River basins

EVALUATION OF POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS AND ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDES CONTENT IN FISH TISSUE OF DNIEPER RIVER BASIN BY GC/MS... 

Fluss-bett, n. river bed. -bild, n. flow sheet, -dichte,/. flux density, -eisen, n. mild (soft, low-carbon) steel, ingot steel, -erde, /. earthy fluorite, -gebiet, n. river basin, -gold, n. river gold, -harz, n. anim, gum anim. ... 

The uncertainties associated with the data base of an individual river basin are compounded when the intent is to provide a global perspective. This point is made in a recent bound volume of UNEP data in which a number of data interpretation limitations are sited. Quality of data varies from one individual reporting entity to another and the precision of the data is usually not possible to ascertain. Thus direct comparisons between data from one country, or even one laboratory to the next are not always possible. Since uncertainties associated with the data (variability, accuracy, precision, etc.) are often not specified, the significance of the data may be difficult to determine and no valid interpretation of the data may therefore be possible. It comes as no surprise that these and similar data from other data bases are often, if not usually, inadequate to establish cause and effect relationships. 

The Willamette River Basin, Oregon serves as an excellent case study of river quality assessment for a number of reasons. First, the Willamette River has been cited internationally as a classic example of how water quality can be restored from a previously poor quality waterway (1-3). Second, excellent background data were available, particularly on hydrology. Third, at the time most of these studies were initiated, the Willamette River was the largest river in the U.S. for which all point-source discharges were receiving secondary wastewater treatment. 

The goals of this chapter do not include a "state of the art" literature review which would be appropriate for a more in-depth discussion of one particular problem area. Rather the intent is to illustrate mechanistic approaches to river quality assessment using the three globally relevant water quality problem areas discussed in the previous chapter dissolved oxygen depletion, erosion/deposition, and potentially toxic trace elements. The information provided does not include all rationale, methology or approaches used in the study as this is beyond the scope of the chapter. Additional general information on application of the intensive river quality assessment approach in the Willamette River basin may be found elsewhere (4-9, 11-14, 17). 

The Willamette River basin (Figure 1) contains Oregon s three largest cities (Portland, Eugene and Salem) and includes more than two-thirds of the states population within a drainage area of 30,000 km. About fifty percent of the land is forested. Agriculture is practiced intensively in the valley where irrigation is by sprinkler. 

Figure 1. Map of the Willamette River Basin, Oregon, showing major physiographic divisions and the Molalla River basin (shaded).

Figure 2A. Cross-sectional profile of the Willamette River Basin showing relief dimensions of major physiographic divisions.

Table 3. Matrix for Estimating Interactive Erosional Impact of Land-use Activities with Terrain Properties of Geology Land Slope, MolaUa River Basin, Oregon ...

Figure 8. Clear-cut in the Molalla River Basin showing tractor logging practice and erosion surfaces.

Figure 10. Normal-probability plots of zinc concentrations in 20 um sediments. A - all Willamette River Basin samples B -uncontaminated area samples. B curve is an enlargement of the lower portion of A curve. Discontinuity is interpreted as concentration limit of uncontaminated sediments.

Paolini, 1986 Stallard, 1980). Comparison with Fig. 9-7 shows a reasonable match between denudation rates and uplift rates for a particular type of terrain. The most concentrated water samples and highest denudation rates are observed in river basins in tectonically active areas. 

Fig. 9-8 Histogram of dissolved solids of samples from the Orinoco and Amazon River basins and corresponding denudation rates for morpho-tectonic regions in the humid tropics of South America (Stal-lard, 1985). The approximate denudation scale is calculated as the product of dissolved solids concentrations, mean armual runoff (1 m/yr), and a correction factor to account for large ratios of suspended load in rivers that drain mountain belts and for the greater than average annual precipitation in the lowlands close to the equator. The correction factor was treated as a linear function of dissolved solids and ranged from 2 for the most dilute rivers (dissolved solids less than lOmg/L) to 4 for the most concentrated rivers (dissolved solids more than 1000 mg/L). Bedrock density is assumed to be 2.65 g/cm. (Reproduced with permission from R. F. Stallard (1988). Weathering and erosion in the humid tropics. In A. Lerman and M. Meybeck, Physical and Chemical Weathering in Geochemical Cycles," pp. 225-246, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.)...

Johnsson, M. J., Stallard, R. F., and Meade, R. H. (1988). First-cycle quartz arenites in the Orinoco River basin, Venezuela and Colombia. /. Geol. 96, 263-277. 

Schubert, C., Briceho, H. O., and Fritz, P. (1986). Paleoenvironmental aspects of the Caroni-Paragua river basin (southeastern Venezuela). Interciencia 11,278-289. 

Fu GB, Chen SL, Liu CM et al (2004) Hydro-climatic trends of the Yellow River basin for the last 50 years. Clim Change 65 149-178... 

Munoz I, Lopez-Doval J, Ricart M, et al (2009) Bridging levels of pharmaceuticals with biological community structure in the Llobregat river basin (NE Spain) Environ Toxicol Chem28, 12. DOI 10.1897/08-486.1... 

Tarras-Wahlberg NH, Lane SN (2003) Suspended sediment yield and metal contamination in a river catchment affected by El Nino events and gold mining activities the Puyango river basin, southern Ecuador. Hydrol Process 17 3101... 

Two major rivers in California influenced by a Mediterranean climate are the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. The Sacramento River drains 72,132 km with a relief of 4,317 m. Mean discharge is 650 m /s with peak flows in the winter and early spring and with minimum flows in the late summer and early fall. The San Joaquin River drains 83,409 km with a relief of 4,418 m. Mean discharge is 130 m /s with peak flows in spring and low flows in late summer and fall. Population density is 24 people/km in the Sacramento River basin and 29 people/km in the San Joaquin basin. Agriculture in the Central Valley of California that encompasses parts of both basins is the primary user of water in both basins [1]. 

Level 1 For each River Basin, identification of the existing problems and their possible causes (the same problem can be originated for more than one cause). For example, the problem No demand satisfaction can be caused by water transfers, surface water and groundwater extraction, agricultural and farm activities (water pollution), a lack of urban and industrial wastewater treatment, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), etc. 

Another significant point raised in Fig. 3 is that the number of references related to the development of DSS to carry out an integrated water resources management is very scarce before 2000s, that is, when the WFD, which emphasizes integrated management as one of the key concerns in river basin management, was launched. 

Maia R, Silva C (2009) DSS application at a river basin scale, taking into account water resources exploitation risks and associated costs The Algarve Region. Desalination 237 81-89... 

Matthies M, Berlekamp J, Lautenbach S, Graf N, Relmer S (2006) System analysis of water quality management for the Elbe river basin. Environ Modell Softw 21 1309-1318... 

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