Increased proliferation of nanotechnology has led to concerns regarding its implication to the water environment. Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) were used as a model nanomaterial to investigate the fate and dynamics of nanoparticles in the complex water environment. A column study was performed to examine the fate and transport of gold nanoparticles with two different coatings in porous media. The resulting data suggested that gold nanoparticles aggregate significantly in the porespace of the column interior, a finding that is not predicted by traditional colloidal filtration theory or Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was developed as a new technique to investigate AuNP aggregation in water with varying salt levels. The SERS technique proved valuable as an analytical technique, elucidating information about aggregation as well as AuNP surface interactions with dissolved halides in water. A thorough investigation examining Aunt aggregation with monovalent and divalent salts utilizing SERS, ultraviolet-visible light (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) was conducted. Each technique provided data describing different aspects of the dynamic behavior of AuNPs in complex water environments. Results suggest that in addition to attractive and repulsive interactions described by DLVO theory, chemical interactions between the AuNP surface and dissolved halides were also a significant driving force for aggregation and other transformative behaviors of AuNPs in water. The SERS technique developed in this work was shown to be a viable tool to help unveil the vastly complex dynamics of nanomaterial in the water environment. / Ph. D.

La consommation des composés pharmaceutiques est en constante croissance à travers le monde et leur utilisation peut entraîner une accumulation dans l’environnement d’où leur désignation à titre de contaminants émergents. De nombreux groupes de recherche se penchent donc sur les questions de leurs effets sur des organismes vivants, sur la santé de certains écosystèmes ou encore sur l’efficacité de différents types de traitement des eaux usées. Or, peu de données sont disponibles quant aux concentrations présentes dans différentes matrices telles que les eaux usées ou l’eau de surface dans lesquelles elles sont déversées ou encore l’impact que peuvent avoir les hôpitaux sur l’occurrence des composés pharmaceutiques. La recherche dans ce domaine peut s’avérer un outil clé dans l’établissement de normes et de limites pour différents contaminants puisque celles-ci sont encore marginales dans la plupart des pays du monde, surtout au niveau des médicaments. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, différentes méthodes analytiques ont été développées pour faire l’analyse de classes ciblées de médicaments par chromatographie liquide couplée à la spectrométrie de masse afin de quantifier ceux-ci dans diverses matrices environnementales. Un des objectifs du présent ouvrage est donc de détailler les travaux de développement et de validation de méthodes analytiques robustes. Une première méthode d’extraction en phase solide en ligne avec la chromatographie liquide ultra-haute performance couplée à la spectrométrie de masse en tandem (SPE en ligne UPLC-MS/MS) a été développée afin de faire l’analyse de huit différentes classes de composés pharmaceutiques susceptibles d’être retrouvés dans les eaux usées. Afin de déterminer la distribution et l’adsorption des composés ciblés sur la phase solide de différentes matrices, une méthode d’extraction et de purification a également été optimisée de telle sorte que les extraits de matière particulaire et de sédiments soient compatibles avec cette méthode analytique. Ces méthodes ont été appliquées sur de nombreuses eaux usées d’hôpitaux et d’usine de traitement des eaux au Québec (Canada). Les produits de chimiothérapies présentent un défi analytique supplémentaire puisqu’ils sont polaires comparativement à la plupart des autres classes de composés pharmaceutiques. Il y a donc peu d’études sur la présence et le comportement de ces contaminants bien que ceux-ci présentent un risque écotoxicologique potentiellement important. Un deuxième objectif de cette thèse a donc été de comparer différentes alternatives pour la préconcentration et la séparation chromatographique, notamment la chromatographie à interaction hydrophile (HILIC). Celle-ci a mené à la validation de deux méthodes analytiques dont la sensibilité est de l’ordre des ng/L pour ces composés dans des eaux usées brutes. Ces méthodes de SPE en ligne UPLC-MS/MS ont été appliquées à de nombreux échantillons d’effluents d’hôpitaux ainsi qu’à des usines de traitement des eaux usées au Québec (Canada). D’autre part, la méthode SPE en ligne UPLC-MS/MS pour l’analyse des multiples classes de composés pharmaceutiques a été validée pour l’eau de surface enfin d’atteindre un dernier objectif de cet ouvrage qui consiste à évaluer différentes sources de contamination de cette matrice à proximité de zones densément peuplées. Durant de larges campagnes d’échantillonnage sur le fleuve Saint-Laurent, échelonnées sur une période de cinq ans et ayant couvert une zone géographique de près de 700 km entre le Lac Ontario et l’estuaire, plus de 400 échantillons ont été prélevés et analysés. Parmi ceux-ci figurent des échantillons provenant de 56 rivières tributaires au fleuve prélevés afin de déterminer l’impact de celles-ci en termes de pollution en composés pharmaceutiques et de les comparer avec des points de rejet d’eau usée de villes telles que Montréal ou Québec. Enfin, ces mêmes méthodes ont été appliquées lors de projets en collaboration avec des chercheurs se penchant sur les effets écotoxicologiques des composés pharmaceutiques sur des organismes aquatiques dans des matrices d’eau de surface ainsi que pour de développement de technologies alternatives pour le traitement des eaux usées. / A constant increase in pharmaceutical compounds worldwide can accentuate problems related to these pollutants of emerging concern in environmental matrices. Therefore, many researchers are studying their effects on living organisms, the health of impacted ecosystems, and the efficiency of different types of wastewater treatment systems. However, there is a lack of available data on the occurrence and concentrations of pharmaceuticals in different matrices, such as wastewaters or receiving surface waters, and the relative importance of hospital effluents on the load of these contaminants. Research in this field can be a key tool on different drugs since only a few countries have implemented norms and guidance, especially for medications. As part of this thesis, different analytical methods have been developed for the analysis of selected drugs, and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was used to quantify multi-class pharmaceuticals occurring in various environmental matrices. One objective of this manuscript is to develop and validate robust analytical methods. A first extraction method on-line with liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (on-line SPE UPLC-MS/MS) was developed to analyze eight different pharmaceutical classes susceptible to be found in wastewaters. With the aim of evaluating the partitioning and adsorption of target compounds onto a solid phase, an extraction and purification method was optimized to ensure that particulate matter and sediment extracts were compatible with the analytical method. These optimized methods were then applied to several hospital effluents and wastewater treatment plants samples in the province of Quebec (Canada). Chemotherapy agents present an additional analytical challenge since these drugs are relatively polar compared with most of other pharmaceutical classes. This explains the low number of publications relating to their occurrence and behaviour even though they present a high ecotoxicological hazard. A second objective of this thesis was to compare different potential alternatives for enrichment and chromatographic separation of these pollutants, notably the use of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). This work led to the validation of two analytical methods for which the sensitivity reached ng/L levels for these compounds in raw sewage. These methods were successfully applied to samples from numerous hospital effluents and wastewater treatment plants from the province of Quebec (Canada). Also, a multi-class pharmaceutical method was validated for surface water in order to achieve the last objective of this thesis which consisted in the determination of the different contamination sources of this matrix near densely populated areas. During major sampling campaigns on the Saint-Lawrence River, spanning over five years and covering a geographical area of approx. 700 km between Lake Ontario and the estuary, a total of more than 400 samples were collected and analyzed. Among those, 56 different rivers tributary to the Saint-Lawrence were sampled to establish the impact they may have on pharmaceutical pollution. Data were compared with wastewater rejection points from cities, such as Montreal and Quebec. Finally, these methods were applied in the context of collaboration projects with researchers focusing on measuring ecotoxicological effects of pharmaceutical compounds on living organisms in surface water matrices and on the development of alternative wastewater treatment technologies.

[pt] Concentrações de manganês acima de 0.02 mg L(-1) são suficientes para promover alterações organolépticas na água. O impacto conhecido como água preta capaz de manchar roupas e utensílios é gerado pela oxidação espontânea do íon Mn(II) para Mn(IV) e sua consequente precipitação na forma de MnO2. Essa oxidação pode ocorrer por diferentes agentes oxidantes como cloro e o próprio oxigênio dissolvido. Nas estações de tratamento de água, a remoção desse contaminante se dá geralmente pela oxidação iniciando na etapa de pré oxidação e terminando na filtração. Os oxidantes mais utilizados são permanganato de potássio, cloro e ozônio. O presente trabalho visou estudar a eficiência na remoção de manganês com o agente oxidante peróxido de hidrogênio através do processo de adsorção e oxidação. A água utilizada para o trabalho foi preparada sinteticamente mimetizando propriedades da água natural. O sistema consiste do Fe(OH)3 sólido para promover a adsorção de manganês dissolvido e a ação de dois floculantes: FeSO4 e Fe2(SO4)3. Foram elaborados 4 grupos de experimentos de plano fatorial completo com 3 fatores e 2 níveis. Dois desses quatro grupos foram utilizando FeSO4 como floculante enquanto os outros dois grupos com o floculante Fe2(SO4)3. Para cada floculante, um grupo de plano fatorial completo possuiu concentrações iniciais de peróxido de hidrogênio iguais a 3.7 e 7.4 mg L(-1) enquanto o outro possuiu as concentrações iniciais iguais a 0 e 7.4 mg L(-1). O outro fator analisado foi o pH que em todos os quatro grupos apresentou os níveis 6 e 9. Foram obtidos dois tipos de resultados principais para cada experimento, sendo um deles a concentração de manganês através da técnica de ICP-OES e o outro a concentração residual de peróxido de hidrogênio pela técnica de reflectância. Todos os resultados passaram pela análise de variância para indicar quais fatores foram significativos seja para a remoção de manganês, seja para o consumo de peróxido de hidrogênio. O pH foi observado como fator significativo o que já era esperado pela revisão bibliográfica. O agente oxidante só foi observado como significativo no grupo com Fe(3+) e concentrações iniciais de H2O2 iguais a 0 e 7.4 mg L(-1) . Dos 30 experimentos elaborados, 8 terminaram com concentrações de Mn(2+) abaixo do limite legal 0.1 mg L(-1) (Portaria MS 888/2021). Desses 8 experimentos, 6 continham pelo menos um dos íons de ferro e todos apresentaram pH igual a 9. Um desses resultados foi sem a adição de agente oxidante ou de íons de ferro. Em pH 7.5 a [Mn] pode ser reduzida para 0.2 mg L(-1) com [H2O2] = 5.5 mg L(-1) e [Fe] = 7.5 mg L(-1) . Os íons de ferro aumentam o impacto gerado na remoção de manganês à medida em que o tempo de reação aumenta. / [en] Manganese concentrations above 0.02 mg L(-1) are sufficient to promote organoleptic changes in water. The impact known as black water is capable of staining clothes and utensils. It is generated by the spontaneous oxidation of Mn(II) to Mn(IV) and its consequent precipitation in the form of MnO2. Thisoxidation occurs by different oxidizing agents such as chlorine and dissolved oxygen. In water treatment plants, the removal of this contaminant generally occurs through oxidation, starting in the peroxidation stage and ending with filtration. The most used oxidants are potassium permanganate, chlorine, and ozone. The present work aims to study the efficiency in removing manganese withthe oxidizing agent hydrogen peroxide through the process of adsorption and oxidation. Water used in the present work was prepared trying to mimic natural water. The system consists of solid Fe(OH)3 responsible for the adsorption of dissolved manganese and two flocculants: FeSO4 and Fe2(SO4)3. Four complete factorial groups were created with 3 factors 2 levels each. Two of these groups are using FeSO4 as flocculant while the other two groups use the flocculant Fe2(SO4)3. For each flocculant, one factorial group has initial hydrogen peroxide concentrations equal to 3.7 and 7.4 mg L(-1) while the other group has initial concentrations equal to 0 and 7.4 mg L(-1). The last factor analyzed was the pH, which in all four groups presented levels 6 and 9. Two types of main results were obtained for each experiment, one being the concentration of manganese through ICP-OES technique and the other is concentration of residual hydrogen peroxideby the reflectance technique. All results underwent analysis of variance to indicate which factors were significant for both manganese removal and hydrogen peroxide consumption. The pH was observed to be a significant factor, which was expected from the literature review. The oxidizing agent was only observed assignificant in the group with Fe(3+) ion and initial concentrations of H2O2 equal to 0and 7.4 mg L(-1). Out of the 30 experiments, 8 showed Mn(2+) concentrations belowthe legal limit of 0.1 mg L(-1)(Brazilian Drinking water standard MS 888/2021). Of the 8 experiments, 6 contained at least one of the iron ions and all had a pH of 9. One of these results had no oxidizing agent nor iron ions. In pH 7.5, the [Mn] canachieve 0.2 mg L(-1) as long as [H2O2] = 5.5 mg L(-1) and [Fe] = 7.5 mg L(-1). Iron ions have their effects increased in the removal of manganese as the reaction advancesin time.

No description available.

<p dir="ltr">This study analyzes one subset of twelve lakes within Kosciusko County, Indiana between 2015 and 2021 to provide a quantitative understanding of the mechanisms which influence onset and occurrence of HABs. Analysis of water samples, balanced by imagery from satellite remote sensing platforms, are used to quantify the biogeochemical state of these water systems and better understand the mechanisms involved in formation of HABs. Parameters studied include in-situ measurements (e.g., water temperature), laboratory measurements (e.g., microcystin, nitrogen, and phosphorous concentrations), and satellite derived responses (chlorophyll-a). Results indicate no single parameter is correlated with cyanotoxin concentrations, but instead multiple parameters have a synergistic effect on algal bloom growth and toxicity.</p>

Att ha ständig tillgång till ett hälsosamt, rent och gärna gott dricksvatten tas idag ofta som självklart av många människor i Sverige. Sveriges sammanlagda nybildning av vatten innebär idag inga problem för dricksvattenförsörjningen om man bortser från ojämn fördelning av vattentillgångar samt lokala kvalitetsproblem. Många områden förses med dricksvatten från något av landets omkring 2000 vattenverk. En del får sitt vatten från enskilda brunnar, medan vissa har löst vattenfrågan tillsammans med andra i samfälligheter. Vissa samfälligheter som inte har någon egen vattentäkt kan ibland förses med vatten från ett allmänt distributionsnät. I Vaxholms kommun finns nära ett 30-tal samfälligheter som får sitt vatten från Görvälnverket i Järfälla kommun vilket ägs och drivs av kommunalförbundet Norrvatten AB. Behandlat dricksvatten distribueras vidare av Norrvatten AB. I Vaxholms kommun är Vaxholmsvatten AB/ Roslagsvatten AB VA-huvudman och förvaltar kommunens allmänna VA-anläggning. Roslagsvatten AB levererar vatten till vattenkonsumenter som är anslutna till det allmänna VA-nätet i Vaxholms kommun, men bolaget levererar även dricksvatten till nämnda samfälligheter. Vattenverket behandlar (renar) det så kallade råvattnet från vattentäkten (i detta fall Mälaren) för att åstadkomma ett kvalitetsmässigt bra dricksvatten sett ur såväl kemisk som ur mikrobiologisk synvinkel. Kan då dricksvattensamfälligheterna slå sig till ro med att de har ett dricksvatten av god kvalitet? SRMH bedriver kontroll och tillsyn av dricksvattensamfälligheterna och deras distributionsanläggningar. SRMH har gjort sina första pilotinspektioner hos samfälligheterna och uppmärksammat ett antal förmodade brister med vissa rutiner och installationer. I forskningsfältet kring distributionsanläggningar för dricksvatten studeras bland annat faktorer som påverkar mikrobiologisk förekomst och tillväxt i distributionsanläggningar. Mot bakgrund av utvalda delar ur detta forskningsfält har jag skapat ett analytiskt ramverk för att söka värdera mikrobiologiska risker i samfälligheternas distributionsanläggningar. Förutom detta görs några typer av mikrobiologiska analyser för att jämföra med uppskattad risk. Förutom protokoll från SRMH:s inspektioner av samfälligheterna görs små intervjuer av vattenkonsumenter och samfällighetsansvariga. För att se var eventuella kvalitetsproblem uppstår används sekundärdata från Norrvatten som beskriver kvalitet efter vattenverkets behandling och kvalitet vid ett vattentorn på ”halva vägen” samt vid en referenspunkt i Vaxholm. Relevant dricksvattenjuridik studeras också för att ta reda på vem som ansvarar för vad samt för att se vilka kvalitetskrav som är relevanta avseende samfälligheterna. Resultatet antyder försiktigt att riskerna men även vattentemperaturen samt den mikrobiologiska vattenkvaliteten (odlingsbara mikroorganismer) i undersökningen till viss del skiljer mellan olika typer av samfälligheter. För samfälligheter med året-runt-vatten verkar problemen vara mindre, medan för samfälligheter som endast har sommarvatten verkar det finnas fler risker. Det senare verkar även gälla för samfälligheter där fritidsbostäder ingår. Skillnader i antal långsamväxande mikroorganismer mellan olika samfällighetstyper är dock mer osäkra. Kvalitetsreglerna avseende mikrobiologi i samfällighetsnätet och i det allmänna nätet styrs av livsmedelsverkets föreskrifter och EU:s dricksvattendirektiv och alla parter måste försäkra sig om att kvalitetskraven uppfylls inom respektive distributionsnät. Återströmning av vatten från samfälligheter till den allmänna distributionsanläggningen verkar inte kunna regleras av lagen om allmänna vattentjänster och därmed ej heller av det lokala regelverket ABVA för Vaxholm. Enligt min tolkning av regelverket är respektive ägare av distributionsnäten ansvariga för om kvaliteten påverkas i det egna nätet när/om återströmning sker från mottagande part. I diskussionsdelen görs även jämförelser avseende temperatur och mikrobiologiska parametrar mellan de olika typerna av studerade samfälligheter och Norrvattens perifera kommuner för att se om det finns några skillnader. / Continuous access to healthy, clean and good-tasting drinking-water is perceived as obvious for many people in Sweden. The total regeneration of water is currently not a problem in Sweden if uneven distribution and local quality problems are not accounted for. Many regions are supplied with drinking water from one of Sweden’s around 2000 water treatment plants. Other water consumers get their water from private wells, while others get water access via community-owned distribution systems. Sometimes communities that do not have their own water supply can get water supply through a public distribution system. In the municipality of Vaxholm almost 30 small communities get their water from the water treatment plant (WTP) Görvälnverket, which is owned and operated by a municipal association called Norrvatten AB. Norrvatten AB redistributes the treated drinking water. In Vaxholm, Roslagsvatten AB is the legal principal of water and sewage. Roslagsvatten AB distributes water to water consumers in the municipality of Vaxholm. The WTP treats (purifies) the surface water from the water source (in this case Mälaren) in order to provide a good quality drinking water seen from both a chemical and microbiological point of view. Under these circumstances, could the water communities be complacent that they have a good quality drinking water? Södra Roslagens Miljö- och hälsoskyddskontor (SRMH) is the local health protection agency responsible for control and enforcement of drinking water communities in Vaxholm. After having performed pilot inspections at the water communities, SRMH drew attention to some assumed risks and deficiencies with routines and water pipe installations. In the drinking water distribution systems research field, factors influencing microbiological presence and growth are investigated. In the view of selected portions from this research field, I have created an analytical framework to be able to evaluate some kind of microbiological risks in the communities’ water distribution systems. Besides this, some microbiological analyzes are made to compare with assessed risk. In addition to studied protocols from inspections of the communities, some minor interviews are made with water consumers and persons responsible for plumbing in the communities. To assess whether potential quality problems occur, secondary historical quality analysis data from Norrvatten AB is used. Quality data from directly after treatment at the WTP, from a water tower “halfway” to Vaxholm, and from a reference location in Vaxholm is used. Swedish and European Union legal framework of relevance regarding drinking water is studied to find out relevant legal quality requirements with regards to the communities. The result gently suggests that identified risks but also water temperature and investigated microbiological quality (culturable microorganisms; HPC counts, 22 °C, 3 days) in the study to some extent differ between different types of communities. For communities with full-year water supply, the problems seem to be less. On the contrary, for communities with supply only during summer, problems seem to be greater. Problems also seem to exist for communities where holiday residences exist. Differences in the number of slower growing microorganisms (HPC counts, 22 °C, 7 days) between community types is more uncertain. The microbiological quality of drinking water is regulated by Swedish national regulations and by European Union’s drinking water directive. All parties must ensure that quality standards are met in each distribution network. Backflow of water from communities’ distribution networks does not seem to be regulated by the Swedish law on public water services and thus neither by the local regulatory called “ABVA” for Vaxholm. According to my interpretation of the regulations, the respective owners of the distribution networks are responsible for if quality is adversely affected in its own network if backflow occurs from the receiving party. In the discussions chapter, temperature and HPC counts are compared between studied communities and Norrvatten’s peripheral municipalities to assess if differences exist.

Water quality was one of the biggest problems of environment in beginning of 90. of 20th century in the Czech republic. Since 90. the level of water quality was in czech rivers rapidly better. Mainly in big rivers have accomplished great changes. The small rivers haven't notice that rapid changes. The Czech republic, after entrance to the European Union have committed to comply with Directive 91/271/EEC reduce urban waste water and which should have big influence to water quality also in small rivers. During 90. industry technology, agriculture, cleaning technology of waste water etc. reached big development. Therefore the presumption is higher quality of water in the Czech republic since 90. Goal of the thesis is comparison of results from 1999-2000 with results from 2012- 2014 from Mladoticky brook catchment, which is lined up to small river catchments (79,77km2 ). From this comparison there is obvious trend, if conditions of the water quality are really better or not since 90. [33] Since 2012 to 2014 were taken 12 times samples from 11 profiles of water from Mladotice brook catchment and they were consequential chemically analyzed. The samples were evaluated according to ČSN 757221 and compared with results from 1999-2000. From comparison with data 1999-2000 and 2012-2014 was confirmed the...

This study deals with the association of trace elements with colloids and particles in surface waters and groundwaters of mining and smelting district of Příbram. Colloids were studied using combination of cascade filtration a tangential flow ultrafiltration method to separate individual colloid fractions. Colloids were separated by filtration membranes with nominal pore size 0,8 μm, 0,45 μm, 0,1 μm, 100 kDa, and 5 kDa. Water samples were analyzed using ICP-OES, ICP-MS and HPLC. The data were used for thermodynamic modeling using PHREEQC-2 programme. The results show that major and trace elements can be divided into several groups, based on their abundance in individual size fractions. Most elements dominate in fraction of truly dissolved matter as dissociated ions (< 5 kDa), maximum concentration in colloid fraction is 5-20 % and almost exclusively in fraction 5 kDa - 100 kDa. Gradual decrease of concentration in all fractions at low ionic strength (1,2 mmol/l) was observed in case of elements such as As, Co, Cr, Si, Sb and U. Gradual decrease of concentration in several samples was observed for Cd, Fe, Pb, Mn and Zn. Dominant binding to colloids and particles in surface waters was observed for Fe and Pb, where these fractions accounted for over 90 %. The main factor influencing colloid...

Thesis (M. Tech. - Dept. of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences) -- Vaal University of Technology, 2010 / The increased production and application of pesticides for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes has caused the pollution of air, soil, ground and surface water. This has a negative impact on the environment as well as human health due to direct exposure or through residues in food and drinking water. The continuous monitoring of pesticides residues in environmental samples has great importance and demands high efficiency, unique selectivity and high sensitivity techniques. Gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography have been established for years as the techniques for the analysis of pesticides residues. The dissertation deals with the qualitative and quantitative determination of selected pesticides in the Southern Gauteng region using Liquid- liquid extraction solid-phase extraction, high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction using dichloromethane, hexane and ethyl acetate as the extracting solvent were optimized and evaluated for the determination of pesticides in surface water in the Southern Gauteng region. From the developed method the techniques were applied to water samples taken from different rivers selected namely: Zuikerbosch, Rand Water barrage and Kliprivier for sampling. Dichloromethane was used as a solvent in this study since a recovery test was done between dichloromethane, Ethyl acetate and n-hexane. The percentage recovery test for 4,4-DDT, 4,4-DDE, 2,4-DDD and Endosulfan 1 & 2 ranged from 89.9% -97.3% for dichloromethane, 87.3%-96.8% for hexane 88.4%-97.1% for ethyl acetate. The extracts obtained were subjected to column chromatography for clean up. Thereafter 1µl of the cleaned extracts were injected into the Gas chromatography equipped with an electron capture detector. Organochlorines 4,4-DDT and its metabolites, Organophosphate Chlorypyriphos and carbamates were detected using Gas chromatography electron capture, Gas chromatography mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography.

Thesis (M. Tech. - (Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology))--Vaal University of Technology, 2010. / During the last few years, concern has been growing among many stakeholders all over the world about declining levels of surface water bodies accompanied by reduced water availability predominantly due to ever increasing demand and misuse. Furthermore, overexploitation of environmental resources and haphazard dumping of waste has made the little water remaining to be so contaminated that a dedicated rehabilitation/remediation of the environment is the only proactive way forward. River Rwizi Catchment is an environment in the focus of this statement. The overall objective of this research was to plan, restore and rationally allocate the water resources in any river basin with similar attributes to the study area. In this research, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) methodology was applied through Watershed/Basin Simulation Models for general river basins. The model chosen and used after subjection to several criteria was DHI Model, MIKE BASIN 2009 Version. It was then appropriately developed through calibration on data from the study catchment, input data formatting and its adaptation to the catchment characteristics. The methodology involved using spatio-temporal demographic and hydrometeorological data. It was established that the model can be used to predict the impact of projects on the already existing enviro-hydrological system while assigning priority to water users and usage as would be deemed necessary, which is a significant procedure in IWRM-based environmental rehabilitation/remediation. The setback was that the available records from the various offices visited had a lot of data gaps that would affect the degree of accuracy of the output. These gaps were appropriately infilled and gave an overall output that was adequate for inferences made therefrom. Several scenarios tested included; use and abstraction for the present river situation, the effect of wet/dry seasons on the resultant water available for use, and proposed projects being constructed on and along the river. Results indicated that the river had insufficient flow to sustain both the current and proposed water users. It was concluded that irrespective of over exploitation, lack of adequate rainfall was not a reason for the low discharge but rather the loss of rainwater as evaporation, storage in swamps/wetlands, and a considerable amount of water recharging groundwater aquifers. Thus, the proposed remedy is to increase the exploitation of the groundwater resource in the area and reduce the number of direct river water users, improve farming methods and conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water - the latter as a dam on River Rwizi. The advantage of the dam is that the water usage can be controlled as necessary in contrast to unregulated direct abstraction, thus reducing the risk of subsequent over-exploitation. / Vaal University of Technology