Operating Rules for an Off-Stream Blending Reservoir to Control Nitrate in a Municipal Water System
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 140, Issue 8
Abstract
Municipal water supply systems dependent on surface water sources that are susceptible to both low flows and contamination can use off-stream blending reservoirs (OSBR) both to increase their yield and avoid investments in expensive treatment technology. Three water quality operating rules (WQORs) are simulated from a retrospective planning perspective using the OSBR system that controls nitrate contamination for Pontiac, Illinois as an example case. These rules regulate pumped reservoir inflow based on (1) a maximum river concentration (Riv-CR), (2) a maximum reservoir concentration (Res-CR), and (3) a hybrid rule incorporating both maximum reservoir and river concentrations (Hyb-CR). The Hyb-CR rule typically registers the highest yield when nitrate is modeled as a conservative contaminant, while Res-CR tends to produce the highest yields when nitrate losses are considered. In general, reservoir concentration-based WQORs are effective for increasing the yield of OSBR systems that control the concentration of nonconservative contaminants, and often produce higher yields than a traditional Riv-CR, even with conservative contaminants. However, numerous circumstances are identified under which Riv-CR may outperform both Res-CR and Hyb-CR.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge H. Vernon Knapp of the Illinois State Water Survey and the Illinois-American Water Company for providing data and guidance in the early stages of this study.
References
Admiraal, W., and van der Vlugt, J. C. (1988). “High rates of denitrification in a storage reservoir fed with water of the river Rhine.” Archiv fur Hydrobiol. Stutt., 113(4), 593–605.
Bayley, R., Ta, C. T., Sherwin, C. J., and Renton, P. J. (2001). “Traditional and novel reservoir management techniques to enhance water quality for subsequent potable water treatment.” Water Sci. Technol.: Water Supply, 1(1), 9–16.
Campbell, J. E., Briggs, D. A., Denton, R. A., and Gartrell, G. (2002). “Water quality operation with a blending reservoir and variable sources.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 288–302.
Chang, N.-B., Chen, H.-W., Ning, S.-K., Hsu, H.-Y., Shao, K.-T., and Hung, T.-C. (2010). “Sizing an off-stream reservoir with respect to water availability, water quality, and biological integrity.” Environ. Model Assess., 15(5), 329–344.
David, M. B., Wall, L. G., Royer, T. V., and Tank, J. L. (2006). “Denitrification and the nitrogen budget of a reservoir in an agricultural landscape.” Ecol. Appl., 16(6), 2177–2190.
Fang, X., Chang, N-B., Lee, M-K., and Wolf, L. (2009). “Environmental impacts on surface water and groundwater for expanding urban water supply capacity using stone quarries.” Proc., World Environmental Water Research Congress, ASCE, Reston, VA, 1–12.
Jain, S., Baumberger, L., Adams, S., Jackson, T., and Fuller, B. (2007). “Off-stream reservoir: A tool for improving yield and water quality reliability.” Florida Water Res. J., 22–25.
Keefer, L., Demissie, M., Mayer, D., Nichols, K., and Shaw, S. (1996). “Watershed monitoring and land use evaluation for the Vermilion River watershed.” Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, IL.
Knapp, H. V. (1982). “Hydrologic design of side-channel reservoirs in Illinois.” Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, IL.
Kothandaraman, V., and Evans, R. L. (1970). “Annual temperature variations in an impoundment in central Illinois.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 62(10), 639–642.
Li, H., Sivapalan, M., Tian, F., and Liu, D. (2010). “Water and nutrient balance in a large tile-drained agricultural catchment: A distributed modeling study.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14(11), 2259–2275.
McMahon, T. A., and Adeloye, A. J. (2005). Water resources yield, Water Resources Publications, LLC, Highlands Ranch, CO.
Morris, G. L. (2010). “Offstream reservoirs for sustainable water supply in Puerto Rico.” AWRA Summer Specialty Conf., American Water Resources Association, Middleburg, VA, 186–191.
Reynolds, C., Irish, T., and Elliott, A. (2005). “A modeling approach to the development of an active management strategy for the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir.” Freshwater Forum, 23(1), 105–125.
Roberts, W. J., and Stall, J. B. (1967). Lake evaporation in Illinois, Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, IL.
Royer, T. V., Tank, J. L., and David, M. B. (2004). “Transport and fate of nitrate in headwater agricultural streams in Illinois.” J. Environ. Qual., 33(4), 1296–1304.
Singleton, V., Jacob, B., Feeney, M., and Little, J. (2013). “Modeling a proposed quarry reservoir for raw water storage in Atlanta, Georgia.” J. Environ. Eng., 70–78.
Sprague, L. A. (2002). “Nutrient dynamics in five offstream reservoirs in the Lower South Platte River Basin, March—September 1995.”, Denver, CO.
Steel, J. A., and Duncan, A. (1999). “Modelling the ecological aspects of bankside reservoirs and implications for management.” Hydrobiologia, 395/396, 133–147.
Toms, I. P., Mindenhall, M. J., and Harman, M. M. I. (1975). “Factors affecting the removal of nitrate by sediments from rivers, lagoons and lakes.”, Water Resources Centre, Stevenage, U.K.
Washington Department of Health. (2005). “Nitrate treatment alternatives for small water systems.” Washington State Dept. of Health, Olympia, WA.
Whitehead, P. G., and Toms, I. P. (1993). “Dynamic modelling of nitrate in reservoirs and lakes.” Water Res., 27(8), 1377–1384.
Zhang, H., Gu, J., and Lin, Z. (2012). “Nutrients and phosphorus release in sediment in a tropical pumped water storage reservoir.” Trop. Sub-trop. Res. Limn China, 91(3), 325–341.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 19, 2012
Accepted: Jun 13, 2013
Published online: Jun 15, 2013
Published in print: Aug 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Sep 9, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.