High concentrations of pharmaceuticals emerging as a threat to Himalayan water sustainability

The sixth UN Sustainable Development Goal, Clean Water and Sanitation, directly underpins other goals of Health, Life in Water and Sustainable Cities. We highlight that poor sanitation, exemplified through some of the highest concentrations of pharmaceuticals ever detected in rivers, will amplify societal and environmental stress where climate-induced reductions in flow are predicted. Rapidly growing urban centres with inadequate water treatment works will need to prioritise water quality improvement before supply reductions become a reality. For 23 river locations within Kathmandu City and the Annapurna region, Nepal, we show the presence of 28 of 35 monitored human-use pharmaceuticals. Concentrations of antibiotics measured in this sampling campaign in both Kathmandu City (sulfamethazine, metronidazole and ciprofloxacin) and rural locations (ciprofloxacin) are in excess of predicted no effect concentrations, suggesting these sites are at risk of proliferating antimicrobial resistance as well as affecting other ecotoxicological endpoints. It is anticipated that climate-induced reductions in flow combined with contaminated river systems will amplify future societal and environmental stress.

Wetland Creation, Restoration, and Conservation

Water-dominated landscapes include wetland areas. The term “wetland” has not been commonly used until quite recently. It is believed to be a euphemistic equivalent of “swamp.” Every year on the second day of February, World Wetlands Day marks the adoption of the convention on Wetland by Ramsar, the Iranian city that has a special place in Iranian history. Flood protection, water quality improvement, shoreline erosion control, natural products, recreation, and aesthetics are some of the many advantages of wetlands, as well as the fact that they are vital habitats for a variety of animals and plants. Several studies illustrated the importance of wetlands in reducing carbon emissions and regulating climate on a global scale. In recent years, these advantages of wetlands have been recognized by governments worldwide and have led to legislation, regulations, and management plans creating wetlands for conservation, protection, and restoration. Unfortunately, the destruction of wetlands is a concern since they are among the planet's most productive areas.

Artificial floating islands as a tool for the water quality improvement of fishponds

In this study, the ecotechnology artificial floating islands (AFIs), colonized by Eichhornia crassipes, have been tested as a tool for water quality improvement of fishponds. The experiment was carried out in semi-intensive production during the grow-out period of Nile tilapia, comprising one production cycle. It was completely randomized with two treatments (with and without AFIs) and three replications. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), transparency (Secchi) and concentrations of chlorophyll a (CL a), total nitrogen (TN), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), total phosphorus (TP) and orthophosphate (PO43--P) were analyzed fortnightly in the fishponds. Two groups ordered based on environmental characteristics were formed by applying the Principal Component Analysis (70.68% of explicability). The fishponds with AFIs were assigned to higher values of Secchi and lower values of pH, turbidity, TDS and concentrations of nutrients. On the other hand, the fishponds without AFIs were assigned to the highest values of these variables, except for Secchi. In 30 days, the AFIs showed the lowest concentrations of TP and PO43--P, and for CL a, TN and TAN, the differences were recorded after 90 days. The use of AFIs has demonstrated potential to conserve water quality in fishponds, notably for biologically assimilable elements (PO43--P and TAN) and for those directly related to eutrophication (P and N). Artificial floating islands should be encouraged for small and medium-sized farmers as tool to improve water quality in fishponds. However, new AFIs coverage rates must be evaluated, as well as the control of hydraulic retention rates. Keywords: aquaculture, ecotechnology, free-floating aquatic macrophytes.

Upstream Solutions to Downstream Problems: Investing in Rural Natural Infrastructure for Water Quality Improvement and Flood Risk Mitigation

Communities across the globe are experiencing degraded water quality as well as inland flooding, and these problems are anticipated to worsen with climate change. We review the evidence that implementing natural infrastructure in upstream agricultural landscapes could improve water quality and reduce flood risk for downstream communities. Based on our analysis, we identify a suite of natural infrastructure measures that provide the greatest benefits, and which could be prioritized for investment by downstream communities and regional leadership, with an emphasis on systems that minimize loss of productive agricultural land. Our results suggest that the restoration of wetlands and floodplains are likely to provide the greatest benefits for both water quality improvement and flood risk reduction.

Central Basin and Range Ecoregion Wetland Assessment and Landscape Analysis

Wetlands in the arid Central Basin and Range (“Central Basin”) ecoregion of Utah are scarce but provide important functions including critical habitat for wildlife including Species of Greatest Conservation Need and migratory birds, water quality improvement, and recreational and aesthetic values. The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) conducted a study in 2019 and 2020 to better understand the location, type, condition, and potential function of wetlands in the ecoregion. This study focused on areas in the Great Salt Lake and Escalante Desert-Sevier Lake (“Sevier Basin”) HUC6 watersheds within the Central Basin to complement previous work by the UGS that focused on other watersheds in the ecoregion.