Effects of 66 years of water management and hydroclimatic change on the urban hydrology and water quality of the Panke catchment, Berlin, Germany

C. Marx; D. Tetzlaff; R. Hinkelmann; C. Soulsby

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165764

Effects of 66 years of water management and hydroclimatic change on the urban hydrology and water quality of the Panke catchment, Berlin, Germany

C. Marx^*, D. Tetzlaff, R. Hinkelmann, C. Soulsby

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geography & Environment

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Long-term records of combined stream flow and water chemistry can be an invaluable source of information on changes in the quantity and quality of water resources. To understand the effect of hydroclimate and water management on the heavily urbanized Panke catchment in Berlin, Germany, an extensive search, collation and digitization of historic data from various sources was undertaken. This integrated a unique 66-year spatially distributed record of stream water quality, a 21-year record of groundwater quality and a 31-year stream flow record. These data were analysed in the context of hydroclimatic variability, as well as the history and technological evolution of water resource management in the catchment. To contextualize the effect of droughts, “average” and wet years the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) was applied. As upstream sites have been less regulated by human impacts, the flow regime is most sensitive to changes in hydroclimatic conditions, while downstream sites are more influenced by wastewater effluents, urban storm drains and inter-basin transfers for flood alleviation. However, at all sites, a general increase in maximum event discharge was observed until a recent drought, starting in 2018. In general, water quality in the catchment has gradually improved as a result of management change and increasingly effective wastewater treatment, though in some places legacy and/or contemporary urban and rural groundwater contamination may be affecting the stream. Hydroclimatic changes, particularly drought years can affect water quality classes, and alter the chemostatic/dynamic behaviour of catchment export patterns. These insights from the Panke catchment underline the importance of strategic adaptation and improvement of water treatment and water resource management in order to enhance the quality of urban water courses. It also demonstrates the importance of long-term integrated data sets.

Original language	English
Article number	165764
Number of pages	17
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	900
Early online date	3 Aug 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165764
Publication status	Published - 20 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgement
CM and CS were funded by the Einstein Stiftung Berlin, Grant/Award Number: EVF-2018-425. CM was a collegiate of the Research Training Group Urban Water Interfaces financed by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grant/Award Number: (GRK2032/2). Further, DT's contribution was funded through the Einstein Research Unit "Climate and Water under Change from the Einstein Foundation Berlin and Berlin University Alliance and the project BiNatur (BMBF). We would also like to thank all the stakeholders for providing data and information, answering and discussing questions, but in particular, D. von Seggern (SenUMVK), E. Hübner (UBB GmbH), B. Hütter (BWB), K. Rudolph (BWB). A. Ringe (BWB), who connected us to with the BWB. Thanks to L. Grof for the tremendous effort to digitalize the data.

We want to thank the four anonymous reviewers and Editor Prof. Ashantha Goonetilleke for the valuable comments.

Data Availability Statement

The complete time series can be provided upon request, however, most of the data is now accessible viá (wasserportal.berlin.de and apw.brandenburg.de).

Keywords

Hydro climate
Long-term data
Urban hydrology
Water management
Water quality

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165764Licence: Unspecified

Cite this

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title = "Effects of 66 years of water management and hydroclimatic change on the urban hydrology and water quality of the Panke catchment, Berlin, Germany",

abstract = "Long-term records of combined stream flow and water chemistry can be an invaluable source of information on changes in the quantity and quality of water resources. To understand the effect of hydroclimate and water management on the heavily urbanized Panke catchment in Berlin, Germany, an extensive search, collation and digitization of historic data from various sources was undertaken. This integrated a unique 66-year spatially distributed record of stream water quality, a 21-year record of groundwater quality and a 31-year stream flow record. These data were analysed in the context of hydroclimatic variability, as well as the history and technological evolution of water resource management in the catchment. To contextualize the effect of droughts, “average” and wet years the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) was applied. As upstream sites have been less regulated by human impacts, the flow regime is most sensitive to changes in hydroclimatic conditions, while downstream sites are more influenced by wastewater effluents, urban storm drains and inter-basin transfers for flood alleviation. However, at all sites, a general increase in maximum event discharge was observed until a recent drought, starting in 2018. In general, water quality in the catchment has gradually improved as a result of management change and increasingly effective wastewater treatment, though in some places legacy and/or contemporary urban and rural groundwater contamination may be affecting the stream. Hydroclimatic changes, particularly drought years can affect water quality classes, and alter the chemostatic/dynamic behaviour of catchment export patterns. These insights from the Panke catchment underline the importance of strategic adaptation and improvement of water treatment and water resource management in order to enhance the quality of urban water courses. It also demonstrates the importance of long-term integrated data sets.",

keywords = "Hydro climate, Long-term data, Urban hydrology, Water management, Water quality",

author = "C. Marx and D. Tetzlaff and R. Hinkelmann and C. Soulsby",

note = "Acknowledgement CM and CS were funded by the Einstein Stiftung Berlin, Grant/Award Number: EVF-2018-425. CM was a collegiate of the Research Training Group Urban Water Interfaces financed by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grant/Award Number: (GRK2032/2). Further, DT's contribution was funded through the Einstein Research Unit {"}Climate and Water under Change from the Einstein Foundation Berlin and Berlin University Alliance and the project BiNatur (BMBF). We would also like to thank all the stakeholders for providing data and information, answering and discussing questions, but in particular, D. von Seggern (SenUMVK), E. H{\"u}bner (UBB GmbH), B. H{\"u}tter (BWB), K. Rudolph (BWB). A. Ringe (BWB), who connected us to with the BWB. Thanks to L. Grof for the tremendous effort to digitalize the data. We want to thank the four anonymous reviewers and Editor Prof. Ashantha Goonetilleke for the valuable comments. ",

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AU - Hinkelmann, R.

AU - Soulsby, C.

N1 - Acknowledgement CM and CS were funded by the Einstein Stiftung Berlin, Grant/Award Number: EVF-2018-425. CM was a collegiate of the Research Training Group Urban Water Interfaces financed by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grant/Award Number: (GRK2032/2). Further, DT's contribution was funded through the Einstein Research Unit "Climate and Water under Change from the Einstein Foundation Berlin and Berlin University Alliance and the project BiNatur (BMBF). We would also like to thank all the stakeholders for providing data and information, answering and discussing questions, but in particular, D. von Seggern (SenUMVK), E. Hübner (UBB GmbH), B. Hütter (BWB), K. Rudolph (BWB). A. Ringe (BWB), who connected us to with the BWB. Thanks to L. Grof for the tremendous effort to digitalize the data. We want to thank the four anonymous reviewers and Editor Prof. Ashantha Goonetilleke for the valuable comments.

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N2 - Long-term records of combined stream flow and water chemistry can be an invaluable source of information on changes in the quantity and quality of water resources. To understand the effect of hydroclimate and water management on the heavily urbanized Panke catchment in Berlin, Germany, an extensive search, collation and digitization of historic data from various sources was undertaken. This integrated a unique 66-year spatially distributed record of stream water quality, a 21-year record of groundwater quality and a 31-year stream flow record. These data were analysed in the context of hydroclimatic variability, as well as the history and technological evolution of water resource management in the catchment. To contextualize the effect of droughts, “average” and wet years the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) was applied. As upstream sites have been less regulated by human impacts, the flow regime is most sensitive to changes in hydroclimatic conditions, while downstream sites are more influenced by wastewater effluents, urban storm drains and inter-basin transfers for flood alleviation. However, at all sites, a general increase in maximum event discharge was observed until a recent drought, starting in 2018. In general, water quality in the catchment has gradually improved as a result of management change and increasingly effective wastewater treatment, though in some places legacy and/or contemporary urban and rural groundwater contamination may be affecting the stream. Hydroclimatic changes, particularly drought years can affect water quality classes, and alter the chemostatic/dynamic behaviour of catchment export patterns. These insights from the Panke catchment underline the importance of strategic adaptation and improvement of water treatment and water resource management in order to enhance the quality of urban water courses. It also demonstrates the importance of long-term integrated data sets.

AB - Long-term records of combined stream flow and water chemistry can be an invaluable source of information on changes in the quantity and quality of water resources. To understand the effect of hydroclimate and water management on the heavily urbanized Panke catchment in Berlin, Germany, an extensive search, collation and digitization of historic data from various sources was undertaken. This integrated a unique 66-year spatially distributed record of stream water quality, a 21-year record of groundwater quality and a 31-year stream flow record. These data were analysed in the context of hydroclimatic variability, as well as the history and technological evolution of water resource management in the catchment. To contextualize the effect of droughts, “average” and wet years the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) was applied. As upstream sites have been less regulated by human impacts, the flow regime is most sensitive to changes in hydroclimatic conditions, while downstream sites are more influenced by wastewater effluents, urban storm drains and inter-basin transfers for flood alleviation. However, at all sites, a general increase in maximum event discharge was observed until a recent drought, starting in 2018. In general, water quality in the catchment has gradually improved as a result of management change and increasingly effective wastewater treatment, though in some places legacy and/or contemporary urban and rural groundwater contamination may be affecting the stream. Hydroclimatic changes, particularly drought years can affect water quality classes, and alter the chemostatic/dynamic behaviour of catchment export patterns. These insights from the Panke catchment underline the importance of strategic adaptation and improvement of water treatment and water resource management in order to enhance the quality of urban water courses. It also demonstrates the importance of long-term integrated data sets.

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KW - Long-term data

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KW - Water quality

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Effects of 66 years of water management and hydroclimatic change on the urban hydrology and water quality of the Panke catchment, Berlin, Germany

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

UN SDGs

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