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- Info
A model for land use and water quality
| Author: |
Goodisman, Leonard D.; Caslich, Fred |
| Date: |
1980 |
| Periodical: |
Water Supply and Management |
| Abstract: |
This research provides and tests a descriptive model for the relationship of land use and water quality. The model specifies a chain of relations between land ownership and hydromodifications, between water parameters and water quality, between water quality and land use, and hydromodifications and river basin properties. The model thus provides testable hypotheses which could ultimately be used to sort out and prioritize threats to water quality. When applied to the river basins of the State of Washington, the model proves to operate with measurable variables for its components. These variables submitted to the model and its hypotheses sort out the prominent relationships among the variables and thus provide a baseline description of the present relation between land use and water quality in the State of Washington. This in addition to the levels of water parameters themselves provide a rich base for review of activities which are potentially damaging to water quality and for setting priorities in pollution abatement. The model as developed for Washington predicts 88 % of the variation in river basin biological water quality and 96 % of the variation in recreational water quality with significance of 0.001. The model and variables suggest similar efforts in other regions in which either the model's effectiveness and generalizations or the differences among states or regions could be extremely educational and of substantial planning utility. |
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