Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
standing advisories indicate that this occurs, particularly in small communities.
Continuous BWAs are more common in smaller rural communities that are unable
to maintain or upgrade their systems, often due to
financial inability. Many resi-
dents are known to disregard a BWA, as some BWAs last many years.
Overall, the issue of drinking water quality will continue to remain a primary
concern worldwide. Contamination and outbreaks can occur at any time and any-
where regardless of season or size of water system. The patterns among the out-
breaks clearly show the ineffectiveness of chlorine against the threatening
Cryptosporidium pathogen, the vulnerability of multi-use watersheds, and the
failures of BWAs that are often overused. There is no substitute to proper treatment
for safe drinking water.
What is the
first step in preventing waterborne disease outbreaks? In the multi-
barrier approach, the
first component is the establishment of protection of source
waters. This may require a watershed protection plan, including legislation to
support watershed protection in the law of the land. Implementing watershed
protection requires an understanding of the key principles of watershed manage-
ment. The next section provides a succinct statement of the principles; the risk
management component of watershed management is covered in Chap.
6
.
2.5 Principles of Watershed Management
A watershed is an area within which all water bodies such as rivers and streams
accumulate and eventually
find an outlet. A watershed may also have one or more
sub-watersheds. Watersheds are naturally cohesive hydrological units, encom-
passing a large area of land. The successful management not only aids the
hydrological system, but also bene
ts the socio-ecological entity. We now sum-
marize the core principles based on successful watershed management in the past.
1. A Good Understanding of Natural Ecosystems
ned by the topographic boundaries including natural eco-
systems and urbanized landscapes, or elements of both (United States Environ-
mental Protection Agency (USEPA)
2013
, p. 7). The natural processes refer to the
dynamic physical and chemical interactions, which form the landscape of the
watershed, as well as its water quality According to their characteristics, watersheds
can be classi
Watersheds are de
ed into three management zones (USEPA
2013
, p. 8):
Upland zones are land areas above high water level that intercept and transport
rain or storm as groundwater.
Water-body zones are surface water bodies, such as stream, river, and ocean,
which provide the living environment for aquatic and terrestrial birds and
mammals.
Riparian zones are border surface water bodies that filter the surface water
runoff.
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