Running water-pathways have played an important roll in Sweden and frequently been manipulated. One profound change was made during the period of logging when streams were cleared from obstacles as big boulders, sharp bends and side-streams. Dams and different constructions gave control of the stream water and the streams became channel-like with a homogen structure. This interference gave problems for many fish populations and resulted in a shortage of feeding habitat, over-wintering habitat, spawning habitat, unnatural flow regimes, Sedimentation, unnatural temperature fluctuations. Many of these historical changes of the watersheds are now subjects for restoration, ie., bring back the streams to what we believed it was before the change. However, what once existed in terms of complexity is now gone and difficult toreplace.

Då naturlig mark görs om till hårdgjord yta i samband med bygge av vägar och bostadsområden ökar flödesbelastningen till närliggande sjöar och vattendrag. Vattenmassorna tar med sig de föroreningar som bland annat finns inbyggda i byggnadsmaterialet, som kommer från trafiken eller från verksamheter som till exempel industrier eller djurhållning. För att förhindra att föroreningarna sprids till de naturliga vattendragen kan åtgärder sättas in för att rena vattnet innan utsläpp till recipienten. Detta kan åstadkommas med hjälp av till exempel så kallade dagvattendammar. Den främsta processen för rening i dagvattendammar är Sedimentation. In till dammarna kommer vanligtvis stora mängder partiklar och suspenderat material till vilka föroreningar, som till exempel näringsämnen och metaller, kan fästa.

Climate changes today are mainly caused by anthropogenic activities and the increased emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and this has raised questions on how to reduce the usage of fossil fuels. Ethanol is a good alternative to conventional gas and has been used in Brazil since the 1970 ?s. In Sweden several newspapers has written about the poor working conditions on many farms thus making the Swedish company SEKAB design a certification for their ethanol to ensure that it can be considered to be a sustainable alternative.Furthermore WWF has developed a certification tool called Bonsucro in cooperation with Coca Cola, Ferrero group, BP and Shell. This is due to the fact that no global certification tool has been available up until now.

Dagvatten bildas då regnvatten inte kan infiltrera marken på grund av hårdgjorda ytor såsom vägar och hustak. Dagvatten är ofta kontaminerat av metaller, näringsämnen och andra föroreningar och bör därför renas i en anläggning innan det når recipient. En allt populärare metod för att omhänderta dagvatten är att anlägga dagvattendammar. I dammarna renas det inkommande dagvattnet genom flera olika processer, varav Sedimentation är den viktigaste. År 2006 startades projektet NOS-dagvatten (Norrortskommuner i samverkan) i syfte att erhålla ökade kunskaper om funktionerna hos fem dagvattenanläggningar i Stockholmsområdet. I detta arbete utreds sambandet mellan den kemiska vattenkvaliteten och ekosystemens hälsostatus i Ladbro- och Tibbledammen som ingår i NOS-dagvatten.

This degree project studied surface waters on Kåbo Golf Course in Uppsala, Sweden, with the aim of determining the status of the water and how it is affected by the activities of the golf club, and to obtain suggestions of measures to create better conditions for the water environment on and around the golf course. The project forms part of the environmental protection work of Kåbo Golf Club, which is working towards achieving environmental certification from the Swedish Golf Association (SGF). The study is based on literature studies and quantitative and qualitative field studies of water on the golf course, with the focus on environmental factors identified as being important for the golf industry and on strategic environmental goals developed by SGF. The number of open water bodies in the Swedish landscape has substantially declined during the past 200 years, so it is important to save those that remain. This study showed that the surface water at Kåbo Golf Course is an important element in the surroundings since the area contains few wetlands, which can be a habitat for large numbers of species. The stream and ponds on Kåbo Golf Course also have the important function of serving as water hazards in the game and adding difficulty and variety to the course. Since Kåbo Golf Club wants its surface waters to look aesthetically appealing, extensive algal growth and drying up of ponds during parts of the year are regarded as problems.

Stormwater in urban areas has been treated as a problem for a long time. The large proportion of impermeable surfaces inhibits the water from infiltrating in the ground to the same extent that it does in nature. This causes intensive surface flow during rain, which in turn causes inconveniences such as decreased accessability, floods and increased risk of desease spreading. Drainage through pipes is the traditional and usually functional metod for storm water disposal. That is as long as water flows are moderate. But precipitation varies naturally in amount and intensity and additional impermeable surfaces make some pipes insufficient for heavy or lasting precipitation.

Stormwater is surface runoff water that originates from precipitation or snowmelt and that on hardened surfaces prevents to infiltrate the ground. In city areas stormwater can consists of major amounts pollutants and when reaching a lake or watercourse it can cause damages on vegetation and animals. Therefore it is important to treat polluted stormwater before it reaches the recipient. The municipality of Örebro have since the 90ies an extensive work with treatment of stormwater in Sedimentation ponds. A new stormwater treatment project is planned in an industrial estate in Skebäck, Örebro.

SAMMANFATTNING Rinnande vatten har över en lång tid spelat en väsentlig roll för landskapets geomorfologiska processer och utgör viktiga livsmiljöer för djur och växtsamhällen. Vattendrag har bidragit till människans utveckling och välstånd. Sedan urminnes tider har vattendrags miljöer nyttjats som boplats, för vinning av energi, transport och fiske. Likt allt liv på vår planet är människan beroende av vatten. Betydelsen av vattendragen, som del av den hydrologiska cykeln, kan därför inte betonas nog. Genom mänsklig aktivitet har dock rinnande vattens egenskaper och landskapsbilden som helhet i många områden förändrats drastiskt.