Background: Access to safe water and sanitation are universal need and basic human right, but the provision of quality water and improved sanitation remains a challenge in many African countries including Ethiopia. Objectives: The study investigated drinking water quality, sanitation-hygiene practices and the potential of Moringa stenopetala seed powder for the purification of water in Bale Zone, Southeast Ethiopia. Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 randomly selected households in Robe and Ginnir Towns. Data were collected by interviewer-administered structured questionnaires from June 2012 to August 2013. An observation checklist was used to observe the sanitary condition of water sources. A total of 71 water samples were collected using sterile glass bottles in accordance with the standard method of American Public Health Association APHA. The physicochemical and bacteriological water quality analyses were done in Addis Ababa Environmental protection and Oromia water and Energy laboratories. The efficiency of Moringa stenopetala seed powder for removal of turbidity, hardness, and nitrate was evaluated. Data were analyzed SPSS Version 21.0 for the window. Descriptive analysis was done for appropriate variables. Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with under-five diarrhea. The results were presented using adjusted odds ratio and P-value of < 0.05 was used to declare significance association. Results: From the total sample, 401 respondents participated making a response rate of 95%. More than one third (37.9%) of the respondents were found to use pipe water. Two hundred and eighty (69.8%) of households wash storage containers before refilling and 325 (81%) of households were using separate containers for water storage. Two hundred seventy (67.3%) of the households had pit latrine. Prevalence of childhood diarrhea was found to be 50.1%. From the logistic regression model, those households having access to clean water source are 68% less likely to have under-five diarrhea, the households having clean storage of drinking water are 45% less likely to have under-five diarrhea in their home, and those households having poor latrine sanitation are 68% more likely to have under-five diarrhea in their home. Seed powder of 200mg/l Moringa stenopetala reduced the Nitrate concentration doses from 5.49mg/l to 8.18mg/l, a 75mg/l was reduced the turbidity from 4.49NTU to 1.07 NTU. A total hardness of 427 was reduced by 7.8% after treatment with powder seed of Moringa stenopetala. Conclusion: Prevalence of childhood diarrhea was high and it is associated with lack of access to a clean water source, poor sanitation of drinking water storage and latrine. Prevalence of open field defecation was remarkably high. The iron content of drinking water was above the range of World Health Organization standards. Moringa stenopetala seed powder has efficiency in the reduction of total and faecal coliform, turbidity, hardness and nitrate level in drinking water Recommendation: Health education on water handling, sanitation and low-cost effective water treatment methods like Using Moringa stenopetala seed should be practiced at the household level. / Environmental Sciences / Ph. D. (Environmental Science)

The nutrient dynamics in two contrasting estuaries and in the adjacent nearshore environment along the south-east coast of South Africa was investigated seasonally. Due to an inter-basin transfer of water from the Gariep Dam to the Great Fish River, the Great Fish estuary is a fresh water dominated, terrestrially driven system with an annual fresh water inflow of 250 – 650 x 10⁶ m³ per year. In contrast, the Kariega estuary is a fresh water deprived, marine dominated system with a fresh water inflow estimated at 2.5 – 35 x 10⁶ m³per year. The reduced fresh water inflow into the estuary is attributed to regular impoundments along the Kariega River. Water samples were collected from surface and subsurface layers along the length of the estuaries as well as from a series of transects occupied in the nearshore environment. Samples were analysed for nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, phosphate and silicate. Temperature and salinity were recorded at each station. A Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) budget was constructed for each estuary to describe the role of ecosystem-level metabolism as either a sink or a source of phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon. Seasonal variation in physico-chemical properties and nutrient concentrations in the Kariega estuary was minimal due to constant low inflow, while in the Great Fish estuary, concentrations varied in response to changes in flow rate. Nutrient concentrations were consistently higher in the Great Fish estuary than in the Kariega estuary, largely reflecting differences in fresh water inflow. During periods of high flow (32.92 m³.s⁻¹in the Great Fish River) dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in the Great Fish estuary were an order of magnitude higher than those recorded in the Kariega estuary. Results of the LOICZ budgeting procedures revealed that in spite of the contrasting hydrodynamic features, the estuaries behave in largely the same manner – both predominantly sources of nutrients with heterotrophic processes dominating over autotrophic actions and both were net denitrifyers during all surveys. This was, however, due to different sets of processes operating in the two estuaries, namely low nutrient concentrations resulting in microbial activity in the Kariega estuary, and riverine influx of nutrients and phytoplankton combined with a short residence time of the water in the Great Fish estuary. In the marine nearshore environment, higher nutrient concentrations were recorded adjacent to the Great Fish estuary than offshore of the Kariega estuary. This was due to a surface plume of less saline water leaving the Great Fish estuary, which acted as an ‘outweller’ of nutrients. Offshore of the Kariega estuary, on the other hand, the nutrient concentrations were characteristic of marine waters due to a lack of fresh water outflow from the estuary. Nutrient concentrations in the marine environment adjacent to the Kariega estuary were, at times, higher than those recorded within the estuary. This observation supports previous statements which suggest that the Kariega estuary is not an ‘outweller’ of dissolved nutrients and particulate material, but rather an extension of the marine environment.

Svenska sjöars trofistatus delas upp i fyra olika statusar; oligotrofa, mesotrofa, eutrofa och hypertrofa. Försurning och övergödning är vanligt, till följd av antingen naturliga eller antropogena orsaker. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur plankton (biodensitet) samvarierar med olika kemiska och fysikaliska parametrar (pH, konduktivitet, vattenfärg, turbiditet, siktdjup, Tot-N och Tot-P) i 20 skånska sjöar, samt hur biodensiteten skiljer sig mellan trofistatusarna. Syftet var även att bedöma sjöarnas tillstånd utifrån parametrarna, plankton som bioindikator, tidigare miljöövervakningar och bedömningsgrunder. Studienomfattade fältarbete där vatten- och planktonprov samlades in och vattenanalyser av siktdjup, pH och konduktivitet utfördes. På labb analyserades biodensiteten genom flödescytometri, planktonartbestämning genom mikroskopering och analyser av vattenfärg, turbiditet, Tot-N och Tot-P. En databasanvändes för att bedöma sjöarnas trofistatus och som kontroll vid analys av biodensiteten mellan trofistatusarna. Statistiska analyser utfördes för att analysera data. Biodensiteten kan förklaras till 71,1% av både vattenfärg och Tot-P. Multikollinearitet kan ha bidragit till ett felaktigt icke-signifikant samband mellan biodensitet och parametrarna turbiditet och Tot-N. Biodensiteten skiljde sig inte signifikant åt mellan trofistatusarna, vilket kan bero på provstorleken. De tidigare bedömningsgrunder och de nya av vattendirektivet skiljde sig åt för några parametrar. En uppmaning är att studera skånska sjöar med vattendirektivets bedömningsgrunder för att bibehålla en god miljöövervakning och uppnå miljömålen, och att lägga till konduktivitet samt återinföra turbiditet och vattenfärg i bedömningsgrunderna. / Swedish lakes’ trophy status is divided into oligotrophic, mesotrophic, eutrophic, and hypertrophic. Acidification and eutrophication are common, due to either natural or anthropogenic causes. The purpose of the study was to investigate how plankton (biodensity) covaries with chemical and physical parameters (pH, conductivity, watercolor, turbidity, visibility depth, Tot-N and Tot-P) in 20 lakes in Skåne, and how the biodensity differs between trophy levels. The purpose was also to assess the lake conditions based on the previously mentioned parameters, previous environmental monitoring, and assessment criteria. The study included fieldwork where water samples were collected, and water analyzes of visibility depth, pH and conductivity were performed. In the lab, plankton was analyzed by flow cytometry and microscopy,and watercolor, turbidity, Tot-N and Tot-P by water analyses. A database was used to assess the lakes’ trophy status and as a control when analyzing the biodensity between the trophy statuses. Statistical analyzes were performed to analyze data. 71,1% of the biodensity’s variation was explained by watercolor and Tot-P. Multicollinearity may have contributed to an incorrectly insignificant correlation between biodensity, turbidity and Tot-N. The biodensity did not differ between the trophy statuses, which mightdepend on the sample size. The previous assessment criteria and the new ones of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) differed for some parameters. A recommendation is to study lakes in Skåne with the WFD’s assessment criteria to maintain a good environmental monitoring and to achieve the environmental goals, and to add conductivity and reintroduce turbidity and watercolor into the assessment criteria.

My thesis is based on an assessment of the suitability of thermal spring in the Southern Moravia for a relaxing, therapeutic purposes. By capillary electrophoresis are measured concentration of natural substancies, which are used in thermal waters and are searched for therapeutic effects.

The work deals with the assessment of the stream Chribska Kamenice current state in the village Vsemily urban area. The aim of the project is the assessment of capacity and the current state of the stream-bed. Based on an assessment measure there has been designed the improvement suggestion of the current state and flood protection increasing in close neighbourhood.

No description available.

From the Proceedings of the 1974 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 19-20, 1974, Flagstaff, Arizona / This study attempts to determine the water quality changes in stock tanks and what factors are instrumental in the changes, and to assess the effects of the changes. Algal growth was the most prominent change taking place in the tanks with time. Little change in the water chemistry was noted until just before the tanks dried up. As algae died, ions tied up by the algae were released to the water, causing an increase in concentration of many of the nutrients. In order to determine the impact of various factors on algal growth, the data from eight stock tanks were analyzed by stepwise linear regression. Although 20 variables were used in the complete analysis, six variables were associated with 56.3 percent of the variance: time (since first sampling), total n, potassium, pH, inflow (recharge to the tanks), and hco3 concentration. Time and total n explained 51.3 percent of the variance, and potassium increased the variance to 52.8 percent. The pH reversed the relative positions of time and total n, with total n becoming dominant. The last two factors, inflow and hco3 were negative (resulting in a decrease in algal population) and increased the coefficient of variance to 56.3 percent.

From the Proceedings of the 1974 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 19-20, 1974, Flagstaff, Arizona / The 14.6 miles of the Colorado River bounded by Parker Dam and Headgate Rock Dam has been referred to as the Parker Strip. This river reach has become a high use recreation area during the past decade with 4,000 permanent residents and as many as 120,000 water enthusiasts on long weekends. The riparian area of the river is heavily clustered with mobile homes, marinas and public beaches. The means of sewage disposal is exclusively via septic tanks. Recent surveys by the Environmental Protection Agency, Arizona State Department of Public Health and the University of Arizona have localized surface water bacteria levels that may indicate a developing groundwater problem. The geohydrology of the area indicates that the septic tanks are located in Post -Pliocene Colorado River deposits. The deposits are quite thin and relatively narrow. Since the deposits are locally derived sands and gravels, the horizontal hydraulic conductivities are such that a relatively short flow time to the river may result. Intensive evaluation of the degradation of the water quality in these deposits is needed to determine if the ground water supply was jeopardized by septic tank systems.

From the Proceedings of the 1974 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 19-20, 1974, Flagstaff, Arizona / Fecal coliform counts in relation to number of swimmers along with fecal streptococci counts of water samples from Canyon Lake in central Arizona are reported. The presence of swimmers was related to an increase in fecal coliforms which was attributed to organisms shed from the swimmers and from agitation of the bottom sediments, consequently dispersing much of the bacteria contained in the benthos. From sampling of the swimming areas it was determined that livestock waste was the primary source of pollution (a greater number of fecal streptococci was found than fecal coliforms), but this interpretation could be misleading due to the higher survival rate of fecal strep than that of fecal coliform organisms.

This thesis describes two different sample preparation strategies for inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), and their ability regarding multi element quantification in complex samples. Sensitivity, repeatability, reproducibility and accuracy were investigated. The aim was to increase the over all efficiency, the speed of analysis, and/or the sensitivity of the analytical method. The intention was to measure analytes with concentrations ranging from ng/g to mg/g simultaneously. The aim was additionally to study chemical and physical processes occurring during the sample preparation, the sample transport to the plasma, and the atomization therein. In the first sample preparation strategy, a hydrophilic highly cross-linked iminodiacetate-agarose adsorbent, IDA-Novarose, was used for preconcentration of metal ions, and matrix elimination in natural water samples. The sorbent was synthesized with different binding capacities. The effect of the capacity on preconcentration, matrix elimination, and uptake capability at high flow rates was studied. For a high capacity IDA-Novarose (≥ 45 µmole/ml) quantitative uptake was seen even at high flow rates (100 ml/min) for Cu2+ with a high affinity to the adsorbent, and for Cd2+ with a moderate affinity. For lower capacities the uptake of Cd2+ was affected by the sample matrix and the flow rate. A method based on the determination of the conditional stability constant of the metal sorbent complex was suggested for the prediction of the sorbent capacity needed to obtain quantitative recovery and optimal matrix elimination. The sorbent was used in a flow system with online buffering for the analysis of a certified riverine water (SLRS-3), tap water and lake water. With few exceptions the results obtained by ICP-AES after preconcentration agreed well with the certified concentrations and results obtained by ICP-MS. The other sample preparation strategy discussed is a method for non digested biological samples from different animal organs for the multi element analysis by ICP-AES. This “mix and measure method” consists of a simple homogenization of the sample with a mixing rod in a small amount of neutral media, followed by dilution and direct measurement with ICP-AES. The total time of analysis is only a few minutes. The ability of this fast method to accurately quantify some elements of toxic, environmental, and/or physiological concern with the lowest possible sample dilution and the highest possible plasma load was evaluated. In 10 % liver slurry Cd, Co, and Sr, at concentration levels around 0.05 µg/g were quantified simultaneously with P and K around 2000 µg/g and with several other elements in between (Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, and Zn). The relative standard deviation of repeated measurements of samples was around 5 - 6 % for regardless of the concentration of the element. The method was also used for fast screening of the elemental distribution in mice organs (brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung and spleen).