This paper discusses the hydrological impacts of land use changes on the Olifants Basin in South Africa using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). A three-phase land use scenario (2000, 2007 and 2013) employing the “fix-changing” method was used to simulate the hydrology of the Olifants Basin. Changes in land uses were related to different hydrological responses through a multi-regression...

Urban runoff has been reported as the second most frequent cause of surface water pollution in the United States. Due to the incidence of runoff in urban areas, it was of interest to estimate the impact runoff may have to recent sediment quality within the lower reaches of the Passaic River. Study objectives included i) review of recent urban runoff studies to determine the occurrence and patte...

In October 2011, the Swiss Alps underwent a marked rain-on-snow (ROS) event when a large snowfall on 8 and 9 October was followed by intense rain on 10 October. This resulted in severe flooding in some parts of Switzerland. Model simulations were carried out for 14 meteorological stations in two affected regions of the Swiss Alps using the detailed physics-based snowpack model SNOWPACK. We also...

Currently rainwater harvesting is more and more popular in the world. The aim is reduce drinking water consumption in developed countries or create a point of access for water in developing countries, for drinking water or for plants irrigation. For developed countries the problems of rainwater re-use can be linked with micro pollutants contamination. Hence we underline a possible source of bio...

The transportation of pollutants from impervious surfaces during runoff events to receiving water bodies is a serious environmental problem. Summer runoff is also heated by impervious surfaces, causing thermal enrichment in receiving water body systems and degradation of coldwater aquatic ecosystems. End-of-pipe stormwater management facilities that are open to the environment can result in fur...

Continental runoff is a major source of freshwater, nutrients and terrigenous material to the Arctic Ocean. As such, it influences water column stratification, light attenuation, surface heating, gas exchange, biological productivity and carbon sequestration. Increasing river discharge and thawing permafrost suggest that the impacts of continental runoff on these processes are changing. Here, a...

Herbicides applied in cropping in the Great Barrier Reef catchment in Queensland, pose a threat to water quality in riverine environments and the reef lagoon. With the introduction of ReefPlan in 2009, which sets a target of a 50% reduction in herbicides entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon by 2013, there is a need to investigate water quality implications of weed management practices. Models...

runoff production process is a key hydrological component illustrating watersheds health. water infiltration in soil is also one of the determinant factors on runoff generation for which many techniques were used to improve it. however, the role of microorganisms for the improvement of water infiltration in soil has been less considered. the present study therefore tried to investigate the effe...