Editorial. Trends in water quality: Special issue of hydrological processes
✍ Scribed by Norman E. Peters
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 101 KB
- Volume
- 10
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6087
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Although water-quality problems have existed since ancient Greek and Roman times (e.g. the effects of lead on human health), increases in population and the acceleration of technology and its application globally in modern times has produced increasing stress on water resources. The management of air, land and water resources affects water quality over a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. For example, unabated atmospheric emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels or unexpected atmospheric releases of contaminants, such as occurred during the Chernobyl accident, yield contaminants that can be transported and deposited over large regions. Also, solid and liquid wastes from industries and municipalities and leachate from landfills are sources of contaminants that can degrade surface waters directly from point discharges.
Increasing population and the continued degradation of existing water supplies has accelerated the demand for good quality freshwater. Historically, most water needs, particularly in the highly industrialized temperate zone, were dominated by water-quantity concerns rather than water-quality concerns, because of the abundance of freshwater. In and around many urban centres, exploitation and poor management practices resulted in the degradation of available water resources. Scientists are only now developing tools to monitor water quality and research programmes to evaluate water quality trends. The term 'trend', as used herein, captures the spirit of the word as (1) 'a prevailing tendency of inclination', or, more rigorously, as (2) 'a straight line or other statistical curve showing a tendency of some function to grow or decline over a period of time'. As the demand for non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels, metals and freshwater, continues and as waste by-products are generated, water resources will continue to be adversely affected. As water quality degradation continues, the threat to the health of humans and ecosystems in general likewise increases. Consequently, there is an increasing need to assess water-quality trends to provide not only a warning of the rates of water-resource degradation, but also to provide knowledge of causal relationships to effectively manage these precious resources.
This issue on Trends in Water Quality begins with an overview of techniques used to evaluate temporal changes in water quality and is followed by two case studies of solute-concentration trends in precipitation and streamwater from small catchments in the USA and UK. 'The case studies highlight the typical techniques used to identify trends and evaluate linkages between solute changes in precipitation and those in surface waters. The case studies are followed by papers on trends in temperatures of surface waters, heavy metals, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), eutrophication research and control, pathogenic agents in freshwaters, and groundwater quality.
I was recently elected President of the International Commission on Water Quality (ICWQ), which is one of nine Commissions/Committees of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS). As President of ICWQ, I am entrusted to further the goals of ICWQ and am promoting the need for advanced understanding and communication in the field of water quality, not only on specific topics of local interest but on a regional and international level as well. A major aspect of water quality assessment includes an evaluation of trends in water quality. Consequently, I appreciate that this special issue has contributed to ICWQ goals and am grateful to the authors for their contributions.