ENVIRONMENTAL WATER QUALITY IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Tally Palmer, Robert Berold and Nikite Muller Unilever Centre for Environmental Water Quality Institute for Water Research Rhodes University

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE - BUT

WHY DO YOU NEED TO BE HERE ?

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there is a new water law

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it requires resource protection + optimal resource use

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for the law to work YOU need to buy in and comply

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To buy in you need to know: the new thinking and requirements the inadequacy of present monitoring

PRESENTATION STRUCTURE Introduction

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EWQ, water law and resource protection

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EWQ – an integrated approach

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EWQ application within the NWRS

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Case Study

EWQ water law and resource protection

“water for people and people for water”

MAIN PRINCIPLES OF THE NWA equity fairness to people now sustainability fairness to people in the future and to the environment

WATER RESOURCE whole hydrological cycle – with most residence time in aquatic ecosystems

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Rivers Lakes and dams Wetlands Estuaries

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Sea (not governed by NWA)

BIOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT: BIOTIC + ABIOTIC flow water quality physical structure microbial systems instream vegetation - fish water invertebrates

NB! functions and interactions

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substrate riparian vegetation people

ecosystem services

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water supply waste transport, processing & dilution natural products biodiversity flood control recreation aesthetic/spiritual needs

RDM SDC resource protection

social and economic benefits triple bottom line

WATER RESOURCE USE AND PROTECTION

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water resource protection assures long term resource use

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generally resource use reduces ecosystem health

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therefore resource use needs to be balanced with resource protection

PROTECTION

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means look after and use wisely

and USE

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use for economic and social development is essential

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it does not mean keep separate and do not use all or nothing

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use for poverty alleviation is essential THEREFORE we must decide which areas and ecosystems are used more intensively, and which need more protection

WHAT AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS DO FOR PEOPLE

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water supply waste transport, processing & dilution natural products biodiversity flood control recreation aesthetic/spiritual needs BUT Ecosystems cannot provide ALL these goods and services AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME PLACE people have to CHOOSE

RESOURCE CLASSIFICATION objective, organised basis for choice Ecological Reserve methods SPATSIM: WEBSITE page 73

A B C D E&F

Ecological Reserve Categories

Natural

Protected

Good Fair Poor

Unacceptable Water Resource Classification

ecosystem health classes and associated goods and services

EWQ an integrated approach

EWQ WATER CHEMISTRY, LIVING ORGANISMS & THEIR INTERACTIONS

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Three data sources and approaches: water chemistry biomonitoring ecotoxicology

WATER CHEMISTRY

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water + dissolved and suspended particles toxic constituents e.g. metal ions, pesticides,endocrine disruptors system variables TDS,TSS e.g.T

°C, pH, DO, nutrients e.g. nitrite,nitrate, phosphate

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Selected variables collected as WQ data at DWAF monitoring sites

CHEMICAL DATA

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Low frequency (monthly sampling) Low range of variables analysed Sampling convenience, not necessarily best location Site-specific data necessary – natural water chemistry differences DWAF database Provides information on variability + trends: essential first step

A comparison of monthly TDS concentrations at a reference site (box plots) and a present state site (whisker plots) in the Olifants River upstream of the confluence with the Steenkoolspruit

TDS increase in the Steenkoolspruit since the 1980’s

BIOMONITORING habitat (IHAS, HAM) invertebrates (SASS or BioTrack) fish geomorphology data collected as part of the National River Health Programme

BIOMONITORING DATA

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provides a biologically integrated picture of water quality e.g. invertebrate monitoring – SASS/Biotrack presence, absence abundance of taxa

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useful “red flags” of deteriorating conditions, but no link between cause and effect

Thermometer…..

ECOTOXICOLOGY cause and effect links concentration response relationship freshwater toxicity tests acute and chronic tests data in international and national data-bases

1 0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0

NH NH Hazard Level HH HH LC50 LC1+5

TOXICITY DATA

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relate biological response (tolerances) to concentrations of chemicals at which organisms are affected: concentration response data

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provides a link between water chemistry and biological monitoring data

ADVANTAGES OF THE INTEGRATED APPROACH

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There are limitations to chemical, toxicological and biomonitoring data

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Water chemistry provides only limited information about river health but is widely recorded

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Biomonitoring adds an integrating and biotic-response dimension

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Toxicity data quantitatively link the chemistry and the biotic response

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Use of a combination of all 3 approaches maximises the value of each data-set

OTHER ABIOTIC DRIVERS: FLOW AND STRUCTURAL HABITAT

sandy bottom cobbles, gravel, boulders

Olifants River

bedrock

EWQ APPLICATION WITHIN THE NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES STRATEGY

CATCHMENTS : UNITS OF WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

PLAN Analyse the Reseve – ecospecs Analyse user needs – userspecs Describe catchment characteristic Stakeholder participation

Catchment vision: Decide on Class Set RQOs STRATEGY DO RDM & SDC MONITOR

CASE STUDY

OLIFANTS RIVER

(Gauteng / Mpumalanga) • • •

Land-use is agricultural, industrial and mining Sulphate salinisation significant Localised nutrient enrichment

EWQ – DEVELOPMENT OF WATER QUALITY METHOD IN ECOLOGICAL RESERVE Water Chemistry - salinity first guess at class boundaries: each class was defined by a % deviation from natural Good = 20% Fair = 30% Poor = 40%

WATER CHEMISTRY MONITORING SITES - UPPER OLIFANTS RIVER

Salinity

analysed – most reaches >40% deviation from natural = Poor BUT: Biomonitoring…..

BIOMONITORING Total SASS score & average score per taxon (ASPT) related to classes

Class Natural Good Fair Poor SASS Score >175 120 –175 60 – 120 <60 ASPT >7 6-7 4.8-5.9

<4.8

Biomonitoring data analysed reaches in a variety of conditions: Natural, Good, Fair and Poor so – bugs and fish were happy with >40% increase in salt reducing salinity expensive and difficult don’t do more than is needed Ecotoxicology…….

RELATE TOXICITY ENDPOINT TO CLASSES

Class Toxicity endpoint: protect 95% species Natural No chronic toxicity Good Fair Poor No acute toxicity

Class

Natural Good Fair Poor

SALINITY CLASSES

EC mS/m 20 – 35 35 – 60 60 – 80 > 80 – 120 TDS mg/l Na 2 SO 4 130 – 230 230 – 380 380 – 530 530 – 790

Biomonitoring and water chemistry classification much better aligned Class boundaries indicated by tolerances (ecotox) mainly match with those indicated by organisms present (biomonitoring) Some reaches “Poor” biomonitoring Fair/Good salinity Check for instream toxicity 2 of 5 sites - instream toxicity

OVER PROTECTION AND UNDER PROTECTION ARE BOTH EXPENSIVE

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EWQ cost effective for setting objectives monitoring to meet objectives instream end-of-pipe

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EWQ is now the basis for water quality aspects of ecological Reserve determinations

OLIFANTS RIVER PRESENT ECOLOGICAL STATE The challenge of integration and real decisions….