, i.e., can cause pollution. Failure to make this metals, including copper, zinc, lead, and occasionally
evaluation can lead to expenditure of large amounts of cadmium. Toxicity measurements of urban stormwater
public funds for the development and installation of so- runoff from several areas (12–14) have shown that
called best managements practices that effect little or no although runoff from urban residential and commercial
improvement of the beneficial uses of an urban stream or areas may be toxic to Ceriodaphnia (a U.S. EPA standard
lake or other waterbody receiving the stormwater runoff. freshwater zooplankton test organism), that toxicity has
The quality of water in urban creeks, at times, not been because of heavy metals. Toxicity identification
is dominated by urban stormwater runoff-associated evaluations have shown that the toxicity measured was
constituents. In the late 1970s/early 1980s, the U.S. EPA caused by the organophosphorus (OP) pesticides diazinon
conducted a Nationwide Urban Runoff Program (NURP) and/or chlorpyrifos. Although the OP pesticides are of
in 28 communities across the United States. The NURP concern because of their toxicity to a few types of
studies provided information on concentrations and loads zooplankton, they are not toxic to fish or algae at the
of a variety of potential pollutants in urban stormwater concentrations typically found in urban runoff.
runoff. Pitt and Field (7) summarized the results of the
NURP studies, as did WEF/ASCE (8). Although the U.S. Pesticide-Caused Toxicity
EPA NURP studies provided data on the concentrations
and loads of a variety of potential pollutants in urban Lee et al. (13,14) reviewed the topic of OP-pesticide-caused
stormwater runoff, they failed to address true water toxicity. Diazinon and chlorpyrifos have been, or will soon
quality issues, i.e., the impacts of the potential pollutants be, phased out of urban use by the U.S. EPA because
on the beneficial uses of the receiving waters for the of their potential toxicity to children. Chlorpyrifos can
runoff (9). no longer be sold for use as a pesticide in urban areas.
The U.S. EPA and the registrants have agreed that it
will no longer be legal to sell diazinon for urban use
Heavy Metals
after December 2004. These OP pesticides are being
In the fall of 1998, the California Storm Water Quality replaced by others, especially the pyrethroid pesticides,
Task Force conducted a review of constituents that are in urban areas. However, the replacement pesticides
present in urban area and highway stormwater runoff have not been evaluated by the U.S. EPA Office of
in sufficient concentrations to cause violations of U.S. Pesticide Programs for their potential to cause aquatic
EPA water quality criteria and/or California Toxics Rule life toxicity in stormwater runoff from their point of
standards, which were developed by the U.S. EPA (10) application. Several pesticides are more toxic to fish and
for the state. Copper, lead, and zinc were found in zooplankton than the OP pesticides. Further, many of the
almost all urban street and highway stormwater runoff pyrethroid pesticides tend to sorb strongly to soil particles
in concentrations that would violate U.S. EPA worst-case- and, therefore, will be transported in particulate form
based water quality criteria and state standards based and accumulate in sediments. Weston (15) and Weston
on those criteria. Sometimes cadmium and mercury were et al. (16) have reported finding that some sediment-
also present above those criteria/standards. These findings sorbed pyrethroid-based pesticides are bioavailable to
indicate that there is a potential for certain heavy metals some benthic organisms. It is unclear whether this
in urban stormwater runoff to be toxic to aquatic life in bioavailability leads to toxicity. It could, however, cause
urban creeks. toxicity in urban streams and lakes and their sediments
that is adverse to aquatic life-related beneficial uses of the quality criteria based on potential toxicity to aquatic life
waterbody. in an urban stream or lake, which is especially likely if a
significant storm sewer discharge contains storm sewer-
Dissolved Oxygen accumulated sludge/sediments scoured during a runoff
event, or scour of stream sediments, which would tend to
Stormwater runoff events can cause significant dissolved
have high ammonia concentrations. The impact of that
oxygen (DO) depletion in urban streams and other nearby
ammonia would be exacerbated in those urban streams
waterbodies. DO measurements made by the DeltaKeeper
and lakes that are highly productive as they would tend
(17) in waterbodies just before, during, and after a runoff
to have an elevated pH in mid-afternoon because of
event showed that the DO before the event was adequate
photosynthetic activity.
for maintenance of aquatic life, i.e., above about 5 mg/L.
However, shortly after the event began, the DO in some
of the waterbodies dropped to less than 1 mg/L and stayed Sanitary Quality
depressed for several days. A stormwater runoff event
in November 2002, and another in August 2003, which Especially during dry weather flow, urban stormwater
were the first major runoff events of the summer/fall, runoff and, in some situations, drainage ways such
led to large fish kills in half a dozen or so of those as creeks in urban areas, often have greatly elevated
waterbodies. concentrations of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and E.
coli. The U.S. EPA (24) announced that it was going to
Nutrients require that states adopt a revised contact-recreation
Urban stormwater runoff contains elevated concentrations criterion for fresh water based on the measurement of
of various nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus compounds) E. coli. E. coli has become the standard recommended
that can lead to excessive fertilization of urban creeks, organism for assessing the sanitary quality of a freshwater
lakes, and downstream waterbodies. Kluesener and with respect to contact recreation. It is also a useful
Lee (18) and Rast and Lee (19) determined the nutrient indicator of potential pathogens in domestic water
loads associated with urban stormwater runoff. In addition supplies. Enterococci have become the standard fecal
to being derived from stormwater runoff, nutrients, indicator organism for marine waters. The U.S. EPA (4)
especially nitrate, can also be present in groundwater announced that it was implementing its 1986 criteria
flow to urban creeks and lakes, which can be an important for those bacteria in states bordering Great Lakes and
source of nitrate. in ocean waters that had not adopted those criteria by
Cowen and Lee (20) reported that part of the algal April 2004. In 2005, the U.S. EPA will develop revised
available P in urban stormwater runoff was derived contact recreation-based water quality criteria for the
from the leaching of tree leaves and flowers. Cowen inland waters of the United States.
and Lee (21) conducted studies of the algal available In many communities, the design of the sanitary
phosphorus in urban stormwater runoff in several urban sewerage (collection) system is such that discharges of
areas. Lee et al. (22) summarized the results of those raw sewage to urban waterways can be associated with
studies and those of others on algal available P in urban pump station power failure, blockage of the sewer, and
and agricultural runoff. In general, it has been found other factors. Further, sanitary sewerage systems are
that the algal available P in stormwater runoff from sometimes poorly maintained, with the result that there
urban and agricultural areas is equal to the sum of the can be discharges of raw sewage to nearby watercourses
soluble orthophosphate plus about 20% of the particulate on an ongoing basis through leaks in the sewerage system.
phosphorus. Therefore, about 80% of the particulate In addition, animals, including birds, can contribute
phosphorus (which can be most of the phosphorus load significant amounts of fecal coliforms and E. coli to
in such runoff) does not support algal growth. stormwater runoff, which, in turn, can cause urban creeks
to have poor sanitary quality.
pH With increased emphasis on managing the water
quality impacts of urban stormwater runoff in some parts
There can be sufficient primary production in urban creeks
of the country, such as Southern California (especially
and lakes to cause significant diel (over a 24-hr day)
in the Santa Monica Bay watershed, because of the
changes in pH and dissolved oxygen, which is especially
adverse impacts on sanitary quality of Santa Monica
true for those urban streams that have only limited areas
Bay beaches), efforts are being made to control E. coli
where extensive canopy from trees along the bank shades
and other pathogen indicators in stormwater runoff, as
the water. The U.S. EPA (23) Gold Book water quality
well as in separate storm sewers during dry weather
criterion limits the pH of waters to 9. It is not unusual
flow. Ultimately, through comprehensive studies that
for the pH of waterbodies to exceed that value in the late
are now being developed in the Los Angeles Basin and
afternoon, at the height of photosynthetic activity, and to
elsewhere, information will be gained on the specific
be several units lower in early morning.
sources of E. coli and the potential for their control.
Information on the current understanding and control
Ammonia
of the sanitary quality of urban stormwater runoff is
It is possible for the ammonia concentrations in urban available in the proceedings of the US EPA 2004 national
creeks to be sufficiently high to violate ammonia water Beaches conference: http://www.epa.gov/beaches/.
URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF WATER QUALITY ISSUES 435
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) PAHs, Oil and Grease, and Unrecognized
Hazardous/Deleterious Organic Chemicals
Based on U.S. EPA regulations, domestic water supplies
that have a total organic carbon (TOC) concentration above Numerous organic compounds are not pesticides or
about 2 mg/L may be required to treat the water to remove organochlorine bioaccumulatable chemicals but are of
the total organic carbon to that level, in order to reduce potential concern in urban stormwater runoff. These
the potential for formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) compounds include oil and grease, PAHs, and others
and other disinfection byproducts during the disinfection included in the group of ‘‘total organic carbon.’’ Within
of the water supply. This situation raises the question as the oil and grease and TOC fractions in urban stormwater
to whether urban stormwater runoff could be a significant runoff can be thousands of unregulated organic chemicals
contributor of TOC to urban creeks and ultimately to that pose a threat of toxicity to aquatic life and/or
downstream waterbodies that are used for domestic water bioaccumulate in edible aquatic life where they pose
supply purposes. Site-specific investigations need to be a threat to higher trophic-level organisms, including
conducted to evaluate this situation for a particular humans. Many chemicals have been in use and entering
waterbody. the environment for many years but have not been
regulated. For example, Silva (28) of the Santa Clara
Valley Water District, California has reported that
Excessive Bioaccumulation of Hazardous Chemicals in Edible sufficient perchlorate leaches from a flare used at a
Aquatic Organisms highway accident to contaminate 726,000 gallons of
Fish and other edible aquatic organisms taken from some drinking water with perchlorate above the California
urban streams have been found to contain excessive Department of Health Services action level of 4 µg/L.
concentrations of legacy pesticides such as DDT, dieldrin, Daughton (29) indicated that although there are
and chlordane, derived from their former use in urban more than 22 million organic and inorganic substances,
areas as well as from current runoff from urban areas with nearly 6 million commercially available, fewer
that had been agricultural. In addition, fish and other than 200 are addressed by the current water quality
aquatic life in urban streams can contain excessive regulations. He noted special concern that in general
pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are
concentrations of PCBs and dioxins/furans. As discussed
not regulated but can pose significant water quality
by Lee and Jones-Lee (25), dioxins are known to be present
concerns. Daughton stated, ‘‘Regulated pollutants compose
in stormwater runoff from urban areas and highways and
but a very small piece of the universe of chemical
can, therefore, be present in urban streams and lakes,
stressors to which organisms can be exposed on a continual
especially in the sediments. PCBs are sometimes found in
basis.’’ Additional information on PPCPs is available
urban stream fish because of spills of electrical transformer
at http://www.epa.gov/nerlesd1/chemistry/pharma/index.
PCBs that have occurred in the urban stream watershed
htm.
or illegal discharges of PCBs from industrial sources to
the storm sewer system.
An example of this type of situation occurred in the Suspended Sediment/Turbidity
Smith Canal in the city of Stockton, California. Some If an urban creek watershed contains areas of new
edible fish taken from that canal in 1998 contained construction and/or if the urban creek watershed and the
concentrations of PCBs at levels that are considered creek have soils that readily erode, there can be significant
hazardous for consumption because of the increased risk increases in suspended solids/turbidity in the creek during
of cancer. Lee et al. (26) conducted a study on Smith Canal runoff events. The increased turbidity makes the water
sediments to determine the total concentrations of PCBs turbid (muddy), which can affect aquatic life habitat.
in the sediments and their bioavailability using the U.S.
EPA standard sediment bioavailability test procedure with
Trash
Lumbriculus variegatus. It was found that although the
sediments had high TOC, which would tend to make the Urban creeks are notorious for accumulating materials
PCBs less bioavailable, there still was significant uptake that people discard, including grocery carts, tires, paper,
of the PCBs from the sediments by Lumbriculus, which Christmas trees and shrubbery, and lawn trimmings.
indicates that those organisms would be a food-web source Although some of these items can inhibit flow and thus
of the excessive PCBs that are found in higher trophic-level lead to flooding, some of this material also provides habitat
edible fish taken from parts of the Smith Canal. for aquatic organisms in the creek. The primary adverse
Some measurements of mercury in urban stormwater impact of trash is on the aesthetic quality of the waterbody.
runoff have shown that the concentrations are sufficient to Some creeks receive large amounts of trash, which is
potentially lead to excessive bioaccumulation of mercury evidenced by the ‘‘creek days’’ that environmental/public
in edible fish tissue. In urban streams or lakes where groups conduct, when debris of various types is removed
bioaccumulation of mercury is a potential concern, fish from the creek. With increased emphasis being placed on
should be examined to determine if they have excessive controlling trash in stormwater runoff in the Los Angeles
bioaccumulation of mercury. Lee and Jones-Lee (25) area pursuant to a TMDL issued to control trash in urban
and Lee (27) have provided guidance on approaches stormwater runoff (30), there could be a reduction in the
that should be followed to evaluate excessive mercury total amount of trash that is dumped into Los Angeles
bioaccumulation by examination of edible fish tissue. area urban creeks.
Aquatic Life Habitat runoff and their impacts on aquatic-life-related resources

in the waterbodies receiving the runoff. Lee and Jones-
As part of its Water Quality Criteria and Standards
Lee (32) have reviewed this approach for managing urban
Plan (24), the U.S. EPA specifically delineated urban
area stormwater runoff water quality (33).
stormwater runoff as a cause of deteriorated aquatic
life habitat. The habitat degradation is a result of a
variety of factors including channelization and increased BIBLIOGRAPHY
urban stream flow caused by paved development in the
watershed. 1. CWP. (2003). Impacts of impervious cover on aquatic sys-
The CWP (1) report contains an extensive discussion tems. Watershed Protection Research Monograph No. 1,
Center for Watershed Protection, Ellicott City, MD. Avail-
of the impact of urbanization with the associated
able: http://centerforwatershedprotection.goemerchant7.com/
increase in impervious cover (e.g., paving) in urban index.cgi.
stream watersheds, on the hydrological and morphological
2. Schueler, T. (1994). The importance of imperviousness.
characteristics of urban streams. It reported that when Watershed Protection Techniques 2(4): 100–111.
the percentage of impervious cover in an urban stream’s
3. Burton, G.A., Jr. and Pitt, R.E. (2002). Stormwater Effects
watershed exceeds about 10%, the stream’s characteristics Handbook: A Toolbox for Watershed Managers, Scientists,
are typically impacted. When the impervious cover and Engineers. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.
exceeds about 25%, severe impacts on the waterbody’s 4. U.S. EPA. (2004). EPA Proposes Federal Water Quality
characteristics tend to occur. Standards for Beaches. U.S. Environmental Protection
As part of the implementation of its Water Quality Agency, Washington, DC. Available: http://www.epa.gov/
Criteria and Standards Plan, the U.S. EPA plans beaches/.
to pursue the use of bioassessment methodology to 5. ASCE. (2000). ‘‘National Stormwater Best Management
determine the degree of degradation caused by urban Practices (BMP) Database.’’ American Society of Civil
stormwater runoff that would need to be corrected to Engineers/US Environmental Protection Agency. Available:
develop desirable aquatic life habitat in urban streams http://www.asce.org/peta/tech/nsbd01.html.
and other waterbodies that receive urban stormwater 6. CASQA. (2003). ‘‘Stormwater Best Management Practice
runoff (24). Thus far the U.S. EPA and state water (BMP) Handbooks.’’ California Stormwater Quality Associa-
pollution control agencies seem to have made little tion, Livermore, CA. Available: http://www.cabmphandbooks.
progress toward achieving this goal. Information on the com.
U.S. EPA’s current program in this area is presented 7. Pitt, R.E. and Field, R. (1990). Hazardous and Toxic Wastes
at http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/watewaterbioassessment. Associated with Urban Stormwater Runoff. Proc. of the Six-
teenth Annual BREL Hazardous Waste Research Symposium,
html.
US EPA Office of Research and Development, EPA/600/9-90
037, pp. 274–289.
OVERALL 8. WEF/ASCE. (1998). Urban Runoff Quality Management,
Water Environment Federation Manual of Practice No. 23 and
American Society of Civil Engineers Manual and Report on
It has become evident that a need exists for compre-
Engineering Practice No. 87, Water Environment Federation,
hensive water quality monitoring/evaluation programs Alexandria, VA, and American Society of Civil Engineers,
to determine, for representative locations, the real, sig- Reston, VA.
nificant water quality-use-impairments that are occur- 9. Lee, G.F. and Jones, R.A. (1981). Will EPA’s nationwide
ring in urban lakes and streams (and, for that matter, urban runoff study achieve useful results? Civil Engi. 51:
downstream waters) receiving urban area and highway 86–87.
stormwater runoff. This monitoring/evaluation program 10. U.S. EPA. (2000). Water Quality Standards; Establishment
should include defining the specific sources of the con- of Numeric Criteria for Priority Toxic Pollutants for the State
stituents that lead to the water quality/use impairments. of California; Rule. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Once the water quality problems have been defined and the Region 9, Federal Register 40 CFR Part 131, Vol. 65, No. 97,
sources of the responsible pollutants have been identified, [FRL-6587-9], RIN 2040-AC44, San Francisco, CA.
then a reliable evaluation can be made of the management 11. Lee, G.F. and Taylor, S. (2001). Results of Heavy Metal
practices that can be implemented to control the pollution Analysis Conducted During 2000 in the Upper New-
of urban streams and lakes by urban area stormwater port Bay Orange County, CA Watershed. Report of
runoff-associated constituents. In general, because of the G. Fred Lee & Associates, El Macero, CA. Available:
high cost of treatment, it is likely that the management http://www.members.aol.com/apple27298/Heavy-metals-
319h.pdf.
practices will focus on source control, as opposed to treat-
ment of the stormwater runoff. 12. Lee, G.F. and Taylor, S. (2001). Results of Aquatic Tox-
icity Testing Conducted During 1997–2000 within the
The U.S. EPA’s announced ‘‘Strategy for Water Quality
Upper Newport Bay Orange County, CA Watershed. Report
Standards and Criteria’’ (31) includes development of wet of G. Fred Lee & Associates, El Macero, CA. Avail-
weather water quality standards. These standards would able: http://www.members.aol.com/apple27298/295-319-tox-
more appropriately consider how chemical constituents in paper.pdf.
stormwater runoff impact the beneficial uses of receiving 13. Lee, G.F., Taylor, S., and County of Orange Public Facili-
waters. They would likely include a weight-of-evidence ties and Resources Department. (2001). Upper Newport Bay
evaluation of the relationship between the concentrations Water Quality Enhancement Project, Final Report. Agree-
of toxic/available forms of constituents in stormwater ment Nos. 8-023-258-0 and 8-174-250-0, submitted to State
RIVERS AND STREAMS: ONE-WAY FLOW SYSTEM 437
Water Resources Control Board, Santa Ana Regional Water http://www.gfredlee.com/TotalMercuryandDissolvedMer-

Quality Control Board and Orange County Public Facilities curyStandards-rev.pdf.
and Resources Department to meet the requirements of the 28. Silva, M.A. (2003). Safety Flares Threaten Water Quality
U.S. EPA 319(h) Project, G. Fred Lee & Associates, El Macero, with Perchlorate. Report of Santa Clara Valley Water District.
CA and RBF Consulting, Irvine, CA, May. Available: http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Water Quality/
14. Lee, G.F., Taylor, S., and County of Orange Public Facilities Protecting your water/ Lustop/Perchlorate.shtm.
and Resources Department. (2001). Upper Newport Bay/San 29. Daughton, C.G. (2004). Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care
Diego Creek Watershed 205(j) Water Quality Planning Products (PPCPs) as Environmental Pollutants: Pollution
Grant, Final Report. Agreement No. 7-037-250-0, U.S. EPA from Personal Actions. Presentation at California Bay-
205(j) Project, May. Delta Authority Contaminant Stressors Workshop, U.S.
15. Weston, D.P. (2002). Toxicological implications of changing Environmental Protection Agency, Las Vegas, NV. Available:
pesticide use in the Central Valley. Norcal SETAC News http://daughton.christian@epa.gov.
13(1): 15–16. 30. LARWQCB. (2003). Trash TMDL for Los Angeles River
16. Weston, D.P., You, J., and Lydy, M.J. (2004). Distribution Watershed. Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control
and toxicity of sediment-associated pesticides in agriculture- Board, Los Angeles, CA. Available: http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/
dominated water bodies of California’s Central Valley. rwqcb4/html/meetings/tmdl/tmdl pollutant trash.html.
Environ. Sci. Technol. 38(10): 2752–2759. 31. U.S. EPA. (2003). Strategy for Water Quality Standards and
17. DeltaKeeper. (2002). Low Dissolved Oxygen Problems in Criteria: Setting Priorities to Strengthen the Foundation for
the City of Stockton Waterways during November 2002. Protecting and Restoring the Nation’s Waters. U.S. Envi-
Presentation to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality ronmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Available:
Control Board, Sacramento, CA, December. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/strategy/final.
18. Kluesener, J.W. and Lee, G.F. (1974). Nutrient loading from a pdf.
separate storm sewer in Madison, Wisconsin. J. Water Pollut. 32. Lee, G.F. and Jones-Lee, A. (2003). Regulating Water Quality
Control Fed. 46: 890–936. Impacts of Port and Harbor Stormwater Runoff. Proc.
19. Rast, W. and Lee, G.F. (1983). Nutrient loading estimates for International Symposium on Prevention of Pollution from
lakes. J. Environ. Eng. Div. ISCHIA 109: 502–517. See also Ships, Shipyards, Drydocks, Ports, and Harbors, New
closure discussion, (1984). ‘‘Nutrient estimates for lakes,’’ J. Orleans, LA, November. Available on CD ROM from
Environ. Eng. 110: 722–724. http://www.ATRP.com. Available: http://www.members.aol.
com/duklee2307/PHStormwater-papfinal.pdf.
20. Cowen, W.F. and Lee, G.F. (1973). Leaves as a source of
phosphorus. Environ. Sci. Technol. 7: 853–854. 33. U.S. EPA. (1990). National pollutant discharge elimination
system permit application regulations for storm water
21. Cowen, W.F. and Lee, G.F. (1976). Phosphorus availability in
discharges; final rule. Federal Register 55(222): 47990–48091.
particulate materials transported by urban runoff. J. Water
Pollut. Control Fed. 48: 580–591.
22. Lee, G.F., Jones, R.A., and Rast, W. (1980). Availability of
phosphorus to phytoplankton and its implication for phos-
RIVERS AND STREAMS: ONE-WAY FLOW
phorus management strategies. In: Phosphorus Manage- SYSTEM
ment Strategies for Lakes. Ann Arbor Press, Ann Arbor,
MI, pp. 259–308. Available: http://www.members.aol.com/ CHRISTOPHE CUDENNEC
duklee2307/Avail-P.pdf. Ecole Nationale Supérieure
23. U.S. EPA. (1987). Quality Criteria for Water 1986. EPA 440/5- Agronomique
86-001, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, Rennes, France
DC.
24. U.S. EPA. (1998). Water Quality Criteria and Standards
Plan—Priorities for the Future. EPA 822-R-98-003, U.S. Broadly speaking, rivers and streams are inscribed in
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Wash- the structural relief lines of the lowest local altitudes,
ington, DC, June. the thalwegs. But they do not necessarily strictly follow
25. Lee, G.F. and Jones-Lee, A. (2002). Organochlorine Pesticide, these lines when they are considered on a very precise
PCB and Dioxin/Furan Excessive Bioaccumulation Manage- scale, because their exact drawing is constrained by local
ment Guidance. California Water Institute Report TP 02–06 particularities such as the substratum, the vegetation, and
to the California Water Resources Control Board/Central anthropic artifacts. Inversely, there is not necessarily a
Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, California river or a stream in a thalweg because the permanent flow
State University Fresno, Fresno, CA, December. Available: and the landscape marking depend on many hydrologic
http://www.gfredlee.com/OClTMDLRpt12-11-02.pdf.
and geomorphological factors.
26. Lee, G.F., Jones-Lee, A., and Ogle, R.S. (2002). Preliminary Because of this particular position of rivers and
Assessment of the Bioaccumulation of PCBs and Organochlo-
streams, they have a major role in hillslope drainage,
rine Pesticides in Lumbriculus variegatus from City of Stock-
whatever the kinds of waterways through the hillslopes
ton Smith Canal Sediments, and Toxicity of City of Stockton
Smith Canal Sediments to Hyalella azteca. Report to the are. Then, any river or stream receives water from the
DeltaKeeper and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality sides and from upward, and makes it flow downward
Control Board, G. Fred Lee & Associates, El Macero, CA, July. through a slope-oriented sense. Thus, a point of a stream
Available: http://www.gfredlee.com/SmithCanalReport.pdf. or a river has a topological and functional relationship
27. Lee, G.F. (2003). Regulating Mercury in the Water Col- with all of its up and downward points. This relationship
umn and Sediments. Report to Dredge Tailings Workgroup, leads to defining the so-called ‘one-way flow system’ and
by G. Fred Lee & Associates, El Macero, CA. Available: makes structured objects emerge on a larger scale. Rivers
438 RIVERS AND STREAMS: ONE-WAY FLOW SYSTEM
and streams meet and are organized in a hierarchical The channel slope at any point is thus related to the
branched network. upstream conditions. Along a waterway from a source to
A drainage network is made up of particular points: the outlet, the upstream characteristics vary, particularly
upstream extremities called sources, junctions called the drainage area, and the channel slope presents
confluences, and a unique downstream extremity called a covariation. The longitudinal profile of a waterway
the outlet—and the identification of this outlet is directly demonstrates this covariation that generally presents a
related to the definition of a watershed. The channel typical decreasing shape (18), whose characteristics and
joining two such points is a link (1–3). To characterize variability depend mostly on geology and climate and
the position of any link within the system, one can identify sometimes, on anthropic effects.
its magnitude (4), which is the number of sources it drains. These interpretations of local characteristics within
One can also attribute an order to it, according to one of the systemic trends are elements of an organization of the
proposed ordering schemes (1,5). Particularly, according drainage network. Other watershed-scale elements tend
to Strahler’s scheme, the notion of (network)-stream is to show that there is a kind of organization of the hydro-
defined as a set of successive links of the same order, from geomorphological one-way flow system. These elements
come from the analysis of quantitative characteristics
up to downstream (6).
which are identified from geometric, topological, and
From this identification of individual and collective
hydrologic considerations.
characteristics of river and stream systems, many works
‘‘The pioneer work’’ in this domain is the identification
have been performed to describe, explain, quantify, and
of Horton laws of network planar composition, first
simulate the organizational schemes and rules of the
proposed with Horton’s ordering scheme (1) and then
constituents and furthermore, to base the simulation of
verified with Strahler’s (6,19) by the ‘‘network definition’’
water flows on these schemes and rules. of a stream. These laws show that the number of streams
Planar observation of individual channels led to of order i, the mean length of streams of order i,
observing different patterns and shapes, mostly based the mean total area contributing to streams of order
on sinuosity, braiding, and anabranching. The cross i, and the mean slope of streams of order i broadly
section of a given site in a channel can present very satisfy geometric series, according to characteristic ratios,
different shapes and sizes. Moreover, planar observation respectively, the bifurcation, the length, the area, and the
of drainage networks also points out different patterns. slope ratios. These laws were recognized as geometric-
Such individual and network patterns result from complex scaling relationships and were integrated in the fractal
interactions between the substratum, the vegetation, analysis of the river network organization (20,21), which
the anthropic constraints and influences, and the water was then applied to a wide range of parameters and
fluxes. Moreover, these complex interactions are scale- functions (16,22). The width function, particularly, has
dependent through a wide range of spatial, temporal, both geomorphological and hydrologic significance and is
and frequency scales. Nevertheless, these patterns can be deeply studied (7,16).
described by typologies and by quantifying some relevant All these observations and quantifications of the one-
geometric criteria (7,8). Among them are the sinuosity way flow system of rivers and streams are characteristic of
characteristics such as the meandering radius and the a given state of a system and can furthermore help follow
wavelength (9); the bankfull width, depth, and slope; and the evolution of the system. The channels themselves
the drainage density (1,10). and their relationships with upstream channels and
Within the range of scale-dependencies, the relation- hillslopes, and the network structure evolve according
ship with the corresponding watershed is a major issue. to natural trends and eventually to anthropic constraints.
First, even if the development of a drainage network fol- It appears then that the characteristic observations and
lows up and down dynamics (1,6,11), the initiation of a quantifications tend to particular values or shapes which
channel has been related to planar geometric characteris- show a natural underlying tendency of energy optimality
tics of the upward territory (1,6), called the source area. or of self-organized criticality (16,23).
Furthermore this dependence can be linked to hydrologic Furthermore, on the basis of these observations and
processes and to slopes (12,13). Thus, the drainage den- quantifications, many modelings can be proposed. First,
sity appears to depend partly on geometric and partly on organization models try to produce realistic networks,
hydrologic considerations (1,13,14), which generates great based on deterministic and/or statistical reasoning using
topological, percolation, optimality, or self-organization
geographic and temporal variability (3,15).
rules (16). Second, hydraulic and hydrologic models can
Second, the local geometric and hydraulic character-
base the quantitative description of water fluxes on
istics of a channel are related to characteristics of the
such actual and theoretical geomorphological considera-
watershed at whose outlet it is located (8,16). The first
tions (7,16).
such relation, found by Hack (17), is the expression of the
length of the longest waterway as a power law of the area of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the watershed. Then, other power law relationships have
been identified and studied for a range of regimes and 1. Horton, R.E. (1945). Erosional development of streams and
substratum between the discharge of a given frequency their drainage basins; hydrophysical approach to quantitative
of occurrence and the area and between stream channel morphology. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 56: 275–370.
geometric parameters (depth, width, slope, and velocity) 2. Strahler, A.N. (1952). Hypsometric (area altitude) analysis of
and the discharge. erosional topography. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 63: 117–142.
STREAMFLOW 439
3. Strahler, A.N. (1964). Quantitative geomorphology of drain- component of the hydrologic cycle. The primary input
age basins and channel networks. In: Handbook of Applied in a hydrologic cycle is precipitation (rainfall or snowfall).
Hydrology. V.T. Chow (Ed.). McGraw-Hill, New York, Many forms of rainfall losses occur on Earth’s surface, e.g.,
Section 4-II, p. 38
interception by surface vegetation, depression storage,
4. Shreve, R.L. (1966). Statistical law of stream numbers. J. and infiltration to soil. Rainfall excess is the net rainfall
Geol. 74: 17–37.
after subtracting rainfall losses from gross rainfall and
5. Strahler, A.N. (1957). Quantitative analysis of watershed turns into surface runoff. Surface runoff can eventually
geomorphology. EOS Trans AGU 38: 912–920.
gather into natural streams or rivers, and flows in
6. Schumm, S.A. (1956). Evolution of drainage systems and streams/rivers are referred to as streamflow. Streamflow
slopes in badlands at Perth Amboy, N.J. Bull. Geol. Soc.
typically quantifies as volumetric discharge in cubic meter
Am. 87: 597–646.
or feet per second (cms or cfs). Streamflow is not directly
7. Beven, K. and Kirkby, M.J. (Eds.). (1993). Channel Network
Hydrology. John Wiley, Chichester, UK, p. 319.
recorded, even though streamflow is one of the most
important parameters in hydrologic studies. Typically, the
8. Thorne, C.R., Hey, R.D., and Newson, M.D. (1997). Applied
Fluvial Geomorphology for River Engineering and Manage-
water level at a specific stream cross section is recorded
ment. John Wiley, Chichester, UK, p. 376. and streamflow is deduced by means of a rating curve.
9. Leopold, L.B. and Langbein, W.B. (1966). River meanders. The rating curve is developed by using a set of discharges
Sci. Am. 214: 60–69. and gauge heights measured over a period of months
10. Horton, R.E. (1932). Drainage basin characteristics. EOS or years. Discharges used for rating curve development
Trans AGU 13: 350–361. can be determined by numerical integration after flow
11. Glock, W.S. (1931). The development of drainage systems: a velocities are measured at several locations along the cross
synoptic view. Geogr. Rev. 21: 475–482. section and where velocity changes. The principal sources
12. Montgomery, D.R. and Dietrich, W.E. (1988). Where do of streamflow data for the United States are the U.S.
channels begin? Nature 336: 232–234. Geological Survey, U.S. Natural Resources Conservation
13. Montgomery, D.R. and Dietrich, W.E. (1989). Source areas, Service (NRCS), U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Agricultural
drainage density, and channel initiation. Water Resour. Res. Research Service.
25: 1907–1918. Streamflow, at a given location on a stream, is usually
14. Tarboton, D.G., Bras, R.L., and Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. (1992). A represented by a hydrograph. A streamflow hydrograph
physical basis for drainage density. Geomorphology 5: 59–76. is a graphical representation of instantaneous discharge
15. Abrahams, A.D. (1984). Channel networks: a geomorphologi- at a given location with respect to time. Two types
cal perspective. Water Resour. Res. 20: 161–168. of hydrographs are particularly important: the annual
16. Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. and Rinaldo, A. (1997). Fractal River hydrograph and the storm hydrograph. The annual
Basins; Chance and Self-Organization. Cambridge University hydrograph is a plot of streamflow versus time over a year,
Press, Cambridge, p. 547. and it shows long-term water balance of precipitation,
17. Hack, J.T. (1957). Studies of Longitudinal Profiles in Virginia evaporation, and streamflow in a watershed. From the
and Maryland. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, annual hydrograph, a stream may be classified as a
294-B. perennial river, ephemeral river, or snow-fed river. A
18. Scheidegger, A.E. (1967). A stochastic model for drainage perennial river typical under a humid climate has
patterns into an intramontane trench. Bull. Assoc. Sci. continuous flow conditions year round and even during
Hydrol. 12: 15–20.
no-rainfall periods. An ephemeral river in an arid climate
19. Shreve, R.L. (1969). Stream lengths and basin areas in has long periods when the river is dry (no flow condition). A
topologically random channel networks. J. Geol. 77: 397–414.
snow-fed river has the bulk of the runoff yield occurring in
20. La Barbera, P. and Rosso, R. (1987). Fractal geometry of river
the spring and early summer from snowmelt, and variation
networks. EOS Trans AGU 68: 1276.
of discharge is smaller than that for other types of rivers.
21. Tarboton, D.G., Bras, R.L., and Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. (1988).
Annual hydrographs typically contain some spikes caused
The fractal nature of river networks. Water Resour. Res. 24:
1317–1322.
by rain storms. A storm hydrograph is a streamflow
hydrograph during and after a storm.
22. Dodds, P.S. and Rothman, D.H. (1999). A unified view of
scaling laws for river networks. Phys. Rev. E. 59: 4865–4877. An example storm hydrograph with typical timing
parameters and rainfall hyetograph is shown in Fig. 1.
23. Bak, P. (1996). How Nature Works. Springer Verlag, New
York, p. 212. A hydrograph is the response of a watershed under
certain rainfall input, and it is affected by the watershed’s
physical, geological, vegetation, and climatic features. The
STREAMFLOW integration of area under a hydrograph between any two
points in time gives the total volume of runoff passing the
XING FANG stream cross section during the time interval. A typical
Lamar University hydrograph consists of rising limb, crest segment, receding
Beaumont, Texas limb, and base flow. The rising limb depends on duration
and intensity of rainfall, antecedent moisture condition,
and drainage characteristics of basin. The crest segment
A knowledge of hydrology is fundamental to decision- contains a peak that represents the highest concentration
making processes where water is a component of of runoff that usually occurs soon after the rainfall has
the engineering system. Streamflow is an important ended. The receding limb represents the withdrawal of the
440 STREAMFLOW
I (in/hr) Effective rainfall
Loss curve
Lag time
Crest
Peak
Time to peak (Tp ) Recession time (Tr )

Q (cfs)
Inflection point
Recession limb
Rising limb Surface runoff
Time of concentration (Tc )
Base flow
Time base
T, sec
Figure 1. Schematic streamflow hydrograph including typical timing parameters and a rainfall hyetograph.
water from the storage after surface inflow to the channel the hydrograph (Fig. 1). The time to peak is the time from
has ceased. The base flow is that part of runoff that exists the beginning to the peak discharge in a simple (single
even before the occurrence of rainfall (e.g., in the perennial peak) direct runoff hydrograph (Fig. 1). Both the lag time
river during the no rainfall period). The total streamflow and the time to peak of a hydrograph correlate to the time
hydrograph has two components: direct runoff hydrograph of concentration of a watershed. The time of concentration
(DRH) and base flow. The direct runoff hydrograph is (Tc ) is the time it takes a water parcel to travel from
the transformation of effective rainfall passing through the hydraulically most distal part of watershed to the
a watershed. Base flow is the part of precipitation that outlet or reference point downstream (1–5). In hydrograph
percolates downward until it reaches ground water table analysis, the time of concentration is the time difference
and eventually discharges into the stream. between the end of rainfall excess and the inflection point
Study of a streamflow hydrograph is important for of a hydrograph where the recession curve begins as shown
in Fig. 1.
water management and environmental studies as it
Generally, for a hydrological design, a hydrologist is
provides the peak flow rates and for which hydraulic
required to provide peak rates of discharge, a stage
structures can be designed. For the design problems,
height of a hydraulic structure, or a complete discharge
runoff volume alone is not adequate because the given
hydrograph for a design frequency. The peak discharge
volume of water may or may not present a flood hazard,
of streamflow can be obtained from long-term historical
but it depends on the time distribution of flood runoff.
records or from regression equations developed from
If the total volume is distributed over a long period of recorded streamflow. A compete hydrograph, which is
time, flood damages will be minimal, and if the volume needed for design of reservoirs and detention and retention
is distributed for a short time, even though the volume ponds, can be estimated from various rainfall-runoff
is small, the damage may be hazardous. Several time models or regional dimensional or dimensionless (unit)
parameters have been developed that reflect the timing hydrographs (4). The unit hydrograph is the hydrograph
of runoff, for example, lag time, time to peak, time that results from unit rainfall excess distributed uniformly
of concentration, and recession time in Fig. 1. Although over the drainage area at a constant rate for an effective
direct runoff begins with the commencement of effective duration (6). For example, NRCS has a dimensionless
rainfall (Fig. 1), the largest portion of runoff generally lags unit hydrograph (DUH) procedure for design applications.
the rainfall because it takes time for runoff to travel from This DUH developed by Victor Mockus (3) was derived
any location within the watershed to the outlet. The basin from a large number of natural unit hydrographs from
lag time could be defined as the time from the center of watersheds varying widely in size and geographical
mass of the rainfall excess to the peak discharge rate on locations. Time to peak (Tp ) is equal to the watershed
WATER QUALITY IN SUBURBAN WATERSHEDS 441
Excess rainfall
Lag
1.0
0.9 Mass curve of hydrograph

0.8
D
0.7
Point of inflection
0.6
Q/Qp
0.5 Tc Qp
0.4 Tin
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
Tp Tr T/Tp
Tb
Figure 2. NRCS synthetic unit hydrographs including dimensionless hydrograph and triangular unit hydrograph.
lag time (TL ) plus half of the rainfall excess duration or 2. USACE. (1966). Generalized Computer Programs - Unit Hydro-
the duration of unit hydrograph (D in Fig. 2). graph and Loss Rate Optimization. Hydrologic Engineering
Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Davis, CA.
Tp = TL + D/2 (1) 3. NRCS (National Resource Conservation Service). (1972).
National Engineering Handbook. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,
This dimensionless unit hydrograph also can be rep- Washington, DC.
resented by an equivalent triangular hydrograph (Fig. 2). 4. McCuen, R.H. (1998). Hydrologic Analysis and Design, 2nd
These characteristics of the NRCS unit hydrograph rep- Edn. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
resent values that have been adopted for an average 5. Garg, S.K. (2001) Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulic
watershed. For NRCS DUH, the peak discharge (Qp ) is Structures. Khanna Publishers, Baltimore, MD.
given as 6. Sherman, L.K. (1932). Stream-flow from rainfall by the unit-
Qp = KA/Tp (2) graph method. Eng. News-Record 108: 501–505.
where Qp is in cfs (cubic feet per second), A (area) is in

mile2 , and Tp is in hours. K is the peak rate factor (PRF) WATER QUALITY IN SUBURBAN
and is considered equal to 484, assuming a triangular WATERSHEDS
hydrograph with a time base being 8/3 Tp (Fig. 2). K
is related to the internal storage characteristic of a CHARLES W. KIRBY
basin and can vary considerably depending on watershed Paciulli, Simmons & Assoc.
characteristics and scale (size) of a basin. For example, K Fairfax, Virginia
can range from a value of nearly 600 for steep mountainous
conditions to a value nearly to 300 in the flat coastal plains
(swampy country) of the state (3). For a very flat, high- The story of water quality in suburban watersheds
water-table watershed, the NRCS peak rate factor of 484 is primarily that of nonpoint source pollution (NPS).
or even 300 likely is too large. NRCS DUH also has an There may be instances where point sources contribute
empirical relationship for average lag time that is assumed significantly to degraded water quality in suburban areas,
to be 0.6 Tc (the time of concentration). such as privately owned or municipal sewage treatment
plants, but the most salient characteristic of suburban
TL = 0.6 Tc (3) basins is the conversion of land from a previous forested
or agricultural land cover to highly impervious surfaces
BIBLIOGRAPHY such as rooftops, roads, and sidewalks.
When rain or snow strikes the earth’s surface, the
1. Kirpich, Z.P. (1940). Time of concentration of small agricul- water may infiltrate into the soil and become part
tural watersheds. Civil Eng. 10(6): 362. of the groundwater, or it may flow over the surface
442 WATER QUALITY IN SUBURBAN WATERSHEDS
and enter a stream system as runoff. Under natural

conditions, a high proportion of precipitation soaks into
the ground and does not directly enter the surface water
network, although groundwater may reappear as surface
water at the interface between streams and the water
table. Forested watersheds can absorb huge amounts of
precipitation without experiencing runoff; often one inch or
more of precipitation may be absorbed into the soil (1–7).
Alteration of the land surface within a watershed reduces
infiltration and increases the proportion of precipitation
directly entering the waterways as runoff. The increase in
the percentage of impervious surface from urbanization in
a stream basin is the primary threat to water quality
in suburban areas. Zoppou (8) presents an up-to-date
review of the numerical models currently used to simulate
urban runoff. Figure 1. Suburban streams typically have entrenched, widened
Construction activities in land development pose a channels with unstable banks.
direct threat to stream quality by sedimentation from
the newly cleared land surface. The removal of vegetation
destabilizes the soil and allows rainfall to move large which had reached a state of dynamic equilibrium in
amounts of sediment rapidly into the waterways, burying the predevelopment condition (9,15). The result is erosion
the habitat for macroinvertebrates and juvenile fish and of the bed and banks and accompanying increases
directly killing aquatic vegetation by interfering with in sedimentation and direct destruction of habitat for
photosynthesis (9,10) (Fig. 1). Many local governments aquatic flora and fauna. Other physical alterations include
require sediment control measures during construction increased temperature and increase in sediment load.
to reduce damage to downstream waters, but many The effects of velocity and other hydraulic parameters on
investigators have found that current erosion and stream fauna are presented cogently and entertainingly
sediment control methods are often ineffective (6,11–13). by Vogel (16).
Streams in suburban watersheds exhibit radically Suburban development affects surface water chemistry
altered flow regimes compared to those in unaltered as well, and suburban watersheds are second only
basins (14). The hydrographs of urbanized streams to agricultural areas in degraded water quality from
typically have higher peaks during storms and show more chemical contributions. Nutrients such as phosphorus and
frequent flows above base level because precipitation that nitrogen are often increased by higher population density
formerly soaked into the soil and joined the groundwater is in a watershed. The use of lawn fertilizers may allow runoff
now shunted into the stream network. Urban streams also of high concentrations of both elements during storms, and
have steeper rising and falling limbs of the hydrograph, as home users of these chemicals often apply amounts far in
shown in Fig. 2. More frequent and rapid flooding is known excess of the capacity of the turf to absorb and use them (3).
as ‘‘flashiness.’’ These effects destabilize the streambed, Golf courses are often sources for these nutrients as well
Higher total volume Higher peak

Steep
g limb
er falli
e r r i s in
ng lim
S te e p
Storm
b
Predevelopment
Postdevelopment
Flow
Figure 2. Increased impervious surface Lower baseflow

in suburban watersheds causes higher
volume of runoff, higher peak flow, and
lower base flow levels than in undeveloped
watersheds. Time
WATER QUALITY IN SUBURBAN WATERSHEDS 443
as other pollutants in suburban areas. Nitrogen has no Environmental regulators in Fairfax County have
federally mandated maximum concentration, but such a sent letters to engineering firms and land development
limit has been set for phosphorus at 1 part per million by companies encouraging the use of innovative BMPs
the Clean Water Act. such as bioretention, dry swales, filtration structures,
A number of metals are found in elevated concentra- and extended detention ponds, which offer advantages
tions in suburban surface waters. These include nickel, in emulating the predevelopment surface water and
zinc, lead, mercury, cadmium, and copper. The sources groundwater hydrology, but does not require them.
of these pollutants range from dry deposition of lead and However, it is often perceived that innovative BMPS
mercury to particles from automobile brakes and other sys- entail higher installation and maintenance costs and are
tems in other cases. Metal concentrations rarely reach the rarely used in many localities. This condition may be
acutely toxic levels found in surface waters drained from expected to change as programs such as the Stage II
industrial sites, but suburban metals pollution neverthe- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and
less contributes to degradation of the macroinvertebrate the Total Maximum Daily Loads efforts advance to the
fish, and periphyton populations. In lentic communities implementation stage during the next several years.
and higher order lotic habitats, adsorbed metals may Both programs will place increasing responsibility on
remain permanently in bed sediments (17). local regulatory agencies to decrease negative impacts
Current stormwater management practices codified on receiving waters from the full range of urban hydrology
in zoning ordinances and municipal facilities standards characteristics.
manuals concentrate almost exclusively on control of
erosion and sedimentation (E&S). This emphasis can
be traced to the early awareness of civil engineers and BIBLIOGRAPHY
water resource managers of the loss of topsoil caused by
poor agricultural and construction management practices 1. Natural Resources Conservation Service. (1986). Urban
in the first half of the twentieth century (18). The Hydrology for Small Watersheds. Technical Release 55. US
Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation
measures implemented in the period following World
Service, Washington, DC.
War II in most parts of the country are a significant
2. Watson, I. and Burnett, A.D. (1995). Hydrology, An Envi-
improvement over the prior lack of attention to stream
ronmental Approach. CRC Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton,
quality issues, but they have proven quite inadequate
FL.
to preserve aquatic habitat, biotic diversity, and water
3. Northern Virginia Planning District Commission. (1992).
quality. Engineering solutions to stormwater management
Northern Virginia BMP Handbook. Northern Virginia
problems go under the rubric of best management practices Planning District Commission, Engineers and Surveyors
(BMPs). Erosion and sediment control policies for Fairfax Institute, Annandale, VA.
County Virginia, an urban county near Washington, DC, 4. Allan, J.D. (1995). Stream Ecology: Structure and Function of
are typical of jurisdictions that have recognized water Running Waters. Chapman and Hall, London.
and stream quality problems and the political will to 5. Barbour, M.T., Gerritsen, J., Snyder, B.D., and Stribling,
address those problems through engineering standards. J.B. (1999). Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Use in Streams
Fairfax County BMP requirements for E&S control during and Wadeable Rivers: Periphyton, Benthic Macroinvertebrates
construction include and Fish, 2nd Edn. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC.
• Design and construction of detention ponds to limit 6. FitzHugh, T. (2001). Watershed Characteristics and Aquatic
postdevelopment runoff volume from the entire site to Ecological Integrity: A Literature Review. The Nature
levels no higher than the predevelopment condition. Conservancy Freshwater Initiative, Arlington, VA.
The predevelopment and postdevelopment conditions 7. Hynes, H.B.N. (1970). The Ecology of Running Waters.
must be demonstrated by hydrologic and hydraulic University of Liverpool Press, Liverpool, UK.
modeling, according to accepted standards. 8. Zoppou, C. (2001). Review of urban storm water models.
• Design of outfall from any stormwater management Environ. Modelling Software 16: 195–231.
structures must meet maximum velocity standards 9. Leopold, L.B., Gordon Wolman, M., and Miller, J.P. (1964).
to prevent scouring and erosion of the natural stream Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology. W.H. Freeman, San
channel receiving discharge from the constructed Francisco, CA.
structures. The maximum permissible velocity must 10. Leopold, L.B. (1994). A View of the River. Harvard University
be hydraulically modeled prior to plan approval and Press, Cambridge, MA.
must take into account the soil type in the receiving 11. Schueler, T. (2000). The Importance of Imperviousness.
natural stream channel. Watershed Protection Tech. 1: 100–111.
• Temporary E&S controls during construction such 12. McRae, C.R. (1996). Experience from Morphological Research
on Canadian Streams: Is Control of the Two-Year Frequency
as temporary stormwater detention ponds and
Runoff Event the Best Basis for Stream Channel Protection?
installation of silt fences intended to prevent
Effects of Watershed Development and Management on
sediment-laden runoff from denuded areas from Aquatic Ecosystems. L.A. Roesner (Ed.). American Society
entering off-site streams. of Civil Engineers, New York.
• Prohibitions or limitations on development within 13. Jones, C.R., Via-Norton, A., and Morgan, D.R. (1996).
floodplains, wetlands, or within 100 feet of a tributary Bioassessment of BMP effectiveness in mitigating stormwater
stream. impacts on aquatic biota. Effects of Watershed Development
444 SURFACE WATER POLLUTION
and Management on Aquatic Ecosystems. L.A. Roesner (Ed.). and reduces its reproductive abilities, then it eventually
American Society of Civil Engineers, New York. menaces human health.
14. Bhaduri, B., Minner, M., Tatalovich, S., and Harbor, J. (2001). Natural waters cannot be expected to be immediately
Long-term hydrologic impact of urbanization: a tale of two suitable for the whole range of beneficial uses. For
models. J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 127(1): 13–19. instance, nobody should expect to drink the water of any
15. Sovern, D.T. and Washington, P.M. (1996). Effects of urban river without treatment. Depending on the local usage,
growth on stream habitat. Effects of Watershed Development weather, and other factors, the water, in its natural
and Management on Aquatic Ecosystems. L.A. Roesner (Ed.). state, may be turbid or very highly colored and, hence,
American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.
unattractive to the user. More importantly, river water
16. Vogel, S. (1994). Life in Moving Fluids. Princeton University is most unlikely to be microbiologically pure, that is,
Press, Princeton, NJ. free of those minute organisms (bacteria and the like)
17. Mitsch, W.J. and Gosselink, J.G. (1993). Wetlands. Van that can cause disease in humans. In these cases, water
Nostrand Reinhold, New York. pollution means that, because of some human activity,
18. Leopold, L.B. and Maddock, T., Jr. (1954). The Flood Control the water is no longer suitable for some potential use,
Controversy, Big Dams, Little Dams, and Land Management. such as drinking, even after treatment. To illustrate, if a
Ronald Press, New York.
river from which water is taken for treatment for drinking
receives a discharge of chemical or possibly toxic waste, the
water may be rendered completely unsuitable for eventual
SURFACE WATER POLLUTION distribution. The local treatment works are usually
RAMAKAR JHA designed to remove natural contaminants—coloring
matter, particles causing turbidity, micro-organisms,
K.K.S. BHATIA
etc—and therefore may be unable to cope with a heavy
National Institute of Hydrology
load of completely foreign matter, such as chemical waste.
Roorkee, Uttaranchal, India
VIJAY P. SINGH SOURCES OF POLLUTION

Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana The surface water pollution in rivers, lakes, reservoirs,
coastal areas, and other surface water resources may occur
C.S.P. OJHA mainly because of point-source pollution and nonpoint-
Indian Institute of Technology source pollution. The term point-source pollution refers to
Roorkee, Uttaranchal, India pollutants discharged from one discrete location or point,
such as an industry or municipal wastewater treatment
plant, to surface water resources (Fig. 1). The effluent out-
INTRODUCTION fall from factories, refineries, waste treatment plants, etc.
emits fluids of varying quality directly into surface waters.
Water is a basic necessity for human survival and sus- The term nonpoint-source pollution refers to the
tenance of civilization. The ever-increasing population, discharge of pollutants that cannot be identified as coming
steadily rising irrigation activities, rapidly expanding from one discrete location or point. The pollution outflow
industries, growing urbanization, and rising standard of from nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, or diffuse pollution,
living exert tremendous pressure on the available water include contaminants that enter the water supply from
resources (1). The temporal and spatial distribution of soils/groundwater systems and from the atmosphere via
the quantity and quality of these resources are highly rain water. Soils and groundwaters contain the residue of
uneven. Water is used for irrigation, industry, power gen-
eration, drinking, bathing, recreation, fisheries, wildlife
propagation, pollution abatement, etc. Water in appropri-
ate quantities of specified quality is required for each
use (2). Therefore, the quantity as well as quality of
river flow should be monitored in river management pro-
gram.
Surface water pollution is a major environmental
concern all over the world (3). The simplest definition of
surface water pollution is ‘‘the loss of any of the actual or
potential beneficial uses of water caused by any change in
its composition due to human activity.’’ The beneficial uses
of water are varied and if water is rendered unsuitable for
any of the purposes as indicated earlier, then it is polluted
to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the extent
of the damage caused. Pollution eventually diminishes
the aesthetic quality of lakes and rivers. Even more
seriously, when contaminated water destroys aquatic life Figure 1. Polluted river in United Kingdom.
SURFACE WATER POLLUTION 445
human agricultural practices (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) however, more stress has been placed on improving means
and improperly disposed of industrial wastes. of disposal of the solid residues from the municipal
A majority of pollution instances are caused by sudden treatment processes. The basic methods of treating
or continuing, accidental or deliberate, discharge of municipal wastewater fall into three stages: primary
polluting material, which on first consideration might not treatment, including grit removal, screening, grinding,
seem harmful or offensive at all. Such pollution events are and sedimentation; secondary treatment, which entails
caused by the discharge of nontoxic organic matter waste oxidation of dissolved organic matter by means of using
from creameries, sewage (treated or untreated), manure biologically active sludge, which is then filtered off; and
slurry, food production waste, chemicals, and silage tertiary treatment, in which advanced biological methods
effluent to water bodies. When an uncontrolled discharge of nitrogen removal and chemical and physical methods
of organic material occurs, the constraining factor on the such as granular filtration and activated carbon absorption
growth of the bacterial pollution is removed at a stroke. An are employed. The handling and disposal of solid residues
immediate abundance of food exists and a corresponding can account for 25–50% of the capital and operational
plenitude of dissolved oxygen initially. Bacterial growth is costs of a treatment plant. The characteristics of industrial
promptly stimulated and the population increases rapidly, wastewater can differ considerably both within and among
consuming the available oxygen as it does so. industries. The impact of industrial discharges depends
The growth of bacteria, therefore, tends to reduce the not only on their collective characteristics, such as
amount of oxygen dissolved in the water. The extent of biochemical oxygen demand and the amount of suspended
oxygen depletion that occurs depends on the rapidity with solids, but also on their content of specific inorganic
which the stream takes up oxygen from the atmosphere, and organic substances. Three options are available in
i.e., its re-aeration capacity. This capacity is greatest in controlling industrial wastewater. Control can take place
fast-flowing, turbulent streams and least in deep, slow- at the point of generation in the plant; wastewater can be
flowing rivers. In addition, the loss of oxygen may be pretreated for discharge to municipal treatment sources;
counteracted by the photosynthesis of green plants, which or wastewater can be treated completely at the plant
produce oxygen during daylight. Where the degree of and either reused or discharged directly into receiving
pollution is severe, these compensating factors may be waters. Figure 2 illustrates the treatment procedure of
insufficient to prevent the oxygen content of the water polluted water.
decreasing to very low levels, or, in the worst case, to Raw sewage includes waste from sinks, toilets, and
anaerobic conditions, where a complete absence of free industrial processes. Treatment of the sewage is required
oxygen exists. In such conditions, foul-smelling compounds before it can be safely buried, used, or released back into
such as hydrogen sulphide may be formed. local water systems. In a treatment plant, the waste is
Deoxygenation is the most important potential effect passed through a series of screens, chambers, and chemical
of organic waste discharge. However, toxic compounds, processes to reduce its bulk and toxicity. The three
such as ammonia, may be present in such a waste, general phases of treatment are primary, secondary, and
particularly where they have been stored for some time tertiary. During primary treatment, a large percentage of
and have become septic, which can happen with farm the suspended solids and inorganic material is removed
waste, in which the presence of compounds, such as from the sewage. The focus of secondary treatment
ammonia and hydrogen sulphide, probably contribute as is reducing organic material by accelerating natural
much as the deoxygenating capacity of these wastes to biological processes. Tertiary treatment is necessary when
the devastating effect on fish stocks in pollution incidents. the water will be reused; 99% of solids are removed and
When toxic pollution occurs, the effects are often direct various chemical processes are used to ensure the water
and immediately apparent—fish are killed, the flora and is as free from impurity as possible.
fauna of the water receiving the pollution may be wiped
out, different visible effects will be noticeable, and there
may be noxious smells. The principal effects are those of INDIAN SCENARIO OF SURFACE WATER POLLUTION
direct poisoning by the offensive pollutants discharged.
Water Stress and Water Scarcity in India
EFFECTS OF POLLUTION ON DRINKING WATER In India, because of uneven distribution of rainfall, the
available per capita water resources have been varying
The surface water pollution occurring because of point in different river basins. As a result, despite good annual
and/or nonpoint sources of pollution creates a health rainfall, some river basins fall in the category of water-
hazard in many ways. Table 1 shows the effect of various scarce and water-stressed regions, whereas many others
water quality variables for drinking purposes. suffer from absolute scarcity. The water availability in any
region or country is reflected by ‘‘water stress index’’ (4).
This index is based on the minimum per capita water
TREATMENT OF POLLUTANTS required for basic household needs and to maintain good
health. A region whose renewable fresh water availability
For many years, the main goal of treating municipal is below 1700 cubic meters/capita/annum is a ‘‘water
wastewater was simply to reduce its content of suspended stress’’ region, whereas the one whose availability falls
solids, oxygen-demanding materials, dissolved inorganic below 1000 cubic meters/capita/annum experiences ‘‘water
compounds, and harmful bacteria. In recent years, scarcity.’’ The current national average per capita water
Table 1. Effects of Water Quality Parameters for Drinking Purposes
Prescribed Limits
IS:10500, 1991
S. Permissible
No. Parameter Desirable Limit Probable Effects
1. Color (hazen unit) 5 25 Makes water aesthetically undesirable

2. Odor Essentially free from Makes water aesthetically undesirable
objectionable odor
3. Taste Agreeable Makes water aesthetically undesirable
4. Turbidity (NTU) 5 10 High turbidity indicates contamination/pollution
5. PH 6.5 8.5 Indicative of acidic or alkaline waters, affects taste,
corrosivity, and the water supply system
6. Hardness as 300 600 Affects water supply system (scaling). Excessive
CaCO3 (mg/l) soap consumption, calcification of arteries. There
is no conclusive proof, but it may cause urinary
concretins, diseases of kidney or bladder, and
stomach disorders
7. Iron (mg/l) 0.03 1.00 Gives bitter sweet astringent taste. Causes staining
of laundry and porcelain. In traces, it is essential
for nutrition
8. Chloride (mg/l) 250 1000 May be injurious to some people suffering from
diseases of heart or kidneys. Taste, indigestion,
corrosion, and palatability are affected
9. Residual Chlorine 0.20 — Excessive chlorination of drinking water may cause
(mg/l) only when asthma, colitis, and exzema
water is chlorinated
10. Total Dissolved Solid 500 2000 Palatability decreases and may cause
(mg/l) (TDS) gastro-intestinal irritation in humans; may have
laxative effect particularly on transits and
corrosion; may damage water system
11. Calcium (Ca) (mg/l) 75 200 Causes encrustation in water supply system.
Although insufficiency causes a severe type of
rickets, excess causes concretions in the body
such as kidney or bladder stones and irritation in
urinary passages. (Essential for nervous and
muscular system, cardiac functions, and in
coagulation of blood)
12. Magnesium (Mg) mg/l 30 100 Its salts are cathartics and diuretic. High conc. may
have laxative effect particularly on new users.
Magnesium deficiency is associated with
structural and functional changes. It is essential
an activator of many enzyme systems
13. Copper (Cu) mg/l 0.05 1.50 Astringent taste but essential and beneficial
element in human metabolism. Deficiency results
in nutritional anemia in infants. Large amount
may result in liver damage, cause central nervous
system irritation, and depression. In water
supply, it enhances corrosion of aluminium in
particular
14. Sulphate (SO4 ) mg/l 200 400 Causes gastro-intestinal irritation along with Mg or
Na, can have a cathartic effect on users,
concentration of more than 750 mg/l may have
laxative effect along with Magnesium
15. Nitrate (NO3 ) mg/l 45 100 Cause infant methaemoglobinaemia (blue babies) at
very high concentration, causes gastric cancer
and adversely affects central nervous system and
cardiovascular system
16. Fluoride (F) mg/l 1.0 1.50 Reduces dental carries, very high concentration
may cause crippling skeletal fluorosis
446
Prescribed Limits
IS:10500, 1991
S. Permissible
No. Parameter Desirable Limit Probable Effects
17. Cadmium (Cd) mg/l 0.01 — Acute toxicity may be associated with renal,
arterial hypertension, itai-itai disease (a bone
disease). Cadmium salt causes cramps, nausea,
vomiting, and diarrhea
18. Lead (pb) mg/l 0.05 — Toxic in both acute and chronic exposures. Burning
in the mouth, severe inflammation of the
gastrointestinal tract with vomiting and
diarrhea; chronic toxicity produces nausea,
several abdominal pain, paralysis, mental
confusion, visual disturbances, anemia, etc.
19. Zinc (Zn) mg/l 5 15 An essential and beneficial element in human
metabolism. Taste threshold for Zn occurs at
about 5 mg/l, imparts astringent taste to water
20. Chromium (Cr + 6) mg/l 0.05 — Hexavelant state of chromium produces lung
tumors, can produce cutaneous and nasal mucous
membrane ulcers and dermatitis
21. Boron (B) mg/l 1.00 5.00 Affects central nervous system, its salt may cause
nausea, cramps, convulsions, coma, etc.
22. Alkalinity mg/l CaCO3 200 600 Imparts distinctly unpleasant taste, may be
deleterious to humans in presence of high pH,
hardness, and total dissolved solids
23. Pesticides mg/l Absent 0.001 Imparts toxicity and accumulates in different
organs of human body affecting immune and
nervous systems, may be carcinogenic
24. Phosphate (PO4 ) mg/l No guideline High concentration may cause vomiting and
diarrhea; stimulate secondary hyperthyroidism
and bone loss
25. Sodium (Na) No guideline Harmful to persons suffering from cardiac, renal,
and circulatory diseases
26. Potassium (K) mg/l No guideline An essential nutritional element, but in excess is
cathartic
27. Silica (SiO2 ) mg/l No guideline —
28. Nickel (Ni) mg/l No guideline Nontoxic element but may be carcinogenic in
animals; can react with DNA resulting in DNA
damage in animals
29. Pathogens (a) total 1 10 Causes water borne diseases like coliform, jaundice,
coliform (per 100 ml) typhoid, cholera, etc.; produces infections
(b) Fecal coliform (per involving skin mucous membrane of eyes, ears,
100 ml) and throat
availability figure per annum is 2464 cubic meters, distributed across its different parts and across different
implying that India is not yet in the ‘‘water stress’’ times of the year. As a result despite good annual rainfall,
range. However, this is only the national average figure. some river basins fall in the category of water-scarce and
There are several parts of India that are water stressed water-stressed regions, whereas many others suffer from
(Fig. 3)—the regions in the Indus, Krishna, and Ganga absolute scarcity.
subbasins. Regions under east-flowing rivers between
Mahanadi and Pennar and west-flowing rivers of Kachchh Surface Water Pollution in India
and Kathiawar are experiencing water scarcity, whereas River Water Pollution. In addition to water scarcity and
the regions under east-flowing rivers between Pennar and water stress, many rivers are being used indiscriminately
Kanyakumari are suffering with absolute water scarcity for disposal of municipal, industrial, and agricultural
(situation where the per capita availability falls below 500 wastes, thereby polluting the river water beyond the
cubic meters/annum). The per capita water availability permissible limits; Fig. 4 shows major rivers.
here falls as low as 411 cubic meters (5), as shown in As can be seen from Fig. 2, the river water is unfit
Fig. 3. The annual rainfall received by India is unevenly even for irrigation purposes at some places. Thus, it has
Primary treatment Stream or
tertiary treatment
Activated
Ammonia carbon
stripping absorption
Aeration tank
(activated sludge) Clarifier Chlorination
Sedimentation
Raw sewage tank
Trickling filter Clarifier

Precipitation Denitrification
Grit chamber Sludge removal
Thickener
Filters
Digester Released
Land fill
Drying beds
Soil conditioner
fertilizer
and fill Secondary treatment
Figure 2. Wastewater treatment.
River basins: Water stress and water scarcity

Indus
Inland drainage
in Rajasthan
Brahmaputra
Ganga
sub-basin
sub-basin
West-flowing
rivers of Mahi
kachchh &
kathiwar Narmada
1 Tapi
Mahanadi
Subernarekha
Sabarmati
Godavari Brahmani-Baitarani
West-flowing
rivers from Krishna
Tapi to Tadri
East-flowing
Pennar rivers between
Mahanadi & Pennar
(692)
East-flowing
West-flowing rivers Cauvery rivers between
Tadri to Kanyakumari Pennar & Kanyakumari
(411)
Occasional water problem

Water stress
Figure 3. Water stress and water scarcity Water scarcity
in India. Absolute scarcity
448
In
W E
dus
Jhelum S
Chenab
Satluj
xxxxx
Yamuna
xxxxx
Chambal
xxxxx The ganges Brahmaputra
Damodar
Subarnadi
Narmada
Subernarekha
Tapi xxxxx
Mahanadi
Godawari
Figure 4. Generalized pattern of major rivers

Krishna in India. Rivers will all be classified A to E.
Tungabadhra Class A: Fit for drinking after proper disinfec-
Class-A
Pennar tion with the addition of chlorine or bleaching
powder.
Class-B
Class B: Fit for bathing.
Class C: Fit for drinking only after proper
Class-C
Cauvery treatment (screening to remove physical mat-
ters or particulate such as paper, plastic etc.
Class-D
Class D: This is fit for fish and wildlife.
Class E: Suitable only for industrial cooling,
Class-E
irrigation, etc.
become absolutely essential to evaluate the environmental oxygen downstream of the discharge as shown by the so-
impacts of surface water resources to minimize the called ‘‘oxygen-sag curve,’’ which plots dissolved oxygen
progressive deterioration in water quality. Water quality concentration against distance. Industrial activities that
issues needing to be addressed with respect to rivers are discharge large organic loads include pulp and paper
discussed below. production and food processing. Fecal matter affects the
use of water for drinking water source or bathing water,
Change in Physical Characteristics. Temperature, tur- as well as ecological health of river.
bidity, and total suspended solids (TSS) in rivers can
be greatly affected by human activities such as agricul- Toxic Pollutants: Organics and Heavy Metals. Organic
ture, deforestation, and the use of water for cooling. For pollutants (mostly chemicals manufactured artificially by
example, the upward trend in soil erosion and the related man) are also becoming an important water quality issue.
increase in TSS in rivers can be seen in most of the Uncontrolled discharge of industrial wastewater often
mountainous regions in India (6). causes pollution because of toxic metals. Other sources
of metal pollution are leachates from urban solid waste
Contamination by Fecal and Organic Matter. In India, landfills and mining waste dumps.
fecal contamination is still the primary water quality issue Rivers such as the Yamuna, which pass through
in rivers, especially where human and animal wastes are large towns and cities, are often badly affected with
not adequately collected and treated. Although this applies organic pollutants. Another example is that of Damodar
to both rural and urban areas, the situation is probably River, which is polluted with heavy metals developing
more critical in fast-growing cities. mostly from electroplating, tanning, and metal-based
The release of untreated domestic or industrial wastes industries (6).
high in organic matter into rivers results in a marked
decline in oxygen concentration (sometimes resulting River Eutrophication. During the 1950s and 1960s,
in anaerobic conditions) and an increase in ammonia eutrophication (nutrient enrichment leading to increased
and nitrogen concentrations downstream of the effluent plant arid algae growth) was observed mostly in lakes
input. The most obvious effect of the release of organic and reservoirs. Since the 1970s, the increasing levels
matter along the length of the river is the depletion of of phosphates and nitrates entering rivers, particularly
Table 2. Grossly Polluted and Less Polluted Stretches of Some Major Rivers
River/ Existing Desired
Basin Tributary Polluted Stretch Class Class Parameters Critical
I. Grossly Polluted Stretches

Ganga Yamuna (i) Delhi to confluence with Partly D C DO, BOD, coliforms
Chambal
(ii) In the city limits of Delhi, Partly E B -do-
Agra, and Mathura -do-
Chambal D/s of Nagda and D/s Kota Partly D C BOD,DO
(approx 15 km for both Partly E
places)
Damodar D/s of Dhanbad to Haldia Partly D C BOD, Toxic
Partly E
Gomti Lucknow to confluence with Partly D C DO, BOD, coliforms
Ganga Partly E
Kali D/s of Modinagar to confluence Partly D C -do-
with Ganga Partly E
Khan (i) In the city limits of Indore E B -do-
(ii) D/s of Indore E D -do-
Kshipra (i) In the city limits of Ujjain E B -do-
(ii) D/s of Ujjain E D -do-
Hindon Saharanpur to confluence with E D DO, BOD, Toxic
Yamuna
Godavari Godavari (i) D/s ofNasik to Nanded Partly D C BOD
(ii) City limits of Nasik and Partly E B BOD
Nanded -do-
Krishna Krishna Karad to Sangli Partly D C BOD
Partly E
Subemarekha Subemarekha Hathi dam to Baharagora Partly D C DO, BOD, coliforms
Partly E
Sabarmati Sabarmati Immediate upstream of E B DO,BOD, coliforms
Ahmedabad city up to
Sabarmati Ashram
II. Less Grossly Polluted Stretches

Ganga Betwa Between Vidisha and D C BOD, Total coliforms
Mandideep and Bhopal
Krishna Krishna Dhom dam to Narso Babri D C BOD and coliforms
(Mah)
Tributary streams D C -do-
Up to Nagarjunasagar dam D C -do-
From Nagarjunasagar dam to D C -do-
upstream of Repella (AP)
Bhadra Origin to downstream of KICCL D C Total coliforms
of Bhadra dam (Karnataka)
Tunga Thirthahalli to confluence with C B Total coliforms
Bhadra
Cauvery Cauvery i) From Talakaverito 5 km of C A Total coliforms DO, BOD,
Mysore District coliforms BOD, Total
BorderYagni (Karnataka) coliforms Total
ii) From KR Sagar Dam to E C coliforms
Hogenekkal (Karnataka)
iii) From Pugalur to Grand E C
Anicut (Tamil Nadu)
iv) Grand Anicut to E C
Kumbhakonam (Tamil
Nadu)
Brahmani Baitami Upstream of Chandbali D B BOD and coliforms
Baitami Brahmani Upstream of Dharmshalla D B BOD and coliforms
Tapi Tapi From city limits of Nepanagar E A DO,BOD
to the city limits of
Burhanpur (MP)
Source: Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi.
450
SURFACE RUNOFF AND SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE 451
in developed countries, were largely responsible for of bioaccumulation and biomagnification depends on the
eutrophication occurring in running waters. In India, duration of exposure of the organism to the contaminated
isolated reports have appeared for some river reaches, environment and its trophic level in the food chain. Several
especially in plains around agriculture tracts of land. fold increases in trace contaminant concentrations have
In small rivers, eutrophication is said to promote been commonly observed in lakes and estuarine environ-
macrophyte (large plants) development, whereas in large ments.
rivers, phytoplankton (algae) are usually more dominant
than macrophyte. In such situations, the chlorophyll
BIBLIOGRAPHY
concentration of the water may reach extremely high
values because of the fact that this pigment is present in all
1. Gleick, P.H. (1993). Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World’s
plants. Eutrophication can result in marked variations in
Freshwater Resources. Oxford University Press, New York.
dissolved oxygen arid pH throughout the day. The changes
2. Chapman, D. (2001). Water Quality Assessment- A Guide to
in water quality caused by eutrophication can be a major
the Use of Biota, Sediments and Water in Environmental
cause of stress to fish because of the release, at high pH, Monitoring, 2nd Edn. E & FN SOPN.
of highly toxic gaseous ammonia and depletion of oxygen
3. World Bank. (1992). World Development Report 1992. Oxford
after sunshine hours. University Press, New York.
4. Falkenmark, M. and Widstrand, C. (1992). Population and
Salinization. Industrial and mining waste pollution Water Resources: A Delicate Balance. Population Bulletin,
results in increase in specifications. Evaporation, however, Population Reference Bureau.
increases the concentration of all ions. 5. Chitale, M.A. (1992). Population and water resources of India.
Table 2 shows the water quality of grossly polluted and In: Science, Population and Development. V. Gowariker (Ed.).
less polluted major rivers of India. It is found that most of Unmesh Publications, Pune, p. 448.
the rivers lie under the category C, which is suitable only 6. Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India. (2004).
for irrigation purposes. Available: http://wrmin.nic.in/.
Lake Water Pollution. Lakes serve as traps for pollu-

tants carried by rivers and groundwater draining the READING LIST
watershed. The pollutant concentration in the lake usually
Center for Science and Environment. (1985). The State of India’s
builds up because of evaporation of water from the lake’s
Environment 1984–85: The Second Citizens’ Report. Centre for
surface unless a natural flushing with good quality water Science and Environment, New Delhi, p. 394.
occurs.
Jha, R., Ojha, C.S.P., and Bhatia, K.K.S.B. (2005). Dilution-
mixing zones and design flows. The Encyclopedia of Water.
Eutrophication. Simply speaking, eutrophication is the John Wiley & Sons, New York.
biological response to excess nutrient input to a lake. The Pawlow, J.R. (1983). Technical Guidelines Manual for Performing
production of biomass and its death and decay results in Waste Load Allocations. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
a number of effects, which individually and collectively Washington, DC.
result in impaired water use. The most important of these
effects are decreased dissolved oxygen levels, release of
odorous compounds (e.g., H2 S), and siltation. SURFACE RUNOFF AND SUBSURFACE
Many important lakes in India [e.g., Hussein Sagar DRAINAGE
(Hyderabad), Nainital (Uttar Pradesh) and Dal (Jammu
and Kashmir)] have reportedly progressed to advanced JOSEPH HOLDEN
eutrophication levels (6). University of Leeds
Leeds, United Kingdom
Lake Acidification. One of the major issues related to
lakes in particular, and to freshwaters in general, is
the progressive acidification associated with deposition Runoff is the movement of water across or through the
of rain and particulates (wet and dry deposition) enriched land surface. Sometimes, the word runoff is used simply to
in mineral acids. The problem is characteristic of lakes refer to river discharge. However, there are many different
in specific regions of the world that satisfy two major types of runoff, including overland flow (surface runoff)
critical conditions: the lakes must have soft water (i.e., or throughflow (subsurface runoff, sometimes also called
low hardness, conductivity, and dissolved salts) and be interflow). Figure 1 illustrates the main hillslope runoff
subjected to ‘‘acid rain.’’ pathways for water. Precipitation can either hit the surface
To date, lake acidification has not been reported as a of the hillslope directly or be intercepted by vegetation.
problem in India. This intercepted water can be stored on leaves and tree
trunks which shelter the ground beneath, or it can trickle
Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification. The processes down to reach the surface via stem flow. There are then
of bioaccumulation and biomagnification are extremely two possibilities for direct precipitation or stem flow, once
important in the distribution of toxic substances (dis- it reaches the hillslope, either to infiltrate into the soil or to
charged in waste effluents) in fresh water ecosystems. The pond up and flow over the surface as overland flow. Water
concentration of pollutants within the organism because that enters the soil may percolate down or move laterally
452 SURFACE RUNOFF AND SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE
Precipitation
Throughflow pathways
Infiltration Matrix flow - water moves

through small soil pores
Infiltration-excess Macropore flow - through

overland flow small cracks and root channels
(Hortonian OLF)
Soil Pipe flow - through larger
cavities in the soil
Percolation
Saturation-excess
Throughflow
overland flow
Saturated
Bedrock
Figure 1. Main hillslope runoff pathways.
through the soil as throughflow, or it may return to the SATURATION-EXCESS OVERLAND FLOW
surface where the soil becomes saturated. The following
sections provide details on each of the main interlinked
When water infiltrates into a soil, it fills up the available
overland flow and subsurface drainage mechanisms.
pore spaces. When all the pore spaces are full, the soil
is saturated, and the water table is at the surface.
INFILTRATION-EXCESS OVERLAND FLOW Therefore, any extra water has difficulty entering the
soil because it is saturated. Hence, OLF occurs. This
If the surface water supply is greater than the rate of
type of OLF is known as saturation-excess overland flow.
infiltration into the soil, then surface storage will occur
Saturation-excess OLF can occur at much lower rainfall
(even in urban catchments in small surface depressions).
intensities than required to generate infiltration-excess
When the surface depressions are filled, they will start
to overflow; this is called Hortonian overland flow (OLF) OLF. Saturation-excess OLF can occur even when it is
or infiltration-excess OLF. In Horton’s theory, infiltration not raining. This might happen, for example, at the foot
divides rainfall into two parts. One part goes via OLF of a hillslope. Water draining through the soil is known
to the stream channel; the other goes initially into the as throughflow. Throughflow from an upslope can fill up
soil and then through groundwater flow to the stream or the soil pores at the bottom of the slope, and so the soil
into groundwater storage or is lost by evapotranspiration. becomes saturated (Fig. 1). Any extra water is then forced
The dominance of Horton’s (1) theory meant that research out onto the surface to become OLF. This water, known
into subsurface flow mechanisms was neglected until the as ‘return flow,’ is a component of saturation-excess OLF.
1970s as it was assumed that infiltration-excess OLF was Therefore saturation-excess OLF is more likely to occur at
the major contributor to fast responding flow in rivers (2). the bottom of a hillslope or on shallow soils where there is
In many temperate areas of the world, infiltration- restricted pore space for water storage.
excess OLF is a rare occurrence except in urban locations. The area of a catchment or hillslope that produces
The infiltration capacity of many soils is too high to saturation-excess OLF varies through time. During wet
produce infiltration-excess overland flow. Infiltration- seasons, for example, more of a catchment or hillslope
excess OLF is more likely in semiarid areas where will be saturated and therefore can generate saturation-
soil surface crusts have developed and rainfall can be excess OLF than during dry seasons. During a rainfall,
particularly intense. Often infiltration-excess OLF will if the catchment starts off relatively dry, then not much
occur only on spatially localized parts of a hillslope such of the area will generate saturation-excess OLF; but as
as in tractor wheelings on arable land. This spatially rainfall continues, then, more of the catchment becomes
localized infiltration-excess OLF is known as the partial saturated, especially in the valley bottoms, and therefore
contributing area concept (3). This suggests that only parts a larger area of the catchment will produce saturation-
of the catchment or hillslope contribute infiltration-excess excess OLF. The fact that the area of a catchment in which
OLF, rather than the whole catchment, as Horton had saturation-excess OLF occurs tends to vary is known as
originally suggested. the ‘variable source area concept’ (4). The variable source
SURFACE RUNOFF AND SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE 453
area model has become the dominant concept in catchment some water. This suggests that gravitational drainage
hydrology (2). and evapotranspiration are not the only forces at work in
Saturation-excess OLF is a much more important moving water within soils and that other forces involved
process than infiltration-excess OLF across temperate must be very strong (2). It is possible to calculate how
zones. The main differences between the two OLF types the interacting forces of gravity, matric potential (soil
are related to the water flow paths. For infiltration-excess water tension), positive pore water pressure, and other
OLF, all of the flow is fresh rainwater that has not been forces that operate balance out. Once this soil water
able to infiltrate into the soil. However, saturation-excess energy balance has been determined (by measuring pore
OLF is often a mixture of water that has been inside the water pressure and relative altitude, for example), it is
soil (return flow) and fresh rainwater that reaches the possible to map spatially the directions of subsurface water
hillslope surface. movement. Water in different parts of the soil can move
in different directions due to capillary, gravitational, and
THROUGHFLOW other forces. Often, it is possible to show that throughflow
water preferentially flows into hillslope hollows, and
If water infiltrates into soil, several things can happen; it thus these areas become more important contributors to
can be taken up by plants and transpired (or be lost from subsurface flow and saturation-excess OLF.
the soil by evaporation); it can continue to percolate down
into the bedrock; or it can travel laterally through the soil Macropore and Pipe Throughflow
or rock—this is called throughflow.
Macropores are pores larger than 0.1 mm in diameter,
Most water reaches rivers worldwide either by
and soil pipes are those larger than 1 mm in diameter
throughflow, through the soil layers or through bedrock.
that transport water through the soil. Macropores
Throughflow can maintain low flows (baseflow) in rivers by
and pipes can promote rapid, preferential transport of
slow subsurface drainage of water and can also contribute
water and chemicals through the soil due to their size
to peak flows (storm flow) by generating saturation-excess
and also because they are connected and continuous
OLF and as an important process in its own right (5).
across sufficient distances to bypass agriculturally and
There are different ways water can move through soil as
environmentally important soil layers (6). Water may
throughflow, and this impacts the timing of water delivery
drain more quickly through macropore and soil pipe
to the river channel. Soils are not uniform deposits; they
networks than through the soil matrix. Darcy’s Law does
have cracks and fissures within them. Water can move
not provide a good estimate of subsurface drainage rates
through the very fine pores of soil as matrix flow, or it can
if a soil contains many hydrologically active soil pipes
move through larger pores called macropores (macropore
or macropores because it is valid only for nonturbulent
flow), or even larger cavities called soil pipes (pipe flow).
flows. Macropores may not take up much space in the soil,
Water that moves through the soil matrix occurs in a
and if they are open at the soil surface, they will often
laminar fashion whereas flow within macropores and pipes
take up only a tiny proportion of the soil surface. Despite
is turbulent.
their small spatial role, macropores can still have a high
Matrix Throughflow impact on runoff and play a large role in throughflow
drainage as water can preferentially flow through them.
It is possible to measure throughflow and overland A study in Niger on a crusted sandy soil showed that
flow on hillslopes by digging a trench across the slope 50% of infiltrated water moved through macropores (7).
and intercepting and collecting the flow from different Some studies in upland peat catchments have indicated
soil layers. However, this is not always feasible, and that 30% of throughflow moves through macropores (8)
disturbance of hillslope soils is not desirable. Flow through and 10% through soil pipes (9).
the matrix of a porous substance such as soil that occurs
in a laminar fashion should behave according to Darcy’s Groundwater Flow
Law. This allows us to calculate the likely rate of water
movement through a porous medium when it is saturated Groundwater is water held below the water table in soil
(saturated hydraulic conductivity). Thus, it is possible and rock. Therefore, groundwater flow has, to some extent,
to estimate the amount of flow taking place as matrix already been discussed before. However, further treatment
throughflow. Often, the saturated hydraulic conductivity of groundwater flow as a separate component is required
will vary with depth and soil type. Sandy soils typically because of its worldwide importance. In many catchments,
have high hydraulic conductivity compared to clay soils water is supplied to the stream from groundwater in the
that have low hydraulic conductivity. Therefore, water bedrock. This is water that has percolated down through
will drain through sandy soils more quickly than through the overlying soil and entered the bedrock. Rock has small
clay soils. Lateral throughflow through the soil matrix pores, fractures, and fissures. Therefore, it is possible to
will occur in any soil in which the hydraulic conductivity use Darcy’s Law to investigate flow rates through bedrock
declines with depth. If both soil and bedrock remain where fissures are at a minimum. Where there are large
permeable at depth, however, then percolation remains fractures such as in cavernous limestone areas, then it
vertical and little lateral flow can occur; infiltrating water may not be so useful. Groundwater may be a large store
will only recharge groundwater storage (5). of water, but for it to be available to supply river flow,
Water also moves through soils on hillslopes that are the holding material (rock or soil) needs to be not just
unsaturated. Even after a long drought, most soils contain porous but permeable. That is to say that a rock (or soil)
Next Page
454 TRACE ELEMENTS IN WATER, SEDIMENT, AND AQUATIC BIOTA—EFFECTS OF BIOLOGY AND HUMAN ACTIVITY
may be porous but relatively impermeable either because saturation-excess OLF will dominate the flow response
the pores are not connected or because they are so small with higher peak discharges and lower lag times than are
that water can only be forced through them with difficulty. characteristic of throughflow storm contributions. Where
Conversely a rock that has no voids except one or two large soils are fairly impermeable through much of their profile,
cracks will have low porosity and therefore a poor store surface saturation may be extensive, and much more
of water, but because water can pass easily through the rainfall is translated into runoff. Where permeable soils
cracks, the permeability will be high (5). overlie impermeable bedrock, however, throughflow can
sometimes account for most storm discharge (5).
RUNOFF PROCESS CONTROLS OF RIVER FLOW Runoff processes are by no means independent of one
another, and water travelling across the surface at one
Surface and subsurface flow processes are important point may later take the form of subsurface flow through
controls on river flow and the response of a catchment the matrix and then flow through macropores before being
to precipitation. The dominance of different types of runoff returned to the soil matrix, for example. Hillslope runoff is
processes is controlled by local climate and catchment dynamic, and the dominance of runoff production processes
features such as geology, topography, soils, and vegetation. varies across both time and space.
Land management can influence runoff processes by
changing the infiltration capacity of the soil surface, BIBLIOGRAPHY
altering the internal structure of a soil, or by changing
the catchment water balance (e.g., through deforestation). 1. Horton, R.E. (1933). The role of infiltration in the hydrological
Depending on the nature of the aquifer, baseflow discharge cycle. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 14: 446–460.
may be uniform throughout the year, or peak discharge 2. Holden, J. (Ed.). (2004). Introduction to Physical Geography;
may lag significantly behind precipitation inputs (2). Some Processes, Landscapes and Environmental Change. Pearson,
catchments lack any significant groundwater storage and Harlow.
therefore have limited baseflow. 3. Betson, R.P. (1964). What is watershed runoff? J. Geophys.
The occurrence of hillslope flow processes in the Res. 69: 1541–1552.
catchment and their relative dominance affect the speed 4. Hewlett, J.D. (1961). Watershed management. In: Report for
at which water is delivered to a stream. Overland 1961 Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. US Forest
flow is typically much faster than subsurface drainage. Service, Ashville, NC, pp. 62–66.
This is why urbanization can lead to increased flood 5. Burt, T.P. (1996). The hydrology of headwater catchments.
risk downstream. Surfaces created by urbanization In: River Flows and Channel Forms. G.E. Petts and P. Calow
reduce infiltration capacity and promote the formation (Eds.). Blackwell, pp. 6–31.
of infiltration-excess OLF. Matrix flow is slower than 6. Beven, K.J. and Germann, P. (1982). Macropores and water
macropore flow which, in turn, is a form of drainage flow in soils. Water Resour. Res. 18: 1311–1325.
slower than pipe flow. Many soil pipe flow waters can 7. Leonard, J., Perrier, E., and de Marsily, G. (2001). A model
have velocities equal to that of overland flow. for simulating the influence of a spatial distribution of large
Where infiltration-excess overland flow dominates the circular macropores on surface runoff. Water Resour. Res. 37:
3217–3225.
hillslope runoff response, then a river hydrograph is
likely to have a short lag time and high peak flow. If 8. Holden, J., Burt, T.P., and Cox, N.J. (2001). Macroporosity
and infiltration in blanket peat: the implications of tension
throughflow in the small soil pores (matrix flow) dominates
disc infiltrometer measurements. Hydrological Processes 15:
the runoff response on the hillslopes, then the hydrograph 289–303.
may have a much lower peak and longer lag times.
9. Holden, J. and Burt, T.P. (2002). Piping and pipeflow in a
However, throughflow contributes to saturation-excess deep peat catchment. Catena 48: 163–199.
OLF so throughflow can still lead to rapid and large flood
peaks. In some soils, only a small amount of infiltration
may be needed to cause the water table to rise to the TRACE ELEMENTS IN WATER, SEDIMENT, AND
surface. There may even be two river discharge peaks
caused by one rainfall, where the first peak is saturation-
AQUATIC BIOTA—EFFECTS OF BIOLOGY AND
excess overland flow and some precipitation directly in the HUMAN ACTIVITY
channel and the second peak is much longer and larger
caused by subsurface throughflow accumulating at the NITISH PRIYADARSHI
bottom of hillslopes and valley bottoms before entering the Ranchi University
stream channel. Throughflow may also contribute directly Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
to storm hydrographs by a mechanism called piston or
displacement flow. This is where soil water at the bottom
of a slope (old water) is rapidly pushed out of the soil INTRODUCTION
by new fresh infiltrating water entering at the top of a
slope. Determination of whether the water is old water Trace elements are defined here as those elements
being pushed out of a slope or new water can be done that generally occur in water at concentrations of less
hydrochemically (by comparing the water to precipitation than 1 mg/L.
chemistry) or by using dyes. Where surface saturation In recent years, the role of trace element studies
occurs to any great extent such as on wide valley bottoms, in environmental chemistry is gaining attention. The

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342 MODELING UNGAUGED WATERSHEDS

only on one single sub-system, independently of the MODELING UNGAUGED WATERSHEDS

1. Andrews, T. (2002). Building better integrated network data.

the critical issues’’ (12, p. 17). This problem has led to

vu and rainfall-runoff simulations. Water Resour. Res. 33:

CORPS TURNED NIAGARA FALLS OFF, ON

Niagara Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the

‘‘I’ve seen the Falls five or six times before, in winter

water pressure in rock joints and horizontal movement in

Table 1. Geometric Properties of Different Channel Cross Sections

Table 3. Best Hydraulic Sections (1)

Note: y = Maximum water depth in cross section.

If one wants to design an earth trapezoidal channel

Using a trial-and-error method to solve Equations 5

1. Chow, V.T. (1959). Open-Channel Hydraulics. McGraw Hill,

observed in this study can cause precancerous tumors in

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Streambed sediment and whole sculpin tissue were

organisms and fish-eating wildlife, and to local forest and

Definitions of organic compounds found in the Puget

trans-Nonachlor 1.0 — — nd nd Nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 1.7 nd nd nd(5) nd nd

Acenaphthylene 50 — — nd 22E nd nd nd nd nd 38E nd nd nd 39E nd nd nd(250) 20E nd

N-Nitroso-Di-n- 50 — — nd 20E nd nd nd nd nd 36E nd nd nd 36E nd nd nd(250) 29E nd

Lindane (gamma HCH) 5 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd

Beryllium 0.2 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd(0.3) nd nd nd nd nd nd

TRACE ELEMENTS DETECTED IN STREAMBED SEDIMENT

Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead,

CCME (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment),

IMPERVIOUS COVER—PAVING PARADISE levels of imperviousness (10 to 20%). Increased impervious

Impervious cover is proposed as an indicator of aquatic

An impervious cover test data set for 56 sub-watersheds in

PHYTOREMEDIATION BY CONSTRUCTED irrigation water, crop tissues, foodstuff, biosolids, and

• subsurface flow systems Free-Water Surface Flow Systems

Berm Inlet Outlet

From septic tank

Free water surface

G. FRED LEE EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUSLY UNRECOGNIZED

Perchlorate (ClO4 − ), used in highway safety flares and

POLLUTION OF SURFACE WATERS

SOURCES OF SURFACE WATER POLLUTION Impact of Mining

Physical environment plays a controlling role in all

Values of α in ponds are approximately ten times higher

or densely stocked with carp, the oxygen concentration

Radiation W cm−2 × 100 Primary production W cm−2 × 100 Water temperature, °C

0.08 Spring Summer

MWL Surcharge storage Spillway

simple and straightforward, has a few shortcomings. It is Conflicts in a Multipurpose Reservoir

Flood control zone

Z B D Z the behavior of the system and to evaluate various

RIPARIAN SYSTEMS transformations of constituents important in aquatic

system in both urban and rural cases is the transition RIVERS

Table 1. Water and Sediment Loads of Selected Riversa

Amazon 7.0 100,000 450 900 90

• Currently, 600,000 miles of our rivers lie behind an

SEDIMENT LOAD MEASUREMENTS If suspended sediment exhibits a uniform vertical and

(a) (b) Hand

(c) (d) Sampling

Total sediment discharge qt, (kg/s)/m]

Total sediment discharge qt, (kg/s)/m

0.01 Plane bed 0.01 Plane bed

Total sediment discharge qt, (kg/s)/m

0.01 Plane bed 100 Plane bed