Search

This review paper summarizes the ecological effects of the use of floodplains and flood retention basins to control river flow in the River Rhine (Rhein) valley. Early River Rhine regulation strategies including channel straightening are assessed. The subsequent disappearance of alluvial hardwood forests has been highlighted as the major disadvantage. The response of trees to more recent strategies such as ecological flooding is also assessed. Water quality and habitat improvements due to these ecological control techniques are identified as effective. The development of flood retention basin classification methodologies and floodplain management decision support systems particularly for the upper River Rhine Valley is recommended. The purpose is to aid communication among engineers and scientists, and to promote a holistic, integrated and international water resources management strategy, which would be relevant not only for the River Rhine valley but also for similar rivers in a temperate climate.

Wastewater treatment with waste stabilization ponds (WSP) is a very efficient, low cost and low maintenance operation. The treated wastewater from WSP should be considered as a valuable resource for reuse by water resources managers. Yemen’s water resources are currently experiencing a crisis, because all surface water and groundwater resources are exploited beyond the level of recharge. Promoting water reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation could mitigate this water crisis. This paper assesses the performance of a WSP in the city of Aden by examining the quality of treated sewage predominantly of domestic origin. A comparison with international guidelines reveals that it is possible to use the final effluent to a limited extent in irrigation. This paper includes an outline of the social, religious and political reasons for the water crisis, and explores the idea of reuse of effluent for different irrigation practices.

Recently, there has been wide national (various British newspapers) and even international (German radio) public interest in Scottish experiments that introduce Carassius auratus (common goldfish) into sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), which have been applied to combat flooding. Moreover, dog faeces were added to these systems to simulate contaminated urban runoff. The purpose of this novel and timely research is to increase public acceptance of zero discharge infiltration ponds, and to control algal growth with C. auratus. Findings show that C. auratus improve most water quality variables after their introduction to planted and unplanted infiltration ponds despite deterioration of virtually all common inflow water quality variables based on an annual comparison. Public interest is high because the study captures the imagination of the urban population facing recurrent flooding problems in autumn in low‐lying areas, and the nuisance of dog excrements despite of new regulations to scoop up droppings.

The ‘Glasgow Surface Water Management Project’ is Glasgow City Council’s contribution to the Transformation of Rural and Urban Spatial Structure (TRUST) project, one of the European Union’s (EU) inter‐regional (INTERREG IIIB) funded research projects. This project assesses how sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) can contribute to relieving stress on the current predominantly combined sewer system. Fifty‐seven sites within Glasgow were assessed with a novel SUDS feasibility tool that can be used for stormwater resources assessment, development, planning and management in developed and developing countries. Two environmental desk studies incorporating historical planning issues that are relevant for regeneration were undertaken. A combination of infiltration trenches or swales with ponds or underground storage were the most likely SUDS options for the majority of the areas studied. The drainage of the Lillyburn Place area should be dominated by infiltration trenches draining into a nearby burn during ...

The aim was to assess the influence of a full silt trap at the end of a stormwater drainage pipe on the water quality of stormwater discharged into a semi‐natural urban watercourse. For approximately eleven weeks, the water qualities of the preliminarily treated stormwater and of the receiving watercourse (Braid Burn) were studied. The mean outflow concentrations of suspended solids were 2.0 mg/l and 34.1 mg/l during dry and wet weather conditions, respectively. Suspended solids concentrations of up to 141.6 mg/l were recorded during storm events. Suspended solids values for treated stormwater were often too high compared to international secondary wastewater treatment standards of around 30 mg/l. Pollutants including heavy metals (e.g., zinc, copper and nickel) accumulated in the silt trap. However, high outflow velocities during heavy rainfall events did not result in clearly defined sediment layers due to sediment re‐suspension. Metals did not accumulate in the receiving watercourse.