Applied Water Science最新文献

Small inland wetlands, despite their pivotal roles in supporting aquatic biodiversity and local livelihoods, remain understudied and vulnerable to rapid degradation. This study investigates small wetlands in India’s Ganjam District, hypothesizing that urban pressures accelerate degradation, with light pollution and population density serving as effective water quality predictors. To test these assumptions, we measured 25 physicochemical variables and focused on 11 key parameters for the CCME water quality index (WQI). The scores ranged from 43 to 71, with 63% of sites rated ‘marginal’, reflecting elevated ammonium (> 0.5 mg L⁻¹), turbidity (> 10 NTU), total Fe (> 2 mg L⁻¹), and organic loads in most sites. We supplemented these data with night‐light intensity and population density rasters. Two principal components jointly explained approximately 50% of the total data variability. The first component and hierarchical clustering revealed a dominant brackish axis driven by salinity, hardness, TDS; and a turbidity–nutrient axis capturing total phosphorus, suspended solids, and turbidity. Meanwhile, light pollution and population density showed strong negative correlations with WQI, highlighting their power to track anthropogenic influence beyond conventional chemical variables. This study reiterates that fact that surveillance of smaller ecosystems can be a more representative and realistic reflection of overall habitat quality in any region, as compared with the perceived notion of focusing on larger ecosystems in sync with the SLOSS theory. The insights highlight the need for integrated management addressing both nutrient regulation and socioeconomic pressures to protect fragile waterbodies.

This study investigated the effect of powdered Shale and carbon nanotubes (FMWCNT) with polar functional groups OH and COOH on the rheological properties of lightweight drilling fluid weighing 63 pcf. In the first step, a fluid was used as a base, and six fluids containing nanotubes (three samples with OH functional groups and three samples with COOH functional groups) were prepared at ambient BHR (77 °F) and mud circulation at simulated bottom hole temperature (250 °F) at concentrations of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1% (w/w). After that, the rheological properties and filtration values (FL) were measured. The results show that the highest effect was observed at the concentration of 0.05% for the COOH functional group, which increased the rheological properties in both BHR and AHR conditions and decreased the FL values. In addition, the based mud was significantly improved by formulating it with 20 g of powdered Shale and 0.05% nanotubes with COOH functional groups. Compared to the based mud, the apparent viscosity and filtration values (AHR condition) were 37.5% and 67.8% improved, respectively.

Surface water resources in the Gorganroud watershed are facing significant reliability challenges due to human activities and climate change. This research aims to assess the resilience, reliability, and vulnerability of water resources across 16 sub-watersheds, focusing on minimum, maximum and environmental flows as well as water quality. The findings indicate that the health of the minimum flow over periods of 7, 30, and 90 days is rated at 0.16, 0.32, and 0.45, respectively, reflecting unhealthy to moderate conditions at the watershed level. Additionally, the maximum flow health score of 0.34 highlights the necessity for effective flood management. Water quality assessments for drinking and agricultural purposes were estimated at 0.52 and 0.57, respectively; however, downstream agricultural sub-watersheds with intensive activities, such as Hajighoshan, Dasht, Gonbad, Ghazaghli, and Gorgan Dam, are facing critical conditions. The overall health of the environmental flow in the watershed is rated at 0.47, with the middle and lower sub-watersheds, including Dasht and Gorgan Dam, exhibiting poor conditions, while mountainous areas, such as Till Abad, demonstrate better performance. These results underscore the urgent need for integrated water resource management, vegetation restoration, and the control of agricultural pollution to enhance watershed health.

Water quality is a crucial index of human health and environmental sustainability. The present study aimed to apply deterministic, probabilistic, and ML techniques, such as RF, DT, KNN, XGB, SVR, and GB, to classify the water quality in the southern region of Iran. The levels of TDS and alkalinity exhibited the greatest deviation from the standards set by the EPA, WHO, and BIS. The WQI findings revealed that 88.30% of the data were classified as excellent or good quality when employing the deterministic method. Conversely, 97.77% fell within these categories when the Monte Carlo simulation approach was used. The models were meticulously assessed using a set of statistical metrics, including R², MAE, RMSE, MSE, and PREI. The results show that the RF and XGB were highly effective in predicting WQI. The factors influencing the WQI, identified by RF and XGB methodologies and based on MLP, were TDS and SO₄²⁻ within the study area. According to the Piper diagram, the predominant groundwater type in the study region was HCO₃⁻–Na⁺, influenced by seawater intrusion, geological properties, and human activities. The deterministic method showed that the HI values exceeded the threshold of 1 in 51%, 2.13%, and 2.13% of the samples for children, teenagers, and adults, respectively. In contrast, the Monte Carlo simulation approach indicated that the HI values exceeding 1 were 34.8% for children, 2.9% for teenagers, and 0.4% for adults. Moreover, the HI was significantly affected by fluoride concentration, ingestion rate, and their interaction. The study's findings emphasized sustainable water management in this area.

The water-stressed Barind Tract (BT) in northwest Bangladesh faces critical challenges in meeting irrigation and domestic water demands, with groundwater tables declining at rates of 0.09–0.39 m per year due to over-extraction and limited natural recharge through thick clay aquitards (21–39 m). This study evaluates the potential for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) potential across three districts of BT (Godagari, Niamatpur and Mohanpur) using integrated horizontal flow treatment units. We analyzed 376.68 km of re-excavated Kharies (natural canals) and 257.01 acres of Beels (water reservoirs), incorporating seventeen years (2005–2021) of groundwater monitoring data and nineteen years of rainfall analysis (2002–2020). Field-verified recharge rates of 29 L/min for Kharies and 162.7 L/min for Beels were used to calculate potential MAR installations using the rational formula. Our analysis identified 3,315 feasible MAR installation sites (3,251 in Kharies: Godagari-966, Niamatpur-2276, Mohanpur-9; and 64 in Beels: Godagari-4, Niamatpur-14, Mohanpur-46), capable of recharging 27.10 million m³ annually from 50.61 million m³ of surface runoff, achieving 53.5% utilization efficiency. Groundwater monitoring showed declines of 6.6 m in Godagari, 5.24 m in Niamatpur, and 1.6 m in Mohanpur over the study period. Annual rainfall averaged 1231 mm, 1414 mm, and 1132 mm respectively, with 90% occurring during May–October monsoon periods. Performance monitoring of existing MAR installations demonstrated successful water quality maintenance within national drinking water standards (ECR 2023), with parameters including calcium (59.03–63.87 mg/L), iron (0.58–0.86 mg/L), and pH (7.26–7.29) remaining within acceptable limits while achieving groundwater level improvements up to 2.01 m. The integrated treatment units overcame natural recharge limitations of 2–3 mm/day through thick clay aquitards, achieving 10,000-fold improvement in infiltration rates. This assessment provides a scalable and replicable methodology for sustainable groundwater management strategies in water-stressed regions globally, with phased implementation of identified MAR installations offering a pathway to reverse groundwater depletion trends.