Northern Utah Valley is one of the fastest growing areas of Utah and has increasing needs for domestic, industrial, and agricultural water. To meet these needs, groundwater and surface water systems must be understood to maximize their use. Chemical studies of the sediment mineralogy and related water-chemistry give insight to the movement of the water. There are three major aquifers present in the valley: shallow Pleistocene; deep Pleistocene; and Tertiary. They are composed of sands and gravels and are separated by confining layers (aquitards) composed mostly of clay. Along the flanks of the bordering mountains there are undifferentiated aquifers which act as conduits supplying water for aquifers in the valley. Sediment samples from aquifers and confining layers were obtained by rotary and cable-tool drilling. X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the aquifers are mainly composed of quartz, calcite, and dolomite, whereas the con fining layers contain illite and montmorillonite with some kaolinite, quart z and calcite. One hundred nine water samples were collected in this study from s ur face water, spring water, undifferentiated aquifer water, shallow Pleistocene aquifer water, deep Pleistocene aquifer water and Tertiary aquifer water. Results show that the ground water system has several geochemical cells in each aquifer, due to diverse areas of recharge. Three major water types can be identified in different areas of the shallow Pleistocene aquifer, three in different areas of the Tertiary aquifer, and four in different areas of the deep Pleistocene aquifer. The differences in these water types are related to the composition of the mountain recharge areas and positions of faults within the valleys. The aquifer composition exerts relatively little influence on the chemistry of the ground water. Mountains of predominantly carbonate rocks produce recharge waters rich in calcium and bicarbonate. Mountains of predominantly granitic rocks produce recharge water low in mineral content. Valley sediments near major faults produce highly mineralized waters.

Regions of surface water and groundwater exchange are major sites for the transfer and transformation of solutes and nutrients between stream and subsurface environments. Conventional stream and groundwater exchange investigations are limited by methodologies that require intensive field investigations and/or the set-up of expensive infrastructure. These difficulties are exacerbated where hydraulic gradients are very low and stream discharge highly variable. This thesis uses a suite of environmental tracers (Cl-, Rn-222, H-2 & O-18, Sr-87/Sr-86) to characterise the extent of stream and groundwater exchange between a sand bed stream and adjacent alluvial aquifer in a subtropical catchment (the Wollombi Brook) of eastern Australia. The aims were to identify sources and relative contributions of different sources of groundwater to stream discharge and specifically to improve the methodology of using Rn-222 to obtain quantitative estimate of groundwater fluxes. The sensitivity of the Rn-222 technique for identifying groundwater discharge based on the Rn-222 concentration in stream water was improved via an iterative numerical approach to account for Rn-222 loss from stream water via turbulent gas exchange and radioactive decay. Optimal distances between stream sampling points for defining the magnitude of groundwater discharge to stream flow based on Rn-222 concentrations in stream water is a function of average stream velocity and water depth. The maximum allowable distance between sampling points for determining the magnitude of groundwater discharge to the Wollombi Brook was 2 km. This work showed that groundwater discharged to all reaches of the Wollombi Brook during baseflow and flood recession conditions. Alluvial groundwater contributed less than 30% of water to stream flow in the mid Wollombi Brook catchment. Dilution of steady-state Rn-222 concentrations measured in transects from the stream to the alluvial sediments showed that significant surface water and groundwater exchange occurs even when gradients between surface water and groundwater are low. Lateral stream water influx to the adjacent alluvial aquifer was more extensive in the lowland areas of the Wollombi Catchment during low flow than flood recession conditions. Extensive stream water influx to the adjacent alluvial aquifer occurs contrary to the net direction of surface water and groundwater flux (as indicated by hydraulic gradients toward the stream channel). The rate of stream and groundwater exchange within the adjacent alluvial aquifer appears to be greatest during baseflow conditions. Fresh alluvial groundwater appeared to provide a buffer against higher salinity regional groundwater discharge to the alluvial aquifer in some reaches of the Wollombi Brook catchment. Pumping of the alluvial aquifer and diversions of surface water may jeopardise the water quality and volume of the alluvial aquifer and induce water flow from the regional aquifer toward the stream, potentially salinising the fresh alluvial aquifer and subsequently the stream. The change in the Cl- concentration and the variation in slope of the deuterium � oxygen-18 line between consecutive stream sampling points could be used to differentiate between regional and alluvial groundwater discharge to stream flow. Incorporating this information with three-component end-member mixing using [Sr2+] and Sr-87/Sr-86 showed that stream and alluvial groundwater exchange within the stream channel was highest in the lowland floodplains during low flow conditions. The least stream and alluvial groundwater exchange occurred in the low streambed gradient mid reaches of the Wollombi Brook regardless of stream stage. The greatest difference in the degree of stream and alluvial groundwater exchange between high and low stream stages occurred in the lowland floodplains of the Wollombi Brook.

Langmuir monolayers can be employed as simple model systems to study interactions at surfaces. Such investigations are important to fields ranging from biology to materials science. Herein, several aspects of these films and their associated water structure have been examined with vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (VSFS). This second order nonlinear optical spectroscopy is particularly well suited for simultaneous investigations of the monolayer and the associated water structure with unprecedented surface specificity. The structures of these systems were altered through the control of experimental parameters including monolayer pressure, subphase temperature, pH and ionic content. Thermodynamic information about structural changes in a fatty amine monolayer's hydrophobic region was obtained by observation of the pressure and temperature dependence of the monolayer's solid to liquid phase transition. Further studies used the coordination of divalent cations to acid monolayers to perturb the water layers nearest to the film which enabled a better understanding of the water related VSFS features from these hydrophilic interfaces. Information from both the monolayer and water structure was then combined in order to examine the role of water in mediating ion-biomaterial interactions, often expressed in terms of the Hofmeister series.

A road in operation along with its traffic can pose aserious pollutant threat to groundwater and surface water inits vicinity. Examples of pollutants are metals from thecorrosion of vehicles, rails and poles and the wear of roadsurfaces and tyres; hydrocarbons from the wear of roadsurfaces, tyres, exhausts, oils; sodium chloride from roadsalt; and hazardous goods discharged in accidents. Eventuallypollutants that are not degraded or retarded in soil will reachgroundwater and surface water. The chloride ion in deicing saltis a good tracer. It is conservative and highly soluble and notsubject to retardation or degradation. If the chlorideconcentration has increased in groundwater or surface water inthe vicinity of a deiced road, other road-related pollutantsmight also be present in the water. Increased chloride concentrations have been observed inseveral water supplies, in groundwater as well as in surfacewater, since the 1970s. The number of affected water supplieshas also increased. The increase in chloride concentration inwaters is concurrent with the increase in deicing saltapplication and it is clear that most of the increase is due tothe application of deicing salt. The thesis presents a simple tool that quantified theincrease in chloride concentration for water in a catchmentarea, based on a steady-state water balance. The data wereefficiently processed and presented as maps with GIS. At aregional catchment area scale, substantially increased chlorideconcentrations were calculated. The variation between catchmentareas was verified by a national monitoring programme of lakes.Deicing salt application was estimated to account for more thanhalf of the total chloride load for a catchment area in the midsouth of Sweden. A distributed dynamic method was used to evaluate thetemporal and spatial variation of the chloride concentration inan aquifer. The distributed dynamic approach integrated thespreading of deicing salt from the road with the infiltrationin the unsaturated zone in the soil, which in turn wasintegrated with the groundwater flow. The simulation was runfor a 40-year period and showed a potential to describe aspecific system. <b>Keywords:</b>road, deicing salt, monitoring, chloride,catchment area, river basin, simulation, GIS, groundwater,surface water

Polymer flocculants, traditionally used with primary coagulant to enhance flocculation and sedimentation, are used in the coagulation-/microfiltration process as well assuming they can improve membrane performance similarly. However, there are several uncertainties concerning the use of polymer flocculants in the coagulation-microfiltration process. First, polymer flocculants may not have measurable effect on turbidity removal, because microfiltration membranes can remove significantly smaller particles than those removed by the conventional treatment process. Second, the effect of using polymer flocculants on NOM removal has been controversial. Although a number of studies reported improved NOM removal when polymers were used, others reported no or negative impact of polymers on NOM removal. Third, polymer flocculants are high molecular weight organic compounds. When carried over to membrane residual polymers can potentially foul the membranes. Finally, the use of polymer flocculants will change floc properties (i.e. size, fractal dimension, and stickiness) and subsequently bring uncertain effect on cake layer resistance. Therefore, the role of polymer flocculants in coagulation-microfiltration system needs to be carefully assessed for system optimization. In the reported research, three types of polymer flocculants with different charge and molecular weights were tested for comprehensively evaluating the impact of polymer flocculants on the performance of coagulation-microfiltration of surface water. Operation conditions such as inline filtration, direct filtration, and filtration with sedimentation were included. Two membrane reactors were designed to study the mechanism through which polymer flocculants affect the performance of coagulation-microfiltration systems. The result demonstrated that the use of polymer flocculants provides little to no benefit to turbidity and NOM removal in most cases, but pDADMACs can enhance NOM removal if applied properly; All polymer flocculants significantly increased membrane fouling except for pDADMACs when sedimentation proceeds MF; Polymer flocculants increase deposition/attachment of floc particles on the membrane surface through both adsorption of residual polymer on the membrane surface and polymer molecules on the floc particle surface; Even though polymers form larger and more fractal floc particles, they did not have notable impact on cake layer structure.

Landfills are a major potential source of groundwater and surface-water contamination. The compounds that can leach from landfilled materials include dissolved organic matter, inorganic macrocomponents, heavy metals, and xebobiotic organic compounds. Landfill surface-water runoff poses a threat to the environment due to high mobility, but has not been rigorously characterized with regards to common pollutants found in landfills. It is well documented that constructed wetlands can serve as an effective treatment option for many pollutants found in landfills. The Napanee Landfill has constructed a wetland in order to treat surface-water runoff coming off the landfill. The objectives of this study were to: 1) characterize the water chemistry of surface-water runoff for an inactive landfill; 2) evaluate the treatment potential for the constructed wetland system at the Napanee Landfill; and, 3) recommend design, maintenance, and operative improvements to enhance effluent water quality. The analysis of the landfill surface-water runoff entering the Napanee Landfill constructed wetland included the pollutants nitrate, ammonia, sulphate, phosphorus, and chloride. The median inflow and outflow concentrations for all of the observed pollutants did not exceed Canadian federal or provincial water quality guidelines. There were sampling days where ammonia, phosphorus, and chloride exceeded guidelines at the inflow and days where ammonia and chloride exceeded guidelines at the outflow. The only pollutant that saw a statistically significant decrease in concentrations was sulphate, with a change of 38% from the inflow to the outflow. Other changes of note were nitrate and phosphorus concentrations increasing by 50% and 23% respectively from the inflow to the outflow. There are a variety of improvements that can be made to the Napanee Landfill constructed wetland that would increase the treatment efficiency of ammonia. Incorporating a vertical-flow wetland would increase available surface area for nitrifying bacteria growth and would provide more oxygen for nitrification processes; both would increase the potential for significant ammonia treatment. Overall, the concentrations of the pollutants found in the surface-water runoff coming off of the Napanee Landfill constructed wetland did not pose a significant threat to the environment at the time of sampling and treatment processes were only successful in reducing sulphate pollutant concentrations.

In recent decades, there has been increased global concern about observed climate change; however for future climatic impacts and anthropogenic forcings of climate change to be realistically predicted, natural climate variability in the past needs to be better understood. The aim of this research is to develop quantifiable proxy records of past climate change through the calibration of isotope values in modern surface waters and tree ring cellulose with meteorological and atmospheric records. Terrestrial proxy records that utilize oxygen and hydrogen isotope values to reconstruct paleoclimatic and paleohydrologic conditions are limited by a paucity of data on the modification of surface water isotope values prior to sequestration into proxy material. To address this gap in our knowledge and determine the most appropriate study sites, this research focuses on isotopic records preserved in surface water reservoirs, precipitation, and tree-ring cellulose. In the first study, δD, δ18O, and deuterium-excess values were determined for lakes and rivers from Tasmania, southeastern Australia. <p> The second focus of this research was to calibrate the δ18O, δD, and δ13C values of tree-ring cellulose from North America with instrumental records. A new high-resolution sampling procedure that uses a robotic micromilling device to very precisely map and sample along growth rings in trees is discussed. Additionally, a seasonally resolved (early/late wood) 110-year record of δ18O values from tree-ring α-cellulose from spruce species (<i>Picea mariana</i> and <i>P. glauca</i>) from east-central Saskatchewan, Canada is compared to growing season precipitation δ18O values, temperature, and relative humidity. The δ18O time series from α-cellulose display a high correlation with growing season precipitation isotope values (r = 0.86). δ18O α-cellulose time series from a white spruce (<i>Picea glauca</i>) also records seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation associated with the position of the circumpolar vortex and dominate modes of atmospheric variability such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

Semi-arid regions, like the Okanagan Basin of British Columbia, Canada, are often faced with the difficulty of managing limited groundwater and surface water resources while accommodating rapid population growth and increasing land development. In the South Okanagan Basin, a better understanding of groundwater recharge sources, groundwater availability and susceptibility of water supplies to anthropogenic contamination is needed to best direct and protect the regions water resources. The purpose of this study was: (1) to characterize the regional hydrogeological setting of the South Okanagan Basin by establishing an isotopic and geochemical framework that included precipitation and surface waters of the Okanagan Basin and groundwaters of the South Okanagan Basin; and (2) to characterize nitrate contamination and its sources in shallow groundwaters of the Osoyoos area. Stable isotopes of water, nitrate and dissolved oxygen, groundwater chemistry, water levels and enriched tritium, tritium/helium and/or radiocarbon age dating techniques were used. Two provisional local meteoric water lines were established for the Okanagan Basin: &delta2H=6.06&delta18O31.21 (Osoyoos) and &delta2H=7.03&delta18O-12.68 (West Kelowna). Surface waters of the Okanagan River system were sources of irrigation water in the South Okanagan Basin valley and irrigation-return flow was the primary source of recharge for shallow groundwaters. Fractured bedrock in highlands east and west of the valley were not a significant source of recharge for shallow valley groundwater, however, may recharge deeper, or basal, valley deposits. As irrigation-return flow controls shallow groundwater dynamics in the valley sediments, groundwater quality is susceptible to anthropogenic contamination. In Osoyoos, nitrate was present in shallow groundwaters at concentrations of up to 24.4 mg/l N as a result of fertilizer nitrogen applied at the soil surface, mostly at orchards. Two agricultural drainage systems in north Osoyoos discharge roughly 1,900 kg N/year from nitrate-contaminated groundwater directly into Osoyoos Lake and may contribute in part to its eutrophication.

Biocides are widely used as a preservative or as an antiseptic agent in consumer care products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, and soaps, as well as in household cleaners and even in textiles due to their high antimicrobial effectiveness. The usage of this compounds results in discharge to wastewater treatment plants and so into surface waters. Their existence in the environment is of importance due to their negative effects on aquatic environment microorganisms and human health in terms of occurrence in surface waters and their fate in wastewater treatment plants. In this scope, this study focuses on occurrence and fate of selected biocides, namely triclosan (TCS) and chlorhexidine (CHD), in wastewater treatment plants and in surface waters. It was aimed to determine the biocides levels in surface water and wastewater in Turkey. For the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) studies, several WWTPs with different process configurations, namely, Tatlar WWTP, METU WWTP, Kayseri WWTP and Antalya WWTPs were selected. Composite wastewater samples were taken from various points along the WWTPs on a seasonally basis for one year period. For the surface water part, samples were taken monthly from three different sources with different pollution levels, namely, Kesikk&ouml / pr&uuml / Reservoir, &Ccedil / amlidere Reservoir and Eymir Lake for one year period. All water samples were analyzed for their biocide level using liquid chromatography, following solid phase cartridge extraction. As a result of analyses, TCS concentration in surface water samples was detected as in the range of 0.65-11.15 ng/L, 0.86-48.96 ng/L and 0.86-757.7 ng/L for clean, moderately polluted and polluted water sources respectively. The recovery of solid phase extraction analyses for TCS was achieved as %92. CHD concentration was determined as in the range of &lt / 1.33-5.31 ng/L for surface water samples and the recovery of extraction were calculated as %96 for CHD. The concentration of TCS in wastewater samples was measured as in the range of 1.77-94.47 ng/L and 1.40-15.09 ng/L for influent and effluent samples respectively. These ranges became 1.39-10.45 ng/L and &lt / 1.32-2.44 ng/L for CHD. The highest concentrations of biocides were observed in sludge samples with concentrations of 1117-3687 &mu / g/kg and 510-2742 &mu / g/kg for TCS and CHD. Biocide removal efficiency of primary and biological treatment together was reported as % 67.5&plusmn / 8.2 in January 2012 Tatlar WWTP analyses.

Researchers, explorers, and philosophers have dedicated many lifetimes attempting to discover, document, and quantify the vast physical processes and interactions occurring in nature. Our understanding of physical processes has often been reflected in the form of numerical models that assist academics in unraveling the many complexities that exist in our physical environment. To that end, integrated surface water-groundwater models attempt to simulate the complex processes and relationships occurring throughout the hydrologic cycle, accounting for evapotranspiration and surface water, variably saturated groundwater, and channel flows. <br /><br /> The Bass Lake watershed is located in the Muskoka district of Ontario, within a crystalline rock environment consistent with typical Canadian Shield settings. Numerous data collection programs and methods were used to compile environmental and field-scale datasets. The integrated surface water-groundwater model, HydroGeoSphere (Therrien et al. , 2005), was used for all Bass Lake watershed simulation models. <br /><br /> Simulation results were compared to expected trends and observed field data. The groundwater heads and flow vector fields show groundwater movement in expected directions with reasonable flow velocities. The subsurface saturation levels behave as expected, confirming the evapotranspiration component is withdrawing groundwater during plant transpiration. The surface water depths and locations of water accumulation are consistent with known and collected field data. The surface waters flow in expected directions at reasonable flow speeds. Simulated Bass Lake surface elevations were compared to observed surface water elevations. Low overland friction values produced the most accurate Bass Lake elevations, with high overland friction values slightly overestimating the Bass Lake water level throughout the simulation period. Fluid exchange between surface water and groundwater domains was consistent with expected flux rates. The integrated surface water-groundwater model HydroGeoSphere ultimately produced acceptable simulations of the Bass Lake model domain.