Journal of Water Resource and Protection 

About: Journal of Water Resource and Protection is an academic journal published by Scientific Research Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Water quality & Groundwater. It has an ISSN identifier of 1945-3094. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 1308 publications have been published receiving 14784 citations. The journal is also known as: JWARP.

Water Pollution with Special Reference to Pesticide Contamination in India

Abstract: The pesticides belong to a category of chemicals used worldwide as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, ro-denticides, molluscicides, nematicides, and plant growth regulators in order to control weeds, pests and dis-eases in crops as well as for health care of humans and animals. The positive aspect of application of pesti-cides renders enhanced crop/food productivity and drastic reduction of vector-borne diseases. However, their unregulated and indiscriminate applications have raised serious concerns about the entire environment in general and the health of humans, birds and animals in particular. Despite ban on application of some of the environmentally persistent and least biodegradable pesticides (like organochlorines) in many countries, their use is ever on rise. Pesticides cause serious health hazards to living systems because of their rapid fat solu-bility and bioaccumulation in non-target organisms. Even at low concentration, pesticides may exert several adverse effects, which could be monitored at biochemical, molecular or behavioral levels. The factors af-fecting water pollution with pesticides and their residues include drainage, rainfall, microbial activity, soil temperature, treatment surface, application rate as well as the solubility, mobility and half life of pesticides. In India organochlorine insecticides such as DDT and HCH constitute more than 70% of the pesticides used at present. Reports from Delhi, Bhopal and other cities and some rural areas have indicated presence of sig-nificant level of pesticides in fresh water systems as well as bottled drinking mineral water samples. The ef-fects of pesticides pollution in riverine systems and drinking water in India has been discussed in this review.

Some Characteristics and Impacts of the Drought and Water Crisis in Southeastern Brazil during 2014 and 2015

Abstract: Since the austral summer of 2014 southeastern Brazil has been experiencing one of the most severe droughts in decades. This rainfall deficiency has generated water shortages and a water crisis that have affected population and local economies in the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo, the largest megacity in South America. By January 2015, main reservoirs had reached storage levels of only 5% of their 1.3 billion m3 capacity. The meteorological causes of the drought situation were linked to changes in the regional circulation, characterized by a mid-troposphere blocking high that lasted 45 days during the summer of 2014 over southeastern Brazil, something not seen in five decades. The water crisis was aggravated by a combination of lack of rainfall and higher temperatures, the summer of 2014 being the warmest and driest over the Cantareira reservoir system since 1951. Increasing population and water consumption increased vulnerability in the region, and while human-induced warming may not have generated the atmospheric conditions behind the 2014 and 2015 summer droughts in Southeast Brazil, it is more likely that the warm temperatures have affected the severity of the drought and exacerbated the impacts on the population.

Application of Water Quality Index for Assessment of Dokan Lake Ecosystem, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Abstract: Water Quality Index (WQI) was applied in Dokan Lake, Kurdistan region, Iraq using ten water quality parameters (pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Turbidity, Conductivity, Hardness, Alkalinity, Sodium, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Nitrate and Nitrite). The relative weight assigned to each parameter ranged from 1 to 4 based on the importance of the parameter for aquatic life. The results indicated that water quality of Dokan Lake declined from Good in the years 1978, 1979, 1980, 1999, 2000 and 2008 to Poor in 2009. The impact of various anthropogenic activities was evident on some parameters such as the EC and BOD. It is suggested that monitoring of the lake is necessary for proper management. Application of the WQI is also suggested as a very helpful tool that enables the public and decision makers to evaluate water quality of lakes in Iraq.

Adsorption of methyl orange onto chitosan from aqueous solution.

Abstract: Chitosan was utilized as adsorbent to remove methyl orange (MO) from aqueous solution by adsorption. Batch experiments were conducted to study the effects of pH, initial concentration of adsorbate and temperature on dye adsorption. The kinetic data obtained from different batch experiments were analyzed using both pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order equations. The equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by using the Freundlich and Langmuir models. The best results were achieved with the pseudo second-order kinetic model and with the Langmuir isotherm equilibrium model. The equilibrium adsorption capacity (qe) increases with increasing the initial concentration of dye and with decreasing pH. The values of qe were found to be slightly increased with increasing solution temperatures. The activation energy (Ea) of sorption kinetics was found to be 10.41 kJ/mol. Thermodynamic parameters such as change in free energy (△G), enthalpy (△H) and entropy (△S) were also discussed.

Spatial Estimation of Soil Erosion Risk Using RUSLE Approach, RS, and GIS Techniques: A Case Study of Kufranja Watershed, Northern Jordan

Abstract: Wadi Kufranja catchment (126.3 km2), northern Jordan, was selected to estimate annual soil loss using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), remote sensing (RS), and geographic information system (GIS). RUSLE factors (R, K, LS, C and P) were computed and presented by raster layers in a GIS environment, then multiplied together to predict soil erosion rates, and to generate soil erosion risk categories and soil erosion severity maps. The estimated potential average annual soil loss is 10 ton·ha-1·year-1 for the catchment, and the potential erosion rates from recognized erosion classes ranged from 0.0 to 1850 ton·ha-1·year-1. About 42.1% (5317.23 ha) of the catchment area was predicted to have moderate risk of erosion, with soil loss between 5 - 25 ton·ha-1·year-1. Risk of erosion is severe to extreme over 31.2% (3940.56 ha) of the catchment, where calculated soil loss is 25 - 50 and >50 ton·ha-1·year-1. Apart from the gentle slopes of the alluvial fan (Krayma town and surroundings), the lower and the middle reaches of the watershed suffer from severe to extreme erosion risk. High terrain, slope steepness, removal of vegetation, and poor conservation practices are the most prominent causes of soil erosion.