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M.Sc. (Aquatic Health) / Sediments can contain a variety of organic and inorganic contaminants. These contaminants accumulate, resulting in extremely high concentrations even once the overlying water concentrations are at or below acceptable water quality guidelines. Any changes in the physical parameters'of the overlying water can cause these pollutants to be released back into solution. Accumulated contaminants can be released at even higher concentrations than previously detected. In recent years, sediment contamination has highlighted the need to monitor these previously overlooked pollutant sources that have accumulated in aquatic ecosystems. South Africa does not currently have standardised methods to assess sediment toxicity. Although international methods exist, they are largely untested in South Africa and the organisms needed to conduct these tests are not readily available. Over the years numerous culture methods have been develop globally for culturing organism to be used for water and sediment toxicity tests. In South Africa, the focus has mainly been on culturing organisms for water. toxicity testing. Sediment toxicity testing with indigenous organism however, was not developed. Established international culture methods from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Environment Canada were taken into consideration when developing the laboratory culture method for two (2)of the selected organisms (Chironomus spp. & Hydra sp.) from this study. A preliminary culture method was also developed for the third selected organism, Melanoides tuberculata (gastropod). The organisms cultured in this study were selected based on their extent of contact with the substrate, ease of handling, availability, culture maintenance as well as their reproductive cycle. The Hydra, Chironomids and M. tuberculata cultures were successfully breeding under laboratory conditions and remained stable. The Chironomus sp. and M. tuberculata maintain contact with the sediment making them suitable as ecologically relevant organisms for use in whole sediment toxicity testing in South Africa.

From the Proceedings of the 1977 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 15-16, 1977, Las Vegas, Nevada / Extensive disturbances are expected during the remainder of this century due to strip mining in the semi-arid West. Reclamation and revegetation of these disturbed areas is a slow process, primarily due to dry and harsh climatic conditions. Erosion and sediment losses are high. Monitoring of the soil erosion process is a crucial step in planning for a long lasting and stable rehabilitation of these disturbed areas. Erosion plots have been laid out to collect data for the Universal Soil Loss Equation for estimating soil loss from recontoured coal mine spoils. Effectiveness of different cultural and mechanical treatments for erosion control is also being evaluated. Since large-scale coal mining operation has just begun on the Black Mesa, preliminary data could be very effective and useful in Watershed Management planning.

Previous field demonstration projects in metro-Atlanta have shown that seep berms, which are elongated sedimentation basins at the outlet of a disturbed land area, can provide high suspended sediment trap efficiencies with respect to coarse sediments on construction sites having drainage areas greater than five acres. Previous literature has shown that vegetative filter strips are efficient traps for fine suspended sediment in stormwater runoff. A combination of a seep berm and vegetative filter in series was studied in this thesis as an erosion control measure with quantification of its flow resistance and sediment removal efficiency. First, a field demonstration project was implemented to evaluate seep berms as a viable erosion control measure through a side-by-side comparison with the more commonly-used silt fences on construction sites with drainage areas less than five acres in metro Atlanta. High suspended sediment trap efficiencies were recorded for the seep berm on two separate sites, and the seep berm was shown to be superior to silt fences with respect to sediment control in the site runoff. Then a vegetative filter was studied in the laboratory in a specially-built flume for that purpose. The relationship between vegetative drag coefficient and various parameters reflecting flow conditions and vegetation density in steady, uniform open channel flow was studied in the flume. Both rigid, emergent vegetation and submerged, flexible vegetation were studied at two different plant densities. The application of porous media flow concepts to open channel flow through vegetation resulted in a collapse of data for vegetative drag coefficient for the various vegetation types and densities into a single relationship when plotted against vegetative stem Reynolds number. Point velocity and turbulence intensity profiles at different locations in the vegetative filter were recorded with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter to observe the turbulence structure of the flow and its effects on vegetative drag and settling of sediment. A sediment slurry consisting of a suspension of fine sand was fed into the flume, and an automated sampler was used to measure suspended sediment concentrations along the vegetative filter length for a series of discharges from which sediment flux and trap efficiency could be determined. Experimental data for trap efficiency were plotted against a dimensionless settling efficiency for each type of vegetation and density. These relationships, along with the one developed for the coefficient of drag, were applied in a numerical design technique that allows designers to determine the flow depth, velocity and trap efficiency of a vegetative filter of known dimensions for a given flow rate, sediment grain size distribution, slope, and vegetation density. In a typical design example, the combined trap efficiency proved that a seep berm followed by a vegetative filter can be a very effective erosion control measure.

Construction sites are among the most common areas to experience soil erosion and sediment transport due to the mandatory foundation tasks such as excavation and land grubbing. Thus, temporary sediment barriers are installed along the perimeter to prevent sediment transport from the site. Erosion and sediment transport control measures may include, but not limited to, physical and chemical processes such as the use of a silt fence and polyacrylamide product. Runoff from construction sites and other impervious surfaces are routinely discharged into ponds for treatment before being released into a receiving water body. Stormwater harvesting from a pond for irrigation of adjacent lands is promoted as one approach to reducing pond discharge while supplementing valuable potable water used for irrigation. The reduction of pond discharge reduces the mass of pollutants in the discharge. In the dissertation, presented is the investigation of the effectiveness of temporary sediment barriers and then, development of a modeling approach to a stormwater harvesting pond to provide a comprehensive stormwater management pollution reduction assessment tool. The first part of the research presents the investigation of the performance efficiencies of silt fence fabrics in turbidity and sediment concentration removal, and the determination of flowthrough-rate on simulated construction sites in real time. Two silt fence fabrics, (1) woven and the other (2) nonwoven were subjected to material index property tests and a series of field-scale tests with different rainfall intensities and events for different embankment slopes on a tilting test-bed. Collected influent and effluent samples were analyzed for sediment concentration and turbidity, and the flow-through-rate for each fabric was evaluated. Test results revealed that the woven and nonwoven silt fence achieved 11 and 56 percent average turbidity reduction iv efficiency, respectively. Each fabric also achieved 20 and 56 percent average sediment concentration removal efficiency, respectively. Fabric flow-through-rates were functions of the rainfall intensity and embankment slope. The nonwoven fabric exhibited higher flow-throughrates than the woven fabric in both field-scale and laboratory tests. In the second part of the study, a Stormwater Harvesting and Assessment for Reduction of Pollution (SHARP) model was developed to predict operation of wet pond used for stormwater harvesting. The model integrates the interaction of surface water and groundwater in a catchment area. The SHARP model was calibrated and validated with actual pond water elevation data from a stormwater pond at Miramar Lakes, Miramar, Florida. Model evaluation showed adequate prediction of pond water elevation with root mean square error between 0.07 and 0.12 m; mean absolute error was between 0.018 and 0.07 m; and relative index of agreement was between 0.74 and 0.98 for both calibration and validation periods. The SHARP model is capable of assessing harvesting safe-yield and discharge from a pond, including the prediction of the percentage of runoff into a harvesting pond that is not discharged. The combination of silt fence and/or polyacrylamide PAM before stormwater harvesting pond in a treatment train for the reduction of pollutants from construction sites has the potential of significantly exceeding a performance standard of 85 percent reduction typically required by local authorities. In fact, the stringent requirement of equaling pre- and post-development pollutant loading is highly achievable by the treatment train approach. The significant contribution from the integration of the SHARP model to the treatment train is that real-time assessment of pollutant loading reduction by volume can be planned and controlled to achieve target performance standards.

Anthropogenic activities generate waste products that pollute the environment with bacteria and heavy metals. This research assessed pollution of the Kahwa River, Bukavu Town, DRC with cadmium and lead (HMs) and bacterial enteropathogens. A survey of businesses, households and healthcare facilities showed general use of the river to remove effluent and waste. Indicator organisms were cultured at over 200 cfu/100 ml showing faecal contamination of the river water. Antibiotic resistance was shown by enteropathogenic Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella typhi to ampicillin and cotrimoxazole with some sensitivity shown to ciprofloxacin. River water contained HMs at around 40 times the World Health Organisation limit for drinking water. The bacteria, particularly from river sediment, tolerated HMs up to a concentration of 1.5 mg/ml. The presence in the Kahwa River of antibiotic-resistant pathogens showing tolerance to HMs has serious public health implications / Environmental Management / M.Sc. (Environmental management)

From the Proceedings of the 1977 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 15-16, 1977, Las Vegas, Nevada / With the advent of ever -increasing energy needs, large-scale surface mining has gained new impetus, and there is much concern about reclaiming the mine spoils to bring about beneficial land uses. This paper presents a decision making algorithm labeled PROTRADE, and a case study of the Black Mesa region in Northern Arizona. PROTRADE considers a set of objective functions, a set of physical constraints, articulates the preferences of the decision maker in a progressive manner, and generates a set of alternative solutions. The decision maker is then able to trade level of achievement, for each objective function, against the probability of achieving that level.

Anthropogenic activities generate waste products that pollute the environment with bacteria and heavy metals. This research assessed pollution of the Kahwa River, Bukavu Town, DRC with cadmium and lead (HMs) and bacterial enteropathogens. A survey of businesses, households and healthcare facilities showed general use of the river to remove effluent and waste. Indicator organisms were cultured at over 200 cfu/100 ml showing faecal contamination of the river water. Antibiotic resistance was shown by enteropathogenic Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella typhi to ampicillin and cotrimoxazole with some sensitivity shown to ciprofloxacin. River water contained HMs at around 40 times the World Health Organisation limit for drinking water. The bacteria, particularly from river sediment, tolerated HMs up to a concentration of 1.5 mg/ml. The presence in the Kahwa River of antibiotic-resistant pathogens showing tolerance to HMs has serious public health implications / Environmental Management / M.Sc. (Environmental management)