Delaware River Basin Commission

SynopsisThe Clyde Estuary receives a relatively high pollutant load derived from the domestic and industrial wastes of half of Scotland's population. In order to monitor contaminant concentrations throughout the area, the Clyde River Purification Board (CRPB) initiated in 1980 an extensive ‘mussel-watch’ programme, having selected the common mussel as the most suitable indicator organism.This 1980 survey served not only to identify shores with elevated trace metal concentrations and those which were relatively unpolluted, but also to assess changes in overall contamination of the area in comparison with previous surveys.Following the success of the 1980 survey it has been gradually extended over the years, both in the number and geographical spread of sites visited, and in the substrates and determinands measured, as the CRPB's monitoring requirements have changed.The 1984 CRPB ‘mussel-watch’ survey involved the collection of over 1200 mussels at twenty-four sites throughout the Firth of Clyde (Fig. 1), with subsequent determination of concentrations of the trace metals Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, and of other toxic, persistent substances such as organochlorine pesticides and PCB residues.Attention is focussed here on trace metal body burdens for Clyde mussels collected during the 1984survey.

The Comprehensive Plan (CP) for multipurpose development and management of water resources in the Delaware River Basin, under the first Federal-Interstate compact, is explained. The CP is a codification of administrative laws adopted by the Delaware River Basin Commission, and serves as a general guide for planning, devlopment, and operation of water-related projects and facilities, both public and private, for water supply, water quality control, flood control, hydroelectric power generation, and recreation. The CP serves also as a regulatory document to prohibit developments that do not conform to the adopted plan. The CP grows in scope almost monthly as the Commission adds new projects, policies, criteria, and standards. The CP, together with the basic statutory law, the Delaware River Basin Compact, provide the legal basis for regulatory control of water resources in the four-state, 13,000 sq-mile region. The CP includes the controversial Tocks Island Lake project, a multipurpose impoundment sited on a 37-mile reach of the Delaware River just downstream of the New York—New Jersey State boundary, which has been halted by opposition from environmental groups.

SynopsisThe Clyde Estuary is recovering from gross pollution inherited from the age of the Industrial Revolution.It is necessary now to establish the degree of recovery and determine any subsequent effects of future planning consents. Documentation on water quality was subjective until the 1960's when quantitative studies on pollution levels commenced.Much attention has been paid to dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the estuary. The changes in the DO regime over the last ten years have been quantified with the help of multiple regression techniques. The use of these techniques in establishing the changes resulting from improvements to Dalmarnock and Paisley sewage treatment works is described. Deterministic models, based on the diffusion-convection equation, have been used to predict future DO conditions. The theoretical base of these models is outlined and examples are given of the use of the models in predicting the effects of possible developments on the estuary.Biological monitoring has also been utilised to assess estuarine recovery. Benthic data has been accumulated since 1967. Regular surveys highlight improvements in species richness, diversity and stability. Spatial and temporal population variation was investigated and the salinity tolerances of the species considered. Fish life is increasing and is now present for much of the year, although salmon are still excluded from the upper Clyde system. The lower estuary remains an important overwintering feeding ground for wader populations.

The degree to which the United States can conserve its, natural resources; under its fundamental principles of constitutional government, will determine how long this n:i,tion can be a "beacon" for other nations. In its allotted sphere of activity, the Interstate Commission on the Delaware River Basin (Incodel) offers an example of a technique for such conservation that is consonant with well-proved democratic procedures. Incodel subscribes to, and functions in accordance with, the principle that the determination of policies· and programs for the development of natural ' resources is primarily the responsibility of local and state governments, and of the people in the region most directly concerned. It freely admits that the central government-the federal government-has a tremendous stake in such programs; but it contends firmly that the entire problem must be approached on the basis of a cooperative partnership in which all interests participate alike. In this spirit, Incodel · has been given authority to act, not only on sanitation problems, but on all aspects of river and harbor development.