Watershed Management for Potable Water Supply

Watershed Management for Potable Water Supply PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2000-02-17

Total Pages: 569

ISBN-13: 0309172683

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In 1997, New York City adopted a mammoth watershed agreement to protect its drinking water and avoid filtration of its large upstate surface water supply. Shortly thereafter, the NRC began an analysis of the agreement's scientific validity. The resulting book finds New York City's watershed agreement to be a good template for proactive watershed management that, if properly implemented, will maintain high water quality. However, it cautions that the agreement is not a guarantee of permanent filtration avoidance because of changing regulations, uncertainties regarding pollution sources, advances in treatment technologies, and natural variations in watershed conditions. The book recommends that New York City place its highest priority on pathogenic microorganisms in the watershed and direct its resources toward improving methods for detecting pathogens, understanding pathogen transport and fate, and demonstrating that best management practices will remove pathogens. Other recommendations, which are broadly applicable to surface water supplies across the country, target buffer zones, stormwater management, water quality monitoring, and effluent trading.

Agriculture Non-point Source Pollution Control

Agriculture Non-point Source Pollution Control PDF

Author: Rita Cestti

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 58

ISBN-13:

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Over the last few decades the quality of many international water bodies has deteriorated, resulting in economic losses from declines in the fishing industry and in tourism, as well as a loss of biodiversity and health impacts from contaminated water. This deterioration has been caused by many factors including nutrient run-off from agriculture, insufficiently treated sewage, drainage of wetlands, coastal erosion, introduction of exotic species, eutrophication and inadequate resource management. One of the most significant sources of degradation has been form excessive discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds (nutrients), due to the poor management practices used in agricultural, domestic and industrial activities. This publication aims to draw the attention of professionals and practitioners working in agricultural and environmental sectors to the experience and successes of the environmentally friendly good agricultural practices being used in the Chesapeake Bay Region of the United States to reduce nutrient loads in water.

Review of the New York City Watershed Protection Program

Review of the New York City Watershed Protection Program PDF

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2020-12-04

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 0309679702

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New York City's municipal water supply system provides about 1 billion gallons of drinking water a day to over 8.5 million people in New York City and about 1 million people living in nearby Westchester, Putnam, Ulster, and Orange counties. The combined water supply system includes 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes with a total storage capacity of approximately 580 billion gallons. The city's Watershed Protection Program is intended to maintain and enhance the high quality of these surface water sources. Review of the New York City Watershed Protection Program assesses the efficacy and future of New York City's watershed management activities. The report identifies program areas that may require future change or action, including continued efforts to address turbidity and responding to changes in reservoir water quality as a result of climate change.

Modeling the Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices and Climate Variability on Sediment Yield and Transport in the Colusa Basin, California

Modeling the Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices and Climate Variability on Sediment Yield and Transport in the Colusa Basin, California PDF

Author: Sarah Elizabeth Gatzke

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781124318479

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Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been employed for years as erosion reduction measures on cultivated lands. The ability to model the effects of BMPs at the watershed scale using a standardized process-based method provides watershed managers with an important decision making tool for addressing large-scale water quality concerns. This study uses a process-based BMP simulation method with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to evaluate five BMPs including grassed waterways, channel stabilization structures, strip crops, cover crops and vegetative filter strips on almond orchards in northern California, USA. The sediment reduction rate of the five BMPs was compared to a base case where no BMPs were applied to the watershed and analyzed for several precipitation scenarios to compare BMP effectiveness. In-channel BMPs which included grassed waterways and channel stabilization structures, reduced sediment load at the watershed outlet by 8% to 14%, respectively, depending on the annual precipitation scenario. Grassed waterways consistently outperformed channel stabilization structures, reducing sediment load by an additional 2% to 5% compared to channel stabilization structures. Upland BMPs including strip crops, cover crops and vegetative filter strips reduced sediment yield by 15 to 100% for the various precipitation scenarios. For years with median and above median precipitation, strip crops were most effective, reducing sediment yield by 63% in both cases, whereas cover crops only reduced sediment yield by 54% and 15%, respectively. For the below median precipitation year, the cover crop reduced sediment yield from fields completely (100%), whereas strip crops and vegetative filter strips only reduced sediment load by 64% and 59%, respectively. For all BMPs, a positive correlation between sediment load/yield and increasing precipitation amount and intensity was observed. The methods presented in this study are easily applicable to watershed scale studies of other basins and for other water quality concerns, such as the fate and transport of agricultural pesticides and nutrients.

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