WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT BY MATHEMATICAL MODELS

In order to determine the impacts of a particular discharge on ambient water quality, it is usually necessary to model the diffusion and dispersion of the discharge in the relevant water body. Integral water quality management involves use of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and lately more often tools are complex water quality models, which are used extensively in research as well as in the design and assessment of water quality management measures. The application of mathematical models for that purpose dates back to the initial studies of oxygen depletion due to organic waste pollution. Since then, models have been constantly refined and updated to meet new and emerging problems of surface water pollution, such as eutrophication, acute and chronic toxicity, etc. In order to handle the complex interactions caused by the increased influence of human activities in rivers it is today mandatory to couple river water quality models with models describing emissions from the drainage and sewerage system. The paper tends to present prospects of using integral approach and complex water quality models in order to contribute to better assessment and prediction of processes in canal network in the region of Tirana. Some successful applications of ArcMAP model are presented as well.