Showing papers on "Water supply published in 1977"

Ohio drinking water source and cancer rates.

Abstract: The 88 counties of Ohio were classified as either ground water or surface water counties based on the source of the drinking water used by a majority of the county residents included in the 1963 U.S. Public Health Service Inventory of Municipal Water Facilities. Average cancer mortality rates for surface and ground water counties were compared using analysis of covariance. Mortality rates for stomach, bladder, and all malignant neoplasms were higher for white males in counties served by surface water supplies than in counties served by ground water supplies. Mortality rates for stomach neoplasms were higher for white females in surface water counties. These differences in mortality rates were not attributable to other factors known to be associated with cancer death rates including urbanization, median income, population size, manufacturing activity, and agriculture-forestry-fishery activity.

Impact of water supply on the incidence of diarrhoea and shigellosis among children in rural communities in Madurai

Abstract: -. Gastrointestinal diseases constitute a major public health problem in India, particularly among infants and pre-school children. The State Governments have been investing large funds under the National Water Supply and Sanitation Scheme for the provision of protected water supply in rural and urban areas. Wells dug, driven, or drilled, as also water from reservoirs treated or untreated, with or without arrangement for overhead tank, piped or otherwise, constitute the usual source. Piped water supply is distributed through street faucets or house connections. The quantity is restricted to meet mainly the drinking water needs of the community. Studies conducted in several countries1"4 have indicated that the effectiveness of the protected water supply in controlling water-borne diseases in a community depends on (a) purity and wholesomeness, (b) quantity supplied, (c) whether the water is supplied within or outside the dwellings, and (d) whether the supply is continuous or not. The present investigation was undertaken to find out how far the public water supplies have controlled water-borne diseases in rural areas using the incidence of diarrhoea (shigellosis) as an index in children under 5 years of age.

Decisions about Wastewater Technology: 1850-1932

Abstract: This paper focuses upon key turning points in the evolution of methods of collecting and treating domestic wastes, 1850-1932, and suggests that there are many analogs between today’s water quality movement and the past. The 1850-1932 time span can be divided into three periods: 1850-1880, 1880-1900, and 1900-1932. Each of these periods was dominated by a critical decision in terms of dealing with domestic wastes. The three decisions examined are the adoption of system of sewers using water for transport of wastes, the decision to build combined rather than separate sewers, and the decision to treat raw water supplies rather than treat waste before disposal to waterways. These decisions led to unanticipated results — results that necessitated new technologies and that led to an expansion of governmental regulation in the area of water quality.

Improvements of rural domestic water supplies

Abstract: The philosophy of water supply is largely based on the urban experience of temperate countries which have relatively ample funds and where availability of sources is rarely limiting. The preoccupation with quality that this engenders may be inappropriate to the rural tropics when settlements are scattered. Since improved health is usually the chief reason given for improving supplies, rational expenditure of the limited funds for improvements requires an analysis of the relation of diseases to water. When funds are inadequate for ample safe water, the most relevant improvement will vary in different places; this requires increased flexibility and diversity in the responses of governments. The technologies involved in rural water supply are reviewed. Once improvements have been made, maintenance is a major problem. The crucial rural problems are more concerned with the social than purely technological aspects of supply. Increasing weight is now given to ‘ self-help ’ approaches, yet these await rigorous assessment. The problems of evaluating technological advances in their social setting have not yet been fully solved.

Cost and Quality of Water Supply

Abstract: Passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) has intensified and focused a growing interest in the problems associated with ensuring the health of the people via control of the nation's community water-supply systems. Contained in the act is the provision for primary drinking-water standards to be established and promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).1 These standards affect every drinking-water supply having at least fifteen service connections or 25 individual consumers. Because of its potential impact, the EPA in enforcing the act is required to take cost into consideration. Therefore, the EPA is expected to maintain a balanced program which considers both cost and quality. Complicating such considerations is the fact that the cost of water supply is heavily influenced by the interactions of such factors as population density, source of water,

Water Re-Use And The Cities

Abstract: American cities are experiencing a growing need for technological and managerial systems to provide water to their populations. Cities are finding it increasingly difficult to supply their growing populations with water of high quality at reasonable price. Especially with the implementation of the federal water pollution amendments of 1972, re-use of wastewater will be important in meeting of future water needs, yet many obstacles remain to be solved. The progress to date and the future prospects for success are examined through four major questions: Is reclaimed water safe. Are water re-use systems economiclly feasible. Will the public accept reclaimed water. Will the managers recommend such systems. An interdisciplinary approach is used to examine the available evidence on each of these questions. Notions of how technological innovations occur in society and how diffusion takes place are discussed. Economic, sociological, political, and public health issues are considered. Arguing that the future of water re-use depends upon the success of minimizing the risks and meeting the reservations of the managers and the public, the advantages of ''plural'' water supply systems, the current state of risk measurement, the need for graduated implementation and public education, the feasibility of water re-use as a stand-by system,more » and the likely response of consulting engineers and public health officials are assessed. Current programs in the federal government are evaluated in terms of their contribution to the diffusion of re-use systems, and policy recommendations are offered.« less

Water Management in Crisis

Abstract: management for such purposes as navigation, flood control, hydroelectric power production, and reclamation; and water has been provided for an ever-increasing volume and variety of industrial, agricultural, recreational, and municipal uses.1 However, there appears in the symposium articles an underlying apprehension. Put as simply as possible, the anxiety implied or expressed is that present water management policies, institutional arrangements, and strategies leave us in a poor position to cope with the foreseen future. Most of the articles imply or openly portray that future as marked by an ever-growing demand on a water supply finite in both quantity and quality. Additional complications are foreseen because the increased demands will come both from traditional uses

Historic Turning Points in Municipal Water Supply and Wastewater Disposal, 1850-1932

Abstract: 1850-1880: Urbanization and development of large public water supplies combined to overload cesspools and privy-vaults. Sewers were constructed to protect public health. 1880-1900: Debate over combined vs. separate sewers. George Waring said separate system was better than combined, removed wastes faster. Rudolph Hering, reporting on European sewerage, said neither system was better, cities should construct combined, small towns separate. 1900-1932: Public health officials wanted sewage treated prior to discharge into surface waters, cited public health in downstream cities as reason. Engineers argued that streams purified naturally, treatment required only to prevent nuisance, water filtration adequate to protect public health. Engineers prevailed; sewage was discharged without treatment.

Water shortage in Israel: Long-run policy for the farm sector

Abstract: Israel faces a situation of a limited amount of water supply and increasing demands. Since agriculture uses a large fraction of the water available in this country, one potential policy is to reduce allocations of water to agriculture in order to permit the growth of use in other sectors. Estimates of the total loss in income to agriculture from reduction in current allocations are made by using a linear programing model. These are to be taken as guideline estimates only.

Water Supply as a Limiting Factor in Developing Communities: Endogenous VS. Exogenous Sources

Abstract: Certain issues pertaining to water supply as a limiting factor in developing communities are discussed. Examples taken from New Jersey should have applicability elsewhere, especially in the humid eastern U.S. Developing communities in New Jersey are planning for an ultimate population to be supplied by endogenous water sources. Reliance on exogenous sources seems to be favored at the state and national level. Three planning topics concerning this controversy are discussed: deep aquifers with recharge areas in other political jurisdictions not considered endogenous sources; total development of the groundwater resources of a headwaters community resulting in base flow diminishment; and yield decrementing estimates. Reliance on endogenous supplies results in a lower estimate of ultimate population that the county can support. The selection of a water source area has profound implications in the management of community growth. (1 diagram, 15 references, 1 table)

LA SECHERESSE 1976 EN FRANCE: ASPECTS CLIMATOLOGIQUES ET CONSEQUENCES / The 1976 drought in France: climatological aspects and consequences

Abstract: The author recalls the four classical definitions of drought: — pluviometrie drought, numerically characterized by a pluviometric ratio — climatic drought, depending on the potential water budget — agricultural drought, referring to the easily available soil water storage — hydrological drought, recognized by an anomaly in the water supply to the water courses. The first two types are analysed with respect to the 1976 drought in France, and the results are plotted on maps. The meteorological causes of the drought are then examined, using data from Europe and North Africa. Finally the effects of the drought on surface water (groundwater does not appear to have been affected), river transport, pollution, hydroelectric power supply, and above all on agriculture, are given.

The costs and benefits of water metering

Abstract: The decision of whether or not to meter household water supplies is frequently a subject of debate. Essentially the decision should be based upon economic considerations, following some type of cost-benefit analysis. While the theoretical economic concepts which are relevant to the metering decision are well established, they are often not understood or accepted by water supply engineers and policy makers. As a result they are rarely applied in practice. This paper briefly states the theoretical framework, which can be easily applied by most water supply authorities when making the metering decision. It also presents several examples of such an application. In most of the examples presented, the metering of household supplies was found to be generally justified; in one it was found to be clearly inappropriate.

Predicting instantaneous peak demand in rural domestic water supply systems

Abstract: Many rural areas of the United States still have no public domestic water systems. Typical land use patterns in these areas may require 1/2 mile or more of pipe per farm connection. Public systems serving these areas are economically feasible only if realistic short-term peak demand standards are available for their design. The lack of reliable data upon which to establish such criteria has resulted in a large variation in criteria among state and federal agencies involved in financing and in approving construction of these systems. During the summer of 1975 three distribution laterals of a rural system in Utah were master metered and instantaneous peak flows were recorded for 4 months. The metered lines served 4, 12, and 22 farm houses each. The frequency distribution of peak flows has been analyzed and compared with that developed during similar research in Mississippi and with the existing design standards of the Farmers Home Administration and the State of Utah.

Coal gasification and water resources development

Abstract: A method is developed for determining the location of high and low-Btu coal gasification facilities to minimize the cost of plants, gas transmission, coal supply and transport, solid waste disposal, and water supply. Economic efficiency is achieved in meeting the demand for gas at designated market centers. Linear programming optimization models are developed for this purpose. The method should be useful in planning the joint development of energy and water resources in those regions designated by the Water Resources Council as being constrained by water availability in achieving National energy self-sufficiency. The models can also be used to indicate the tradeoffs between environmental concerns and economic efficiency. It is concluded that the relative availability of water at a potential coal gasification plant site may significantly affect the final price of gas. It is recommended that detailed studies of water use and conservation in both the Lurgi and advanced technology processes be undertaken.

Economic Development in the El Paso-Juarez Area and Its Impact on Water Supply

Abstract: Conflicts over resource allocations have developed along the US-Mexico Borderlands as a result of rapid economic growth. The area of El Paso, Texas, and Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, illustrates the characteristic nonhomogeneity and interdependence of the border economics. Focusing on the availability of water as a condition for growth and development, the Rio Grande Regional Environmental Project (RGREP) has explored the concept of total water management. Further study is indicated on the process of regional growth to identify the costs and benefits of alternative growth patterns based on input-output analysis of alternative water allocation schemes. More research is also needed to prevent the present coalition of agricultural and household users from breaking down.

Control for rotating arm irrigation system

Abstract: A control for a motor driven rotating arm crop irrigation system of the type having a low pressure control for stopping the water supply pump includes a normally closed discharge valve adjacent the supply connection to the arm. A control responsive to malfunction of the arm drive opens the discharge valve to release water and thereby decreases the pressure in the supply line; this lowers the pressure at the low pressure control of the supply which then operates to shut off the water supply. The power for the malfunction control including the discharge valve operation is supplied by a battery located adjacent the arm pivot and no electric power supply or control wires are required between the pivot area and the water supply equipment.

A Nonlinear Multilevel Model for Regional Water Resources Planning

Abstract: A nonlinear multilevel transportation model is developed to study large-scale allocations in a water resources system. The model uses a modified transportation matrix formulated with nonlinear cost functions as the basic subregional model and the goal coordination method for multilevel decomposition and optimization of the overall regional system. The model is applied to projected water requirements for Salt Lake County in 1985. Sources of water supply - surface water, ground water, import water, and reuse of reclaimed wastewater on a restricted basis - are available to satisfy water requirements for municipal, industrial, and agricultural sectors in four subregions. The conjugate gradient projection method is used to optimize the first level subregional models having cost functions of the form of C = aXb, and the second level problem is solved using the conjugate gradient method.

Seasonal and Stochastic Factors in Water Planning

Abstract: A transshipment model of water resources in a region is formulated which incorporates the seasonal variations in water uses and the stochastic characteristics of water supplies. The basic model is structured using nonlinear costs (by separable programming) for the objective function and solved for various combinations of annual or seasonal periods for water supply and demand, and deterministic or stochastic water supplies. Two levels of wastewater treatment are also specified corresponding to 1977 and 1983 requirements of PL 92-500. The results of the model runs give optimal allocations of water from the available sources to meet use sector requirements over a planning horizon from 1975 to 2020. The total minimum cost of water supply and wastewater treatment is reduced by taking into account seasonality of water requirements. Incorporating the stochastic nature of supplies generally results in a shift to more reliable but higher cost sources. A comparison of the model solutions indicates that improved sizing and timing of facilities can be achieved considering the stochasticity of water supplies and seasonality of water uses.

The Potential of Economic Desalinization for Small Systems

Abstract: The question of how to handle the problem of brackish water supplies in small communities has long challenged the engineering profession. Large areas of the western US contain communities, with populations ranging from 500 persons to perhaps as high as 100 000 persons, where existing water supplies, whether groundwater or surface water, are very high in total dissolved solids (TDS), high in hardness, and often high in constituents that are looked upon unfavorably under present drinking standards. Examples of these constituents would include chlorides, nitrates, boron, selenium. Generally, these small communities suffer with the problem because treatment of the water supply by conventional processes, such as lime-soda softening, is economically

Irrigation development in the world

Abstract: Large increases in food production are necessary for the world's increasing population. Much can be obtained by placing more lands under irrigation and by improving the operation and management of existing irrigation schemes. The greater portion of newly irrigated lands will come from the developing countries while improvement of existing facilities is necessary in developing and developed countries. For all practical purposes the total water supply of the planet is fixed, but man can manipulate the supply in regard to location and time of use. The greatest potential for new development of irrigated land is through use of groundwater. This should be in conjunctive use with surface water and should be strictly controlled to avoid waste, over-development and salination. Water resources surveys should be carried out where there is a dearth of information and where the end use is planned—not for the sake of making a water survey. New irrigation programmes before 1985 might come to 23 million hectares at 1975 prices of about $40 billion. Improved water management of existing irrigation schemes can probably do more towards increasing food supplies than any other agricultural activity. Such practices would include improvement and rehabilitation of existing irrigation schemes plus training farmers in improved irrigation practices. If this could be carried out on 50 million hectares the returns in increased production would be enormous and might cost as much as $25 billion.