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• This study shows results of the first, large-scale meso- and macrozooplankton survey of the surface waters (0–2 m depth) of the eastern Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. • Results reveal the impact of undersampling of the surface layer regarding knowledge on distribution and vertical migration patterns of zooplankton species, as conventional survey techniques, such as traditional nets and acoustics, do not sample this stratum. • High numbers of Euphausia superba , Themisto gaudichaudi , Limacina helicina and Calanus propinquus were found in the surface layer. • The zooplankton community could be divided in six groups, revealing variety in structure between the eastern and western side of the sampling area, and changes in the structure in the southernmost stations compared to the northern ones. • The high densities of E. superba in the surface layer, in contrast to the epipelagic layer, shows that the study of the surface waters increases, and possibly alters, existing knowledge on the distribution of krill, which is important for conservation and fisheries management. Knowledge on the distribution of zooplankton in the many unique habitats of the Southern Ocean is essential for understanding food web dynamics, assessing the impacts of environmental change and for managing the exploitation of marine living resources. Variation in the distribution of zooplankton may occur in the horizontal as well as the vertical plane, and the latter may show a diel cycle (diel vertical migration or DVM). Conventional sampling methods, including several types of nets and acoustics, often undersample or ignore the top 10 m of the water column. The surface waters may, however, host a specific zooplankton community and therefore be an important foraging ground for higher trophic level predators. In order to investigate the importance of the surface waters for understanding the distribution of species and potentially improving abundance estimates, the upper two meters of the water column were sampled in the eastern Indian sector of the Southern Ocean using a Surface and Under Ice Trawl (SUIT). Findings were compared to the zooplankton community structure in the epipelagic (15–200 m). Results showed that the surface zooplankton community could largely be divided into two regions. The surface community of the western side of the sampling area hosted large numbers of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba , which were only present in low densities in the epipelagic depth layer. Densities of Limacina helicina were also relatively high in the west. The copepod Calanus propinquus and the amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii were present in relatively large numbers throughout the sampling area. T. gaudichaudii was the dominant species of the surface in the eastern side of the sampling area in the absence of Antarctic krill. Apart from cirripedia nauplii, no species were uniquely found in the surface water compared to the 15–200 m depth layer. Surface water sampling revealed patterns in vertical distribution and DVM, and showed that these patterns changed between the first and second half of the expedition. This could partially be explained by environmental variables but was likely also a result of sampling time and location, and associated variation in the size and ontogeny of species. Results revealed the impact of undersampling the surface layer regarding knowledge on distribution and vertical migration patterns of zooplankton species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degassing potential of supersaturated dissolved greenhouse gases (N 2 O, CO 2 , and CH 4) in groundwater has often been overlooked as a source of emissions in irrigated agriculture. Quantifying the degassing potential and investigating measures are essential for agricultural carbon mitigation. This study estimated for the first time the direct greenhouse gas degassing potential from groundwater under different irrigation methods and explored mitigation strategies in the Guanzhong Basin, Northwest China. The results revealed that while short-term degassing potential from groundwater irrigation exceeds that reported for global inland waters and fertilized soils, the interannual degassing potential (13,819–52,163 t CO 2 -eq year−1) represents only 0.3–1.1 % of annual emissions from regional agricultural soils. The degassing potential exhibited a trend of over-surface drip irrigation (ODI) > surface drip irrigation (DI) > subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) > flood irrigation (FI) under equivalent irrigation volumes. Notably, SDI emerges as a promising strategy for concurrent water conservation and greenhouse gas mitigation. Switching from over-surface and surface drip irrigation to subsurface drip irrigation yields a reduction of 60.8 % and 46.3 % in carbon emissions per cubic meter of water saved, respectively. This study provides valuable insights for the development of sustainable irrigation practices and emphasizes the importance of integrating groundwater degassing potential into agricultural carbon budgets and emission mitigation strategies. [Display omitted] • Significant degassing differences among different irrigation methods. • Subsurface drip irrigation contributes to greenhouse gas reductions. • Groundwater irrigation degassing ranges from 13,819 to 52,163 t CO 2 -eq year−1. • Groundwater irrigation degassing potential cannot be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SEKO, a water treatment equipment specialist, was approached to provide a customized solution for a new aquapark in Italy. The park includes three pools: a semi-Olympic-sized swimming pool, a shallow children's pool, and a wellness pool. SEKO proposed three systems to handle the water treatment demand, including a photometer system for measuring key treatment values, a PoolFeeder system for dosing chlorine tablets, and a Tekna dosing pump for pH reduction. The systems work together to ensure clean and safe water in all of the park's pools. SEKO provided support throughout the project, and the park is now fully operational and attracting visitors from across Europe. [Extracted from the article]

Corrosion of brass plumbing materials may lead to metal release and deteriorate the drinking water quality. In this study, the initial corrosion of brass coupon cut from commercially available water meter was investigated. High rates of Pb, Cu and Zn release from the brass coupon were found during the early stage of corrosion (0–5 d) due to general corrosion and galvanic corrosion. The corrosion current density (I corr) increased and resistance (R F) decreased during this period indicating that severe corrosion had occurred. In a later stage (5–30 d), a decreased I corr and an increased R F were observed due to the development of a denser layer of Pb and Cu corrosion products which regulated the release of soluble Pb and Cu. The release of Zn continued and no significant Zn precipitation was found. Overall, particulate Pb, particulate Cu and soluble Zn dominated in the metal release during the initial corrosion of brass. The release of Pb, Cu and Zn was enhanced by a lower pH. Free chlorine was found to slightly reduce the release of Pb but promote the release of Cu and Zn. The presence of Pb on the brass surfaces was found to alleviate the dezincification process. A conceptual model based on metal release profile and electrochemical characterization was proposed to describe the initial corrosion of brass in typical drinking water. [Display omitted] • Acidic pH promoted the release of Pb, Cu and Zn. • Free chlorine promoted the release of Cu and Zn but slightly reduced Pb release. • Lead in brass could alleviate the dezincification process. • Electrochemical characteristics were consistent with metal release profiles. • A conceptual model of brass dezincification was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Elektronik Industrie is the property of Hüthig GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The massive development of internet of things (IoT) technologies is gaining momentum across all areas of their possible deployment—spanning from Industry 4.0 to eHealth, smart city, agriculture or waste management. This ongoing development is further pushed forward by the gradual deployment of 5G networks. With 5G capable smart devices, it will be possible to transfer more data with shorter latency thereby resulting in exciting new use cases such as Massive IoT. Massive-IoT (low-power wide area network-LPWAN) enables improved network coverage, long device operational lifetime and a high density of connections. Despite all the advantages of massive-IoT technology, there are certain cases where the original concept cannot be used. Among them are dangerous explosive environments or issues caused by subsurface deployment (operation during winter months or dense greenery). This article presents the concept of a hybrid solution of IoT LoRaWAN (long range wide area network)/IRC-VLC (infrared communication, visible light communication) technology, which combines advantages of both technologies according to the deployment scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic Ocean has experienced orbital and millennial-scale climate oscillations over the last 500 kilo-annum (ka) involving massive changes in global sea level and components of the Arctic cryosphere, including sea-ice cover, land-based ice sheets and ice shelves. Although these climate events are only partially understood, micropaleontological studies utilizing ostracodes and benthic foraminifera have demonstrated that major changes in faunas have occurred at different timescales that signify ecosystem regime changes linked to sea-ice cover, surface productivity, bottom temperature and other factors. In addition to faunal changes characterizing glacial-interglacial cycles, Arctic sediments contain several unusual faunal events that cannot be explained by orbital-scale sea level and cryospheric changes. One indicator of such events involves the ostracode Rabilimismirabilis (Brady, 1868), a shallow-water species that inhabits continental shelves in themodern Arctic. We conducted studies of the stratigraphic distribution of R. mirabilis in cores from the Northwind, Mendeleev, Lomonosov, and Alpha Ridges; the Siberian and North American (Beaufort Sea) continental margins; and the Lincoln Sea off North Greenland and in the northern Greenland Sherard Osborn Fjord. Evidence from these records suggests that this species occurs as a fossil in deeper water sediment cores on the upper parts of submarine ridges (mainly 700-900 meters water depth, mwd), in significant numbers (from 1%to 50% of total ostracodes) duringMarine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5a (125-109 ka), MIS 4 (71-57 ka), and MIS 3 (57-29 ka). Furthermore, it occurs in cores from various depths on the Siberian margin, the Beaufort and Lincoln Seas duringMIS 1 (the Holocene, ~11-0 ka). These occurrences involve well-preserved, stratigraphically consistent adult and juvenile populations, which are autochthonous in nature and not caused by downslope transport or ice rafting. Based on their age and associated paleoceanographic conditions in the Arctic, we interpret these R. mirabilis events as signifying basin-ward migration during abrupt changes in growth and decay of massive ice shelves and may be useful as biostratigraphic markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Water activity is measured by equilibrating a test portion with a sealed head space and measuring the test portion temperature and the vapor density of the head space. The water activity is the ratio of head space vapor density to the saturation vapor density at test portion temperature. Headspace vapor density is typically measured using capacitance or chilled mirror sensors, but, when volatiles in significant concentration are present, these measurements may fail. Objective: Evaluate the accuracy of a tunable diode laser (TDL) for measuring the headspace vapor density and water activity of pharmaceutical preparations and food in the presence of non-aqueous volatiles. Methods: A commercial TDL water activity meter was calibrated against standards of known water activity and used to measure water activity of pharmaceutical preparations and food with high concentrations of non-aqueous volatiles. Results: When no volatiles other than water vapor are present, this method is capable of measuring water activity with an accuracy of 0.005 or better. When high concentrations of volatiles such as ethanol, isopropanol, propylene glycol, tetrahydrofuran, or acetonitrile are present the uncertainty of the measurement increases. This is at least partly due to the uncertainty of the standards. Conclusion: Based on uncertainties in the water activity estimates of the water-organic mixtures, the uncertainties in water activity measurements with high concentrations of non-aqueous solvents is 0.02 or less up tomass fractions of the organic of 0.97. Highlights: The theoretical background for TDL measurement of water activity is presented showing that the water vapor concentration is proportional to the area of the absorption line which is not affected by the presence of other volatiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latest technological innovation in the development of compact lower power radios has led to the explosion of Internet of Things. With Wi-Fi, Zigbee and other physical layer protocols offering short coverage area there was a need for a RF protocol that had a larger coverage area with low power consumption. LoRa offers Long Range with lower power consumption. LoRa offers point to point and point to multipoint connections. with Single hop communication in place the need for routing protocols are eliminated. LoRa Wide Area Network stack can accommodate thousands of nodes under a single LoRa gateway with a single hop communication between the end nodes and LoRaWAN gateway. This paper takes an experimental approach to analyze the basic physical layer parameters of LoRa and the practical coverage offered by a LoRaWAN under highly dense urban conditions with variable topography. The insights gained from the practical deployment of the LoRaWAN network, and the subsequent performance analysis is used to design a novel public utility monitoring platform. The second half of the papers is designing a robust platform to integrate both existing wired sensor water meters, current and future generation wireless water meters. The Common Automated Metering Platform is designed to integrate both wired sensors and wireless (LoRaWAN and Wi-Fi) supported water meters. This integrated platform reduces the number of nodes under each LoRaWAN gateway and thus improves the scalability of the network. This architecture is currently designed to accommodate one utility application but can be modified to integrate multi-utility applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of CULCyT: Cultura Científica y Tecnológica is the property of Cultura Cientifica y Tecnologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Economics & Social Sciences is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The evaluation of the impact of intermittent water supply on water distribution systems is a complex task. Laboratory tests, in controlled conditions with virtually no constraints on instrument and device location, allow the analysis of the effects of single parameters on pressures and flows. Within the framework of a research consultancy commissioned by the World Bank, the test network at the Water Engineering Laboratory of the University of Perugia, Italy, was modified to analyse pipe filling and emptying phenomena. Herein we describe the characteristics of the set-up, the available instruments and data acquisition system, as well as the installed devices (e.g., air release and in- and off-line ball valves). The set-up was also designed to investigate the effects of the air flow on the overbilling of water meters. The results of a preliminary test allow the typical phases of the phenomenon to be analysed, including the filling of the pipe with water and the discharging of air, the arrival of the water front at the downstream end causing a pressure variation typical of water hammer, and the emptying process and the filling with air. The analysis allows the operational mechanism to be understood and remedial interventions designed and validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Israel's water and vegetative agriculture sectors are interdependent, as the latter constitutes the solution for wastewater disposal. We employ a dynamic mathematical programming model that captures this interdependence for evaluating the economic damage of irrigation water salinity under two strategies of blending water sources with different salinities: field blending, which enables farmers to assign water with a specific salinity to each crop, and regional blending, under which all crops experience similar water salinity. Relative to field blending, the buildup rate of desalination under regional blending is slightly expedited; nevertheless, reallocations of water sources across sectors and crops increase the average irrigation water salinity, and the overall welfare decreases by USD 0.08 per cubic meter of irrigation water—about 20% of the water's average value of marginal product. Salinity-sensitive crops will face the largest per hectare production reduction if regional blending replaces field blending; however, the combined variations in the prices of irrigation water and agricultural outputs may motivate farmers to move irrigation water to these crops. Under equilibrium conditions in the two sectors, a 1% increase in the average salinity of the irrigation water supplied to a region reduces the value of the marginal product of that water by 2.4% and 1.6% under field and regional blending, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ready to rehydrate food products are consumers' choice in global market. More than 9500 rice cultivars (Oryza sativa L.) were reported from North East India. Three underutilized paddy land races of NE India viz., Chakhao poireiton, Joha and Chokuwa were assessed and compared for their commercial potential to develop ready to rehydrate rice (RTRr) for the first time. RTRr were prepared by processing paddy via soaking, sand frying, sun drying and milling following conventional method of soft rice processing using metric scale and were assessed for nutritional (AOAC methods), energy (Atwater factors), moisture content (Moisture analyzer), water activity (Water activity meter), rehydration time and sensory analysis (9-point hedonic scale) by 25 untrained panelists. All the experiments were performed in triplicates. PCA and AHC were done by XLSTAT and ANOVA at p <0.05 were conducted using Sigmaplot. RTRr exhibited quickest rehydration time 40.00 ± 4.08 min in Chakhao poireiton, highest yield (63.20±1.03%) in Joha, carbohydrate (87.48±0.01%) in Joha, protein (10.06±0.32%) in Chakhao poireiton, fat (9.25±0.5%) in Chokuwa, ash (3.23±0.46%) in Chakhao poireiton, dietary fiber (12.13±0.4%) in Chokuwa, energy (437 kcal) in Joha, color difference (ΔE ab) value 9.65±0.02 in Chakhao poireiton RTRr powder, overall acceptability of 7.08±0.098 in Chokuwa, product characterization and panelists' evaluation by PCA 84.27% and 56.70% between the components in preferring Chokuwa. These paddy cultivars exhibited commercial potential to develop RTRr. RTRr developed from Chakhao poireiton exhibited higher protein, ash and low moisture contents, RTRr developed from Joha showed high carbohydrate and energy content and low water activity and RTRr developed from Chokuwa was rated highest in sensory analysis by the panelists. [Display omitted] • Ready-to-rehydrate rice (RTRr) was prepared from three underutilized paddy land races of NE India. • RTRr was prepared for the first time from Joha & Chakhao poireiton alongside Chokuwa. • Nutritional, physical parameters including color analysis of the three RTRr were compared. • Sensory analysis of the three RTRr along with product characterization and panelists' evaluation were done for the first time to screen industrial potential. • All three RTRr exhibited potential scope for commercializaion as per calculation of cost of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are over 52,000 dams in the contiguous US ranging from 0.5 to 243 meters high that collectively hold 600,000 million cubic meters of water. These structures have dramatically affected the river dynamics of every major watershed in the country. While there are national datasets that document dam attributes, there is no national dataset of reservoir operations. Here we present a dataset of historical reservoir inflows, outflows and changes in storage for 679 major reservoirs across the US, called ResOpsUS. All of the data are provided at a daily temporal resolution. Temporal coverage varies by reservoir depending on construction date and digital data availability. Overall, the data spans from 1930 to 2020, although the best coverage is for the most recent years, particularly 1980 to 2020. The reservoirs included in our dataset cover more than half of the total storage of large reservoirs in the US (defined as reservoirs with storage greater 0.1 km3). We document the assembly process of this dataset as well as its contents. Historical operations are also compared to static reservoir attribute datasets for validation. Measurement(s) storage • inflow • outflow • evaporation • elevation Technology Type(s) digital curation Factor Type(s) temporal interval Sample Characteristic - Environment reservoir Sample Characteristic - Location contiguous United States of America Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.17161415 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apparent water losses can be problematic to water companies' revenues. This type of loss is very difficult to detect and quantify and is often associated with water meter anomalies. This study was motivated by a water company's challenge that links a decrease in water consumption to water meters' malfunction. The aim is to develop a strategy to detect decreasing water usage patterns, contributing to meter performance assessment. The basis of the approach is a combination of statistical methods. First, the time series of billed water consumption is decomposed using Seasonal-Trend decomposition based on Loess. Next, breakpoint analysis is performed on the seasonally adjusted time series. After that, the Mann–Kendall test and Sen's slope estimator are used to analyze periods of progressive decrease changes in water consumption, defined by breakpoints. A quantitative indicator of this change is proposed. The strategy was successfully applied to eight-time series of water consumption from the Algarve, Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water consumption is constantly increasing, mainly due to population growth, and resources are unfortunately shrinking. It becomes necessary to save water. There are many forms of saving water by protecting its resources, e.g. limiting leaks (generating water losses) both in the installation and on the water supply network, limiting unreasonable needs (e.g. multiple use of packaging or other objects), use of rainwater. The article presents the possibilities offered by the metering of the entire water supply network and water consumption at consumers. For the assumed zone supplying a housing estate inhabited by about 2,200 people, the coefficient of unavoidable losses was determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitization in the field of water supply and sewerage is associated with the concept of processing extremely large amounts of data (big data) and processing and analysis of these data (data mining). In essence, the significance of the mentioned data for water supply and sewerage systems is huge, but in order to understand their role, it is necessary to assess the possibility of using and applying these data. In conditions in which data from various sensors and equipment in the field of kai and data related to customer needs are permanently obtained, the amount of this data increases significantly. Replacing classic water meters with smart ones also significantly increases the amount of information. New trends in the management and supervision of water supply and sewerage systems enable operators to make maximum use of this data, and management to undertake activities at the tactical and strategic level. Modern SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems significantly contribute to the rapid detection of infrastructure failures, reduction of losses by detecting leaks, overflows in tanks. Based on the collected data, operational efficiency is improved, opportunities for proactive maintenance of water and sewage resources are identified, as well as preparation for long-term investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From River Tisza to the Tiszafüred Main Irrigation Channel – which has a calming pool with 16 m diameter – lifted 2–4 cubic meters of water per sec by pumps. In autumn, the main channel needs less water. Therefore, the pumps stop working, and the water of the channel flows away, but in the deep calming pool, plenty of small fish, which come to River Tisza, remain. In 2001 we could sample fish in the calming pool, and in 2021 we get an opportunity to repeat that. The sampling data prove that 50 years later, rheophilic species still exist on the upstream side of the Dam of River Tisza at Kisköre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the factors affecting the adoption of smart water meters in universities. The study used a systematic literature review to explore factors affecting the adoption of smart water meters using secondary data. The Technology, Organisation, Environment (TOE) Framework was used as a theoretical lens to identify themes that affect the adoption of smart water meters. The study adopts the quantitative content analysis to identify adoption factors from published literature on smart water meters. The collected was analyzed quantitatively to reveal factors affecting the adoption of smart water meter technologies. The study results suggest that technological factors are the most popular adoption factors affecting the adoption of smart meter technology. Environmental factors are the second important factor affecting the adoption of smart meter technology. The organizational factors were the least important factors affecting the adoption of smart meter technology in organizations. The research contributes to the body of knowledge on factors affecting smart water adoption in universities. In addition, the study stimulates further research in the area using empirical and other research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Przegląd Elektrotechniczny is the property of Przeglad Elektrotechniczny and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study was conducted to evaluate the water disappearance of nursery pigs (from weaning to 6 wk post-weaning; 6.4 ± 1.07 to 22.0 ± 3.39 kg live body weight) using a randomized complete block design to compare two Drinker Type treatments: Nipple vs. Cup. A total of 336 pigs housed in 16 pens with 21 pigs per pen in 2 rooms (8 pens per room) were used. Pens had fully-slatted concrete floors; floor space was 0.32 m2/pig and there was one feeder and one drinker per pen. Pigs were fed corn-soybean–based diets formulated to meet or exceed nutrient requirements. Pigs and feeders were weighed at the start and end of the study. Water disappearance was measured using a water-flow meter fitted to the water pipeline supplying the drinker in each pen. For the overall study period, Drinker Type did not affect (P  > 0.05) growth performance; however, average daily water disappearance was greater (P  < 0.05) for Nipple than Cup drinkers (2.74 and 2.25 liters/d, respectively; SEM = 0.139). Water to feed disappearance ratio was greater (P  < 0.05) for the Nipple than the Cup treatment (5.23 vs. 4.22 liters:kg, respectively; SEM = 0.263). These results suggest that water disappearance from nipple drinkers was greater than for cup drinkers. The lack of an effect of Drinker Type treatment on pig growth performance suggests that the treatment difference for water disappearance was most likely due to greater water wastage for the nipple drinkers rather than any effect on water intake per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a revolutionary technology called the Zero Gravity Pump, which aims to remove the gravitational component in water circulation. Traditional pumps for vertical pumping have always posed engineering challenges, but the Zero Gravity Pump leverages water from the drain to propel fresh water upwards, effectively counteracting gravity. This technology can lead to significant energy savings, with operational costs potentially slashed by up to 90%. The article explains the operation of the Zero Gravity Pump and highlights its advantages, such as reducing energy consumption and providing a sustainable competitive advantage. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this study is to determine the priority areas in the meter replacement or rehabilitation by using an integrated methodology combining the AHP and ELECTRE I methods to reduce the non-revenue water. For this, a total of 7 criteria such as the Water Consumption Rate, Mean Meter Age, Faulty Water Meter Ratio, Region Population Rate, Customer Loyalty Percentage, Average Operating Pressure and Calibrated Age were considered. The AHP method was applied to calculate the weights of the criteria and then a model based on weights of criteria was developed using the ELECTRE I method. The model based on AHP and ELECTRE I methods was applied by taking into account the field data records for 7 criteria and the priority regions in water meter replacement were determined. This study will make significant contributions in the scope of minimizing the losses caused by the meters, reducing the costs in meter management and making the most benefit in meter replacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) end-user demand metering failure on water distribution system (WDS) operation and management. To address this issue, our first step is to develop a burst detection algorithm that compares total end-user demands with system inflow rates. Western Electric Company (WEC) rules are applied to test for anomalies in the time series of normalized differences between supply and withdrawal. Then, hydraulic model prediction and burst detection performance are evaluated for fully reporting and missing AMI demand conditions using synthetically generated end-user demands for a network in Tucson, Arizona. Three imputation methods [zero, historical mean (HM), and distribution sampling (DS) method] are applied to replace missing AMI data and are compared for a range of missing data percentages. Based on the numerical experimental results, HM imputation method is the most useful tool to replace missing WDS AMI data. This scheme resulted in the lowest hydraulic model prediction errors and low false-alarm rates while maintaining high burst detection probability. However, more false alarms are raised as the percentage of missing data increases. To solve the problem, the guidelines for optimal WEC rule application are identified for a range of missing demand levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated relationships between the most notable characteristics of end-use events, namely, event duration, volume, and intensity, in order to categorize water use as being indoor or outdoor. Three classification models were developed, calibrated, and compared using more than 200,000 household end-use events that were recorded independently in Australia and South Africa. The three methods were also compared to a practice-based limit classification scheme. The classification model presented in this paper correctly apportions ∼81% of the indoor end-use event volumes and ∼98% of the outdoor end-use event volumes, thus reinforcing the value of basic smart water meter data sets as a source of useful information for water demand management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The “Lagunas de Montebello” National Park located in Chiapas, Mexico, is well known for its crystal blue water bodies, some of which, in 2003, started to change color from crystalline to cloudy brown, and occasionally emit a foul smell, contains white-yellowish supernatant debris and dead fish. To determine the causes of the changes in the water characteristics of the “Liquidambar” lagoon of the Montebello lagoon system, a physicochemical characterization was carried out over the first six meters of the water column, together with geochemical speciation analysis and the saturation index calculation for different minerals. Water was classified as calcium-sulfated and the main mechanism that controlled its chemistry was rocks dissolution. Sulfide was found at all sampled depths in the range of 0.11 to 1.13 mg.L-1. The concentration of sulfate in the water column ranged from 249.21 to 298.7 mg.L-1, carbonate ranged from 140.5 to 261.4 mg.L-1, calcium and magnesium ranged from 94.5 to 146.9 mg.L-1 and 34.2 to 38.3 mg.L-1, respectively. Likewise, oxygen was also found to be oversaturated on the surface with a value of 9.32 mg.L-1. The speciation results and SI indicated that the mineral phases calcite, aragonite, and dolomite were oversaturated, being greater on the surface. The results suggested the possibility that the turbidity, the coloration change, and the whitish supernatant were due to the precipitation of carbonate minerals, microbiologically influenced by the photosynthetic activity in the upper layer of the lagoon water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germany is a rather water-rich country. Nevertheless, climatic changes might make it necessary to use water resources carefully in the future, especially in times of drought. Against this background, this paper estimates the price elasticity of household water consumption, differentiating between households that have a rough knowledge of water prices and households that do not. Based on about 1,100 observations for households living in single-family houses and using the sum of cubic meter prices for water and wastewater as price measure, we find a moderate but statistically significantly non-zero price elasticity of -0.102. Households that have knowledge of water prices tend to exhibit a higher elasticity, while households without price knowledge do not show a statistically significant response in their water consumption. Prices can thus only be used to a limited extent as a means of controlling water consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Economics & Social Sciences is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Microplastics (MP) as emerging persistent pollutants were found in raw and drinking water worldwide. Since different methods were used, there is an urgent need for harmonized protocols for sampling, sample preparation, and analysis. In this study, a holistic and validated analytical workflow for MP analysis in aqueous matrices down to 5 μm is presented. For sampling of several cubic meters of water, an easily portable filter cascade unit with different pore sizes (100–20–5 μm) was developed and successfully applied for the sampling of three processed drinking waters, two tap waters and one groundwater. The size distribution and polymer types of MP were determined using a two-step semi-automated Raman microspectroscopy analysis. For quality control, comprehensive process blanks were considered at all times and a recovery test yielded an overall recovery of 81%. The average concentration of identified MP was 66 ± 76 MP/m3 ranging from 1 MP/m3 to 197 MP/m3. All found concentrations were below the limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 1880 MP/m3. The majority consisted of PE (86% ± 111%) while comparatively low numbers of PET (10% ± 25%), PP (3% ± 6%), and PA (1% ± 4%) were found. 79% of all particles were smaller than 20 μm. In summary, this study presents the application of a workflow for sampling and analysis of MP down to 5 μm with first results of no significant contamination in drinking water and groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser-based optical links offer the possibility of secure, high data rate underwater communication. Challenges include quickly modulating the light, and rapidly and reliably decoding the received symbols, despite degradation due to optical turbulence and scattering. This paper builds upon a framework introduced in 2016 to address these challenges. We constructed two novel 5-beam Laguerre-Gaussian basis sets, creating 25 symbol alphabets via superposition. We collected 139,000 images of the symbols, transmitted 4.3 meters through water with very strong optical turbulence. We use a novel convolutional neural network to decode them. We believe this work is the first to achieve high accuracy (93.7–99.9%) in an environment with extremely high levels (2∼107-108 m-2/3) of carefully documented experimentallyinduced optical turbulence. We improve upon previous work in several ways: using a larger alphabet (47 vs. 32), faster classification rates (10,000 Hz vs. 1,000 Hz), and a larger set of test images (96,000 vs 9,600). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is considered one of the most important grain crops in Egypt, as it represents the main food for the individual, which calls for ensuring the availability of minimum food needs on a regular basis, and this requires making all efforts from the various sectors of the economy in general, and the agricultural sector in particular. The research problem is the phenomenon of a noticeable decrease in the average production of wheat crop compared to its counterparts in other countries. Therefore, the expansion of the use of modern technological methods appropriate to the conditions of Egyptian agricultural production is the main entrance to increase the yield of the land unit of important strategic crops, including wheat. The main objective of the research is to identify the effect of using laser leveling on wheat crop production in Sharkia Governorate. The most important results are the following: In Faqous Municipal, in the case of using laser leveling, the optimum volume of production that minimized costs was about 21.30 ardebs, the maximum profit was about 21.78 ardebs, and the flexibility was about 0.78. As for the Minya al-Qamh Municipal, the civil size of the costs amounted to about 25.65 ardebs, the bulk of the profit amounted to about 31.82 ardebs, and the flexibility amounted to about 0.75. At the level of the study sample, the civil size of the costs was about 20.96 ardebs, the bulk of the profit was about 21.73 ardebs, and the flexibility was about 0.84. As it became clear from the efficiency indicators at Faqous Municipal that using a laser is better than not using a laser in the settlement, as it was found that the feddan productivity amounted to about 20.70 ardebs, and the net return per feddan amounted to about L.E. 5850.60, while the net return per meter of irrigation water amounted to about L. E. 3.15. As for the Minya Al-Qamh Municipal, it was found that the productivity per feddan amounted to about 19.90 ardebs, and the net return per feddan amounted to about L. E. 5747.02, and the net return per meter of irrigation water amounted to about L.E. 3.46. In confirmation of the foregoing in the extent of achieving a positive return on economic efficiency and productivity when using laser leveling, the cost functions reflected an increase in the civil size of costs, an increase in the maximum volume of profit, and an improvement in flexibility at the level of the overall study sample in Sharkia Governorate, with a productivity of about 20.30 ardebs per feddan, and it reached The net return of an acre is about L. E. 5798, and the net return per meter of irrigation water is about L. E. 3.31. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dairy industry has become a great source of human development in terms of providing the necessary amount of energy and calories, in addition to the vitamins needed to sustain life. Iraq is one of the largest countries that are dairy-producing and it is expected that the average per capita consumption of dairy products will increase from 52 litres to more than 60 litres during the next three years, then to more than 90 litres by 2025. Dairy production needs to consume large quantities of water It needs to consume 2-6 cubic meters of water to produce one ton of milk. These large quantities of water will lead to the discharge of large amounts of wastewater, which may reach 70% of the water used. Over the years I have used various techniques and methods for treating dairy wastewater. In this study, the membrane permeation removal technique (MD) was used to find out how efficient this technique is in removing the magnesium ion from the milk laboratory wastewater. The results came with the possibility of this technique in removing a small percentage of up to 9.76% at a temperature of approximately 45 degrees Celsius, which is a small percentage compared to the concentration of the interior and the effort exerted. For this reason, it is not recommended to use this mechanism to remove magnesium from dairy wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the adoption of smart water metering technology for water management has increased. The case for the adoption of smart water meters is mainly motivated by engineering and efficiency considerations around water conservation and related issues, for instance leak detection. At a consumer level, this can lead to improved feedback resulting in better customer control over consumption and household expenditure. The rate of adoption of smart water meters is dependent on many factors such as initial cost. The cost is expected to reduce as the technology matures and more options become available. The rate of adoption of the technology is also expected to be shaped by a variety of regulatory and social considerations. The purpose of this paper is to review the regulatory and social aspects that are likely to affect the adoption of the smart water metering technology in the future, with a focus on Australia. Instances of these aspects include privacy and health concerns, social acceptance, and communication strategies. It is expected that this paper will generate a healthy debate around the adoption of smart water meters to help the water sector to achieve a smooth transition from conventional to smart water meters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apparent losses is a major issue in many water distribution systems, which are hardly assessed due to their complexity, especially those associated with metering errors. Furthermore, individual evaluation of every water meter error is a costly and time-consuming task. This work presents a novel metrological state estimation approach (MSEA) for real-time water volume meter errors control. The proposed methodology is primarily applicable in a collective irrigation system (CIS) or other network where the flow rates at any monitored outflow fall inside a range to assume water meter errors as quasi-constants. The methodology enables further benefit from the advanced metering infrastructures (AMI) in order to apply state estimation (SE) techniques and automatically control the metrological status of all water meters within the network. Therefore, water meters with significant accuracy errors are detected. The application and detection capacity of the proposed method are studied by means of illustrative examples with synthetic but realistic measurement generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater accounts for 97% of the world's freshwater resources, with the exception of glaciers and ice caps, making it the world's largest supplier of freshwater. The other 3% is represented by lakes, rivers, swamps, ie surface waters, and soil moisture. The notion of groundwater must thus be seen as a valuable resource for the environment, not only as a source of drinking water supply, thus imposing the protection of groundwater, being particularly important for the environment. The case study presented in this paper, has as main objective of the research, the monitoring of quality parameters regarding groundwater in the southwest of the country, respectively Devesel commune and Chilia village, belonging to Devesel commune. The water samples used in this case study were taken from the wells of these two rural areas, from Mehedinți county, Devesel commune and Chilia village, belonging to Devesel commune. In zone 1 D (Devesel commune) we took water samples from the wells of 4 families, having a well in the yard, a clayey area (which we noted well 1, 2, 3, 4), located at a distance of about 200 meters and water samples from 4 fountains, located outside the courtyards of the inhabitants of Devesel commune, located at a distance of 1km from each other, (which we noted fountain 5, 6, 7, 8). In area 2 C (Chilia village) we took water samples from 4 wells located outside the people's yards. Two of the fountains are at a distance of about 200 meters and we noted fountain 1 and fountain 2. And we also took two water samples from two fountains located along the road, which we noted well 3 and well 4, the distance between the two wells being about 300 meters. For the analysis of the water in the wells, the following quality parameters were observed: nitrogen ion content, nitrite ion content, phosphate ion content, ion content ammonium, chloride content, iron content, manganese content, sodium content, potassium content, chemical oxidability expressed by CCO-Mn, pH, hardness. The quality parameters we followed were analyzed, according to standardized methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saudi Arabia tries to build local desalination water stations to supply water to remote areas. Due to the low cost and energy requirements of reverse osmosis (RO) desalination technology, it has been used to supply fresh water to Arar City in the northeast of Saudi Arabia. In this paper, it is proposed to provide an average of 1000 cubic meters of water per day by using autonomous hybrid renewable energy system (RES). This proposed system contains wind turbines (WTs), photovoltaic (PV), battery, and it is designed to feed the RO system with the energy adequate to produce the required amount of fresh water for the minimum cost and minimum loss of supply probability. The proposed system was designed to generate 2440 kW power to produce this amount of water. Matching study between the site and the best WT among 10 market-available WTs is introduced. Three optimization strategies were used and compared for the design of the proposed system to ensure that no premature convergence can occur. These strategies consisted of two well-known techniques, particle swarm optimization and bat algorithm (BA), and a relatively new technique: social mimic optimization. The simulation results obtained from the proposed system showed the superiority of using a RES for feeding a RO desalination power plant in Arar City, and they also showed that the BA is the fastest and most accurate optimization technique to perform this design problem compared with the other two optimization techniques. This detailed analysis shows that the cost of production of fresh water is $0.745/m3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water sector in India has undergone several institutional and structural reforms through different policies and legislation changes over the past decades to address the water scarcity challenges. This study presents and analyses various water utility policies chronologically emphasising persuasive conservation and use efficiency approach towards their implementation. A review of existing policies indicated that most of them have been only partially effective in implementing efficient water management due to the lack of a need-specific institutional framework, further deepening the water crisis. Moreover, the Indian water sector has been identified to concentrate majorly on water resource management, while overlooking sustainable aspects like water use efficiency through water metering. This study performed an 'indicator-based analysis', applying the framework of bounded rationality coupled with a 'cause-effect' model to recognise the effect of 12 significant water supply policies executed since independence. While initial policies focused on coverage and supply of adequate, safe, and improved drinking water majorly to rural sectors, the water sector gained holistic importance during the post-1990s considering aspects of the water source, supply frequency, water tariffing, etc. However, the gap coherence analysis illustrated that the concept of 'water metering' has not been distinctly considered in these policies. The findings from this study indicate a need for a discrete water metering policy, an equitable, universal, and cost-reflective tariff structuring, and the formulation of an institutional metering framework involving codes, testing laboratories, water metering standard associations. The above offers an alternate approach to the existing policy and a feasible solution to the water crisis in India. Internalising the advantages of metering in policy agenda may unlock the possibilities of success of the forthcoming policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]