WaterSubject

Because of rising populations in developing countries, many surface water resources are becoming highly vulnerable to anthropogenic chemical and microbial pollution. Consequently, many low-income communities have become increasingly reliant on shallow groundwater resources defined in this research as the water bearing materials that are strongly influenced by physical and chemical processes on the ground surface. These shallow groundwater sources are often exploited using low-cost technology facilities such as wells or tubewells, where the water quality is monitored based on ‘end-product testing’ of ... Read More

As legislation with respect to drinking water tightens, there is a need to constantly improve on current water treatment processes and to evaluate the effectiveness of new technologies in producing drinking water that is free from pathogens and toxic chemicals. The removal of organic material from raw water is one area that has received much attention in recent years. Organic material can react with chlorine to form trihalomethanes (THMs), which can be harmful to health, and related organochlorine compounds that can cause ... Read More

For many fishery management purposes, it is often necessary to estimate the number of fish present in linear water bodies such as rivers, canals and drainage channels. A variety of methods are available to do this, but all require significant physical effort from a team of people and thus impose large costs on the organisation responsible. Cost and practical limitations often mean that variability and error are difficult to estimate for a particular sampling programme, reducing the scientific credibility and the practical ... Read More

The soil is a long-term sink for heavy metals, including zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg). Although these elements have different mobility and bioavailability in soils, leaching losses and plant uptake are usually relatively small compared with the total quantities entering the soil from different sources. As a result, they slowly accumulate in topsoils, with long-term implications for agricultural soil quality and function. Reducing heavy metal inputs to soils is therefore ... Read More

Domestic wastewater offers the potential to meet some of the expected growth in water demand in the future. Greywater originates from all household sources other than the toilet, urinal or bidet, and hence does not usually contain faecal matter; greywater constitutes almost half of the volume of domestic wastewater. Foul water, on the other hand, includes all household wastewater entering the sewer system. Processes whereby membranes are coupled with biological treatment are known to produce high-quality effluent that is free from bacteria, viruses ... Read More

The sustainability of urban water management poses serious challenges in the face of rapid urbanisation taking place in most developing countries. In these countries, extreme climatic conditions of drought and cyclones, coupled with rapid population growth, result in significant financial resources being channelled into the provision of clean drinking water and sanitation services. In many cases, these resources are scarce and are only applied in a reactive manner to mitigate the effects of droughts and to combat disease outbreaks. The planning authorities ... Read More

There seems to be little argument that it is regulation that has been the most important driver in encouraging the water industry to move towards sustainability. Most in the water industry would accept that the difficult part is the turning of sustainability principles into practice, in other words operationalising sustainability. It is in this respect that formal regulation has had a pervasive influence in guiding and overseeing the measures and actions that have been undertaken within the water sector. However, water companies and ... Read More

Evapotranspiration refers to the combined effect of evaporation and the use (and subsequent expiration) of water by vegetation. Infiltration usually describes water passing into the groundwater, and therefore may be regarded as a loss or outflow. However, it is more correctly considered as a form of storage, either in surface depressions or within the surface of paving materials. The term Storage can refer to groundwater storage as well as depression storage on the surface and temporary interception by trees and vegetation. In ... Read More

Nearly 120 million tons of crude oil per annum are shipped through the Gulf of Suez to the SUMED terminal at Ain Sokhna, Egypt, with the vast majority trans-shipped to the West from the Mediterranean terminal at Sidi Kirir. Furthermore, about 85% of Egypt's production of oil and gas are located in coastal waters. The production facilities in the Gulf of Suez yield 36 million tons of oil and gas annually. Offshore production in the Mediterranean is becoming an increasingly important activity. ... Read More

The emphasis placed on diffuse pollution under Article I of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is of particular relevance to the problem of nonpoint urban surface water drainage. Although the Directive does not define diffuse pollution, it does specify within Articles II.3 (h) and Article II the need to identify and quantify diffuse sources, with Annex IV and VII requiring estimates and a programme of measures for monitoring and control of such diffuse sources within future River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs). The ... Read More