?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=https%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fid%2Feprint%2F4219%2F&rft.title=Water+Quality+Management+in+the+Nitra+River+Basin&rft.creator=Somlyody%2C+L.&rft.creator=Masliev%2C+I.&rft.creator=Petrovic%2C+P.&rft.creator=Kularathna%2C+M.&rft.description=The+Nitra+River+is+a+tributary+of+the+Vih+which+enters+the+Danube+downstream+of+Bratislava.+The+watershed+area+is+slightly+larger+than+5000+km2%2C+and+more+than+650000+inhabitants+live+there.+The+quality+of+the+river+is+one+of+the+poorest+in+Slovakia+due+to+numerous+municipal+and+industrial+discharges+and+the+low+level+of+wastewater+treatment.+The+ongoing+economic+transition+and+shortage+of+financial+resources+for+environmental+management+call+for+the+development+of+regional+short-run%2C+least-cost+policies.+The+development+of+such+policies+was+the+main+objective+of+this+joint+study+with+the+participation+of+IIASA%2C+the+Water+Research+Institute+(VUVH%2C+Bratislava)+and+the+Vih+River+Basin+Authority.+%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+present+state+of+emissions+and+water+quality+was+evaluated+on+the+basis+of+available%2C+routine+types+of+information+(including+observations+from+the+basin-wide+water+quality+monitoring+network)+and+additional+data+collection.+It+was+found+that+industrial+discharges+form+problems+which+can+be+handled+mostly+locally+with+a+straight-forward+strategy.+In+contrast%2C+the+management+of+municipal+discharges+--+representing+about+70%25+of+the+total+BOD5+emission+in+the+catchment+--+is+a+more+complex+issue+requiring+the+development+of+a+regional+policy.+%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+definition+of+ambient+water+quality+criteria+(or+the+usage+of+a+combination+of+ambient+and+effluent+criteria)+reflecting+water+use+is+a+pre-requisite+of+the+establishment+of+a+least-cost+policy.+Thus%2C+the+application+of+water+quality+models+is+necessary+to+relate+emissions+to+receiving+water+quality+(as+well+as+their+changes).+Due+to+the+nature+of+the+problem%2C+a+number+of+oxygen+and+nutrient+balance+models+were+used%2C+ranging+from+the+traditional+Streeter-Phelps+model+to+the+latest+version+of+U.S.+EPA's+QUAL+model+family.+The+models+were+calibrated+and+validated+on+the+basis+of+two+comprehensive+longitudinal+water+quality+profile+observations.+These+observations+were+gathered+under+low-flow+conditions+to+correspond+with+the+design+requirements+of+the+strategy+development.+Due+to+the+presence+of+uncertainties+of+different+origins%2C+the+methodology+of+Hornberger%2C+Spear%2C+and+Young+(based+on+the+so-called+%22behavior+definition%22)+was+applied+for+parameter+estimation+of+simpler+models+which+then+were+directly+incorporated+into+an+optimization+model.+This+optimization+model+was+based+on+dynamic+programming%2C+utilizing+structural+features+of+river+basin+water+pollution+problems.+%0D%0A%0D%0AElements+of+the+water+quality+control+policy+model+or+decision+support+system+(including+the+linked+hydraulic+and+water+quality+model(s)%2C+the+parameter+estimation+and+uncertainty+analysis+routines%2C+the+dynamic+programming%2C+the+database%2C+the+graphical+user-interface%2C+etc.)+were+developed+in+a+rather+generic+fashion+to+allow+a+transfer+from+one+watershed+to+another.+This+philosophy+corresponds+to+the+broader+goals+of+IIASA's+Water+Resources+Project+dealing+with+issues+of+the+management+of+degraded+river+basins+in+Central+and+Eastern+Europe+and+the+development+of+associated+methodologies+for+which+the+Nitra+River+served+as+a+case+study.+%0D%0A%0D%0AStarting+from+the+existing+municipal+wastewater+treatment+facilities%2C+a+number+of+alternatives+were+developed+for+each+site+on+the+basis+of+various+combinations+of+well-proven+physical%2C+biological%2C+and+chemical+processes+to+which+different+effluent+quality+(BOD-5%2C+TP%2C+NH4-N%2C+NO3-N%2C+etc.)+as+well+as+investment%2C+operation%2C+maintenance%2C+and+repair+costs+belong.+The+technological+alternatives+(and+their+major+parameters)+serve+as+input+to+the+management+optimization+model.+A+special+focus+was+devoted+to+phased+plant+development+and+innovative%2C+cost-effective+upgrading+of+highly+overloaded+plants+by+adding+chemicals+in+low+dosage.+The+issue+of+upgrading+was+also+experimentally+analyzed+by+jar+tests+at+different+treatment+plants.+%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+objectives+of+the+policy+model+were+formulated+in+terms+of+minimizing+the+total+annual+cost+or+the+investment+cost.+Constraints+might+incorporate+ambient+water+quality+(characterized+by+DO%2C+BOD-5+and+NH4-N)%2C+effluent+criteria%2C+and%2For+minimum+level+of+treatment.+The+derived+least-cost+policies+were+compared+to+policies+based+strictly+on+effluent+criteria+and+to+those+based+on+the+application+of+%22best+available+technology.%22+The+effluent+criteria+based+policy+stems+from+the+new+Slovakian+legislation+if+its+ambient+criteria+element+was+excluded+(the+legislation+defines+the+simultaneous+usage+of+effluent+and+ambient+criteria+and+an+eleven-year+long+transition+period+after+which+more+stringent+standards+should+be+met).+The+role+of+industrial+emissions+was+demonstrated+in+a+sensitivity+fashion%2C+while+the+influence+of+parameter+uncertainty+on+the+developed+policies+was+analyzed+by+an+a+posteriori+Monte+Carlo+simulation+and+a+multi-objective+assessment.+The+study+shows+that+significant+cost+savings+are+possible+in+comparison+to+uniform%2C+effluent+standard+policies.+They+also+suggest+that+a+long-term+strategy+should+be+realized+on+the+basis+of+a+sequence+of+properly+phased+least-cost+policies+corresponding+to+ambient+(or+regionally+variable)+standards+to+be+tightened+gradually+as+financial+resources+become+available.&rft.publisher=CP-94-002&rft.date=1994-03&rft.type=Monograph&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text&rft.language=en&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fid%2Feprint%2F4219%2F1%2FCP-94-002.pdf&rft.identifier=++Somlyody%2C+L.+%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fview%2Fiiasa%2F1584.html%3E%2C+Masliev%2C+I.+%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fview%2Fiiasa%2F1436.html%3E%2C+Petrovic%2C+P.+%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fview%2Fiiasa%2F2289.html%3E%2C+%26+Kularathna%2C+M.+%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fpure.iiasa.ac.at%2Fview%2Fiiasa%2F2730.html%3E++(1994).++Water+Quality+Management+in+the+Nitra+River+Basin.+++IIASA+Collaborative+Paper.+IIASA%2C+Laxenburg%2C+Austria%3A+CP-94-002+++++