Abstract The main purpose of this study is to develop a hydrodynamic and water quality model using the system dynamic software-STELLA for the tidal river simulations. The model consists of three modules: the hydrodynamic module simulates the water level variation and the dynamic flow conditions in tidal rivers; the transport module simulates the temporal and spatial variations of dissolved matters; and water quality module simulates the bio-chemical reaction processes and the fates of the water quality variables. Water quality module was established from the conceptions of WASP6 with some modifications. Eight state variables are included in the water quality module, i.e. chlorophyll-a, organic phosphorus, inorganic phosphorus, organic nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate, carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand, and dissolved oxygen. Most the hydrodynamic and water quality models, either imported or domestic developed, were coded in FORTRAN or other conventional programming languages. In this study, the system dynamics software STELLA has been used to construct the model. The study has overcome the difficulty of using STELLA to simulate space continuity and unsteady state condition of tidal river systems. By using STELLA, the environment model can easily be integrated with researches in social-economical studies. The theories and the developments of the model are described in the thesis, the calibration and verification processes of the model using observation data of the Tamshui River system are also describe in detail. The model can be used not only to simulate and to predict the tidal flow, salinity, temperature, and water quality conditions in the Tamshui River, but also be used to evaluate the effects of various water quality purification methods and strategies. Therefore, this model can also assist policymakers to make better decisions on the balancing the economic developments with environmental protections.

Endocrine disruption and high occurrences of intersex have been observed in wild fish associated with wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents in the urbanized reaches of the Grand River watershed located in southern Ontario, Canada. WWTP effluent is a complex matrix with diverse aquatic environmental contaminants and stressors. This study aimed to: (1) characterize the spatio-temporal distribution and fate of antiandrogenic personal care products (triclosan, chlorophene, and dichlorophene), along with selected pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, ibuprofen, naproxen, and venlafaxine) and the herbicide, atrazine in the Grand River watershed and (2) model the behaviour of these contaminants in the aquatic environment. Water sampling of 29 sites which covered six municipal WWTPs and ~100 km of river length was completed during summer low flows (July 2012). Monthly samples were also collected immediately upstream and downstream of a major WWTP (Kitchener) from August to November 2012. Many of the target pharmaceuticals and triclosan were detected in WWTP effluents in the Grand River watershed, especially those that did not nitrify (minimal treatment with high ammonia). Chlorophene was either undetected or was only found at trace levels in the effluents. Under low flow conditions, triclosan and several other pharmaceuticals exhibited a spatial pattern where concentrations increased directly downstream of the WWTPs, then decreased with distance downstream (dilution and/or degradation). Chlorophene, in contrast, was not found downstream of most of the WWTP outfalls but was first detected at a site 5 km upstream of a WWTP and then continued with relatively constant concentrations for approximately 29 km downstream. It was also only found during the summer sampling period. Atrazine was consistently found in all sampling locations which reflected the agricultural non-point source nature of this compound. The WASP 7.5 model (US Environmental Protection Agency) was adapted and calibrated to a reach of the Grand River associated with the Kitchener WWTP. The simulation of the fate and transport of the target compounds revealed that flow-driven transport processes (advection and dispersion) greatly influence their behaviour in the aquatic environment. However, fate mechanisms such as biodegradation and photolysis also potentially play an important role in the attenuation of most compounds. The exception was carbamazepine where it was shown to act as a conservative tracer compound for wastewater specific contaminants in the water phase. The fate model developed can be applied in the future to predict the fate of a wide variety of contaminants of emerging concern across the watershed to help define the exposure of these biologically active chemicals to sensitive ecosystems.

Endocrine disruption and high occurrences of intersex have been observed in wild fish associated with wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents in the urbanized reaches of the Grand River watershed located in southern Ontario, Canada. WWTP effluent is a complex matrix with diverse aquatic environmental contaminants and stressors. This study aimed to: (1) characterize the spatio-temporal distribution and fate of antiandrogenic personal care products (triclosan, chlorophene, and dichlorophene), along with selected pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, ibuprofen, naproxen, and venlafaxine) and the herbicide, atrazine in the Grand River watershed and (2) model the behaviour of these contaminants in the aquatic environment. Water sampling of 29 sites which covered six municipal WWTPs and ~100 km of river length was completed during summer low flows (July 2012). Monthly samples were also collected immediately upstream and downstream of a major WWTP (Kitchener) from August to November 2012. Many of the target pharmaceuticals and triclosan were detected in WWTP effluents in the Grand River watershed, especially those that did not nitrify (minimal treatment with high ammonia). Chlorophene was either undetected or was only found at trace levels in the effluents. Under low flow conditions, triclosan and several other pharmaceuticals exhibited a spatial pattern where concentrations increased directly downstream of the WWTPs, then decreased with distance downstream (dilution and/or degradation). Chlorophene, in contrast, was not found downstream of most of the WWTP outfalls but was first detected at a site 5 km upstream of a WWTP and then continued with relatively constant concentrations for approximately 29 km downstream. It was also only found during the summer sampling period. Atrazine was consistently found in all sampling locations which reflected the agricultural non-point source nature of this compound. The WASP 7.5 model (US Environmental Protection Agency) was adapted and calibrated to a reach of the Grand River associated with the Kitchener WWTP. The simulation of the fate and transport of the target compounds revealed that flow-driven transport processes (advection and dispersion) greatly influence their behaviour in the aquatic environment. However, fate mechanisms such as biodegradation and photolysis also potentially play an important role in the attenuation of most compounds. The exception was carbamazepine where it was shown to act as a conservative tracer compound for wastewater specific contaminants in the water phase. The fate model developed can be applied in the future to predict the fate of a wide variety of contaminants of emerging concern across the watershed to help define the exposure of these biologically active chemicals to sensitive ecosystems.

Chemical and biological contaminants can enter a drinking water distribution system through one of the many access points to the network and can spread quickly affecting a very large area. This is of great concern, and water utilities need to consider effective tools and mitigation strategies to improve water network security. This work presents two components that have been integrated into EPA’s Water Security Toolkit, an open-source software package that includes a set of tools to help water utilities protect the public against potential contamination events. The first component is a novel water quality modeling framework referred to as Merlion. The linear system describing contaminant spread through the network at the core of Merlion provides several advantages and potential uses that are aligned with current emerging water security applications. This computational framework is able to efficiently generate an explicit mathematical model that can be easily embedded into larger mathematical system. Merlion can also be used to efficiently simulate a large number of scenarios speeding up current water security tools by an order of magnitude. The last component is a pair of mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulations for efficient source inversion and optimal sampling. The contaminant source inversion problem involves determining the source of contamination given a small set of measurements. The source inversion formulation is able to handle discrete positive/negative measurements from manual grab samples taken at different sampling cycles. In addition, sensor/sample placement formulations are extended to determine the optimal locations for the next manual sampling cycle. This approach is enabled by a strategy that significantly reduces the size of the Merlion water quality model, giving rise to a much smaller MILP that is solvable in a real-time setting. The approach is demonstrated on a large-scale water network model with over 12,000 nodes while considering over 100 timesteps. The results show the approach is successful in finding the source of contamination remarkably quickly, requiring a small number of sampling cycles and a small number of sampling teams. These tools are being integrated and tested with a real-time response system.

Sediment has profound effects on water quality. Correspondingly, water quality modeling often needs sediment transport modeling. However, simplified descriptive sediment transport was originally employed for water quality modeling, and the linkage between sediment transport models and water quality models is less developed. Therefore, the main purposes of this study were to develop general methods of coupling sediment transport and water quality models and to improve sediment transport modeling for water quality modeling. Linkage of sediment transport and water quality was discussed and a comprehensive sediment transport literature review was conducted. SEDDEER (Sediment Deposition and Erosion), a stand-alone sediment and contaminant fate and transport model, which simulates one water box and the underlying multiple sediment bed layers, was developed. SEDDEER for Visual Basic for Application (SEDDEER_VBA) was written in VBA. SEDDEER for FORTRAN (SEDDEER_FOR) is the corresponding FORTRAN model. To improve WASP in terms of sediment transport, SEDDEER_FOR was incorporated into the WASP TOXI7 module as the starting point to generate the coupled WASP model (WASP_SEDDEER). Verification and validation of SEDDEER_VBA were conducted prior to model application and incorporation. A comprehensive model test was performed to show that SEDDEER_FOR is computationally identical to SEDDEER_VBA. Simple tests were carried out to verify the fluxes across the sediment-water interface and ensure that the coupling of the WASP water column and SEDDEER bed models is correct. The testing results indicated that these models were verified and/or validated. SEDDEER was used to evaluate the effects of sediment on contaminant transport. WASP_SEDDEER, WASP7.4, and EFDC were applied to Mobile Bay to demonstrate the capabilities of WASP_SEDDEER, and WASP_SEDDEER produced a reasonable and consistent modeling result. The results of the study indicated that SEDDEER can be used for one-box sediment and contaminant fate and transport modeling, and also incorporated into water quality models. In addition, WASP_SEDDEER coupling was implemented correctly and can be applied to the real world. Finally, study results show that sediment affects contaminant fate and transport mostly by external forcing and flow conditions, and contaminant fate and transport varies with different sediment and contaminant characteristics and sediment transport processes.

Assessment of water quality within the Escatawpa River system was accomplished utilizing the Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS 2.0) to develop the watershed model, and the CE-QUAL-W2 software to develop the estuary model. The watershed model was utilized to quantify both hydrodynamic and water quality (fecal coliforms) characteristics of the watershed for a simulation period spanning from 1990 through 1999. Herein, calibration and application results are presented for watershed and estuary simulations made in an uncoupled manner. The models were developed such that loose coupling of watershed and estuary models can be accomplished as a subsequent phase of this ongoing project. CE-QUAL-W2 model calibration was performed utilizing a set of site specific data acquired on the Escatawpa Estuary System during an intensive survey period of September 10-15, 1997. Dissolved oxygen levels in the system were closely examined, with regards to the impacts from point source discharges.

No description available.

No description available.

This research addresses the Reference Watershed Approach (RWA) in the TMDL process for benthic impairments. In the RWA, do different land use sources (DOQQ and NLCD) or use of alternative water quality models (GWLF and SWAT) result in different stressor loadings? Is there a difference in stressor loadings when different reference watersheds are used? Study results showed that using different land use sources resulted in required stressor reductions that were different by greater than 10%. In one scenario, use of the NLCD-based land use parameters results in 3.5 times greater reductions than use of DOQQ-based land use parameters. With respect to water quality model selection, in two of the three scenarios considered, a difference in stressor reduction requirements of greater than 10% resulted from using different models. Differences in load reduction requirements are also seen when different reference watersheds are used, regardless of the water quality model or the land use source used. Different references result in a difference of as much as 73% in required sediment reductions in the impaired watershed: the required reductions using one reference watershed are 6.2 times as great as when another is used. Possible alternatives to the RWA include water quality standards to set the target level for many of the common stressors on the benthic assemblage, regression equations that relate benthic stressors to the RBP II score, or averaging of stressor reduction requirements obtained from using the Reference Watershed Approach on several different reference watersheds. / Master of Science

The Lake Manassas Watershed is a 189 km2 basin located in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. Lake Manassas is a major waterbody in the watershed and serves as a drinking water source for the City of Manassas. Lake Manassas is experiencing eutrophication due to nutrient loads associated with agricultural activities and urban development in its drainage areas. Two watershed model applications using HSPF, and one receiving water quality model application using CE-QUAL-W2, were linked to simulate Lake Manassas as well as its drainage areas: the Upper Broad Run (126.21 km2) and Middle Broad Run (62.79 km2) subbasins. The calibration of the linked model was for the years 2002-05, with a validation period of 2006-07. The aspects of effective modeling of nutrient losses and nutrient management practices in the Lake Manassas watershed were investigated. The study was mainly conducted in the Upper Broad Run subbasin, which was simulated with an HSPF model. For nutrient simulation, HSPF provides two algorithms: PQUAL (simple, empirically based) and AGCHEM (detailed, process-based). This study evaluated and compared the modeling capabilities and performance of PQUAL and AGCHEM, and investigated significant inputs and parameters for their application. Integral to the study was to develop, calibrate and validate HSPF/PQUAL and HSPF/AGCHEM models in the Upper Broad Run subbasin. "One-variable-at-a-time" sensitivity analysis was conducted on the calibrated Upper Broad Run HSPF/PQUAL and HSPF/AGCHEM models to identify significant inputs and parameters for nutrient load generation. The sensitivity analysis results confirmed the importance of accurate meteorological inputs and flow simulation for effective nutrient modeling. OP (orthophosphate phosphorus) and NH4-N (ammonium nitrogen) loads were sensitive to PQUAL parameters describing pollutant buildup and washoff at land surface. The significant PQUAL parameter for Ox-N (oxidized nitrogen) load was groundwater nitrate concentration. For the HSPF/AGCHEM model, fertilizer application rate and time were very important for nutrient load generation. NH4-N and OP loads were sensitive to the AGCHEM parameters describing pollutant adsorption and desorption in the soil. On the other hand, plant uptake of nitrogen played an important role for Ox-N load generation. A side by side comparison was conducted on the Upper Broad Run HSPF/PQUAL and HSPF/AGCHEM models. Both PQUAL and AGCHEM provided good-to-reasonable nutrient simulation. The comparison results showed that AGCHEM performed better than PQUAL for OP simulation, but PQUAL captured temporal variations in the NH4-N and Ox-N loads better than AGCHEM. Compared to PQUAL, AGCHEM is less user-friendly, requires a lot more model input parameters and takes much more time in model development and calibration. On the other hand, use of AGCHEM affords more model capabilities, such as tracking nutrient balances and evaluating alternative nutrient management practices. This study also demonstrated the application of HSPF/AGCHEM within a linked watershed-reservoir model system in the Lake Manassas watershed. By using the outputs generated by the HSPF/AGCHEM models in the Upper Broad Run and Middle Broad Run subbasins, the Lake Manassas CE-QUAL-W2 model adequately captured water budget, temporal and spatial distribution of water quality constituents associated with summer stratification in the lake. The linked model was used to evaluate water quality benefits of implementing nutrient management plan in the watershed. The results confirmed that without the nutrient management plan OP loads would be much higher, which would lead to OP enrichment and enhanced algae growth in Lake Manassas. / Ph. D.