Keywords
integrated ecological river modelling, decision support in river management
Start Date
1-7-2012 12:00 AM
Abstract
Legal physical-chemical emission limits are traditionally used forassessing the effectiveness of urban sanitation infrastructure. However, thereceiving water’s ecological aspects are disregarded with this conventionalapproach. European legislation (i.e. Water Framework Directive-WFD) now has anintegrated approach of river management, which considers the concept ofecological status. Furthermore, the WFD urges the adoption of a combined analysisof emission limits values and physical-chemical and ecological aspects of thereceiving waters and encourage the availability and use of decision support tools forwater management such as simulation models. Croatia has signed agreements tojoin the European Union (EU) and thus taken up the obligation to coordinate itslegislation with EU standards, such as the implementation of the WFD for itsinvestments in the construction and upgrading of WWTPs. Thus, Croatia needs asimulation tool that allows assessing the impact of WWTPs discharges on thewater quality of rivers, considering physical–chemical and ecological aspects.During the last decade the water quality of the Drava river in Croatia has beenaffected by an increased demand of electricity production and its misuse asreceiving aquatic ecosystem of controlled and uncontrolled discharges of wastesfrom agricultural, urban or industrial activities. This paper presents an integration ofwastewater treatment, river water quality and quantity and ecological assessmentmodels to study the effect of upgrading a WWTP in the city of Varazdin and itsecological effects for the receiving river, the Drava river. The paper explains theintegrated modelling framework and provides some illustrations of its application.Three scenarios for pollution control in the study area were evaluated with theintegrated model. The scenario assessment showed that the upgrading of theWWTP, with Nitrogen and Phosphorous removal, is not enough to reach goodecological water quality in this river, therefore, other point and diffuse pollutionsources should be controlled in the area. The integrated modelling framework isflexible enough to be used in conjunction with different approaches/models and canbe applied to any river basin. More data should be collected and more variablesshould be included in an optimization of these models.
Integrated ecological modelling for decision support in the integrated urban water system modelling of the Drava river (Varazdin, Croatia)
Legal physical-chemical emission limits are traditionally used forassessing the effectiveness of urban sanitation infrastructure. However, thereceiving water’s ecological aspects are disregarded with this conventionalapproach. European legislation (i.e. Water Framework Directive-WFD) now has anintegrated approach of river management, which considers the concept ofecological status. Furthermore, the WFD urges the adoption of a combined analysisof emission limits values and physical-chemical and ecological aspects of thereceiving waters and encourage the availability and use of decision support tools forwater management such as simulation models. Croatia has signed agreements tojoin the European Union (EU) and thus taken up the obligation to coordinate itslegislation with EU standards, such as the implementation of the WFD for itsinvestments in the construction and upgrading of WWTPs. Thus, Croatia needs asimulation tool that allows assessing the impact of WWTPs discharges on thewater quality of rivers, considering physical–chemical and ecological aspects.During the last decade the water quality of the Drava river in Croatia has beenaffected by an increased demand of electricity production and its misuse asreceiving aquatic ecosystem of controlled and uncontrolled discharges of wastesfrom agricultural, urban or industrial activities. This paper presents an integration ofwastewater treatment, river water quality and quantity and ecological assessmentmodels to study the effect of upgrading a WWTP in the city of Varazdin and itsecological effects for the receiving river, the Drava river. The paper explains theintegrated modelling framework and provides some illustrations of its application.Three scenarios for pollution control in the study area were evaluated with theintegrated model. The scenario assessment showed that the upgrading of theWWTP, with Nitrogen and Phosphorous removal, is not enough to reach goodecological water quality in this river, therefore, other point and diffuse pollutionsources should be controlled in the area. The integrated modelling framework isflexible enough to be used in conjunction with different approaches/models and canbe applied to any river basin. More data should be collected and more variablesshould be included in an optimization of these models.
