92
Among the affected fish are commercially important species such as beluga (Huso
huso), Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), and stellate sturgeon (A. stellatus) (Lenhardt et al. 2004).
Better sewage treatment and strict water quality standards have improved water
quality in the upper and middle portions of the Danube markedly since the 1970s.
Pollution remains severe, however, in the lower Danube drainage basin because of
limited sewage treatment, agricultural runoff, and industrial discharges (Lucas
2001; Damacija et al. 2003).
River management across the Danube River drainage now focuses on three activities. The first is reconnecting main channels with secondary channels and floodplain areas through removal of physical barriers and alteration of flow regimes
below dams (Tockner et al. 1998; Chovanec et al. 2002; Aarts et al. 2004). The second is restoring some channel complexity and sediment dynamics along highly
channelized portions of the tributaries and upper river (Habersack and Piégay 2008;
Muhar et al. 2008). Finally, management emphasizes restoring a more natural flow
regime and improving water quality in the lower basin. Although the international
character of the Danube drainage basin creates some unique challenges relative to
the Mississippi or Murray-Darling examples, coordinated river basin management
is now a priority within Europe.
3.3.4 The Huanghe Drainage Basin of China
The Huanghe (Yellow River; Fig. 3.20) has been nicknamed ‘China’s Sorrow’
because of the long history of damaging floods associated with the river network.
Among the salient characteristics of the Huanghe are its length (at 5460 km long, it
is the second longest river in Asia) and its history of enormous floods. A flood in the
fourteenth century, for example, killed an estimated seven million people. The
Huanghe is also one of a growing number of rivers around the world that has recently
(since 1972) shown a tendency to completely dry out before reaching the ocean
because of consumptive water use (Yu 2002).
The Huanghe is also known for high concentrations of suspended sediment dominated by silt eroded from the Loess Plateau. High suspended sediment levels have
contributed to sediment deposition that raised the bed of the channel through time,
to which people responded by continuing to increase the height of the artificial
levees along the channel. As a result, the elevation of the channel is now higher than
the surrounding floodplain along parts of the river’s course.
The Huanghe had high suspended sediment concentrations prior to human alteration of the watershed, but human activities have caused fine sediment inputs to and
transport within the river network to fluctuate substantially through time. These
fluctuations have resulted from historic clearance of native upland vegetation; construction of large reservoirs starting in the 1950s; soil conservation practices since
3 Human Alterations of Rivers
Among the affected fish are commercially important species such as beluga (Huso
huso), Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), and stellate sturgeon (A. stellatus) (Lenhardt et al. 2004).
Better sewage treatment and strict water quality standards have improved water
quality in the upper and middle portions of the Danube markedly since the 1970s.
Pollution remains severe, however, in the lower Danube drainage basin because of
limited sewage treatment, agricultural runoff, and industrial discharges (Lucas
2001; Damacija et al. 2003).
River management across the Danube River drainage now focuses on three activities. The first is reconnecting main channels with secondary channels and floodplain areas through removal of physical barriers and alteration of flow regimes
below dams (Tockner et al. 1998; Chovanec et al. 2002; Aarts et al. 2004). The second is restoring some channel complexity and sediment dynamics along highly
channelized portions of the tributaries and upper river (Habersack and Piégay 2008;
Muhar et al. 2008). Finally, management emphasizes restoring a more natural flow
regime and improving water quality in the lower basin. Although the international
character of the Danube drainage basin creates some unique challenges relative to
the Mississippi or Murray-Darling examples, coordinated river basin management
is now a priority within Europe.
3.3.4 The Huanghe Drainage Basin of China
The Huanghe (Yellow River; Fig. 3.20) has been nicknamed ‘China’s Sorrow’
because of the long history of damaging floods associated with the river network.
Among the salient characteristics of the Huanghe are its length (at 5460 km long, it
is the second longest river in Asia) and its history of enormous floods. A flood in the
fourteenth century, for example, killed an estimated seven million people. The
Huanghe is also one of a growing number of rivers around the world that has recently
(since 1972) shown a tendency to completely dry out before reaching the ocean
because of consumptive water use (Yu 2002).
The Huanghe is also known for high concentrations of suspended sediment dominated by silt eroded from the Loess Plateau. High suspended sediment levels have
contributed to sediment deposition that raised the bed of the channel through time,
to which people responded by continuing to increase the height of the artificial
levees along the channel. As a result, the elevation of the channel is now higher than
the surrounding floodplain along parts of the river’s course.
The Huanghe had high suspended sediment concentrations prior to human alteration of the watershed, but human activities have caused fine sediment inputs to and
transport within the river network to fluctuate substantially through time. These
fluctuations have resulted from historic clearance of native upland vegetation; construction of large reservoirs starting in the 1950s; soil conservation practices since
3 Human Alterations of Rivers