by Deepak Singh, Yogesh Kumar and Usha Mina
Original Research
The natural resources on the Earth are limited and these resources should be used judiciously for sustainability. One of the important natural resource is the soil, use by the people for various purposes. When its utilization and consumption is skewed, then it affects the soil quality. To fulfill the needs of the people of the region, there is need for the proper management of this particular resource. The present study tries to characterize the soil of Auraiya district, which has undergone major change in land use pattern in last two decades. The different biogeochemical parameters studied in the present study are important from the point of view to know the level of degradation of the soil of the region. The present study characterizes the biogeochemical soil quality parameters of five representative villages of the Auraiya district located in state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The land use pattern of Auraiya district shows that its land is utilized for agriculture, residential colony and industrial set up. The different biogeochemical soil parameters studied are pH, Electrical Conductivity, Water Holding Capacity, macronutrients namely, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and available Potassium, micronutrients like Aluminium, Manganese, Iron, Boron and microorganism (bacteria) named E.colipopulation load. The correlation matrix result showed that the pH has inverse relationships with all other parameters except Mn and EC. The WHC is negatively related with EC, N, P, Al and Fe levels. The available Nitrogen in the soil has inverse relationship with the pH which may be due to the volatilization loss of nitrogen. The content of the E.coliwas high during the winter season at Ranipur village. Among the seasonal variation in the soil quality parameters shows that there is variation during these periods. The studied sites are mainly under agriculture practice but the water used by the farmers of the areas comes from the rivers, canals, lakes, underground water etc. These water resources receive different types of pollutant from the industrial units, commercial places and solid waste from the municipal bodies located nearby. This polluted water when used gets mixed with soil and interferes with the soil nutrients contents. The variation in soil quality parameters between villages indicate that villages and the adjoining area are subjected to major land use change, due to which the soil quality parameters and nutrients content have declined. To achieve and maintain the soil resource, sustainability, there is need for short and long term strategies for sustainable development planning so that the needs of people is fulfilled with degrading the soil resource.
American Journal of Water Resources. 2019, 7(1), 30-41. DOI: 10.12691/ajwr-7-1-5
Pub. Date: April 26, 2019
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by Takele Gadissa, Maurice Nyadawa, Benedict Mutua and Fiseha Behulu
Original Research
Climate change and anthropogenic activities are the main driving factors for changes in hydrological processes of a given watershed. This research was conducted to assess the relative contribution of climate change and human activities to streamflow change. The ensemble mean of five regional climate models (RCMs) in the coordinated regional climate downscaling experiment (CORDEX)-Africa was considered for the purpose of this study. Two emission scenarios, the Representative Concentration Pathways, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, were considered for the future scenario period (2041–2070). Streamflow change due to climate change and human activities was assessed using coefficient of elasticity method and SWAT hydrological model. A change due to climate change was further split into change due to precipitation and evapotranspiration. Climate change contributed 46.7% while human activities contributed 53.3% to changes in streamflow. It was found that a 10% decrease in precipitation caused a reduction of 25.1% in streamflow, while 10% increase in potential evapotranspiration caused a reduction of 15.5% in streamflow. The results from ensemble mean of Regional Climate Models (RCMs) show that the average projected precipitation will decrease by 7.97% and 2.55% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 respectively. On average, temperature will increase by 1.9°C and 2.7°C under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 respectively. This corresponds to 4.89% and 6.59% increase in potential evapotranspiration under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 respectively. Using coefficient of elasticity method, the estimated values of streamflow change were – 26.9% and – 15.8% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 respectively. The results of this study show that the reduction in streamflow due to human activities was higher than the reduction due to climate change. The streamflow change induced by anthropogenic factors can be associated with factors such as water abstraction, land use change, ground water abstraction, and the other catchment properties. Hence, further research is recommended to separate changes from these factors.
American Journal of Water Resources. 2019, 7(1), 23-29. DOI: 10.12691/ajwr-7-1-4
Pub. Date: March 21, 2019
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by Yosef Alamri and Michael Reed
Original Research
Using the concept of virtual water introduced by Allan 1994 and developed by Hoekstra and Hung (2002), we estimate virtual water trade for 20 crops of Saudi Arabia during 2000-2016. Our result shows the average virtual water trade was 12.6 billion m3/year. Saudi had net virtual water imports, with the most significant virtual water import for cereals & alfalfa and vegetable; and there is a virtual water export of fruit. Saudi virtual water trade reduced pressure on water resources by 54%. Distance plays a role in Saudi virtual water export; we found that more than 90% of exports go to neighboring countries, including 45% to GCC countries. On the other hand, more than 40% of virtual water imports came from Asia.
American Journal of Water Resources. 2019, 7(1), 16-22. DOI: 10.12691/ajwr-7-1-3
Pub. Date: February 09, 2019
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by Kalagbor I.A., Johnny V. I. and Ogbolokot I. E.
Original Research
Rivers present a continuous renewable physical resource for domestic and agricultural purposes. Kaani and Kpean rivers in Bori town in Rivers state, Nigeria are the common sources of water to the people. The water quality assessment of these rivers is carried out using fifteen physicochemical parameters. These parameters were measured for three consecutive months of July, August and September 2017 at three sampling points for each river. These months are the months of the rainy season. The samples were analysed using the standardized method of the American Public Health Association (APHA). The concentrations of all the analysed parameters were compared to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water. National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSF WQI) and Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WA WQI) were used for assessment. The NSF WQI values of 59.77 and 63.45 were obtained for Kaani and Kpean respectively. The NSF WQI was able to give a good evaluation of the gradual change in the water quality of these two rivers as they flowed through the communities from Kaani to Kpean. The results obtained using the WA WQI gave values of 1.68 and 6.04 for Kaani and Kpean respectively indicating that these water bodies have excellent water quality rating and both methods find useful application in the assessment of Kaani and Kpean and rivers. This study shows that in the months of the rainy season, these two rivers have good water quality and are fit for use.
American Journal of Water Resources. 2019, 7(1), 11-15. DOI: 10.12691/ajwr-7-1-2
Pub. Date: January 27, 2019
10524 Views1896 Downloads
by NZEKET Aline Beatrice, MOYO Karen Brell, Amina ABOUBAKAR, YOUDOM YOUTHA Armelle Stéphanie, MOUSSIMA YAKA Diane Armelle, ZING ZING Bertrand, SULEM YONG Nina Nindum, MAMA Anselme Crépin and MFOPOU MEWOUO Yvette Clarisse
Original Research
In order to assess the physicochemical and heavy metal properties of groundwater consumed in Edéa (Cameroon), 8 boreholes were randomly chosen from 8 sites and their suitability was evaluated using three norms viz Cameroonian Norm (NC207:2003-02) and International standards including (CODEX: 108-1981 and European Union, EU:1998). Water samples were collected in triplicates bimonthly and analyzed using standard methods. Physicochemical analysis showed high temperatures with a mean value of (30.26 ±2.4) °C, acidic pH 5.94±0.34 and very weak mineralization leading to an electrical conductivity value of (134, 96 ± 49.59) µS/cm. The relative abundance of major ions was Ca2+>Mg2+>Na+> NH4+>K+ for cations and NO-3> HCO-3-> PO43-> SO42->Cl-for anions. All these ions fell within acceptable limits recommended by NC207:2003-0 boreholes 2, CODEX: 108-1981 and EU: 1998 with an exception for nitrates, ammonium and phosphate contents which were above acceptable limits. Among heavy metals analyzed, results showed that only lead and manganese values were above the standards’; all boreholes were contaminated by Lead while only 32.5% was contaminated by Manganese. The main water types were Mg-Ca-SO43--Cl-and Mg-Ca-HCO3- can’t result to an alteration of the aquifer matrix (dissolution of Gypsum chloride) and influence of anthropogenic activities through infiltration of agricultural, industrial and domestic waste water. These results showed that water of Edéa is not suitable for human consumption and must be appropriately treated before any usage.
American Journal of Water Resources. 2019, 7(1), 1-10. DOI: 10.12691/ajwr-7-1-1
Pub. Date: January 19, 2019
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