Challenges Regarding Water Quality of Eutrophic Reservoirs in Urban Landscapes: A Mapping Literature Review

Abstract

Urbanized river basins usually suffer from anthropogenic pressure, compromising the quality of water. Unsafe water is a risk to public health, especially when there are occurrences of HABs (Harmful Algae Blooms) as in the case of cyanobacteria, which cause different human health problems. In this paper, we aimed to review the scientific literature documenting what has been studied in the scope of the stratified reservoirs of urbanized basins. The mapping review method was used to categorize existing literature on urbanized watersheds and eutrophic reservoirs. Using the keywords “Eutrophic Reservoir” and “Urban” and selecting all the years of open publication on the Science web page, we obtained 69 results, 53 of them meeting the requirements established for the search. Many of the studies mention as the most important determinant for eutrophication of reservoirs and the proliferation of algae, the anthropogenic influence through the diffuse load of streets, domestic and industrial sewage, and even drainage water from agricultural areas in the basin. The results of this study reinforce that informal settlements without sanitary infrastructure are aggravating the deterioration of water quality in urban water sources and therefore posing many risks to public health.

Multi-Faceted Environmental Analysis to Improve the Quality of Anthropogenic Water Reservoirs (Paprocany Reservoir Case Study)

“…The question of sustainability of urban water reservoirs gains an increasing importance, mainly due to global climate changes and expected shortage of water supply. At the same time, the interdisciplinary studies combining the social, ecological, hydrological aspects that contribute to the social health and cooperation with local authorities connected with water supplies are rare [55].…”

“…Therefore, the actions should be planned so that they are efficient also in the case of, e.g., increased water temperature, increased evaporation, more intense precipitation and surface runoff, higher (seasonal) plankton production, and other changes resulting from the phenomena above-mentioned. The severity of potential impacts is confirmed by a lot of reviews, and therefore, the water and the catchments management need to take these drivers into account [55][56][57]. These reviews highlight uncertainties related to climate projections and consequently to aquatic ecology modeling, confirming at the same time that the simulation of hydrological and ecological responses to the climate change is the most efficient way to predict upcoming risks and to assess the mitigation measures.…”

Zika virus syndrome, lack of environmental policies and risks of worsening by cyanobacteria proliferation in a climate change scenario

“…The article “Challenges regarding water quality of eutrophic reservoirs in urban landscapes: a mapping literature review,” 5 a literature review on the presence of cyanobacteria in urban reservoirs in the world, showed that this species is a constant problem, which may represent an even more serious threat to public health, since many reservoirs are, or have the potential to be, used in the water supply due to the proximity of populations.…”

Slums, Space, and State of Health—A Link between Settlement Morphology and Health Data

“…On a global level, there are different reviews focusing on different aspects: van de Vijver et al [113] review health programs in slums, Corburn and Sverdlik [5] slum upgrading, Ezeh et al [2] look at the history of these settlement forms, as well as social and geographical factors. Oliver et al [114] focus on water quality, Nelson et al [115] vaccinations for children, and Goudet et al [116] examine articles concerning malnutrition of children in slums.…”