Modelling the erosive effects of sewer flushing using different sediment transport formulae

A numerical investigation to simulate the cleaning effects of successive flushes over sediment beds in prismatic channels is presented in this paper. The 1D De Saint Venant-Exner equations were used to describe the temporal evolution of the sediment bed after each flush. The predictive capacity of two sediment transport formulae was explored against experimental results from laboratory tests. Results show that the adopted model can successfully describe the evolution of the sediment bed due to the flushes exerted during the experiments, with differences between the used transport formulae depending on the channel invert slope and on the flush energy.

Green-blue water in the city: quantification of impact of source control versus end-of-pipe solutions on sewer and river floods

Urbanization and climate change trends put strong pressures on urban water systems. Temporal variations in rainfall, runoff and water availability increase, and need to be compensated for by innovative adaptation strategies. One of these is stormwater retention and infiltration in open and/or green spaces in the city (blue-green water integration). This study evaluated the efficiency of three adaptation strategies for the city of Turnhout in Belgium, namely source control as a result of blue-green water integration, retention basins located downstream of the stormwater sewers, and end-of-pipe solutions based on river flood control reservoirs. The efficiency of these options is quantified by the reduction in sewer and river flood frequencies and volumes, and sewer overflow volumes. This is done by means of long-term simulations (100-year rainfall simulations) using an integrated conceptual sewer-river model calibrated to full hydrodynamic sewer and river models. Results show that combining open, green zones in the city with stormwater retention and infiltration for only 1% of the total city runoff area would lead to a 30 to 50% reduction in sewer flood volumes for return periods in the range 10-100 years. This is due to the additional surface storage and infiltration and consequent reduction in urban runoff. However, the impact of this source control option on downstream river floods is limited. Stormwater retention downstream of the sewer system gives a strong reduction in peak discharges to the receiving river. However due to the difference in response time between the sewer and river systems, this does not lead to a strong reduction in river flood frequency. The paper shows the importance of improving the interface between urban design and water management, and between sewer and river flood management.

Assessing the magnitude of impact of volcanic ash deposits on Merino wool production and fibre traits in the context of a drought in North-west Patagonia, Argentina

Environmental variability is a key feature of arid and semiarid rangelands worldwide. Drought is one of the main sources of variation in most extensive livestock production systems in arid environments, with biophysical and socioeconomic implications. The effect of non-climatic disturbance factors, such as volcanic eruption and ash deposits, has been less documented in arid environments. The aim was to assess the magnitude of impact of volcanic ash deposits on Merino wool production and quality that took place in the context of a drought, by making a comparison along a gradient of ash deposition before and after a volcanic eruption. It was found that volcanic ash deposits in the context of a regional drought significantly affected Merino wool production and fibre quality traits in farms from North-western Patagonia, Argentina. The magnitude of the impacts differed among wool traits. It is argued that further research is needed on the impact of ash deposits on wool weights and quality, and that measures of livestock production should be included in environmental monitoring systems at regional and farm levels.

Impacts of climate change on rainfall extremes and urban drainage systems: a review

A review is made of current methods for assessing future changes in urban rainfall extremes and their effects on urban drainage systems, due to anthropogenic-induced climate change. The review concludes that in spite of significant advances there are still many limitations in our understanding of how to describe precipitation patterns in a changing climate in order to design and operate urban drainage infrastructure. Climate change may well be the driver that ensures that changes in urban drainage paradigms are identified and suitable solutions implemented. Design and optimization of urban drainage infrastructure considering climate change impacts and co-optimizing these with other objectives will become ever more important to keep our cities habitable into the future.

Severe Developmental Delay in a Patient with 7p21.1-p14.3 Microdeletion Spanning the TWIST Gene and the HOXA Gene Cluster

We describe a patient with a rare interstitial deletion of chromosome 7p21.1-p14.3 detected by array-CGH. The deletion encompassed 74 genes and caused haploinsufficiency (or loss of allele) of 6 genes known to be implicated in different autosomal dominant genetic disorders: TWIST, DFNA5, CYCS, HOXA11, HOXA13, and GARS. The patient had several morphological abnormalities similar to Saethre-Chotzen syndrome (caused by TWIST mutations) including craniosynostosis of the coronal suture and anomalies similar to those seen in hand-foot-uterus syndrome (caused by HOXA13 mutations) including hypospadias. The combined phenotype of Saethre-Chotzen syndrome and hand-foot-uterus syndrome of our patient closely resembles a previously reported case with a cytogenetically visible small deletion spanning 7p21-p14.3. We therefore conclude that microdeletions of 7p spanning the TWIST gene and HOXA gene cluster lead to a clinically recognizable 'haploinsufficiency syndrome'.