Volume 15 (2015): Edizione 1 (March 2015)

Using energy dissipaters on the soled aprons downstream of head structures is the main technique for accelerating hydraulic jump formation and dissipating a great amount of the residual harmful kinetic energy occurring downstream of head structures. In this paper, an experimental study was conducted to investigate some untested shapes of curved dissipaters with different angles of curvature and arrangements from two points of view. The first is to examine its efficiency in dissipating the kinetic water energy. The second is to examine the most effective shape and arrangement obtained from the aforementioned step in enriching the flow with dissolved oxygen for enhancement of the irrigation water quality. The study was held in the irrigation and hydraulic laboratory of the Civil Department, Faculty of Engineering, Assiut University, using a movable bed tilting channel 20 m long, 30 cm wide, and 50 cm high, using 21 types of curved dissipaters with different arrangements. A total of 660 runs were carried out. Results were analysed, tabulated and graphically presented, and new formulas were introduced to estimate the energy dissipation ratio, as well as the DO concentrations. Results in general showed that the dissipater performance is more tangible in dissipating the residual energy when the curvature is in the opposite direction to that of the flow. Also, the energy loss ratio increases with an increase in curvature angle (θ), until it reaches (θ = 120°), then it decreases again. The study also showed that using three rows of dissipaters give nearly the same effect as using four rows, concerning both the relative energy dissipation and dissolved oxygen content. So, it is recommended to use three rows of the curved dissipater with the angle of curvature (θ = 120°) in the opposite direction to that of the flow to obtain the maximum percentage of water energy dissipation downstream of head structures, and maximum dissolved oxygen content too

Phytoremediation or green technology is counted among the successful and effective biological contaminated water treatment techniques. Basically, the concept of this green, cost-effective, simple, environmentally nondisruptive method consists in using plants and microbiological processes to reduce contaminants in the ecosystem. Different species from aquatic plants (emerged, free-floating, and submerged) have been studied to mitigate toxic contaminants such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, zinc, etc. Arsenic is one of the most severe toxic elements; it is widely distributed in the environment, usually found in combination with chloride, oxygen, sulphur and metal ions as a result of mineral dissolution from sedimentary or volcanic rocks and the dilution of geothermal water. The effluents from both industrial and agricultural sectors are also regarded as sources to contaminate water. From the accumulation point of view, several aquatic plants have been mentioned as good arsenic accumulators and their performance is evaluated using the green technology method. These include Spirodela polyrhiza, Wolffia globosa, Lemna gibba, L. minor, Eichhornia crassipes, Azolla caroliniana, Azolla filiculoides, Azolla pinnata, Ceratophyllum demersum and Pistia stratiotes. The up-to-date information illustrated in this review paper generates knowledge about the ability of some common aquatic plants around the globe to remediate arsenic from contaminated water.

This paper presents an attempt to model water-level fluctuations in a lake based on artificial neural networks. The subject of research was the water level in Lake Drwęckie over the period 1980-2012. For modelling purposes, meteorological data from the weather station in Olsztyn were used. As a result of the research conducted, the model M_Meteo_Lag_3 was identified as the most accurate. This artificial neural network model has seven input neurons, four neurons in the hidden layer and one neuron in the output layer. As explanatory variables meteorological parameters (minimal, maximal and mean temperature, and humidity) and values of dependent variables from three earlier months were implemented. The paper claims that artificial neural networks performed well in terms of modelling the analysed phenomenon. In most cases (55%) the modelled value differed from the real value by an average of 7.25 cm. Only in two cases did a meaningful error occur, of 33 and 38 cm.

Urban reservoirs can receive high loads of chemicals, including persistent contaminants and eutrophication-promoting nutrients. To maintain their economic and recreational use, implementation of various restoration methods is often required. The Maltański Reservoir (Poland, Europe), a small, shallow and dammed urban water body, undergoes complete draining every four years as part of its restoration procedure. Here, we investigated the phosphorus (P) content and its fractions just before the reservoir was drained and after it had been completely filled with water again. As demonstrated, the highest accumulation of P occurred at sites through which the main water flow is directed. Calcium-bound and residual P constituted the largest proportion of P fractions. A shift in P fractions after the reservoir was drained and sediments were left without water for at least 4 months was observed. A decrease in phytoplankton utilized NH4Cl-P, Fe-P and NaOH-P fractions was found and followed a simultaneous increase in nearly biologically inaccessible HCl-P and practically biologically inactive residual P fractions. Our study demonstrates that complete drainage of the Maltański Reservoir may additionally decrease the risk of internal P loading through shifts in its fractions.

Flooding constitutes one of the main natural hazards in Poland, which causes enormous social, economic and environmental losses. The main causes of the occurrence of floods include intensive rainfall, rapid melting of snow and ice cover, as well as strong gusts of wind from the sea. Based on the resilience theory (resistance, elasticity), which constitutes an efficient tool for the description of the social-ecological system capability or components thereof to mitigate the effects of dangerous events, as well as the capability of reconstructing and adapting the system to new conditions, the authors have analysed the exposure of Polish lakes to flood risks with a probability of occurrence Q0.2%, Q1% and Q10%. In order to determine the level of exposure of lakes to the risk of flooding by flood waters, studies were conducted using the flood hazard and flood risk maps which were developed under the Project entitled “IT System of the Country’s Protection against Extreme Hazards”. The result of the efforts of the group of authors is the determination of the number of lakes, which are located in the flood risk area Q0.2%, Q1% and Q10%, including division into risk level groups (low, moderate and high). The results presented in the paper may constitute a contribution to further, more detailed studies concerning assessment of the vulnerability of Polish lakes located in the flood prone area.