WorldWideScience

Sample records for improve water management

  1. Improving Water Demand Management Addressing Socioeconomic ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2012-01-20

    Jan 20, 2012 ... Efforts to conserve water by improving water demand management policies in the Middle East and North Africa are often slowed or even thwarted by a lack of political consensus and support for water demand management from key powerful stakeholders with vested interest in the status quo. This policy ...

  2. Improving Water Demand Management Addressing Socioeconomic ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Efforts to conserve water by improving water demand management policies in the Middle East and North Africa are often slowed or even thwarted by a lack of political consensus and support for water demand management from key powerful stakeholders with vested interest in the status quo. This policy brief based on ...

  3. Improving Water Demand Management by Addressing ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    IDRC CRDI

    Efforts to conserve water by improving water demand management policies .... First, ensure fair access to sustainable water supply, as well as, responsible water use. ... Water policy can also mandate reducing the loss of quantity or quality of ...

  4. Optimization strategies for improving irrigation water management of lower jhelum canal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rashid, M.U.

    2015-01-01

    The paper includes computing crop water requirement, identification of problems and optimization strategies for improved irrigation water management of a canal command. Lower Jhelum Canal (LJC) System was selected as a case study. Possible strategies for optimization are enhancing irrigation water productivity by high value and high yield crops, adoption of resource conservation interventions (RCIs) at the farm level, improving irrigation system efficiency and its management. Estimation of daily reference evapotranspiration of LJC command was carried out by Penman Montieth -2000 method and metrological data of Sargodha for the period 1999 to 2010 was used. Crop water requirements were computed from reference evapotranspiration, crop coefficients and periods of crops for existing cropping pattern. The comparison of the crop water requirements and available water supplies indicated shortage of more than 51% in Kharif and 54% in Rabi seasons. The gap between requirements and supplies is fulfilled by groundwater in the command. The structural measures identified in the present study for improving canal management include rationalization of canal capacities in keeping with the current water requirements and availability, rehabilitation and remodeling of canal network and lining of distributaries and minors in saline groundwater areas. An array of measures and practices identified for improved water management at the farm level include: improvement and lining of watercourses, proper farm design and layout, adoption of resource conservation technologies involving laser land leveling, zero tillage, and bed-furrow irrigation method. Adopting proper cropping systems considering land suitability and capacity building of farming community in improved soil, crop and water management technologies would enhance the water productivity in an effective and sustainable manner. (author)

  5. 78 FR 21414 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-10

    ... Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The following Water Management Plans are available for review... establish and administer an office on Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices...

  6. Quantitative risk-based approach for improving water quality management in mining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wenying; Moran, Chris J; Vink, Sue

    2011-09-01

    The potential environmental threats posed by freshwater withdrawal and mine water discharge are some of the main drivers for the mining industry to improve water management. The use of multiple sources of water supply and introducing water reuse into the mine site water system have been part of the operating philosophies employed by the mining industry to realize these improvements. However, a barrier to implementation of such good water management practices is concomitant water quality variation and the resulting impacts on the efficiency of mineral separation processes, and an increased environmental consequence of noncompliant discharge events. There is an increasing appreciation that conservative water management practices, production efficiency, and environmental consequences are intimately linked through the site water system. It is therefore essential to consider water management decisions and their impacts as an integrated system as opposed to dealing with each impact separately. This paper proposes an approach that could assist mine sites to manage water quality issues in a systematic manner at the system level. This approach can quantitatively forecast the risk related with water quality and evaluate the effectiveness of management strategies in mitigating the risk by quantifying implications for production and hence economic viability.

  7. 78 FR 63491 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-24

    ... Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The following Water Management Plans are available for review: Westside... project contractors using best available cost-effective technology and best management practices.'' These...

  8. 77 FR 33240 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-05

    ... Project water conservation best management practices that shall ``develop criteria for evaluating the... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The...

  9. 75 FR 70020 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-16

    ... office on Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices that shall ``* * * develop... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior ACTION: Notice of Availability. SUMMARY: The...

  10. 76 FR 12756 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-08

    ... office on Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices that shall ``* * * develop... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The...

  11. 77 FR 64544 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-22

    ... Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices that shall ``develop criteria for... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The...

  12. 76 FR 54251 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-31

    ... and administer an office on Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices that... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The...

  13. 75 FR 38538 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-02

    ... to establish and administer an office on Central Valley Project water conservation best management... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The...

  14. NASA Remote Sensing Technologies for Improved Integrated Water Resources Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toll, D. L.; Doorn, B.; Searby, N. D.; Entin, J. K.; Lee, C. M.

    2014-12-01

    This presentation will emphasize NASA's water research, applications, and capacity building activities using satellites and models to contribute to water issues including water availability, transboundary water, flooding and droughts for improved Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). NASA's free and open exchange of Earth data observations and products helps engage and improve integrated observation networks and enables national and multi-national regional water cycle research and applications that are especially useful in data sparse regions of most developing countries. NASA satellite and modeling products provide a huge volume of valuable data extending back over 50 years across a broad range of spatial (local to global) and temporal (hourly to decadal) scales and include many products that are available in near real time (see earthdata.nasa.gov). To further accomplish these objectives NASA works to actively partner with public and private groups (e.g. federal agencies, universities, NGO's, and industry) in the U.S. and international community to ensure the broadest use of its satellites and related information and products and to collaborate with regional end users who know the regions and their needs best. Key objectives of this talk will highlight NASA's Water Resources and Capacity Building Programs with their objective to discover and demonstrate innovative uses and practical benefits of NASA's advanced system technologies for improved water management in national and international applications. The event will help demonstrate the strong partnering and the use of satellite data to provide synoptic and repetitive spatial coverage helping water managers' deal with complex issues. The presentation will also demonstrate how NASA is a major contributor to water tasks and activities in GEOSS (Global Earth Observing System of Systems) and GEO (Group on Earth Observations).

  15. Improving Agricultural Water Resources Management Using Ground-based Infrared Thermometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taghvaeian, S.

    2014-12-01

    Irrigated agriculture is the largest user of freshwater resources in arid/semi-arid parts of the world. Meeting rapidly growing demands in food, feed, fiber, and fuel while minimizing environmental pollution under a changing climate requires significant improvements in agricultural water management and irrigation scheduling. Although recent advances in remote sensing techniques and hydrological modeling has provided valuable information on agricultural water resources and their management, real improvements will only occur if farmers, the decision makers on the ground, are provided with simple, affordable, and practical tools to schedule irrigation events. This presentation reviews efforts in developing methods based on ground-based infrared thermometry and thermography for day-to-day management of irrigation systems. The results of research studies conducted in Colorado and Oklahoma show that ground-based remote sensing methods can be used effectively in quantifying water stress and consequently triggering irrigation events. Crop water use estimates based on stress indices have also showed to be in good agreement with estimates based on other methods (e.g. surface energy balance, root zone soil water balance, etc.). Major challenges toward the adoption of this approach by agricultural producers include the reduced accuracy under cloudy and humid conditions and its inability to forecast irrigation date, which is a critical knowledge since many irrigators need to decide about irrigations a few days in advance.

  16. NASA's Impacts Towards Improving International Water Management Using Satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toll, D. L.; Doorn, B.; Searby, N. D.; Entin, J. K.; Lawford, R. G.; Mohr, K. I.; Lee, C. M.

    2013-12-01

    Key objectives of the NASA's Water Resources and Capacity Building Programs are to discover and demonstrate innovative uses and practical benefits of NASA's advanced system technologies for improved water management. This presentation will emphasize NASA's water research, applications, and capacity building activities using satellites and models to contribute to water issues including water availability, transboundary water, flooding and droughts to international partners, particularly developing countries. NASA's free and open exchange of Earth data observations and products helps engage and improve integrated observation networks and enables national and multi-national regional water cycle research and applications that are especially useful in data sparse regions of most developing countries. NASA satellite and modeling products provide a huge volume of valuable data extending back over 50 years across a broad range of spatial (local to global) and temporal (hourly to decadal) scales and include many products that are available in near real time (see earthdata.nasa.gov). To further accomplish these objectives NASA works to actively partner with public and private groups (e.g. federal agencies, universities, NGO's, and industry) in the U.S. and internationally to ensure the broadest use of its satellites and related information and products and to collaborate with regional end users who know the regions and their needs best. The event will help demonstrate the strong partnering and the use of satellite data to provide synoptic and repetitive spatial coverage helping water managers' deal with complex issues. This presentation will outline and describe NASA's international water related research, applications and capacity building programs' efforts to address developing countries critical water challenges in Asia, African and Latin America. This will specifically highlight impacts and case studies from NASA's programs in Water Resources (e.g., drought, snow

  17. 76 FR 58840 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act; Refuge Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act; Refuge Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: To meet the requirements of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA) and subsequent...

  18. 75 FR 69698 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Criteria for Developing Refuge Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Criteria for Developing Refuge Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The ``Criteria for Developing Refuge Water Management Plans'' (Refuge...

  19. Drought mitigation interventions by improved water management - a case study from Punjab Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asrar-ul-Haq

    2002-01-01

    The Paper describes the main features of the water scarcity management plan that was implemented during the last two Rabi seasons, to optimize wheat production in the Punjab province. Due to severe drought conditions in the country, the river flows remained well below the normal range, resulting in overall 18% and 43% shortfall in canal water supplies during the Rabi seasons of 1999-2000 and 2000- 2001, respectively. In order to address the adverse impacts of the serious water shortage, Punjab Irrigation Department formulated a comprehensive and action oriented plan, in consultation with the Agriculture Department and the farmers representatives. The main thrust of the plan focused on conserving water during the slack demand periods and its reallocation during sensitive growth stages priority canal water allocation to the saline groundwater areas and providing one to two watering to the non-perennial areas. The implementation of Rabi Plan was closely monitored throughout the crop season by the senior irrigation managers and the needed adjustment were made in timely response to the actual water availability. The information regarding the Plan and its subsequent operation was disseminated through the media and the Extension Wing of Agriculture Department. In order to improve internal water management regime, as well as to ensure farmers participation in planning and efficient operation of the canals, water Allocation Committees at the canal command level and canal division level were established throughout the province. As a consequence of the innovative and bold water management interventions, the province harvested bumper wheat-crops, despite serious water shortages. The paper highlights the need for close and continuous monitoring of the planned operations, as well as the significance of other non water inputs, like realistic support price, timely sowing of wheat, improved availability of fertilizers, better seeds, and efficient extension services. The experience

  20. Interventions and Interactions: Understanding Coupled Human-Water Dynamics for Improved Water Resources Management in the Himalayas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crootof, A.

    2017-12-01

    Understanding coupled human-water dynamics offers valuable insights to address fundamental water resources challenges posed by environmental change. With hydropower reshaping human-water interactions in mountain river basins, there is a need for a socio-hydrology framework—which examines two-way feedback loops between human and water systems—to more effectively manage water resources. This paper explores the cross-scalar interactions and feedback loops between human and water systems in river basins affected by run-of-the-river hydropower and highlights the utility of a socio-hydrology perspectives to enhance water management in the face of environmental change. In the Himalayas, the rapid expansion of run-of-the-river hydropower—which diverts streamflow for energy generation—is reconfiguring the availability, location, and timing of water resources. This technological intervention in the river basin not only alters hydrologic dyanmics but also shapes social outcomes. Using hydropower development in the highlands of Uttarakhand, India as a case study, I first illustrate how run-of-the-river projects transform human-water dynamics by reshaping the social and physical landscape of a river basin. Second, I emphasize how examining cross-scalar feedbacks among structural dynamics, social outcomes, and values and norms in this coupled human-water system can inform water management. Third, I present hydrological and social literature, raised separately, to indicate collaborative research needs and knowledge gaps for coupled human-water systems affected by run-of-the-river hydropower. The results underscore the need to understand coupled human-water dynamics to improve water resources management in the face of environmental change.

  1. Assessing fit, interplay, and scale: Aligning governance and information for improved water management in a changing climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirchhoff, C.; Dilling, L.

    2011-12-01

    Water managers have long experienced the challenges of managing water resources in a variable climate. However, climate change has the potential to reshape the experiential landscape by, for example, increasing the intensity and duration of droughts, shifting precipitation timing and amounts, and changing sea levels. Given the uncertainty in evaluating potential climate risks as well as future water availability and water demands, scholars suggest water managers employ more flexible and adaptive science-based management to manage uncertainty (NRC 2009). While such an approach is appropriate, for adaptive science-based management to be effective both governance and information must be concordant across three measures: fit, interplay and scale (Young 2002)(Note 1). Our research relies on interviews of state water managers and related experts (n=50) and documentary analysis in five U.S. states to understand the drivers and constraints to improving water resource planning and decision-making in a changing climate using an assessment of fit, interplay and scale as an evaluative framework. We apply this framework to assess and compare how water managers plan and respond to current or anticipated water resource challenges within each state. We hypothesize that better alignment between the data and management framework and the water resource problem improves water managers' facility to understand (via available, relevant, timely information) and respond appropriately (through institutional response mechanisms). In addition, better alignment between governance mechanisms (between the scope of the problem and identified appropriate responses) improves water management. Moreover, because many of the management challenges analyzed in this study concern present day issues with scarcity brought on by a combination of growth and drought, better alignment of fit, interplay, and scale today will enable and prepare water managers to be more successful in adapting to climate change

  2. Investigating the improver mechanisms of agricultural water ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Investigating the improver mechanisms of agricultural water management in karaj county from the viewpoints of the farmers. ... farmers and people, technical improvement of hydraulic structures, improvement of local people participation, improvement of water management, controlling the disturbance of external factors and ...

  3. Water Demand Management Policy Brief No

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Bob Stanley

    Fair share: Water Demand Management can help provide fair access to water for the poor. Water Policy. Brief no.2 ... management (WDM) can help spread water more equitably, providing a measure of opportunity, security and ... improving health and quality of life for families. WDM measures can improve the efficiency of.

  4. Modification of gas diffusion layers properties to improve water management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Tomas

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In this paper we report an approach to improve water management of commercial GDLs by introducing hydrophobicity patterns. Specifically, line and grid patterns have been created in the MPL side by laser radiation. For an in-depth investigation of these modified GDLs the current density distribution was monitored during fuel cell operation. Additionally, the physical properties of these materials were investigated by a number of ex situ methods such as Fourier transform infrared microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and water vapor sorption. Furthermore, a comparison of the physical properties of the patterned GDLs with chemically modified GDLs (treated in H2SO4 and H2O2 is provided. Our results show a clearly improved homogeneity of current density distribution of the patterned GDLs compared to untreated GDLs. This observation is likely due to a reduced local hydrophobicity which facilitates water diffusion along the flow field of the fuel cell. However, performance of the fuel cell was not affected by the MPL irradiation. Graphical Abstract

  5. Using soil water sensors to improve irrigation management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irrigation water management has to do with the appropriate application of water to soils, in terms of amounts, rates, and timing to satisfy crop water demands while protecting the soil and water resources from degradation. In this regard, sensors can be used to monitor the soil water status; and som...

  6. Water Management in Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wojciech Majewski

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the current situation in Polish water resources management. Discussed here are measures taken by the Ministry of Environment to introduce a new water law, as well as reforms of water management in Poland. The state of water resources in Poland are described, and the actions needed to improve this situation, taking into account possible climate changes and their impact on the use of water resources. Critically referred to is the introduction by the Ministry of Environment of charges for water abstraction by hydro power plants, and adverse effects for the energy and water management sectors are discussed.

  7. Application of a risk management system to improve drinking water safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayaratne, Asoka

    2008-12-01

    The use of a comprehensive risk management framework is considered a very effective means of managing water quality risks. There are many risk-based systems available to water utilities such as ISO 9001 and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). In 2004, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality recommended the use of preventive risk management approaches to manage water quality risks. This paper describes the framework adopted by Yarra Valley Water for the development of its Drinking Water Quality Risk Management Plan incorporating HACCP and ISO 9001 systems and demonstrates benefits of Water Safety Plans such as HACCP. Copyright IWA Publishing 2008.

  8. Toward A Science of Sustainable Water Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, C.

    2016-12-01

    Societal need for improved water management and concerns for the long-term sustainability of water resources systems are prominent around the world. The continued susceptibility of society to the harmful effects of hydrologic variability, pervasive concerns related to climate change and the emergent awareness of devastating effects of current practice on aquatic ecosystems all illustrate our limited understanding of how water ought to be managed in a dynamic world. The related challenges of resolving the competition for freshwater among competing uses (so called "nexus" issues) and adapting water resources systems to climate change are prominent examples of the of sustainable water management challenges. In addition, largely untested concepts such as "integrated water resources management" have surfaced as Sustainable Development Goals. In this presentation, we argue that for research to improve water management, and for practice to inspire better research, a new focus is required, one that bridges disciplinary barriers between the water resources research focus on infrastructure planning and management, and the role of human actors, and geophysical sciences community focus on physical processes in the absence of dynamical human response. Examples drawn from climate change adaptation for water resource systems and groundwater management policy provide evidence of initial progress towards a science of sustainable water management that links improved physical understanding of the hydrological cycle with the socioeconomic and ecological understanding of water and societal interactions.

  9. Towards an Improved Represenation of Reservoirs and Water Management in a Land Surface-Hydrology Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yassin, F.; Anis, M. R.; Razavi, S.; Wheater, H. S.

    2017-12-01

    Water management through reservoirs, diversions, and irrigation have significantly changed river flow regimes and basin-wide energy and water balance cycles. Failure to represent these effects limits the performance of land surface-hydrology models not only for streamflow prediction but also for the estimation of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and feedbacks to the atmosphere. Despite recent research to improve the representation of water management in land surface models, there remains a need to develop improved modeling approaches that work in complex and highly regulated basins such as the 406,000 km2 Saskatchewan River Basin (SaskRB). A particular challenge for regional and global application is a lack of local information on reservoir operational management. To this end, we implemented a reservoir operation, water abstraction, and irrigation algorithm in the MESH land surface-hydrology model and tested it over the SaskRB. MESH is Environment Canada's Land Surface-hydrology modeling system that couples Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) with hydrological routing model. The implemented reservoir algorithm uses an inflow-outflow relationship that accounts for the physical characteristics of reservoirs (e.g., storage-area-elevation relationships) and includes simplified operational characteristics based on local information (e.g., monthly target volume and release under limited, normal, and flood storage zone). The irrigation algorithm uses the difference between actual and potential evapotranspiration to estimate irrigation water demand. This irrigation demand is supplied from the neighboring reservoirs/diversion in the river system. We calibrated the model enabled with the new reservoir and irrigation modules in a multi-objective optimization setting. Results showed that the reservoir and irrigation modules significantly improved the MESH model performance in generating streamflow and evapotranspiration across the SaskRB and that this our approach provides

  10. Improved water resource management for a highly complex environment using three-dimensional groundwater modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moeck, Christian; Affolter, Annette; Radny, Dirk; Dressmann, Horst; Auckenthaler, Adrian; Huggenberger, Peter; Schirmer, Mario

    2018-02-01

    A three-dimensional groundwater model was used to improve water resource management for a study area in north-west Switzerland, where drinking-water production is close to former landfills and industrial areas. To avoid drinking-water contamination, artificial groundwater recharge with surface water is used to create a hydraulic barrier between the contaminated sites and drinking-water extraction wells. The model was used for simulating existing and proposed water management strategies as a tool to ensure the utmost security for drinking water. A systematic evaluation of the flow direction between existing observation points using a developed three-point estimation method for a large number of scenarios was carried out. It is demonstrated that systematically applying the developed methodology helps to identify vulnerable locations which are sensitive to changing boundary conditions such as those arising from changes to artificial groundwater recharge rates. At these locations, additional investigations and protection are required. The presented integrated approach, using the groundwater flow direction between observation points, can be easily transferred to a variety of hydrological settings to systematically evaluate groundwater modelling scenarios.

  11. Using NASA Products of the Water Cycle for Improved Water Resources Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toll, D. L.; Doorn, B.; Engman, E. T.; Lawford, R. G.

    2010-12-01

    NASA Water Resources works within the Earth sciences and GEO community to leverage investments of space-based observation and modeling results including components of the hydrologic cycle into water resources management decision support tools for the goal towards the sustainable use of water. These Earth science hydrologic related observations and modeling products provide a huge volume of valuable data in both near-real-time and extended back nearly 50 years. Observations of this type enable assessment of numerous water resources management issues including water scarcity, extreme events of drought and floods, and water quality. Examples of water cycle estimates make towards the contributions to the water management community include snow cover and snowpack, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, precipitation, streamflow and ground water. The availability of water is also contingent on the quality of water and hence water quality is an important part of NASA Water Resources. Water quality activities include both nonpoint source (agriculture land use, ecosystem disturbances, impervious surfaces, etc.) and direct remote sensing ( i.e., turbidity, algae, aquatic vegetation, temperature, etc.). . The NASA Water Resources Program organizes its projects under five functional themes: 1) stream-flow and flood forecasting; 2) water consumptive use and irrigation (includes evapotranspiration); 3) drought; 4) water quality; and 5) climate impacts on water resources. Currently NASA Water Resources is supporting 21 funded projects with 11 additional projects being concluded. To maximize the use of NASA water cycle measurements end to projects are supported with strong links with decision support systems. The NASA Water Resources Program works closely with other government agencies NOAA, USDA-FAS, USGS, AFWA, USAID, universities, and non-profit, international, and private sector organizations. International water cycle applications include: 1) Famine Early Warning System Network

  12. Ethiopia's national strategy for improving water resources management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amha, M.

    2001-01-01

    Full text: Ethiopia's current approach to assessing and managing water resources, including geothermal, assigns very high priority to the use of isotope hydrology. Incorporation of this technology into government planning began with a few activities, in local groundwater assessment and in geothermal studies, kicked off by a 1993 National Isotope Hydrology Training Workshop that the IAEA helped arrange. The first results of isotope studies were useful in characterizing the Aluto Geothermal Field, where a 7.2 MW(e) power plant was later built with support from the UNDP and the EEC. And the Government is now hoping to introduce isotope techniques to improve utilization of the field. Isotope hydrology has successfully aided attempts to better understand ground water occurrence, flow and quality problems in arid regions of Ethiopia. These efforts are continuing through studies in the Dire Dawa, Mekelle and Afar regions. Rising water levels in Lake Beseka are threatening to submerge vital rail and highway links. Isotope hydrology made a unique contribution to understanding the surface and subsurface factors responsible, leading to an engineering plan for mitigating the problem. The Government has allocated substantial funding and construction work has begun. A similar success story is emerging at Awassa Lake, where isotope hydrology is proving a very useful complement to conventional techniques. Another promising application of isotope hydrology is taking place as part of the Akaki Groundwater Study near Addis Ababa. Preliminary isotopic results indicate that earlier conclusions based on conventional techniques may have to be revised. If so, there will be significant implications for the exploitation and management strategy of the resource. Based on these encouraging results, the Government is proceeding with the preparation of a project document for the Ethiopian Groundwater Resource Assessment Programme. With the assistance of the IAEA, the U.S. Geological Survey

  13. 76 FR 16818 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Standard Criteria for Ag and Urban Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-25

    ... Valley Project water conservation best management practices (BMPs) that shall develop Criteria for... project contractors using best available cost- effective technology and best management practices.'' The... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Standard...

  14. Optimal implementation of best management practices to improve agricultural hydrology and water quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Y.; Engel, B.; Collingsworth, P.; Pijanowski, B. C.

    2017-12-01

    Nutrient loading from the Maumee River watershed is a significant reason for the harmful algal blooms (HABs) problem in Lake Erie. Strategies to reduce nutrient loading from agricultural areas in the Maumee River watershed need to be explored. Best management practices (BMPs) are popular approaches for improving hydrology and water quality. Various scenarios of BMP implementation were simulated in the AXL watershed (an agricultural watershed in Maumee River watershed) using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and a new BMP cost tool to explore the cost-effectiveness of the practices. BMPs of interest included vegetative filter strips, grassed waterways, blind inlets, grade stabilization structures, wetlands, no-till, nutrient management, residue management, and cover crops. The following environmental concerns were considered: streamflow, Total Phosphorous (TP), Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus (DRP), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), and Nitrate+Nitrite (NOx). To obtain maximum hydrological and water quality benefits with minimum cost, an optimization tool was developed to optimally select and place BMPs by connecting SWAT, the BMP cost tool, and optimization algorithms. The optimization tool was then applied in AXL watershed to explore optimization focusing on critical areas (top 25% of areas with highest runoff volume/pollutant loads per area) vs. all areas of the watershed, optimization using weather data for spring (March to July, due to the goal of reducing spring phosphorus in watershed management plan) vs. full year, and optimization results of implementing BMPs to achieve the watershed management plan goal (reducing 2008 TP levels by 40%). The optimization tool and BMP optimization results can be used by watershed groups and communities to solve hydrology and water quality problems.

  15. Infiltration and planting pits for improved water management and maize yield in semi-arid Zimbabwe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nyakudya, I.W.; Stroosnijder, L.; Nyagumbo, I.

    2014-01-01

    Realising that rainwater harvesting (RWH) improves crop productivity, smallholder farmers in semi-arid Zimbabwe modified contour ridges traditionally used for rainwater management by digging infiltration pits inside contour ridge channels in order to retain more water in crop fields. However,

  16. Improved Management of Water and Natural Resources Requires Open, Cognizant, Adaptive Science and Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glynn, P. D.; Voinov, A. A.; Shapiro, C. D.; Jenni, K. E.

    2017-12-01

    Water issues impact the availability and use of other natural resources as well as environmental conditions. In an increasingly populated hyper-connected world, water issues are increasingly "wicked problems": complex problems with high uncertainties and no independent observers. Water is essential to life, and life affects water quality and availability. Scientists, managers, decision-makers, and the greater public all have a stake in improving the management of water resources. In turn, they are part of the systems that they are studying, deciding on, affecting, or trying to improve. Governance of water issues requires greater accessibility, traceability, and accountability (ATA) in science and policy. Water-related studies and decision-making need transdisciplinary science, inclusive participatory processes, and consideration and acceptance of multiple perspectives. Biases, Beliefs, Heuristics, and Values (BBHV) shape much of our perceptions and knowledge, and inevitably, affect both science and policy. Understanding the role of BBHV is critical to (1) understanding individual and group judgments and choices, (2) recognizing potential differences between societal "wants" and societal "needs", and (3) identifying "winners" and "losers" of policy decisions. Societal acceptance of proposed policies and actions can be fostered by enhancing participatory processes and by providing greater ATA in science, in policy, and in development of the laws, rules, and traditions that constrain decision-making. An adaptive science-infused governance framework is proposed that seeks greater cognizance of the role of BBHV in shaping science and policy choices and decisions, and that also seeks "Open Traceable Accountable Policy" to complement "Open Science". We discuss the limitations of the governance that we suggest, as well as tools and approaches to help implementation.

  17. Open source GIS based tools to improve hydrochemical water resources management in EU H2020 FREEWAT platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Criollo, Rotman; Velasco, Violeta; Vázquez-Suñé, Enric; Nardi, Albert; Marazuela, Miguel A.; Rossetto, Rudy; Borsi, Iacopo; Foglia, Laura; Cannata, Massimiliano; De Filippis, Giovanna

    2017-04-01

    Due to the general increase of water scarcity (Steduto et al., 2012), water quantity and quality must be well known to ensure a proper access to water resources in compliance with local and regional directives. This circumstance can be supported by tools which facilitate process of data management and its analysis. Such analyses have to provide research/professionals, policy makers and users with the ability to improve the management of the water resources with standard regulatory guidelines. Compliance with the established standard regulatory guidelines (with a special focus on requirement deriving from the GWD) should have an effective monitoring, evaluation, and interpretation of a large number of physical and chemical parameters. These amounts of datasets have to be assessed and interpreted: (i) integrating data from different sources and gathered with different data access techniques and formats; (ii) managing data with varying temporal and spatial extent; (iii) integrating groundwater quality information with other relevant information such as further hydrogeological data (Velasco et al., 2014) and pre-processing these data generally for the realization of groundwater models. In this context, the Hydrochemical Analysis Tools, akvaGIS Tools, has been implemented within the H2020 FREEWAT project; which aims to manage water resources by modelling water resource management in an open source GIS platform (QGIS desktop). The main goal of AkvaGIS Tools is to improve water quality analysis through different capabilities to improve the case study conceptual model managing all data related into its geospatial database (implemented in Spatialite) and a set of tools for improving the harmonization, integration, standardization, visualization and interpretation of the hydrochemical data. To achieve that, different commands cover a wide range of methodologies for querying, interpreting, and comparing groundwater quality data and facilitate the pre-processing analysis for

  18. Evaluating participation in water resource management: A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, G.; BlöSchl, G.; Loucks, D. P.

    2012-11-01

    Key documents such as the European Water Framework Directive and the U.S. Clean Water Act state that public and stakeholder participation in water resource management is required. Participation aims to enhance resource management and involve individuals and groups in a democratic way. Evaluation of participatory programs and projects is necessary to assess whether these objectives are being achieved and to identify how participatory programs and projects can be improved. The different methods of evaluation can be classified into three groups: (i) process evaluation assesses the quality of participation process, for example, whether it is legitimate and promotes equal power between participants, (ii) intermediary outcome evaluation assesses the achievement of mainly nontangible outcomes, such as trust and communication, as well as short- to medium-term tangible outcomes, such as agreements and institutional change, and (iii) resource management outcome evaluation assesses the achievement of changes in resource management, such as water quality improvements. Process evaluation forms a major component of the literature but can rarely indicate whether a participation program improves water resource management. Resource management outcome evaluation is challenging because resource changes often emerge beyond the typical period covered by the evaluation and because changes cannot always be clearly related to participation activities. Intermediary outcome evaluation has been given less attention than process evaluation but can identify some real achievements and side benefits that emerge through participation. This review suggests that intermediary outcome evaluation should play a more important role in evaluating participation in water resource management.

  19. Water management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrada, Y.

    1981-01-01

    The Joint FAO/IAEA Division has been technically responsible for technical assistance projects aimed at improving water management practices in the following developing Member States: Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, Greece, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lebanon, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, Romania, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda and Zambia. The Division has also contributed to the improvement of the efficiency of water use through the implementation of three 5-year co-ordinated research programmes. Participants from eight to 15 countries have conducted research towards a common goal of improving nuclear techniques in water-use efficiency studies and developing practices to increase the food produced from a unit of irrigation water or rainfall. In many cases this was the first time such techniques have been used in the above countries. It was thus necessary to provide expert assistance to train local counterparts in the safe and efficient use of the equipment. Training courses have also been held in more advanced countries to familiarize young scientists from developing countries with the most modern techniques in soil/water research. Results obtained through the nuclear techniques aided research programmes will, when applied in farmers' fields on irrigated land, lead to increased yields, to reduced losses of nutrients through leaching below the rooting zone, and to conserving soil through avoiding the accumulation of salts close to the soil surface. Under rainfed agriculture, research results would help controlling erosion, conserving water, and ensuring sustained production at acceptable yield levels

  20. Improved Marine Waters Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palazov, Atanas; Yakushev, Evgeniy; Milkova, Tanya; Slabakova, Violeta; Hristova, Ognyana

    2017-04-01

    IMAMO - Improved Marine Waters Monitoring is a project under the Programme BG02: Improved monitoring of marine waters, managed by Bulgarian Ministry of environment and waters and co-financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA FM) 2009 - 2014. Project Beneficiary is the Institute of oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with two partners: Norwegian Institute for Water Research and Bulgarian Black Sea Basin Directorate. The Project aims to improve the monitoring capacity and expertise of the organizations responsible for marine waters monitoring in Bulgaria to meet the requirements of EU and national legislation. The main outcomes are to fill the gaps in information from the Initial assessment of the marine environment and to collect data to assess the current ecological status of marine waters including information as a base for revision of ecological targets established by the monitoring programme prepared in 2014 under Art. 11 of MSFD. Project activities are targeted to ensure data for Descriptors 5, 8 and 9. IMAMO aims to increase the institutional capacity of the Bulgarian partners related to the monitoring and assessment of the Black Sea environment. The main outputs are: establishment of real time monitoring and set up of accredited laboratory facilities for marine waters and sediments chemical analysis to ensure the ability of Bulgarian partners to monitor progress of subsequent measures undertaken.

  1. Tree Shelterbelts as an Element to Improve Water Resource Management in Central Asia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niels Thevs

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In Central Asia, agriculture, notably irrigated agriculture, is the largest water consumer. Currently, flood and furrow irrigation are the dominant irrigation methods in Central Asia, in particular in the post-Soviet countries. Against the background of current and increasing competition for water—e.g., through reduced river runoffs in the course of climate change—water consumption of agriculture needs to be reduced. On the field plot level, improved irrigation technologies, like drip irrigation or plastic mulch, can reduce water consumption substantially. Alternatively, tree lines as wind breaks (shelterbelts also can reduce crop water consumption, as shown by research from many drylands around the world. As previous research has concentrated on crop water consumption and not on tree water consumption, this paper brings the two together, in order to approach a more holistic picture, in how far shelterbelt systems, including the trees, may have the potential to save water or not. Crop water consumption was assessed through the Penman–Monteith approach for corn, wheat, potato, barley, and pear under open field conditions and under an assumed influence of a tree shelterbelt. Tree water consumption was investigated through sap flow measurements. Crop water consumption was reduced by 10–12% under influence of a shelterbelt compared to open field conditions. When water consumption of shelterbelts was added, a slight reduction of water consumption of the whole crop-shelterbelt system was found for corn, potato, and pear under the assumption 25 ha (500 × 500 m field sizes. Under an assumption of 4 ha (200 × 200 m field size, water consumption of the whole crop-shelterbelt system was higher for all crops investigated except for pear. The results suggest that shelterbelts may play a role in improving water resource management in Central Asia in the context of water demanding crops, like corn or cotton. In further research, other effects of

  2. Sustainable smallholder intensification through improved water management requires adjusted fertilizer recommendation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gedfew, Muluye; Schmitter, Petra; Nakawuka, Prossie; Tilahun, Seifu A.; Steenhuis, Tammo; Langan, Simon

    2017-04-01

    In Sub-Saharan Africa small scale irrigation is developing rapidly. Whilst emphasis is mainly placed on water resource availability and access for irrigation, less attention is paid to the interaction of water management on nutrient balances. The quality and quantity of irrigation water delivered to the field not only controls the nutrient flow dynamic system in the soil media but also affects production and uptake. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of different water management methods on partial nutrient balances in irrigated fields of the Ethiopian highlands. The study was conducted during the dry season of 2016 where farmers cultivated consecutively tomato and pepper. Farmers were grouped into three water management treatments: irrigation based on Time Domain reflect meter (TDR), on the standard crop water requirements (CWR) and the traditional farmers practice (FARM). The average water consumption for tomato in the CWR, TDR and FARM groups were 590 mm, 476 mm and 575 mm, respectively. The comparison of the water use at different stages showed that traditional farmer practice used less water at the initial stage and more water at the maturity stage which influenced the crop yield and the nutrient dynamics of NPK. For pepper, the linkage to the supplemental irrigation was slightly different due to the onset of the rainy season. The average tomato yield obtained in the farmer practice plots was 20.8 Mg ha-1 which was significantly lower than those obtained in the TDR (31.67 Mg ha-1) and the CWR (33.2 Mg ha-1) plots. The average partial nitrogen (N) depletion balance obtained for tomato in the TDR, CWR and FARM treatment were -91 kg ha-1, -151 kg ha-1 and 19 kg ha-1 respectively. For phosphorus (P) the calculated depletion balance was -0.6 kg ha-1, -0.5 kg ha-1, and - 0.2 kg ha-1, respectively whereas for potassium (K) the balances were largely negative (i.e. -284 kg ha-1, -270 kg ha-1 and -97 kg ha-1, respectively). Similar observations were

  3. Improving the relevance and impact of decision support research: A co-production framework and water management case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, R.; Kasprzyk, J. R.; Dilling, L.; Basdekas, L.; Kaatz, L.

    2016-12-01

    In light of the unpredictable effects of climate change and population shifts, responsible resource management will require new types of information and strategies going forward. For water utilities, this means that water supply infrastructure systems must be expanded and/or managed for changes in overall supply and increased extremes. Utilities have begun seeking innovative tools and methods to support planning and decision making, but there are limited channels through which they can gain exposure to emerging tools from the research world, and for researchers to uptake important real-world planning and decision context. A transdisciplinary team of engineers, social and climate scientists, and water managers designed this study to develop and apply a co-production framework which explores the potential of an emerging decision support tool to enhance flexibility and adaptability in water utility planning. It also demonstrates how to improve the link between research and practice in the water sector. In this study we apply the co-production framework to the use of Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs). MOEAs have shown promise in being able to generate and evaluate new planning alternatives but they have had little testing or application in water utilities. Anchored by two workshops, this study (1) elicited input from water managers from six water suppliers on the Front Range of Colorado, USA, to create a testbed MOEA application, and (2) evaluated the managers' responses to multiobjective optimization results. The testbed consists of a Front Range-relevant hypothetical water supply model, the Borg MOEA, hydrology and demand scenarios, and a set of planning decisions and performance objectives that drive the link between the algorithm and the model. In this presentation we describe researcher-manager interactions at the initial workshop that served to establish relationships and provide in-depth information to researchers about regional water management

  4. Water management - management actions applied to water resources system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petkovski, Ljupcho; Tanchev, Ljubomir

    2001-01-01

    In this paper are presented a general description of water resource systems, a systematisation of the management tasks and the approaches for solution, including a review of methods used for solution of water management tasks and the fundamental postulates in the management. The management of water resources is a synonym for the management actions applied to water resource systems. It is a general term that unites planning and exploitation of the systems. The modern planning assumes separating the water racecourse part from the hydro technical part of the project. The water resource study is concerned with the solution for the resource problem. This means the parameters of the system are determined in parallel with the definition of the water utilisation regime. The hydro-technical part of the project is the design of structures necessary for the water resource solution. (Original)

  5. Integrating Flow, Form, and Function for Improved Environmental Water Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albin Lane, Belize Arela

    Rivers are complex, dynamic natural systems. The performance of river ecosystem functions, such as habitat availability and sediment transport, depends on the interplay of hydrologic dynamics (flow) and geomorphic settings (form). However, most river restoration studies evaluate the role of either flow or form without regard for their dynamic interactions. Despite substantial recent interest in quantifying environmental water requirements to support integrated water management efforts, the absence of quantitative, transferable relationships between river flow, form, and ecosystem functions remains a major limitation. This research proposes a novel, process-driven methodology for evaluating river flow-form-function linkages in support of basin-scale environmental water management. This methodology utilizes publically available geospatial and time-series data and targeted field data collection to improve basic understanding of river systems with limited data and resource requirements. First, a hydrologic classification system is developed to characterize natural hydrologic variability across a highly altered, physio-climatically diverse landscape. Next, a statistical analysis is used to characterize reach-scale geomorphic variability and to investigate the utility of topographic variability attributes (TVAs, subreach-scale undulations in channel width and depth), alongside traditional reach-averaged attributes, for distinguishing dominant geomorphic forms and processes across a hydroscape. Finally, the interacting roles of flow (hydrologic regime, water year type, and hydrologic impairment) and form (channel morphology) are quantitatively evaluated with respect to ecosystem functions related to hydrogeomorphic processes, aquatic habitat, and riparian habitat. Synthetic river corridor generation is used to evaluate and isolate the role of distinct geomorphic attributes without the need for intensive topographic surveying. This three-part methodology was successfully

  6. Water quality management of aquifer recharge using advanced tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazarova, Valentina; Emsellem, Yves; Paille, Julie; Glucina, Karl; Gislette, Philippe

    2011-01-01

    Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) with recycled water or other alternative resources is one of the most rapidly growing techniques that is viewed as a necessity in water-short areas. In order to better control health and environmental effects of MAR, this paper presents two case studies demonstrating how to improve water quality, enable reliable tracing of injected water and better control and manage MAR operation in the case of indirect and direct aquifer recharge. Two water quality management strategies are illustrated on two full-scale case studies, including the results of the combination of non conventional and advanced technologies for water quality improvement, comprehensive sampling and monitoring programs including emerging pollutants, tracer studies using boron isotopes and integrative aquifer 3D GIS hydraulic and hydrodispersive modelling.

  7. Evaluating Water Management Practice for Sustainable Mining

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiangfeng Zhang

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available To move towards sustainable development, the mining industry needs to identify better mine water management practices for reducing raw water use, increasing water use efficiency, and eliminating environmental impacts in a precondition of securing mining production. However, the selection of optimal mine water management practices is technically challenging due to the lack of scientific tools to comprehensively evaluate management options against a set of conflicting criteria. This work has provided a solution to aid the identification of more sustainable mine water management practices. The solution includes a conceptual framework for forming a decision hierarchy; an evaluation method for assessing mine water management practices; and a sensitivity analysis in view of different preferences of stakeholders or managers. The solution is applied to a case study of the evaluation of sustainable water management practices in 16 mines located in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Australia. The evaluation results illustrate the usefulness of the proposed solution. A sensitivity analysis is performed according to preference weights of stakeholders or managers. Some measures are provided for assessing sensitivity of strategy ranking outcomes if the weight of an indicator changes. Finally, some advice is given to improve the mine water management in some mines.

  8. Improving water management practices to reduce nutrient export from rice paddy fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhi-Jian; Yao, Ju-Xiang; Wang, Zhao-De; Xu, Xin; Lin, Xian-Yong; Czapar, George F; Zhang, Jian-Ying

    2011-01-01

    Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loss from rice paddy fields represents a significant threat to water quality in China. In this project, three irrigation-drainage regimes were compared, including one conventional irrigation-drainage regime, i.e. continuous submergence regime (CSR), and two improved regimes, i.e. the alternating submergence-nonsubmergence regime (ASNR) and the zero-drainage irrigation technology (ZDIT), to seek cost-effective practices for reducing nutrient loss. The data from these comparisons showed that, excluding the nutrient input from irrigation, the net exports of total N and total P via surface field drainage ranged from -3.93 to 2.39 kg ha and 0.17 to 0.95 g ha(-1) under the CSR operation, respectively, while N loss was -2.46 to -2.23 kg ha(-1) and P export was -0.65 to 0.31 kg ha(-1) under the improved regimes. The intensity of P export was positively correlated to the rate of P application. Reducing the draining frequency or postponing the draining operation would shift the ecological role of the paddy field from a nutrient export source to an interception sink when ASNR or the zero-drainage water management was used. In addition, since the rice yields are being guaranteed at no additional cost, the improved irrigation-drainage operations would have economic as well as environmental benefits.

  9. Managing California’s Water: Insights from Interviews with Water Policy Experts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah E. Null

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents insights from interviews with over 100 California water policy experts, who answered open-ended questions regarding California’s long-term water policy challenges and potential solutions. Interviews were conducted in the spring and summer of 2010, and interviewees were selected from a range of sectors and regions within California. Top long-term policy problems cited include management of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, dysfunctional institutions and water governance, unsustainable water supplies and flood management, poor environmental protection, and problems with water rights and valuing water. In addition to a range of specific management solutions, respondents emphasized the importance of public education, incentivized cooperation, more holistic water management, local innovation, and removal of regulatory obstacles as primary solutions to California’s long-term water challenges. There was little emphasis on new surface storage projects, except from politicians. Other respondents preferred local and regional approaches to improve water supply, such as conservation, groundwater banking, recycling, or stormwater management. Despite differences in opinion on the problems with implementation of the Endangered Species Act, there was broad agreement that environmental management approaches need to shift away from single-species, piecemeal approaches toward ecosystem-based, multi-species approaches. 

  10. A Physical Assessment of the Opportunities for Improved Management of the Water Resources of the Bi-National Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aparicio, J.; McKinney, D.; Valdes, J.; Guitron, A.; Thomas, G.

    2007-05-01

    The hydro-physical opportunities for expanding the beneficial uses of the fixed water supply in the Rio Grande/Bravo Basin to better satisfy an array of water management goals are examined. These include making agriculture more resilient to periodic conditions of drought, improving the reliability of supplies to cities and towns, and restoring lost environmental functions in the river system. This is a comprehensive, outcome-neutral, model- based planning exercise performed by some 20 technical, primarily non-governmental institutions from both countries, aimed at proposing strategies that can reduce future conflicts over water throughout the entire basin. The second track consists in generating a set of future water management scenarios that respond to the needs and objectives of the basin stakeholders in each segment and each country. An array of scenarios for improved water management has been developed for the lower Rio Grande/Rio Bravo basin in Texas and the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Another set under development will focus on the Rio Conchos and the El Paso/Juarez region. Eventually, scenarios will be generated such that will comprehend the entire basin on both sides of the border. These scenarios are the product of consultations with agricultural water districts, governmental organizations and environmental NGOs. They include strategies for reducing the physical losses of water in the system, conservation transfers, improvements in the operations of the Mexican and international reservoirs, improvements in environmental flow conditions, improvements in reliability of water supplies, and drought coping strategies.These scenarios will be evaluated for hydrologic feasibility by the basin-wide model and the gaming exercises. Modeling is necessary to understand how these options will affect the entire system and how they can be crafted to maximize the benefits and avoid unintended or uncompensated effects. The scenarios that have the potential to provide large

  11. New project to improve water management in the Sahel | IDRC ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2018-06-06

    Jun 6, 2018 ... A new IDRC-supported project will help improve water conservation and use ... and tested water retention tanks to supplement irrigation from water runoff to ... where capacity will be built among agricultural stakeholders and ...

  12. From Premise to Practice: a Critical Assessment of Integrated Water Resources Management and Adaptive Management Approaches in the Water Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Wietske Medema; Brian S. McIntosh; Paul J. Jeffrey

    2008-01-01

    The complexity of natural resource use processes and dynamics is now well accepted and described in theories ranging across the sciences from ecology to economics. Based upon these theories, management frameworks have been developed within the research community to cope with complexity and improve natural resource management outcomes. Two notable frameworks, Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and Adaptive Management (AM) have been developed within the domain of water resource managem...

  13. The role of organizational culture and leadership in water safety plan implementation for improved risk management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Summerill, Corinna; Pollard, Simon J.T.; Smith, Jennifer A.

    2010-01-01

    Appropriate implementation of WSPs offers an important opportunity to engage in and promote preventative risk management within water utilities. To ensure success, the whole organization, especially executive management, need to be advocates. Illustrated by two case studies, we discuss the influence of organizational culture on buy-in and commitment to public health protection and WSPs. Despite an internal desire to undertake risk management, some aspects of organizational culture prevented these from reaching full potential. Enabling cultural features included: camaraderie; competition; proactive, involved leaders; community focus; customer service mentality; transparency; accountability; competent workforce; empowerment; appreciation of successes, and a continual improvement culture. Blocking features included: poor communication; inflexibility; complacency; lack of awareness, interest or reward and coercion. We urge water utilities to consider the influence of organizational culture on the success and sustainability of WSP adoption, and better understand how effective leadership can mould culture to support implementation.

  14. The role of organizational culture and leadership in water safety plan implementation for improved risk management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Summerill, Corinna, E-mail: c.summerill@cranfield.ac.uk [Cranfield University, Centre for Water Science, School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL (United Kingdom); Pollard, Simon J.T., E-mail: s.pollard@cranfield.ac.uk [Collaborative Centre of Excellence in Understanding and Managing Natural and Environmental Risks, School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL (United Kingdom); Smith, Jennifer A., E-mail: j.a.smith@cranfield.ac.uk [Cranfield University, Centre for Water Science, School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL (United Kingdom)

    2010-09-15

    Appropriate implementation of WSPs offers an important opportunity to engage in and promote preventative risk management within water utilities. To ensure success, the whole organization, especially executive management, need to be advocates. Illustrated by two case studies, we discuss the influence of organizational culture on buy-in and commitment to public health protection and WSPs. Despite an internal desire to undertake risk management, some aspects of organizational culture prevented these from reaching full potential. Enabling cultural features included: camaraderie; competition; proactive, involved leaders; community focus; customer service mentality; transparency; accountability; competent workforce; empowerment; appreciation of successes, and a continual improvement culture. Blocking features included: poor communication; inflexibility; complacency; lack of awareness, interest or reward and coercion. We urge water utilities to consider the influence of organizational culture on the success and sustainability of WSP adoption, and better understand how effective leadership can mould culture to support implementation.

  15. IMPROVING CYANOBACTERIA AND CYANOTOXIN MONITORING IN SURFACE WATERS FOR DRINKING WATER SUPPLY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Li

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Cyanobacteria in fresh water can cause serious threats to drinking water supplies. Managing cyanobacterial blooms particularly at small drinking water treatment plants is challenging. Because large amount of cyanobacteria may cause clogging in the treatment process and various cyanotoxins are hard to remove, while they may cause severe health problems. There is lack of instructions of what cyanobacteria/toxin amount should trigger what kind of actions for drinking water management except for Microcystins. This demands a Cyanobacteria Management Tool (CMT to help regulators/operators to improve cyanobacteria/cyanotoxin monitoring in surface waters for drinking water supply. This project proposes a CMT tool, including selecting proper indicators for quick cyanobacteria monitoring and verifying quick analysis methods for cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin. This tool is suggested for raw water management regarding cyanobacteria monitoring in lakes, especially in boreal forest climate. In addition, it applies to regions that apply international WHO standards for water management. In Swedish context, drinking water producers which use raw water from lakes that experience cyanobacterial blooms, need to create a monitoring routine for cyanobacteria/cyanotoxin and to monitor beyond such as Anatoxins, Cylindrospermopsins and Saxitoxins. Using the proposed CMT tool will increase water safety at surface water treatment plants substantially by introducing three alerting points for actions. CMT design for each local condition should integrate adaptive monitoring program.

  16. Advanced water chemistry management in power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Regis, V.; Sigon, F.

    1995-01-01

    Advanced water management based on low external impact cycle chemistry technologies and processes, effective on-line water control and monitoring, has been verified to improve water utilization and to reduce plant liquid supply and discharge. Simulations have been performed to optimize system configurations and performances, with reference to a 4 x 320 MWe/once-through boiler/AVT/river cooled power plant, to assess the effectiveness of membrane separation technologies allowing waste water reuse, to enhance water management system design and to compare these solutions on a cost/benefit analysis. 6 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

  17. Improvement of the organizational support of public water management in Ukraine at the national level

    OpenAIRE

    N. V. Vostrikova; V. P. Vostrikov

    2015-01-01

    The article revealed the theoretical and methodological provision of public water management system by formulating the generalized system model and mechanism of state water management. Due to the classical definition of governance and existing approaches to environmental management the interpretation of the term «public water management» is proposed. Using a systematic approach summarizes the system of public water management and considered its main components: control subsystem, controlled s...

  18. Joint management of water and electricity in State Water Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, T.

    2013-12-01

    Understanding the relationship between California's water and electrical power is important for improving the management and planning of these two vital resources to the state's economy development and people's well-being. It is often unclear for consumers, managers and decision-makers that water and electricity in California are inextricably connected. In the past, insufficient considerations of electricity production, consumption and cost in the State Water Project (SWP) - the world's largest publicly built and operated water and power development and conveyance system-has led to significant water rate and electricity rate increase. An innovative concept of this proposed study is developing new technology capable of managing and planning water and power jointly in SWP to promote its operation efficiency, sustainability and resilience to potential water shortage caused by climate change and population increase. To achieve this goal, a nonlinear, two-fold network model describing water delivery in company with power consumption and generation will be constructed, and a multi-objective optimization scheme is to be used to resolve this complex nonlinear network problem.

  19. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR in Sustainable Urban Water Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Declan Page

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available To meet increasing urban water requirements in a sustainable way, there is a need to diversify future sources of supply and storage. However, to date, there has been a lag in the uptake of managed aquifer recharge (MAR for diversifying water sources in urban areas. This study draws on examples of the use of MAR as an approach to support sustainable urban water management. Recharged water may be sourced from a variety of sources and in urban centers, MAR provides a means to recycle underutilized urban storm water and treated wastewater to maximize their water resource potential and to minimize any detrimental effects associated with their disposal. The number, diversity and scale of urban MAR projects is growing internationally due to water shortages, fewer available dam sites, high evaporative losses from surface storages, and lower costs compared with alternatives where the conditions are favorable, including water treatment. Water quality improvements during aquifer storage are increasingly being documented at demonstration sites and more recently, full-scale operational urban schemes. This growing body of knowledge allows more confidence in understanding the potential role of aquifers in water treatment for regulators. In urban areas, confined aquifers provide better protection for waters recharged via wells to supplement potable water supplies. However, unconfined aquifers may generally be used for nonpotable purposes to substitute for municipal water supplies and, in some cases, provide adequate protection for recovery as potable water. The barriers to MAR adoption as part of sustainable urban water management include lack of awareness of recent developments and a lack of transparency in costs, but most importantly the often fragmented nature of urban water resources and environmental management.

  20. Water Management Strategies against Water Shortage in the Alps (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Jong, C.

    2009-12-01

    In the European Alps water has been perceived as ubiquitous and not the subject of management. Climate change and anthropogenic pressures have changed demand and supply relations rapidly and over the last 10 years, water problems have increasingly become apparent over temporal and spatial hotspots. Stakeholders in the Alpine Space have been confronted with water management problems in agriculture, tourism and hydropower to such an extent that they approached scientists to create solution strategies based on adaptation and mitigation. In this context, Alp-Water-Scarce, a European project on Water Management Strategies against Water Scarcity in the Alps was funded by the Alpine Space programme as part of the "European Territorial Cooperation" scheme. It has 17 project partners from Austria Switzerland, France, Italy and Slovenia from local governments, provinces, federal institutes and offices, universities, regional agencies, alpine societies, geological surveys, and chambers of agriculture and forestry. The Lead Partner is the Mountain Institute in Savoy, Rhone-Alpes, France. The main challenges of this project are to create local Early Warning Systems against Water Scarcity in the Alps. This system is based on strengthening existing long-term monitoring and modeling and creating new measuring networks in those countries where they do not yet exist. It is anchored strongly and actively within a Stakeholder Interaction Forum linked across comparative and contrasting regions across the Alps. The Early Warning System is based on the linkage and improvement of field monitoring and assemblage of qualitative and quantitative data derived both from natural water reservoirs as well as from anthropogenic water use in 28 selected pilot regions selected in France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Switzerland. The objectives are to improve water management at the short term (annual scale) and long term (using future scenarios) based on modelling and application of climate change

  1. WaterOnto: Ontology of Context-Aware Grid-Based Riverine Water Management System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Hussain Mughal

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The management of riverine water always remains a big challenge, because the volatility of water flow creates hurdles to determine the exact time and quantity of water flowing in rivers and available for daily use. The volatile water caused by various water sources and irregular flow pattern generates different kinds of challenges for management. Distribution of flow of water in irrigation network affects the relevant community in either way. In the monsoon seasons, river belt community high risk of flood, while far living community suffering drought. Contemplating this situation, we have developed an ontology for context-aware information representation of riverine water management system abetting the visualization and proactive planning for the complex real-time situation. The purpose of this WaterOnto is to improve river water management and enable for efficient use of this precious natural resource. This would also be helpful to save the extra water being discharged in sea & non-irrigational areas, and magnitude and location of water leakage. We conceptualized stakeholder and relevant entities. We developed a taxonomy of irrigation system concepts in machine process able structure. Being woven these hierarchies together we developed a detailed conceptualization of river flow that helps us to manage the flow of water and enable to extract danger situation.

  2. Isotope Hydrology: Understanding and Managing Water Resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madsen, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Development is intricately linked to water whether concerning issues of health, food and agriculture, sanitation, the environment, industry, or energy. The IAEA, through its Water Resources Programme provides its Member States with science-based information and technical skills to improve understanding and management of their water resources

  3. Water management for a megacity: Mexico City Metropolitan Area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tortajada, Cecilia; Castelán, Enrique

    2003-03-01

    The paper presents an overview of the present situation of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA). The analysis indicates an urgent need to radically improve the current water supply and wastewater management practices, to become sustainable. The MCMA is one of the most rapidly growing urban centers of the world, with a population of about 21 million people, a very high rate of immigration and numerous illegal settlements. In order to meet the increasing water demand, successive governments have focused almost exclusively on supply management and engineering solutions, which have resulted in investments of hundreds of millions of USD and the construction of major infrastructure projects for interbasin water transfer. Environmental, economic and social policies associated with water management are mostly inadequate and insufficient, which is resulting in increasing deterioration in the environment, health and socioeconomic conditions of a population living in one of the largest urban agglomerations of the world. Surprisingly, however, no long-term strategies on demand-management, reuse, conservation, and improved water-management practices have been developed so far.

  4. Towards improved hydrologic predictions using data assimilation techniques for water resource management at the continental scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naz, Bibi; Kurtz, Wolfgang; Kollet, Stefan; Hendricks Franssen, Harrie-Jan; Sharples, Wendy; Görgen, Klaus; Keune, Jessica; Kulkarni, Ketan

    2017-04-01

    More accurate and reliable hydrologic simulations are important for many applications such as water resource management, future water availability projections and predictions of extreme events. However, simulation of spatial and temporal variations in the critical water budget components such as precipitation, snow, evaporation and runoff is highly uncertain, due to errors in e.g. model structure and inputs (hydrologic parameters and forcings). In this study, we use data assimilation techniques to improve the predictability of continental-scale water fluxes using in-situ measurements along with remotely sensed information to improve hydrologic predications for water resource systems. The Community Land Model, version 3.5 (CLM) integrated with the Parallel Data Assimilation Framework (PDAF) was implemented at spatial resolution of 1/36 degree (3 km) over the European CORDEX domain. The modeling system was forced with a high-resolution reanalysis system COSMO-REA6 from Hans-Ertel Centre for Weather Research (HErZ) and ERA-Interim datasets for time period of 1994-2014. A series of data assimilation experiments were conducted to assess the efficiency of assimilation of various observations, such as river discharge data, remotely sensed soil moisture, terrestrial water storage and snow measurements into the CLM-PDAF at regional to continental scales. This setup not only allows to quantify uncertainties, but also improves streamflow predictions by updating simultaneously model states and parameters utilizing observational information. The results from different regions, watershed sizes, spatial resolutions and timescales are compared and discussed in this study.

  5. Real-Time Water Quality Management in the Grassland Water District

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quinn, Nigel W.T.; Hanna, W. Mark; Hanlon, Jeremy S.; Burns, Josphine R.; Taylor, Christophe M.; Marciochi, Don; Lower, Scott; Woodruff, Veronica; Wright, Diane; Poole, Tim

    2004-12-10

    The purpose of the research project was to advance the concept of real-time water quality management in the San Joaquin Basin by developing an application to drainage of seasonal wetlands in the Grassland Water District. Real-time water quality management is defined as the coordination of reservoir releases, return flows and river diversions to improve water quality conditions in the San Joaquin River and ensure compliance with State water quality objectives. Real-time water quality management is achieved through information exchange and cooperation between shakeholders who contribute or withdraw flow and salt load to or from the San Joaquin River. This project complements a larger scale project that was undertaken by members of the Water Quality Subcommittee of the San Joaquin River Management Program (SJRMP) and which produced forecasts of flow, salt load and San Joaquin River assimilative capacity between 1999 and 2003. These forecasts can help those entities exporting salt load to the River to develop salt load targets as a mechanism for improving compliance with salinity objectives. The mass balance model developed by this project is the decision support tool that helps to establish these salt load targets. A second important outcome of this project was the development and application of a methodology for assessing potential impacts of real-time wetland salinity management. Drawdown schedules are typically tied to weather conditions and are optimized in traditional practices to maximize food sources for over-wintering wildfowl as well as providing a biological control (through germination temperature) of undesirable weeds that compete with the more proteinaceous moist soil plants such as swamp timothy, watergrass and smartweed. This methodology combines high resolution remote sensing, ground-truthing vegetation surveys using established survey protocols and soil salinity mapping using rapid, automated electromagnetic sensor technology. This survey methodology

  6. Challenges of Integrated Water Resources Management in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamad Ali Fulazzaky

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The increased demands for water and land in Indonesia as a consequence of the population growth and economic development has reportedly have been accelerated from the year to year. The spatial and temporal variability of human induced hydrological changes in a river basin could affect quality and quantity of water. The challenge is that integrated water resources management (IWRM should cope with complex issues of water in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner, without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. Even though the government of Indonesia has adopted new paradigm for water resources management by the enactment of Law No. 7/2004 on water resources, the implementation of IWRM may face the technical and managerial challenges. This paper briefly reviews the implementation of IWRM and related principles and provides an overview of potential water-related issues and progress towards implementation of IWRM in Indonesia. The availability of water and a broader range of water-related issues are identified. The recommended actions for improving the future IWRM are suggested. Challenges to improve the capacity buildings of IWRM related to enabling environment, institutional frameworks and management instruments are verified to contribute to the future directions for efficient problem-solving ability.

  7. Water quality and management of private drinking water wells in Pennsylvania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swistock, Bryan R; Clemens, Stephanie; Sharpe, William E; Rummel, Shawn

    2013-01-01

    Pennsylvania has over three million rural residents using private water wells for drinking water supplies but is one of the few states that lack statewide water well construction or management standards. The study described in this article aimed to determine the prevalence and causes of common health-based pollutants in water wells and evaluate the need for regulatory management along with voluntary educational programs. Water samples were collected throughout Pennsylvania by Master Well Owner Network volunteers trained by Penn State Extension. Approximately 40% of the 701 water wells sampled failed at least one health-based drinking water standard. The prevalence of most water quality problems was similar to past studies although both lead and nitrate-N were reduced over the last 20 years. The authors' study suggests that statewide water well construction standards along with routine water testing and educational programs to assist water well owners would result in improved drinking water quality for private well owners in Pennsylvania.

  8. Water management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1996-01-01

    Manitoba Hydro's efforts to maximize production efficiency while meeting safety and environmental concerns regarding water management were discussed. The four-step dam safety program was outlined, consisting of inspection, repairs and improvements, flooding studies, and emergency preparedness plans. An oil spill which occurred in 1995 on the Nelson River after a transformer at the Kettle Generating Station failed, was described. A boom was used to contain the oil, and a skimmer unit was used to remove oil and soot from the surface of the water. Manitoba Hydro is also conducting studies to find ways to protect the generating stations from zebra mussels, and precautions are being taken to prevent old lead-based paint from reaching the Winnipeg River. It was noted that the drought which hit northern Manitoba during the spring and summer of 1995 reduced the water supplies to the lowest levels ever recorded at the Churchill River Diversion. 2 figs

  9. Water management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-31

    Manitoba Hydro`s efforts to maximize production efficiency while meeting safety and environmental concerns regarding water management were discussed. The four-step dam safety program was outlined, consisting of inspection, repairs and improvements, flooding studies, and emergency preparedness plans. An oil spill which occurred in 1995 on the Nelson River after a transformer at the Kettle Generating Station failed, was described. A boom was used to contain the oil, and a skimmer unit was used to remove oil and soot from the surface of the water. Manitoba Hydro is also conducting studies to find ways to protect the generating stations from zebra mussels, and precautions are being taken to prevent old lead-based paint from reaching the Winnipeg River. It was noted that the drought which hit northern Manitoba during the spring and summer of 1995 reduced the water supplies to the lowest levels ever recorded at the Churchill River Diversion. 2 figs.

  10. Strengthening Connections between Dendrohydrology and Water Management in the Mediterranean Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touchan, R.; Freitas, R. J.

    2017-12-01

    Dendrochronology can provide the knowledge upon which to base sound decisions for water resources. In general, water managers are limited to using short continuous instrumental records for forecasting streamflows and reservoir levels. Longer hydrological records are required. Proxy data such as annual tree-ring growth provide us with knowledge of the past frequency and severity of climatic anomalies, such as drought and wet periods, and can be used to improve probability calculations of future events. By improving probability input to these plans, water managers can use this information for water allocations, water conservation measures, and water efficiency methods. Accurate planning is critical in water deficit regions with histories of conflict over land and limited water. Here, we link the science of dendrohydrology with water management, and identify appropriate forums for scientists, policy decision makers, and water managers to collaborate in translating science into effective actions anticipating extreme events, such drought or floods. We will present examples of several dendrohydrological reconstructions from the eastern Mediterranean and North Africa as input for water management plans. Different disciplines are needed to work together, and we identify possible mechanisms to collaborate in order to reach this crucial necessity to use scarce water wisely.

  11. Improvement of ground water management and protection through the use of isotope and Nuclear Techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Samad, O.

    2009-01-01

    To establish nuclear techniques for the study and management of water resources including technology transfer; to develop a national strategy for the use of isotope techniques in water management and development studies; to develop a water mangement framework; to solve problems related to water shortage, overexploitation, management and rapid quality deterioration; to evaluate the sources, recharge rates and renewal of ground water reservoires; to resolve the problems of mixed aquifers, the quantity of mixing and the exchange reactions between groundwater reservoirs and their matrix; to strengthen the role of the CNRS within national instituions and water authorities. (author)

  12. Cover Crops for Managing Stream Water Quantity and Improving Stream Water Quality of Non-Tile Drained Paired Watersheds

    OpenAIRE

    Gurbir Singh; Jon E. Schoonover; Karl W. J. Williard

    2018-01-01

    In the Midwestern United States, cover crops are being promoted as a best management practice for managing nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural fields through surface and subsurface water movement. To date, the water quality benefits of cover crops have been inferred primarily from plot scale studies. This project is one of the first to analyze the impacts of cover crops on stream water quality at the watershed scale. The objective of this research was to evaluate nitrogen, phosphor...

  13. Evaluation of Water Rights to Reveal Hidden Patterns and Trends in Water Resources Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grantham, T.; Viers, J. H.

    2013-12-01

    describe how this effort can improve reporting and processing of, and access to, state water rights data for improved decision-making and management of water resources.

  14. A Study on an efficient management system, proper investment, and cost sharing for improving the quality of water in water system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moon, Hyun Joo [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

    1998-12-01

    With the overall prospects on water quality management in water system, the problems on policy and implementation, investment and cost sharing were analyzed. Considering water system, a scheme for the rationalization of management policy and financial supply was presented. Also, based on the analysis on problem of present management structure, the rationalizing plan of management structure and organization was provided. 30 refs., 2 figs., 31 tabs.

  15. Technology developments for improved tritium management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, J.M.; Spagnolo, D.A.

    1994-06-01

    Tritium technology developments have been an integral part of the advancement of CANDU reactor technology. An understanding of tritium behaviour within the heavy-water systems has led to improvements in tritium recovery processes, tritium measurement techniques and overall tritium control. Detritiation technology has been put in place as part of heavy water and tritium management practices. The advances made in these technologies are summarized. (author). 20 refs., 5 figs

  16. Urban water sustainability: an integrative framework for regional water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzales, P.; Ajami, N. K.

    2015-11-01

    Traditional urban water supply portfolios have proven to be unsustainable under the uncertainties associated with growth and long-term climate variability. Introducing alternative water supplies such as recycled water, captured runoff, desalination, as well as demand management strategies such as conservation and efficiency measures, has been widely proposed to address the long-term sustainability of urban water resources. Collaborative efforts have the potential to achieve this goal through more efficient use of common pool resources and access to funding opportunities for supply diversification projects. However, this requires a paradigm shift towards holistic solutions that address the complexity of hydrologic, socio-economic and governance dynamics surrounding water management issues. The objective of this work is to develop a regional integrative framework for the assessment of water resource sustainability under current management practices, as well as to identify opportunities for sustainability improvement in coupled socio-hydrologic systems. We define the sustainability of a water utility as the ability to access reliable supplies to consistently satisfy current needs, make responsible use of supplies, and have the capacity to adapt to future scenarios. To compute a quantitative measure of sustainability, we develop a numerical index comprised of supply, demand, and adaptive capacity indicators, including an innovative way to account for the importance of having diverse supply sources. We demonstrate the application of this framework to the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Our analyses demonstrate that water agencies that share common water supplies are in a good position to establish integrative regional management partnerships in order to achieve individual and collective short-term and long-term benefits.

  17. Water Quality Management of Beijing in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2000-01-01

    At present, Beijing's water resources are insufficient and will become the limiting factor for sustainable development for the city in the near future. Although efforts have been made to control pollution, water quality degradation has occurred in some of the important surface water supplies, aggravating the water resource shortage. At present, approximately three quarters of the city's wastewater is discharged untreated into the urban river system, resulting in serious pollution and negatively influencing the urban landscape and quality of daily life. To counteract these measures, the city has implemented a comprehensive "Water Quality Management Plan" for the region, encompassing water pollution control, prevention of water body degradation, and improved water quality.The construction of municipal wastewater treatment plants is recognised as fundamental to controlling water pollution, and full secondary treatment is planned to be in place by the year 2015. Significant work is also required to expand the service area of the municipal sewage system and to upgrade and renovate the older sewer systems. The limitation on available water resources has also seen the emphasis shift to low water using industries and improved water conservation. Whilst industrial output has increased steadily over the past 10-15 years at around 10% per annum, industrial water usage has remained relatively constant. Part of the city's water quality management plan has been to introduce a strict discharge permit system, encouraging many industries to install on-site treatment facilities.

  18. A Comprehensive plan of improving water quality considering water system - concentrated on a basin of the Han River

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Jee Yong; Moon, Hyun Joo; Yum, Kyu Jin; Kim, Eun Jung; Lee, Young Soon; Kim, Kang Suk; Lee, Chang Hee; Shin, Eun Sung; Kim, Jee Hoon [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

    1998-12-01

    The contents of this study are following: reviewing the present policy on land use in basin to improve the water quality of water supply source in Paldang and so on; improvement policy on land use in basin; management scheme of pollutant into Paldang; the variety and quantity of toxic substances, a control of particular pollutant; management of polluted deposit in Paldang; the control of efficient environment investment in upper stream of Paldang; financial assistance for damaged region; and purchasing land of sensitivity region for protecting water supply. 32 refs., 13 figs., 124 tabs.

  19. The Vistula River and water management in agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janusz Szablowski

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This article attempts to show how much in agriculture depends on appropriate water resources. The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship is exposed to a significant deficiency of water resources. In addition, it experiences severe droughts, repeating in the period 1951–2006 on average every two years. The Vistula River flowing across the Voivodeship creates great chances for improved management conditions. These opportunities have been discussed on the example of investments, developed concepts of surface water management, agricultural irrigation programme and the opportunity of using the water resources of a planned second reservoir on the Vistula River below Włocławek.

  20. SuDS for managing surface water in Diepsloot informal settlement ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) imitate natural water management processes in catchments that have been degraded due to urbanisation. The aim is to reduce the quantity of stormwater runoff and improve water quality. Management of rainwater in the informal settlement of Diepsloot in Johannesburg is ...

  1. Small Water System Management Program: 100 K Area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunacek, G.S. Jr.

    1995-01-01

    Purposes of this document are: to provide an overview of the service and potable water system presently in service at the Hanford Site's 100 K Area; to provide future system forecasts based on anticipated DOE activities and programs; to delineate performance, design, and operations criteria; and to describe planned improvements. The objective of the small water system management program is to assure the water system is properly and reliably managed and operated, and continues to exist as a functional and viable entity in accordance with WAC 246-290-410

  2. Argentine development of the ARCAL RLA/1/010 Project on the improvement of the regional management of the pollution of water bodies contaminated by metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cicerone, Daniel S.; Sanchez Proano, Paula; Magallanes, Jorge F.; Nader, Gonzalo

    2008-01-01

    The countries of the Latin American region face the challenge of an adequate management of their water resources in order to satisfy not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively its different uses: irrigation, stock breeding, industrial, rural and municipal supply and recreational. The regional ARCAL project RLA/1/010, according to international recommendations (PAHO and WHO), set out to contribute to the improvement of the management of the water quality of surface water bodies. (author) [es

  3. Management of the water balance and quality in mining areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasanen, Antti; Krogerus, Kirsti; Mroueh, Ulla-Maija; Turunen, Kaisa; Backnäs, Soile; Vento, Tiia; Veijalainen, Noora; Hentinen, Kimmo; Korkealaakso, Juhani

    2015-04-01

    Although mining companies have long been conscious of water related risks they still face environmental management problems. These problems mainly emerge because mine sites' water balances have not been adequately assessed in the stage of the planning of mines. More consistent approach is required to help mining companies identify risks and opportunities related to the management of water resources in all stages of mining. This approach requires that the water cycle of a mine site is interconnected with the general hydrologic water cycle. In addition to knowledge on hydrological conditions, the control of the water balance in the mining processes require knowledge of mining processes, the ability to adjust process parameters to variable hydrological conditions, adaptation of suitable water management tools and systems, systematic monitoring of amounts and quality of water, adequate capacity in water management infrastructure to handle the variable water flows, best practices to assess the dispersion, mixing and dilution of mine water and pollutant loading to receiving water bodies, and dewatering and separation of water from tailing and precipitates. WaterSmart project aims to improve the awareness of actual quantities of water, and water balances in mine areas to improve the forecasting and the management of the water volumes. The study is executed through hydrogeological and hydrological surveys and online monitoring procedures. One of the aims is to exploit on-line water quantity and quality monitoring for the better management of the water balances. The target is to develop a practical and end-user-specific on-line input and output procedures. The second objective is to develop mathematical models to calculate combined water balances including the surface, ground and process waters. WSFS, the Hydrological Modeling and Forecasting System of SYKE is being modified for mining areas. New modelling tools are developed on spreadsheet and system dynamics platforms to

  4. Towards sustainable water management in Algeria

    KAUST Repository

    Drouiche, Nadjib

    2012-12-01

    Algeria aspires to protect its water resources and to provide a sustainable answer to water supply and management issues by carrying out a national water plan. This program is in line with all projects the Algerian Government is implementing to improve its water sector performance. The water strategy focuses on desalination for the coastal cities, medium-sized dams to irrigate the inland mountains and high plateau, and ambitious water transfer projects interconnecting Algeria\\'s 65 dams to bring water to water scarce parts of the country. Waste water treatment and water reclamation technologies are also highly sought after. The main objective of the country\\'s water policy consists on providing sufficient potable water for the population supply. This objective is undertaken by increasing the water resources and availability. © 2012 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.

  5. Water Utility Management Strategies in Turkey: The current situation and the challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alp, E.; Aksoy, M. N.; Koçer, B.

    2013-12-01

    As the effects of climate change becomes more prominent, current challenges related to water and wastewater management is becoming more serious. Providing water that satisfies environmental and safety standards in terms of quantity and quality is needed to maintain human life without compromising the need of future generations. Besides providing safe and affordable water, necessary treatment should be achieved according to several important factors such as receiving body standards, discharge standards, water reuse options. Therefore, management of water becomes more crucial than ever that states have to provide accessibility of safe water with affordable cost to its citizens with the means of effective utility management, including water treatment facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, water supply facilities and water distribution systems. Water utilities encounter with several challenges related to cost, infrastructure, population, legislation, workforce and resource. This study aims to determine the current situation and the necessary strategies to improve utility management in Turkish municipalities in a sustainable manner. US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has formed a tool on effective utility management that assists utilities to provide a solution for both current and future challenges. In this study, we used EPA's guidelines and developed a survey consists of 60 questions under 10 sub-topics (Product Quality, Employee & Leadership Development, Stakeholder Understanding & Support, Operational Optimization, Infrastructure Stability, Financial Viability, Community Sustainability, Customer Satisfaction, Operational Resiliency, and Water Resource Adequacy). This survey was sent to the managers of 25 metropolitan municipalities in Turkey to assess the current condition of municipalities. After the evaluation of the survey results for each topic, including the importance given by managers, facilities were rated according to their level of achievement

  6. Estimation of crop water requirements using remote sensing for operational water resources management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasiliades, Lampros; Spiliotopoulos, Marios; Tzabiras, John; Loukas, Athanasios; Mylopoulos, Nikitas

    2015-06-01

    An integrated modeling system, developed in the framework of "Hydromentor" research project, is applied to evaluate crop water requirements for operational water resources management at Lake Karla watershed, Greece. The framework includes coupled components for operation of hydrotechnical projects (reservoir operation and irrigation works) and estimation of agricultural water demands at several spatial scales using remote sensing. The study area was sub-divided into irrigation zones based on land use maps derived from Landsat 5 TM images for the year 2007. Satellite-based energy balance for mapping evapotranspiration with internalized calibration (METRIC) was used to derive actual evapotranspiration (ET) and crop coefficient (ETrF) values from Landsat TM imagery. Agricultural water needs were estimated using the FAO method for each zone and each control node of the system for a number of water resources management strategies. Two operational strategies of hydro-technical project development (present situation without operation of the reservoir and future situation with the operation of the reservoir) are coupled with three water demand strategies. In total, eight (8) water management strategies are evaluated and compared. The results show that, under the existing operational water resources management strategies, the crop water requirements are quite large. However, the operation of the proposed hydro-technical projects in Lake Karla watershed coupled with water demand management measures, like improvement of existing water distribution systems, change of irrigation methods, and changes of crop cultivation could alleviate the problem and lead to sustainable and ecological use of water resources in the study area.

  7. Drinking Water Management and Governance in Canada: An Innovative Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Framework for a Safe Drinking Water Supply

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bereskie, Ty; Rodriguez, Manuel J.; Sadiq, Rehan

    2017-08-01

    Drinking water management in Canada is complex, with a decentralized, three-tiered governance structure responsible for safe drinking water throughout the country. The current approach has been described as fragmented, leading to governance gaps, duplication of efforts, and an absence of accountability and enforcement. Although there have been no major waterborne disease outbreaks in Canada since 2001, a lack of performance improvement, especially in small drinking water systems, is evident. The World Health Organization water safety plan approach for drinking water management represents an alternative preventative management framework to the current conventional, reactive drinking water management strategies. This approach has seen successful implementation throughout the world and has the potential to address many of the issues with drinking water management in Canada. This paper presents a review and strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats analysis of drinking water management and governance in Canada at the federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal levels. Based on this analysis, a modified water safety plan (defined as the plan-do-check-act (PDCA)-WSP framework) is proposed, established from water safety plan recommendations and the principles of PDCA for continuous performance improvement. This proposed framework is designed to strengthen current drinking water management in Canada and is designed to fit within and incorporate the existing governance structure.

  8. Drinking Water Management and Governance in Canada: An Innovative Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Framework for a Safe Drinking Water Supply.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bereskie, Ty; Rodriguez, Manuel J; Sadiq, Rehan

    2017-08-01

    Drinking water management in Canada is complex, with a decentralized, three-tiered governance structure responsible for safe drinking water throughout the country. The current approach has been described as fragmented, leading to governance gaps, duplication of efforts, and an absence of accountability and enforcement. Although there have been no major waterborne disease outbreaks in Canada since 2001, a lack of performance improvement, especially in small drinking water systems, is evident. The World Health Organization water safety plan approach for drinking water management represents an alternative preventative management framework to the current conventional, reactive drinking water management strategies. This approach has seen successful implementation throughout the world and has the potential to address many of the issues with drinking water management in Canada. This paper presents a review and strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats analysis of drinking water management and governance in Canada at the federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal levels. Based on this analysis, a modified water safety plan (defined as the plan-do-check-act (PDCA)-WSP framework) is proposed, established from water safety plan recommendations and the principles of PDCA for continuous performance improvement. This proposed framework is designed to strengthen current drinking water management in Canada and is designed to fit within and incorporate the existing governance structure.

  9. Evaluating an ecosystem management approach for improving water quality in two contrasting study catchments in south-west England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glendell, Miriam; Brazier, Richard

    2014-05-01

    The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000 established a new emphasis for the management of freshwaters by establishing ecologically-based water quality targets that are to be achieved through holistic, catchment-scale, ecosystem management approaches. However, significant knowledge gaps still exist in the understanding of the cumulative effectiveness of multiple mitigation measures on a number of pollutants at a catchment scale. This research furthers the understanding of the effectiveness of an ecosystem management approach to deliver catchment-scale water quality improvements in two contrasting study catchments in south-west England: the lowland agricultural Aller and the upland semi-natural Horner Water. Characterisation of the spatial variability of soil properties (bulk density, total carbon, nitrogen, C:N ratio, stable isotope δ15N, total, organic and inorganic phosphorus) in the two study catchments demonstrated extensive alteration of soil properties in the agricultural catchment, with likely long-term implications for the restoration of ecosystem functioning and water quality management (Glendell et al., 2014b). Further, the agricultural catchment supported a proportionally greater total fluvial carbon (dissolved and particulate) export than the semi-natural catchment. During an eight month period for which a comparable continuous turbidity record was available, the estimated SS yields from the agricultural catchment (25.5-116.2 t km-2) were higher than from the semi-natural catchment (21.7-57.8 t km-2). In addition, the agricultural catchment exported proportionally more TPC (0.51-2.59 kg mm-1) than the semi-natural catchment (0.36-0.97 kg mm-1) and a similar amount of DOC (0.26-0.52 kg mm-1 in the Aller and 0.24-0.32 kg mm-1 in Horner Water), when normalised by catchment area and total discharge, despite the lower total soil carbon pool, thus indicating an enhanced fluvial loss of sediment and carbon (Glendell and Brazier, in review). Whilst

  10. Developing Sustainable Spacecraft Water Management Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Evan A.; Klaus, David M.

    2009-01-01

    It is well recognized that water handling systems used in a spacecraft are prone to failure caused by biofouling and mineral scaling, which can clog mechanical systems and degrade the performance of capillary-based technologies. Long duration spaceflight applications, such as extended stays at a Lunar Outpost or during a Mars transit mission, will increasingly benefit from hardware that is generally more robust and operationally sustainable overtime. This paper presents potential design and testing considerations for improving the reliability of water handling technologies for exploration spacecraft. Our application of interest is to devise a spacecraft wastewater management system wherein fouling can be accommodated by design attributes of the management hardware, rather than implementing some means of preventing its occurrence.

  11. Sustainable Water Infrastructure Asset Management: A Gap Analysis of Customer and Service Provider Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangjong Han

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The ultimate goal of urban water infrastructure asset management may be sustainable water supply with satisfaction for customers. In this work, we attempted to evaluate the gaps between the perspectives of customers and service providers in Korea’s water infrastructure asset management. To evaluate the customers’ perspective, a hierarchical questionnaire survey was conducted to estimate the weights of influence for six customer values and their attributes on Korean water utility management. To evaluate the service providers’ perspective, an AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process analysis was performed to estimate the weights of influence for the customer values and their PIs (performance indicators. The gap analysis results show that customers place higher value on customer service satisfaction (emotion and information than do the service providers (managers, whereas the managers place more value on affordability than do the customers. The findings from this work imply that improving customer service is effective in satisfying the desirable water LOS (level of service for customers. Recommendations have also been provided for administrators and engineers to develop integrated decision-making systems that can reflect customer needs regarding the improvement of their water infrastructure asset management. The findings from this work may be helpful for the Korean government and water supply utilities in improving the sustainability of their water infrastructure asset management.

  12. Water resources management strategy for Pakistan in case of nuclear disaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, A.M.

    1990-01-01

    In Pakistan, no management strategy existed for combating major disasters. A nuclear disaster involves the emission of insidious radiations which can cause different cancers if ingested with water. The water supplies in Pakistan are managed by local water boards or Water and Power Development Authority. A plant called Karachi Emergency Relief Plant (KERP) has been formulated for overcoming natural and nuclear disasters in Karachi. This plan does not consider the radioactive pollution of water supplies separately. It can be made more effective with certain improvements and used as a model for managing nuclear disasters in other cities of Pakistan. (author)

  13. FAO/IAEA Training Course on Integrated Nutrient-Water Management at Field and Area-wide Scale, 19 May–27 June 2014, Seibersdorf, Austria [Activities of the Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Seibersdorf

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wahbi, Ammar; Weltin, Georg; Dercon, Gerd [Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Seibersdorf (Austria); others, and

    2014-07-15

    The main focus of the training course was on: (i) improving nutrient management in rainfed and irrigated agriculture, (ii) monitoring nutrient balances and water use efficiency at the field scale, (iii) increasing the efficiency of water management in rainfed and irrigated agriculture at field and area-wide scales, (iv) monitoring soil moisture at both field and area-wide scales, (v) assessing soil water balance and crop water relations, and (vi) training on the use of FAAO’s AquaCrop model to improve soil water management and irrigation scheduling.

  14. FAO/IAEA Training Course on Integrated Nutrient-Water Management at Field and Area-wide Scale, 19 May–27 June 2014, Seibersdorf, Austria [Activities of the Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Seibersdorf

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahbi, Ammar; Weltin, Georg; Dercon, Gerd

    2014-01-01

    The main focus of the training course was on: (i) improving nutrient management in rainfed and irrigated agriculture, (ii) monitoring nutrient balances and water use efficiency at the field scale, (iii) increasing the efficiency of water management in rainfed and irrigated agriculture at field and area-wide scales, (iv) monitoring soil moisture at both field and area-wide scales, (v) assessing soil water balance and crop water relations, and (vi) training on the use of FAAO’s AquaCrop model to improve soil water management and irrigation scheduling

  15. Water quality management for Lake Mariout

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Donia

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A hydrodynamic and water quality model was used to study the current status of the Lake Mariout subject to the pollution loadings from the agricultural drains and the point sources discharging directly to the Lake. The basic water quality modelling component simulates the main water quality parameters including the oxygen compounds (BOD, COD, DO, nutrients compounds (NH4, TN, TP, and finally the temperature, salinity and inorganic matter. Many scenarios have been conducted to improve the circulation and the water quality in the lake and to assess the spreading and mixing of the discharge effluents and its impact on the water quality of the main basin. Several pilot interventions were applied through the model in the Lake Mariout together with the upgrades of the East and West Waste Water Treatment Plants in order to achieve at least 5% reduction in the pollution loads entering the Mediterranean Sea through Lake Mariout in order to improve the institutional mechanisms for sustainable coastal zone management in Alexandria in particular to reduce land-based pollution to the Mediterranean Sea.

  16. Inexact nonlinear improved fuzzy chance-constrained programming model for irrigation water management under uncertainty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chenglong; Zhang, Fan; Guo, Shanshan; Liu, Xiao; Guo, Ping

    2018-01-01

    An inexact nonlinear mλ-measure fuzzy chance-constrained programming (INMFCCP) model is developed for irrigation water allocation under uncertainty. Techniques of inexact quadratic programming (IQP), mλ-measure, and fuzzy chance-constrained programming (FCCP) are integrated into a general optimization framework. The INMFCCP model can deal with not only nonlinearities in the objective function, but also uncertainties presented as discrete intervals in the objective function, variables and left-hand side constraints and fuzziness in the right-hand side constraints. Moreover, this model improves upon the conventional fuzzy chance-constrained programming by introducing a linear combination of possibility measure and necessity measure with varying preference parameters. To demonstrate its applicability, the model is then applied to a case study in the middle reaches of Heihe River Basin, northwest China. An interval regression analysis method is used to obtain interval crop water production functions in the whole growth period under uncertainty. Therefore, more flexible solutions can be generated for optimal irrigation water allocation. The variation of results can be examined by giving different confidence levels and preference parameters. Besides, it can reflect interrelationships among system benefits, preference parameters, confidence levels and the corresponding risk levels. Comparison between interval crop water production functions and deterministic ones based on the developed INMFCCP model indicates that the former is capable of reflecting more complexities and uncertainties in practical application. These results can provide more reliable scientific basis for supporting irrigation water management in arid areas.

  17. RAINWATER MANAGEMENT AIMING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF URBAN SURFACE RUNOFF

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. HAIDU

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Rainwater Management Aiming to Improve the Quality of Urban Surface Runoff. Currently many urban areas experience the quality degradation of rooftop runoff and accumulated rainwater. The present study aims to estimate the volume of water draining from rooftops within an area of 0.68 km² in the municipality of Cluj-Napoca. The volume of water flowing from rooftops presents a beneficial alternative not only for collecting rainwater for later use, but also for reducing the volume of water and for improving surface runoff quality in urban areas. The procedure was based on the Michel Simplified SCS-CN model, a derived variant of the most popular hydrological model, the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN. The results of the applied method reveal that the highest rooftop runoff water values correspond to the summer months, these being based on daily rainfall data. Estimating the volume of water draining from rooftops for future harvesting is an important step in the sustainable management of rainwater in urban areas and in improving water quality.

  18. Improving Knowledge Management and Utilization of Research ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    They are extremely vulnerable, and they have to cope with few resources, poor health, ... and improve research implementation approaches and instruments through ... The project's long-term aim is to contribute to integrated policies that link health, ... IWRA/IDRC webinar on climate change and adaptive water management.

  19. Hanford site ground water protection management plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-10-01

    Ground water protection at the Hanford Site consists of preventative and remedial measures that are implemented in compliance with a variety of environmental regulations at local, state, and federal levels. These measures seek to ensure that the resource can sustain a broad range of beneficial uses. To effectively coordinate and ensure compliance with applicable regulations, the U.S. Department of Energy has issued DOE Order 5400.1 (DOE 1988a). This order requires all U.S. Department of Energy facilities to prepare separate ground water protection program descriptions and plans. This document describes the Ground Water Protection Management Plan (GPMP) for the Hanford Site located in the state of Washington. DOE Order 5400.1 specifies that the GPMP covers the following general topical areas: (1) documentation of the ground water regime; (2) design and implementation of a ground water monitoring program to support resource management and comply with applicable laws and regulations; (3) a management program for ground water protection and remediation; (4) a summary and identification of areas that may be contaminated with hazardous waste; (5) strategies for controlling hazardous waste sources; (6) a remedial action program; and (7) decontamination, decommissioning, and related remedial action requirements. Many of the above elements are currently covered by existing programs at the Hanford Site; thus, one of the primary purposes of this document is to provide a framework for coordination of existing ground water protection activities. The GPMP provides the ground water protection policy and strategies for ground water protection/management at the Hanford Site, as well as an implementation plan to improve coordination of site ground water activities

  20. The nexus between integrated natural resources management and integrated water resources management in southern Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twomlow, Stephen; Love, David; Walker, Sue

    The low productivity of smallholder farming systems and enterprises in the drier areas of the developing world can be attributed mainly to the limited resources of farming households and the application of inappropriate skills and practices that can lead to the degradation of the natural resource base. This lack of development, particularly in southern Africa, is of growing concern from both an agricultural and environmental perspective. To address this lack of progress, two development paradigms that improve land and water productivity have evolved, somewhat independently, from different scientific constituencies. One championed by the International Agricultural Research constituency is Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM), whilst the second championed predominantly by Environmental and Civil Engineering constituencies is Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). As a result of similar objectives of working towards the millennium development goals of improved food security and environmental sustainability, there exists a nexus between the constituencies of the two paradigms, particularly in terms of appreciating the lessons learned. In this paper lessons are drawn from past INRM research that may have particular relevance to IWRM scientists as they re-direct their focus from blue water issues to green water issues, and vice-versa. Case studies are drawn from the management of water quality for irrigation, green water productivity and a convergence of INRM and IWRM in the management of gold panning in southern Zimbabwe. One point that is abundantly clear from both constituencies is that ‘one-size-fits-all’ or silver bullet solutions that are generally applicable for the enhancement of blue water management/formal irrigation simply do not exist for the smallholder rainfed systems.

  1. Improving Water Resources Management on Global and Region Scales - Evaluating Strategies for Water Futures with the IIASA's Community Water Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burek, P.; Kahil, T.; Satoh, Y.; Greve, P.; Byers, E.; Langan, S.; Wada, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Half of the planet's population is severely impacted by severe water issues including absent or unreliable water supply, sanitation, poor water quality, unmitigated floods and droughts, and degraded water environments. In recent years, global water security has been highlighted not only by the science community but also by business leaders as one of the greatest threats to sustainable human development for different generations. How can we ensure the well-being of people and ecosystems with limited water, technology and financial resources? To evaluate this, IIASA's Water Futures and Solutions Initiative (WFaS) is identifying a portfolios of robust and cost-effective options across different economic sectors including agriculture, energy, manufacturing, households, and environment and ecosystems. Options to increase water supply and accessibility are evaluated together with water demand management and water governance options. To test these solution-portfolios in order to obtain a clear picture of the opportunities but also of the risks and the trade-offs we have developed the Community Water Model (CWATM) which joins IIASA's integrated assessment modeling framework, coupling hydrology with hydro-economics (ECHO model), energy (MESSAGE model) and land use (GLOBIOM model). CWATM has been developed to work flexibly with varying spatial resolutions from global to regional levels. The model is open source and community-driven to promote our work amongst the wider water and other science community worldwide, with flexibility to link to other models and integrate newly developed modules such as water quality. In order to identify the solution portfolios, we present a global hotspots assessment of water-related risks with the ability to zoom in at regional scale using the example of the Lake Victoria basin in E. Africa. We show how socio-economic and climate change will alter spatial patterns of the hydrological cycle and have regional impacts on water availability. At

  2. The application of water poverty mapping in water management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles van der Vyver

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Water management has been carried out for many centuries wherever there has been a need to provide water to large numbers of people. Complex social norms have developed around water management and competing users have established political (governance and economic cooperative relationships. For example, community-managed irrigation schemes in Bali and the cloud-collection canals built by the Incas at Inca Pirca in Peru are examples of water management systems which still currently supply water to people (Sullivan et al., 2005. Water resources will steadily decline because of population growth, pollution and expected climate change (Hemson et al., 2008. It has been estimated that the global demand for water doubles approximately every two decades (Meyer, 2007 and that water will even become as expensive as oil in the future (Holland, 2005. “In the year 2000, global water use was twice as high as it was in 1960” (Clarke and King, 2004:19. Unfortunately this trend is expected to continue. The aim of this paper is to describe how water poverty mapping as a process can be used to assist the management of our already scarce water resources. It constructs a water poverty map after which it describes its application at various management levels. The research indicates that the mapping process can be used to obtain more accurate predictions, as well as to form part of the master plan and integrated development plan documents. Keywords: Water management, water poverty mapping Disciplines: Water management, geographical information systems (GIS, poverty studies, decision support

  3. Water footprint as a tool for integrated water resources management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldaya, Maite; Hoekstra, Arjen

    2010-05-01

    In a context where water resources are unevenly distributed and, in some regions precipitation and drought conditions are increasing, enhanced water management is a major challenge to final consumers, businesses, water resource users, water managers and policymakers in general. By linking a large range of sectors and issues, virtual water trade and water footprint analyses provide an appropriate framework to find potential solutions and contribute to a better management of water resources. The water footprint is an indicator of freshwater use that looks not only at direct water use of a consumer or producer, but also at the indirect water use. The water footprint of a product is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured over the full supply chain. It is a multi-dimensional indicator, showing water consumption volumes by source and polluted volumes by type of pollution; all components of a total water footprint are specified geographically and temporally. The water footprint breaks down into three components: the blue (volume of freshwater evaporated from surface or groundwater systems), green (water volume evaporated from rainwater stored in the soil as soil moisture) and grey water footprint (the volume of polluted water associated with the production of goods and services). Closely linked to the concept of water footprint is that of virtual water trade, which represents the amount of water embedded in traded products. Many nations save domestic water resources by importing water-intensive products and exporting commodities that are less water intensive. National water saving through the import of a product can imply saving water at a global level if the flow is from sites with high to sites with low water productivity. Virtual water trade between nations and even continents could thus be used as an instrument to improve global water use efficiency and to achieve water security in water-poor regions of the world. The virtual water trade

  4. Control options for river water quality improvement: a case study of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Using a simple conceptual dynamic river water quality model, the effects of different basin-wide water quality management options on downstream water quality improvements in a semi-arid river, the Crocodile River (South Africa) were investigated. When a river is impacted by high rates of freshwater withdrawal (in its ...

  5. Annual report of the project BDI 5001: Improving cassava productivity through mutation breeding and better water and nutrient management practices using nuclear techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2018-01-01

    Implementating the IAEA/BDI 5001 project, ISABU has conducted several activities in order to contribute to the food security improvement and farmers’ incomes. Cassava productivity was indeed improved through soil fertilization, mutation breeding, cassava in vitro mutagenesis, halding mutant populations and best water and nutrient management practices using nuclear techniques. Scientific visits, workshops and farmer field schools were organized for different associations in different regions of Burundi for exchange of experience and diseases limitation. The expected results were the soil fertility, a good water management and the increase of the capacity of cassava to resist diseases, which gives a good yield of cassava. High officials from Burundi and expert form IAEA visited the project, the constraint is the lack of irradiation facilities in the region and ISABU propose that IAEA should support national Institutes.

  6. Total Water Management - Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    There is a growing need for urban water managers to take a more holistic view of their water resource systems as population growth, urbanization, and current operations put different stresses on the environment and urban infrastructure. Total Water Management (TWM) is an approac...

  7. Soil water management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nielsen, D.R.; Cassel, D.K.

    1984-01-01

    The use of radiation and tracer techniques in investigations into soil water management in agriculture, hydrology etc. is described. These techniques include 1) neutron moisture gauges to monitor soil water content and soil water properties, 2) gamma radiation attenuation for measuring the total density of soil and soil water content, 3) beta radiation attenuation for measuring changes in the water status of crop plants and 4) radioactive and stable tracers for identifying pathways, reactions and retention times of the constituents in soils and groundwater aquifers. The number and spacing of soil observations that should be taken to represent the management unit are also considered. (U.K.)

  8. Corporatization as a means of improving water quality: the experience in Victoria, Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Narelle

    Factors including fragmentation, a lack of direction, poor accountability, poor water quality, and a sizable state government subsidy contributed to the rural water industry in Victoria, Australia, in 1993. In 1993 the state government set out parameters for reform to change the size, structure, performance, and culture of the water industry. The path taken was not privatization, but corporatization. Tools used included amalgamation of organizations; separating water provisions from local government; changing the composition and reporting mechanisms of the boards; establishing clear benchmarks and performance criteria; making information publicly available; and providing a commercial orientation. The outcomes of the reforms were to be a focus on water quality and effluent management. In 2001, 15 water authorities were in place. There were significant improvements in accountability, finances, and performance. The authorities provided information on performance to both the state and the public. Reductions of operating costs have been in the range of 20-35%, with savings put back into new infrastructure. Water quality has significantly improved in a number of parameters and effluent management has also improved. This paper describes the challenges faced before the reform process, the reforms initiated, and the outcomes. It argues that privatization is not the only path to improvement: Developing a corporate structure and accountability can also deliver substantial improvements.

  9. The Value of Advanced Smart Metering in the Management of Urban Water Supply Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guardiola, J.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Giuliani, M.; Castelletti, A.; Cominola, A.; Arregui de la Cruz, F.; Escriva-Bou, A.; Soriano, J.; Pérez, J. J.; Castillo, J.; Barba, J.; González, V.; Rizzoli, A. E.

    2016-12-01

    This work intends to outline the experience of the implementation and further exploitation of an extensive network of smart meters (SM) in the city of Valencia by Aguas de Valencia, the water utility that offers water supply and sanitation services to the city of Valencia and its metropolitan area. Valencia has become the first large city in Europe fully equipped with a point-to-point fixed network of SM (currently with more than 430,000 units, about 90% of the meters of the city). The shift towards a water supply management system based on SM is a complex process that entails changes and impacts on different management areas of the water supply organization. A new data management and processing platform has been developed and is already proving notable benefits in the operation of the system. For example, a tool allows to automatically issue and manage work orders when abnormalities such as internal leaks (constant consumption) or meter alarms are detected. Another tool has been developed to reduce levels of non-revenue water by continuously balancing supply and demand in district metered areas. Improving leak detection and adjusting pressure levels has significantly increased the efficiency of the water distribution network. Finally, a service of post-meter leak detection has been also implemented. But the SM also contribute to improve demand management. The customers now receive detailed information on their water consumption, valuable for improving household water management and assessing the value of water conservation strategies. SM are also key tools for improving the level of understanding of demand patterns. Users have been categorized into different clusters depending in their consumption patterns characteristics. Within the EU SmartH2O project, a high resolution and frequency monitoring of residential uses has been conducted in a selected sample of households for a precise disaggregation of residential end-uses. The disaggregation of end-uses allows for

  10. "Upstream Thinking": the catchment management approach of a water provider

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grand-Clement, E.; Ross, M.; Smith, D.; Anderson, K.; Luscombe, D.; Le Feuvre, N.; Brazier, R. E.

    2012-04-01

    Human activities have large impacts on water quality and provision. Water companies throughout the UK are faced with the consequences of poor land management and need to find appropriate solutions to decreasing water quality. This is particularly true in the South West of England, where 93% of the drinking water is sourced from rivers and reservoirs: large areas of drained peatlands (i.e. Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks) are responsible for a significant input of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) discolouring the water, whilst poorly managed farming activities can lead to diffuse pollution. Alongside the direct environmental implications, poor water quality is partly increasing water treatment costs and will drive significant future investment in additional water treatment, with further repercussions on customers. This highlights the need for water companies throughout the UK, and further afield, to be more involved in catchment management. "Upstream Thinking" is South West Water's (SWW) approach to catchment management, where working with stakeholders to improve water quality upstream aims to avoid increasingly costly solutions downstream. This approach has led the company to invest in two major areas of work: (1) The Farmland programme where problematic farm management practices and potential solutions are identified, typically 40% of the required investment is then offered in exchange for a legal undertaking to maintain the new farm assets in good condition for 25 years; (2) The Mires programme which involves heavy investment in peatland restoration through the blocking of open ditches in order to improve water storage and quality in the long term. From these two projects, it has been clear that stakeholder involvement of groups such as local farmers, the Westcountry Rivers Trust, the Exmoor National Park Authority, the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Exmoor Society is essential, first because it draws in catchment improvement expertise which is not

  11. Water management, agriculture, and ground-water supplies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nace, Raymond L.

    1960-01-01

    Southeastern States. Ground water is not completely 'self-renewing' because, where it is being mined, the reserve is being diminished and the reserve would be renewed only if pumping were stopped. Water is being mined at the rate of 5 million acre-feet per year in Arizona and 6 million in the High Plains of Texas. In contrast, water has been going into storage in the Snake River Plain of Idaho, where deep percolation from surface-water irrigation has added about 10 million acre-feet of storage since irrigation began. Situations in California illustrate problems of land subsidence resulting from pumping and use of water, and deterioration of ground-water reservoirs due to sea-water invasion. Much water development in the United States has been haphazard and rarely has there been integrated development of ground water and surface water. Competition is sharpening and new codes of water law are in the making. New laws, however, will not prevent the consequences of bad management. An important task for water management is to recognize the contingencies that may arise in the future and to prepare for them. The three most important tasks at hand are to make more efficient use of water, to develop improved quantitative evaluations of water supplies arid their quality, and to develop management practices which are based on scientific hydrology.

  12. Framework for continuous performance improvement in small drinking water systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bereskie, Ty; Haider, Husnain; Rodriguez, Manuel J; Sadiq, Rehan

    2017-01-01

    Continuous performance improvement (CPI) can be a useful approach to overcome water quality problems impacting small communities. Small drinking water systems (SDWSs) struggle to meet regulatory requirements and often lack the economic and human resource flexibility for immediate improvement. A CPI framework is developed to provide SDWS managers and operators an approach to gauge their current performance against similar systems and to track performance improvement from the implementation of the new technologies or innovations into the future. The proposed CPI framework incorporates the use of a water quality index (WQI) and functional performance benchmarking to evaluate and compare drinking water quality performance of an individual water utility against that of a representative benchmark. The results are then used to identify and prioritize the most vulnerable water quality indicators and subsequently identify and prioritize performance improvement strategies. The proposed CPI framework has been demonstrated using data collected from SDWSs in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada and using the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) WQI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Improved water management with the development of Snake Lake Reservoir

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kemp, P.; Miller, D.; Webber, J.

    1998-01-01

    The $10.3 million Snake Lake Reservoir which is located south of the TransCanada Highway between Bassano and Brooks, in Alberta, was completed in 1997. It provides 19.1 million cubic meters of storage to improve the water supply for the irrigation of 29,000 hectares of agricultural land in the Eastern Irrigation District. One of challenges that engineers faced during the construction of the reservoir was the extremely soft dam foundation conditions. The resolution of this and other challenges are discussed. In addition to water storage, the reservoir also provides wildlife, recreation and aquaculture opportunities. 8 refs., 5 figs

  14. The application of water poverty mapping in water management

    OpenAIRE

    Jordaan, Dawid Benjamin; Van Der Vyver, Charles

    2012-01-01

    Water management has been carried out for many centuries wherever there has been a need to provide water to large numbers of people. Complex social norms have developed around water management and competing users have established political (governance) and economic cooperative relationships. For example, community-managed irrigation schemes in Bali and the cloud-collection canals built by the Incas at Inca Pirca in Peru are examples of water management systems which still currently supply wat...

  15. Enhancing water and fertilizer saving without compromising rice yield through integrated crop management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wardana, I.P.; Gani, A.; Abdulrachmann, S.; Bindraban, P.S.; Keulen, van H.

    2010-01-01

    Water and fertilizer scarcity amid the increasing need of rice production challenges today’s agriculture. Integrated crop management (ICM) is a combination of water, crop, and nutrient management that optimizes the synergistic interaction of these components aiming at improving resource use

  16. Isotopes in water resources management. V.2. Proceedings of a symposium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    At present, the thrusts of the IAEA involvement are towards improved management of water resources in regions suffering from water scarcity, assessment of human impact on water resources, e.g. water pollution, and exploration and management of geothermal resources. Lately, novel isotope based techniques have been evolving from specialized laboratories. These trends and challenges are reflected by the scientific contributions to the International Symposium on Isotopes in Water Resources Management, held from 20 to 24 March 1995 in Vienna. The main themes of the symposium were groundwater resources management, with about two thirds of the contributions addressing origin and recharge of groundwater, groundwater dynamics and pollution, modelling approaches, and geothermal and paleowater resources. The remaining third of the contributions were concerned with surface water sediments, unsaturated zones and methodological aspects. These proceedings contain the 43 papers presented and the extended synopses of over 100 poster presentations. Refs, figs, tabs

  17. Evaluation of Ensemble Water Supply and Demands Forecasts for Water Management in the Klamath River Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broman, D.; Gangopadhyay, S.; McGuire, M.; Wood, A.; Leady, Z.; Tansey, M. K.; Nelson, K.; Dahm, K.

    2017-12-01

    The Upper Klamath River Basin in south central Oregon and north central California is home to the Klamath Irrigation Project, which is operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and provides water to around 200,000 acres of agricultural lands. The project is managed in consideration of not only water deliveries to irrigators, but also wildlife refuge water demands, biological opinion requirements for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed fish, and Tribal Trust responsibilities. Climate change has the potential to impact water management in terms of volume and timing of water and the ability to meet multiple objectives. Current operations use a spreadsheet-based decision support tool, with water supply forecasts from the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and California-Nevada River Forecast Center (CNRFC). This tool is currently limited in its ability to incorporate in ensemble forecasts, which offer the potential for improved operations by quantifying forecast uncertainty. To address these limitations, this study has worked to develop a RiverWare based water resource systems model, flexible enough to use across multiple decision time-scales, from short-term operations out to long-range planning. Systems model development has been accompanied by operational system development to handle data management and multiple modeling components. Using a set of ensemble hindcasts, this study seeks to answer several questions: A) Do a new set of ensemble streamflow forecasts have additional skill beyond what?, and allow for improved decision making under changing conditions? B) Do net irrigation water requirement forecasts developed in this project to quantify agricultural demands and reservoir evaporation forecasts provide additional benefits to decision making beyond water supply forecasts? C) What benefit do ensemble forecasts have in the context of water management decisions?

  18. A web-based system for the integrated water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giordano, R.; Passarella, G.; Uricchio, V. F.; Lopez, N.

    2003-04-01

    The success of complexity theory has posed new challenges also in the environmental resources management. From the complexity point of view, in fact, the environment has to be considered as a system with numerous parts interrelated each other by strongly and no-linear feedback relationships. In this perspective, when an action is performed its results become difficult to control. Therefore, to construct and to select the most suitable alternatives for environmental resources management, an holistic approach has to be adopted. In water resources management domain, increasing interest is posed to the integrated management, in which the total system of biotic and a-biotic elements of certain water environment is taken into account. Our contribution moves from the idea that the term integrated has to be referred also to human agents which take decisions influencing the water environment. In other words, Integrated Water Management (IWM) considers how different action affect, and can reinforce, each other and it promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources. The IWM stresses the interrelationships among the actions at different types, working at different levels of influence, coordinating stakeholders' actions. The coordination requires an appropriate information level about the strategies used by each stakeholder. To improve the information flow inside a watershed and therefore the coordination among agents, a web-based system is proposed. It could be defined as an electronic agora where a set of stakeholders can be involved both in information exchange and in conflicts resolution. More in detail, to improve the coordination process, the proposed system allows the stakeholders to find someone with similar or conflicting interests to collaborate with; to make contact with selected people; to build a common understanding (that is the identification of a common goal, the negotiation about the way this goal should be reached); to

  19. In Brief: Improving Mississippi River water quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    2007-10-01

    If water quality in the Mississippi River and the northern Gulf of Mexico is to improve, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs to take a stronger leadership role in implementing the federal Clean Water Act, according to a 16 October report from the U.S. National Research Council. The report notes that EPA has failed to use its authority to coordinate and oversee activities along the river. In addition, river states need to be more proactive and cooperative in efforts to monitor and improve water quality, and the river should be monitored and evaluated as a single system, the report indicates. Currently, the 10 states along the river conduct separate and widely varying water quality monitoring programs. ``The limited attention being given to monitoring and managing the Mississippi's water quality does not match the river's significant economic, ecological, and cultural importance,'' said committee chair David A. Dzombak, director of the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa. The report notes that while measures taken under the Clean Water Act have successfully reduced much point source pollution, nutrient and sediment loads from nonpoint sources continue to be significant problems. For more information, visit the Web site: http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12051.

  20. The state of improvement of security management setup in the Japan Atomic Power Company and improvement of facilities in its Tsuruga Nuclear Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-01-01

    In connection with the series of accidents in the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Station of the Japan Atomic Power Company, the state of security management in JAPC and the safety of facilities in the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Station, which have resulted from improvement efforts, are described on the following items: security management setup - communication and reporting in emergency, the management of inspection and maintenance records, work control and supervision in repair, improvement, etc., functional authority and responsibility in maintenance management, operation management, radiation control, personnel education; improvement of facilities - feed water heaters, laundry waste-water filter room, radioactive waste treatment facility, general drainage, concentrated waste liquid storage tanks in newly-built waste treatment building, etc. (Mori, K.)

  1. Water resource management: an Indian perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khadse, G K; Labhasetwar, P K; Wate, S R

    2012-10-01

    Water is precious natural resource for sustaining life and environment. Effective and sustainable management of water resources is vital for ensuring sustainable development. In view of the vital importance of water for human and animal life, for maintaining ecological balance and for economic and developmental activities of all kinds, and considering its increasing scarcity, the planning and management of water resource and its optimal, economical and equitable use has become a matter of the utmost urgency. Management of water resources in India is of paramount importance to sustain one billion plus population. Water management is a composite area with linkage to various sectors of Indian economy including the agricultural, industrial, domestic and household, power, environment, fisheries and transportation sector. The water resources management practices should be based on increasing the water supply and managing the water demand under the stressed water availability conditions. For maintaining the quality of freshwater, water quality management strategies are required to be evolved and implemented. Decision support systems are required to be developed for planning and management of the water resources project. There is interplay of various factors that govern access and utilization of water resources and in light of the increasing demand for water it becomes important to look for holistic and people-centered approaches for water management. Clearly, drinking water is too fundamental and serious an issue to be left to one institution alone. It needs the combined initiative and action of all, if at all we are serious in socioeconomic development. Safe drinking water can be assured, provided we set our mind to address it. The present article deals with the review of various options for sustainable water resource management in India.

  2. Accelerate Water Quality Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA is committed to accelerating water quality improvement and minimizing negative impacts to aquatic life from contaminants and other stressors in the Bay Delta Estuary by working with California Water Boards to strengthen water quality improvement plans.

  3. Identifying agricultural land management successes and water quality improvements at the sub-watershed scale: A case study in south-central Minnesota

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, M.; Triplett, L.; Smith, C.; Westfield, J.; Clause, C.

    2017-12-01

    In agricultural regions with highly-impacted water quality, it can be challenging to generate local motivation for water improvement efforts. Although the problem is daunting, and the magnitude of each individual's efforts may be indistinguishable in a mainstem stream, we may be able to detect incremental improvements earlier within a sub-watershed. In Seven Mile Creek, a small watershed in south-central Minnesota, we monitored at the sub-watershed scale to search for evidence of intermediate improvements during a years-long effort to reduce nutrient and sediment loads. The watershed is 9300 hectares with approximately 95% committed to corn and soybeans. Subwatershed 1 (SW1) is 4030 hectares and subwatershed 2 (SW2) is 3690 hectares (43% and 40% of the watershed area, respectively). In both subwatersheds, ubiquitous subsurface drain tile quickly drains water from the land, shunting it into tributaries and the mainstem which then have flashy storm responses. In 2016-2017, the two subwatersheds differed in water quality and storm response, despite nearly identical size, topography, climate, and geology. For example, during large storm events in 2016, total suspended sediment (TSS) concentrations were measured as high as 113 mg L-1 in subwatershed 1 and 79 mg L-1 in subwatershed 2. However, the annual average TSS concentration was 2 mg L-1 in SW1 and 3 mg L-1 in SW2, resulting in a higher loading from SW2. In contrast, the annual average nitrate concentration was higher in SW1 than SW2 (28 mg L-1 and 20 mg L-1, respectively). We determined that the difference is likely due to differences in soil type, cropping practices, or recent best management practice (BMP) implementation. While a few landowners have taken substantial actions to implement BMPs, others remain skeptical about the sources of and potential solutions for pollution in this creek. In SW1 there has been more effective management of water flow and sediment mobilization, while in SW2 nitrate is the success

  4. Water Management Strategies for Improved Coalbed Methane Production in the Black Warrior Basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pashin, Jack [Geological Survey Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (United States); McIntyre-Redden, Marcella [Geological Survey Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (United States); Mann, Steven [Geological Survey Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (United States); Merkel, David [Geological Survey Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (United States)

    2013-10-31

    The modern coalbed methane industry was born in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama and has to date produced more than 2.6 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.6 billion barrels of water. The coalbed gas industry in this area is dependent on instream disposal of co-produced water, which ranges from nearly potable sodium-bicarbonate water to hypersaline sodium-chloride water. This study employed diverse analytical methods to characterize water chemistry in light of the regional geologic framework and to evaluate the full range of water management options for the Black Warrior coalbed methane industry. Results reveal strong interrelationships among regional geology, water chemistry, and gas chemistry. Coalbed methane is produced from multiple coal seams in Pennsylvanian-age strata of the Pottsville Coal Interval, in which water chemistry is influenced by a structurally controlled meteoric recharge area along the southeastern margin of the basin. The most important constituents of concern in the produced water include chlorides, ammonia compounds, and organic substances. Regional mapping and statistical analysis indicate that the concentrations of most ionic compounds, metallic substances, and nonmetallic substances correlate with total dissolved solids and chlorides. Gas is effectively produced at pipeline quality, and the only significant impurity is N{sub 2}. Geochemical analysis indicates that the gas is of mixed thermogenic-biogenic origin. Stable isotopic analysis of produced gas and calcite vein fills indicates that widespread late-stage microbial methanogenesis occurred primarily along a CO{sub 2} reduction metabolic pathway. Organic compounds in the produced water appear to have helped sustain microbial communities. Ammonia and ammonium levels increase with total dissolved solids content and appear to have played a role in late-stage microbial methanogenesis and the generation of N{sub 2}. Gas production tends to decline exponentially, whereas water production

  5. Integrated water-crop-soil-management system for evaluating the quality of irrigation water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pla-Sentis, I.

    1983-01-01

    The authors make use of an independent balance of the salts and ions present in the water available for irrigation, based on the residence times in the soil solution that are allowed by solubility limits and drainage conditions, to develop an efficient system for evaluating the quality of such water which combines the factors: water, crop, soil and management. The system is based on the principle that such quality depends not only on the concentration and composition of the salts dissolved in the water, but also on existing possibilities and limitations in using and managing it in respect of the soil and crops, with allowance for the crop's tolerance of salinity, drainage conditions and hydrological properties of the soils, climate and current or potential practices for the management of the irrigation. If this system is used to quantify approximately the time behaviour of the concentration and composition of the salts in the soil solution, it is possible not only to predict the effects on soil, crops and drainage water, but also to evaluate the various combinations of irrigation water, soil, crops and management and to select the most suitable. It is also useful for fairly accurately diagnosing current problems of salinity and for identifying alternatives and possibilities for reclamation. Examples of its use for these purposes in Venezuela are presented with particular reference to the diagnosis of the present and future development of ''salino-sodic'' and ''sodic'' soils by means of low-salt irrigation water spread over agricultural soils with very poor drainage in a sub-humid or semi-arid tropical climate. The authors also describe the use of radiation techniques for gaining an understanding of the relations between the factors making up the system and for improving the quantitative evaluations required to diagnose problems and to select the best management methods for the available irrigation water. (author)

  6. Sustainable Water Management in Urban, Agricultural, and Natural Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tess Russo

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable water management (SWM requires allocating between competing water sector demands, and balancing the financial and social resources required to support necessary water systems. The objective of this review is to assess SWM in three sectors: urban, agricultural, and natural systems. This review explores the following questions: (1 How is SWM defined and evaluated? (2 What are the challenges associated with sustainable development in each sector? (3 What are the areas of greatest potential improvement in urban and agricultural water management systems? And (4 What role does country development status have in SWM practices? The methods for evaluating water management practices range from relatively simple indicator methods to integration of multiple models, depending on the complexity of the problem and resources of the investigators. The two key findings and recommendations for meeting SWM objectives are: (1 all forms of water must be considered usable, and reusable, water resources; and (2 increasing agricultural crop water production represents the largest opportunity for reducing total water consumption, and will be required to meet global food security needs. The level of regional development should not dictate sustainability objectives, however local infrastructure conditions and financial capabilities should inform the details of water system design and evaluation.

  7. Total Water Management, the New Paradigm for Urban Water Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    There is a growing need for urban water managers to take a more holistic view of their water resource systems as population growth, urbanization, and current resource management practices put different stresses on local water resources and urban infrastructure. Total Water Manag...

  8. Land management strategies for improving water quality in biomass production under changing climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Miae; Wu, May

    2017-03-01

    The Corn Belt states are the largest corn-production areas in the United States because of their fertile land and ideal climate. This attribute is particularly important as the region also plays a key role in the production of bioenergy feedstock. This study focuses on potential change in streamflow, sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus due to climate change and land management practices in the South Fork Iowa River (SFIR) watershed, Iowa. The watershed is covered primarily with annual crops (corn and soybeans). With cropland conversion to switchgrass, stover harvest, and implementation of best management practices (BMPs) (such as establishing riparian buffers and applying cover crops), significant reductions in nutrients were observed in the SFIR watershed under historical climate and future climate scenarios. Under a historical climate scenario, suspended sediment (SS), total nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) at the outlet point of the SFIR watershed could decrease by up to 56.7%, 32.0%, and 16.5%, respectively, compared with current land use when a portion of the cropland is converted to switchgrass and a cover crop is in place. Climate change could cause increases of 9.7% in SS, 4.1% in N, and 7.2% in P compared to current land use. Under future climate scenarios, nutrients including SS, N, and P were reduced through land management and practices and BMPs by up to 54.0% (SS), 30.4% (N), and 7.1% (P). Water footprint analysis further revealed changes in green water that are highly dependent on land management scenarios. The study highlights the versatile approaches in landscape management that are available to address climate change adaptation and acknowledged the complex nature of different perspectives in water sustainability. Further study involving implementing landscape design and management by using long-term monitoring data from field to watershed is necessary to verify the findings and move toward watershed-specific regional programs for climate adaptation.

  9. Applications of Satellite Data to Support Improvements in Irrigation and Groundwater Management in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melton, F. S.; Huntington, J. L.; Johnson, L.; Guzman, A.; Morton, C.; Zaragoza, I.; Dexter, J.; Rosevelt, C.; Michaelis, A.; Nemani, R. R.; Cahn, M.; Temesgen, B.; Trezza, R.; Frame, K.; Eching, S.; Grimm, R.; Hall, M.

    2017-12-01

    In agricultural regions around the world, threats to water supplies from drought and groundwater depletion are driving increased demand for tools to advance agricultural water use efficiency and support sustainable groundwater management. Satellite mapping of evapotranspiration (ET) from irrigated agricultural lands can provide agricultural producers and water resource managers with information that can be used to both optimize ag water use and improve estimates of groundwater withdrawals for irrigation. We describe the development of two remote sensing-based tools for ET mapping in California, including important lessons in terms of system design, partnership development, and transition to operations. For irrigation management, the integration of satellite data and surface sensor networks to provide timely delivery of information on crop water requirements can make irrigation scheduling more practical, convenient, and accurate. Developed through a partnership between NASA and the CA Department of Water Resources, the Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) framework integrates satellite data with information from agricultural weather networks to map crop canopy development and crop water requirements at the scale of individual fields. Information is distributed to agricultural producers and water managers via a web-based interface and web data services. SIMS also provides an API that facilitates integration with other irrigation decision support tools, such as CropManage and IrriQuest. Field trials using these integrated tools have shown that they can be used to sustain yields while improving water use efficiency and nutrient management. For sustainable groundwater management, the combination of satellite-derived estimates of ET and data on surface water deliveries for irrigation can increase the accuracy of estimates of groundwater pumping. We are developing an OpenET platform to facilitate access to ET data from multiple models and accelerate operational

  10. The use of an integrated variable fuzzy sets in water resources management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Qingtai; Liu, Jia; Li, Chuanzhe; Yu, Xinzhe; Wang, Yang

    2018-06-01

    Based on the evaluation of the present situation of water resources and the development of water conservancy projects and social economy, optimal allocation of regional water resources presents an increasing need in the water resources management. Meanwhile it is also the most effective way to promote the harmonic relationship between human and water. In view of the own limitations of the traditional evaluations of which always choose a single index model using in optimal allocation of regional water resources, on the basis of the theory of variable fuzzy sets (VFS) and system dynamics (SD), an integrated variable fuzzy sets model (IVFS) is proposed to address dynamically complex problems in regional water resources management in this paper. The model is applied to evaluate the level of the optimal allocation of regional water resources of Zoucheng in China. Results show that the level of allocation schemes of water resources ranging from 2.5 to 3.5, generally showing a trend of lower level. To achieve optimal regional management of water resources, this model conveys a certain degree of accessing water resources management, which prominently improve the authentic assessment of water resources management by using the eigenvector of level H.

  11. Proceedings of the 7. annual workshop of the CEATI Water Management Group : water management 2006 : collecting and managing hydrologic data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    This workshop by the Water Management Interest Group of CEATI focused on the development and methods and tools needed to optimize hydraulic processes while maintaining safe and environmentally-sound operations. In particular, it addressed issues regarding watershed management and water use planning, meteorological forecasting, operational modeling, data acquisition techniques, and impact assessment. Hydrologic data must be acquired and processed in order to effectively operate water control structures. It was noted that although data requirements may change from basin to basin, depending on seasonal forecasting, quality data is the foundation of all hydrological operational modelling and decision support software packages. As such, better acquisition methods and equipment are needed along with well designed networks and modern control applications. The first session of this workshop dealt with network data collection offered an opportunity to expand network design criteria standards and technologies that can offer support for cost effective maintenance to achieve acceptable levels of reliability and accuracy. The second session on quality control and data validation explored potential solutions for improved methods and techniques in quality control. The third session on data sharing and network coordination examined ways that companies and government agencies manage and share hydrologic data. The workshop featured 22 presentations, of which 3 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs

  12. China’s Water-Saving Irrigation Management System: Policy, Implementation, and Challenge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liuyang Yao

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In response to the increased competition for water, the Chinese government has determined to promote water-saving irrigation (WSI followed by a range of institutional arrangements and policy goals. Three management mechanisms are analyzed in this study in terms of effectiveness, including the top-down regulation mechanism using direct control or economic instruments, the design-bid funding mechanism mobilizing local governments by competitive grants program, and the bottom-up participation mechanism transferring more irrigation management responsibilities to end-users. Although the WSI management has achieved notable improvements by the combination of different mechanisms, conflicts among different policy goals, uneven distribution of financial resources, and insufficient participation from water users caused the difficulty in aligning stakeholders’ incentives. Approaches are needed to enable sustainable management by coordinating incentives from different stakeholders in the management, as well as incorporating end water users to assist decision-making.

  13. Sustainable Soil Water Management Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Basch, G.; Kassam, A.; Friedrich, T.; Santos, F.L.; Gubiani, P.I.; Calegari, A.; Reichert, J.M.; dos Santos, D.R.

    2012-01-01

    Soil quality and its management must be considered as key elements for an effective management of water resources, given that the hydrological cycle and land management are intimately linked (Bossio et al. 2007). Soil degradation has been described by Bossio et al. (2010) as the starting point of a negative cycle of soil-water relationships, creating a positive, self-accelerating feedback loop with important negative impacts on water cycling and water productivity. Therefore, sustainable soil...

  14. Water and waste water management Generation Victoria - Latrobe Valley

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Longmore, G. [Hazelwood Power Corporation, VIC (Australia); Pacific Power (International) Pty. Ltd., Sydney, NSW (Australia)

    1995-12-31

    Water is a necessary resource for coal fired power plant and waste water is generated. The efficient management of water and waste water systems becomes an important operational environmental factor. This paper describes the development and implementation of a ten year water and waste water management strategy for the Latrobe Valley Group of brown coal fired power stations in Victoria. In early 1991, a team was put together of representatives from each power site to develop the strategy entitled `SECV Latrobe Valley Water and Wastewater Management Strategy`. The strategy was developed with extensive public consultation, which was a factor in protracting the process such that the final document was not promulgated until late 1992. However, the final comprehensive document endorsed and agreed by management, has since attracted favourable comment as a model of its type. (author). 2 figs.

  15. Water and waste water management Generation Victoria - Latrobe Valley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longmore, G.

    1995-01-01

    Water is a necessary resource for coal fired power plant and waste water is generated. The efficient management of water and waste water systems becomes an important operational environmental factor. This paper describes the development and implementation of a ten year water and waste water management strategy for the Latrobe Valley Group of brown coal fired power stations in Victoria. In early 1991, a team was put together of representatives from each power site to develop the strategy entitled 'SECV Latrobe Valley Water and Wastewater Management Strategy'. The strategy was developed with extensive public consultation, which was a factor in protracting the process such that the final document was not promulgated until late 1992. However, the final comprehensive document endorsed and agreed by management, has since attracted favourable comment as a model of its type. (author). 2 figs

  16. Integrated frameworks for assessing and managing health risks in the context of managed aquifer recharge with river water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assmuth, Timo; Simola, Antti; Pitkänen, Tarja; Lyytimäki, Jari; Huttula, Timo

    2016-01-01

    Integrated assessment and management of water resources for the supply of potable water is increasingly important in light of projected water scarcity in many parts of the world. This article develops frameworks for regional-level waterborne human health risk assessment of chemical and microbiological contamination to aid water management, incorporating economic aspects of health risks. Managed aquifer recharge with surface water from a river in Southern Finland is used as an illustrative case. With a starting point in watershed governance, stakeholder concerns, and value-at-risk concepts, we merge common methods for integrative health risk analysis of contaminants to describe risks and impacts dynamically and broadly. This involves structuring analyses along the risk chain: sources-releases-environmental transport and fate-exposures-health effects-socio-economic impacts-management responses. Risks attributed to contaminants are embedded in other risks, such as contaminants from other sources, and related to benefits from improved water quality. A set of models along this risk chain in the case is presented. Fundamental issues in the assessment are identified, including 1) framing of risks, scenarios, and choices; 2) interaction of models and empirical information; 3) time dimension; 4) distributions of risks and benefits; and 5) uncertainties about risks and controls. We find that all these combine objective and subjective aspects, and involve value judgments and policy choices. We conclude with proposals for overcoming conceptual and functional divides and lock-ins to improve modeling, assessment, and management of complex water supply schemes, especially by reflective solution-oriented interdisciplinary and multi-actor deliberation. © 2015 SETAC.

  17. Future water supply management adaptation measures - case study of Ljubljana field aquifer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Čenčur Curk, B.; Zajc Benda, T.; Souvent, P.; Bračič Železnik, B.; Bogardi, I.

    2012-04-01

    The main drinking water supply problems are related to the significant change of groundwater quantity and quality observed in the last decades as an effect of land use practices and very likely also climate change. The latter may affect the ability of drinking water suppliers to provide enough water of sufficient quality to the consumers. These topics were studied in the frame of SEE project CC-WaterS (Climate Change and Impact on Water Supply) with the main goal to develop a water supply management system regarding optimisation of water extraction and land use restrictions under climate change scenarios for water suppliers, since existing management practices are mostly inadequate to reduce impacts of CC on water supply reliability. The main goal was a designation of appropriate measures and risk assessment to adapt water supply to changing climate and land use activities considering socio-economic aspects. This was accomplished by using 'Fuzzy Decimaker', which is a tool for selecting and ranking risk reduction measures or management actions for local waterworks or water authorities under the pressure of climate change. Firstly, management options were selected and ranked. For public water supply of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, several management options were selected. For improvement of water supply and preservation of water resource quantities there is a need for engineering interventions, such as reducing water losses on pipelines. For improving drinking water safety and preserving water resource quality farmers are not allowed to use fertilisers in the first safeguarding zone and they get compensations for income reduction because of lower farming production. Compensations for farming restrictions in the second safeguarding zone were applied as additional management option. On the other hand, drinking water treatment is another management option to be considered. Trends in groundwater level are decreasing, above all recharge areas of waterworks

  18. Principles and practices of sustainable water management

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Bixia Xu

    2010-01-01

    Literature related to sustainable water management is reviewed to illustrate the relationship among water management, sustainability (sustainable development), and sustainable water management. This review begins with the explanation on the definition of sustainable water management, followed by a discussion of sustainable water management principles and practices.

  19. Adapting water allocation management to drought scenarios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Giacomelli

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Climate change dynamics have significant consequences on water resources on a watershed scale. With water becoming scarcer and susceptible to variation, the planning and reallocation decisions in watershed management need to be reviewed. This research focuses on an in-depth understanding of the current allocation balance of water resources among competitors, placed along the course of the Adda River. In particular, during the summer period, the demand for water dramatically increases. This is due to the increase in irrigation activities in the lower part of the basin and to the highest peaks of tourist inflow, in the Como Lake and Valtellina areas. Moreover, during these months, the hydroelectric reservoirs in the upper part of the Adda River basin (the Valtellina retain most of the volume of water coming from the snow and glacier melt. The existing allocation problem among these different competing users is exacerbated by the decreasing water supplies. The summer of 2003 testified the rise in a number of allocation problems and situations of water scarcity that brought about environmental and economical consequences. The RICLIC project is committed to the understanding of water dynamics on a regional scale, to quantify the volumes involved and offer local communities an instrument to improve a sustainable water management system, within uncertain climate change scenarios.

  20. Human-Nature Relationship in Mediterranean Streams: Integrating Different Types of Knowledge to Improve Water Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Gonzalez

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The social and ecological systems of Mediterranean streams are intrinsically linked as a result of long human occupation. In this region, these links vary greatly across small distances due to geomorphology, resulting in great diversity across space, which poses particular challenges for understanding and managing these systems. This demands (i interdisciplinary integration of knowledge that focuses on the social-ecological interactions, while according due consideration to the whole; and also (ii transdisciplinary integration, integrating lay and expert knowledge to understand local specificities. To address these needs - a focus on interactions and local knowledge - the research presented here studies the human-nature relationship in Mediterranean streams. Its main objective is to improve understanding of Mediterranean streams, but it also provides practical inputs to enhance local-level management. The study adopts an applied approach from the perspective of natural resources management. A case study was developed conducting field work on streams within the Natura 2000 site of Monfurado, Portugal - a mainly privately owned area with conflicting land uses between conservation and farming. Rivers and streams in Portugal are considered to be in very bad condition, particularly with regard to water quality. The experimental design was based, from a critical realism perspective of inter- and trans-disciplinarity, on the complementarities between methodologies from (i the social sciences: value survey and analysis of discourse; and (ii the natural sciences: biomonitoring and integrity biotic indexes. Results characterized the connected systems from both ecological and social points of view. They also characterized the relationship between both dimensions. We concluded that well-established riparian vegetation cover of streams is a key structural element of the human-nature relationship in the Mediterranean streams of Monfurado at several levels

  1. Water demand management in Mediterranean regions

    OpenAIRE

    Giulio Querini; Salvo Creaco

    2005-01-01

    Water sustainability needs a balance between demand and availability: 1) Water demand management: demand may be managed by suppliers and regulations responsible persons, using measures like invoicing, consumptions measurement and users education in water conservation measures; 2) Augmentation of water supply: availibility may be augmented by infrastructural measures, waste water reuse, non-conventional resources and losses reduction. Water Demand Management is about achieving a reduction in t...

  2. Water inventory management in condenser pool of boiling water reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gluntz, D.M.

    1996-01-01

    An improved system for managing the water inventory in the condenser pool of a boiling water reactor has means for raising the level of the upper surface of the condenser pool water without adding water to the isolation pool. A tank filled with water is installed in a chamber of the condenser pool. The water-filled tank contains one or more holes or openings at its lowermost periphery and is connected via piping and a passive-type valve (e.g., squib valve) to a high-pressure gas-charged pneumatic tank of appropriate volume. The valve is normally closed, but can be opened at an appropriate time following a loss-of-coolant accident. When the valve opens, high-pressure gas inside the pneumatic tank is released to flow passively through the piping to pressurize the interior of the water-filled tank. In so doing, the initial water contents of the tank are expelled through the openings, causing the water level in the condenser pool to rise. This increases the volume of water available to be boiled off by heat conducted from the passive containment cooling heat exchangers. 4 figs

  3. Improvements of nuclear fuel management in pressurized water reactors (PWR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwartz, J.P.

    1978-07-01

    The severe variations to which the different elements contributing to the determination of the fuel cycle cost are subjected have led to a reopening of the problem of ''optimization'' of nuclear fuel management. The increase in costs of uranium ore, isotope separation work units (swu), reprocessing, the political implications of proliferation associated with the employment of reprocessing operations have been at the origin of a reassessment of present-day management. It therefore appeared to be appropriate to study variants with respect to a reference mode represented by the management of the PWR 900 MWe systems, without burnable poison in the cycle at equilibrium (Case 3 of Table 1). In order to obtain a complete view of impacts of such modifications, computations were carried out as far as the appraisal of the cycle cost and with reprocessing. There has likewise been added to this the estimate of the gain anticipated from certain improvements in the neutron balance contributed at the level of the lattice

  4. Irrigation management strategies to improve Water Use Efficiency of potatoes crop in Central Tunisia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghazouani, Hiba; Provenzano, Giuseppe; Rallo, Giovanni; Mguidiche, Amel; Douh, Boutheina; Boujelben, Abdelhamid

    2015-04-01

    In Tunisia, the expansion of irrigated area and the semiarid climate make it compulsory to adopt strategies of water management to increase water use efficiency. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI), providing the application of high frequency small irrigation volumes below the soil surface have been increasingly used to enhance irrigation efficiency. At the same time, deficit irrigation (DI) has shown successful results with a large number of crop in various countries. However, for some crops like potatoes, DI is difficult to manage due to the rapid effect of water stress on tuber yield. Irrigation frequency is a key factor to schedule subsurface drip irrigation because, even maintaining the total seasonal volume, soil wetting patterns can result different during the growth period, with consequence on crop yield. Despite the need to enhance water use efficiency, only a few studies related to deficit irrigation of horticultural crops have been made in Tunisia. Objective of the paper was to assess the effects of different on-farm irrigation strategies on water use efficiency of potatoes crop irrigated with subsurface drip irrigation in a semiarid area of central Tunisia. After validation, Hydrus-2D model was used to simulate soil water status in the root zone, to evaluate actual crop evapotranspiration and then to estimate indirectly water use efficiency (IWUE), defined as the ratio between crop yield and total amount of water supplied with irrigation. Field experiments, were carried out in Central Tunisia (10° 33' 47.0" E, 35° 58' 8.1° N, 19 m a.s.l) on a potatoes crop planted in a sandy loam soil, during the growing season 2014, from January 15 (plantation of tubers) to May 6 (harvesting). Soil water status was monitored in two plots (T1 and T2) maintained under the same management, but different irrigation volumes, provided by a SDI system. In particular, irrigation was scheduled according to the average water content measured in the root zone, with a total of 8

  5. Water risk assessment in China based on the improved Water Risk Filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, G.; Yaqin, Q.; Qiong, L.; Cunwen, N.; Na, W.; Jiajia, L.; Jongde, G.; Na, Z.; Xiangyi, D.

    2014-09-01

    Finding an effective way to deal with the water crisis and the relationship between water and development is a major issue for all levels of government and different economic sectors across the world. Scientific understanding of water risk is the basis for achieving a scientific relationship between water and development, and water risk assessment is currently an important research focus. To effectively deal with the global water crisis, the World Wide Fund for Nature and German Investment and Development Company Limited proposed the concept of water risk and released an online Water Risk Filter in March 2012, which has been applied to at least 85 countries. To comprehensively and accurately reflect the situation of water risk in China, this study adjusts the water risk assessment indicators in the Water Risk Filter, taking the actual situation in China and the difficulty of obtaining the information about the indicators into account, and proposes an index system for water risk evaluation for China which consists of physical risk, regulatory risk and reputational risk. The improved Water Risk Filter is further used to assess the sources and causes of the water risks in 10 first-class and seven second-class water resource areas (WRAs). The results indicate that the water risk for the whole country is generally medium and low, while those for different regions in the country vary greatly, and those for southern regions are generally lower than those for northern regions. Government regulatory and policy implementation as well as media supervision in northern regions should be strengthened to reduce the water risk. The research results may provide decision support and references for both governments and industrial enterprises in identifying water risks, formulating prevention and control policies, and improving water resources management in China.

  6. Water risk assessment in China based on the improved Water Risk Filter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Hong

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Finding an effective way to deal with the water crisis and the relationship between water and development is a major issue for all levels of government and different economic sectors across the world. Scientific understanding of water risk is the basis for achieving a scientific relationship between water and development, and water risk assessment is currently an important research focus. To effectively deal with the global water crisis, the World Wide Fund for Nature and German Investment and Development Company Limited proposed the concept of water risk and released an online Water Risk Filter in March 2012, which has been applied to at least 85 countries. To comprehensively and accurately reflect the situation of water risk in China, this study adjusts the water risk assessment indicators in the Water Risk Filter, taking the actual situation in China and the difficulty of obtaining the information about the indicators into account, and proposes an index system for water risk evaluation for China which consists of physical risk, regulatory risk and reputational risk. The improved Water Risk Filter is further used to assess the sources and causes of the water risks in 10 first-class and seven second-class water resource areas (WRAs. The results indicate that the water risk for the whole country is generally medium and low, while those for different regions in the country vary greatly, and those for southern regions are generally lower than those for northern regions. Government regulatory and policy implementation as well as media supervision in northern regions should be strengthened to reduce the water risk. The research results may provide decision support and references for both governments and industrial enterprises in identifying water risks, formulating prevention and control policies, and improving water resources management in China.

  7. Water brief — Wastewater Reuse for Water Demand Management ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2011-01-04

    Jan 4, 2011 ... Water Demand Management (WDM) is a water management approach that aims to ... WDM is simply defined as 'getting the most of the water that we have', while taking into ... Villages in Nepal prepare for weather extremes.

  8. Improvements in Hudson River Water Quality Create the Need for a new Approach to Monitoring and Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Mullan, G. D.; Juhl, A.; Sambrotto, R.; Lipscomb, J.; Brown, T.

    2008-12-01

    The lower Hudson River is a well-flushed temperate estuary that continues to support diverse wildlife populations although its shores are home to the nation's most populated metropolitan area. Data sets from the last hundred years clearly demonstrate extreme nutrient concentrations, pathogen loading, and periods of persistent hypoxia. These data also show a clear trend of steadily improving water quality in the last thirty years. Recent increases in recreational activity, expanded shoreline parks, and waterfront redevelopment, indicate the return of the people of New York to the River, concomitant with improved water quality. While mean seasonal water quality indicators are now often acceptable for large portions of the River, there remains a lack of information about the finer scale spatial and temporal variability of water quality. A new water quality sampling program was initiated in the Fall of 2006 to address this challenge. Monthly sampling cruises collected continuous underway surface measurements of hydrographic variables in parallel with discrete sampling for nutrients and microbiology. In general, these data indicate that mid-channel locations are often within acceptable water quality standards during dry weather, but that wet weather events deliver large quantities of sewage to the River, leading to short-term deterioration in water quality. In 2006-2007, only 6 of 27 sample sites had geometric mean values for Enterococcus , a sewage-indicating microorganism, that suggest consistently poor water quality. In contrast, single-day exceedances of EPA recommended guidelines for Enterococcus were found at 21 of the 27 sites. Although the mid-channel of the River was relatively homogenous with respect to sewage indicators, large changes were observed at tributary mixing interfaces and along the shallow edges of the River where human contact is most likely. The changing use of the River, together with new information about the importance of episodic and

  9. Water resources management and European integration of Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Todić Dragoljub

    2015-01-01

    managed to counterbalance the delay which was, for the most part, a consequence of the circumstances generated in the last decade of the 20th century. The RS is currently a state party to all the relevant international multilateral agreements in the field of water resources management, except for the New York Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses. However, regulation of bilateral relations with neighboring countries is still considered to be one of the issues that could be significantly improved.

  10. Integrated water resources management (IWRM) approach in water governance in Lao PDR. Cases of hydropower and irrigation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jusi, S.

    2013-06-01

    provided a platform or framework to incorporate actors into the analysis and to produce a richer analysis and understanding of actors involved in the policy arena as well as their features and interactions. The rhetoric of the IWRM approach is quite well adopted by the Lao PDR but the actual implementation is still halfway. Significant changes to water management policies have been made and new water policies and legislation among environmental safeguard policies have been developed or are under development in the country. Articles related to hydropower have highlighted the need to integrate social and environmental concerns into national water resource management plans and policies. Lao PDR has initiated decentralisation and participation processes in water resources management: irrigation management transfer to local level (Water User Groups), and establishment of a pilot River Basin Committee in Nam Ngum River Basin to serve as the key organisational unit for water resource management at local and regional levels. These processes are examined in the articles and analysed in the synthesis part. One aim of IWRM is to improve water governance by enhancing inclusive decision-making to secure more equal water development decisions for all stakeholders, including communities at the grassroots level. However, water resources management is still pretty much centralist by nature and does not properly and truly enhance participation of local level government in the management processes in Lao PDR. Laotian operational environment and political culture ('top-down' governance) represent a unique analysis context for IWRM implementation as it represents one of the last centralised communist regimes and monolithic political/decision-making structures. Therefore, it can provide a more simplified structure, where there are no channels providing local/outside knowledge impacting decision-making compared with complex western governance models. The implementation of IWRM is

  11. Total Water Management: The New Paradigm for Urban Water Resources Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    There is a growing need for urban water managers to take a more holistic view of their water resource systems as population growth, urbanization, and current resource management practices put different stresses on local water resources and urban infrastructure. Total Water Manag...

  12. Mental models of a water management system in a green building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalantzis, Anastasia; Thatcher, Andrew; Sheridan, Craig

    2016-11-01

    This intergroup case study compared users' mental models with an expert design model of a water management system in a green building. The system incorporates a constructed wetland component and a rainwater collection pond that together recycle water for re-use in the building and its surroundings. The sample consisted of five building occupants and the cleaner (6 users) and two experts who were involved with the design of the water management system. Users' mental model descriptions and the experts' design model were derived from in-depth interviews combined with self-constructed (and verified) diagrams. Findings from the study suggest that there is considerable variability in the user mental models that could impact the efficient functioning of the water management system. Recommendations for improvements are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Contribution to the improvement of irrigation management practices through water - deficit irrigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bazza, M.

    1995-01-01

    The study aimed at identifying irrigation management practices which could result in water savings through -water deficit irrigation. Two field experiments, one on wheat and the other on sugar beet, were conducted and consisted of refraining from supplying water during specific stages of the cycle so as to identy the period(s) during which water deficit would have a limited effect on crop production. In the case of wheat, high water deficit occurred during the early and during these stages was the most beneficial for the crop. However, one water application during the tillering stage allowed the yield to be lower only to that of the treatement with three irrigations. Irrigation during the stage of grain filling caused the kernel weight to be as high as under three irrigations. The lowest value corresponded to the treatement with one irrigation during grain filling and that under rainfed conditions. For sugar beet, when water stress was was applied early in the crop cycle, its effect could be almost entirely recovered with adequate watering during the rest of the growing season. On the opposite, good watering early in cycle, followed by a stress, resulted in the second lowest yield. Water deficit during the maturity stage had also a limited effect on yield. The most crucial periods for adequate watering were which correspond to late filiar development and root growth which coincided with the highest water requirements period. For the same amount of water savings through deficit irrigation, it was better to partition the stress throughout the cycle than during the critical stages of the crop. However, at the national level, it would have been more important to practice deficit irrigation and the irrigated area. For both crops, high yields as high as water - use efficiency values could have been obtained. 8 tabs; 5 refs ( Author )

  14. Food, water, and fault lines: Remote sensing opportunities for earthquake-response management of agricultural water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, Jenna; Ustin, Susan; Sandoval-Solis, Samuel; O'Geen, Anthony Toby

    2016-01-01

    Earthquakes often cause destructive and unpredictable changes that can affect local hydrology (e.g. groundwater elevation or reduction) and thus disrupt land uses and human activities. Prolific agricultural regions overlie seismically active areas, emphasizing the importance to improve our understanding and monitoring of hydrologic and agricultural systems following a seismic event. A thorough data collection is necessary for adequate post-earthquake crop management response; however, the large spatial extent of earthquake's impact makes challenging the collection of robust data sets for identifying locations and magnitude of these impacts. Observing hydrologic responses to earthquakes is not a novel concept, yet there is a lack of methods and tools for assessing earthquake's impacts upon the regional hydrology and agricultural systems. The objective of this paper is to describe how remote sensing imagery, methods and tools allow detecting crop responses and damage incurred after earthquakes because a change in the regional hydrology. Many remote sensing datasets are long archived with extensive coverage and with well-documented methods to assess plant-water relations. We thus connect remote sensing of plant water relations to its utility in agriculture using a post-earthquake agrohydrologic remote sensing (PEARS) framework; specifically in agro-hydrologic relationships associated with recent earthquake events that will lead to improved water management. - Highlights: • Remote sensing to improve agricultural disaster management • Introduce post-earthquake agrohydrologic remote sensing (PEARS) framework • Apply PEARS framework to 2010 Maule Earthquake in Central Chile

  15. Food, water, and fault lines: Remote sensing opportunities for earthquake-response management of agricultural water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodriguez, Jenna, E-mail: jmmartin@ucdavis.edu; Ustin, Susan; Sandoval-Solis, Samuel; O' Geen, Anthony Toby

    2016-09-15

    Earthquakes often cause destructive and unpredictable changes that can affect local hydrology (e.g. groundwater elevation or reduction) and thus disrupt land uses and human activities. Prolific agricultural regions overlie seismically active areas, emphasizing the importance to improve our understanding and monitoring of hydrologic and agricultural systems following a seismic event. A thorough data collection is necessary for adequate post-earthquake crop management response; however, the large spatial extent of earthquake's impact makes challenging the collection of robust data sets for identifying locations and magnitude of these impacts. Observing hydrologic responses to earthquakes is not a novel concept, yet there is a lack of methods and tools for assessing earthquake's impacts upon the regional hydrology and agricultural systems. The objective of this paper is to describe how remote sensing imagery, methods and tools allow detecting crop responses and damage incurred after earthquakes because a change in the regional hydrology. Many remote sensing datasets are long archived with extensive coverage and with well-documented methods to assess plant-water relations. We thus connect remote sensing of plant water relations to its utility in agriculture using a post-earthquake agrohydrologic remote sensing (PEARS) framework; specifically in agro-hydrologic relationships associated with recent earthquake events that will lead to improved water management. - Highlights: • Remote sensing to improve agricultural disaster management • Introduce post-earthquake agrohydrologic remote sensing (PEARS) framework • Apply PEARS framework to 2010 Maule Earthquake in Central Chile.

  16. Proper Management Of Irrigation Water And Nitrogen Fertilizer To Improve Spinach Yield And Reserve Environment Using 15N Tracer Technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    GADALLA, A.M.; GALAL, Y.G.M.; ISMAIL, M.M.; EL DEGWY, S.A.; HAMDY, A.; HAMED, L.M.

    2010-01-01

    The effect of water regime and N-fertilizer application rate and modality of its application were studied by the aim of identifying the most proper and effective combination of the above studied variables that provide a satisfactory spinach yield as well as to minimize the rational use of chemical nitrogen fertilizers to save the surrounding environment and to achieve a good water saving. The results indicated that reasonable production of spinach crop could be achieved by using 75% of the recommended rate of nitrogen fertilizer combined with 80% of the required water. It means that 20% of the required water could be saved as well as 25% of the required quantity of N-fertilizer. Similarly, the splitting of N-fertilizer into two equal doses prevented the excess of nitrate to be moved to the underground water lowering its concentration in the blades and plant leaves. Drip irrigation system accompanied with proper water scheduling regime and good fertilizer application practices is considered as a useful management practice that could be applied to improve the sandy soil productivity.

  17. Advances in water resources management

    CERN Document Server

    Yang, Chih; Wang, Mu-Hao

    2016-01-01

    This volume provides in-depth coverage of such topics as multi-reservoir system operation theory and practice, management of aquifer systems connected to streams using semi-analytical models, one-dimensional model of water quality and aquatic ecosystem-ecotoxicology in river systems, environmental and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing and shale gas, bioaugmentation for water resources protection, wastewater renovation by flotation for water pollution control, determination of receiving water’s reaeration coefficient in the presence of salinity for water quality management, sensitivity analysis for stream water quality management, river ice process, and computer-aided mathematical modeling of water properties. This critical volume will serve as a valuable reference work for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, designers of water resources systems, and scientists and researchers. The goals of the Handbook of Environmental Engineering series are: (1) to cover entire environmental fields, includin...

  18. Managing water addition to a degraded core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuan, P.; Hanson, D.J.; Odar, F.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper the authors present information that can be used in severe accident management by providing an improved understanding of the effects of water addition to a degraded core. This improved understanding is developed using a diagram showing a sequence of core damage states. Whenever possible, a temperature and a time after accident initiation are estimated for each damage state in the sequence diagram. This diagram can be used to anticipate the evolution of events during an accident. Possible responses of plant instruments are described to identify these damage states and the effects of water addition. The rate and amount of water addition needed (a) to remove energy from the core, (b) to stabilize the core or (c) to not adversely affect the damage progression, are estimated. Analysis of the capability to remove energy from large cohesive and particulate debris beds indicates that these beds may not be stabilized in the core region and they may partially relocate to the lower plenum of the reactor vessel

  19. Advancing Water Science through Improved Cyberinfrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, B. J.; Miles, B.; Rai, A.; Ahalt, S.; Band, L. E.; Minsker, B.; Palmer, M.; Williams, M. R.; Idaszak, R.; Whitton, M. C.

    2012-12-01

    Major scientific advances are needed to help address impacts of climate change and increasing human-mediated environmental modification on the water cycle at global and local scales. However, such advances within the water sciences are limited in part by inadequate information infrastructures. For example, cyberinfrastructure (CI) includes the integrated computer hardware, software, networks, sensors, data, and human capital that enable scientific workflows to be carried out within and among individual research efforts and across varied disciplines. A coordinated transformation of existing CI and development of new CI could accelerate the productivity of water science by enabling greater discovery, access, and interoperability of data and models, and by freeing scientists to do science rather than create and manage technological tools. To elucidate specific ways in which improved CI could advance water science, three challenges confronting the water science community were evaluated: 1) How does ecohydrologic patch structure affect nitrogen transport and fate in watersheds?, 2) How can human-modified environments emulate natural water and nutrient cycling to enhance both human and ecosystem well-being?, 3) How do changes in climate affect water availability to support biodiversity and human needs? We assessed the approaches used by researchers to address components of these challenges, identified barriers imposed by limitations of current CI, and interviewed leaders in various water science subdisciplines to determine the most recent CI tools employed. Our preliminary findings revealed four areas where CI improvements are likely to stimulate scientific advances: 1) sensor networks, 2) data quality assurance/quality control, 3) data and modeling standards, 4) high performance computing. In addition, the full potential of a re-envisioned water science CI cannot be realized without a substantial training component. In light of these findings, we suggest that CI

  20. Analysis of drought characteristics for improved understanding of a water resource system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. T. Lennard

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Droughts are a reoccurring feature of the UK climate; recent drought events (2004–2006 and 2010–2012 have highlighted the UK’s continued vulnerability to this hazard. There is a need for further understanding of extreme events, particularly from a water resource perspective. A number of drought indices are available, which can help to improve our understanding of drought characteristics such as frequency, severity and duration. However, at present little of this is applied to water resource management in the water supply sector. Improved understanding of drought characteristics using indices can inform water resource management plans and enhance future drought resilience. This study applies the standardised precipitation index (SPI to a series of rainfall records (1962–2012 across the water supply region of a single utility provider. Key droughts within this period are analysed to develop an understanding of the meteorological characteristics that lead to, exist during and terminate drought events. The results of this analysis highlight how drought severity and duration can vary across a small-scale water supply region, indicating that the spatial coherence of drought events cannot be assumed.

  1. Isotopes in water resources management. V.1. Proceedings of a symposium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    In recent years isotope applications in hydrology and water resources assessment have reached a level of maturity. Adequate investigations have been carried out to provide sufficient examples for practical applications in combination with other hydrological methods. The IAEA contributed to this development through field projects implemented in Member States within the framework of the Agency's Technical Co-operation programme. At present, the thrusts of the IAEA involvement are towards improved management of water resources in regions suffering from water scarcity, assessment of human impact on water resources, e.g. water pollution, and exploration and management of geothermal resources. Lately, novel isotope based techniques have been evolving from specialized laboratories. While the techniques have emerged, efforts need to be concentrated on more practical work to accomplish a visible impact on water resources management. These trends and challenges are reflected by the scientific contributions to the International Symposium on Isotopes in Water Resources Management. The main themes of the symposium were groundwater resources management, with about two thirds of the contributions addressing origin and recharge of groundwater, groundwater dynamics and pollution, modelling approaches, and geothermal and palaeowater resources. The remaining third of the contributions were concerned with surface water and sediments, unsaturated zones and methodological aspects. These proceedings contain the 43 papers presented and the extended synopses of over 100 poster presentations. Refs, figs and tabs

  2. Optimizing operational water management with soil moisture data from Sentinel-1 satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pezij, Michiel; Augustijn, Denie; Hendriks, Dimmie; Hulscher, Suzanne

    2016-04-01

    In the Netherlands, regional water authorities are responsible for management and maintenance of regional water bodies. Due to socio-economic developments (e.g. agricultural intensification and on-going urbanisation) and an increase in climate variability, the pressure on these water bodies is growing. Optimization of water availability by taking into account the needs of different users, both in wet and dry periods, is crucial for sustainable developments. To support timely and well-directed operational water management, accurate information on the current state of the system as well as reliable models to evaluate water management optimization measures are essential. Previous studies showed that the use of remote sensing data (for example soil moisture data) in water management offers many opportunities (e.g. Wanders et al. (2014)). However, these data are not yet used in operational applications at a large scale. The Sentinel-1 satellites programme offers high spatiotemporal resolution soil moisture data (1 image per 6 days with a spatial resolution of 10 by 10 m) that are freely available. In this study, these data will be used to improve the Netherlands Hydrological Instrument (NHI). The NHI consists of coupled models for the unsaturated zone (MetaSWAP), groundwater (iMODFLOW) and surface water (Mozart and DM). The NHI is used for scenario analyses and operational water management in the Netherlands (De Lange et al., 2014). Due to the lack of soil moisture data, the unsaturated zone model is not yet thoroughly validated and its output is not used by regional water authorities for decision-making. Therefore, the newly acquired remotely sensed soil moisture data will be used to improve the skill of the MetaSWAP-model and the NHI as whole. The research will focus among other things on the calibration of soil parameters by comparing model output (MetaSWAP) with the remotely sensed soil moisture data. Eventually, we want to apply data-assimilation to improve

  3. An improved water budget for the El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, as determined by the Water Supply Stress Index Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liangxia Zhang; Ge Sun; Erika Cohen; Steven McNulty; Peter Caldwell; Suzanne Krieger; Jason Christian; Decheng Zhou; Kai Duan; Keren J. Cepero-Pérez

    2018-01-01

    Quantifying the forest water budget is fundamental to making science-based forest management decisions. This study aimed at developing an improved water budget for the El Yunque National Forest (ENF) in Puerto Rico, one of the wettest forests in the United States. We modified an existing monthly scale water balance model, Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI), to reflect...

  4. Heavy Water Quality Management in HANARO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shin, Ho Chul; Lee, Mun; Kim, Hi Gon; Park, Chan Young; Choi, Ho Young; Hur, Soon Ock; Ahn, Guk Hoon

    2008-12-15

    Heavy water quality management in the reflector tank is a very important element to maintain the good thermal neutron flux and to ensure the performance of reflector cooling system. This report is written to provide a guidance for the future by describing the history of the heavy water quality management during HANARO operation. The heavy water quality in the reflector tank has been managed by measuring the electrical conductivity at the inlet and outlet of the ion exchanger and by measuring pH of the heavy water. In this report, the heavy water quality management activities performed in HANARO from 1996 to 2007 ere described including a basic theory of the heavy water quality management, exchanging history of used resin in the reflector cooling system, measurement data of the pH and the electrical conductivity, and operation history of the reflector cooling system.

  5. Model of urban water management towards water sensitive city: a literature review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maftuhah, D. I.; Anityasari, M.; Sholihah, M.

    2018-04-01

    Nowadays, many cities are facing with complex issues such as climate change, social, economic, culture, and environmental problems, especially urban water. In other words, the city has to struggle with the challenge to make sure its sustainability in all aspects. This research focuses on how to ensure the city sustainability and resilience on urban water management. Many research were not only conducted in urban water management, but also in sustainability itself. Moreover, water sustainability shifts from urban water management into water sensitive city. This transition needs comprehensive aspects such as social, institutional dynamics, technical innovation, and local contents. Some literatures about model of urban water management and the transition towards water sensitivity had been reviewed in this study. This study proposed discussion about model of urban water management and the transition towards water sensitive city. Research findings suggest that there are many different models developed in urban water management, but they are not comprehensive yet and only few studies discuss about the transition towards water sensitive and resilience city. The drawbacks of previous research can identify and fulfill the gap of this study. Therefore, the paper contributes a general framework for the urban water management modelling studies.

  6. Measures for waste water management from recovery processing of Zhushanxia uranium deposit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yaochi; Xu Lechang

    2000-01-01

    Measures for waste water management from recovery processing of Zhushanxia uranium deposit of Wengyuan Mine is analyzed, which include improving process flow, recycling process water used in uranium mill as much as possible and choosing a suitable disposing system. All these can decrease the amount of waste water, and also reduce costs of disposing waste water and harm to environment

  7. A narrative method for analyzing transitions in urban water management: The case of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treuer, Galen; Koebele, Elizabeth; Deslatte, Aaron; Ernst, Kathleen; Garcia, Margaret; Manago, Kim

    2017-01-01

    Although the water management sector is often characterized as resistant to risk and change, urban areas across the United States are increasingly interested in creating opportunities to transition toward more sustainable water management practices. These transitions are complex and difficult to predict - the product of water managers acting in response to numerous biophysical, regulatory, political, and financial factors within institutional constraints. Gaining a better understanding of how these transitions occur is crucial for continuing to improve water management. This paper presents a replicable methodology for analyzing how urban water utilities transition toward sustainability. The method combines standardized quantitative measures of variables that influence transitions with contextual qualitative information about a utility's unique decision making context to produce structured, data-driven narratives. Data-narratives document the broader context, the utility's pretransition history, key events during an accelerated period of change, and the consequences of transition. Eventually, these narratives should be compared across cases to develop empirically-testable hypotheses about the drivers of and barriers to utility-level urban water management transition. The methodology is illustrated through the case of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and its transition toward more sustainable water management in the 2000s, during which per capita water use declined, conservation measures were enacted, water rates increased, and climate adaptive planning became the new norm.

  8. An Integrated Mobile Application to Improve the Watershed Management in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, T. Y.; Chen, M. H.; Lee, C. Y.

    2015-12-01

    This study aims to focus on the application of information technology on the reservoir watershed management. For the civil and commercial water usage, reservoirs and its upstream plays a significant role due to water scarcity and inequality, especially in Taiwan. Due to the progress of information technology, apply it can improve the efficiency and accuracy of daily affairs significantly which already proved by previous researches. Taipei Water Resource District (TWRD) is selected as study area for this study, it is the first reservoir watershed which authorized as special protection district by urban planning act. This study has designed a framework of mobile application, which addressed three types of public affairs relate to watershed management, includes building management, illegal land-use investigation, and a dashboard of real time stream information. This mobile application integrated a dis-connected map and interactive interface to collect, record and calculate field information which helps the authority manage the public affairs more efficiency.

  9. Scenario analysis for integrated water resources planning and management under uncertainty in the Zayandehrud river basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safavi, Hamid R.; Golmohammadi, Mohammad H.; Sandoval-Solis, Samuel

    2016-08-01

    The goal of this study is to develop and analyze three scenarios in the Zayandehrud river basin in Iran using a model already built and calibrated by Safavi et al. (2015) that has results for the baseline scenario. Results from the baseline scenario show that water demands will be supplied at the cost of depletion of surface and ground water resources, making this scenario undesirable and unsustainable. Supply Management, Demand Management, and Meta (supply and demand management) scenarios are the selected scenarios in this study. They are to be developed and declared into the Zayandehrud model to assess and evaluate the imminent status of the basin. Certain strategies will be employed for this purpose to improve and rectify the current management policies. The five performance criteria of time-based and volumetric reliability, resilience, vulnerability, and maximum deficit will be employed in the process of scenario analysis and evaluation. The results obtained from the performance criteria will be summed up into a so-called 'Water Resources Sustainability Index' to facilitate comparison among the likely trade-offs. Uncertainties arising from historical data, management policies, rainfall-runoff model, demand priorities, and performance criteria are considered in the proposed conceptual framework and modeled by appropriate approaches. Results show that the Supply Management scenario can be used to improve upon the demand supply but that it has no tangible effects on the improvement of the resources in the study region. In this regard, the Demand Management scenario is found to be more effective than the water supply one although it still remains unacceptable. Results of the Meta scenario indicate that both the supply and demand management scenarios must be applied if the water resources are to be safeguarded against degradation and depletion. In other words, the supply management scenario is necessary but not adequate; rather, it must be coupled to the demand

  10. Valuing flexibilities in the design of urban water management systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Yinghan; Cardin, Michel-Alexandre; Babovic, Vladan; Santhanakrishnan, Deepak; Schmitter, Petra; Meshgi, Ali

    2013-12-15

    Climate change and rapid urbanization requires decision-makers to develop a long-term forward assessment on sustainable urban water management projects. This is further complicated by the difficulties of assessing sustainable designs and various design scenarios from an economic standpoint. A conventional valuation approach for urban water management projects, like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis, fails to incorporate uncertainties, such as amount of rainfall, unit cost of water, and other uncertainties associated with future changes in technological domains. Such approach also fails to include the value of flexibility, which enables managers to adapt and reconfigure systems over time as uncertainty unfolds. This work describes an integrated framework to value investments in urban water management systems under uncertainty. It also extends the conventional DCF analysis through explicit considerations of flexibility in systems design and management. The approach incorporates flexibility as intelligent decision-making mechanisms that enable systems to avoid future downside risks and increase opportunities for upside gains over a range of possible futures. A water catchment area in Singapore was chosen to assess the value of a flexible extension of standard drainage canals and a flexible deployment of a novel water catchment technology based on green roofs and porous pavements. Results show that integrating uncertainty and flexibility explicitly into the decision-making process can reduce initial capital expenditure, improve value for investment, and enable decision-makers to learn more about system requirements during the lifetime of the project. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Legal regime of water management facilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salma Jožef

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyzes the legal regime of water management facilities in the light of Serbian, foreign and European law. Different divisions of water management facilities are carried out (to public and private ones, natural and artificial ones, etc., with determination of their legal relevance. Account is taken of the issue of protection from harmful effects of waters to such facilities, as well. The paper points also to rules on the water management facilities, from acts of planning, to individual administrative acts and measures for maintenance of required qualitative and quantitative condition of waters, depending on their purpose (general use or special, commercial use o waters. Albeit special rules on water management facilities exist, due to the natural interlocking between all the components of the environment (water, air and soil, a comprehensive approach is required. A reference is made to other basic principles of protection of water management facilities as well, such as the principle of prevention, principle of sustainable development and the principle "polluter pays". The last one represents the achievement of contemporary law, which deviates from the idea accepted in the second half of 20th century that supported the socialization of risk from harmful effects of waters.

  12. Water Resources Assessment and Management in Drylands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magaly Koch

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Drylands regions of the world face difficult issues in maintaining water resources to meet current demands which will intensify in the future with population increases, infrastructure development, increased agricultural water demands, and climate change impacts on the hydrologic system. New water resources evaluation and management methods will be needed to assure that water resources in drylands are optimally managed in a sustainable manner. Development of water management and conservation methods is a multi-disciplinary endeavor. Scientists and engineers must collaborate and cooperate with water managers, planners, and politicians to successfully adopt new strategies to manage water not only for humans, but to maintain all aspects of the environment. This particularly applies to drylands regions where resources are already limited and conflicts over water are occurring. Every aspect of the hydrologic cycle needs to be assessed to be able to quantify the available water resources, to monitor natural and anthropogenic changes, and to develop flexible policies and management strategies that can change as conditions dictate. Optimal, sustainable water management is achieved by cooperation and not conflict, thereby necessitating the need for high quality scientific research and input into the process.

  13. Seasonality, water use and community management of water systems in rural settings: Qualitative evidence from Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Emma; Shields, Katherine F; Cronk, Ryan; Lee, Kristen; Behnke, Nikki; Klug, Tori; Bartram, Jamie

    2018-07-01

    The sustainability of rural, community-managed water systems in sub-Saharan Africa depends in part on the ability of local water committees to repair breakdowns and carry out the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the system. Much of sub-Saharan Africa has two distinct seasons that affect the availability of water sources and how people use water. Little is known about how seasonality affects water system management. This qualitative study is based on 320 interviews and focus group discussions and examines the effects of season on community water use and management in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. Participants revealed that seasonality affects water availability, water system breakdowns, resource mobilization, committee activity, and external support availability. In the rainy season, participants typically reported spending less time and money on water collection because rainwater harvesting and seasonal streams, ponds, wells and reservoirs are available. In the dry season, people used improved groundwater sources more often and spent more money and time collecting water. Although seasonal changes in household water demand and use have been examined previously, our data suggest that seasonality also influences community management through differential water system use, system breakdowns and management characteristics. We found that water committees generally have less money, time and access to external support during the rainy season, making them less able to carry out O&M. Our results suggest that community engagement should take place over a long period of time so that seasonal patterns in management can be understood and incorporated into water committee training. External support actors should make a more targeted effort to understand the cultural and economic patterns in a community in order to train committees with appropriate management strategies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Frameworks for amending reservoir water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mower, Ethan; Miranda, Leandro E.

    2013-01-01

    Managing water storage and withdrawals in many reservoirs requires establishing seasonal targets for water levels (i.e., rule curves) that are influenced by regional precipitation and diverse water demands. Rule curves are established as an attempt to balance various water needs such as flood control, irrigation, and environmental benefits such as fish and wildlife management. The processes and challenges associated with amending rule curves to balance multiuse needs are complicated and mostly unfamiliar to non-US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) natural resource managers and to the public. To inform natural resource managers and the public we describe the policies and process involved in amending rule curves in USACE reservoirs, including 3 frameworks: a general investigation, a continuing authority program, and the water control plan. Our review suggests that water management in reservoirs can be amended, but generally a multitude of constraints and competing demands must be addressed before such a change can be realized.

  15. Effective planning and management as critical factors in urban water supply and management in Umuahia and Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchegbu, Smart N.

    Plan and policy development usually define the course, goal, execution, success or failure of any public utilities initiative. Urban water supply is not an exception. Planning and management in public water supply systems often determine the quality of service the water supply authorities can render. This paper, therefore, addresses the issue of effective planning and management as critical determinants of urban water supply and management with respect to two Nigerian cities Umuahia and Aba both in Abia State. Appropriate sampling methods systematic sampling and cluster techniques were employed in order to collect data for the study. The collected data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. The findings of the study indicate that planning and management indices such as funding, manpower, water storage tank capacity greatly influence the volume of water supplied in the study areas. Funding was identified as a major determinant of the efficiency of the water supply system. Therefore, the study advocates the need for sector reforms that would usher in private participants in the water sector both for improved funding and enhanced productivity.

  16. Application of Remote Sensing Data to Improve the Water and Soil Resource Management of Rwanda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Csorba, Ádám; Bukombe, Benjamin; Naramabuye, Francois Xavier; Szegi, Tamás; Vekerdy, Zoltán; Michéli, Erika

    2017-04-01

    The Rwandan agriculture strongly relies in the dry seasons on the water stored in artificial reservoirs of various sizes for irrigation purposes. Furthermore, the success of irrigation depends on a wide range of soil properties which directly affect the moisture regime of the growing medium. By integrating remote sensing and auxiliary data the objectives of our study are to monitor the water level fluctuation in the reservoirs, estimate the volume of water available for irrigation and to combine this information with soil property maps to support the decision making for sustainable irrigation water management in a study area in Southern Rwanda. For water level and volume estimation a series of Sentinel-1 (product type: GRD, acquisition mode: IW, polarizations HH and VH) data were obtained covering the study area and spanning over a period of two years. To map the extent of water bodies the Radar-Based Water Body Mapping module of the Water Observation and Information System (WOIS) was used. High-resolution optical data (Sentinel-2) were used for validation in cloud-free periods. To estimate the volume changes in the reservoirs, we combined the information derived from the water body mapping procedure and digital elevation models. For sustainable irrigation water management, digital soil property maps were developed by the application of wide range of environmental covariates related to soil forming factors. To develop covariates which represent the land use a time series analysis of the 2 years of Sentinel-1 data was performed. As auxiliary soil data, the ISRIC-WISE harmonized soil profile database was used. The developed digital soil mapping approach is integrated into a new WOIS workflow.

  17. Management and Area-wide Evaluation of Water Conservation Zones in Agricultural Catchments for Biomass Production, Water Quality and Food Security

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-04-01

    Global land and water resources are under threat from both the agricultural and urban development to meet increased demand for food and from the resulting degradation of the environment. Poor crop yields due to water stress is one of the main reasons for the prevailing hunger and rural poverty in parts of the world. The Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s particularly in Latin America and Asia resulted in increased agricultural production and depended partly on water management. In the future, most food will still need to come from rain-fed agriculture. Water conservation zones in agricultural catchments, particularly in rainfed areas, play an important role in the capture and storage of water and nutrients from farmlands and wider catchments, and help improve crop production in times of need in these areas. Water conservation zones are considered to be an important part of water resource management strategies that have been developed to prevent reservoir siltation, reduce water quality degradation, mitigate flooding, enhance groundwater recharge and provide water for farming. In addition to making crop production possible in dry areas, water conservation zones minimize soil erosion, improve soil moisture status through capillary rise and enhance soil fertility and quality. These water conservation zones include natural and constructed wetlands (including riparian wetlands), farm ponds and riparian buffer zones. The management of water conservation zones has been a challenge due to the poor understanding of the relationship between upstream land use and the functions of these zones and their internal dynamics. Knowledge of sources and sinks of water and redefining water and nutrient budgets for water conservation zones are important for optimizing the capture, storage and use of water and nutrients in agricultural landscapes. The overall objective of this coordinated research project (CRP) was to assess and enhance ecosystem services provided by wetlands, ponds

  18. Four African Nations Agree to Water Management Programme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    Full text: Seeking to improve their management of water resources, four northeast African nations today agreed at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to establish a long-term framework for utlizing a key underground water system. Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan signed a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) that aims to optimize the equitable use of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, a huge water resource that lies beneath the four nations. The SAP also commits the countries to strengthen and build upon a previously existing regional coordination mechanism, in part by establishing a new Joint Authority for the Nubian Aquifer System. The Programme lays the groundwork for improving cooperation among the four arid nations and for strengthening their capacity to monitor and manage the aquifer effectively. With growing populations and decreasing water availability from other sources in the region, the aquifer is under mounting pressure. Removing water without a clear understanding of transboundary and other implications threatens water quality and has the potential to harm biodiversity and accelerate land degradation. The agreement resulted from a joint Technical Cooperation project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the IAEA. ''I congratulate all involved on this significant achievement,'' said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. ''Water is a key resource, and effective management and use of such water resources is essential for the future. The agreement of the Strategic Action Programme is the result of real cooperation between the four States, the Agency and UNDP-GEF. I am confident that this Programme will be a success and will benefit the people of the region. This positive project experience benefits strengthened and expanded cooperation between the IAEA and the UNDP-GEF.'' ''UNDP would like to congratulate the

  19. Climate Change and Water Working Group - User Needs to Manage Hydrclimatic Risk from Days to Decades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raff, D. A.; Brekke, L. D.; Werner, K.; Wood, A.; White, K. D.

    2012-12-01

    The Federal Climate Change Water Working Group (CCAWWG) provides engineering and scientific collaborations in support of water management. CCAWWG objectives include building working relationships across federal science and water management agencies, provide a forum to share expertise and leverage resources, develop education and training forums, to work with water managers to understand scientific needs and to foster collaborative efforts across the Federal and non-Federal water management and science communities to address those needs. Identifying and addressing water management needs has been categorized across two major time scales: days to a decade and multi-decadal, respectively. These two time periods are termed "Short-Term" and "Long-Term" in terms of the types of water management decisions they support where Short-Term roughly correlates to water management operations and Long-Term roughly correlates to planning activities. This presentation will focus on portraying the identified water management user needs across these two time periods. User Needs for Long-Term planning were identified in the 2011 Reclamation and USACE "Addressing Climate Change in Long-Term Water Resources Planning and Management: User Needs for Improving Tools and Information." User needs for Long-Term planning are identified across eight major categories: Summarize Relevant Literature, Obtain Climate Change Information, Make Decisions About How to Use the Climate Change Information, Assess Natural Systems Response, Assess Socioeconomic and Institutional Response, Assess System Risks and Evaluate Alternatives, Assess and Characterize Uncertainties, and Communicating Results and Uncertainties to Decisionmakers. User Needs for Short-Term operations are focused on needs relative to available or desired monitoring and forecast products from the hydroclimatic community. These needs are presenting in the 2012 USACE, Reclamation, and NOAA - NWS "Short-Term Water Management Decisions: User

  20. Adaptive and integrated water management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pahl-Wostl, C.; Kabat, P.; Möltgen, J.

    2007-01-01

    Sustainable water management is a key environmental challenge of the 21st century. Developing and implementing innovative management approaches and how to cope with the increasing complexity and uncertainties was the theme of the first International Conference on Adaptive and Integrated Water

  1. Towards risk-based drought management in the Netherlands: making water supply levels transparent to water users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maat Judith, Ter; Marjolein, Mens; Vuren Saskia, Van; der Vat Marnix, Van

    2016-04-01

    Improving Predictions and Management of Hydrological Extremes (IMPREX), running from 2016-2019, a consortium of the Dutch research institute Deltares and the Dutch water management consultant HKV will design and build a tool to support quantitative risk-informed decision-making for fresh water management for the Netherlands, in particular the decision on water supply service levels. The research will be conducted in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry for Infrastructure and Environment, the Freshwater Supply Programme Office, the Dutch governmental organisation responsible for water management (Rijkswaterstaat), the Foundation for Applied Water Research, (STOWA, knowledge centre of the water boards) and a number of water boards. In the session we will present the conceptual framework for a risk-based approach for water shortage management and share thoughts on how the proposed tool can be applied in the Dutch water management context.

  2. Historical legacies, information and contemporary water science and management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bain, Daniel J.; Arrigo, Jennifer A.S.; Green, Mark B.; Pellerin, Brian A.; Vörösmarty, Charles J.

    2011-01-01

    Hydrologic science has largely built its understanding of the hydrologic cycle using contemporary data sources (i.e., last 100 years). However, as we try to meet water demand over the next 100 years at scales from local to global, we need to expand our scope and embrace other data that address human activities and the alteration of hydrologic systems. For example, the accumulation of human impacts on water systems requires exploration of incompletely documented eras. When examining these historical periods, basic questions relevant to modern systems arise: (1) How is better information incorporated into water management strategies? (2) Does any point in the past (e.g., colonial/pre-European conditions in North America) provide a suitable restoration target? and (3) How can understanding legacies improve our ability to plan for future conditions? Beginning to answer these questions indicates the vital need to incorporate disparate data and less accepted methods to meet looming water management challenges.

  3. Managing Nicaraguan Water Resources Definition and Relative Importance of Information Needs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Engi, D.; Guillen, S.M.; Vammen, K.

    1999-01-01

    This report provides an overview of the results of the Vital the Nicaraguan Water Resources Management Initiative, Issues process as implemented for a collaborative effort between the Nicaraguan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and Sandia National Laboratories. This initiative is being developed to assist in the development of an efficient and sustainable water resources management system for Nicamgua. The Vital Issues process was used to provide information for developing a project that will develop and implement an advanced information system for managing Nicaragua's water resources. Three Vital Issues panel meetings were convened to 1) develop a mission statement and evaluation criteria for identifying and ranking the issues vital to water resources management in Nicaragua 2) define and rank the vital issues; and 3) identify a preliminary list of information needed to address the vital issues. The selection of panelists from the four basic institutional perspectives- government, industiy, academe, and citizens' groups (through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs))-ensured a high level of stakeholder representation on the panels. The already existing need for a water resource management information system has been magnified in the aftemnath of Hurricane Mitch. This information system would be beneficial for an early warning system in emergencies, and the modeling and simulation capabilities of the system would allow for advanced planning. Additionally, the outreach program will provide education to help Nicaraguan improve their water hygiene practices.

  4. Integrated Modeling of the Human-Natural System to Improve Local Water Management and Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutowski, W. J., Jr.; Dziubanski, D.; Franz, K.; Goodwin, J.; Rehmann, C. R.; Simpkins, W. W.; Tesfastion, L.; Wanamaker, A. D.; Jie, Y.

    2015-12-01

    Communities across the world are experiencing the effects of unsustainable water management practices. Whether the problem is a lack of water, too much water, or water of degraded quality, finding acceptable solutions requires community-level efforts that integrate sound science with local needs and values. Our project develops both a software technology (agent-based hydrological modeling) and a social technology (a participatory approach to model development) that will allow communities to comprehensively address local water challenges. Using agent-based modeling (ABM), we are building a modeling system that includes a semi-distributed hydrologic process model coupled with agent (stakeholder) models. Information from the hydrologic model is conveyed to the agent models, which, along with economic information, determine appropriate agent actions that subsequently affect hydrology within the model. The iterative participatory modeling (IPM) process will assist with the continual development of the agent models. Further, IPM creates a learning environment in which all participants, including researchers, are co-exploring relevant data, possible scenarios and solutions, and viewpoints through continuous interactions. Our initial work focuses on the impact of flood mitigation and conservation efforts on reducing flooding in an urban area. We are applying all research elements above to the Squaw Creek watershed that flows through parts of four counties in central Iowa. The watershed offers many of the typical tensions encountered in Iowa, such as different perspectives on water management between upstream farmers and downstream urban areas, competition for various types of recreational services, and increasing absentee land ownership that may conflict with community values. Ultimately, climate change scenarios will be incorporated into the model to determine long term patterns that may develop within the social or natural system.

  5. Managing peatland vegetation for drinking water treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritson, Jonathan P; Bell, Michael; Brazier, Richard E; Grand-Clement, Emilie; Graham, Nigel J D; Freeman, Chris; Smith, David; Templeton, Michael R; Clark, Joanna M

    2016-11-18

    Peatland ecosystem services include drinking water provision, flood mitigation, habitat provision and carbon sequestration. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal is a key treatment process for the supply of potable water downstream from peat-dominated catchments. A transition from peat-forming Sphagnum moss to vascular plants has been observed in peatlands degraded by (a) land management, (b) atmospheric deposition and (c) climate change. Here within we show that the presence of vascular plants with higher annual above-ground biomass production leads to a seasonal addition of labile plant material into the peatland ecosystem as litter recalcitrance is lower. The net effect will be a smaller litter carbon pool due to higher rates of decomposition, and a greater seasonal pattern of DOC flux. Conventional water treatment involving coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation may be impeded by vascular plant-derived DOC. It has been shown that vascular plant-derived DOC is more difficult to remove via these methods than DOC derived from Sphagnum, whilst also being less susceptible to microbial mineralisation before reaching the treatment works. These results provide evidence that practices aimed at re-establishing Sphagnum moss on degraded peatlands could reduce costs and improve efficacy at water treatment works, offering an alternative to 'end-of-pipe' solutions through management of ecosystem service provision.

  6. Water sustainable management for buildings Water sustainable management for buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Arturo Ocaña Ponce

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a literature review article that deals with how to manage water in build­ings, specifically in facility projects, in ways to save water during the use, maintenance and operation of the building. This work is aimed at architects, builders and developers, and may be helpful for decision-making in the planning and management of efficient water use in buildings.Este trabajo es un artículo de revisión relacionado con el manejo y gestión del recurso agua, particularmente en proyectos de edificaciones, con el fin de propiciar ahorro de agua durante el uso, mantenimiento y operación del inmueble. Este documento está dirigido a arquitectos, constructores y desarrolladores inmobiliarios y puede ser de gran utilidad para la toma de decisiones en la fase de planeación y de gestión del uso eficiente del agua en los edificios.

  7. Increasing productivity by matching farming system management and genotype in water-limited environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirkegaard, J A; Hunt, J R

    2010-10-01

    Improvements in water productivity and yield arise from interactions between varieties (G) and their management (M). Most G×M interactions considered by breeders and physiologists focus on in-crop management (e.g. sowing time, plant density, N management). However, opportunities exist to capture more water and use it more effectively that involve judicious management of prior crops and fallows (e.g. crop sequence, weed control, residue management). The dry-land wheat production system of southern Australia, augmented by simulation studies, is used to demonstrate the relative impacts and interactions of a range of pre-crop and in-crop management decisions on water productivity. A specific case study reveals how a novel genetic trait, long coleoptiles that enable deeper sowing, can interact with different management options to increase the water-limited yield of wheat from 1.6 t ha(-1) to 4.5 t ha(-1), reflecting the experience of leading growers. Understanding such interactions will be necessary to capture benefits from new varieties within the farming systems of the future.

  8. Extreme weather events: Should drinking water quality management systems adapt to changing risk profiles?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Stuart J; Deere, Daniel; Leusch, Frederic D L; Humpage, Andrew; Jenkins, Madeleine; Cunliffe, David

    2015-11-15

    Among the most widely predicted and accepted consequences of global climate change are increases in both the frequency and severity of a variety of extreme weather events. Such weather events include heavy rainfall and floods, cyclones, droughts, heatwaves, extreme cold, and wildfires, each of which can potentially impact drinking water quality by affecting water catchments, storage reservoirs, the performance of water treatment processes or the integrity of distribution systems. Drinking water guidelines, such as the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and the World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, provide guidance for the safe management of drinking water. These documents present principles and strategies for managing risks that may be posed to drinking water quality. While these principles and strategies are applicable to all types of water quality risks, very little specific attention has been paid to the management of extreme weather events. We present a review of recent literature on water quality impacts of extreme weather events and consider practical opportunities for improved guidance for water managers. We conclude that there is a case for an enhanced focus on the management of water quality impacts from extreme weather events in future revisions of water quality guidance documents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Geospatial Techniques for Improved Water Management in Jordan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jawad T. Al-Bakri

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This research shows a case from Jordan where geospatial techniques were utilized for irrigation water auditing. The work was based on assessing records of groundwater abstraction in relation to irrigated areas and estimated crop water consumption in three water basins: Yarmouk, Amman-Zarqa and Azraq. Mapping of irrigated areas and crop water requirements was carried out using remote sensing data of Landsat 8 and daily weather records. The methodology was based on visual interpretation and the unsupervised classification for remote sensing data, supported by ground surveys. Net (NCWR and gross (GCWR crop water requirements were calculated by merging crop evapotranspiration (ETc, calculated from daily weather records, with maps of irrigated crops. Gross water requirements were compared with groundwater abstractions recorded at a farm level to assess the levels of abstraction in relation to groundwater safe yield. Results showed that irrigated area and GCWR were higher than officially recorded cropped area and abstracted groundwater. The over abstraction of groundwater was estimated to range from 144% to 360% of the safe yield in the three basins. Overlaying the maps of irrigation and groundwater wells enabled the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI to detect and uncover violations and illegal practices of irrigation, in the form of unlicensed wells, incorrect metering of pumped water and water conveyance for long distances. Results from the work were utilized at s high level of decision-making and changes to the water law were made, with remote sensing data being accredited for monitoring water resources in Jordan.

  10. Abatement vs. treatment for efficient diffuse source water pollution management in terrestrial-marine systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roebeling, P C; Cunha, M C; Arroja, L; van Grieken, M E

    2015-01-01

    Marine ecosystems are affected by water pollution originating from coastal catchments. The delivery of water pollutants can be reduced through water pollution abatement as well as water pollution treatment. Hence, sustainable economic development of coastal regions requires balancing of the marginal costs from water pollution abatement and/or treatment and the associated marginal benefits from marine resource appreciation. Water pollution delivery reduction costs are, however, not equal across abatement and treatment options. In this paper, an optimal control approach is developed and applied to explore welfare maximizing rates of water pollution abatement and/or treatment for efficient diffuse source water pollution management in terrestrial-marine systems. For the case of diffuse source dissolved inorganic nitrogen water pollution in the Tully-Murray region, Queensland, Australia, (agricultural) water pollution abatement cost, (wetland) water pollution treatment cost and marine benefit functions are determined to explore welfare maximizing rates of water pollution abatement and/or treatment. Considering partial (wetland) treatment costs and positive water quality improvement benefits, results show that welfare gains can be obtained, primarily, through diffuse source water pollution abatement (improved agricultural management practices) and, to a minor extent, through diffuse source water pollution treatment (wetland restoration).

  11. Assessment of irrigation performance: contribution to improve water management in a small catchment in the Brazilian savannas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Lineu; Marioti, Juliana; Steenhuis, Tammo; Wallender, Wesley

    2010-05-01

    Irrigated agriculture is the major consumer of surface water in Brazil using over 70% of the total supply. Due to the growing competition for water among different sectors of the economy, sustainable water use can only be achieved by decreasing the portion of water used by the irrigated agriculture. Thus, in order to maintain yield, farmers need to irrigate more efficiently. There is little known on irrigation efficiency in Brazil. Therefore a study was carried out in the Buriti Vermelho basin to assess the irrigation performance of existing system. The experimental basin has a drainage area of 940 hectares and is located in the eastern part of the Federal District, in the Brazilian savanna region. Agriculture is the main activity. There is a dominance of red latosols. Several types of land use and crop cover are encountered in the basin. Conflicts among farmers for water are increasing. As water, in quality and quantity, is crucial to maintain the livelihood of the population in the basin, concern about risk of water lack due to climatic and land use change is in place. Once irrigation is the main water user in the basin, to increase water availability and reduce conflicts a water resource management plan has to be established. For this purpose, irrigation system performance has to be understood. The objective of this work was to assess the performance and the management of irrigation (small and big) that has been carried out by farmers in the Buriti Vermelho experimental watershed. A survey undertaken in 2007 was used to identify the irrigation systems in the basin. It was verified that irrigation is practiced by both small (area up to 6 hectare) and big farmers. Small farmers usually crop limes and vegetables and use micro-irrigation, drip, sprinkler, guns or furrow to irrigate them. Big farmers plant annual crops and use center pivot as irrigation system. In this first assessment 13 irrigation systems were evaluated: five conventional sprinklers, four drip

  12. Improvements in crop water productivity increase water sustainability and food security—a global analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brauman, Kate A; Foley, Jonathan A; Siebert, Stefan

    2013-01-01

    Irrigation consumes more water than any other human activity, and thus the challenges of water sustainability and food security are closely linked. To evaluate how water resources are used for food production, we examined global patterns of water productivity—food produced (kcal) per unit of water (l) consumed. We document considerable variability in crop water productivity globally, not only across different climatic zones but also within climatic zones. The least water productive systems are disproportionate freshwater consumers. On precipitation-limited croplands, we found that ∼40% of water consumption goes to production of just 20% of food calories. Because in many cases crop water productivity is well below optimal levels, in many cases farmers have substantial opportunities to improve water productivity. To demonstrate the potential impact of management interventions, we calculated that raising crop water productivity in precipitation-limited regions to the 20th percentile of productivity would increase annual production on rainfed cropland by enough to provide food for an estimated 110 million people, and water consumption on irrigated cropland would be reduced enough to meet the annual domestic water demands of nearly 1.4 billion people. (letter)

  13. Water management can reinforce plant competition in salt-affected semi-arid wetlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coletti, Janaine Z.; Vogwill, Ryan; Hipsey, Matthew R.

    2017-09-01

    The diversity of vegetation in semi-arid, ephemeral wetlands is determined by niche availability and species competition, both of which are influenced by changes in water availability and salinity. Here, we hypothesise that ignoring physiological differences and competition between species when managing wetland hydrologic regimes can lead to a decrease in vegetation diversity, even when the overall wetland carrying capacity is improved. Using an ecohydrological model capable of resolving water-vegetation-salt feedbacks, we investigate why water surface and groundwater management interventions to combat vegetation decline have been more beneficial to Casuarina obesa than to Melaleuca strobophylla, the co-dominant tree species in Lake Toolibin, a salt-affected wetland in Western Australia. The simulations reveal that in trying to reduce the negative effect of salinity, the management interventions have created an environment favouring C. obesa by intensifying the climate-induced trend that the wetland has been experiencing of lower water availability and higher root-zone salinity. By testing alternative scenarios, we show that interventions that improve M. strobophylla biomass are possible by promoting hydrologic conditions that are less specific to the niche requirements of C. obesa. Modelling uncertainties were explored via a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. Overall, the study demonstrates the importance of including species differentiation and competition in ecohydrological models that form the basis for wetland management.

  14. Opportunities for practical improvements in the management of plant transients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zebroski, E.L.

    1984-01-01

    This chapter attempts to provide some perspectives on the steps involved in analyzing, evaluating, and implementing remedies for transients and for potentially severe events. The importance of improved response and control of plant transients is stressed. The main steps involved in the attainment of improved control of plant transients are listed. Topics considered include the acquisition of plant data, sensitivity and risk analysis, the options for improvements, the managerial role, and some priorities for data, analysis, and evaluation. The ten most frequent types of transients for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs) are listed according to frequency of occurrence. It is concluded that the two main needs of transient management are to avoid preoccupation with end-of-spectrum accidents and to improve the rate of technology transfer from best-available analysis and implementation

  15. Water demand management in times of drought: What matters for water conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maggioni, Elena

    2015-01-01

    Southern California is subject to long droughts and short wet spells. Its water agencies have put in place voluntary, mandatory, and market-based conservation strategies since the 1980s. By analyzing water agencies' data between 2006 and 2010, this research studies whether rebates for water efficient fixtures, water rates, or water ordinances have been effective, and tests whether structural characteristics of water agencies have affected the policy outcome. It finds that mandates to curb outdoor water uses are correlated with reductions in residential per capita water usage, while water rates and subsidies for water saving devices are not. It also confirms that size is a significant policy implementation factor. In a policy perspective, the transition from a water supply to a water demand management-oriented strategy appears guided by mandates and by contextual factors such as the economic cycle and the weather that occur outside the water governance system. Three factors could improve the conservation effort: using prices as a conservation tool, not only as a cost recovering instrument; investing in water efficient tools only when they provide significant water savings; supporting smaller agencies in order to give them opportunities to implement conservation strategies more effectively or to help them consolidate.

  16. Security management of water supply

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tchórzewska-Cieślak Barbara

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The main aim of this work is to present operational problems concerning the safety of the water supply and the procedures for risk management systems functioning public water supply (CWSS and including methods of hazard identification and risk assessment. Developed a problem analysis and risk assessment, including procedures called. WSP, which is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO as a tool for comprehensive security management of water supply from source to consumer. Water safety plan is a key element of the strategy for prevention of adverse events in CWSS.

  17. Cybernetics in water resources management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alam, N.

    2005-01-01

    The term Water Resources is used to refer to the management and use of water primarily for the benefit of people. Hence, successful management of water resources requires a solid understanding of Hydrology. Cybernetics in Water Resources Management is an endeavor to analyze and enhance the beneficial exploitation of diverse scientific approaches and communication methods; to control the complexity of water management; and to highlight the importance of making right decisions at the right time, avoiding the devastating effects of drought and floods. Recent developments in computer technology and advancement of mathematics have created a new field of system analysis i.e. Mathematical Modeling. Based on mathematical models, several computer based Water Resources System (WRS) Models were developed across the world, to solve the water resources management problems, but these were not adaptable and were limited to computation by a well defined algorithm, with information input at various stages and the management tasks were also formalized in that well structured algorithm. The recent advancements in information technology has revolutionized every field of the contemporary world and thus, the WRS has also to be diversified by broadening the knowledge base of the system. The updation of this knowledge should be a continuous process acquired through the latest techniques of networking from all its concerned sources together with the expertise of the specialists and the analysis of the practical experiences. The system should then be made capable of making inferences and shall have the tendency to apply the rules based on the latest information and inferences in a given stage of problem solving. Rigid programs cannot adapt to changing conditions and new knowledge. Thus, there is a need for an evolutionary development based on mutual independence of computational procedure and knowledge with capability to adapt itself to the increasing complexity of problem. The subject

  18. An Implentation Methodology for Integrated Resource Management in Urban Water Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebrahimi, G.; Thurm, B.; Klein, D. R.; Öberg, G.

    2014-12-01

    Urban water management requires innovative and integrative approaches to improve sustainability in cities keeping in touch with science progress. Integrated Resource Management (IRM) is one of these strategies and has been developed to integrate various natural and human resources. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is challenging to move from vision to implementation. The aim of this paper is to identify strengths and weaknesses of IRM and analyze if the approach might facilitate implementation of sustainability objectives in the water management field. A literature review was performed on peer-reviewed papers that were identified through Google Scholar search for the term 'Integrated Resource Management'. It was found that IRM has been used in a number of contexts such as urban planning, forestry, and management of waste and livestock. Significant implementation challenges are highlighted in the literature. Based on the lessons learned in many different fields, from forestry to communication sciences, important characteristics of IRM approach were found such as the need for adequate governance and strong leaderships, stakeholder's involvement, the learning process and the critical need of appropriate evaluation criteria. We conclude developing an implementation methodology and presenting several recommendations to implement IRM in urban management. While Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) is recognized as a fruitful approach to achieve sustainable water management, this study suggests that a shift toward Integrated Resource Management (IRM) can be beneficial as it is designed to facilitate consideration of the interrelationships between various natural and human resources.

  19. A Holistic ICT Solution to Improve Matching between Supply and Demand over the Water Supply Distribution Chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Anzaldi

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available While many water management tools exist, these systems are not usually interconnected and therefore cannot communicate between one another, preventing Integrated Water Resources Management to be fully achieved. This paper presents the solution proposed by WatERP project* where a novel solution enables better matching between water supply and demand from holistic perspective. Subsystems that control the production, management and consumption of water will be interconnected through both information architecture and intelligent infrastructure. The main outcome will consist of, a web-based Open Management Platform integrating near real-time knowledge on water supplies and demand, from sources to users, across geographic and organizational scales and supported by a knowledge base where information will be structured in water management ontology to ensure interoperability and maximize usability. WatERP will thus provide a major contribution to: 1 Improve coordination among actors, 2 Foster behavioural change, 3 Reduce water and energy consumption, 4 Optimize water accountability.

  20. Conjunctive operation of river facilities for integrated water resources management in Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Kim

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available With the increasing trend of water-related disasters such as floods and droughts resulting from climate change, the integrated management of water resources is gaining importance recently. Korea has worked towards preventing disasters caused by floods and droughts, managing water resources efficiently through the coordinated operation of river facilities such as dams, weirs, and agricultural reservoirs. This has been pursued to enable everyone to enjoy the benefits inherent to the utilization of water resources, by preserving functional rivers, improving their utility and reducing the degradation of water quality caused by floods and droughts. At the same time, coordinated activities are being conducted in multi-purpose dams, hydro-power dams, weirs, agricultural reservoirs and water use facilities (featuring a daily water intake of over 100 000 m3 day−1 with the purpose of monitoring the management of such facilities. This is being done to ensure the protection of public interest without acting as an obstacle to sound water management practices. During Flood Season, each facilities contain flood control capacity by limited operating level which determined by the Regulation Council in advance. Dam flood discharge decisions are approved through the flood forecasting and management of Flood Control Office due to minimize flood damage for both upstream and downstream. The operational plan is implemented through the council's predetermination while dry season for adequate quantity and distribution of water.

  1. 40 CFR 130.6 - Water quality management plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Water quality management plans. 130.6... QUALITY PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT § 130.6 Water quality management plans. (a) Water quality management (WQM... and certified and approved updates to those plans. Continuing water quality planning shall be based...

  2. Community participation and implementation of water management instruments in watersheds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Alejandro Perez Rincon

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The current model of water resources management in Brazil is decentralized, participative and integrated, and adopted the river basin as a planning unit. It is based on the performance of watershed committees; each committee has its own composition and rules of procedure, governed by its statute. The basic principles of this management have been established by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 and detailed by the National Water Resources Policy in 1997. At the State level, São Paulo enacted its water resources policy in 1991. This paper examined the participatory process in basin committees of the São Paulo State and its implications in the implementation of the instruments of water management, based in a case study of the Tiete - Jacaré Watershed Committee, using questionnaires filled by the Committee’s members (2009 - 2011. Engagement and integration among the stakeholders was observed. Still, the interviews’ results have shown that the Committee’s statute should be reviewed due to differences between the Federal and the State legislation, mainly regarding the participating sectors and representatives. It also showed a need for more information about water resource issues in this basin and in the State of São Paulo, as a whole. At the same time, it is recommended that representativeness of the institutions within the water council management be improved and that the work produced by the technical chambers be recognised at the committee decision-making level.

  3. Increased Mercury Bioaccumulation Follows Water Quality Improvement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bogle, M.A.; Peterson, M.J.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.

    1999-09-15

    Changes in physical and chemical characteristics of aquatic habitats made to reduce or eliminate ecological risks can sometimes have unforeseen consequences. Environmental management activities on the U.S. Dept. of Energy reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,have succeeded in improving water quality in streams impacted by discharges fi-om industrial facilities and waste disposal sites. The diversity and abundance of pollution-sensitive components of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of three streams improved after new waste treatment systems or remedial actions reduced inputs of various toxic chemicals. Two of the streams were known to be mercury-contaminated from historical spills and waste disposal practices. Waterborne mercury concentrations in the third were typical of uncontaminated systems. In each case, concentrations of mercury in fish, or the apparent biological availability of mercury increased over the period during which ecological metrics indicated improved water quality. In the system where waterborne mercury concentrations were at background levels, increased mercury bioaccumulation was probably a result of reduced aqueous selenium concentrations; however, the mechanisms for increased mercury accumulation in the other two streams remain under investigation. In each of the three systems, reduced inputs of metals and inorganic anions was followed by improvements in the health of aquatic invertebrate communities. However, this reduction in risk to aquatic invertebrates was accompanied by increased risk to humans and piscivorous wildlife related to increased mercury concentrations in fish.

  4. Increased Mercury Bioaccumulation Follows Water Quality Improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogle, M.A.; Peterson, M.J.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.

    1999-01-01

    Changes in physical and chemical characteristics of aquatic habitats made to reduce or eliminate ecological risks can sometimes have unforeseen consequences. Environmental management activities on the U.S. Dept. of Energy reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,have succeeded in improving water quality in streams impacted by discharges fi-om industrial facilities and waste disposal sites. The diversity and abundance of pollution-sensitive components of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of three streams improved after new waste treatment systems or remedial actions reduced inputs of various toxic chemicals. Two of the streams were known to be mercury-contaminated from historical spills and waste disposal practices. Waterborne mercury concentrations in the third were typical of uncontaminated systems. In each case, concentrations of mercury in fish, or the apparent biological availability of mercury increased over the period during which ecological metrics indicated improved water quality. In the system where waterborne mercury concentrations were at background levels, increased mercury bioaccumulation was probably a result of reduced aqueous selenium concentrations; however, the mechanisms for increased mercury accumulation in the other two streams remain under investigation. In each of the three systems, reduced inputs of metals and inorganic anions was followed by improvements in the health of aquatic invertebrate communities. However, this reduction in risk to aquatic invertebrates was accompanied by increased risk to humans and piscivorous wildlife related to increased mercury concentrations in fish

  5. Fishing for improvements: managing fishing by boat on New York City water supply reservoirs and lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicole L. Green; Jennifer A. Cairo

    2008-01-01

    In 2003, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Water Supply undertook a 5-year initiative to improve fishing by boat on its water supply reservoirs and controlled lakes in upstate New York. The project includes: revising administrative procedures; cleaning up boat fishing areas on reservoir shores; improving two-way communication with...

  6. Waste Management Process Improvement Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atwood, J.; Borden, G.; Rangel, G. R.

    2002-01-01

    The Bechtel Hanford-led Environmental Restoration Contractor team's Waste Management Process Improvement Project is working diligently with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Richland Operations Office to improve the waste management process to meet DOE's need for an efficient, cost-effective program for the management of dangerous, low-level and mixed-low-level waste. Additionally the program must meet all applicable regulatory requirements. The need for improvement was highlighted when a change in the Groundwater/Vadose Zone Integration Project's waste management practices resulted in a larger amount of waste being generated than the waste management organization had been set up to handle

  7. Use of wetlands for water quality improvement under the USEPA Region V Clean Lakes Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landers, Judith C.; Knuth, Barbara A.

    1991-03-01

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region V Clean Lakes Program employs artificial and modified natural wetlands in an effort to improve the water quality of selected lakes. We examined use of wetlands at seven lake sites and evaluated the physical and institutional means by which wetland projects are implemented and managed, relative to USEPA program goals and expert recommendations on the use of wetlands for water quality improvement. Management practices recommended by wetlands experts addressed water level and retention, sheet flow, nutrient removal, chemical treatment, ecological and effectiveness monitoring, and resource enhancement. Institutional characteristics recommended included local monitoring, regulation, and enforcement and shared responsibilities among jurisdictions. Institutional and ecological objectives of the National Clean Lakes Program were met to some degree at every site. Social objectives were achieved to a lesser extent. Wetland protection mechanisms and appropriate institutional decentralization were present at all sites. Optimal management techniques were employed to varying degrees at each site, but most projects lack adequate monitoring to determine adverse ecological impacts and effectiveness of pollutant removal and do not extensively address needs for recreation and wildlife habitat. There is evidence that the wetland projects are contributing to improved lake water quality; however, more emphasis needs to be placed on wetland protection and long-term project evaluation.

  8. Sustainable agricultural water management across climates

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeVincentis, A.

    2016-12-01

    Fresh water scarcity is a global problem with local solutions. Agriculture is one of many human systems threatened by water deficits, and faces unique supply, demand, quality, and management challenges as the global climate changes and population grows. Sustainable agricultural water management is paramount to protecting global economies and ecosystems, but requires different approaches based on environmental conditions, social structures, and resource availability. This research compares water used by conservation agriculture in temperate and tropical agroecosystems through data collected from operations growing strawberries, grapes, tomatoes, and pistachios in California and corn and soybeans in Colombia. The highly manipulated hydrologic regime in California has depleted water resources and incited various adaptive management strategies, varying based on crop type and location throughout the state. Operations have to use less water more efficiently, and sometimes that means fallowing land in select groundwater basins. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the largely untouched landscape in the eastern plains of Colombia are rapidly being converted into commercial agricultural operations, with a unique opportunity to manage and plan for agricultural development with sustainability in mind. Although influenced by entirely different climates and economies, there are some similarities in agricultural water management strategies that could be applicable worldwide. Cover crops are a successful management strategy for both agricultural regimes, and moving forward it appears that farmers who work in coordination with their neighbors to plan for optimal production will be most successful in both locations. This research points to the required coordination of agricultural extension services as a critical component to sustainable water use, successful economies, and protected environments.

  9. Improving irrigation efficiency : the need for a relevant sequence of the management tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fayolle, Y.

    2009-04-01

    With 70 % of worldwide withdrawals, irrigation efficiency is a key issue in the overall problem of water resources. Management of water dedicated to agriculture should be improved to secure food production and save water to deal with increasing domestic and industrial demands. This paper is based on the results of a collaborative research project conducted in India with a local NGO (the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, AKRSP(I)) during which GIS were tested. It is aimed at analyzing the efficiency of water usage in a water development programme conducted by the partner NGO in the semi-arid margins of Gujarat state. The analysis raises the question of the articulation of legal, institutional, economical, and technical tools to improve water efficiency. The NGO supervises the construction of surface water harvesting structures for irrigation purposes. Following a participatory approach, it creates and trains user groups to which the management of dams would then be devolved. User group membership depends on financial contribution to the building costs. A legal vacuum regarding surface water management combined with unequal investment capacities favor the concentration of water resources in the hands of a limited number of farmers. This causes low water use efficiency, irrigation choices being mostly oriented to high water consumptive crops and recipient farmers showing no interest in investing in water saving techniques. Our observations favor equality of access and paying more attention to the sequence in which management tools are articulated. On a national scale, as a prerequisite, water user rights as well as NGO's intervention legal framework should be clarified. On a project scale, before construction, information systems could help to identify all potential beneficiaries and optimize equality of access. It aims at reducing the volume of water per farmer to encourage them to irrigate low water consumptive crops and invest in water saving techniques. Depending

  10. Assessing the Total Economic Value of Improving Water Quality to Inform Water Resources Management: Evidence and Challenges from Southeast Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalilov, S.; Fukushi, K.

    2016-12-01

    Population growth, high rates of economic development and rapid urbanization in the developing countries of Southeast Asia (SEA) have resulted in degradation and depletion of natural resources, including water resources and related ecosystem services. Many urban rivers in the region are highly polluted with domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes. Policymakers are often aware of the direct value of water resources for domestic and industrial consumption, but they often underestimate the indirect value of these functions, since they are not exchanged in the market and do not appear in national income accounts. Underestimation of pollution and over-exploitation of water resources result in a loss of these benefits and have adverse impacts on nearby residents, threatening the long-term sustainable development of natural resources in the region. Behind these constraints lies a lack of knowledge (ignorance) from governments that a clean water environment could bring significant economic benefits. This study has been initiated to tackle this issue and to foster a more rational approach for sustainable urban development in Metro Manila in the Philippines. We applied a Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) based on Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technique. Results show that users are willing to pay up to PHP 102.42 (2.18) monthly to improve quality of urban waterbodies whereas nonusers are willing to pay up to PHP 366.53 (7.80) as one-time payment towards water quality improvement. The estimated monetary value of water quality improvements would be a useful variable in cost-benefit analyses of various water quality-related policies, in both public and private sectors in Metro Manila. This survey design could serve as a useful template for similar water quality studies in other SEA countries.

  11. MANAGING MANURE TO IMPROVE AIR AND WATER QUALITY

    OpenAIRE

    Aillery, Marcel P.; Gollehon, Noel R.; Johansson, Robert C.; Kaplan, Jonathan D.; Key, Nigel D.; Ribaudo, Marc

    2005-01-01

    Animal waste from confined animal feeding operations is a potential source of air and water quality degradation from evaporation of gases, runoff to surface water, and leaching to ground water. This report assesses the potential economic and environmental tradeoffs between water quality policies and air quality policies that require the animal agriculture sector to take potentially costly measures to abate pollution. A farm-level analysis of hog farms estimates the economic and environmental ...

  12. Arsenic-safe drinking water and antioxidants for the management of arsenicosis patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salamat Khandker, Ranjit Kumar Dey, AZM Maidul Islam, Sheikh Akhtar Ahmad and Ifthaker-Al-Mahmud

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The role of arsenic-safe drinking water and antioxidants in the management of arsenicosis patients were observed. Two hundred and fifty patients of arsenicosis from an arsenic-affected area of Bangladesh were included and divided into five groups based on the source of drinking water (green- or red-marked tube well and intake of antioxidants (vitamin A, C and E. Melanosis improved in 43 patients of the group who took arsenic-safe drinking water from green-marked tube well and antioxidants regularly. Patients of the group who took green-marked tube well water regularly but not the antioxidant showed improvement in melanosis in 22 cases. The respondents who were using red-marked tube well water and antioxidants, only two of them improved; and all other respondents either deteriorated or did not improve. The respondents who were using red-marked tube well water but not the antioxidant, none did show any improvement of their illness. The respondents who took antioxidants irregularly and had irregular intake of safe water, were not considered to compare the prognosis of skin lesions. Regarding keratosis, the respondents who took green-marked tube well water regularly and antioxidant regularly, 8 of them improved, 1 case didn’t change; while the respondents who took green-marked tube well water regularly but not the antioxidant, 8 cases didn’t improve much but majority of them remain unchanged. Among the respondents of other groups, keratosis deteriorated. This study suggests that both arsenic-safe drinking water and use of antioxidants gave good result in improvement of the arsenicosis.

  13. Water management for development of water quality in the Ruhr River basin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klopp, R

    2000-01-01

    On the Ruhr, a small river running through hilly country and with a mean flow of 76 m3/s, 27 water works use the method of artificial groundwater recharge to produce 350 million m3 of drinking water annually. On the basis of a special act, the Ruhr River Association is responsible for water quality and water quantity management in the Ruhr basin. The present 94 municipal sewage treatment plants ensure that the raw water is sufficiently good to be turned into drinking water. In the Ruhr's lower reaches, where dry weather results in a 20% share of the entire water flow being treated wastewater, comparatively high concentration of substances of domestic or industrial origin are likely, including substances which municipal wastewater treatment measures cannot entirely remove. These substances include ammonium, coliform bacteria or pathogens, boron and organic trace substances. Although water treatment measures have greatly contributed to the considerable improvement of the Ruhr's water quality in the last few decades, it is desirable to continue to aim at a high standard of drinking water production technologies since the Ruhr is a surface water body influenced by anthropogenic factors. However, in the case of substances infiltrating into drinking water, legislation is required if a reduction of pollution appears to be necessary.

  14. Management of water balance in mining areas – WaterSmart: Final Report

    OpenAIRE

    Krogerus, Kirsti; Pasanen, Antti

    2016-01-01

    Although mining companies have long been conscious of water related risks, they still face environmental management challenges. Several recent environmental incidents in Finnish mines have raised questions regarding mine site environmental and water management practices. This has increased public awareness of mining threats to the environment and resulted in stricter permits and longer permitting procedures. Water balance modelling aids in predictive water management and reduces risks caused ...

  15. Water Policy Reforms in South Korea: A Historical Review and Ongoing Challenges for Sustainable Water Governance and Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ik-Chang Choi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to provide an opinion on the state-of-the-art of changes and reforms of water policies in South Korea, as well as the challenges along with their implications for sustainable water governance and management. In parallel with change in water resource characteristics generated by physical, environmental and socio-economic challenges such as: (1 uncertainties about climate change (flooding and drought including seasonal and regional variation in precipitation; (2 significant increase in water use caused by rapid urbanization and population growth in industrialized urban areas; (3 inadequate water pricing mechanism which covers only around 80% of the production cost and makes it harder to maintain water systems; and (4 recursive water quality degradation and conflicts over water rights between regions resulting from non-point source pollution in highland versus lowland areas, Korean water policies have been developed through diverse reforms over 100 years. Nevertheless, new challenges for sustainable water management are continuously emerging. To meet those challenges we provide two ideas: (i provider-gets-principle (payment for ecosystem services of cost-benefit sharing among stakeholders who benefit from water use; and (ii water pricing applying full-cost pricing-principle internalizing environmental externalities caused by the intensive water use. Funds secured from the application of those methods would facilitate: (1 support for upstream (rural low income householders suffering from economic restrictions; (2 improvement in water facilities; and (3 efficient water use and demand management in South Korea’s water sectors. We expect that this paper can examine the lessons relevant to challenges that South Korea faces and offer some implications on the formulation of new integration and further reforms of the institutions, laws and organizations responsible for managing water resources in South Korea.

  16. Evaluating Water Management Practice for Sustainable Mining

    OpenAIRE

    Xiangfeng Zhang; Lei Gao; Damian Barrett; Yun Chen

    2014-01-01

    To move towards sustainable development, the mining industry needs to identify better mine water management practices for reducing raw water use, increasing water use efficiency, and eliminating environmental impacts in a precondition of securing mining production. However, the selection of optimal mine water management practices is technically challenging due to the lack of scientific tools to comprehensively evaluate management options against a set of conflicting criteria. This work has pr...

  17. 18 CFR 740.4 - State water management planning program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... STATE WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROGRAM § 740.4 State water management planning program. (a) A State...) The integration of water quantity and water quality planning and management; (ii) The protection and... integration of ground and surface water planning and management; and (v) Water conservation. (4) Identify...

  18. Adjusting water resources management to climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Riebsame, W E

    1988-01-01

    The nature of climate impacts and adjustment in water supply and flood management is discussed, and a case study of water manager response to climate fluctuation in California's Sacramento Basin is presented. The case illuminates the effect on climate impact and response of traditional management approaches, the dynamic qualities of maturing water systems, socially imposed constraints, and climate extremes. A dual pattern of crisis-response and gradual adjustment emerges, and specific mechanisms for effecting adjustment of water management systems are identified. The case study, and broader trends in US water development, suggest that oversized structural capacity, the traditional adjustment to climate variability in water resources, may prove less feasible in the future as projects become smaller and new facilities are delayed by economic and environmental concerns.

  19. Improving water quality in China: Environmental investment pays dividends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yongqiang; Ma, Jianrong; Zhang, Yunlin; Qin, Boqiang; Jeppesen, Erik; Shi, Kun; Brookes, Justin D; Spencer, Robert G M; Zhu, Guangwei; Gao, Guang

    2017-07-01

    This study highlights how Chinese economic development detrimentally impacted water quality in recent decades and how this has been improved by enormous investment in environmental remediation funded by the Chinese government. To our knowledge, this study is the first to describe the variability of surface water quality in inland waters in China, the affecting drivers behind the changes, and how the government-financed conservation actions have impacted water quality. Water quality was found to be poorest in the North and the Northeast China Plain where there is greater coverage of developed land (cities + cropland), a higher gross domestic product (GDP), and higher population density. There are significant positive relationships between the concentration of the annual mean chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the percentage of developed land use (cities + cropland), GDP, and population density in the individual watersheds (p investments in environmental restoration and reforestation, the water quality of Chinese inland waters has improved markedly, which is particularly evident from the significant and exponentially decreasing GDP-normalized COD and ammonium (NH 4 + -N) concentrations. It is evident that the increasing GDP in China over the past decade did not occur at the continued expense of its inland water ecosystems. This offers hope for the future, also for other industrializing countries, that with appropriate environmental investments a high GDP can be reached and maintained, while simultaneously preserving inland aquatic ecosystems, particularly through management of sewage discharge. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Urban stormwater - greywater management system for sustainable urban water management at sub-watershed level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh Arora, Amarpreet

    2017-11-01

    Urban water management involves urban water supply (import, treatment and distribution of water), urban wastewater management (collection, treatment and disposal of urban sewage) and urban storm water management. Declining groundwater tables, polluted and declining sources of water, water scarcity in urban areas, unsatisfactory urban water supply and sanitation situation, pollution of receiving water bodies (including the ground water), and urban floods have become the concerns and issues of sustainable urban water management. This paper proposes a model for urban stormwater and sewage management which addresses these concerns and issues of sustainable urban water management. This model proposes segregation of the sewage into black water and greywater, and urban sub-watershed level stormwater-greywater management systems. During dry weather this system will be handling only the greywater and making the latter available as reclaimed water for reuse in place of the fresh water supply. During wet weather, the system will be taking care of (collection and treatment) both the storm water and the greywater, and the excess of the treated water will be disposed off through groundwater recharging. Application of this model in the Patiala city, Punjab, INDIA for selected urban sub-watersheds has been tried. Information and background data required for the conceptualization and design of the sub-watershed level urban stormwater-greywater management system was collected and the system has been designed for one of the sub-watersheds in the Patiala city. In this paper, the model for sustainable urban water management and the design of the Sub-watershed level Urban Stormwater-Greywater Management System are described.

  1. Improving crop water use efficiency using carbon isotope discrimination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serraj, R.

    2006-01-01

    Water scarcity, drought and salinity are among the most important environmental constraints challenging crop productivity in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, especially the rain-fed production systems. The current challenge is to enhance food security in water-limited and/or salt-affected areas for the benefit of resource-poor farmers in developing countries. There is also an increasing need that water use in agriculture should focus on improvement in the management of existing water resources and enhancing crop water productivity. The method based on carbon-13 discrimination in plant tissues has a potentially important role in the selection and breeding of some crop species for increased water use efficiency in some specific environments. Under various water-limited environments, low delta in the plants, indicating low carbon isotope discrimination has been generally associated with high transpiration efficiency (TE). In contrast, for well-watered environments many positive genotypic correlations have been reported between delta and grain yield indicating potential value in selecting for greater delta in these environments. Few studies have been reported on the impact of selection for delta on adaptation and grain yield in saline environments. Studies of the impact of genetic selection for greater and lower delta are currently coordinated by the Soil and water Management and Crop Nutrition Section (SWMCN) of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division. A Coordinated Research Project (CRP) is currently on-going on the Selection for Greater Agronomic Water-Use Efficiency in Wheat and Rice using Carbon Isotope Discrimination (D1-20 08). The overall objective of this project is to contribute to increasing the agronomic water-use efficiency of wheat and rice production, where agronomic water-use efficiency is defined as grain yield/total water use including both transpiration and evaporation. The CRP is also aiming at increasing wheat productivity under drought and rice

  2. Crop modeling applications in agricultural water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kisekka, Isaya; DeJonge, Kendall C.; Ma, Liwang; Paz, Joel; Douglas-Mankin, Kyle R.

    2017-01-01

    This article introduces the fourteen articles that comprise the “Crop Modeling and Decision Support for Optimizing Use of Limited Water” collection. This collection was developed from a special session on crop modeling applications in agricultural water management held at the 2016 ASABE Annual International Meeting (AIM) in Orlando, Florida. In addition, other authors who were not able to attend the 2016 ASABE AIM were also invited to submit papers. The articles summarized in this introductory article demonstrate a wide array of applications in which crop models can be used to optimize agricultural water management. The following section titles indicate the topics covered in this collection: (1) evapotranspiration modeling (one article), (2) model development and parameterization (two articles), (3) application of crop models for irrigation scheduling (five articles), (4) coordinated water and nutrient management (one article), (5) soil water management (two articles), (6) risk assessment of water-limited irrigation management (one article), and (7) regional assessments of climate impact (two articles). Changing weather and climate, increasing population, and groundwater depletion will continue to stimulate innovations in agricultural water management, and crop models will play an important role in helping to optimize water use in agriculture.

  3. Determining water management training needs through stakeholder ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    South Africa is a water-stressed country and the efficient management of the demand for and frugal use of water is a topic that can no longer be avoided. Community-based natural resource management is an alternative approach to government stewardship of natural resources, and in the instance of water management it is ...

  4. Improving Water Use in Fodder Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa Mendoza-Grimón

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Water deficit in semi-arid regions limits the future of the livestock sector. Also, its high price represents a percentage of the total cost of forage production. Non-conventional water resources applied by subsurface drip irrigation (SDI, in which the safe use lies in the management and not on the level of water treatment, would enhance the ruminant production sustainability. To obtain the optimal benefit, the transformation of water per kilogram of dry matter produced must have a high grade of effectiveness. Under this premise, a maralfalfa crop (Penissetum sp, hybridum has been established with an SDI system and reclaimed water. Forage yield is analyzed with respect to a 40% irrigation reduction. This study shows that, with the use of these good irrigation management practices, it is possible to harvest an annual production of 90 to 72 t·ha−1 in the warmer regions of the Canary Islands. This implies water consumption between 13,200 and 8100 m3·ha−1. A water consumption of 21,000 m3·ha−1 per year for the same production, at a ratio of 230 L·t−1, can be estimated for the rest of the Canary Islands coastal regions. The use of the water management described in this paper can be profitable in the Canary Islands for fodder production.

  5. Operational Management System for Regulated Water Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Loenen, A.; van Dijk, M.; van Verseveld, W.; Berger, H.

    2012-04-01

    Most of the Dutch large rivers, canals and lakes are controlled by the Dutch water authorities. The main reasons concern safety, navigation and fresh water supply. Historically the separate water bodies have been controlled locally. For optimizating management of these water systems an integrated approach was required. Presented is a platform which integrates data from all control objects for monitoring and control purposes. The Operational Management System for Regulated Water Systems (IWP) is an implementation of Delft-FEWS which supports operational control of water systems and actively gives advice. One of the main characteristics of IWP is that is real-time collects, transforms and presents different types of data, which all add to the operational water management. Next to that, hydrodynamic models and intelligent decision support tools are added to support the water managers during their daily control activities. An important advantage of IWP is that it uses the Delft-FEWS framework, therefore processes like central data collection, transformations, data processing and presentation are simply configured. At all control locations the same information is readily available. The operational water management itself gains from this information, but it can also contribute to cost efficiency (no unnecessary pumping), better use of available storage and advise during (water polution) calamities.

  6. Assessment of economically optimal water management and geospatial potential for large-scale water storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weerasinghe, Harshi; Schneider, Uwe A.

    2010-05-01

    Assessment of economically optimal water management and geospatial potential for large-scale water storage Weerasinghe, Harshi; Schneider, Uwe A Water is an essential but limited and vulnerable resource for all socio-economic development and for maintaining healthy ecosystems. Water scarcity accelerated due to population expansion, improved living standards, and rapid growth in economic activities, has profound environmental and social implications. These include severe environmental degradation, declining groundwater levels, and increasing problems of water conflicts. Water scarcity is predicted to be one of the key factors limiting development in the 21st century. Climate scientists have projected spatial and temporal changes in precipitation and changes in the probability of intense floods and droughts in the future. As scarcity of accessible and usable water increases, demand for efficient water management and adaptation strategies increases as well. Addressing water scarcity requires an intersectoral and multidisciplinary approach in managing water resources. This would in return safeguard the social welfare and the economical benefit to be at their optimal balance without compromising the sustainability of ecosystems. This paper presents a geographically explicit method to assess the potential for water storage with reservoirs and a dynamic model that identifies the dimensions and material requirements under an economically optimal water management plan. The methodology is applied to the Elbe and Nile river basins. Input data for geospatial analysis at watershed level are taken from global data repositories and include data on elevation, rainfall, soil texture, soil depth, drainage, land use and land cover; which are then downscaled to 1km spatial resolution. Runoff potential for different combinations of land use and hydraulic soil groups and for mean annual precipitation levels are derived by the SCS-CN method. Using the overlay and decision tree algorithms

  7. Cover Crops for Managing Stream Water Quantity and Improving Stream Water Quality of Non-Tile Drained Paired Watersheds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gurbir Singh

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In the Midwestern United States, cover crops are being promoted as a best management practice for managing nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural fields through surface and subsurface water movement. To date, the water quality benefits of cover crops have been inferred primarily from plot scale studies. This project is one of the first to analyze the impacts of cover crops on stream water quality at the watershed scale. The objective of this research was to evaluate nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loss in stream water from a no-till corn-soybean rotation planted with winter cover crops cereal rye (Secale cereale and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa in non-tile drained paired watersheds in Illinois, USA. The paired watersheds are under mixed land use (agriculture, forest, and pasture. The control watershed had 27 ha of row-crop agriculture, and the treatment watershed had 42 ha of row crop agriculture with cover crop treatment (CC-treatment. During a 4-year calibration period, 42 storm events were collected and Event Mean Concentrations (EMCs for each storm event were calculated for total suspended solids (TSS, nitrate-N (NO3-N, ammonia-N (NH4-N, dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP, and total discharge. Predictive regression equations developed from the calibration period were used for calculating TSS, NO3-N, NH4-N, and DRP losses of surface runoff for the CC-treatment watershed. The treatment period consisted of total 18 storm events, seven of which were collected during the cereal rye, eight in the hairy vetch cover crop season and three during cash crop season. Cover crops reduced TSS and discharge by 33% and 34%, respectively in the CC-treatment watershed during the treatment period. However, surprisingly, EMCs for NO3-N, NH4-N, and DRP did not decrease. Stream discharge from the paired-watersheds will continue to be monitored to determine if the current water quality results hold or new patterns emerge.

  8. Water management of Republic of Macedonia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    The Republic of Macedonia is one of the countries that do not have sufficient water resources, and their shortage has been already felt during certain periods. The problem already mentioned as global: uneven distribution in time, space and quality are the main characteristics of the water resources. The water management a branch of the economy dealing with management, utilization, protection and planning of the water resources is considered a key implementation of all strategic plans for development of one country. The basic goal of the water management is to fully utilize the water resources in order to reach the most effective and most economic resolution of problems related to the water resources. The problem of pollution and wastage of water, which is more acute at times of intensive technological development of the society, is rapidly depleting supplies water and makes us seriously thinking no just our own survival, but also that of future generations. The concept of sustainable development means future planning for utilizing and protecting water resources bearing in mind not only the generations to come. In the book available water resources in Republic of Macedonia, current condition of the existing water management facilities - dams and reservoirs, as well as irrigation systems are presented. Also, the book deals with the water quality condition and activities for ecological water protection, including relevant measures for protection of catchment areas and the soil from erosion. In addition projects under construction are given. Namely, in the Republic of Macedonia two high dams and a small hydro system are under construction, as well as rehabilitation of three large irrigation schemes

  9. Produced Water Management and Beneficial Use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Terry; Frost, Carol; Hayes, Thomas; Heath, Leo; Johnson, Drew; Lopez, David; Saffer, Demian; Urynowicz, Michael; Wheaton, John; Zoback, Mark

    2007-01-01

    Large quantities of water are associated with the production of coalbed methane (CBM) in the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming. The chemistry of co-produced water often makes it unsuitable for subsequent uses such as irrigated agriculture. However, co-produced waters have substantial potential for a variety of beneficial uses. Achieving this potential requires the development of appropriate water management strategies. There are several unique characteristics of co-produced water that make development of such management strategies a challenge. The production of CBM water follows an inverse pattern compared to traditional wells. CBM wells need to maintain low reservoir pressures to promote gas production. This need renders the reinjection of co-produced waters counterproductive. The unique water chemistry of co-produced water can reduce soil permeability, making surface disposal difficult. Unlike traditional petroleum operations where co-produced water is an undesirable by-product, co-produced water in the PRB often is potable, making it a highly valued resource in arid western states. This research project developed and evaluated a number of water management options potentially available to CBM operators. These options, which focus on cost-effective and environmentally-sound practices, fall into five topic areas: Minimization of Produced Water, Surface Disposal, Beneficial Use, Disposal by Injection and Water Treatment. The research project was managed by the Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI) at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and involved personnel located at CERI, CSM, Stanford University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Wyoming, the Argonne National Laboratory, the Gas Technology Institute, the Montana Bureau of Mining and Geology and PVES Inc., a private firm

  10. Produced Water Management and Beneficial Use

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Terry Brown; Carol Frost; Thomas Hayes; Leo Heath; Drew Johnson; David Lopez; Demian Saffer; Michael Urynowicz; John Wheaton; Mark Zoback

    2007-10-31

    Large quantities of water are associated with the production of coalbed methane (CBM) in the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming. The chemistry of co-produced water often makes it unsuitable for subsequent uses such as irrigated agriculture. However, co-produced waters have substantial potential for a variety of beneficial uses. Achieving this potential requires the development of appropriate water management strategies. There are several unique characteristics of co-produced water that make development of such management strategies a challenge. The production of CBM water follows an inverse pattern compared to traditional wells. CBM wells need to maintain low reservoir pressures to promote gas production. This need renders the reinjection of co-produced waters counterproductive. The unique water chemistry of co-produced water can reduce soil permeability, making surface disposal difficult. Unlike traditional petroleum operations where co-produced water is an undesirable by-product, co-produced water in the PRB often is potable, making it a highly valued resource in arid western states. This research project developed and evaluated a number of water management options potentially available to CBM operators. These options, which focus on cost-effective and environmentally-sound practices, fall into five topic areas: Minimization of Produced Water, Surface Disposal, Beneficial Use, Disposal by Injection and Water Treatment. The research project was managed by the Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI) at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and involved personnel located at CERI, CSM, Stanford University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Wyoming, the Argonne National Laboratory, the Gas Technology Institute, the Montana Bureau of Mining and Geology and PVES Inc., a private firm.

  11. Adapting a geographical information system-based water resource management to the needs of the Romanian water authorities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soutter, Marc; Alexandrescu, Maria; Schenk, Colin; Drobot, Radu

    2009-08-01

    The need for global and integrated approaches to water resources management, both from the quantitative and the qualitative point of view, has long been recognized. Water quality management is a major issue for sustainable development and a mandatory task with respect to the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive as well as the Swiss legislation. However, data modelling to develop relational databases and subsequent geographic information system (GIS)-based water management instruments are a rather recent and not that widespread trend. The publication of overall guidelines for data modelling along with the EU Water Framework Directive is an important milestone in this area. Improving overall water quality requires better and more easily accessible data, but also the possibility to link data to simulation models. Models are to be used to derive indicators that will in turn support decision-making processes. For this whole chain to become effective at a river basin scale, all its components have to become part of the current daily practice of the local water administration. Any system, tool, or instrument that is not designed to meet, first of all, the fundamental needs of its primary end-users has almost no chance to be successful in the longer term. Although based on a pre-existing water resources management system developed in Switzerland, the methodological approach applied to develop a GIS-based water quality management system adapted to the Romanian context followed a set of well-defined steps: the first and very important step is the assessment of needs (on the basis of a careful analysis of the various activities and missions of the water administration and other relevant stakeholders in water management related issues). On that basis, a conceptual data model (CDM) can be developed, to be later on turned into a physical database. Finally, the specifically requested additional functionalities (i.e. functionalities not provided by classical

  12. Towards improved water management in Haryana State; final report of the Indo-Dutch Operational Research Project on Hydrological Studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Agarwal, M.C.; Roest, C.J.W.

    1996-01-01

    Surface water and groundwater flow to the central inland depression, which causes rising water-tables, waterlogging and salinity problems. Technologies were developed for efficient on-farm water management, conjunctive use of saline and fresh water. Criteria were developed for drainage with a

  13. Applications of Graph Spectral Techniques to Water Distribution Network Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Armando di Nardo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Cities depend on multiple heterogeneous, interconnected infrastructures to provide safe water to consumers. Given this complexity, efficient numerical techniques are needed to support optimal control and management of a water distribution network (WDN. This paper introduces a holistic analysis framework to support water utilities on the decision making process for an efficient supply management. The proposal is based on graph spectral techniques that take advantage of eigenvalues and eigenvectors properties of matrices that are associated with graphs. Instances of these matrices are the adjacency matrix and the Laplacian, among others. The interest for this application is to work on a graph that specifically represents a WDN. This is a complex network that is made by nodes corresponding to water sources and consumption points and links corresponding to pipes and valves. The aim is to face new challenges on urban water supply, ranging from computing approximations for network performance assessment to setting device positioning for efficient and automatic WDN division into district metered areas. It is consequently created a novel tool-set of graph spectral techniques adapted to improve main water management tasks and to simplify the identification of water losses through the definition of an optimal network partitioning. Two WDNs are used to analyze the proposed methodology. Firstly, the well-known network of C-Town is investigated for benchmarking of the proposed graph spectral framework. This allows for comparing the obtained results with others coming from previously proposed approaches in literature. The second case-study corresponds to an operational network. It shows the usefulness and optimality of the proposal to effectively manage a WDN.

  14. Armenia : Towards Integrated Water Resources Management

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2001-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to examine the challenges in the water sector faced by Armenia today, and outline options for management and allocation of its water resources in the future, considering the need for a stable, transparent apublic sector management framework and sustainable resource use for long-term private investment and job creation, and for appropriate balances among water...

  15. Effect of beach management policies on recreational water quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Elizabeth A; Feng, Zhixuan; Gidley, Maribeth L; Sinigalliano, Christopher D; Kumar, Naresh; Donahue, Allison G; Reniers, Adrianus J H M; Solo-Gabriele, Helena M

    2018-04-15

    When beach water monitoring programs identify poor water quality, the causes are frequently unknown. We hypothesize that management policies play an important role in the frequency of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) exceedances (enterococci and fecal coliform) at recreational beaches. To test this hypothesis we implemented an innovative approach utilizing large amounts of monitoring data (n > 150,000 measurements per FIB) to determine associations between the frequency of contaminant exceedances and beach management practices. The large FIB database was augmented with results from a survey designed to assess management policies for 316 beaches throughout the state of Florida. The FIB and survey data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, factor analysis, and linear regression. Results show that beach geomorphology (beach type) was highly associated with exceedance of regulatory standards. Low enterococci exceedances were associated with open coast beaches (n = 211) that have sparse human densities, no homeless populations, low densities of dogs and birds, bird management policies, low densities of seaweed, beach renourishment, charge access fees, employ lifeguards, without nearby marinas, and those that manage storm water. Factor analysis and a linear regression confirmed beach type as the predominant factor with secondary influences from grooming activities (including seaweed densities and beach renourishment) and beach access (including charging fees, employing lifeguards, and without nearby marinas). Our results were observable primarily because of the very large public FIB database available for analyses; similar approaches can be adopted at other beaches. The findings of this research have important policy implications because the selected beach management practices that were associated with low levels of FIB can be implemented in other parts of the US and around the world to improve recreational beach water quality. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All

  16. Sustainable water resources management in Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malik, A.H.

    2005-01-01

    harvesting measures like construction of big, small and mini dams, roof top rain, flood water harvesting and application of water conservation measures like propagation of high-efficiency irrigation systems, changes of cropping patterns, lining of distributaries, minor sand water courses in saline groundwater areas, identification of feasible surface and underground water storage sites and dams, and activation of water-user organizations. Other measures can be Installation of tube-wells in technically groundwater potential feasible areas, to improve flood and drought-forecasting methods, and a much wider application of conjunctive water-use approach, institutional reforms for better co-ordination and a wider formulation of a national water-policy are other priority areas. Formulation of a regulatory frame work on groundwater abstraction. It is recommended that an experts panel, be created to steer the formulation of the strategies and ensure the implementation of the water resources strategies proposed. This paper discusses water resources management measures in Pakistan and the efforts to establish efficient and sustainable management of irrigation water system. (author)

  17. Water Management in Islam | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2001-01-01

    Jan 1, 2001 ... In the Middle East and North Africa, water is rapidly becoming the key ... including water demand management, wastewater reuse, and fair pricing. ... the most promising water management policies, adds to our knowledge of ...

  18. Evaluating the State of Water Management in the Rio Grande/Bravo Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz Partida, Jose Pablo; Sandoval-Solis, Samuel; Diaz Gomez, Romina

    2017-04-01

    Water resource modeling tools have been developed for many different regions and sub-basins of the Rio Grande/Bravo (RGB). Each of these tools has specific objectives, whether it is to explore drought mitigation alternatives, conflict resolution, climate change evaluation, tradeoff and economic synergies, water allocation, reservoir operations, or collaborative planning. However, there has not been an effort to integrate different available tools, or to link models developed for specific reaches into a more holistic watershed decision-support tool. This project outlines promising next steps to meet long-term goals of improved decision support tools and modeling. We identify, describe, and synthesize water resources management practices in the RGB basin and available water resources models and decision support tools that represent the RGB and the distribution of water for human and environmental uses. The extent body of water resources modeling is examined from a perspective of environmental water needs and water resources management and thereby allows subsequent prioritization of future research and monitoring needs for the development of river system modeling tools. This work communicates the state of the RGB science to diverse stakeholders, researchers, and decision-makers. The products of this project represent a planning tool to support an integrated water resources management framework to maximize economic and social welfare without compromising vital ecosystems.

  19. Is irrigation water price an effective leverage for water management? An empirical study in the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Qing; Wu, Feng; Zhang, Qian

    Serious water scarcity, low water-use efficiency, and over-exploitation of underground water have hindered socio-economic development and led to environmental degradation in the Heihe River basin, northwestern China. Price leveraging is an important tool in water demand management, and it is considered to be effective in promoting water conservation and improving water use efficiency on the premise that water demand is elastic. In the present study, we examine whether price is an effective and applicable instrument for restraining the increasing demand for agricultural irrigation water in the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin and how will it affect farmers' decisions on irrigation and crop structure. Specifically, the price elasticity of agricultural water demand was estimated based on the irrigation water demand function. The results show that the agricultural irrigation water price is statistically significant, but its elasticity is very low under current low water price. Price leverage cannot play a significant role in the context of the current pricing regime and farmers' response to price increase is intrinsically weak. To create incentives for conserving water and improving irrigation efficiency, price mechanism should be accompanied with clearly defined and legally enforceable water rights, restricted water quota measures, and reform of water authorities and water-user associations. Furthermore, increases of surface irrigation water price may lead to the over-withdrawal of groundwater, consequently, effective groundwater licensing and levying must take place to limit the total volume of groundwater withdrawal. In all, improving irrigation efficiency through better management and the adoption of water-saving technologies is the ultimate way to deal with the challenges facing irrigated agriculture in the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin.

  20. Saline sewage treatment and source separation of urine for more sustainable urban water management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekama, G A; Wilsenach, J A; Chen, G H

    2011-01-01

    While energy consumption and its associated carbon emission should be minimized in wastewater treatment, it has a much lower priority than human and environmental health, which are both closely related to efficient water quality management. So conservation of surface water quality and quantity are more important for sustainable development than green house gas (GHG) emissions per se. In this paper, two urban water management strategies to conserve fresh water quality and quantity are considered: (1) source separation of urine for improved water quality and (2) saline (e.g. sea) water toilet flushing for reduced fresh water consumption in coastal and mining cities. The former holds promise for simpler and shorter sludge age activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (no nitrification and denitrification), nutrient (Mg, K, P) recovery and improved effluent quality (reduced endocrine disruptor and environmental oestrogen concentrations) and the latter for significantly reduced fresh water consumption, sludge production and oxygen demand (through using anaerobic bioprocesses) and hence energy consumption. Combining source separation of urine and saline water toilet flushing can reduce sewer crown corrosion and reduce effluent P concentrations. To realize the advantages of these two approaches will require significant urban water management changes in that both need dual (fresh and saline) water distribution and (yellow and grey/brown) wastewater collection systems. While considerable work is still required to evaluate these new approaches and quantify their advantages and disadvantages, it would appear that the investment for dual water distribution and wastewater collection systems may be worth making to unlock their benefits for more sustainable urban development.

  1. Public-Private Partnerships Working Beyond Scale Challenges toward Water Quality Improvements from Private Lands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enloe, Stephanie K.; Schulte, Lisa A.; Tyndall, John C.

    2017-10-01

    In recognition that Iowa agriculture must maintain long-term production of food, fiber, clean water, healthy soil, and robust rural economies, Iowa recently devised a nutrient reduction strategy to set objectives for water quality improvements. To demonstrate how watershed programs and farmers can reduce nutrient and sediment pollution in Iowa waters, the Iowa Water Quality Initiative selected the Boone River Watershed Nutrient Management Initiative as one of eight demonstration projects. For over a decade, diverse public, private, and non-profit partner organizations have worked in the Boone River Watershed to engage farmers in water quality management efforts. To evaluate social dynamics in the Boone River Watershed and provide partners with actionable recommendations, we conducted and analyzed semi-structured interviews with 33 program leaders, farmers, and local agronomists. We triangulated primary interview data with formal analysis of Boone River Watershed documents such as grant applications, progress reports, and outreach materials. Our evaluation suggests that while multi-stakeholder collaboration has enabled partners to overcome many of the traditional barriers to watershed programming, scale mismatches caused by external socio-economic and ecological forces still present substantial obstacles to programmatic resilience. Public funding restrictions and timeframes, for example, often cause interruptions to adaptive management of water quality monitoring and farmer engagement. We present our findings within a resilience framework to demonstrate how multi-stakeholder collaboration can help sustain adaptive watershed programs to improve socio-ecological function in agricultural watersheds such as the Boone River Watershed.

  2. Valuing the Potential Benefits of Water Quality Improvements in Watersheds Affected by Non-Point Source Pollution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Alvarez

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Nonpoint source (NPS pollution has been identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA as “the nation’s largest water quality problem”. Urban development, septic systems, and agricultural operations have been identified as the major sources of diffuse pollution in surface and ground water bodies. In recent decades, urban and agricultural Best Management Practices (BMP have been developed in several states to address agricultural water quality and water use impacts, including the reduction of nutrient loads to help meet water quality standards. Compliance with BMPs is associated with some costs to local governments, homeowners, and agricultural operations, but the improvements in water quality associated with BMP adoption are expected to yield significant benefits to society in the form of improved recreational opportunities, navigation, flood control, and ecosystem health. The development of sound policies and decision making processes require balancing the costs of BMP adoption to the agricultural operations with the social benefits to be derived from the improved water quality. In this paper we develop a benefits transfer model to provide estimates of the economic benefits of properly implemented and effective Best Management Practices (BMP throughout the state of Florida. These benefit estimates can be used in a cost-benefit framework to determine the optimal level of BMP adoption throughout the state of Florida and provide a framework for other regions to estimate the potential benefits of BMP-mediated water quality improvements.

  3. The relationship between the Municipal Master Plan and local Watershed Plans in water management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise Gallo Pizella

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The National Water Resources Policy has as one of its tools the drafting of local Water Resource Plans. In view of water resources planning and its relationship to land use planning, the aim of this work is to analyze the institutional and legal difficulties and the potential for an integrated system of water resources management. For this, we used the method of documentary and bibliographic research, beginning with the “Estatuto da Cidade”, a law for urban policy in Brazil, and literature on water management at the municipal and watershed levels. At the municipal level, the “Master Plan” (municipal plan of land use planning became the main instrument of territorial and municipal management, defining the parameters for the compliance of social, environmental and economic functions of real property. In this sense, the municipalities have a responsibility to protect water resources and, without local support, territorial and water management cannot be integrated in the context of the river basin. Despite the difficulties of including environmental variable in urban planning, the Master Plan has the potential to shape local water management systems that are environmentally sustainable and that progressively improve water quality and quantity within the watershed. Similarly, with more significant participation of the municipality in the Basin Committee, it is possible that the forms of municipal land use and occupation can be considered during the development and implementation of the Basin Plan. Thus, the management of water resources can occur integrally.

  4. Understanding Indian Institutional Networks and Participation in Water Management Adaptation to Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azhoni, A.; Holman, I.; Jude, S.

    2014-12-01

    Adaptation to climate change for water management involves complex interactions between different actors and sectors. The need to understand the relationships between key stakeholder institutions (KSIs) is increasingly recognized. The complexity of water management in India has meant that enhancing adaptive capacity through improved inter-institutional networks remains a challenge for both government and non-governmental institutions. To analyse such complex inter-actions this study has used Social Network and Stakeholder Analysis tools to quantify the participation of, and interactions between, each KSI in the climate change adaptation and water discourse based on keyword analysis of their online presence. Using NodeXL, a Social Network Analysis tool, network diagrams have been used to evaluate the inter-relationships between these KSIs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-five KSIs to identify the main barriers to adaptation and to triangulate the findings of the e-documents analysis. The analysis found that there is an inverse relationship between institutions' reference to water and climate change in their web-documents. Most institutions emphasize mitigation rather than adaptation. Bureaucratic delays, poor coordination between the KSIs, unclear policies and systemic deficiencies are identified as key barriers to improving adaptive capacity within water management to climate change. However, the increasing attention being given to the perceived climate change impacts on the water sector and improving the inter-institutional networks are some of the opportunities for Indian water institutions. Although websites of Union Government Institutions seldom directly hyperlink to one another, they are linked through "bridging" websites which have the potential to act as brokers for enhancing adaptive capacity. The research has wider implications for analysis of complex inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional issues involving multi stakeholders.

  5. Economic resilience through "One-Water" management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Randall T.; Schmid, Wolfgang

    2013-01-01

    Disruption of water availability leads to food scarcity and loss of economic opportunity. Development of effective water-resource policies and management strategies could provide resiliance to local economies in the face of water disruptions such as drought, flood, and climate change. To accomplish this, a detailed understanding of human water use and natural water resource availability is needed. A hydrologic model is a computer software system that simulates the movement and use of water in a geographic area. It takes into account all components of the water cycle--“One Water”--and helps estimate water budgets for groundwater, surface water, and landscape features. The U.S. Geological Survey MODFLOW One-Water Integrated Hydrologic Model (MODFLOWOWHM) software and scientific methods can provide water managers and political leaders with hydrologic information they need to help ensure water security and economic resilience.

  6. Economic Requirements of Water Resources Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nasser Khiabani

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Indicators of water resources status and water consumption in Iran reveal an imbalance between supply and demand. This is compounded by the current unrealistic water price that signals the inefficiency of the water market in Iran. In economics parlance, the most important factors responsible for the low efficiency of water market are inaccurate valuation and failure to define the ownership rights of water. Low prices, low sensitivity of water demand to prices, and the lack of proper inputs as substitutes for water resources have collectively contributed to excessive pressures on the available water resources for domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses. A brief glance reveals that water resources in Iran are merely priced based on cost accounting. This is while study has shown that developed countries adopt approaches to water pricing that not only consider the final cost of water but also take into account such other parameters that are affected by intrinsic value of water including its bequest and existence values. The present paper draws upon the concepts of value, expenses, and pricing of water in an attempt to explore the marketing and pricing of water resources as the two major tools economists employ in the management of these resources. It is the objective of the study to arrive at an accurate definition of ownership rights of water resources to improve upon the present water marketing. In doing so, the more important components of modern pricing strategies adopted by developed nations will also be investigated. Results indicate that the present cost accounting method used in pricing water in Iran will in the long-run lead to the wastage of water resources and that it should, therefore, be given up in favor modern and more realistic policies to avoid such waste of resources.

  7. Integrated modelling and the impacts of water management on land use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dorner, W; Spachinger, K; Metzka, R

    2008-01-01

    River systems and the quantity and quality of water depend on the catchment, its structure and land use. In central Europe especially land is a scarce resource. This causes conflicts between different types of land use, but also with the interests of flood protection, nature conservation and the protection of water resources and water bodies in the flood plain and on a catchment scale. ILUP - Integrated Land Use Planning and River Basin Management was a project, funded by the European Union, to address the problems of conflicting interests within a catchment. It addressed the problems of conflicting land use from a hydrological perspective and with regard to the resulting problems of water management. Two test river basins, Vils and Rott, both with a catchment size of about 1000 square kilometres, were considered for the German part of the project. Objective of the project was to identify means of managing land use with regard to water management objectives and adapt planning strategies and methodologies of water management authorities to the new needs of catchment management and planning. Catchment models were derived to simulate hydrological processes, assess the safety of dams and improve the control strategy of detention reservoirs with regard to land use in the lower system. Hydrodynamic models provided the basis to assess flood prone areas, evaluate flood protection measures and analyze the impacts of river training and discharge on morphology. Erosion and transport models were used to assess the impacts of land use on water quality. Maps were compiled from model results to provide a basis for decision making. In test areas new ways of planning and implementation of measures were tested. As a result of model scenarios in combination with the socio economic situation in the catchment new methods of land management and land use management were derived and implemented in model areas. The results of the project show that new ways of managing land use in river

  8. Water resource management : a strategy for Nova Scotia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Theakston, J.

    1998-01-01

    Since 1995, the Nova Scotia Department of the Environment has been the lead agency responsible for water resource management in the province. The agency's mandate has been to establish a water resource management strategy and to report periodically to the people of the province on the state of the environment, including air, water and waste resource management. One of the Department's goals is to ensure that surface and groundwater resources are being adequately protected. This paper summarizes issues related to dams and how they will be addressed. The Department allocates water through approvals and regulates use and alteration of watercourses. The construction of a dam and water withdrawal for municipal, industrial, hydroelectric or other purposes requires an approval. The major concerns with these activities are flows to sustain downstream habitat, competing demand for water, public safety, and water quality impacts. The main water management actions established under the water strategy involve: (1) geo-referencing water resource use and allocation, (2) protecting water quality, (3) integrating management of natural resources, and (4) promoting partnership in stewardship

  9. The water-energy nexus at water supply and its implications on the integrated water and energy management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalkhali, Masoumeh; Westphal, Kirk; Mo, Weiwei

    2018-09-15

    Water and energy are highly interdependent in the modern world, and hence, it is important to understand their constantly changing and nonlinear interconnections to inform the integrated management of water and energy. In this study, a hydrologic model, a water systems model, and an energy model were developed and integrated into a system dynamics modeling framework. This framework was then applied to a water supply system in the northeast US to capture its water-energy interactions under a set of future population, climate, and system operation scenarios. A hydrologic model was first used to simulate the system's hydrologic inflows and outflows under temperature and precipitation changes on a weekly-basis. A water systems model that combines the hydrologic model and management rules (e.g., water release and transfer) was then developed to dynamically simulate the system's water storage and water head. Outputs from the water systems model were used in the energy model to estimate hydropower generation. It was found that critical water-energy synergies and tradeoffs exist, and there is a possibility for integrated water and energy management to achieve better outcomes. This analysis also shows the importance of a holistic understanding of the systems as a whole, which would allow utility managers to make proactive long-term management decisions. The modeling framework is generalizable to other water supply systems with hydropower generation capacities to inform the integrated management of water and energy resources. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. SOIL MOISTURE SPACE-TIME ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT IMPROVED CROP MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Montoani Silva

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The knowledge of the water content in the soil profile is essential for an efficient management of crop growth and development. This work aimed to use geostatistical techniques in a spatio-temporal study of soil moisture in an Oxisol in order to provide that information for improved crop management. Data were collected in a coffee crop area at São Roque de Minas, in the upper São Francisco River basin, MG state, Brazil. The soil moisture was measured with a multi-sensor capacitance (MCP probe at 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, 60- and 100-cm depths between March and December, 2010. After adjusting the spherical semivariogram model using ordinary least squares, best model, the values were interpolated by kriging in order to have a continuous surface relating depth x time (CSDT and the soil water availability to plant (SWAP. The results allowed additional insight on the dynamics of soil water and its availability to plant, and pointed to the effects of climate on the soil water content. These results also allowed identifying when and where there was greater water consumption by the plants, and the soil layers where water was available and potentially explored by the plant root system.

  11. Managing dry spell risks to improve rainfed maize productivity in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This empirical research was conducted on-station during June to September main growing season over two years (2000 and 2001) to substantiate that, managing dry spell risks through development of compatible technologies can improve rainfed maize productivity in the semi-arid zones of Ethiopia. Firstly, two soil water ...

  12. Modelling raw water quality: development of a drinking water management tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kübeck, Ch; van Berk, W; Bergmann, A

    2009-01-01

    Ensuring future drinking water supply requires a tough management of groundwater resources. However, recent practices of economic resource control often does not involve aspects of the hydrogeochemical and geohydraulical groundwater system. In respect of analysing the available quantity and quality of future raw water, an effective resource management requires a full understanding of the hydrogeochemical and geohydraulical processes within the aquifer. For example, the knowledge of raw water quality development within the time helps to work out strategies of water treatment as well as planning finance resources. On the other hand, the effectiveness of planed measurements reducing the infiltration of harmful substances such as nitrate can be checked and optimized by using hydrogeochemical modelling. Thus, within the framework of the InnoNet program funded by Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, a network of research institutes and water suppliers work in close cooperation developing a planning and management tool particularly oriented on water management problems. The tool involves an innovative material flux model that calculates the hydrogeochemical processes under consideration of the dynamics in agricultural land use. The program integrated graphical data evaluation is aligned on the needs of water suppliers.

  13. New soil water sensors for irrigation management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Effective irrigation management is key to obtaining the most crop production per unit of water applied and increasing production in the face of competing demands on water resources. Management methods have included calculating crop water needs based on weather station measurements, calculating soil ...

  14. Serious Gaming for Water Systems Planning and Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragan A. Savic

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Water systems planning and management share the same roots with gaming, as they rely on concepts in systems analysis, operations research and decision sciences. This paper focuses on Serious Games (those used for purposes other than mere entertainment, with applications in the area of water systems planning and management. A survey of published work on gaming is carried out with particular attention given to applications of Serious Gaming to water systems planning and management. The survey is also used to identify the principal criteria for the classification of Serious Gaming for water related applications, including application areas, goals, number and type of players, user interface, type of simulation model used, realism of the game, performance feedback, progress monitoring and game portability. The review shows that game applications in the water sector can be a valuable tool for making various stakeholders aware of the socio-techno-economic issues related to managing complex water systems. However, the critical review also indicates a gap that exists in the Serious Game application area with the lack of water distribution system games. A conceptually simple, but computationally elaborate new game for water distribution system analysis, design and evaluation (SeGWADE is presented in this paper. It has a main goal of finding a least-cost design for a well-known benchmark problem, for which the game environment takes the computational and visualisation burden away from the simulation tool and the player. The game has been evaluated in a classroom environment in which a high degree of player engagement with the game was observed, due to its basic game ingredients and activities, i.e., challenge, play and fun. In addition, a clear improvement in learning has been observed in how players attempted to identify solutions that satisfy the pressure criterion with players readily identifying the proximity of the better solutions to the starting

  15. Climate change and mountain water resources: overview and recommendations for research, management and policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Viviroli

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Mountains are essential sources of freshwater for our world, but their role in global water resources could well be significantly altered by climate change. How well do we understand these potential changes today, and what are implications for water resources management, climate change adaptation, and evolving water policy? To answer above questions, we have examined 11 case study regions with the goal of providing a global overview, identifying research gaps and formulating recommendations for research, management and policy.

    After setting the scene regarding water stress, water management capacity and scientific capacity in our case study regions, we examine the state of knowledge in water resources from a highland-lowland viewpoint, focusing on mountain areas on the one hand and the adjacent lowland areas on the other hand. Based on this review, research priorities are identified, including precipitation, snow water equivalent, soil parameters, evapotranspiration and sublimation, groundwater as well as enhanced warming and feedback mechanisms. In addition, the importance of environmental monitoring at high altitudes is highlighted. We then make recommendations how advancements in the management of mountain water resources under climate change could be achieved in the fields of research, water resources management and policy as well as through better interaction between these fields.

    We conclude that effective management of mountain water resources urgently requires more detailed regional studies and more reliable scenario projections, and that research on mountain water resources must become more integrative by linking relevant disciplines. In addition, the knowledge exchange between managers and researchers must be improved and oriented towards long-term continuous interaction.

  16. Collaborative Catchment-Scale Water Quality Management using Integrated Wireless Sensor Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zia, Huma; Harris, Nick; Merrett, Geoff

    2013-04-01

    Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, United Kingdom Summary The challenge of improving water quality (WQ) is a growing global concern [1]. Poor WQ is mainly attributed to poor water management and outdated agricultural activities. We propose that collaborative sensor networks spread across an entire catchment can allow cooperation among individual activities for integrated WQ monitoring and management. We show that sharing information on critical parameters among networks of water bodies and farms can enable identification and quantification of the contaminant sources, enabling better decision making for agricultural practices and thereby reducing contaminants fluxes. Motivation and results Nutrient losses from land to water have accelerated due to agricultural and urban pursuits [2]. In many cases, the application of fertiliser can be reduced by 30-50% without any loss of yield [3]. Thus information about nutrient levels and trends around the farm can improve agricultural practices and thereby reduce water contamination. The use of sensor networks for monitoring WQ in a catchment is in its infancy, but more applications are being tested [4]. However, these are focussed on local requirements and are mostly limited to water bodies. They have yet to explore the use of this technology for catchment-scale monitoring and management decisions, in an autonomous and dynamic manner. For effective and integrated WQ management, we propose a system that utilises local monitoring networks across a catchment, with provision for collaborative information sharing. This system of networks shares information about critical events, such as rain or flooding. Higher-level applications make use of this information to inform decisions about nutrient management, improving the quality of monitoring through the provision of richer datasets of catchment information to local networks. In the full paper, we present example scenarios and analyse how the benefits of

  17. GIS and Game Theory for Water Resource Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganjali, N.; Guney, C.

    2017-11-01

    In this study, aspects of Game theory and its application on water resources management combined with GIS techniques are detailed. First, each term is explained and the advantages and limitations of its aspect is discussed. Then, the nature of combinations between each pair and literature on the previous studies are given. Several cases were investigated and results were magnified in order to conclude with the applicability and combination of GIS- Game Theory- Water Resources Management. It is concluded that the game theory is used relatively in limited studies of water management fields such as cost/benefit allocation among users, water allocation among trans-boundary users in water resources, water quality management, groundwater management, analysis of water policies, fair allocation of water resources development cost and some other narrow fields. Also, Decision-making in environmental projects requires consideration of trade-offs between socio-political, environmental, and economic impacts and is often complicated by various stakeholder views. Most of the literature on water allocation and conflict problems uses traditional optimization models to identify the most efficient scheme while the Game Theory, as an optimization method, combined GIS are beneficial platforms for agent based models to be used in solving Water Resources Management problems in the further studies.

  18. Water Demand Management Policy Brief No

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Bob Stanley

    Water demand management ― WDM ― can be hard to define. More an issue of policy than of technology, it is about managing and moderating our demands for good quality fresh water. It is less a matter of piping and pumps and more a tool ...

  19. From Premise to Practice: a Critical Assessment of Integrated Water Resources Management and Adaptive Management Approaches in the Water Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wietske Medema

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The complexity of natural resource use processes and dynamics is now well accepted and described in theories ranging across the sciences from ecology to economics. Based upon these theories, management frameworks have been developed within the research community to cope with complexity and improve natural resource management outcomes. Two notable frameworks, Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM and Adaptive Management (AM have been developed within the domain of water resource management over the past thirty or so years. Such frameworks provide testable statements about how best to organise knowledge production and use to facilitate the realisation of desirable outcomes including sustainable resource use. However evidence for the success of IWRM and AM is mixed and they have come under criticism recently as failing to provide promised benefits. This paper critically reviews the claims made for IWRM and AM against evidence from their implementation and explores whether or not criticisms are rooted in problems encountered during the translation from research to practice. To achieve this we review the main issues that challenge the implementation of both frameworks. More specifically, we analyse the various definitions and descriptions of IWRM and AM. Our findings suggest that similar issues have affected the lack of success that practitioners have experienced throughout the implementation process for both frameworks. These findings are discussed in the context of the broader societal challenge of effective translation of research into practice, science into policy and ambition into achievement.

  20. Assessment of Non-Revenue Water Situation in Mandalay City: Response to the Management of Sustainable Water Supply System in Mandalay City

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ser Moe Yi

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Mandalay city is experiencing inefficient use of groundwater resources and inadequate water supply system to residents. The study focused on the issue of non-revenue water (NRW and stakeholders’ perception on its management in order to design the remediation measures for the water lost controls and the sustainable water supply system. A total of 134 samples of water employees, and 383 households were assessed through structured questionnaires. It has been found that more than 50% of the water employees are not aware of the NRW concept. Furthermore, over 90% of the water users are not willing to participate in water management. The WB­EasyCalc software version 4.09 was used to determine NRW and the result of NRW is 46% of the total system input volume. The main causes of water losses in Mandalay city are: 1 a very low pressure system; 2 poor-quality repairs; 3 lack of regular maintenance; 4 water employees’ insufficient knowledge; 5 lack of awareness about the NRW concept; 6 poor customer relationships; and 7 water users’ lack of willingness to participate in the water losses management. Therefore, it is recommended that water utility service efficiency be optimized by giving capacity building to the water employees. It is also recommended that district metering areas (DMA be introduced and good customer relationship be established. This is to improve the water users’ willingness to participate in the water losses management for the efficient use under scarcity groundwater resources and for the sustainable water supply system.

  1. Embedding economic drivers in participative water management

    OpenAIRE

    Ast, Jacko; Bouma, Jan Jaap

    2008-01-01

    textabstractAbstract Country location influences the institutional surroundings of the infrastructures related to water systems. In the Netherlands, water management has its own particularities. Temporarily inflow of affluent water from the rivers or the sea resulted in a highly developed institutional setting based on flood risk prevention. From an economic perspective, managing water is about allocating and using water in an effective and efficient way. This article deals with the coordinat...

  2. Storm water and wastewater management for improving water quality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boogaard, Floris; Vojinovic, Zoran; Heikoop, Rick

    Climate change and urbanization will increase the frequency and magnitude of urban flooding and water quality problems in many regions of the world. In coastal and delta areas like The Netherlands and the Philippines, where urbanization is often high, there has been an increase in the adoption of

  3. The concentration-discharge slope as a tool for water quality management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bieroza, M Z; Heathwaite, A L; Bechmann, M; Kyllmar, K; Jordan, P

    2018-07-15

    Recent technological breakthroughs of optical sensors and analysers have enabled matching the water quality measurement interval to the time scales of stream flow changes and led to an improved understanding of spatially and temporally heterogeneous sources and delivery pathways for many solutes and particulates. This new ability to match the chemograph with the hydrograph has promoted renewed interest in the concentration-discharge (c-q) relationship and its value in characterizing catchment storage, time lags and legacy effects for both weathering products and anthropogenic pollutants. In this paper we evaluated the stream c-q relationships for a number of water quality determinands (phosphorus, suspended sediments, nitrogen) in intensively managed agricultural catchments based on both high-frequency (sub-hourly) and long-term low-frequency (fortnightly-monthly) routine monitoring data. We used resampled high-frequency data to test the uncertainty in water quality parameters (e.g. mean, 95th percentile and load) derived from low-frequency sub-datasets. We showed that the uncertainty in water quality parameters increases with reduced sampling frequency as a function of the c-q slope. We also showed that different sources and delivery pathways control c-q relationship for different solutes and particulates. Secondly, we evaluated the variation in c-q slopes derived from the long-term low-frequency data for different determinands and catchments and showed strong chemostatic behaviour for phosphorus and nitrogen due to saturation and agricultural legacy effects. The c-q slope analysis can provide an effective tool to evaluate the current monitoring networks and the effectiveness of water management interventions. This research highlights how improved understanding of solute and particulate dynamics obtained with optical sensors and analysers can be used to understand patterns in long-term water quality time series, reduce the uncertainty in the monitoring data and to

  4. Management of Water Demand in Africa and the Middle East

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    They all play a role — more accurately, as great a role as granted to them — as do both modern and traditional institutions for conflict resolution. .... Development of financial management systems for improved WDM. 9% ..... training of water officials and extension officers in all of the above. ...... Chief Scientist, Food Security

  5. A Pedagogical Dimension to the Technocratic Problem of Water Management: Preschool Teacher Beliefs and Attitudes Towards Teaching Water Science and Sustainable Management of Water in the Context of Environmental Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Bourotzoglou

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Future generations are necessary to become conscious of water environmental problems, since preschool age, as they will be forced to manage them in the future. Experiential Environmental Education is a tool for sustainable management of water resources, but the key to this process is teachers and the factors that shape their readiness to fulfill their role. In this research their beliefs and attitudes are being investigated, as they influence the quality of teaching and environmental awareness of children. Specifically, 128 preschool teachers from North Greece were interviewed on how they perceive a their Willingness to improve their skills and knowledge on the scientific subject of water and its sustainable management, b their Comfort in teaching these subjects and c their Familiarity with the content knowledge, pedagogical teaching methods of preschool and environmental education and developmentally appropriate activities for teaching these subjects according to Psychology. In addition, it explores preschool teacher’s beliefs and attitudes d about whether water science and sustainable management of water could keep Child’s Interest and e if it contributes to Child Benefit, raising children’s awareness of environmental issues and developing his/her language, art, math, technological and social skills. Correlation Analysis showed that preschool teacher’s beliefs and attitudes towards teaching the subject of water were positive but under certain preconditions (they do not have the Willingness to spend time creating materials, they do not need more scientific knowledge, they do not consider children’s experimentation as the best way of learning, the ‘creative clutter’ caused by experimentation annoys them, they are not willing to engage in children’s experimentation with water, watching what children do, what they say or ask and they do not consider more activities with water necessary. However, these items of the Scale may

  6. Results of special security inspection on improvement of security management setup in Head Office and Tsuruga Nuclear Power Station of the Japan Atomic Power Company and improvement of facilities in Tsuruga Nuclear Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-01-01

    In connection with the series of accidents in the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Station, the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy had instructed JAPC to make comprehensive inspection on the security management setup and to take improvement measures in the nuclear power station. The results of the subsequent inspection by ANRE confirmed that the improvements made by JAPC are adequate, and the following items are described: improvement of security management setup - communication and reporting in emergency, the management of inspection and maintenance records, work control and supervision in repair, improvement, etc., functional authority and responsibility in maintenance management, operation management, radiation control, personnel education; improvement of facilities - feed water heaters, laundry waste-water filter room, radioactive waste treatment facility, general drainage, concentrated waste liquid storage tanks in newly-built waste treatment building, etc. (J.P.N.)

  7. Simulation of Water Environmental Capacity and Pollution Load Reduction Using QUAL2K for Water Environmental Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ruibin; Qian, Xin; Yuan, Xingcheng; Ye, Rui; Xia, Bisheng; Wang, Yulei

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, water quality degradation associated with rapid socio-economic development in the Taihu Lake Basin, China, has attracted increasing attention from both the public and the Chinese government. The primary sources of pollution in Taihu Lake are its inflow rivers and their tributaries. Effective water environmental management strategies need to be implemented in these rivers to improve the water quality of Taihu Lake, and to ensure sustainable development in the region. The aim of this study was to provide a basis for water environmental management decision-making. In this study, the QUAL2K model for river and stream water quality was applied to predict the water quality and environmental capacity of the Hongqi River, which is a polluted tributary in the Taihu Lake Basin. The model parameters were calibrated by trial and error until the simulated results agreed well with the observed data. The calibrated QUAL2K model was used to calculate the water environmental capacity of the Hongqi River, and the water environmental capacities of CODCr NH3-N, TN, and TP were 17.51 t, 1.52 t, 2.74 t and 0.37 t, respectively. The results showed that the NH3-N, TN, and TP pollution loads of the studied river need to be reduced by 50.96%, 44.11%, and 22.92%, respectively to satisfy the water quality objectives. Thus, additional water pollution control measures are needed to control and reduce the pollution loads in the Hongqi River watershed. The method applied in this study should provide a basis for water environmental management decision-making. PMID:23222206

  8. Simulation of water environmental capacity and pollution load reduction using QUAL2K for water environmental management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ruibin; Qian, Xin; Yuan, Xingcheng; Ye, Rui; Xia, Bisheng; Wang, Yulei

    2012-12-07

    In recent years, water quality degradation associated with rapid socio-economic development in the Taihu Lake Basin, China, has attracted increasing attention from both the public and the Chinese government. The primary sources of pollution in Taihu Lake are its inflow rivers and their tributaries. Effective water environmental management strategies need to be implemented in these rivers to improve the water quality of Taihu Lake, and to ensure sustainable development in the region. The aim of this study was to provide a basis for water environmental management decision-making. In this study, the QUAL2K model for river and stream water quality was applied to predict the water quality and environmental capacity of the Hongqi River, which is a polluted tributary in the Taihu Lake Basin. The model parameters were calibrated by trial and error until the simulated results agreed well with the observed data. The calibrated QUAL2K model was used to calculate the water environmental capacity of the Hongqi River, and the water environmental capacities of COD(Cr) NH(3)-N, TN, and TP were 17.51 t, 1.52 t, 2.74 t and 0.37 t, respectively. The results showed that the NH(3)-N, TN, and TP pollution loads of the studied river need to be reduced by 50.96%, 44.11%, and 22.92%, respectively to satisfy the water quality objectives. Thus, additional water pollution control measures are needed to control and reduce the pollution loads in the Hongqi River watershed. The method applied in this study should provide a basis for water environmental management decision-making.

  9. Simulation of Water Environmental Capacity and Pollution Load Reduction Using QUAL2K for Water Environmental Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulei Wang

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, water quality degradation associated with rapid socio-economic development in the Taihu Lake Basin, China, has attracted increasing attention from both the public and the Chinese government. The primary sources of pollution in Taihu Lake are its inflow rivers and their tributaries. Effective water environmental management strategies need to be implemented in these rivers to improve the water quality of Taihu Lake, and to ensure sustainable development in the region. The aim of this study was to provide a basis for water environmental management decision-making. In this study, the QUAL2K model for river and stream water quality was applied to predict the water quality and environmental capacity of the Hongqi River, which is a polluted tributary in the Taihu Lake Basin. The model parameters were calibrated by trial and error until the simulated results agreed well with the observed data. The calibrated QUAL2K model was used to calculate the water environmental capacity of the Hongqi River, and the water environmental capacities of CODCr NH3-N, TN, and TP were 17.51 t, 1.52 t, 2.74 t and 0.37 t, respectively. The results showed that the NH3-N, TN, and TP pollution loads of the studied river need to be reduced by 50.96%, 44.11%, and 22.92%, respectively to satisfy the water quality objectives. Thus, additional water pollution control measures are needed to control and reduce the pollution loads in the Hongqi River watershed. The method applied in this study should provide a basis for water environmental management decision-making.

  10. Water Demand Management ― Making the most of the water we ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-12-22

    Dec 22, 2010 ... Water demand management ― WDM ― can be hard to define. More an issue of policy than of technology, it is about managing and moderating our demands for good quality fresh water. It is less a matter of piping and pumps and more a tool for changing the ways we use water and the rates at which we ...

  11. Game Theory in water resources management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsanevaki, Styliani Maria; Varouchakis, Emmanouil; Karatzas, George

    2015-04-01

    Rural water management is a basic requirement for the development of the primary sector and involves the exploitation of surface/ground-water resources. Rational management requires the study of parameters that determine their exploitation mainly environmental, economic and social. These parameters reflect the influence of irrigation on the aquifer behaviour and on the level-streamflow of nearby rivers as well as on the profit from the farming activity for the farmers' welfare. The question of rural water management belongs to the socio-political problems, since the factors involved are closely related to user behaviour and state position. By applying Game Theory one seeks to simulate the behaviour of the system 'surface/ground-water resources to water-users' with a model based on a well-known game, "The Prisoner's Dilemma" for economic development of the farmers without overexploitation of the water resources. This is a game of two players that have been extensively studied in Game Theory, economy and politics because it can describe real-world cases. The present proposal aims to investigate the rural water management issue that is referred to two competitive small partnerships organised to manage their agricultural production and to achieve a better profit. For the farmers' activities water is required and ground-water is generally preferable because consists a more stable recourse than river-water which in most of the cases in Greece are of intermittent flow. If the two farmer groups cooperate and exploit the agreed water quantities they will gain equal profits and benefit from the sustainable availability of the water recourses (p). If both groups overexploitate the resource to maximize profit, then in the medium-term they will incur a loss (g), due to the water resources reduction and the increase of the pumping costs. If one overexploit the resource while the other use the necessary required, then the first will gain great benefit (P), and the second will

  12. No Solutions: Resisting Certainty in Water Supply Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cockerill, K.; Armstrong, M.; Richter, J.; Okie, J. G.

    2017-12-01

    Although most scholars and water managers implicitly understand that managing water resources is an ongoing need, both popular and academic literature routinely use the words `solution' and `solve' in discussing water management concerns. The word `solution' reflects a quest for certainty, stability, permanence. A focus on `solving' creates a simplistic expectation that some person or institution is responsible for implementing a solution and that once `solved' the issue no longer requires attention. The reality, however, is water management is a wicked problem, meaning it is amorphous, involves multiple definitions, is embedded in complex systems, and hence is intractable. By definition, wicked problems defy solution. Our interdisciplinary project integrates research from across a broad spectrum of biological, physical, and social sciences. We find that framing a problem in terms of `solving' affects how people think, feel, behave toward the problem. Further, our work suggests that the prevalence of solution- based language has simultaneously generated expectations that science / scientists can predict and control biophysical systems and that science is not to be trusted because it has failed to deliver on previous promises to permanently `solve' events like floods or droughts. Hydrologic systems, are, of course highly uncertain. Hence, reiterating a simplistic insistence on `solving' water management concerns may result in decreased public attention to or support for more complex policy discussions that could provide long-term management strategies. Using the language of `solutions' with expectations of certainty sets hydrologic researchers and water managers up to fail. Managing water is a social responsibility and it will require consistent attention in the future, just as it has throughout human history. Scientists have a key role to play in explaining how various hydrologic systems function, but they should not be expected to `solve' pressing water management

  13. Evaluating stakeholder participation in water management: intermediary outcomes as potential indicators for future resource management outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, Gemma; Bloeschl, Guenter; Loucks, Daniel Pete

    2013-04-01

    Evaluation of participation programmes, projects and activities is essential to identify whether stakeholder involvement has been successful in achieving its aims. Aims may include an improvement in water resource management such as enhanced ecological functioning, an improvement in human wellbeing and economic conditions, or overcoming a conflict between interest groups. Evaluating against "interest-based" resource management criteria requires that a desirable outcome can be identified, agreed upon and be measured at the time of evaluation. In many water management situations where collaborative approaches are applied, multiple interests and objectives are present, or stakeholders have not yet identified their own positions and priorities. Even if a resource management objective has been identified and strategy agreed upon, resource management changes tend to emerge over longer timescales and evaluation frequently takes place before they can be recognised. Evaluating against resource management criteria may lead evaluators to conclude that a programme has failed because it has not achieved a resource management objective at the time of evaluation. This presents a critical challenge to researchers assessing the effectiveness of stakeholder participation programmes. One strategy to overcome this is to conduct "goal-free" evaluation to identify what the programme is actually achieving. An evaluation framework that includes intermediary outcomes that are both tangible achievements such as innovation, creation of new organisations, and shared information and knowledge, as well as intangible achievements such as trust and network development can be applied to more broadly assess a programme's success. Analysis of case-studies in the published literature for which a resource management outcome has been achieved shows that intermediary outcomes frequently precede resource management outcomes. They seem to emerge over shorter timescales than resource management outcomes

  14. Steam generation: fossil-fired systems: utility boilers; industrial boilers; boiler auxillaries; nuclear systems: boiling water; pressurized water; in-core fuel management; steam-cycle systems: condensate/feedwater; circulating water; water treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1982-01-01

    A survey of development in steam generation is presented. First, fossil-fired systems are described. Progress in the design of utility and industrial boilers as well as in boiler auxiliaries is traced. Improvements in coal pulverizers, burners that cut pollution and improve efficiency, fans, air heaters and economisers are noted. Nuclear systems are then described, including the BWR and PWR reactors, in-core fuel management techniques are described. Finally, steam-cycle systems for fossil-fired and nuclear power plants are reviewed. Condensate/feedwater systems, circulating water systems, cooling towers, and water treatment systems are discussed

  15. Improving productivity through more effective time management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Edwin; Pulich, Marcia

    2004-01-01

    Effective time management has become increasingly important for managers as they seek to accomplish objectives in today's organizations, which have been restructured for efficiency while employing fewer people. Managers can improve their ability to manage time effectively by examining their attitudes toward time, analyzing time-wasting behaviors, and developing better time management skills. Managers can improve their performance and promotion potential with more effective time utilization. Strategies for improving time management skills are presented.

  16. Multi-agent Water Resources Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelletti, A.; Giuliani, M.

    2011-12-01

    Increasing environmental awareness and emerging trends such as water trading, energy market, deregulation and democratization of water-related services are challenging integrated water resources planning and management worldwide. The traditional approach to water management design based on sector-by-sector optimization has to be reshaped to account for multiple interrelated decision-makers and many stakeholders with increasing decision power. Centralized management, though interesting from a conceptual point of view, is unfeasible in most of the modern social and institutional contexts, and often economically inefficient. Coordinated management, where different actors interact within a full open trust exchange paradigm under some institutional supervision is a promising alternative to the ideal centralized solution and the actual uncoordinated practices. This is a significant issue in most of the Southern Alps regulated lakes, where upstream hydropower reservoirs maximize their benefit independently form downstream users; it becomes even more relevant in the case of transboundary systems, where water management upstream affects water availability downstream (e.g. the River Zambesi flowing through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique or the Red River flowing from South-Western China through Northern Vietnam. In this study we apply Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) theory to design an optimal management in a decentralized way, considering a set of multiple autonomous agents acting in the same environment and taking into account the pay-off of individual water users, which are inherently distributed along the river and need to coordinate to jointly reach their objectives. In this way each real-world actor, representing the decision-making entity (e.g. the operator of a reservoir or a diversion dam) can be represented one-to-one by a computer agent, defined as a computer system that is situated in some environment and that is capable of autonomous action in this environment in

  17. A Gendered Analysis of the Brahmaputra Dialogue : A study of the relation between transboundary water management and gender norms

    OpenAIRE

    Lexén, Tove

    2017-01-01

    Transboundary water management (TWM) regards how internationally shared waters are managed. Recently, TWM processes have been researched from the perspective of gender inclusivity. In line with this trend, this thesis is investigating to what extent the Transboundary Policy Dialogue for Improved Water Governance in Brahmaputra River (the Brahmaputra Dialogue) about the Brahmaputra River is gender sensitive. The Brahmaputra River is shared by China, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The management...

  18. The water energy nexus, an ISO50001 water case study and the need for a water value system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brendan P. Walsh

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The world’s current utilisation of water, allied to the forecasted increase in our dependence on it, has led to the realisation that water as a resource needs to be managed. The scarcity and cost of water worldwide, along with water management practices within Europe, are highlighted in this paper. The heavy dependence of energy generation on water and the similar dependence of water treatment and distribution on energy, collectively termed the water–energy nexus, is detailed. A summary of the recently launched ISO14046 Water Footprint Standard along with other benchmarking measures is outlined and a case history of managing water using the Energy Management Standard ISO50001 is discussed in detail. From this, the requirement for a methodology for improvement of water management has been identified, involving a value system for water streams, which, once optimised will improve water management including efficiency and total utilisation.

  19. Mapping the energy footprint of produced water management in New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemlick, Katie; Kalhor, Elmira; Thomson, Bruce M.; Chermak, Janie M.; Sullivan Graham, Enid J.; Tidwell, Vincent C.

    2018-02-01

    use of disposal wells. By evaluating components of each management strategy individually, this work illustrates how the energy footprint of regional PW management can be reduced. The advent of UOG recovery in the last decade highlights the need to understand existing water management in the industry, identify opportunities and strategies for improvement, and recognize that these dynamics are likely to change into the future.

  20. Implementing tactical plans to improve water-energy loss management

    OpenAIRE

    Loureiro, D.; Alegre, H.; Silva, M. S.; Ribeiro, R.; Mamade, A.; Poças, A.

    2015-01-01

    Water utilities are aware of the water-energy loss relevance in supply systems. However, they still mainly focus on daily water loss control (real and apparent losses), without considering the impact on embedded energy. Moreover, they are mostly concerned with the economic dimension and, in most cases, tend to disregard the impact that water-energy loss may have on the quality of service, communication with the customers, social awareness, water quality and environment. This paper focuses on ...

  1. Corporatization of the water sector: Implications for transitioning to sustainable urban water management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fratini, Chiara; Elle, Morten; Brown, Norman R.

    2012-01-01

    In the context of climate change, the Danish water sector is experiencing two major pressures. On one hand, a number of agents are pushing towards more sustainable urban water management (SUWM) approaches with the aim of improving surface water quality and mitigating flood risk. On the other hand....... A more direct collaboration of the national regulator of competitive performances with government institutions and other non-governmental actors might be an effective answer to such challenges....... the influencing factors for transitioning to SUWM and highlighted the potential governance attributes for enhancing and/or constraining such change. This paper explores the corporatization of the water sector and its implications for transitioning to SUWM. On the base of a preliminary literature review we...... identify the rationales for and drawbacks of corporatization and compare them with the critical factors to build institutional capacity for SUWM. Preliminary results suggest that corporatization is expected to create a range of challenges that might hinder the transition towards more SUWM approaches...

  2. Improving Project Portfolio Management (PPM) for Improvement Projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pries-Heje, Jan; Jakobsen, Peter M.; Korsaa, Morten

    2017-01-01

    Project Portfolio Management (PPM) focus on the integration and alignment of projects with the business operation in order to achieve most value and cost-efficiency for the investment in projects. PPM is often a challenge and especially so for improvement projects where PPM is considerably...... of evaluating a portfolio of improvement projects and combine this evaluation with the effect they have on the CMMI maturity level. Further, the paper demonstrates how the combination of a strong senior management requirement for improved maturity and the focus on getting the most value out of PPM made...

  3. A review of Ghana’s water resource management and the future prospect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phebe Asantewaa Owusu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Water covers about 70% of the earth’s surface and it exists naturally in the earth in all the three physical states of matter and it is always moving around because the water flows with the current. Out of the earth’s percentage of water covering the surface, only about 2.5% is fresh water and due to the fact that most are stored in deep groundwater, a small amount is readily available for human use. Water scarcity is becoming a major concern for people around the world and the need to protect the existing ones and find ways or means to provide safe water for individuals around the globe in adequate quantities with keeping the needs of future generations in mind. Water is life, and it is linked with lots of services either directly or indirectly, such as; human health and welfare and social and economic development of a community or country. The need to delve into Ghana’s water resources management is essential. The study reviewed existing literature on the various members of the Water Resource Commission (WRC in Ghana; the various basins in the country; the existing measures that the WRC authorities have in place to deal with water resources management issues; the challenges that hinder the progress of their achievements and some suggestions that if considered can improve the current water resources management situations in Ghana.

  4. From Management to Negotiation: Technical and Institutional Innovations for Integrated Water Resource Management in the Upper Comoé River Basin, Burkina Faso

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roncoli, Carla; Kirshen, Paul; Etkin, Derek; Sanon, Moussa; Somé, Léopold; Dembélé, Youssouf; Sanfo, Bienvenue J.; Zoungrana, Jacqueline; Hoogenboom, Gerrit

    2009-10-01

    This study focuses on the potential role of technical and institutional innovations for improving water management in a multi-user context in Burkina Faso. We focus on a system centered on three reservoirs that capture the waters of the Upper Comoé River Basin and servicing a diversity of users, including a sugar manufacturing company, a urban water supply utility, a farmer cooperative, and other downstream users. Due to variable and declining rainfall and expanding users’ needs, drastic fluctuations in water supply and demand occur during each dry season. A decision support tool was developed through participatory research to enable users to assess the impact of alternative release and diversion schedules on deficits faced by each user. The tool is meant to be applied in the context of consultative planning by a local user committee that has been created by a new national integrated water management policy. We contend that both solid science and good governance are instrumental in realizing efficient and equitable water management and adaptation to climate variability and change. But, while modeling tools and negotiation platforms may assist users in managing climate risk, they also introduce additional uncertainties into the deliberative process. It is therefore imperative to understand how these technological and institutional innovations frame water use issues and decisions to ensure that such framing is consistent with the goals of integrated water resource management.

  5. Does lean muddy the quality improvement waters? A qualitative study of how a hospital management team understands lean in the context of quality improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savage, Carl; Parke, Louise; von Knorring, Mia; Mazzocato, Pamela

    2016-10-19

    Health care has experimented with many different quality improvement (QI) approaches with greater variation in name than content. This has been dubbed pseudoinnovation. However, it could also be that the subtleties and differences are not clearly understood. To explore this further, the purpose of this study was to explore how hospital managers perceive lean in the context of QI. We used a qualitative study design with semi-structured interviews to explore twelve top managers' perceptions of the relationship between lean and quality improvement (QI) at a university-affiliated hospital. Managers described that QI and lean shared the same overall purpose: focus on patient needs and improve efficiency and effectiveness. Employee involvement was emphasized in both strategies, as well as the support offered by managers of staff initiatives. QI was perceived as a strategy that could support structural changes at the organizational level whereas lean was seen as applicable at the operational level. Moreover, lean carried a negative connotation, lacked the credibility of QI, and was perceived as a management fad. Aspects of QI and lean were misunderstood. In a context where lean remains an abstract term, and staff associate lean with automotive applications and cost reduction, it may be fruitful for managers to invest time and resources to develop a strategy for continual improvement and utilize vocabulary that resonates with health care staff. This could reduce the risk that improvement efforts are rejected out of hand.

  6. Management of ground water using isotope techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romani, Saleem

    2004-01-01

    Ground water play a major role in national economy and sustenance of life and environment. Prevalent water crisis in India includes falling water table, water quality deterioration, water logging and salinity. Keeping in view the increasing thrust on groundwater resources and the present scenario of availability vis-a vis demand there is a need to reorient our approach to ground water management. The various ground water management options require proper understanding of ground water flow system. Isotopes are increasingly being applied in hydrogeological investigations as a supplementary tool for assessment of aquifer flow and transport characteristics. Isotope techniques coupled with conventional hydrogeological and hydrochemical methods can bring in greater accuracy in the conceptualization of hydrogeological control mechanism. The use of isotope techniques in following areas can certainly be of immense help in implementing various ground water management options in an efficient manner. viz.Interaction between the surface water - groundwater systems to plan conjunctive use of surface and ground water. Establishing hydraulic interconnections between the aquifers in a multi aquifer system. Depth of circulation of water and dating of ground water. Demarcating ground water recharge and discharge areas. Plan ground water development in coastal aquifers to avoid sea water ingress. Development of flood plain aquifer. (author)

  7. Solutions to Improve Educational Management Quality

    OpenAIRE

    Ramezan Jahanian; Masoomeh Motahari

    2013-01-01

    Nowadays, enhancing the quality in educational systems of different countries has gained especial importance and stand. Improving utilizing and increasing the quality in our country’s educational system is felt too. One of the utilizing factors in education system is to improve the educational management quality.In this article, effective factors in educational management quality and one of its improving solutions, thorough management quality, is analyzed.

  8. 40 CFR 35.2102 - Water quality management planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Water quality management planning. 35... Administrator shall first determine that the project is: (a) Included in any water quality management plan being implemented for the area under section 208 of the Act or will be included in any water quality management plan...

  9. Handling Uncertain Gross Margin and Water Demand in Agricultural Water Resources Management using Robust Optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaerani, D.; Lesmana, E.; Tressiana, N.

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, an application of Robust Optimization in agricultural water resource management problem under gross margin and water demand uncertainty is presented. Water resource management is a series of activities that includes planning, developing, distributing and managing the use of water resource optimally. Water resource management for agriculture can be one of the efforts to optimize the benefits of agricultural output. The objective function of agricultural water resource management problem is to maximizing total benefits by water allocation to agricultural areas covered by the irrigation network in planning horizon. Due to gross margin and water demand uncertainty, we assume that the uncertain data lies within ellipsoidal uncertainty set. We employ robust counterpart methodology to get the robust optimal solution.

  10. A strategy for improving pump and treat ground water remediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, F.

    1992-07-01

    Established pump and treat ground water remediation has a reputation for being too expensive and time consuming, especially when cleanup standards are set at very low levels, e.g., 50 ft below ground surface) widespread ground water contamination. The perceived shortcomings of pump and treat result from the (1) tendency of most contaminants to sorb to formation materials, thus retarding contaminant removal; (2) geologic complexity, which requires detailed characterization for the design of optimal extraction systems within available resources; and (3) failure to apply dynamic well field management techniques. An alternative strategy for improving pump and treat ground water remediation consists of (1) detailed characterization of the geology, hydrology, and chemistry; (2) use of computer-aided data interpretation, data display, and decision support systems; (3) removal of sources, if possible; (4) initial design for plume containment and source remediation; (5) phased installation of the well field; (6) detailed monitoring of the remediation; (7) active ongoing re-evaluation of the operating well field, including redesign as appropriate (dynamic management); (8) re-injection of treated ground water to speed the flushing of contaminants; and (9) setting of appropriate cleanup levels or goals. Use of some or all of these techniques can dramatically reduce the time required to achieve cleanup goals and thus the cost of ground water remediation

  11. Improving Water Resources System Operation by Direct Use of Hydroclimatic Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelletti, A.; Pianosi, F.

    2011-12-01

    It is generally agreed that more information translates into better decisions. For instance, the availability of inflow predictions can improve reservoir operation; soil moisture data can be exploited to increase irrigation efficiency; etc. However, beyond this general statement, many theoretical and practical questions remain open. Provided that not all information sources are equally relevant, how does their value depend on the physical features of the water system and on the purposes of the system operation? What is the minimum lead time needed for anticipatory management to be effective? How does uncertainty in the information propagates through the modelling chain from hydroclimatic data through descriptive and decision models, and finally affect the decision? Is the data-predictions-decision paradigm truly effective or would it be better to directly use hydroclimatic data to take optimal decisions, skipping the intermediate step of hydrological forecasting? In this work we investigate these issues by application to the management of a complex water system in Northern Vietnam, characterized by multiple, conflicting objectives including hydropower production, flood control and water supply. First, we quantify the value of hydroclimatic information as the improvement in the system performances that could be attained under the (ideal) assumption of perfect knowledge of all future meteorological and hydrological input. Then, we assess and compare the relevance of different candidate information (meteorological or hydrological observations; ground or remote data; etc.) for the purpose of system operation by novel Input Variable Selection techniques. Finally, we evaluate the performance improvement made possible by the use of such information in re-designing the system operation.

  12. Fate of cyanobacteria and their metabolites during water treatment sludge management processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Lionel; Dreyfus, Jennifer; Boyer, Justine; Lowe, Todd; Bustamante, Heriberto; Duker, Phil; Meli, Tass; Newcombe, Gayle

    2012-05-01

    Cyanobacteria and their metabolites are an issue for water authorities; however, little is known as to the fate of coagulated cyanobacterial-laden sludge during waste management processes in water treatment plants (WTPs). This paper provides information on the cell integrity of Anabaena circinalis and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii during: laboratory-scale coagulation/sedimentation processes; direct filtration and backwashing procedures; and cyanobacterial-laden sludge management practices. In addition, the metabolites produced by A. circinalis (geosmin and saxitoxins) and C. raciborskii (cylindrospermopsin) were investigated with respect to their release (and possible degradation) during each of the studied processes. Where sedimentation was used, coagulation effectively removed cyanobacteria (and intracellular metabolites) without any considerable exertion on coagulant demand. During direct filtration experiments, cyanobacteria released intracellular metabolites through a stagnation period, suggesting that more frequent backwashing of filters may be required to prevent floc build-up and metabolite release. Cyanobacteria appeared to be protected within the flocs, with minimal damage during backwashing of the filters. Within coagulant sludge, cyanobacteria released intracellular metabolites into the supernatant after 3d, even though cells remained viable up to 7d. This work has improved the understanding of cyanobacterial metabolite risks associated with management of backwash water and sludge and is likely to facilitate improvements at WTPs, including increased monitoring and the application of treatment strategies and operational practices, with respect to cyanobacterial-laden sludge and/or supernatant recycle management. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Perspective: The challenge of ecologically sustainable water management

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Bernhardt, E

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable water resource management is constrained by three pervasive myths; that societal and environmental water demands always compete with one another; that technological solutions can solve all water resource management problems...

  14. Assessment of management approaches in a public water utility: A case study of the Namibia water corporation (NAMWATER)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ndokosho, Johnson; Hoko, Zvikomborero; Makurira, Hodson

    More than 90% of urban water supply and sanitation services in developing countries are provided by public organizations. However, public provision of services has been inherently inefficient. As a result a number of initiatives have emerged in recent years with a common goal to improve service delivery. In Namibia, the water sector reform resulted in the creation of a public utility called the Namibia Water Corporation (NAMWATER) which is responsible for bulk water supply countrywide. Since its inception in 1998, NAMWATER has been experiencing poor financial performance. This paper presents the findings of a case study that compared the management approaches of NAMWATER to the New Public Management (NPM) paradigm. The focus of the NPM approach is for the public water sector to mirror private sector methods of management so that public utilities can accrue the benefits of effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility often associated with private sector. The study tools used were a combination of literature review, interviews and questionnaires. It was found out that NAMWATER has a high degree of autonomy in its operations, albeit government approved tariffs and sourcing of external financing. The utility reports to government annually to account for results. The utility embraces a notion of good corporate culture and adheres to sound management practices. NAMWATER demonstrated a strong market-orientation indicated by the outsourcing of non-core functions but benchmarking was poorly done. NAMWATER’s customer-orientation is poor as evidenced by the lack of customer care facilities. NAMWATER’s senior management delegated operational authority to lower management to facilitate flexibility and eliminate bottlenecks. The lower management is in turn held accountable for performance by the senior management. There are no robust methods of ensuring sufficient accountability indicated by absence of performance contracts or service level agreements. It was concluded that

  15. Managing agricultural phosphorus to minimize water quality impacts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Sharpley

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Eutrophication of surface waters remains a major use-impairment in many countries, which, in fresh waters, is accelerated by phosphorus (P inputs from both point (e.g., municipal waste water treatment plants and nonpoint sources (e.g., urban and agricultural runoff. As point sources tend to be easier to identify and control, greater attention has recently focused on reducing nonpoint sources of P. In Brazil, agricultural productivity has increased tremendously over the last decade as a consequence, to a large extent, of increases in the use of fertilizer and improved land management. For instance, adoption of the “4R” approach (i.e., right rate, right time, right source, and right placement of P to fertilizer management can decrease P runoff. Additionally, practices that lessen the risk of runoff and erosion, such as reduced tillage and cover crops will also lessen P runoff. Despite these measures P can still be released from soil and fluvial sediment stores as a result of the prior 10 to 20 years’ management. These legacy sources can mask the water quality benefits of present-day conservation efforts. Future remedial efforts should focus on developing risk assessment indices and nonpoint source models to identify and target conservation measures and to estimate their relative effectiveness. New fertilizer formulations may more closely tailor the timing of nutrient release to plant needs and potentially decrease P runoff. Even so, it must be remembered that appropriate and timely inputs of fertilizers are needed to maintain agricultural productivity and in some cases, financial support might also be required to help offset the costs of expensive conservation measures.

  16. From microbes to water districts: Linking observations across scales to uncover the implications of riparian and channel management on water quality in an irrigated agricultural landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, A.; Cadenasso, M. L.

    2016-12-01

    Interactions among runoff, riparian and stream ecosystems, and water quality remain uncertain in many settings, particularly those heavily impacted by human activities. For example, waterways in the irrigated agricultural landscape of California's Central Valley are seasonally disconnected from groundwater tables and are extensively modified by infrastructure and management. These conditions make the impact of riparian and channel management difficult to predict across scales, which hinders efforts to promote best management practices to improve water quality. We seek to link observations across catchment, reach, and patch scales to understand patterns of nitrate and turbidity in waterways draining irrigated cropland. Data was collected on 80 reaches spanning two water management districts. At the catchment scale, water districts implemented waterway and riparian management differently: one water district had a decentralized approach, allowing individual land owners to manage their waterway channels and banks, while the other had a centralized approach, in which land owners defer management to a district-run program. At the reach scale, riparian and waterway vegetation, geomorphic complexity, and flow conditions were quantified. Reach-scale management such as riparian planting projects and channel dredging frequency were also considered. At the patch scale, denitrification potential and organic matter were measured in riparian toe-slope soils and channel sediments, along with associated vegetation and geomorphic features. All factors were tested for their ability to predict water quality using generalized linear mixed effects models and the consistency of predictors within and across scales was evaluated. A hierarchy of predictors emerges: catchment-scale management regimes predict reach-scale geomorphic and vegetation complexity, which in turn predicts sediment denitrification potential - the patch-scale factor most associated with low nitrate. Similarly

  17. Climate Change, Forests, and Water Supply: Managing to Reduce Vulnerability in Central Nova Scotia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steenberg, J.; Duinker, P.

    2009-12-01

    Global climate change is increasingly relevant in managing Canada’s forests sustainably. Forest managers are faced with the necessity of incorporating climate change into forest management plans. The formulation and evaluation of potential management strategies to contend with expected impacts of climate change will be necessary to reduce forest sector vulnerability. The Halifax Regional Water Commission manages forest watersheds for the purpose of supplying clean water to much of the Halifax Regional Municipality. The purpose of this study is to characterize the future forest structure of the two principal watersheds supplying the Halifax Regional Municipality using simulation modelling and to develop a framework of adaptive forest management. A combination of uncertainty analysis, sensitivity analysis, and field data collection are used to refine, calibrate, and validate the spatially dynamic landscape disturbance model LANDIS-II prior to the incorporation of climate change scenarios into model simulations. Final model-based analysis will inform framework development dedicated to improving watershed resilience in the face of future climate change. This study is applicable to forest management under a changing climate, but also has further significance to water security, as watershed management and point-source protection are tightly linked to forest management.

  18. Evaluating data worth for ground-water management under uncertainty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, B.J.

    1999-01-01

    A decision framework is presented for assessing the value of ground-water sampling within the context of ground-water management under uncertainty. The framework couples two optimization models-a chance-constrained ground-water management model and an integer-programing sampling network design model-to identify optimal pumping and sampling strategies. The methodology consists of four steps: (1) The optimal ground-water management strategy for the present level of model uncertainty is determined using the chance-constrained management model; (2) for a specified data collection budget, the monitoring network design model identifies, prior to data collection, the sampling strategy that will minimize model uncertainty; (3) the optimal ground-water management strategy is recalculated on the basis of the projected model uncertainty after sampling; and (4) the worth of the monitoring strategy is assessed by comparing the value of the sample information-i.e., the projected reduction in management costs-with the cost of data collection. Steps 2-4 are repeated for a series of data collection budgets, producing a suite of management/monitoring alternatives, from which the best alternative can be selected. A hypothetical example demonstrates the methodology's ability to identify the ground-water sampling strategy with greatest net economic benefit for ground-water management.A decision framework is presented for assessing the value of ground-water sampling within the context of ground-water management under uncertainty. The framework couples two optimization models - a chance-constrained ground-water management model and an integer-programming sampling network design model - to identify optimal pumping and sampling strategies. The methodology consists of four steps: (1) The optimal ground-water management strategy for the present level of model uncertainty is determined using the chance-constrained management model; (2) for a specified data collection budget, the monitoring

  19. Adapting to climate change by water management organisations: Enablers and barriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azhoni, Adani; Jude, Simon; Holman, Ian

    2018-04-01

    Climate change will be particularly experienced though the medium of water. Water organisations, that are managing societal and ecological needs for water, are therefore likely to experience the impact the most. This study reviews the current literature regarding adaptation to climate change by water management organisations and associated barriers. Literature on adaptive capacity is growing and a general consensus is emerging on the determinants of adaptive capacity, although variations exist regarding how it is to be evaluated, enhanced and applied to policy making due to its dynamic, contextual and latent nature. Since adaptive capacity is hard to measure and successful adaptation difficult to define, some studies focus on the existence of adaptation attributes of organisations. Studies reporting successful adaptation are minimal and barriers of adaptation are being discovered as adaptation research transitions into implementation. But the root causes of these barriers are often overlooked and the interconnectedness of the barriers is poorly addressed. Increasingly, combining top-down and bottom-up approaches to adaptation is being recommended due to the limitations of each. However, knowledge regarding how organisations operating at different scales can enhance adaptive capacity of other organisations operating at another scale is lacking due to the few studies of inter-organisational networks across scales. Social networks among actors are recognised as a key factor to enable adaptation. However, network studies generally focus on individual actors and rarely between public agencies/organisations. Moreover, the current literature is inadequate to understand the relationship between adaptation enabling characteristics, barriers and adaptation manifestation. The review demonstrates that research on understanding the emergence and sustenance of barriers is urgently required. Addressing these knowledge gaps will help to improve the design of adaptation strategies

  20. Opportunities and constraints for improved water resources management using different lenses and scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langan, Simon

    2017-04-01

    The quest for water security has been a struggle throughout human history. Only in recent years has the scale of this quest moved beyond the local, to the national and regional scales and to the planet itself. Absent or unreliable water supply, sanitation and irrigation services, unmitigated floods and droughts, and degraded water environments severely impact half of the planet's population. Over the past few years, water insecurity has become recognized in the World Economic Forum global risk studies as one of the greatest threats that business leaders themselves see that they face in the future, both in terms of likelihood and scale. The scale and complexity of the water challenges faced by society, particularly but not only in the world's poorest regions, are now recognized, as is the imperative of overcoming these challenges for a stable and equitable world. How can we ensure the well-being of all people and ecosystems with the water, human, technological, and financial resources available? In the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals water has to be managed more effectively and wisely by unlocking scientific, managerial, and business capabilities; breaking out of technological lock-in; and innovative and adaptive portfolios of solutions have to be developed while removing barriers to progress on sound water governance. IIASA's Water Futures and Solutions Initiative (WFAS) is an unprecedented inter-disciplinary scientific initiative to identify robust and adaptive portfolios of optional solutions across different economic sectors, including agriculture, energy and industry, and to test these solution-portfolios with multi-model ensembles of hydrologic and sector models to obtain a clearer picture of the trade-offs, risks, and opportunities. The results of WFaS scenarios and models will provide a basis for long-term strategic planning of water resource development. And given the complexity of the water system, WFaS will uniquely provide policy makers

  1. Water resources management plan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glauco Maia

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Water resources manageWith the mission of providing reliable data for water supply activities in medium and large firefighting operations, the Firefighting Water Supply Tactical Group (GTSAI represents an important sector of the Rio de Janeiro State Fire Departmentment plan strategic support. Acting proactively, the Tactical Group prepared a Water Resources Management Plan, aiming to set up water resources for each jurisdiction of firefighters in the City of Rio de Janeiro, in order to assist the Fire Department in its missions. This goal was reached, and in association with LAGEOP (Geoprocessing Laboratory, UFRJ, the Tactical Group started using GIS techniques. The plan provides for the register of existing operational structures within each group (troops, vehicles and special equipment, along with knowledge about the nature and operating conditions of fire hydrants, as well as a detailed survey of areas considered to be "critical". The survey helps to support actions related to environmental disasters involved in the aforementioned critical areas (hospital, churches, schools, and chemical industries, among others. The Caju neighborhood, in Rio de Janeiro, was defined as initial application area, and was the first jurisdiction to have the system implemented, followed by Copacabana, Leblon, Lagoa, and Catete districts.

  2. Seeking a consensus: water management principles from the monotheistic scriptures

    KAUST Repository

    Lefers, Ryan

    2015-03-13

    Religious and cultural values related to water use and management are important motivation for many people of the world. Although much has been written related to water management and use in Islam, fewer authors have attempted to evaluate water management through the lens of other religions. The common thread of monotheism, specifically worship of the one God of Abraham, binds together the world\\'s largest two religions (Islam and Christianity). Judaism also falls within this monotheistic group and is especially important in the context of Middle Eastern water management. As agriculture consumes approximately 70% of all fresh water used in the world today, proper management of water within its context is of critical and global importance. This paper presents an effort to build consensus from a monotheistic scripture-based perspective related to water management in agriculture. If greater dialog and agreement about water management can be attained within and among monotheists, complex issues related to transboundary water management, reuse and conservation could be resolved with less conflict, creating a shared overall management vision.

  3. On inclusion of water resource management in Earth system models - Part 1: Problem definition and representation of water demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazemi, A.; Wheater, H. S.

    2015-01-01

    Human activities have caused various changes to the Earth system, and hence the interconnections between human activities and the Earth system should be recognized and reflected in models that simulate Earth system processes. One key anthropogenic activity is water resource management, which determines the dynamics of human-water interactions in time and space and controls human livelihoods and economy, including energy and food production. There are immediate needs to include water resource management in Earth system models. First, the extent of human water requirements is increasing rapidly at the global scale and it is crucial to analyze the possible imbalance between water demands and supply under various scenarios of climate change and across various temporal and spatial scales. Second, recent observations show that human-water interactions, manifested through water resource management, can substantially alter the terrestrial water cycle, affect land-atmospheric feedbacks and may further interact with climate and contribute to sea-level change. Due to the importance of water resource management in determining the future of the global water and climate cycles, the World Climate Research Program's Global Energy and Water Exchanges project (WRCP-GEWEX) has recently identified gaps in describing human-water interactions as one of the grand challenges in Earth system modeling (GEWEX, 2012). Here, we divide water resource management into two interdependent elements, related firstly to water demand and secondly to water supply and allocation. In this paper, we survey the current literature on how various components of water demand have been included in large-scale models, in particular land surface and global hydrological models. Issues of water supply and allocation are addressed in a companion paper. The available algorithms to represent the dominant demands are classified based on the demand type, mode of simulation and underlying modeling assumptions. We discuss

  4. Global Operational Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration System for Water Resources Management: Case Study for the State of New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halverson, G. H.; Fisher, J.; Magnuson, M.; John, L.

    2017-12-01

    An operational system to produce and disseminate remotely sensed evapotranspiration using the PT-JPL model and support its analysis and use in water resources decision making is being integrated into the New Mexico state government. A partnership between the NASA Western Water Applications Office (WWAO), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (NMOSE) has enabled collaboration with a variety of state agencies to inform decision making processes for agriculture, rangeland, and forest management. This system improves drought understanding and mobilization, litigation support, and economic, municipal, and ground-water planning through interactive mapping of daily rates of evapotranspiration at 1 km spatial resolution with near real-time latency. This is facilitated by daily remote sensing acquisitions of land-surface temperature and near-surface air temperature and humidity from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the Terra satellite as well as the short-term composites of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and albedo provided by MODIS. Incorporating evapotranspiration data into agricultural water management better characterizes imbalances between water requirements and supplies. Monitoring evapotranspiration over rangeland areas improves remediation and prevention of aridification. Monitoring forest evapotranspiration improves wildlife management and response to wildfire risk. Continued implementation of this decision support system should enhance water and food security.

  5. Integrated Urban Water Quality Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rauch, W.; Harremoës, Poul

    1995-01-01

    The basic features of integrated urban water quality management by means of deterministic modeling are outlined. Procedures for the assessment of the detrimental effects in the recipient are presented as well as the basic concepts of an integrated model. The analysis of a synthetic urban drainage...... system provides useful information for water quality management. It is possible to identify the system parameters that contain engineering significance. Continuous simulation of the system performance indicates that the combined nitrogen loading is dominated by the wastewater treatment plant during dry...

  6. Demand side management in South Africa at industrial residence water heating systems using in line water heating methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rankin, R.; Rousseau, P.G.

    2008-01-01

    The South African electrical utility, ESKOM, currently focuses its demand side management (DSM) initiatives on controlling electrical load between 18:00 and 20:00 each day, which is the utility's peak demand period. Funding is provided to energy service companies (ESCo's) to implement projects that can achieve load shifting out of this period. This paper describes how an improved in line water heating concept developed in previous studies was implemented into several real life industrial sanitary water heating systems to obtain the DSM load shift required by ESKOM. Measurements from a selection of these plants are provided to illustrate the significant load reductions that are being achieved during 18:00-20:00. The measured results also show that the peak load reduction is achieved without adversely affecting the availability of sufficient hot water to the persons using the showering and washing facilities served by the water heating system. A very good correlation also exists between these measured results and simulations that were done beforehand to predict the DSM potential of the project. The in line water heater concept provides an improved solution for DSM at sanitary water heating systems due to the stratified manner in which hot water is supplied to the tanks. This provides an improved hot water supply to users when compared to conventional in tank heating systems, even with load shifting being done. It also improves the storage efficiency of a plant, thereby allowing the available storage capacity of a plant to be utilized to its full extent for load shifting purposes

  7. Priorities to improve the ecological risk assessment and management for pesticides in surface water

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brock, T.C.M.

    2013-01-01

    This article deals with prospective and retrospective ecological risk assessment (ERA) procedures for pesticides in surface waters as carried out under European legislation (Regulation 1107/2009/EC; Directive 2009/128/EC; Directive 2000/60/EC). Priorities to improve the aquatic risk assessment and

  8. Integrated water management system - Description and test results. [for Space Station waste water processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elden, N. C.; Winkler, H. E.; Price, D. F.; Reysa, R. P.

    1983-01-01

    Water recovery subsystems are being tested at the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center for Space Station use to process waste water generated from urine and wash water collection facilities. These subsystems are being integrated into a water management system that will incorporate wash water and urine processing through the use of hyperfiltration and vapor compression distillation subsystems. Other hardware in the water management system includes a whole body shower, a clothes washing facility, a urine collection and pretreatment unit, a recovered water post-treatment system, and a water quality monitor. This paper describes the integrated test configuration, pertinent performance data, and feasibility and design compatibility conclusions of the integrated water management system.

  9. The role of the municipality in water resources management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo Carneiro de Noronha

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This article analyzes decentralization of the water resources management within the watershed, where the municipality problems are delimited. The analysis of the water management development in Brazil indicates that the legal framework is embedded in a process of decentralization. The Constitution of 1988 establishes that the superficial waters are goods of the Union and the States. Later, the National Water Resources Policy establishes the watershed as the territorial unit of management. However, the supervision and management of basins remain centralized and without providing an interconnection between water use and other environmental goods. Among the attributions of the municipality are the environmental enforcement, agricultural policy, definition of conservation units and management of the urban territory. The incorporation of these policies in an environmental zoning based in the water management allows better utilization of water availability and local participation in administrative decisions watershed through the municipality.

  10. A System Dynamics Model to Improve Water Resources Allocation in the Conchos River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gastelum, J. R.; Valdes, J. B.; Stewart, S.

    2005-12-01

    The Conchos river located in Chihuahua state on a semiarid region is the most important Mexican river contributing water deliveries to USA as established by the Water treaty of 1944 signed between Mexico and USA. Historically, Mexico has delivered to UNITED STATES 550 Hm3 (445,549.5 ACF) per year of water since the treaty was established, which is 25% above the yearly water volume Mexico is required to deliver. The Conchos river has contributed with 54% of the historic Mexican water treaty deliveries to the UNITED STATES, which represents the highest percentage of the 6 Mexican rivers considered on the water treaty. However, during drought situations the basin has proven to be vulnerable, for instance, because of the severe drought of the 90's, several cities in 1992 on Chihuahua state where declared disaster areas, and from 1992 to 2001 Mexico had accumulated a water treaty deficit of 2111.6 Hm3 (1,710,586 ACF). This has conduced to economic, social, and political difficulties in both countries. Because of the cited problematic and considering the poor understanding of the relationship between water supply and demand factors on the basin, a decision support system (DSS) has been developed aimed to improve the decision making process related with the water resources allocation process. This DSS has been created using System Dynamics (SD). It is a semi-distributed model and is running on monthly time step basis. For both the short and long term, three important water resources management strategies have been evaluated: several water allocation policies from reservoirs to water users; bulk water rights transfers inside and outside Irrigation Districts; and improvement of water distribution efficiencies. The model results have provided very useful regard to gain more quantitative understanding of the different strategies being implemented. They have also indicated that the different water resources alternatives change its degree of importance according to the

  11. Water management in 2020 and beyond

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biswas, Asit K. [Third World Centre for Water Management, Atizapan, MEX (Mexico); Tortajada, Cecilia [Water Institute of Aragon, Zaragoza (ES). International Centre for Water and Environment (CIAMA); Izquierdo, Rafael (eds.) [Water Institute of Aragon, Zaragoza (Spain)

    2009-07-01

    Water is intertwined in the daily life of humans in countless ways. The importance of water as a driver for health, food security, and quality of life and as a pillar for economic development is unique. As water affects human lives, the mankind also effects the hydrological cycle, in all dimensions from the local to the global scale. Food production accounts for 90% of water use in developing countries. Hydropower production evokes emotions; yet sustainable energy production is among cornerstones of economic development. The damages caused by floods and droughts are escalating all over the world. The human impacts on ecosystems are increasing as well. Water is largely a political good since a bulk of the mankind lives in river basins shared by two or more nations. These complexities are approached in the book in depth. The analyses include consideration of how developments in seemingly unrelated processes and sectors such as globalisation, free trade, energy, security, information and communication revolutions, health-related issues such as HIV/AIDS, as well as emerging developments in sectors that are linked more conventionally to water, such as population growth, urbanisation, technological development, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, management of water quality and ecosystem health, are likely to affect water management in the future. For the first time, a pragmatic attempt is make to define a realistic framework for water management in 2020 with leading experts from different parts of the world as well as different disciplines. (orig.)

  12. Assessing community values for reducing agricultural emissions to improve water quality and protect coral health in the Great Barrier Reef

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolfe, John; Windle, Jill

    2011-12-01

    Policymakers wanting to increase protection of the Great Barrier Reef from pollutants generated by agriculture need to identify when measures to improve water quality generate benefits to society that outweigh the costs involved. The research reported in this paper makes a contribution in several ways. First, it uses the improved science understanding about the links between management changes and reef health to bring together the analysis of costs and benefits of marginal changes, helping to demonstrate the appropriate way of addressing policy questions relating to reef protection. Second, it uses the scientific relationships to frame a choice experiment to value the benefits of improved reef health, with the results of mixed logit (random parameter) models linking improvements explicitly to changes in "water quality units." Third, the research demonstrates how protection values are consistent across a broader population, with some limited evidence of distance effects. Fourth, the information on marginal costs and benefits that are reported provide policymakers with information to help improve management decisions. The results indicate that while there is potential for water quality improvements to generate net benefits, high cost water quality improvements are generally uneconomic. A major policy implication is that cost thresholds for key pollutants should be set to avoid more expensive water quality proposals being selected.

  13. Resource reliability, accessibility and governance: pillars for managing water resources to achieve water security in Nepal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggs, E. M.; Duncan, J.; Atkinson, P.; Dash, J.

    2013-12-01

    . Subsequently, with poor accessibility and poor governance, the threat to human water security remains high in Nepal. Nonetheless, the nation has great potential to better manage natural capital and harness reserves for improving livelihoods, such as river flows for generating hydropower. Suggested solutions for transboundary water cooperation are explored within a water-energy-food nexus framework.

  14. Integrated water resources management using engineering measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Y.

    2015-04-01

    The management process of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) consists of aspects of policies/strategies, measures (engineering measures and non-engineering measures) and organizational management structures, etc., among which engineering measures such as reservoirs, dikes, canals, etc., play the backbone that enables IWRM through redistribution and reallocation of water in time and space. Engineering measures are usually adopted for different objectives of water utilization and water disaster prevention, such as flood control and drought relief. The paper discusses the planning and implementation of engineering measures in IWRM of the Changjiang River, China. Planning and implementation practices of engineering measures for flood control and water utilization, etc., are presented. Operation practices of the Three Gorges Reservoir, particularly the development and application of regulation rules for flood management, power generation, water supply, ecosystem needs and sediment issues (e.g. erosion and siltation), are also presented. The experience obtained in the implementation of engineering measures in Changjiang River show that engineering measures are vital for IWRM. However, efforts should be made to deal with changes of the river system affected by the operation of engineering measures, in addition to escalatory development of new demands associated with socio-economic development.

  15. Integrated water resources management using engineering measures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Huang

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The management process of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM consists of aspects of policies/strategies, measures (engineering measures and non-engineering measures and organizational management structures, etc., among which engineering measures such as reservoirs, dikes, canals, etc., play the backbone that enables IWRM through redistribution and reallocation of water in time and space. Engineering measures are usually adopted for different objectives of water utilization and water disaster prevention, such as flood control and drought relief. The paper discusses the planning and implementation of engineering measures in IWRM of the Changjiang River, China. Planning and implementation practices of engineering measures for flood control and water utilization, etc., are presented. Operation practices of the Three Gorges Reservoir, particularly the development and application of regulation rules for flood management, power generation, water supply, ecosystem needs and sediment issues (e.g. erosion and siltation, are also presented. The experience obtained in the implementation of engineering measures in Changjiang River show that engineering measures are vital for IWRM. However, efforts should be made to deal with changes of the river system affected by the operation of engineering measures, in addition to escalatory development of new demands associated with socio-economic development.

  16. Challenges in global ballast water management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endresen, Oyvind; Lee Behrens, Hanna; Brynestad, Sigrid; Bjoern Andersen, Aage; Skjong, Rolf

    2004-01-01

    Ballast water management is a complex issue raising the challenge of merging international regulations, ship's specific configurations along with ecological conservation. This complexity is illustrated in this paper by considering ballast water volume, discharge frequency, ship safety and operational issues aligned with regional characteristics to address ecological risk for selected routes. A re-estimation of ballast water volumes gives a global annual level of 3500 Mton. Global ballast water volume discharged into open sea originating from ballast water exchange operations is estimated to approximately 2800 Mton. Risk based decision support systems coupled to databases for different ports and invasive species characteristics and distributions can allow for differentiated treatment levels while maintaining low risk levels. On certain routes, the risk is estimated to be unacceptable and some kind of ballast water treatment or management should be applied

  17. Book Review: Water Diplomacy: A Negotiated Approach to Managing Complex Water Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hossain, Faisal

    2013-01-01

    All nations have built their economies around water that is naturally available. Almost all sectors of the economy depend on water. Yet there is conflict among various users for the finite amount of water that is available. Managers and practitioners have long held the notion that competition rather than collaboration is the solution when there is conflict. Water Diplomacy: A Negotiated Approach to Managing Complex Water Networks, by Shafiqul Islam and Lawrence Susskind, provides a refreshingly compelling alternative to overcoming water conflicts. The book argues that the dynamic sociopolitical and socioeconomic constraints of water resources are best addressed in a "diplomacy" framework. The book rebuts, using several case studies, the technically rigid competition approach of today's water sharing practice.

  18. Water use efficiency and integrated water resource management for river basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Xiangzheng; Singh, R. B.; Liu, Junguo; Güneralp, Burak

    Water use efficiency and management have attracted increasing attention as water has become scare to challenge the world's sustainable development. Water use efficiency is correlated to the land use and cover changes (LUCC), population distribution, industrial structure, economic development, climate changes, and environmental governance. These factors significantly alter water productivity for water balance through the changes in natural environment and socio-economic system (Wang et al., 2015b). Consequently, dynamics of water inefficiency lower the social welfare of water allocation (Wang et al., 2015b), and induce water management alternation interactively and financially (Wang et al., 2015a). This triggers on actual water price changes through both natural resource and socioeconomic system (Zhou et al., 2015). Therefore, it is very important to figure out a mechanism of water allocation in the course of LUCC (Jin et al., 2015) at a global perspective (Zhao et al., 2015), climate and economic changes of ecosystem service at various spatial and temporal scales (Li et al., 2015).

  19. Understanding the effectiveness of vegetated streamside management zones for protecting water quality (Chapter 5)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip Smethurst; Kevin Petrone; Daniel Neary

    2012-01-01

    We set out to improve understanding of the effectiveness of streamside management zones (SMZs) for protecting water quality in landscapes dominated by agriculture. We conducted a paired-catchment experiment that included water quality monitoring before and after the establishment of a forest plantation as an SMZ on cleared farmland that was used for extensive grazing....

  20. NREPS Applications for Water Supply and Management in California and Tennessee

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatlin, P.; Scott, M.; Carery, L. D.; Petersen, W. A.

    2011-01-01

    Management of water resources is a balancing act between temporally and spatially limited sources and competitive needs which can often exceed the supply. In order to manage water resources over a region such as the San Joaquin Valley or the Tennessee River Valley, it is pertinent to know the amount of water that has fallen in the watershed and where the water is going within it. Since rain gauge networks are typically sparsely spaced, it is typical that the majority of rainfall on the region may not be measured. To mitigate this under-sampling of rainfall, weather radar has long been employed to provide areal rainfall estimates. The Next-Generation Weather Radars (NEXRAD) make it possible to estimate rainfall over the majority of the conterminous United States. The NEXRAD Rainfall Estimation Processing System (NREPS) was developed specifically for the purpose of using weather radar to estimate rainfall for water resources management. The NREPS is tailored to meet customer needs on spatial and temporal scales relevant to the hydrologic or land-surface models of the end-user. It utilizes several techniques to mitigate artifacts in the NEXRAD data from contaminating the rainfall field. These techniques include clutter filtering, correction for occultation by topography as well as accounting for the vertical profile of reflectivity. This presentation will focus on improvements made to the NREPS system to map rainfall in the San Joaquin Valley for NASA s Water Supply and Management Project in California, but also ongoing rainfall mapping work in the Tennessee River watershed for the Tennessee Valley Authority and possible future applications in other areas of the continent.

  1. Design of environmental decision support system and its application to water quality management

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2001-01-01

    EDSS is a comprehensive software system for water quality management in tidal river networks in general and for the Pearl River Delta in particular. Its purpose is to provide a practical tool that could assist government agencies in decision making for the efficient management of water resources in terms of both quantity and quality. By combining the capabilities of geographical information system (GIS), database management system (DBMS), model base management system (MBMS) and expert system, the aim is to improve the quality of decision making in what is becoming an increasingly complex area. This paper first outlines the basic concepts and philosophy adopted in developing EDSS, the system architecture, design features, implementation techniques and facilities provided. Thereafter, the core part of the system the hydrodynamic and water quality models are described briefly. The final contribution in this paper describes the application of EDSS to the Pearl River Delta, which has the most complicated tidal river network patterns as well as the fastest economic development in the world. Examples are given of the real-world problems that can be addressed using the system, including cross-boundary water pollution analysis, regional drinking water take-up site selection, screening of important polluters, environmental impact assessment, and water quality zoning and planning. It is illustrated that EDSS can provide efficient and scientific analytical tools for planning and decision-making purposes in the information era.

  2. Towards sustainable water management in Algeria

    KAUST Repository

    Drouiche, Nadjib; Ghaffour, NorEddine; Naceur, Mohamed Wahib; Lounici, Hakim; Drouiche, Madani

    2012-01-01

    Algeria aspires to protect its water resources and to provide a sustainable answer to water supply and management issues by carrying out a national water plan. This program is in line with all projects the Algerian Government is implementing

  3. Operations improvement of the recycling water-cooling systems of sugar mills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shcherbakov Vladimir Ivanovich

    Full Text Available Water management in sugar factories doesn’t have analogues in its complexity among food industry enterprises. Water intensity of sugar production is very high. Circulation water, condensed water, pulp press water and others are used in technological processes. Water plays the main role in physical, chemical, thermotechnical processes of beet processing and sugar production. As a consequence of accession of Russia to the WTO the technical requirements for production processes are changing. The enforcements of ecological services to balance scheme of water consumption and water disposal increased. The reduction of fresh water expenditure is one of the main tasks in economy of sugar industry. The substantial role in fresh water expenditure is played by efficiency of cooling and aeration processes of conditionally clean waters of the 1st category. The article contains an observation of the technologies of the available solutions and recommendations for improving and upgrading the existing recycling water-cooling systems of sugar mills. The authors present the block diagram of the water sector of a sugar mill and a method of calculating the optimal constructive and technological parameters of cooling devices. Water cooling towers enhanced design and upgrades are offered.

  4. Water Demand Management for Social Justice

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Bob Stanley

    with men, in the design and management of water projects enhances the intended results of projects and contributes to ... the area of domestic water supply and sanitation. There is .... mandate reducing the loss of quantity or quality of water as ...

  5. Status of ISS Water Management and Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Layne; Takada, Kevin; Gazda, Daniel; Brown, Christopher; Bazley, Jesse; Schaezler, Ryan; Bankers, Lyndsey

    2017-01-01

    Water management on ISS is responsible for the provision of water to the crew for drinking water, food preparation, and hygiene, to the Oxygen Generation System (OGS) for oxygen production via electrolysis, to the Waste & Hygiene Compartment (WHC) for flush water, and for experiments on ISS. This paper summarizes water management activities on the ISS US Segment and provides a status of the performance and issues related to the operation of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). This paper summarizes the on-orbit status as of June 2017 and describes the technical challenges encountered and lessons learned over the past year.

  6. Status of ISS Water Management and Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Layne; Brown, Christopher; Orozco, Nicole

    2014-01-01

    Water management on ISS is responsible for the provision of water to the crew for drinking water, food preparation, and hygiene, to the Oxygen Generation System (OGS) for oxygen production via electrolysis, to the Waste & Hygiene Compartment (WHC) for flush water, and for experiments on ISS. This paper summarizes water management activities on the ISS US Segment, and provides a status of the performance and issues related to the operation of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). This paper summarizes the on-orbit status as of June 2013, and describes the technical challenges encountered and lessons learned over the past year.

  7. Improvement in health and empowerment of families as a result of watershed management in a tribal area in India - a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nerkar, Sandeep S; Tamhankar, Ashok J; Johansson, Eva; Lundborg, Cecilia Stålsby

    2013-10-12

    Tribal people in India, as in other parts of the world, reside mostly in forests and/or hilly terrains. Water scarcity and health problems related to it are their prime concern. Watershed management can contribute to resolve their health related problems and can put them on a path of socio-economic development. Integrated management of land, water and biomass resources within a watershed, i.e. in an area or a region which contributes rainfall water to a river or lake, is referred to as watershed management. Watershed management includes soil and water conservation to create water resources, management of drinking water, improving hygiene and sanitation, plantation of trees, improving agriculture, formation of self-help groups and proper utilisation and management of available natural resources. For successful implementation of such a solution, understanding of perceptions of the tribal community members with regard to public health and socioeconomic implications of watershed management is essential. A qualitative study with six focus group discussions (FGDs), three each separately for men and women, was conducted among tribal community members of the Maharashtra state of India. The data collected from the FGDs were analyzed using manifest and latent content analysis. "Improvement in health and empowerment of families as a result of watershed management" was identified as the main theme. Participants perceived that their health problems and socio-economic development are directly and/or indirectly dependent upon water availability. They further perceived that watershed management could directly or indirectly result in reduction of their public health related challenges like waterborne diseases, seasonal migration, alcoholism, intimate partner violence, as well as drudgery of women and may enhance overall empowerment of families through agricultural development. Tribal people perceived that water scarcity is the main reason for their physical, mental and social

  8. Approaches to Improvement of Crop Genotypes with High Water and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Water Scarce Environments. Final Report of a Coordinated Research Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2017-12-01

    Projected global population increase and the impacts of climate change on agriculture highlight the importance of the use of improved crop varieties coupled with better soil, water and fertilizer management practices designed to protect the natural resource base. This publication is the outcome of a coordinated research project (CRP) and focuses on the practical application of nuclear and related techniques, such as mutation induction and the use of stable isotopes of nitrogen [N-15] and carbon [C-13]. The use of such techniques can improve crop productivity with mutant varieties and best-fit soil management practices in diverse agro-ecological zones affected by drought, high temperatures, water scarcity, soil acidity and soil salinity. The findings of the CRP will be highly valuable to agricultural scientists and laboratory technicians of national agricultural research organizations in Member States as a resource for improving soil and crop productivity.

  9. Climate changes Dutch water management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaik, van H.

    2007-01-01

    This booklet starts out describing how our water management strategy has evolved over the centuries from increasingly defensive measures to an adaptive approach. The second part presents smart, areaspecific examples in planning and zoning of water, land and ecosystems for our coast, rivers, cities

  10. Integrated management of water resources in urban water system: Water Sensitive Urban Development as a strategic approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Joaquín Suárez López

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The urban environment has to be concerned with the integrated water resources management, which necessarily includes the concept of basin unity and governance.  The traditional urban water cycle framework, which includes water supply, sewerage and wastewater treatment services, is being replaced by a holistic and systemic concept, where water is associated with urbanism and sustainability policies. This global point of view cannot be ignored as new regulations demand systemic and environmental approaches to the administrations, for instance, in the management of urban drainage and sewerage systems. The practical expression of this whole cluster interactions is beginning to take shape in several countries, with the definition of Low Impact Development and Water Sensitivity Urban Design concepts. Intends to integrate this new strategic approach under the name: “Water Sensitive Urban Development” (WSUD. With WSUD approach, the current urban water systems (originally conceived under the traditional concept of urban water cycle can be transformed, conceptual and physically, for an integrated management of the urban water system in new models of sustainable urban development. A WSUD implementing new approach to the management of pollution associated with stormwater in the urban water system is also presented, including advances in environmental regulations and incorporation of several techniques in Spain.

  11. Analysis of Stakeholder's Behaviours for an Improved Management of an Agricultural Coastal Region in Oman

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khatri, Ayisha Al; Jens, Grundmann; der Weth Rüdiger, van; Niels, Schütze

    2015-04-01

    Al Batinah coastal area is the main agricultural region in Oman. Agriculture is concentrated in Al Batinah, because of more fertile soils and easier access to water in the form of groundwater compared to other administrative areas in the country. The region now is facing a problem as a result of over abstraction of fresh groundwater for irrigation from the main aquifer along the coast. This enforces the inflow of sea water into the coastal aquifer and causes salinization of the groundwater. As a consequence the groundwater becomes no longer suitable for irrigation which impacts the social and economical situation of farmers as well as the environment. Therefore, the existing situation generates conflicts between different stakeholders regarding water availability, sustainable aquifer management, and profitable agricultural production in Al Batinah region. Several management measures to maintain the groundwater aquifer in the region, were implemented by the government. However, these solutions showed only limited successes for the existing problem. The aim of this study now is to evaluate the implementation potential of several management interventions and their combinations by analysing opinions and responses of all relevant stakeholders in the region. This is done in order to identify potential conflicts among stakeholders to a participatory process within the frame of an integrated water resources management and to support decision makers in taking more informed decisions. Questionnaires were designed for collecting data from different groups of stakeholders e.g. water professionals, farmers from the study area and decision makers of different organizations and ministries. These data were analysed statistically for each group separately as well as regarding relations amongst groups by using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) software package. Results show, that the need to improve the situation is supported by all groups. However, significant

  12. Proceedings of the CEATI water management 2008 workshop : climate change impacts on hydroelectric water resource management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    Hydroelectric power will occupy a significant portion of future renewable energy sources. This conference provided a forum for scientists, industry experts, and utility operators to discuss methods of determining and managing the potential impacts of climatic change on water resources. Attendants at the conference discussed issues related to future water supplies, and examined methods of predicting hydrological shifts and pattern changes for various watersheds and basins. Methods of using global climate and regional climate models for predicting the impacts of climatic change on water resources were reviewed, and new strategies for simulating and predicting shifts in sedimentation and shoreline erosion were discussed. New technologies and tools designed to improve the accuracy of utility risk assessments were also presented. The conference was divided into the following 11 sessions: (1) climate change impacts, (2) hydroclimatic variability, (3) downscaling of climate models, (4) global climate models and regional climate models, (5) watershed modelling, (6) adaptation on short-, medium-, and long-term planning, (7) climate change adaptation, (8) operations and planning, (9) risk assessment and uncertainty, (10) operations and planning, and (11) extreme events. A series of workshop posters presented new forecasting and simulation tools. The conference featured 35 presentations, of which 11 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. tabs., figs

  13. Water resources management in Tanzania: identifying research ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper aims at identifying research gaps and needs and recommendations for a research agenda on water resources management in Tanzania. We reviewed published literature on water resources management in Tanzania in order to highlight what is currently known, and to identify knowledge gaps, and suggest ...

  14. Managing the water crisis: A youth perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simataa, Faith

    2017-04-01

    The youth are identified as a key group to include in effective engagement and decision-making for water security and sustainable development. An increase in severe droughts in Namibia has highlighted its destructive impacts and led to a growing concern about the societal exposure of communities. Acknowledging the benefit of access to safe drinking water to humanity, in reality a disproportionate burden of protecting environmental benefits such as clean water is borne by the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. As a result, a key consideration highlighted in the Hyogo and Sendai Frameworks is the inclusion of gender & age perspectives, and vulnerable groups in planning for disaster risk reduction. Therefore, the paper argues that empowering the youth with knowledge and skills capability in disaster risk issues becomes essential for a sustainable management approach, and a potential 'rescue' mechanism from the web of poverty. The paper also illustrates that there is indeed weak adherence to good governance and that the government needs to improve structures for youth coordination to ensure water stewardship. Realizing this gap in knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of resilience at all levels of society, the paper offers a perspective on the role of youth in the development agenda of Namibia and how they can influence decision-making processes in addressing water insecurity in the country. Keywords: Empowerment, Namibia, Water insecurity, Youth

  15. Isotope methods in water resources assessment and environmental management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araguas-Araguas, L.

    1996-01-01

    Availability of water and protection of water resources have become top environmental issues in many countries. Governments are forced to issue strict guidelines to protect the environment and create agencies to pursue these aspects as well as enforce such regulations. The supply of good-quality water from rivers and lakes is becoming a costly and complex problem for many institutes responsible for water supply. Because of the high pollution levels in surface waters, ground water is the main source of drinking water in many countries. It is estimated that 1.5 billion people world-wide depend on it for drinking water. Since ground water cannot be directly measured, and despite its importance for drinking purposes there is not enough public concern about its protection. In other cases, it is found that the exploited ground water is not a renewable resource. In many countries in arid and semi-arid regions, fossil ground water is being tapped for extensive agricultural development, but such extraction depletes the reserves, in the same way as an oil reservoir. The availability of correct information, before decisions are taken will lead to improved management of water resources, distributing the available resources for different uses according to their quality, and ultimately, to manage the resource. Nuclear science has developed a series of methodologies based on the use of naturally-occurring isotopes and artificial tracers to study the processes involved in the occurrence and circulation of water. The discipline called 'Isotope Hydrology' provides a deep insight into many parts of the water cycle; from the evaporation over the ocean or the continents, to the formation of surface runoff and ground water and in the discharge of aquifer systems into the ocean. Isotope hydrology, as a scientific and applied discipline in earth sciences, was created during the late 1950s and early 1960s, beyond the classical hydrological science. In these early stages, new methodologies

  16. Management optimization in Thermal complex through water reuse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Souza, S.; Manganelli, A.; Bertolotto, J.; Leys, P.; Garcia, B.

    2004-01-01

    Water reuse involves the concept of the exploitation of a previously used water, for a new, beneficial purpose. Actually, in Uruguay, thermal water is just utilised for balneological purposes, in this paper is proposed the water reuse taking the excess of used swimming pool water, and using it for heating and greenhouse irrigation, and australian lobster breeding. An important aspect of sustainable thermal water management is the protection of the exploted thermal water resources, so water reuse plays an important role in water resource, and ecosystem management, because it reduces the volume discharged and also reduces the risk of thermal pollution [es

  17. Artificial recharge of groundwater and its role in water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimrey, J.O.

    1989-01-01

    This paper summarizes and discusses the various aspects and methods of artificial recharge with particular emphasis on its uses and potential role in water management in the Arabian Gulf region. Artificial recharge occurs when man's activities cause more water to enter an aquifer, either under pumping or non-pumping conditions, than otherwise would enter the aquifer. Use of artificial recharge can be a practical means of dealing with problems of overdraft of groundwater. Methods of artificial recharge may be grouped under two broad types: (a) water spreading techniques, and (b) well-injection techniques. Successful use of artificial recharge requires a thorough knowledge of the physical and chemical characteristics of the aquifier system, and extensive onsite experimentation and tailoring of the artificial-recharge technique to fit the local or areal conditions. In general, water spreading techniques are less expensive than well injection and large quantities of water can be handled. Water spreading can also result in significant improvement in quality of recharge waters during infiltration and movement through the unsaturated zone and the receiving aquifer. In comparison, well-injection techniques are often used for emplacement of fresh recharge water into saline aquifer zones to form a manageable lens of fresher water, which may later be partially withdrawn for use or continue to be maintained as a barrier against salt-water encroachment. A major advantage in use of groundwater is its availability, on demand to wells, from a natural storage reservoir that is relatively safe from pollution and from damage by sabotage or other hostile action. However, fresh groundwater occurs only in limited quantities in most of the Arabian Gulf region; also, it is heavily overdrafted in many areas, and receives very little natural recharge. Good use could be made of artificial recharge by well injection in replenishing and managing aquifers in strategic locations if sources of

  18. Stormwater harvesting: Improving water security in South Africa's urban areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lloyd Fisher-Jeffes

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The drought experienced in South Africa in 2016 one of the worst in decades has left many urbanised parts of the country with limited access to water, and food production has been affected. If a future water crisis is to be averted, the country needs to conserve current water supplies, reduce its reliance on conventional surface water schemes, and seek alternative sources of water supply. Within urban areas, municipalities must find ways to adapt to, and mitigate the threats from, water insecurity resulting from, inter alia, droughts, climate change and increasing water demand driven by population growth and rising standards of living. Stormwater harvesting (SWH is one possible alternative water resource that could supplement traditional urban water supplies, as well as simultaneously offer a range of social and environmental benefits. We set out three position statements relating to how SWH can: improve water security and increase resilience to climate change in urban areas; prevent frequent flooding; and provide additional benefits to society. We also identify priority research areas for the future in order to target and support the appropriate uptake of SWH in South Africa, including testing the viability of SWH through the use of real-time control and managed aquifer recharge.

  19. Legislation and water management of water source areas of São Paulo Metropolitan Region, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Eduardo Gregolin Grisotto

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the history of occupation in the water source areas in São Paulo Metropolitan Region (hereinafter SPMR and the evolution of the legislation related to this issue, from the point of view of the environmental and water management. A descriptive methodology was used, with searches into bibliographical and documental materials, in order to present the main laws for the protection of the water supply areas of SPMR and environmental and water management. It was possible to observe some progress in the premises of the both legislation and the format proposed for the management of the water source areas. However, such progress is limited due to the lack of a more effective mechanism for metropolitan management. The construction of the metropolitan management in SPMR would enlarge the capacity of integration between municipalities and sectors. The integration between the management of water and the land use management showed to be fundamental for the protection of the water sources. The new law for protection of the water sources, State Law nº 9.866/97, is decentralized and participative, focusing on non-structural actions and integrated management. However, the effective implementation of the law still depends on the harmonization of sectoral public policies, extensive coordination and cooperation among municipalities and the progress in the degree of the commitment of the governments.

  20. The economics of water reuse and implications for joint water quality-quantity management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuwayama, Y.

    2015-12-01

    Traditionally, economists have treated the management of water quality and water quantity as separate problems. However, there are some water management issues for which economic analysis requires the simultaneous consideration of water quality and quantity policies and outcomes. Water reuse, which has expanded significantly over the last several decades, is one of these issues. Analyzing the cost effectiveness and social welfare outcomes of adopting water reuse requires a joint water quality-quantity optimization framework because, at its most basic level, water reuse requires decision makers to consider (a) its potential for alleviating water scarcity, (b) the quality to which the water should be treated prior to reuse, and (c) the benefits of discharging less wastewater into the environment. In this project, we develop a theoretical model of water reuse management to illustrate how the availability of water reuse technologies and practices can lead to a departure from established rules in the water resource economics literature for the optimal allocation of freshwater and water pollution abatement. We also conduct an econometric analysis of a unique dataset of county-level water reuse from the state of Florida over the seventeen-year period between 1996 and 2012 in order to determine whether water quality or scarcity concerns drive greater adoption of water reuse practices.

  1. Energy and water quality management systems for water utility's operations: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cherchi, Carla; Badruzzaman, Mohammad; Oppenheimer, Joan; Bros, Christopher M; Jacangelo, Joseph G

    2015-04-15

    Holistic management of water and energy resources is critical for water utilities facing increasing energy prices, water supply shortage and stringent regulatory requirements. In the early 1990s, the concept of an integrated Energy and Water Quality Management System (EWQMS) was developed as an operational optimization framework for solving water quality, water supply and energy management problems simultaneously. Approximately twenty water utilities have implemented an EWQMS by interfacing commercial or in-house software optimization programs with existing control systems. For utilities with an installed EWQMS, operating cost savings of 8-15% have been reported due to higher use of cheaper tariff periods and better operating efficiencies, resulting in the reduction in energy consumption of ∼6-9%. This review provides the current state-of-knowledge on EWQMS typical structural features and operational strategies and benefits and drawbacks are analyzed. The review also highlights the challenges encountered during installation and implementation of EWQMS and identifies the knowledge gaps that should motivate new research efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Watering the forest for the trees: An emerging priority for managing water in forest landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Gordon E.; Tague, Christina L.; Allen, Craig D.

    2013-01-01

    Widespread threats to forests resulting from drought stress are prompting a re-evaluation of priorities for water management on forest lands. In contrast to the widely held view that forest management should emphasize providing water for downstream uses, we argue that maintaining forest health in the context of a changing climate may require focusing on the forests themselves and on strategies to reduce their vulnerability to increasing water stress. Management strategies would need to be tailored to specific landscapes but could include thinning, planting and selecting for drought-tolerant species, irrigating, and making more water available to plants for transpiration. Hydrologic modeling reveals that specific management actions could reduce tree mortality due to drought stress. Adopting water conservation for vegetation as a priority for managing water on forested lands would represent a fundamental change in perspective and potentially involve trade-offs with other downstream uses of water.

  3. Ascorbic Acid Alleviates Water Stress in Young Peach Trees and Improves Their Performance after Rewatering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penella, Consuelo; Calatayud, Ángeles; Melgar, Juan C

    2017-01-01

    Exogenous application of biochemicals has been found to improve water stress tolerance in herbaceous crops but there are limited studies on deciduous fruit trees. The goal of this research was to study if ascorbic acid applications could improve physiological mechanisms associated with water stress tolerance in young fruit trees. Ascorbic acid was foliarly applied at a concentration of 250 ppm to water-stressed and well-watered peach trees (control) of two cultivars ('Scarletprince' and 'CaroTiger'). Trees received either one or two applications, and 1 week after the second application all trees were rewatered to field capacity. Upon rewatering, CO 2 assimilation and stomatal conductance of water-stressed 'Scarletprince' trees sprayed with ascorbic acid (one or two applications) were similar to those of well-irrigated trees, but water-stressed trees that had not received ascorbic acid did not recover photosynthetical functions. Also, water status in sprayed water-stressed 'Scarletprince' trees was improved to values similar to control trees. On the other hand, water-stressed 'CaroTiger' trees needed two applications of ascorbic acid to reach values of CO 2 assimilation similar to control trees but these applications did not improve their water status. In general terms, different response mechanisms to cope with water stress in presence of ascorbic acid were found in each cultivar, with 'Scarletprince' trees preferentially using proline as compatible solute and 'CaroTiger' trees relying on stomatal regulation. The application of ascorbic acid reduced cell membrane damage and increased catalase activity in water-stressed trees of both cultivars. These results suggest that foliar applications of ascorbic acid could be used as a management practice for improving water stress tolerance of young trees under suboptimal water regimes.

  4. An appraisal of policies and institutional frameworks impacting on smallholder agricultural water management in Zimbabwe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyagumbo, I.; Rurinda, J.

    Policies and institutional frameworks associated with and / or impacting on agricultural water management (AWM) in smallholder farming systems in Zimbabwe were analyzed through literature reviews, feedback from stakeholder workshops, key informant interviews and evaluation of policy impacts on implemented case study projects/programmes. The study showed that Zimbabwe has gone a long way towards developing a water management policy addressing both equity and access, through the Water and ZINWA of 1998. However, lack of incentives for improving efficient management and utilization of water resources once water has reached the farm gate was apparent, apart from punitive economic instruments levied on usage of increased volumes of water. For example, the new water reforms of 1998 penalized water savers through loss of any unused water in their permits to other users. In addition, the ability of smallholder farmers to access water for irrigation or other purposes was influenced by macro and micro-economic policies such as Economic Structural and Adjustment Programme (ESAP), Zimbabwe Programme for Economic and Social Transformation (ZIMPREST), prevailing monetary and fiscal policies, as well as the Land and Agrarian Reform policies. For instance, the implementation of ESAP from 1991 to 95 resulted in a decline in government support to management of communal irrigation schemes, and as a result only gravity-fed schemes survived. Also AWM projects/programmes that were in progress were prematurely terminated. While considerable emphasis was placed on rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure since the fast track land reform in 1998, the policies remained rather silent on strategies for water management in rainfed systems. The piecemeal nature and fragmentation of policies and institutional frameworks scattered across government ministries and sectors were complex and created difficulties for smallholder farmers to access water resources. Poor policy implementation

  5. Water resource management model for a river basin

    OpenAIRE

    Jelisejevienė, Emilija

    2005-01-01

    The objective is to develop river basin management model that ensures integrated analysis of existing water resource problems and promotes implementation of sustainable development principles in water resources management.

  6. 40 CFR 35.2023 - Water quality management planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Water quality management planning. 35... to the States to carry out water quality management planning including but not limited to: (1... ASSISTANCE STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Grants for Construction of Treatment Works § 35.2023 Water quality...

  7. Residuals Management and Water Pollution Control Planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Public Affairs.

    This pamphlet addresses the problems associated with residuals and water quality especially as it relates to the National Water Pollution Control Program. The types of residuals and appropriate management systems are discussed. Additionally, one section is devoted to the role of citizen participation in developing management programs. (CS)

  8. 47. Essen conference on water and waste management. Is our water management fit for the future?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinnekamp, J.

    2014-01-01

    These congress proceedings cover the following larger topics: Challenges facing the German water economy; value retention and financing of water infrastructure; water quality; Sewage Sludge Ordinance / phosphorus recycling; urban mining; new technologies; wastewater disposal structures of the future; flood management; drinking water (quality issues, clarification methods, maintenance); trace substances; wastewater and energy; and fracking. One lecture has been abstracted individually for this database. [de

  9. Implementation of a Hydrotherapy Protocol to Improve Postpartum Pain Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batten, Meghann; Stevenson, Eleanor; Zimmermann, Deb; Isaacs, Christine

    2017-03-01

    A growing number of women are seeking alternatives to traditional pharmacologic pain management during birth. While there has been an extensive array of nonpharmacologic options developed for labor, there are limited offerings in the postpartum period. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement a hydrotherapy protocol in the early postpartum period to improve pain management for women choosing a nonmedicated birth. The postpartum hydrotherapy protocol was initiated in a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) practice in an urban academic medical center. All women who met criteria were offered a 30-minute warm water immersion bath at one hour postpartum. Pain scores were assessed prior to the bath, at 15 minutes after onset, and again at the conclusion (30 minutes). Women who completed the bath were also asked to complete a brief survey on their experience with postpartum hydrotherapy. In women who used the bath (N = 45), there was a significant reduction in pain scores (P hydrotherapy protocol as an alternative or adjunct to medication for early postpartum pain management that significantly reduced pain and improved the birth experience for those who used it. It offers a nonpharmacologic alternative where there have traditionally been limited options. © 2017 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

  10. Research priorities for coordinating management of food safety and water quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crohn, David M; Bianchi, Mary L

    2008-01-01

    Efforts to exclude disease organisms from farms growing irrigated lettuce and leafy vegetables on California's central coast are conflicting with traditionally accepted strategies to protect surface water quality. To begin resolving this dilemma, over 100 officials, researchers, and industry representatives gathered in April 2007 to set research priorities that could lead to effective co-management of both food safety and water quality. Following the meeting, research priorities were refined and ordered by way of a Delphi process completed by 35 meeting participants. Although water quality and food safety experts conceptualized the issues differently, there were no deep disagreements with respect to research needs. Top priority was given to investigating the fate of pathogens potentially present on farms. Intermediate priorities included characterizing the influence of specific farm management practices on food safety and improving our understanding of vector processes. A scientific subdiscipline focusing on competing risks is needed to characterize and resolve conflicts between human and environmental health.

  11. Integrated Soil, Water and Nutrient Management for Sustainable Rice–Wheat Cropping Systems in Asia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-08-01

    The rice-wheat system is a predominant cropping system in Asia providing food, employment and income, ensuring the livelihoods of about 1 billion of resource poor rural and urban people. However, the productivity of the current rice-wheat systems is seriously threatened by increasing land degradation and scarcity of water and labour, inefficient cropping practices and other emerging socio economic and environmental drivers. Responding to the need to develop alternate crop establishment methods and improved cropping practices, this publication summarizes the results from a joint FAO/IAEA coordinated research project on optimizing productivity and sustainability of rice-wheat cropping systems. It provides relevant information on how to modify existing water and nutrient management systems and improve soil management in both traditional and emerging crop establishment methods for sustainable intensification of cereal production in Asia

  12. Dynamic Evaluation of Water Quality Improvement Based on Effective Utilization of Stockbreeding Biomass Resource

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingjing Yan

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The stockbreeding industry is growing rapidly in rural regions of China, carrying a high risk to the water environment due to the emission of huge amounts of pollutants in terms of COD, T-N and T-P to rivers. On the other hand, as a typical biomass resource, stockbreeding waste can be used as a clean energy source by biomass utilization technologies. In this paper, we constructed a dynamic linear optimization model to simulate the synthetic water environment management policies which includes both the water environment system and social-economic situational changes over 10 years. Based on the simulation, the model can precisely estimate trends of water quality, production of stockbreeding biomass energy and economic development under certain restrictions of the water environment. We examined seven towns of Shunyi district of Beijing as the target area to analyse synthetic water environment management policies by computer simulation based on the effective utilization of stockbreeding biomass resources to improve water quality and realize sustainable development. The purpose of our research is to establish an effective utilization method of biomass resources incorporating water environment preservation, resource reutilization and economic development, and finally realize the sustainable development of the society.

  13. The Climaware project: Impacts of climate change on water resources management - regional strategies and European view

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thirel, Guillaume; D'Agostino, Daniela; Démerliac, Stéphane; Dorchies, David; Flörke, Martina; Jay-Allemand, Maxime; Jost, Claudine; Kehr, Katrin; Perrin, Charles; Scardigno, Alessandra; Schneider, Christof; Theobald, Stephan; Träbing, Klaus

    2014-05-01

    Climate projections produced with CMIP5 and applied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth assessment report indicate that changes in precipitation and temperature are expected to occur throughout Europe in the 21th century, with a likely decrease of water availability in many regions. Besides, water demand is also expected to increase, in link with these expected climate modifications, but also due to socio-economic and demographic changes. In this respect, the use of future freshwater resources may not be sustainable from the current water management perspective. Therefore adaptation strategies will most likely be needed to cope with these evolutions. In this context, the main objective of the ClimAware project (2010-2013 - www.uni-kassel.de/fb14/wasserbau/CLIMAWARE/, a project implemented within the IWRM-NET Funding Initiative) was to analyse the impacts of climate change (CC) on freshwater resources at the continental and regional scales and to identify efficient adaptation strategies to improve water management for various socio-economic sectors. This should contribute to a more effective implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its instruments (river basin management plans, programmes of measures). The project developed integrated measures for improved freshwater management under CC constraints. More specifically, the objectives of the ClimAware project were to: • elaborate quantitative projections of changes in river flows and consequences such as flood frequency, drought occurrence and sectorial water uses. • analyse the effect of CC on the hydromorphological reference conditions of rivers and therefore the definition of "good status". • define management rules/strategies concerning dam management and irrigation practices on different time perspectives. • investigate uncertainties in climate model - scenario combinations. The research approach considered both European and regional perspectives, to get

  14. Management of water extracted from carbon sequestration projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harto, C. B.; Veil, J. A. (Environmental Science Division)

    2011-03-11

    Throughout the past decade, frequent discussions and debates have centered on the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). For sequestration to have a reasonably positive impact on atmospheric carbon levels, the anticipated volume of CO{sub 2} that would need to be injected is very large (many millions of tons per year). Many stakeholders have expressed concern about elevated formation pressure following the extended injection of CO{sub 2}. The injected CO{sub 2} plume could potentially extend for many kilometers from the injection well. If not properly managed and monitored, the increased formation pressure could stimulate new fractures or enlarge existing natural cracks or faults, so the CO{sub 2} or the brine pushed ahead of the plume could migrate vertically. One possible tool for management of formation pressure would be to extract water already residing in the formation where CO{sub 2} is being stored. The concept is that by removing water from the receiving formations (referred to as 'extracted water' to distinguish it from 'oil and gas produced water'), the pressure gradients caused by injection could be reduced, and additional pore space could be freed up to sequester CO{sub 2}. Such water extraction would occur away from the CO{sub 2} plume to avoid extracting a portion of the sequestered CO{sub 2} along with the formation water. While water extraction would not be a mandatory component of large-scale carbon storage programs, it could provide many benefits, such as reduction of pressure, increased space for CO{sub 2} storage, and potentially, 'plume steering.' Argonne National Laboratory is developing information for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to evaluate management of extracted water. If water is extracted from geological formations designated to receive injected CO{sub 2} for sequestration, the project operator will need to identify methods

  15. How Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM) can help rural and urban environments improve their resilience?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siauve, Sonia

    2016-04-01

    The challenges related to water resources management are exacerbated by climate change which implies additional complexity and uncertainty. The impacts of climate change have thus to be taken into account, from today on the next decades, to ensure a sustainable integrated water resources management. One of the main environmental objective of the Water Framework Directive (2000/30/CE) was to achieve and maintain a good status for all water bodies by the target date of 2015. Unfortunately, Member States didn't manage to reach this goal and in this context, the European Commission (EC), since many years, have started many initiatives and reforms to improve the global situation. In 2012 the DG Environment (DGENV) of the EC published a "Blueprint to safeguard Europe's water resources" that states the need for further implementation of water resource management measures and in particular Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRMs). NWRM are measures that aim to safeguard and enhance the water storage potential of landscape, soils and aquifers, by restoring ecosystems, natural features and characteristics of water courses, and by using natural processes. They are Nature-Based Solutions supporting adaptation and reducing vulnerability of water resources. Their interest lies with the multiple benefits they can deliver, and their capacity to contribute simultaneously to the achievement of the objectives of different European policies (WFD, FD, Biodiversity strategy …). However the knowledge on NWRM is scattered and addressed differently in the countries, whereas the NWRM potential for improving the state of the environment and resilience (drought, flood, biodiversity…) in a changing environment is high. In 2013, all EU countries started the elaboration of the second River Basin Management Plan and associated Programme of Measures. To support MS authorities and local implementers of these measures DGENV launched a 14 month project for collaboratively building knowledge and

  16. Linking Spatial Variations in Water Quality with Water and Land Management using Multivariate Techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Yongshan; Qian, Yun; Migliaccio, Kati White; Li, Yuncong; Conrad, Cecilia

    2014-03-01

    Most studies using multivariate techniques for pollution source evaluation are conducted in free-flowing rivers with distinct point and nonpoint sources. This study expanded on previous research to a managed "canal" system discharging into the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, where water and land management is the single most important anthropogenic factor influencing water quality. Hydrometric and land use data of four drainage basins were uniquely integrated into the analysis of 25 yr of monthly water quality data collected at seven stations to determine the impact of water and land management on the spatial variability of water quality. Cluster analysis (CA) classified seven monitoring stations into four groups (CA groups). All water quality parameters identified by discriminant analysis showed distinct spatial patterns among the four CA groups. Two-step principal component analysis/factor analysis (PCA/FA) was conducted with (i) water quality data alone and (ii) water quality data in conjunction with rainfall, flow, and land use data. The results indicated that PCA/FA of water quality data alone was unable to identify factors associated with management activities. The addition of hydrometric and land use data into PCA/FA revealed close associations of nutrients and color with land management and storm-water retention in pasture and citrus lands; total suspended solids, turbidity, and NO + NO with flow and Lake Okeechobee releases; specific conductivity with supplemental irrigation supply; and dissolved O with wetland preservation. The practical implication emphasizes the importance of basin-specific land and water management for ongoing pollutant loading reduction and ecosystem restoration programs. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  17. Tapping Alternatives: The Benefits of Managing Urban Water Demands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dziegielewski, Benedykt; Baumann, Duane D.

    1992-01-01

    Presents the California plan for water demand management. Water conservation techniques are used to balance demand with supply. Discusses the implementation process: (1) water-use and service area analysis; (2) water-use forecasts; (3) benefit-cost analysis; (4) and development of a long-term water management plan. (17 references) (MCO)

  18. A water management strategy for balancing water uses in the Rideau Canal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McClennan, B.; Rae, P.; McGonegal, K.

    1995-01-01

    Alternative water management policies for the Rideau Canal system in eastern Ontario were examined. The methodology of analysis and the impact of policy changes on hydro power production were also focussed on. A historical account of the construction and background of the canal system was providid. Water uses such as navigation, hydroelectric power generation, natural environment, flood abatement, recreation, and water supply were described. Current water management practice was outlined. Various single purpose water management policies were investigated. The impact of the most significant policies on hydroelectric power production were discussed. Integrated policy alternatives were presented and their general effects were described. No long term policy was finalized at the time of writing, but a number of short term operating practices were considered, among them to adjust spring flows for walleye, store flows in the Big Rideau for ice flushings, balance drawdown among reservoirs and raise navigation levels in certain lakes

  19. ISSUES ON THE ROLE OF EFFICIENT WATER PRICING FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona FRONE

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to highlight some of the main issues raised by developing and implementing the most appropriate approach to water pricing, and to induce a sustainable water management. Therefore, we define the concept and utility of water demand management as one objective of efficient water pricing. Next we analyse the basic economics and some important theoretical insights of water pricing. We further with state the main four inter-correlated principles of sustainable water pricing (full-cost recovery, economic efficiency,equity and administrative feasability and the trends and challenges of their actual implementing in the water pricing policy of Romania and other EU countries. We end with a review of opinions, personal conclusions and recommendations on the actual opportunity, effectiveness and role of efficient water pricing in fulfilling the goals of sustainabilty.

  20. Water balance and fertigation for crop improvement in West Asia. Results of a technical co-operation project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    Mediterranean countries have a severe shortage of water resources for agricultural, municipal and industrial purposes. This situation is aggravated daily due to the rapidly increasing population in the area. Agriculture is the biggest consumer of water with about 80% of the renewable resource used for irrigation. Traditional irrigation methods are highly inefficient: only about one-third of the applied water is actually transpired by the crops. Clearly, there is great scope for improved irrigation management. Intensification of agricultural production to meet growing market demand requires the simultaneous application of irrigation water and fertilizers. Application of fertilizer in drip irrigation (fertigation) is an effective way to promote efficient use of these scarce and expensive resources. There is widespread interest in Mediterranean countries in fertigation. Nevertheless, information on the form and concentration of the nutrients required for different crops is presently inadequate. Moreover, the low fertilizer recoveries due to extensive fertilization practiced during the last few decades have created serious agricultural and environmental problems. High nitrate concentrations in groundwater and deterioration of some important quality parameters of agricultural products are the main concerns. Recognizing the potential role of nuclear techniques in identifying improved water and fertilizer management practices, the IAEA implemented two regional technical co-operation projects during the period 1995-2000 with eight participating countries from the West Asia region: The Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Syria Arab Republic, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The main objective was to establish water balance and fertigation practices using nuclear techniques, with a view to improving crop production in arid and semi-arid zones. The projects aimed to compare the following parameters under conventional fertilizer and water

  1. Irrigation Water Management in Latin America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aureo S de Oliveira

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Latin American countries show a great potential for expanding their irrigated areas. Irrigation is important for strengthening local and regional economy and for enhancing food security. The present paper aimed at providing a brief review on key aspects of irrigation management in Latin America. Poor irrigation management can have great impact on crop production and on environment while good management reduces the waste of soil and water and help farmers maximizing their profits. It was found that additional research is needed to allow a better understanding of crop water requirements under Latin American conditions as well as to provide farmers with local derived information for irrigation scheduling. The advantages of deficit irrigation practices and the present and future opportunities with the application of remote sensing tools for water management were also considered. It is clear that due to the importance of irrigated agriculture, collaborative work among Latin American researchers and institutions is of paramount importance to face the challenges imposed by a growing population, environment degradation, and competition in the global market.

  2. State of Art About water Uses and Waste water Management in Lebanon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geara, D.; Moilleron, R.; Lorgeoux, C.; El Samarani, A.; Chebbo, Gh.

    2010-01-01

    This paper shows the real situation about management of water and waste water in Lebanon and focuses on problems related to urban water pollution released in environment. Water and waste water infrastructures have been rebuilt since 1992. However, waste water management still remains one of the greatest challenges facing Lebanese people, since water supply projects have been given priority over wastewater projects. As a consequence of an increased demand of water by agricultural, industrial and household sectors in the last decade, waste water flows have been increased. In this paper, the existing waste water treatment plants (WWTP) operating in Lebanon are presented. Most of them are small-scale community-based ones, only two large-scale plants, constructed by the government, are currently operational. Lebanese aquatic ecosystems are suffering from the deterioration of water quality because of an insufficient treatment of waste water, which is limited mostly to pre-treatment processes. In fact, domestic and industrial effluents are mainly conducted together in the sewer pipes to the WWTP before being discharged, without adequate treatment into the rivers or directly into the Mediterranean Sea. Such discharges are threatening the coastal marine ecosystem in the Mediterranean basin. This paper aims at giving the current state of knowledge about water uses and wastewater management in Lebanon. The main conclusion drawn from this state of art is a lack of data. In fact, the available data are limited to academic research without being representative on a national scale. (author)

  3. Subsidiarity in Principle: Decentralization of Water Resources Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan Stoa

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The subsidiarity principle of water resources management suggests that water management and service delivery should take place at the lowest appropriate governance level. The principle is attractive for several reasons, primarily because: 1 the governance level can be reduced to reflect environmental characteristics, such as the hydrological borders of a watershed that would otherwise cross administrative boundaries; 2 decentralization promotes community and stakeholder engagement when decision-making is localized; 3 inefficiencies are reduced by eliminating reliance on central government bureaucracies and budgetary constraints; and 4 laws and institutions can be adapted to reflect localized conditions at a scale where integrated natural resources management and climate change adaptation is more focused. Accordingly, the principle of subsidiarity has been welcomed by many states committed to decentralized governance, integrated water resources management, and/or civic participation. However, applications of decentralization have not been uniform, and in some cases have produced frustrating outcomes for states and water resources. Successful decentralization strategies are heavily dependent on dedicated financial resources and human resource capacity. This article explores the nexus between the principle of subsidiarity and the enabling environment, in the hope of articulating factors likely to contribute to, or detract from, the success of decentralized water resources management. Case studies from Haiti, Rwanda, and the United States’ Florida Water Management Districts provide examples of the varied stages of decentralization.

  4. Managing Water-Food-Energy Futures in the Canadian Prairies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheater, H. S.; Hassanzadeh, E.; Nazemi, A.; Elshorbagy, A. A.

    2016-12-01

    The water-food-energy nexus is a convenient phrase to highlight competing societal uses for water and the need for cross-sectoral policy integration, but this can lead to oversimplification of the multiple dimensions of water (and energy) management. In practice, water managers must balance (and prioritize) demands for water for many uses, including environmental flows, and reservoir operation often involves managing conflicting demands, for example to maximize retention for supply, reduce storage to facilitate flood control, and constrain water levels and releases for habitat protection. Agriculture and water quality are also inextricably linked: irrigated agriculture requires appropriate water quality for product quality and certification, but agriculture can be a major source of nutrient pollution, with impacts on human and ecosystem health, drinking water treatment and amenity. And energy-water interactions include energy production (hydropower and cooling water for thermal power generation) and energy consumption (e.g. for pumping and water and wastewater treatment). These dependencies are illustrated for the Canadian prairies, and a risk-based approach to the management of climate change is presented. Trade-offs between economic benefits of hydropower and irrigation are illustrated for alternative climate futures, including implications for freshwater habitats. The results illustrate that inter-sector interactions vary as a function of climate and its variability, and that there is a need for policy to manage inter-sector allocations as a function of economic risk.

  5. Hydrological Modeling and WEB-GIS for the Water Resource Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierleoni, A.; Bellezza, M.; Casadei, S.; Manciola, P.

    2006-12-01

    Water resources are a strategically natural resource although they can be extremely susceptible to degradation. As a matter of fact the increasing demand from multipurpose uses, which often are in competition amongst themselves, seems to affect the concept of sustainability per se', thus highlighting phenomena of quality-quantity degradation of water resources. In this context, the issue of water resource management rises to a more important role, especially when, other then the traditional uses for civil, industrial and agronomic purposes, environmental demands are taken into consideration. In particular, for environmental demands we mean: to preserve minimal flows, to conserve ecosystems and biodiversities, to protect and improve the environment and finally also the recreational facilities. In the present work, two software tools are presented; they combine the scientific aspect of the issues with a feasible and widely accessible application of the mathematical modeling in techno-operative fields within a sustainable management policy of the water resource at the basin scale. The first evaluation model of the available superficial water resource bases its algorithms upon regionalization procedures of flow parameters deduced from the geomorphologic features of the soil of the basin (BFI, Area) and presents, as output, a set of duration curves (DC) of the natural, measurable (natural after withdrawal), and residual (discharge usable for dissipative use) flow. The hydrological modeling combined with a GIS engine allows to process the dataset and regionalize the information of each section of the hydrographic network, in order to attain information about the effect of upriver withdrawals, in terms of evaluation parameters (measurable DC) to maintain an optimal water supply all along the entire downstream network. This model, projected with a WEB interface developed in PERL and connected to a MySQL database, has also been tested at the basin and sub-basin scale as an

  6. Managing Water supply in Developing Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, P. P.

    2001-05-01

    If the estimates are correct that, in the large urban areas of the developing world 30 percent of the population lack access to safe water supply and 50 percent lack access to adequate sanitation, then we are currently faced with 510 million urban residents without access to domestic water and 850 million without access to sanitation. Looking to the year 2020, we will face an additional 1,900 million in need of water and sanitation services. The provision of water services to these billions of people over the next two decades is one of the greatest challenges facing the nations of the world. In addition to future supplies, major problems exist with the management of existing systems where water losses can account for a significant fraction of the water supplied. The entire governance of the water sector and the management of particular systems raise serious questions about the application of the best technologies and the appropriate economic incentive systems. The paper outlines a few feasible technical and economic solutions.

  7. Water management traditions in rural India : Valuing the unvalued

    OpenAIRE

    Singh, Nandita

    2004-01-01

    Achieving effective and efficient management of water as the key to human survival and development has emerged as an urgent global concern. The realization of the limited availability of water in space and time under conditions of ever-increasing pressures has caused designing of ‘modern’ water management initiatives that are globally manufactured but implementable in local communities, India being no exception. It is perhaps universally assumed that water management, as an integrated system ...

  8. Produced water volumes and management practices in the United States.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clark, C. E.; Veil, J. A. (Environmental Science Division)

    2009-09-01

    Produced water volume generation and management in the United States are not well characterized at a national level. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) asked Argonne National Laboratory to compile data on produced water associated with oil and gas production to better understand the production volumes and management of this water. The purpose of this report is to improve understanding of produced water by providing detailed information on the volume of produced water generated in the United States and the ways in which produced water is disposed or reused. As the demand for fresh water resources increases, with no concomitant increase in surface or ground water supplies, alternate water sources, like produced water, may play an important role. Produced water is water from underground formations that is brought to the surface during oil or gas production. Because the water has been in contact with hydrocarbon-bearing formations, it contains some of the chemical characteristics of the formations and the hydrocarbons. It may include water from the reservoir, water previously injected into the formation, and any chemicals added during the production processes. The physical and chemical properties of produced water vary considerably depending on the geographic location of the field, the geologic formation, and the type of hydrocarbon product being produced. Produced water properties and volume also vary throughout the lifetime of a reservoir. Produced water is the largest volume by-product or waste stream associated with oil and gas exploration and production. Previous national produced water volume estimates are in the range of 15 to 20 billion barrels (bbl; 1 bbl = 42 U.S. gallons) generated each year in the United States (API 1988, 2000; Veil et al. 2004). However, the details on generation and management of produced water are not well understood on a national scale. Argonne National Laboratory developed detailed national-level information on the volume of produced

  9. Oil production and water management in Oman

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, D.H.; Kuijvenhoven, C.A.T.; Waterland, R.D.; Smies, M.

    1991-01-01

    This paper describes the development of integrated (production) water management in Petroleum Development Oman. In its existing oil fields the water cut is rising rapidly and water production is expected to increase two to three times in the next 15 years. Re-injection of production water will continue to account for less than half of the volume of co-produced water. Current subsurface disposal of production water to shallow Tertiary formations is based on thorough knowledge of the local hydrogeology and does not affect potable water resources. However, in view of the expected increase in production water volume, utilization and disposal options have been re-evaluated. This review has been facilitated by recently acquired data on production water quality and by the results of research in dehydration and de-oiling technologies and of tests with production chemicals. The combined knowledge base is used to arrive at water management strategies for individual oil fields that are sound both in principle and in practice

  10. The management of nutrients and water in the west African semi-arid tropics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bationo, A.; Bielders, C.L.; Duivenbooden, N. van; Buerkert, A.C.; Seyni, F.

    1998-01-01

    At present, the farming systems in the west African semi-arid tropics are unsustainable, low in productivity, and destructive to the environment. A striking feature of the soils is their inherently low fertility, with negative plant-nutrient balance in many cropping systems. Research in N-use efficiency (NUE) indicated that calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) significantly outperformed urea on millet. Fertilizer losses, greater for urea (53%) than for CAN (25%) were believed to be due to ammonia volatilization. Continuous cropping resulted in lower yields compared to a cereal grown after cowpea or groundnut, and NUE was improved with crop rotation. Phosphorus deficiency is a major constraint. Phosphate rock (PR), indigenous to the region, e.g. at Tahoua in Niger and Tilemsi in Mali, is suitable for direct application. Partial acidulation of low-solubility PR improves agronomic effectiveness. Long-term soil-fertility management trials indicate that although application of mineral fertilizers increase yields, they alone cannot sustain productivity. When mineral fertilizers are combined with other technologies, such as the return of crop residues and manure, productive and sustainable production systems are possible. Water-use efficiency increased dramatically with the addition of plant nutrients. Technologies for land surface management and water harvesting, and appropriate cropping systems with careful varietal selection all contribute to the optimization of soil-water use. Future research should focus on water and nutrient interactions and on understanding why presently available improved technologies are not adopted by farmers even when using a participatory approach. (author)

  11. Aging management of major light water reactor components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, V.N.; Sinha, U.P.; Ware, A.G.

    1992-01-01

    Review of technical literature and field experience has identified stress corrosion cracking as one of the major degradation mechanisms for the major light water reactor components. Three of the stress corrosion cracking mechanisms of current concern are (a) primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) in pressurized water reactors, and (b) intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) and (c) irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) in boiling water reactors. Effective aging management of stress corrosion cracking mechanisms includes evaluation of interactions between design, materials, stressors, and environment; identification and ranking of susceptible sites; reliable inspection of any damage; assessment of damage rate; mitigation of damage; and repair and replacement using corrosion-resistant materials. Management of PWSCC includes use of lower operating temperatures, reduction in residual tensile stresses, development of reliable inspection techniques, and use of Alloy 690 as replacement material. Management of IGSCC of nozzle and attachment welds includes use of Alloy 82 as weld material, and potential use of hydrogen water chemistry. Management of IASCC also includes potential use of hydrogen water chemistry

  12. Institutions for Effective Water Demand Management

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-12-14

    Dec 14, 2010 ... The paper also describes the state of South African WDM to highlight ... Download the PDF: Working Paper 4: Institutions for Effective Water Demand Management ​ ... Managing flood risk through collaborative governance.

  13. Hydroeconomic modeling to support integrated water resources management in China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davidsen, Claus

    resources. In this context, the PhD study focused on development of approaches to inform integrated water resources management to cope with multiple and coupled challenges faced in China. The proposed method is to formulate river water management as a joint hydroeconomic optimization problem that minimizes...... the system and allowed overdraft in dry years in return for increased recharge in wet years. Further, cost-effective recovery of an overdrafted groundwater aquifer was demonstrated. The third implementation assessed interactions of water resources and water quality management. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD...... problem with a single surface water reservoir state variable. A comparison of different management scenarios was used to evaluate how the South-to-North Water Transfer Project will impact optimal water resources management. Scenarios with unregulated groundwater pumping at realistic pumping costs verified...

  14. Managing water with better institutions: Building flexibility, innovation and lessons of best practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Msangi, S.

    2014-12-01

    Changing socio-economic conditions and global environmental change continue to put pressure on critical natural resources necessary for sustaining ecosystems and human well-being - including water. Increasing variability in water availability, deepening droughts and continuing demands and consumptive use have posed problems for resource managers and policy makers in many regions. While in some regions it is still possible to enhance supply, such as in under-exploited water basins in Africa - the majority of the world's heaviest water users are facing situations that call for more demand-side adjustments. This necessitates a change from engineering-focused solutions to more economic ones, especially where the costs of increasing supply (such as through de-salinization) are prohibitively expensive, or have unacceptable consequences for environmental sustainability. Despite many years and decades of studying water resource management problems, there is still too little guidance as to what institutional best-practices should be followed. Water resources tend to touch on a number of areas managed by different government departments and ministries (agriculture, aquaculture & fisheries, industry, natural resources, etc) - but there is still no common understanding of what the best governance arrangements are that lead to improved sectoral performance (however that is measured). Given the continuing efforts to invest in water resources management and development by major multi-lateral organizations such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank - this kind of institutional guidance is critical, if countries are to make the most of these investments. In this presentation, we review a number of cases in which previously supply-side oriented approaches have to be dealt with from the demand side, and why institutional flexibility and innovation is so important. We draw from examples of community-based groundwater management in India, groundwater overdraft management

  15. Ascorbic Acid Alleviates Water Stress in Young Peach Trees and Improves Their Performance after Rewatering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Consuelo Penella

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Exogenous application of biochemicals has been found to improve water stress tolerance in herbaceous crops but there are limited studies on deciduous fruit trees. The goal of this research was to study if ascorbic acid applications could improve physiological mechanisms associated with water stress tolerance in young fruit trees. Ascorbic acid was foliarly applied at a concentration of 250 ppm to water-stressed and well-watered peach trees (control of two cultivars (‘Scarletprince’ and ‘CaroTiger’. Trees received either one or two applications, and 1 week after the second application all trees were rewatered to field capacity. Upon rewatering, CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance of water-stressed ‘Scarletprince’ trees sprayed with ascorbic acid (one or two applications were similar to those of well-irrigated trees, but water-stressed trees that had not received ascorbic acid did not recover photosynthetical functions. Also, water status in sprayed water-stressed ‘Scarletprince’ trees was improved to values similar to control trees. On the other hand, water-stressed ‘CaroTiger’ trees needed two applications of ascorbic acid to reach values of CO2 assimilation similar to control trees but these applications did not improve their water status. In general terms, different response mechanisms to cope with water stress in presence of ascorbic acid were found in each cultivar, with ‘Scarletprince’ trees preferentially using proline as compatible solute and ‘CaroTiger’ trees relying on stomatal regulation. The application of ascorbic acid reduced cell membrane damage and increased catalase activity in water-stressed trees of both cultivars. These results suggest that foliar applications of ascorbic acid could be used as a management practice for improving water stress tolerance of young trees under suboptimal water regimes.

  16. Radio resource management using geometric water-filling

    CERN Document Server

    He, Peter; Zhou, Sheng; Niu, Zhisheng

    2014-01-01

    This brief introduces the fundamental theory and development of managing radio resources using a water-filling algorithm that can optimize system performance in wireless communication. Geometric Water-Filling (GWF) is a crucial underlying tool in emerging communication systems such as multiple input multiple output systems, cognitive radio systems, and green communication systems. Early chapters introduce emerging wireless technologies and provide a detailed analysis of water-filling. The brief investigates single user and multi-user issues of radio resource management, allocation of resources

  17. Design of Cycle 3 of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, 2013-23: Part 2: Science plan for improved water-quality information and management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, Gary L.; Belitz, Kenneth; Demas, Charlie R.; Essaid, Hedeff I.; Gilliom, Robert J.; Hamilton, Pixie A.; Hoos, Anne B.; Lee, Casey J.; Munn, Mark D.; Wolock, David W.

    2013-01-01

    This report presents a science strategy for the third decade of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, which since 1991, has been responsible for providing nationally consistent information on the quality of the Nation's streams and groundwater; how water quality is changing over time; and the major natural and human factors that affect current water quality conditions and trends. The strategy is based on an extensive evaluation of the accomplishments of NAWQA over its first two decades, the current status of water-quality monitoring activities by USGS and its partners, and an updated analysis of stakeholder priorities. The plan is designed to address priority issues and national needs identified by NAWQA stakeholders and the National Research Council (2012) irrespective of budget constraints. This plan describes four major goals for the third decade (Cycle 3), the approaches for monitoring, modeling, and scientific studies, key partnerships required to achieve these goals, and products and outcomes that will result from planned assessment activities. The science plan for 2013–2023 is a comprehensive approach to meet stakeholder priorities for: (1) rebuilding NAWQA monitoring networks for streams, rivers, and groundwater, and (2) upgrading models used to extrapolate and forecast changes in water-quality and stream ecosystem condition in response to changing climate and land use. The Cycle 3 plan continues approaches that have been central to the Program’s long-term success, but adjusts monitoring intensities and study designs to address critical information needs and identified data gaps. Restoration of diminished monitoring networks and new directions in modeling and interpretative studies address growing and evolving public and stakeholder needs for water-quality information and improved management, particularly in the face of increasing challenges related to population growth, increasing demands for water, and changing land use and climate

  18. Moditored unsaturated soil transport processes as a support for large scale soil and water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanclooster, Marnik

    2010-05-01

    The current societal demand for sustainable soil and water management is very large. The drivers of global and climate change exert many pressures on the soil and water ecosystems, endangering appropriate ecosystem functioning. The unsaturated soil transport processes play a key role in soil-water system functioning as it controls the fluxes of water and nutrients from the soil to plants (the pedo-biosphere link), the infiltration flux of precipitated water to groundwater and the evaporative flux, and hence the feed back from the soil to the climate system. Yet, unsaturated soil transport processes are difficult to quantify since they are affected by huge variability of the governing properties at different space-time scales and the intrinsic non-linearity of the transport processes. The incompatibility of the scales between the scale at which processes reasonably can be characterized, the scale at which the theoretical process correctly can be described and the scale at which the soil and water system need to be managed, calls for further development of scaling procedures in unsaturated zone science. It also calls for a better integration of theoretical and modelling approaches to elucidate transport processes at the appropriate scales, compatible with the sustainable soil and water management objective. Moditoring science, i.e the interdisciplinary research domain where modelling and monitoring science are linked, is currently evolving significantly in the unsaturated zone hydrology area. In this presentation, a review of current moditoring strategies/techniques will be given and illustrated for solving large scale soil and water management problems. This will also allow identifying research needs in the interdisciplinary domain of modelling and monitoring and to improve the integration of unsaturated zone science in solving soil and water management issues. A focus will be given on examples of large scale soil and water management problems in Europe.

  19. Closing the water cycle - the key role of water and wastewater management in a circular economy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uhlenbrook, Stefan; Connor, Rick; Koncagul, Engin; Ortigara, Angela

    2017-04-01

    Planetary water boundaries are exceeded locally and regionally as water demand and use are escalating and per capita water availability is decreasing. However, wastewater represents an alternative yet reliable source containing for instance, nutrients (for use as fertilizer) and metals that can be extracted, and can be a source of energy. These characteristics mean that water and wastewater are set to play a key role in the circular economy. Furthermore, wastewater use can generate business opportunities and enhance water, food and energy security, therefore helping to alleviate poverty. However, to increase the collection, treatment and use of wastewater, investments in infrastructure and appropriate (low cost) technologies are needed. Ensuring the development of human and institutional capacity is also essential for proper wastewater management. The UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) produces together with several UN-Water Members and Partners the annual World Water Development Report (WWDR). Its 2017 edition "Wastewater: The Untapped Resource" focuses on the critical role of wastewater management for vibrant economies, resilient societies and the maintenance of a healthy environment. Wastewater issues play also a central role in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, most notably through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.3 that aims to improve water quality by reducing the proportion of untreated wastewater released to the environment and increasing its recycling and safe reuse globally. This target is interlinked with several other targets of SDG 6 ('the water goal') as well as to several other SDGs that relate to, poverty reduction, health, energy and food security, among others. The main policy-relevant messages of the WWDR 2017 will be introduced and linked to socio-hydrological approaches. These messages are an important input to the implementation of the water research agenda of the Panta Rhei initiative of IAHS.

  20. Fate of cyanobacteria and their metabolites during water treatment sludge management processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ho, Lionel; Dreyfus, Jennifer; Boyer, Justine; Lowe, Todd; Bustamante, Heriberto; Duker, Phil; Meli, Tass; Newcombe, Gayle

    2012-01-01

    Cyanobacteria and their metabolites are an issue for water authorities; however, little is known as to the fate of coagulated cyanobacterial-laden sludge during waste management processes in water treatment plants (WTPs). This paper provides information on the cell integrity of Anabaena circinalis and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii during: laboratory-scale coagulation/sedimentation processes; direct filtration and backwashing procedures; and cyanobacterial-laden sludge management practices. In addition, the metabolites produced by A. circinalis (geosmin and saxitoxins) and C. raciborskii (cylindrospermopsin) were investigated with respect to their release (and possible degradation) during each of the studied processes. Where sedimentation was used, coagulation effectively removed cyanobacteria (and intracellular metabolites) without any considerable exertion on coagulant demand. During direct filtration experiments, cyanobacteria released intracellular metabolites through a stagnation period, suggesting that more frequent backwashing of filters may be required to prevent floc build-up and metabolite release. Cyanobacteria appeared to be protected within the flocs, with minimal damage during backwashing of the filters. Within coagulant sludge, cyanobacteria released intracellular metabolites into the supernatant after 3 d, even though cells remained viable up to 7 d. This work has improved the understanding of cyanobacterial metabolite risks associated with management of backwash water and sludge and is likely to facilitate improvements at WTPs, including increased monitoring and the application of treatment strategies and operational practices, with respect to cyanobacterial-laden sludge and/or supernatant recycle management. - Highlights: ► Coagulation removed cyanobacteria without an additional exertion on coagulant demand. ► During a stagnation period in direct filtration intracellular metabolites were released. ► Cyanobacterial cells were not damaged

  1. Water management as a key component of integrated weed management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Berti

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Water management within the cropping system is a key factor for an integrated weed management. Soil moisture affects seed persistence and seed dormancy, thus influencing their germination, the establishment of seedlings as well as the competition at adult stage and the number, vitality and dormancy of the new seeds produced by the weeds. The interactions among water availability and competition are very complex and still not fully understood. A research effort in this sector should the be very relevant for the development of new approaches of weed management, such as “Ecological weed management”, aiming to reduce weed density and competitiveness and, in the medium term, to prevent undesired modifications of the weed flora.

  2. Water Management in the Republic of Macedonia. Reports and announcements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    The book includes the following Topics: (1) Restructuring of the water management in Republic of Macedonia, with the subtitles: Organizational-legal aspects; Economics of the water management activities; Technical-technological aspects. (2) Water resources management, with the subtitles: Planning; Utilization; Water protection. (3) Experiences from other countries. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

  3. Surface water management at a mixed waste remediation site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schlotzhauer, D.S.; Warbritton, K.R.

    1991-01-01

    The Weldon Spring Remedial Action Project (WSSRAP) deals with chemical and radiological contaminants. MK-Ferguson Company is managing the project under contract with the US Department of Energy. Remedial activities include demolishing buildings, constructing material storage and staging areas, excavating and consolidating waste materials, and treating and disposing of the materials in a land disposal facility. Due to the excavation and construction required during remediation, a well-planned surface water management system is essential. Planning involves characterization of source areas and surface water transport mechanisms and identification of applicable regulations. System components include: erosion control sediment control, flow attenuation, and management of contaminated water. Combinations of these components may be utilized during actual construction and remediation to obtain optimum control. Monitoring is performed during implementation in order to assess the effectiveness of control measures. This management scheme provides for comprehensive management of surface water at this site by providing control and/or treatment to appropriate standards. Although some treatment methodologies for contaminated water are specific to site contaminants, this comprehensive program provides a management approach which is applicable to many remedial projects in order to minimize contaminant release and meet Clean Water Act requirements

  4. Importance of Integrated Watershed Management on Water Quality

    OpenAIRE

    BABUR, Emre; KARA, Ömer

    2018-01-01

    Themanagement and planning of water resources recently become important andincreasingly complex. While the most of the developed countries managed theirwater source with sustainable plans to water production, our country has newlystarted the work within its watershed management principles. Due to excessivepopulation growth the environmental problems blow out after industrialization,land degradation, wrong agricultural and forestry applications. Thesemisapplications negatively affect water res...

  5. Policy, practice and decision making for zoonotic disease management: water and Cryptosporidium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, Zoë; Alcock, Ruth E; Christley, Robert M; Haygarth, Philip M; Heathwaite, A Louise; Latham, Sophia M; Mort, Maggie; Oliver, David M; Pickup, Roger; Wastling, Jonathan M; Wynne, Brian

    2012-04-01

    Decision making for zoonotic disease management should be based on many forms of appropriate data and sources of evidence. However, the criteria and timing for policy response and the resulting management decisions are often altered when a disease outbreak occurs and captures full media attention. In the case of waterborne disease, such as the robust protozoa, Cryptosporidium spp, exposure can cause significant human health risks and preventing exposure by maintaining high standards of biological and chemical water quality remains a priority for water companies in the UK. Little has been documented on how knowledge and information is translated between the many stakeholders involved in the management of Cryptosporidium, which is surprising given the different drivers that have shaped management decisions. Such information, coupled with the uncertainties that surround these data is essential for improving future management strategies that minimise disease outbreaks. Here, we examine the interplay between scientific information, the media, and emergent government and company policies to examine these issues using qualitative and quantitative data relating to Cryptosporidium management decisions by a water company in the North West of England. Our results show that political and media influences are powerful drivers of management decisions if fuelled by high profile outbreaks. Furthermore, the strength of the scientific evidence is often constrained by uncertainties in the data, and in the way knowledge is translated between policy levels during established risk management procedures. In particular, under or over-estimating risk during risk assessment procedures together with uncertainty regarding risk factors within the wider environment, was found to restrict the knowledge-base for decision-making in Cryptosporidium management. Our findings highlight some key current and future challenges facing the management of such diseases that are widely applicable to other

  6. Pump Management Committees and sustainable community water ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PMCs), technically known as Water and Sanitation Committees (WATSAN) in the water sector, are institutionalized organs for community water management. A survey of twenty-seven (27) of these institutions in six districts across the Upper ...

  7. Case Study of Urban Water Distribution Networks Districting Management Based on Water Leakage Control

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, S.; Li, Xiaohong; Tang, S.; Zhou, Y.; Diao, K.

    2009-01-01

    Globally, water demand is rising and resources are diminishing. Most of the world's water systems have been highly successful in delivering high-quality water to large populations. However, most of these systems also incur a notable amount of loss in their operations. Water loss from the water supply system has long been a feature of operations management, even in the countries with a well-developed infrastructure and good operating practices. There is no doubt that the sustainable management...

  8. Problems in implementing improved range management on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Keywords: Africa; Australia; Livestock development; Pastoral communities; Rangeland development; Rangeland systems; Sustainability; development; ecology; holism; pastoralism; range management; strategies; environment; water; health; crop production; rangelands; resource management; north africa; holistic approach ...

  9. Incorporating green infrastructure into water resources management plans to address water quality impairments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Managers of urban watersheds with excessive nutrient loads are more frequently turning to green infrastructure (GI) to manage their water quality impairments. The effectiveness of GI is dependent on a number of factors, including (1) the type and placement of GI within the waters...

  10. Indirect water management through Life Cycle Assessment: Fostering sustainable production in developing countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfister, S.; Bayer, P.; Koehler, A.; Hellweg, S.

    2009-04-01

    allows agriculture-dependent regions to produce and export crops while customers can compensate the related environmental impacts and/or improving the integrated water resource management by paying a premium. This allows for efficient international food production, strengthening sustainability regarding social, environmental and economic issues related to water and trade.

  11. Improving Aquatic Plant Management in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bubenheim, David L.; Potter, Chris

    2018-01-01

    Management of aquatic weeds in complex watersheds and river systems present many challenges to assessment, planning and implementation of management practices for floating and submerged aquatic invasive plants. The Delta Region Areawide Aquatic Weed Project (DRAAWP), a USDA sponsored area-wide project, is working to enhance planning, decision-making and operational efficiency in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Satellite and airborne remote sensing are used map (area coverage and biomass), direct operations, and assess management impacts on plant communities. Archived satellite records going are used to review results from previous climate and management events and aide in developing long-term strategies. Modeling at local and watershed scales provides insight into land-use effects on water quality. Plant growth models informed by remote sensing are being applied spatially across the Delta to balance location and type of aquatic plant, growth response to altered environments, phenology, environmental regulations, and economics in selection of management practices. Initial utilization of remote sensing tools developed for mapping of aquatic invasive weeds improved operational efficiency by focusing limited chemical use to strategic areas with high plant-control impact and incorporating mechanical harvesting when chemical use is restricted. These assessment methods provide a comprehensive and quantitative view of aquatic invasive plants communities in the California Delta, both spatial and temporal, informed by ecological understanding with the objective of improving management and assessment effectiveness.

  12. Model development of a participatory Bayesian network for coupling ecosystem services into integrated water resources management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Jie; Gui, Dongwei; Lei, Jiaqiang; Zeng, Fanjiang; Mao, Donglei; Zhang, Zhiwei

    2017-11-01

    There is an increasing consensus on the importance of coupling ecosystem services (ES) into integrated water resource management (IWRM), due to a wide range of benefits to human from the ES. This paper proposes an ES-based IWRM framework within which a participatory Bayesian network (BN) model is developed to assist with the coupling between ES and IWRM. The framework includes three steps: identifying water-related services of ecosystems; analysis of the tradeoff and synergy among users of water; and ES-based IWRM implementation using the participatory BN model. We present the development, evaluation and application of the participatory BN model with the involvement of four participant groups (stakeholders, water manager, water management experts, and research team) in Qira oasis area, Northwest China. As a typical catchment-scale region, the Qira oasis area is facing severe water competition between the demands of human activities and natural ecosystems. Results demonstrate that the BN model developed provides effective integration of ES into a quantitative IWMR framework via public negotiation and feedback. The network results, sensitivity evaluation, and management scenarios are broadly accepted by the participant groups. The intervention scenarios from the model conclude that any water management measure remains unable to sustain the ecosystem health in water-related ES. Greater cooperation among the stakeholders is highly necessary for dealing with such water conflicts. In particular, a proportion of the agricultural water saved through improving water-use efficiency should be transferred to natural ecosystems via water trade. The BN model developed is appropriate for areas throughout the world in which there is intense competition for water between human activities and ecosystems.

  13. Indigenous Practices of Water Management for Sustainable Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beshah M. Behailu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the possibility of incorporating traditional water management experiences into modern water management. After the literature review, two case studies are presented from Borana and Konso communities in southern Ethiopia. The study was conducted through interviews, discussions, and observations. The two cases were selected due to their long existence. Both communities have their own water source types, depending on local hydrogeological conditions. Borana is known for the so-called Ella (wells and Konso for Harta (ponds, which have been managed for more than five centuries. All government and development partners strive to achieve sustainable services in water supply and sanitation. Therefore, they design various management packages to engage the communities and keep the systems sustainable. However, the management components are often designed with little attention to local customs and traditions. The cases in the two communities show that traditional knowledge is largely ignored when replaced by modern one. However, the concepts of cost recovery, ownership experience, equity, enforcement, integrity, and unity, which are highly pronounced in modern systems, can also be found in the traditional water managements of Borana and Konso. Naturally, one shoe never fits all. Borana and Konso experiences are working for their own community. This research implies that when we plan a project or a program for a particular community, the starting point should be the indigenous practices and thoughts on life.

  14. Sekhukhune District Municipality workshop proceedings: Wastewater treatment: Towards improved water quality to promote social and economic development

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ntombela, C

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the workshop was to reinforce, at the strategic decision-making level within the municipality, the significance of properly managed wastewater treatment facilities towards improved water quality....

  15. MARSOL: Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution to Water Scarcity and Drought

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schueth, Christoph

    2014-05-01

    Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region are facing the challenge of managing its water resources under conditions of increasing scarcity and concerns about water quality. Already, the availability of fresh water in sufficient quality and quantity is one of the major factors limiting socio economic development. Innovative water management strategies such as the storage of reclaimed water or excess water from different sources in Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) schemes can greatly increase water availability and therefore improve water security. Main objective of the proposed project MARSOL is to demonstrate that MAR is a sound, safe and sustainable strategy that can be applied with great confidence and therefore offering a key approach for tackling water scarcity in Southern Europe. For this, eight field sites were selected that will demonstrate the applicability of MAR using various water sources, ranging from treated wastewater to desalinated seawater, and a variety of technical solutions. Targets are the alleviation of the effect of climate change on water resources, the mitigation of droughts, to countermeasure temporal and spatial misfit of water availability, to sustain agricultural water supply and rural socio-economic development, to combat agricultural related pollutants, to sustain future urban and industrial water supply and to limit seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers. Results of the demonstration sites will be used to develop guidelines for MAR site selection, technical realization, monitoring strategies, and modeling approaches, to offer stakeholders a comprehensive, state of the art and proven toolbox for MAR implementation. Further, the economic and legal aspects of MAR will be analyzed to enable and accelerate market penetration. The MARSOL consortium combines the expertise of consultancies, water suppliers, research institutions, and public authorities, ensuring high practical relevance and market intimacy.

  16. Citizen Science: Participatory Monitoring of Water Resources Management in Mustang District, Nepal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regmi, S.; Bhusal, J.; Gurung, P.; Ochoa-Tocachi, B. F.; Buytaert, W.

    2016-12-01

    Abstract The Mustang region of the Himalayas has unique geographical and climatic features. This region is characterized by a cold-arid climate with total annual precipitation of less than 300mm. Agriculture and livestock grazing lands are the major ecosystem services, which support directly the livelihoods of local populations yet, are strongly determined by low water availability. As a result, optimizing water resources management is paramount to support local development, but this is severely complicated by the lack of information about water availability. This problem is further aggravated by increasing pressure on the social, physical and climatic environments. In order to support the management of scarce water in irrigation and domestic uses, stream flow and precipitation monitoring networks were established using a participatory approach under the principle of citizen science. Data collection, and the following interpretation and application of the co-generated knowledge relies on local users, whereas the establishment of the system, knowledge co-generation, and development of application tools particularly is part of a collaboration of members of the general public with professional scientists. We show how the resulting data enable local users to quantify the water balance in the area and reduce the uncertainty associated to data-scarcity, which leads to the generation of useable information about water availability for irrigation, livestock grazing, and domestic demand. We contrast the current scenario of water use, under different conditions of natural variability and environmental change, with an optimized water management strategy generated and agreed with local users. This approach contributes to an optimal use of water, to an improvement in ecosystem services supporting to livelihood development and economic progress of local populations. Key words: ecosystem services, climate change, water balance, knowledge generation, irrigation

  17. China's water scarcity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yong

    2009-08-01

    China has been facing increasingly severe water scarcity, especially in the northern part of the country. China's water scarcity is characterized by insufficient local water resources as well as reduced water quality due to increasing pollution, both of which have caused serious impacts on society and the environment. Three factors contribute to China's water scarcity: uneven spatial distribution of water resources; rapid economic development and urbanization with a large and growing population; and poor water resource management. While it is nearly impossible to adjust the first two factors, improving water resource management represents a cost-effective option that can alleviate China's vulnerability to the issue. Improving water resource management is a long-term task requiring a holistic approach with constant effort. Water right institutions, market-based approaches, and capacity building should be the government's top priority to address the water scarcity issue.

  18. Managing Southeastern US Forests for Increased Water Yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acharya, S.; Kaplan, D. A.; Mclaughlin, D. L.; Cohen, M. J.

    2017-12-01

    Forested lands influence watershed hydrology by affecting water quantity and quality in surface and groundwater systems, making them potentially effective tools for regional water resource planning. In this study, we quantified water use and water yield by pine forests under varying silvicultural management (e.g., high density plantation, thinning, and prescribed burning). Daily forest water use (evapotranspiration, ET) was estimated using continuously monitored soil-moisture in the root-zone at six sites across Florida (USA), each with six plots ranging in forest leaf-area index (LAI). Plots included stands with different rotational ages (from clear-cut to mature pine plantations) and those restored to more historical conditions. Estimated ET relative to potential ET (PET) was strongly associated with LAI, root-zone soil-moisture status, and site hydroclimate; these factors explained 85% of the variation in the ET:PET ratio. Annual water yield (Yw) calculated from these ET estimates and a simple water balance differed significantly among sites and plots (ranging from -0.12 cm/yr to > 100 cm/yr), demonstrating substantive influence of management regimes. LAI strongly influenced Yw in all sites, and a general linear model with forest attributes (LAI and groundcover), hydroclimate, and site characteristics explained >90% of variation in observed Yw. These results can be used to predict water yield changes under different management and climate scenarios and may be useful in the development of payment for ecosystem services approaches that identify water as an important product of forest best management practices.

  19. Staggering successes amid controversy in California water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, J. R.

    2012-12-01

    Water in California has always been important and controversial, and it probably always will be. California has a large, growing economy and population in a semi-arid climate. But California's aridity, hydrologic variability, and water controversies have not precluded considerable economic successes. The successes of California's water system have stemmed from the decentralization of water management with historically punctuated periods of more centralized strategic decision-making. Decentralized management has allowed California's water users to efficiently explore incremental solutions to water problems, ranging from early local development of water systems (such as Hetch Hetchy, Owens Valley, and numerous local irrigation projects) to more contemporary efforts at water conservation, water markets, wastewater reuse, and conjunctive use of surface and groundwater. In the cacophony of local and stakeholder interests, strategic decisions have been more difficult, and consequently occur less frequently. California state water projects and Sacramento Valley flood control are examples where decades of effort, crises, floods and droughts were needed to mobilize local interests to agree to major strategic decisions. Currently, the state is faced with making strategic environmental and water management decisions regarding its deteriorating Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Not surprisingly, human uncertainties and physical and fiscal non-stationarities dominate this process.

  20. Managing the urban water-energy nexus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escriva-Bou, Alvar; Pulido-Velazquez, Manuel; Lund, Jay R.

    2016-04-01

    Water use directly causes a significant amount of energy use in cities. In this paper we assess energy and greenhouse emissions related with each part of the urban water cycle and the consequences of several changes in residential water use for customers, water and energy utilities, and the environment. First, we develop an hourly model of urban water uses by customer category including water-related energy consumption. Next, using real data from East Bay Municipal Utility District in California, we calibrate a model of the energy used in water supply, treatment, pumping and wastewater treatment by the utility. Then, using data from the California Independent System Operator, we obtain hourly costs of energy for the energy utility. Finally, and using emission factors reported by the energy utilities we estimate greenhouse gas emissions for the entire urban water cycle. Results of the business-as-usual scenario show that water end uses account for almost 95% of all water-related energy use, but the 5% managed by the utility is still worth over 12 million annually. Several simulations analyze the potential benefits for water demand management actions showing that moving some water end-uses from peak to off-peak hours such as outdoor use, dishwasher or clothes washer use have large benefits for water and energy utilities, especially for locations with a high proportion of electric water heaters. Other interesting result is that under the current energy rate structures with low or no fixed charges, energy utilities burden most of the cost of the conservation actions.

  1. Integrated water resources management and infrastructure planning for water security in Southern Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mapani, Benjamin; Magole, Lapologang; Makurira, Hodson; Meck, Maideyi; Mkandawire, Theresa; Mul, Marloes; Ngongondo, Cosmo

    2017-08-01

    This volume has brought together papers that are peer reviewed emanating from the WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA 16th Symposium. The papers cover the following themes: Hydrology, Water and Environment, Water and Land, Water and Society, Water Supply and Sanitation and Water Resources Management.

  2. Peru Water Resources: Integrating NASA Earth Observations into Water Resource Planning and Management in Perus La Libertad Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padgett-Vasquez, Steve; Steentofte, Catherine; Holbrook, Abigail

    2014-01-01

    Developing countries often struggle with providing water security and sanitation services to their populations. An important aspect of improving security and sanitation is developing a comprehensive understanding of the country's water budget. Water For People, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing clean drinking water, is working with the Peruvian government to develop a water budget for the La Libertad region of Peru which includes the creation of an extensive watershed management plan. Currently, the data archive of the necessary variables to create the water management plan is extremely limited. Implementing NASA Earth observations has bolstered the dataset being used by Water For People, and the METRIC (Mapping EvapoTranspiration at High Resolution and Internalized Calibration) model has allowed for the estimation of the evapotranspiration values for the region. Landsat 8 imagery and the DEM (Digital Elevation Model) from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor onboard Terra were used to derive the land cover information, and were used in conjunction with local weather data of Cascas from Peru's National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (SENAMHI). Python was used to combine input variables and METRIC model calculations to approximate the evapotranspiration values for the Ochape sub-basin of the Chicama River watershed. Once calculated, the evapotranspiration values and methodology were shared Water For People to help supplement their decision support tools in the La Libertad region of Peru and potentially apply the methodology in other areas of need.

  3. The flood risk management plan: towards spatial water governance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartmann, T.; Driessen, P.

    2017-01-01

    The flood risk management plan challenges both water engineers and spatial planners. It calls for a new mode of governance for flood risk management. This contribution analyses how this mode of governance distinguishes from prevalent approaches. Spatial planning and water management in Europe are

  4. Water Resources Management. Coexistence and Conflict in Semiarid Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thiago Ferreira Dias

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyzes water management in the Brazilian semiarid region with emphasis on aspects of coexistence and conflicts over access in rural areas. Experiences of social coexistence in semiarid technologies from the joint to the Brazilian semiarid (ASA and water conflicts from cases of irrigated areas in the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte are explained. For this purpose, we used a qualitative approach through the use of primary and secondary data. The cases provide concrete actions that articulate civil society and the State in favor of the common good. The results indicate that the policy articulated by the ASA there is a governance process in which there are links between the forums of civil society and the interfaces in the planning and implementation of public policies in building public agenda that can bridge the gap between planning, deployment, management and improvement of this policy. In the second case the policy is implemented exclusion and allocation of those communities, placing them on the margins of development, scrapping its links with the territory. The water is not seen from the perspective of the common good and the communities are perceived as an obstacle to “development”. Finally, it outlines themselves from the cases under study, with the idea that limiting access to water in the semiarid region, reflects the precarious welfare and perpetuation of relations of dependency, paternalism and clientelism high proportion of the population rural Brazilian semiarid.

  5. Beneficial effects on water management of simple hydraulic structures in wetland systems: the Vallevecchia case study, Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrer, G M; Bonato, M; Smania, D; Barausse, A; Comis, C; Palmeri, L

    2011-01-01

    Conflicting water uses in coastal zones demand integrated approaches to achieve sustainable water resources management, protecting water quality while allowing those human activities which rely upon aquatic ecosystem services to thrive. This case study shows that the creation and simple management of hydraulic structures within constructed wetlands can markedly reduce the non-point pollution from agriculture and, simultaneously, benefit agricultural activities, particularly during hot and dry periods. The Vallevecchia wetland system is based on a reclaimed 900 ha-large drainage basin in Northern Italy, where droughts recently impacted agriculture causing water scarcity and saltwater intrusion. Rainwater and drained water are recirculated inside the system to limit saltwater intrusion, provide irrigation water during dry periods and reduce the agricultural nutrient loads discharged into the bordering, eutrophic Adriatic Sea. Monitoring (2003-2009) of water quality and flows highlights that the construction (ended in 2005) of a gated spillway to control the outflow, and of a 200,000 m3 basin for water storage, dramatically increased the removal of nutrients within the system. Strikingly, this improvement was achieved with a minimal management effort, e.g., each year the storage basin was filled once: a simple management of the hydraulic structures would greatly enhance the system efficiency, and store more water to irrigate and limit saltwater intrusion.

  6. After the Water War — Achieving Water Rights Consensus in Bolivia ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-12-08

    Dec 8, 2010 ... ... del Agua (CONIAG), charged with drafting a water-management law based on ... to find a “made in Bolivia” approach to water management. ... Integrated fish management improves food security in the Bolivian Amazon.

  7. Quantitative Analysis on the Influence Factors of the Sustainable Water Resource Management Performance in Irrigation Areas: An Empirical Research from China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hulin Pan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Performance evaluation and influence factors analysis are vital to the sustainable water resources management (SWRM in irrigation areas. Based on the objectives and the implementation framework of modern integrated water resources management (IWRM, this research systematically developed an index system of the performances and their influence factors ones of the SWRM in irrigation areas. Using the method of multivariate regression combined with correlation analysis, this study estimated quantitatively the effect of multiple factors on the water resources management performances of irrigation areas in the Ganzhou District of Zhangye, Gansu, China. The results are presented below. The overall performance is mainly affected by management enabling environment and management institution with the regression coefficients of 0.0117 and 0.0235, respectively. The performance of ecological sustainability is mainly influenced by local economic development level and enable environment with the regression coefficients of 0.08642 and −0.0118, respectively. The performance of water use equity is mainly influenced by information publicity, administrators’ education level and ordinary water users’ participation level with the correlation coefficients of 0.637, 0.553 and 0.433, respectively. The performance of water use economic efficiency is mainly influenced by the management institutions and instruments with the regression coefficients of −0.07844 and 0.01808, respectively. In order to improve the overall performance of SWRM in irrigation areas, it is necessary to strengthen the public participation, improve the manager’ ability and provide sufficient financial support on management organization.

  8. Integrated Rural-Urban Water Management for Climate Based ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    There are serious short- and long-term consequences on human health, physical assets, economic ... To work, adaptive climate-proof integrated urban water management must extend throughout the whole catchment, an approach known as integrated water resource management. ... Careers · Contact Us · Site map.

  9. Integrated Water Management Approaches for Sustainable Food Production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fraiture, de C.M.S.; Fayrap, A.; Unver, O.; Ragab, R.

    2014-01-01

    With a growing and increasingly wealthy and urban population, it is likely that the role of agricultural water management in ensuring food security will become more important. Pressure on water resources is high. Adverse environmental impacts as a result of sometimes poor management of irrigation

  10. Optimizing available water capacity using microwave satellite data for improving irrigation management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Manika; Bolten, John; Lakshmi, Venkat

    2015-04-01

    This work addresses the improvement of available water capacity by developing a technique for estimating soil hydraulic parameters through the utilization of satellite-retrieved near surface soil moisture. The prototype involves the usage of Monte Carlo analysis to assimilate historical remote sensing soil moisture data available from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) within the hydrological model. The main hypothesis used in this study is that near-surface soil moisture data contain useful information that can describe the effective hydrological conditions of the basin such that when appropriately In the method followed in this study the hydraulic parameters are derived directly from information on the soil moisture state at the AMSR-E footprint scale and the available water capacity is derived for the root zone by coupling of AMSR-E soil moisture with the physically-based hydrological model. The available capacity water, which refers to difference between the field capacity and wilting point of the soil and represent the soil moisture content at 0.33 bar and 15 bar respectively is estimated from the soil hydraulic parameters using the van Genuchten equation. The initial ranges of soil hydraulic parameters are taken in correspondence with the values available from the literature based on Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database within the particular AMSR-E footprint. Using the Monte Carlo simulation, the ranges are narrowed in the region where simulation shows a good match between predicted and near-surface soil moisture from AMSR-E. In this study, the uncertainties in accurately determining the parameters of the nonlinear soil water retention function for large-scale hydrological modeling is the focus of the development of the Bayesian framework. Thus, the model forecasting has been combined with the observational information to optimize the model state and the soil hydraulic parameters simultaneously. The optimization process is divided into

  11. Waste Water Disposal Design And Management I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Sang Hyeon; Lee, Jung Su

    2004-04-01

    This book gives descriptions of waste water disposal, design and management, which includes design of waterworks and sewerage facility such as preparatory work and building plan, used waste water disposal facilities, waste water disposal plant and industrial waste water disposal facilities, water use of waste water disposal plant and design of pump and pump facilities such as type and characteristic, selection and plan, screening and grit.

  12. Integrating science, policy and stakeholder perspectives for water resource management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbour, Emily; Allan, Andrew; Whitehead, Paul; Salehin, Mashfiqus; Lazzar, Attila; Lim, Michelle; Munsur Rahman, Md.

    2015-04-01

    Successful management of water resources requires an integrated approach considering the complex relationships between different biophysical processes, governance frameworks and socio-economic factors. The Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) Deltas project has developed a range of socio-economic scenarios using a participatory approach, and applied these across different biophysical models as well as an integrated environmental, socio-economic model of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Delta. This work demonstrates a novel approach through the consideration of multiple ecosystem services and related socio-economic factors in the development of scenarios; the application of these to multiple models at multiple scales; and the participatory approach to improve project outcomes and engage national level stakeholders and policy makers. Scenarios can assist in planning for an uncertain future through exploring plausible alternatives. To adequately assess the potential impacts of future changes and management strategies on water resources, the wider biophysical, socio-economic and governance context needs to be considered. A series of stakeholder workshops have been held in Bangladesh to identify issues of main concern relating to the GBM Delta; to iteratively develop scenario narratives for business as usual, less sustainable, and more sustainable development pathways; and to translate these qualitative scenarios into a quantitative form suitable for analysis. The combined impact of these scenarios and climate change on water quantity and quality within the GBM Basin are demonstrated. Results suggest that climate change is likely to impact on both peak and low flows to a greater extent than most socio-economic changes. However, the diversion of water from the Ganges and Brahmaputra has the potential to significantly impact on water availability in Bangladesh depending on the timing and quantity of diversions. Both climate change and socio

  13. Improvement of the safety regulations in the management of radioactive waste accumulated in the liquid radioactive waste water basins of the PO 'Majak' (Ozersk), the Siberian Chemical Plant (Seversk) and the Mining-Chemical Plant (Zheleznogorsk)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vishnevski, Y.G.; Kislov, A.I.; Irushkin, V.M.

    2002-01-01

    One of the most important problems of radiation safety in Russia is the decommissioning of the liquid radioactive waste water basins of the PO 'Majak' (Ozersk), Siberian Chemical Plant (Seversk) and Mining-Chemical Plant (Zheleznogorsk). The liquid radioactive waste water basins were constructed in 1950-1960 for the collection and storage of liquid waste from the radiochemical plants. The potential hazards of the liquid in the radioactive waste water basins are: migration of radionuclides into the soil of the liquid radioactive waste water basin floors; wind-induced carry-over of radionuclides from the liquid radioactive waste water basins; hazards (radiation included) to the environment and population arising in case physical barriers and hydraulic structures are damaged; and criticality hazards. The classification of the liquid radioactive waste water basins were developed based on the collection and analyzes of the information on liquid radioactive waste water basin characteristics and the method of multicriterion expert assessment of potential hazards. Three main directions for the improvement of safety regulation in the management of radioactive waste accumulated in the liquid radioactive waste water basins were defined: 1. Common directions for the improvement of safety regulation in the area of rehabilitation of the territories contaminated with radioactive substances. 2. Common directions for the improvement of safety regulation in the area of rehabilitation of the territories, such as the liquid radioactive waste water basins. 3. Special directions for the regulatory activities in the area of operation and decommissioning of the liquid radioactive waste water basins of the PO 'Majak' (Ozersk), Siberian Chemical Plant (Seversk) and Mining-Chemical Plant (Zheleznogorsk). As a result, concrete recommendations on safety regulation for the management of radioactive waste accumulated in the water basins were developed. (author)

  14. Managing water and salinity with desalination, conveyance, conservation, waste-water treatment and reuse to counteract climate variability in Gaza

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, D. E.; Aljuaidi, A. E.; Kaluarachchi, J. J.

    2009-12-01

    We include demands for water of different salinity concentrations as input parameters and decision variables in a regional hydro-economic optimization model. This specification includes separate demand functions for saline water. We then use stochastic non-linear programming to jointly identify the benefit maximizing set of infrastructure expansions, operational allocations, and use of different water quality types under climate variability. We present a detailed application for the Gaza Strip. The application considers building desalination and waste-water treatment plants and conveyance pipelines, initiating water conservation and leak reduction programs, plus allocating and transferring water of different qualities among agricultural, industrial, and urban sectors and among districts. Results show how to integrate a mix of supply enhancement, conservation, water quality improvement, and water quality management actions into a portfolio that can economically and efficiently respond to changes and uncertainties in surface and groundwater availability due to climate variability. We also show how to put drawn-down and saline Gaza aquifer water to more sustainable and economical use.

  15. Decentralising Zimbabwe’s water management: The case of Guyu-Chelesa irrigation scheme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tambudzai, Rashirayi; Everisto, Mapedza; Gideon, Zhou

    scheme is a model of a decentralised entity whose importance lies at improving food security and employment creation within the community, it falls short in representing a downwardly accountable decentralised irrigation scheme. The scheme is faced with various challenges which include its operation which is below capacity utilisation, absence of specialised technical human personnel to address infrastructural breakdowns, uneven distribution of water pressure, incapacitated Irrigation Management Committee (IMC), absence of a locally legitimate constitution, compromised beneficiary participation and unclear lines of communication between various institutions involved in water management. Understanding decentralization is important since one of the key tenets of IWRM is stakeholder participation which the decentralization framework interrogates.

  16. Assessing framing of uncertainties in water management practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Isendahl, N.; Dewulf, A.; Brugnach, M.; Francois, G.; Möllenkamp, S.; Pahl-Wostl, C.

    2009-01-01

    Dealing with uncertainties in water management is an important issue and is one which will only increase in light of global changes, particularly climate change. So far, uncertainties in water management have mostly been assessed from a scientific point of view, and in quantitative terms. In this

  17. Fate of cyanobacteria and their metabolites during water treatment sludge management processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ho, Lionel, E-mail: lionel.ho@sawater.com.au [Australian Water Quality Centre, SA Water Corporation, 250 Victoria Square, Adelaide, SA 5000 (Australia); Centre for Water Management and Reuse, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (Australia); Dreyfus, Jennifer; Boyer, Justine; Lowe, Todd [Australian Water Quality Centre, SA Water Corporation, 250 Victoria Square, Adelaide, SA 5000 (Australia); Bustamante, Heriberto; Duker, Phil [Sydney Water, PO Box 399, Parramatta, NSW 2124 (Australia); Meli, Tass [TRILITY Pty Ltd, PO Box 86, Appin, NSW 2560 (Australia); Newcombe, Gayle [Australian Water Quality Centre, SA Water Corporation, 250 Victoria Square, Adelaide, SA 5000 (Australia); Centre for Water Management and Reuse, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (Australia)

    2012-05-01

    Cyanobacteria and their metabolites are an issue for water authorities; however, little is known as to the fate of coagulated cyanobacterial-laden sludge during waste management processes in water treatment plants (WTPs). This paper provides information on the cell integrity of Anabaena circinalis and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii during: laboratory-scale coagulation/sedimentation processes; direct filtration and backwashing procedures; and cyanobacterial-laden sludge management practices. In addition, the metabolites produced by A. circinalis (geosmin and saxitoxins) and C. raciborskii (cylindrospermopsin) were investigated with respect to their release (and possible degradation) during each of the studied processes. Where sedimentation was used, coagulation effectively removed cyanobacteria (and intracellular metabolites) without any considerable exertion on coagulant demand. During direct filtration experiments, cyanobacteria released intracellular metabolites through a stagnation period, suggesting that more frequent backwashing of filters may be required to prevent floc build-up and metabolite release. Cyanobacteria appeared to be protected within the flocs, with minimal damage during backwashing of the filters. Within coagulant sludge, cyanobacteria released intracellular metabolites into the supernatant after 3 d, even though cells remained viable up to 7 d. This work has improved the understanding of cyanobacterial metabolite risks associated with management of backwash water and sludge and is likely to facilitate improvements at WTPs, including increased monitoring and the application of treatment strategies and operational practices, with respect to cyanobacterial-laden sludge and/or supernatant recycle management. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Coagulation removed cyanobacteria without an additional exertion on coagulant demand. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer During a stagnation period in direct filtration intracellular metabolites were

  18. How uncertainty analysis of streamflow data can reduce costs and promote robust decisions in water management applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMillan, Hilary; Seibert, Jan; Petersen-Overleir, Asgeir; Lang, Michel; White, Paul; Snelder, Ton; Rutherford, Kit; Krueger, Tobias; Mason, Robert; Kiang, Julie

    2017-07-01

    Streamflow data are used for important environmental and economic decisions, such as specifying and regulating minimum flows, managing water supplies, and planning for flood hazards. Despite significant uncertainty in most flow data, the flow series for these applications are often communicated and used without uncertainty information. In this commentary, we argue that proper analysis of uncertainty in river flow data can reduce costs and promote robust conclusions in water management applications. We substantiate our argument by providing case studies from Norway and New Zealand where streamflow uncertainty analysis has uncovered economic costs in the hydropower industry, improved public acceptance of a controversial water management policy, and tested the accuracy of water quality trends. We discuss the need for practical uncertainty assessment tools that generate multiple flow series realizations rather than simple error bounds. Although examples of such tools are in development, considerable barriers for uncertainty analysis and communication still exist for practitioners, and future research must aim to provide easier access and usability of uncertainty estimates. We conclude that flow uncertainty analysis is critical for good water management decisions.

  19. Marine water-quality management in South- Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Taljaard, Susan

    1995-01-01

    Full Text Available In South Africa the ultimate goal in water quality management is to keep the water resources suitable for all ''beneficial uses''. Beneficial uses provide a basis for the derivation of water quality guidelines, which, for South Africa, are defined...

  20. Multiobjective decision-making in integrated water management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wind, H.G.; Pouwels, I.H.M.; Pouwels, I.H.M.; Witter, V.J.

    1995-01-01

    Traditionally, decision-making by water authorities in the Netherlands is largely based on intuition. Their tasks were, after all, relatively few and straight-forward. The growing number of tasks, together with the new integrated approach on water management issues, however, induces water

  1. Water management in Ghana: between the idea and the implementation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Agyenim, J.B.; Gupta, J.

    2013-01-01

    Four major paradigm shifts in water management include the shift from: government to governance, centralization to decentralization, water as a gift of God to water as an economic good, and sectoral to integrated water resource management. Are these paradigm shifts compatible with

  2. The improving processes in the human resources management

    OpenAIRE

    Darja Holátová

    2002-01-01

    The quality management of the human resources management, the quality of the products, services and prosperities of the firms is among others dependent on the quality management. Managers convey a leadership and commitment necessary for creating the environment for quality improvement. The managers are responsible for their own actions, development and improvement of their own work processes.

  3. Assessment of water management tools for the geothermal reservoir Waiwera (New Zealand)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kühn, Michael; Altmannsberger, Charlotte

    2016-04-01

    Water management tools are essential to ensure the conservation of natural resources. The geothermal hot water reservoir below the village of Waiwera, on the Northern Island of New Zealand is used commercially since 1863. The continuous production of 50 °C hot geothermal water, to supply hotels and spas, has a negative impact on the reservoir. Until the year 1969 from all wells drilled the warm water flow was artesian. Due to overproduction the water needs to be pumped up nowadays. Further, within the years 1975 to 1976 the warm water seeps on the beach of Waiwera ran dry. In order to protect the reservoir and the historical and tourist site in the early 1980s a Water Management Plan was deployed. The "Auckland Regional Water Board" today "Auckland Regional Council" established guidelines to enable a sustainable management [1]. The management plan demands that the water level in the official and appropriate observation well of the council is 0.5 m above sea level throughout the year in average. Almost four decades of data (since 1978 until today) are now available [2]. The minimum water level was observed beginning of the 1980s with -1.25 m and the maximum recently with 1.6 m. The higher the production rates from the field, the lower the water level in the observation well. Highest abstraction rates reached almost 1,500 m3/day and lowest were just above 500 m3/day. Several models of varying complexity where used from purely data driven statistical to fully coupled process simulation models. In all cases the available data were used for calibration and the models were then applied for predictive purposes. We used the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency index to quantify their predictive ability. The recommendation for the full implementation of the water management plan is the regular revision of an existing multivariate regression model which is based on the Theis well equation. Further, we suggest improving the underlying geological model of the process simulations to

  4. Efficient management of municipal water: water scarcity in Taiz City, Yemen - issues and options

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noaman, A.; Al-Sharjabe, A. W.

    2015-04-01

    The city of Taiz is the third largest city in Yemen, located about 250 km south of Sana'a and about 90 km inland from the Red Sea. Taiz is situated on the foothills and slopes of the Jabal Saber Mountain at elevations between 1100 and 1600 m a.s.l. Its population is rapidly increasing and is expected to grow from about 580 000 in 2012 to over 1 000 000 in 2020. Water supply is the most pressing problem in the city of Taiz today due to the significant shortages of supply (the average consumption is 23 L/d) caused by the depletion of existing water resources and the lack of a clear direction in dealing with the problem. This forces frequent service interruptions (30-40 days) and the service is rarely extended to new users (only 57% of the population are covered). Sanitation is another daunting problem. The (poorly maintained) sewerage network covers only 44% of the population. In several unsewered areas to the north, east and west of the city, raw sewage is disposed of directly into wadis, which causes a health hazard and threatens to contaminate groundwater resources. The proper computation of demand and supply is based on the various fields. It was performed under this study with a particular model: the Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). WEAP is supported by a geographical information system (GIS). The available and relevant data on poverty and social indicators, water use and sources, surface runoff, surface and groundwater availability, groundwater depletion and management, crop production areas, soil cover, maps, and meteorological information were gathered from a number of sources. There are only two ways to decrease the water deficit: by increasing water supply or decreasing the water demand. Any adaptation project aims at one of the two. Six projects are proposed, with three in each category (1, 2 and 3 to decrease demand, and 4, 5 and 6 to increase supply): - Project 1: Improvement of

  5. PORTABLE PEM FUEL CELL SYSTEM: WATER AND HEAT MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SITI NAJIBAH ABD RAHMAN

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Portable polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM fuel cell power generator is a PEM fuel cell application that is used as an external charger to supply the demand for high energy. Different environments at various ambient temperatures and humidity levels affect the performance of PEM fuel cell power generators. Thermal and water management in portable PEM fuel cells are a critical technical barrier for the commercialization of this technology. The size and weight of the portable PEM fuel cells used for thermal and water management systems that determine the performance of portable PEM fuel cells also need to be considered. The main objective of this paper review was to determine the importance of water and thermal management systems in portable PEM fuel cells. Additionally, this review investigated heat transfer and water transport in PEM fuel cells. Given that portable PEM fuel cells with different powers require different thermal and water management systems, this review also discussed and compared management systems for low-, medium-, and high-power portable PEM fuel cells.

  6. Improved Energy Recovery by Anaerobic Grey Water Sludge Treatment with Black Water

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tervahauta, T.H.; Bryant, I.M.; Hernandez Leal, L.; Buisman, C.J.N.; Zeeman, G.

    2014-01-01

    This study presents the potential of combining anaerobic grey water sludge treatment with black water in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor to improve energy recovery within source-separated sanitation concepts. Black water and the mixture of black water and grey water sludge were

  7. Contingency plan improvement for managing oil spills in the coastal waters of Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singkran, Nuanchan

    2014-12-15

    The estimated risks of being impacted by oil spills in the coastal waters were used to improve the oil spill contingency plan of Thailand. Functional roles of local agencies are integrated into the plan. Intensive measures are suggested for the coastal provinces located in high-very high risk zones, whereas light and moderate measures are suggested for the coastal provinces located in low and moderate risk zones, respectively. The estimated percentage risks due to simulated oil slicks hitting the coast and/or important resources (PRoilspill) were used to guide the year-round water activities that should be carefully handled at a certain radius with a low-moderate PRoilspill, whereas they should be avoided at a certain radius with a high-very high PRoilspill. Important measures before, during, and post periods of an oil spill incident are suggested to prevent and monitor oil spill incidents and mitigate their impacts on the environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. A Case Study on Hydrodynamic Modeling and Design Improvement Evaluation to Manage Debris and Sediment Interference at a Water Intake Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crissman, B. J.; Cunderlik, J. M.; Wong, R. P. L.; Pinero, A.

    2017-12-01

    Waterford 3 nuclear plant, located in Killona, Louisiana, provides approximately 10% of the state's electricity need. Located along the south bank of the Mississippi River, two miles upstream of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, the plant's single pass through cooling system continuously draws up to 1,000,000 gpm water from the river. On behalf of Entergy Louisiana, the project team evaluated options to improve the aging water intake structure with chronic debris and sediment entrainment issues. The highly complex and dynamic environment in the river coupled with regulatory constraints limited available improvement options: varying river stages allow debris to overflow the intake structure, but the maximum new wall height is restricted to minimize aesthetic intrusion and alteration to levee tie-back; bow waves push debris into the downstream intake wall, but the wall needs to maintain an opening to flush debris out from the intake structure; the river delivers significant sediment load, but any proposed intake structure cannot significantly alter existing bathymetry; EPA Clean Water Act Section 316(b) limited maximum velocity at the intake structure to 0.5 fps for entrainment prevention. To expedite alternative evaluation while providing sufficient data to inform management decision, instead of developing physical models, the project team developed a two-tier approach utilizing the TELEMAC hydrodynamic program to prepare screening analysis in 2D modeling and final evaluation in 3D modeling. The model was built upon the USACE ERDC ADH model, calibrated with river gauge data and peer reviewed by ERDC. TELEMAC, developed by EDF, provides novel features for modeling improvement options, including the recommended design concept, which is a hydraulically optimized intake geometry configured to maintain uniform intake flow while streamlining river flowline for debris and sediment deflection. The design includes submerged inlets with upstream and downstream walls to block

  9. The Basin Water Resources Management System and Its Innovation in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Xun; Pomponio

    2008-01-01

    Water provides the origin of human survival and prosperity,and the basic resource for the maintenance of terrestrial eco-systems,their biodiversity,productivity and ecological services.With China’s recent,rapid growth both in population and economic development,the water shortage has become one of the most constraints on its ecological restoration and socio-economic development,especially in the arid inland regions of northwest China.At first glance,this water shortage in China appears to be a resource crisis.But second,an in-depth analysis reveals that the water shortage crisis arises mainly resulting from the poor water management system and operating mechanism that cannot facilitate fair allocation and efficient utilization of water resources both regionally and nationally and thus is viewed as a crisis of water manage-ment.The solution of China’s water shortage and low-efficient utilization problem will,in particular,require a fundamen-tal and substantial reform or innovation of the existing water management system and operating mechanism.In this paper,we address explicitly the problems existed in the current water management system,explore the basic theory of water re-sources management and provide some insights into the way how to establish a river basin based integrated water re-sources management system in China.

  10. Water Label to Improve Water Billing in Spanish Households

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Castillo-Martinez

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available A significant decrease in water consumption has been achieved in recent years thanks to different campaigns run by different institutions in Spain. However, most citizens do not have a very clear idea about whether or not they are efficiently using water. To solve this situation, this paper aims is to develop two water labels in order to improve the current water billing. These water labels evaluate the total water consumption and the domestic hot water consumption. To make the tags, several research studies were tackled for establishing consumer trends and behavior patterns. Furthermore, a survey and data collection were conducted to obtain updated values to validate information obtained from previous studies. The result are two water labels that establish six different levels to graphically show the efficiency, and they also include a comparison with the average consumption by customers of the same province. To ensure that the benefits of this evaluation are available to citizens, its inclusion on the water bill is proposed.

  11. An overview of soil water sensors for salinity & irrigation management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irrigation water management has to do with the appropriate application of water to soils, in terms of amounts, rates, and timing to satisfy crop water demands while protecting the soil and water resources from degradation. Accurate irrigation management is even more important in salt affected soils ...

  12. Water management of HWP - Hazira

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagar, A.K.

    2008-01-01

    Water is a precious gift of nature to the mankind and it is vital for living beings and industries. It may become a scarce resource, if proper measures are not adopted timely to conserve the same. Water Management with measures taken for water, energy conservation and effluent reduction at HWP - Hazira are described in the present paper. System details of pre-treatment, cooling water, steam, boiler, effluent etc. pertaining to HWP-Hazira are described. Cooling water treatment adopted in HWP-HAZIRA is operating at 3-4 concentration cycles. Treatment is found to be satisfactory as revealed by the absence of scaling or corrosion induced by microbial fouling in coolers, heat exchangers etc. due to observations made during the last ATR. The cooling water treatment adopted and followed by KRIBHCO is also described. KRIBHCO is operating their cooling water system at a cycle of concentration of 7-8 to conserve water and chemicals. (author)

  13. Crop diversification, tillage, and management system influences on spring wheat yield and soil water use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Depleted soil quality, decreased water availability, and increased weed competition constrain spring wheat production in the northern Great Plains. Integrated crop management systems are necessary for improved crop productivity. We conducted a field experiment from 2004-2010 comparing productivity...

  14. Using Green Water Farm to Improve Ecological Restoration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan-Hsiou Chang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Artificial Floating Islands (AFIs are human-made floating structures capable of supporting aquatic vegetation. Previous studies pointed out that most AFIs use aquatic plants to carry out improvement of water quality and ecological conservation. This study proposed a modified AFI system, named Green Water Farm (GWF, to increase the practical application value of traditional AFIs, and added a special design to create an environment that allows for terrestrial plants (including vegetables and flowers to grow and to carry out improvement of water quality and ecological conservation. The research site was located at the waterfront of Li-tze Lake in Pitou Township, Taiwan. A GWF was established to evaluate the improvement of water quality and ecological conservation. During one year, water quality and ecological conservation assessments were recorded to investigate the performance of GWF system. The research results showed that GWF could improve water quality and ecological conservation. In addition, the results of this study can provide useful information for more food sources for humans and animals, and increase biodiversity and ecological conservation.

  15. Water, Politics and Development: Framing a Political Sociology of Water Resources Management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mollinga, P.P.; Bhat, A.; Cleaver, F.; Meinzen-Dick, R.; Molle, F.; Neef, A.; Subramanian, S.; Wester, P.

    2008-01-01

    EDITORIAL PREAMBLE: The first issue of Water Alternatives presents a set of papers that investigates the inherently political nature of water resources management. A Water, Politics and Development initiative was started at ZEF (Center for Development Research, Bonn, Germany) in 2004/2005 in the

  16. Coupling Radar Rainfall to Hydrological Models for Water Abstraction Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asfaw, Alemayehu; Shucksmith, James; Smith, Andrea; MacDonald, Ken

    2015-04-01

    The impacts of climate change and growing water use are likely to put considerable pressure on water resources and the environment. In the UK, a reform to surface water abstraction policy has recently been proposed which aims to increase the efficiency of using available water resources whilst minimising impacts on the aquatic environment. Key aspects to this reform include the consideration of dynamic rather than static abstraction licensing as well as introducing water trading concepts. Dynamic licensing will permit varying levels of abstraction dependent on environmental conditions (i.e. river flow and quality). The practical implementation of an effective dynamic abstraction strategy requires suitable flow forecasting techniques to inform abstraction asset management. Potentially the predicted availability of water resources within a catchment can be coupled to predicted demand and current storage to inform a cost effective water resource management strategy which minimises environmental impacts. The aim of this work is to use a historical analysis of UK case study catchment to compare potential water resource availability using modelled dynamic abstraction scenario informed by a flow forecasting model, against observed abstraction under a conventional abstraction regime. The work also demonstrates the impacts of modelling uncertainties on the accuracy of predicted water availability over range of forecast lead times. The study utilised a conceptual rainfall-runoff model PDM - Probability-Distributed Model developed by Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - set up in the Dove River catchment (UK) using 1km2 resolution radar rainfall as inputs and 15 min resolution gauged flow data for calibration and validation. Data assimilation procedures are implemented to improve flow predictions using observed flow data. Uncertainties in the radar rainfall data used in the model are quantified using artificial statistical error model described by Gaussian distribution and

  17. PESFOR-W: Improving the design and environmental effectiveness of woodlands for water Payments for Ecosystem Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory Valatin

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The EU Water Framework Directive aims to ensure restoration of Europe’s water bodies to “good ecological status” by 2027. Many Member States will struggle to meet this target, with around half of EU river catchments currently reporting below standard water quality. Diffuse pollution from agriculture represents a major pressure, affecting over 90% of river basins. Accumulating evidence shows that recent improvements to agricultural practices are benefiting water quality but in many cases will be insufficient to achieve WFD objectives. There is growing support for land use change to help bridge the gap, with a particular focus on targeted tree planting to intercept and reduce the delivery of diffuse pollutants to water. This form of integrated catchment management offers multiple benefits to society but a significant cost to landowners and managers. New economic instruments, in combination with spatial targeting, need to be developed to ensure cost effective solutions – including tree planting for water benefits - are realised. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES are flexible, incentive-based mechanisms that could play an important role in promoting land use change to deliver water quality targets. The PESFOR-W COST Action will consolidate learning from existing woodlands for water PES schemes in Europe and help standardize approaches to evaluating the environmental effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of woodland measures. It will also create a European network through which PES schemes can be facilitated, extended and improved, for example by incorporating other ecosystem services linking with aims of the wider forests-carbon policy nexus.

  18. 40 CFR 35.925-2 - Water quality management plans and agencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Water quality management plans and... Water Act § 35.925-2 Water quality management plans and agencies. That the project is consistent with any applicable water quality management (WQM) plan approved under section 208 or section 303(e) of the...

  19. Financial Risk Reduction and Management of Water Reservoirs Using Forecasts: A Case for Pernambuco, Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, I.; Josset, L.; e Silva, E. C.; Possas, J. M. C.; Asfora, M. C.; Lall, U.

    2017-12-01

    The financial health and sustainability, ensuring adequate supply, and adapting to climate are fundamental challenges faced by water managers. These challenges are worsened in semi-arid regions with socio-economic pressures, seasonal supply of water, and projected increase in intensity and frequency of droughts. Over time, probabilistic rainfall forecasts are improving and for water managers, it could be key in addressing the above challenges. Using forecasts can also help make informed decisions about future infrastructure. The study proposes a model to minimize cost of water supply (including cost of deficit) given ensemble forecasts. The model can be applied to seasonal to annual ensemble forecasts, to determine the least cost solution. The objective of the model is to evaluate the resiliency and cost associated to supplying water. A case study is conducted in one of the largest reservoirs (Jucazinho) in Pernambuco state, Brazil, and four other reservoirs, which provide water to nineteen municipalities in the Jucazinho system. The state has been in drought since 2011, and the Jucazinho reservoir, has been empty since January 2017. The importance of climate adaptation along with risk management and financial sustainability are important to the state as it is extremely vulnerable to droughts, and has seasonal streamflow. The objectives of the case study are first, to check if streamflow forecasts help reduce future supply costs by comparing k-nearest neighbor ensemble forecasts with a fixed release policy. Second, to determine the value of future infrastructure, a new source of supply from Rio São Francisco, considered to mitigate drought conditions. The study concludes that using forecasts improve the supply and financial sustainability of water, by reducing cost of failure. It also concludes that additional infrastructure can help reduce the risks of failure significantly, but does not guarantee supply during prolonged droughts like the one experienced

  20. Introduction of water footprint assessment approach to enhance water supply management in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moni, Syazwan N.; Aziz, Edriyana A.; Malek, M. A.

    2017-10-01

    Presently, Water Footprint (WF) Approach has been used to assess the sustainability of a product's chain globally but is lacking in the services sector. Thus, this paper aims to introduce WF assessment as a technical approach to determine the sustainability of water supply management for the typical water supply treatment process (WSTP) used in Malaysia. Water supply is one of the pertinent services and most of WF accounting begins with data obtained from the water supply treatment plant. Therefore, the amount of WF will be accounted for each process of WSTP in order to determine the water utilization for the whole process according to blue, green and grey WF. Hence, the exact amount of water used in the process can be measured by applying this accounting method to assess the sustainability of water supply management in Malaysia. Therefore, the WF approach in assessing sustainability of WSTP could be implemented.

  1. Water Safety Plan for drinking water risk management: the case study of Mortara (Pavia, Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Sorlini

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The Water Safety Plan (WSP approach is an iterative method focused on analyzing the risks of water contamination in a drinking water supply system, from catchment to consumer, in order to protect human health. This approach is aimed at identifying and drastically reducing water contamination in the entire drinking water system, through the identification and mitigation or, if possible, elimination of all factors that may cause a chemical, physical, microbiological and radiological risk for water. This study developed a proposal of WSP for the drinking water supply system (DWSS of Mortara, Italy, in order to understand which are the preliminary evaluation aspects to be considered in the elaboration of a WSP. The DWSS of Mortara (a town of 15,500 inhabitants, located in northern Italy consists of three drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs, considering the following main contaminants: arsenic, iron, manganese and ammonia. Potential hazardous events and associated hazards were identified in each part of the water supply system. The risk assessment was carried out following the semi quantitative approach. The WSP proposal for Mortara was very useful not only as a risk mitigation approach, but also as a cost-effective tool for water suppliers. Furthermore, this approach will reduce public health risk, ensure a better compliance of water quality parameters with regulatory requirements, increase confidence of consumers and municipal authorities, and improve resource management due to intervention planning. Further, some new control measures are proposed by the WSP team within this work.

  2. ICT Solutions for Highly-Customized Water Demand Management Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giuliani, M.; Cominola, A.; Castelletti, A.; Fraternali, P.; Guardiola, J.; Barba, J.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Rizzoli, A. E.

    2016-12-01

    The recent deployment of smart metering networks is opening new opportunities for advancing the design of residential water demand management strategies (WDMS) relying on improved understanding of water consumers' behaviors. Recent applications showed that retrieving information on users' consumption behaviors, along with their explanatory and/or causal factors, is key to spot potential areas where targeting water saving efforts, and to design user-tailored WDMS. In this study, we explore the potential of ICT-based solutions in supporting the design and implementation of highly customized WDMS. On one side, the collection of consumption data at high spatial and temporal resolutions requires big data analytics and machine learning techniques to extract typical consumption features from the metered population of water users. On the other side, ICT solutions and gamifications can be used as effective means for facilitating both users' engagement and the collection of socio-psychographic users' information. This latter allows interpreting and improving the extracted profiles, ultimately supporting the customization of WDMS, such as awareness campaigns or personalized recommendations. Our approach is implemented in the SmartH2O platform and demonstrated in a pilot application in Valencia, Spain. Results show how the analysis of the smart metered consumption data, combined with the information retrieved from an ICT gamified web user portal, successfully identify the typical consumption profiles of the metered users and supports the design of alternative WDMS targeting the different users' profiles.

  3. Analysis of Best Management Practices Implementation on Water Quality Using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool

    OpenAIRE

    Jason Motsinger; Prasanta Kalita; Rabin Bhattarai

    2016-01-01

    The formation of hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico can be traced to agricultural watersheds in the Midwestern United States that are artificially drained in order to make the land suitable for agriculture. A number of best management practices (BMPs) have been introduced to improve the water quality in the region but their relative effectivenss of these BMPs in reducing nutrient load has not been properly quantified. In order to determine the BMPs useful for reducing nutrient discharge from ...

  4. Improving Water Quality With Conservation Buffers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowrance, R.; Dabney, S.; Schultz, R.

    2003-12-01

    Conservation buffer technologies are new approaches that need wider application. In-field buffer practices work best when used in combination with other buffer types and other conservation practices. Vegetative barriers may be used in combination with edge-of-field buffers to protect and improve their function and longevity by dispersing runoff and encouraging sediment deposition upslope of the buffer. It's important to understand how buffers can be managed to help reduce nutrient transport potential for high loading of nutrients from manure land application sites, A restored riparian wetland buffer retained or removed at least 59 percent of the nitrogen and 66 percent of the phosphorus that entered from an adjacent manure land application site. The Bear Creek National Restoration Demonstration Watershed project in Iowa has been the site of riparian forest buffers and filter strips creation; constructed wetlands to capture tile flow; stream-bank bioengineering; in-stream structures; and controlling livestock grazing. We need field studies that test various widths of buffers of different plant community compositions for their efficacy in trapping surface runoff, reducing nonpoint source pollutants in subsurface waters, and enhancing the aquatic ecosystem. Research is needed to evaluate the impact of different riparian grazing strategies on channel morphology, water quality, and the fate of livestock-associated pathogens and antibiotics. Integrating riparian buffers and other conservation buffers into these models is a key objective in future model development.

  5. Water Markets in Mexico: Opportunities and Constraints

    OpenAIRE

    Hearne, Robert R.; Trava, Jose L.

    1997-01-01

    In 1992, the Government of Mexico initiated a new national water law which decentralised water resources management and allowed the market transfer of water-use concessions between individual irrigators. These reforms were expected to improve water resources management through greater user participation in irrigation management, as well as to increase irrigators incentives to improve water-use efficiency. At the time of its proposal the 1992 Federal Water Law was considered to the first step ...

  6. Implementation of quality improvement techniques for management and technical processes in the ACRV project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raiman, Laura B.

    1992-12-01

    Total Quality Management (TQM) is a cooperative form of doing business that relies on the talents of everyone in an organization to continually improve quality and productivity, using teams and an assortment of statistical and measurement tools. The objective of the activities described in this paper was to implement effective improvement tools and techniques in order to build work processes which support good management and technical decisions and actions which are crucial to the success of the ACRV project. The objectives were met by applications in both the technical and management areas. The management applications involved initiating focused continuous improvement projects with widespread team membership. The technical applications involved applying proven statistical tools and techniques to the technical issues associated with the ACRV Project. Specific activities related to the objective included working with a support contractor team to improve support processes, examining processes involved in international activities, a series of tutorials presented to the New Initiatives Office and support contractors, a briefing to NIO managers, and work with the NIO Q+ Team. On the technical side, work included analyzing data from the large-scale W.A.T.E.R. test, landing mode trade analyses, and targeting probability calculations. The results of these efforts will help to develop a disciplined, ongoing process for producing fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide the ACRV organization .

  7. Implementation of quality improvement techniques for management and technical processes in the ACRV project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raiman, Laura B.

    1992-01-01

    Total Quality Management (TQM) is a cooperative form of doing business that relies on the talents of everyone in an organization to continually improve quality and productivity, using teams and an assortment of statistical and measurement tools. The objective of the activities described in this paper was to implement effective improvement tools and techniques in order to build work processes which support good management and technical decisions and actions which are crucial to the success of the ACRV project. The objectives were met by applications in both the technical and management areas. The management applications involved initiating focused continuous improvement projects with widespread team membership. The technical applications involved applying proven statistical tools and techniques to the technical issues associated with the ACRV Project. Specific activities related to the objective included working with a support contractor team to improve support processes, examining processes involved in international activities, a series of tutorials presented to the New Initiatives Office and support contractors, a briefing to NIO managers, and work with the NIO Q+ Team. On the technical side, work included analyzing data from the large-scale W.A.T.E.R. test, landing mode trade analyses, and targeting probability calculations. The results of these efforts will help to develop a disciplined, ongoing process for producing fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide the ACRV organization .

  8. Water Resources Management in Tanzania: Identifying Research ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    by human-induced activities. Over the past ... Review of water resources management in Tanzania; Global literature review on water resources ..... requirements for biodiversity and human health. .... Global warming is altering regional climates.

  9. Systems Reliability Framework for Surface Water Sustainability and Risk Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, J. R.; Yeghiazarian, L.

    2016-12-01

    framework will significantly improve the efficiency and precision of sustainable watershed management strategies through providing a better understanding of how watershed characteristics and environmental parameters affect surface water quality and sustainability. With microbial contamination posing a serious threat to the availability of clean water across the world, it is necessary to develop a framework that evaluates the safety and sustainability of water systems in respect to non-point source fecal microbial contamination. The concept of water safety is closely related to the concept of failure in reliability theory. In water quality problems, the event of failure can be defined as the concentration of microbial contamination exceeding a certain standard for usability of water. It is pertinent in watershed management to know the likelihood of such an event of failure occurring at a particular point in space and time. Microbial fate and transport are driven by environmental processes taking place in complex, multi-component, interdependent environmental systems that are dynamic and spatially heterogeneous, which means these processes and therefore their influences upon microbial transport must be considered stochastic and variable through space and time. A physics-based stochastic model of microbial dynamics is presented that propagates uncertainty using a unique sampling method based on artificial neural networks to produce a correlation between watershed characteristics and spatial-temporal probabilistic patterns of microbial contamination. These results are used to address the question of water safety through several sustainability metrics: reliability, vulnerability, resilience and a composite sustainability index. System reliability is described uniquely though the temporal evolution of risk along watershed points or pathways. Probabilistic resilience describes how long the system is above a certain probability of failure, and the vulnerability metric describes how

  10. SF Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund: Projects and Accomplishments

    Science.gov (United States)

    San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund (SFBWQIF) projects listed here are part of an EPA competitive grant program to improve SF Bay water quality focused on restoring impaired waters and enhancing aquatic resources.

  11. Water Resources: Management and Strategies in Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Water Resources: Management and Strategies in Nigeria. ... the rational use of water resources poses a great problem and challenge to the nation. ... Suggestions were made on ways of planning sustainable water supply systems for Nigeria ... South Africa (96); South Sudan (1); Sudan (3); Swaziland (3); Tanzania (19) ...

  12. Technologies for water resources management: an integrated approach to manage global and regional water resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tao, W. C., LLNL

    1998-03-23

    Recent droughts in California have highlighted and refocused attention on the problem of providing reliable sources of water to sustain the State`s future economic development. Specific elements of concern include not only the stability and availability of future water supplies in the State, but also how current surface and groundwater storage and distribution systems may be more effectively managed and upgraded, how treated wastewater may be more widely recycled, and how legislative and regulatory processes may be used or modified to address conflicts between advocates of urban growth, industrial, agricultural, and environmental concerns. California is not alone with respect to these issues. They are clearly relevant throughout the West, and are becoming more so in other parts of the US. They have become increasingly important in developing and highly populated nations such as China, India, and Mexico. They are critically important in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, especially as they relate to regional stability and security issues. Indeed, in almost all cases, there are underlying themes of `reliability` and `sustainability` that pertain to the assurance of current and future water supplies, as well as a broader set of `stability` and `security` issues that relate to these assurances--or lack thereof--to the political and economic future of various countries and regions. In this latter sense, and with respect to regions such as China, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, water resource issues may take on a very serious strategic nature, one that is most illustrative and central to the emerging notion of `environmental security.` In this report, we have identified a suite of technical tools that, when developed and integrated together, may prove effective in providing regional governments the ability to manage their water resources. Our goal is to formulate a framework for an Integrated Systems Analysis (ISA): As a strategic planning tool for managing

  13. Modeling and analysis of collective management of water resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Tilmant

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM recommends, among other things, that the management of water resources systems be carried out at the lowest appropriate level in order to increase the transparency, acceptability and efficiency of the decision-making process. Empowering water users and stakeholders transforms the decision-making process by enlarging the number of point of views that must be considered as well as the set of rules through which decisions are taken. This paper investigates the impact of different group decision-making approaches on the operating policies of a water resource. To achieve this, the water resource allocation problem is formulated as an optimization problem which seeks to maximize the aggregated satisfaction of various water users corresponding to different approaches to collective choice, namely the utilitarian and the egalitarian ones. The optimal operating policies are then used in simulation and compared. The concepts are illustrated with a multipurpose reservoir in Chile. The analysis of simulation results reveals that if this reservoir were to be managed by its water users, both approaches to collective choice would yield significantly different operating policies. The paper concludes that the transfer of management to water users must be carefully implemented if a reasonable trade-off between equity and efficiency is to be achieved.

  14. A Review of Water Management in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zidong Wei

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available At present, despite the great advances in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC technology over the past two decades through intensive research and development activities, their large-scale commercialization is still hampered by their higher materials cost and lower reliability and durability. In this review, water management is given special consideration. Water management is of vital importance to achieve maximum performance and durability from PEMFCs. On the one hand, to maintain good proton conductivity, the relative humidity of inlet gases is typically held at a large value to ensure that the membrane remains fully hydrated. On the other hand, the pores of the catalyst layer (CL and the gas diffusion layer (GDL are frequently flooded by excessive liquid water, resulting in a higher mass transport resistance. Thus, a subtle equilibrium has to be maintained between membrane drying and liquid water flooding to prevent fuel cell degradation and guarantee a high performance level, which is the essential problem of water management. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art studies of water management, including the experimental methods and modeling and simulation for the characterization of water management and the water management strategies. As one important aspect of water management, water flooding has been extensively studied during the last two decades. Herein, the causes, detection, effects on cell performance and mitigation strategies of water flooding are overviewed in detail. In the end of the paper the emphasis is given to: (i the delicate equilibrium of membrane drying vs. water flooding in water management; (ii determining which phenomenon is principally responsible for the deterioration of the PEMFC performance, the flooding of the porous electrode or the gas channels in the bipolar plate, and (iii what measures should be taken to prevent water flooding from happening in PEMFCs.

  15. [QUIPS: quality improvement in postoperative pain management].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meissner, Winfried

    2011-01-01

    Despite the availability of high-quality guidelines and advanced pain management techniques acute postoperative pain management is still far from being satisfactory. The QUIPS (Quality Improvement in Postoperative Pain Management) project aims to improve treatment quality by means of standardised data acquisition, analysis of quality and process indicators, and feedback and benchmarking. During a pilot phase funded by the German Ministry of Health (BMG), a total of 12,389 data sets were collected from six participating hospitals. Outcome improved in four of the six hospitals. Process indicators, such as routine pain documentation, were only poorly correlated with outcomes. To date, more than 130 German hospitals use QUIPS as a routine quality management tool. An EC-funded parallel project disseminates the concept internationally. QUIPS demonstrates that patient-reported outcomes in postoperative pain management can be benchmarked in routine clinical practice. Quality improvement initiatives should use outcome instead of structural and process parameters. The concept is transferable to other fields of medicine. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  16. Innovative Tools for Water Quality/Quantity Management: New York City's Operations Support Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, L.; Schaake, J. C.; Day, G. N.; Porter, J.; Sheer, D. P.; Pyke, G.

    2011-12-01

    statistical algorithm is a relatively simple and versatile, but lacks short-term skill critical for water quality and spill management. To improve short-term skill, OST will ultimately operate with meteorologically driven hydrologic forecasts provided by the National Weather Service (NWS). OST functionalities will support a wide range of DEP uses, including short term operational projections, outage planning and emergency management, operating rule development, and water supply planning. A core use of OST will be to inform reservoir management strategies to control and mitigate turbidity events while ensuring water supply reliability. OST will also allow DEP to manage its complex reservoir system to meet multiple objectives, including ecological flows, tailwater fisheries and recreational releases, and peak flow mitigation for downstream communities.

  17. Water management at a malted barley brewery | Van der Merwe ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In order to manage and reduce water usage at brewery sites, it is essential that comprehensive water balances be available on which to base informed decisions. During 2001 a water management investigation was completed at a South African brewery to develop a suitable water balance for the plant. Literature studies ...

  18. MoGIRE: A Model for Integrated Water Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynaud, A.; Leenhardt, D.

    2008-12-01

    Climate change and growing water needs have resulted in many parts of the world in water scarcity problems that must by managed by public authorities. Hence, policy-makers are more and more often asked to define and to implement water allocation rules between competitive users. This requires to develop new tools aiming at designing those rules for various scenarios of context (climatic, agronomic, economic). If models have been developed for each type of water use however, very few integrated frameworks link these different uses, while such an integrated approach is a relevant stake for designing regional water and land policies. The lack of such integrated models can be explained by the difficulty of integrating models developed by very different disciplines and by the problem of scale change (collecting data on large area, arbitrate between the computational tractability of models and their level of aggregation). However, modelers are more and more asked to deal with large basin scales while analyzing some policy impacts at very high detailed levels. These contradicting objectives require to develop new modeling tools. The CALVIN economically-driven optimization model developed for managing water in California is a good example of this type of framework, Draper et al. (2003). Recent reviews of the literature on integrated water management at the basin level include Letcher et al. (2007) or Cai (2008). We present here an original framework for integrated water management at the river basin scale called MoGIRE ("Modèle pour la Gestion Intégrée de la Ressource en Eau"). It is intended to optimize water use at the river basin level and to evaluate scenarios (agronomic, climatic or economic) for a better planning of agricultural and non-agricultural water use. MoGIRE includes a nodal representation of the water network. Agricultural, urban and environmental water uses are also represented using mathematical programming and econometric approaches. The model then

  19. Managing erosion, sediment transport and water quality in drained peatland catchments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marttila, H.

    2010-07-01

    effect of the PRC is on SS and SS-bound nutrients. The sixth paper is concentrated to test new restoration structure to be used in degraded headwater brooks. The results show that addition of woody restoration structures to the channel is effective and simple sediment management methods in headwater areas. New information provided in this thesis on sediment erosion and transport processes in drained peatland areas can help to improve water quality control in these areas. In-channel processes are important for both peatland uses, since the drainage network often constitutes temporary interstorm storage for eroding and transporting material. Therefore, controlling these processes is a key to effective water quality management, which can be achieved using the PRC method in drainage areas or by utilisation of natural fluvial processes in natural channels downstream. (orig.)

  20. NCCDS configuration management process improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shay, Kathy

    1993-01-01

    By concentrating on defining and improving specific Configuration Management (CM) functions, processes, procedures, personnel selection/development, and tools, internal and external customers received improved CM services. Job performance within the section increased in both satisfaction and output. Participation in achieving major improvements has led to the delivery of consistent quality CM products as well as significant decreases in every measured CM metrics category.

  1. Replacing Concrete with Natural and Social Engineering: Learning the Lessons of Stakeholder Engagement from South West Water's Upland Catchment Management Programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, David; Grand-Clement, Emile; Brazier, Richard

    2014-05-01

    Replacing Concrete with Natural and Social Engineering: Learning the Lessons of Stakeholder Engagement from South West Water's Upland Catchment Management Programme Smith, D., Grand-Clement, E., Anderson, K., Luscombe, D., G, N., Bratis, Brazier, R.E Peatlands in the South West of the British Isles have been extensively drained for agricultural reclamation and peat cutting. The improvement in food production resulting from this management practice has never clearly been observed. Instead, we are now faced with several detrimental consequences on a whole suite of ecosystem services, such as the delivery of water, water quality, biodiversity and carbon storage. Alongside the direct environmental implications, poor water quality is increasing water treatment costs and will drive significant future investment. As a result, water companies now need to find appropriate solutions to varying water levels and decreasing water quality through catchment management. The Mires Project, the catchment management programme used by South West Water (SWW) is working with a wide range of stakeholders to restore the hydrological functioning of peatlands, and the ecosystem services they provide. This programme is driven by overarching legal requirements (i.e. the water framework directive, Natura 2000), future climate change predictions, corporate responsibility and commercial needs. Post-restoration scientific monitoring is at the heart of the project improving of our understanding of the eco-hydrological and chemical process driving changes in management practice. The challenges faced from the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders will be explored, focusing on the benefits from stakeholder involvement in catchment management and hydrological research, but also considering the difficulties to be overcome. SWW is working with private land-owners, government agencies, local and national park Authorities, community and single interest groups and research institutions to achieve its

  2. Seeking a consensus: water management principles from the monotheistic scriptures

    KAUST Repository

    Lefers, Ryan; Maliva, Robert G.; Missimer, Thomas M.

    2015-01-01

    Religious and cultural values related to water use and management are important motivation for many people of the world. Although much has been written related to water management and use in Islam, fewer authors have attempted to evaluate water

  3. A model to assess water tariffs as part of water demand management

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Keywords: water demand management, price elasticity, change in water tariff, block tariff, WC/WDM model. INTRODUCTION ... ever developed for a 6-block pricing structure and allows for limited available input data from ..... Payment Strategies and Price Elasticity of Demand for Water for. Different revenue Groups in Three ...

  4. Do Estimates of Water Productivity Enhance Understanding of Farm-Level Water Management?

    OpenAIRE

    Dennis Wichelns

    2014-01-01

    Estimates of water productivity are appearing with increasing frequency in the literature pertaining to agronomy, water management, and water policy. Some authors report such estimates as one of the outcome variables of experiment station studies, while others calculate water productivities when comparing regional crop production information. Many authors suggest or imply that higher values of water productivity are needed to ensure that future food production goals are achieved. Yet maximizi...

  5. Cold Lake-Beaver River water management study update: Report of the Cold Lake Regional Water Management Task Force

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    The Cold Lake Regional Water Management Task Force was formed in 1992, comprising representatives from local governments, aboriginal groups, the oil industry, and the public. The Task Force's mandate was to advise Alberta Environmental Protection on updating the Cold Lake-Beaver River Water Management Plan, taking into acocunt the views and concerns of the public, industry, and local governments. Industrial water use was found to be the key issue to be addressed in the plan update, so the Task Force focused on reviewing industrial water supply options and developing recommendations on the appropriate water supply to meet long-term requirements. A subcommittee was established to monitor groundwater use by the heavy oil industry. This committee took readings at Imperial Oil's water production and observation wells on a biweekly basis. Nine options for supplying industrial water requirements were examined and evaluated using criteria including supply reliability, economic factors, and impacts on other users and the environment. The Task Force found that the preferred source of water for industrial use is the North Saskatchewan River, to be accessed by a water pipeline. The second and less desirable source of water for industrial use would be a system of weirs on Cold or Primrose Lakes and Wolf Lake, supplemented by the use of brackish water to the maximum extent possible. In the interim, industry was recommended to maximize its use of brackish water and continue to use surface and ground water within existing license limits. Other recommendations were to form provincial or regional boards to oversee water use and issue water licenses, to treat water as a resource, and to establish a fee for industrial use of water. 3 figs., 5 tabs

  6. Urban water infrastructure asset management - a structured approach in four water utilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardoso, M A; Silva, M Santos; Coelho, S T; Almeida, M C; Covas, D I C

    2012-01-01

    Water services are a strategic sector of large social and economic relevance. It is therefore essential that they are managed rationally and efficiently. Advanced water supply and wastewater infrastructure asset management (IAM) is key in achieving adequate levels of service in the future, particularly with regard to reliable and high quality drinking water supply, prevention of urban flooding, efficient use of natural resources and prevention of pollution. This paper presents a methodology for supporting the development of urban water IAM, developed during the AWARE-P project as well as an appraisal of its implementation in four water utilities. Both water supply and wastewater systems were considered. Due to the different contexts and features of the utilities, the main concerns vary from case to case; some problems essentially are related to performance, others to risk. Cost is a common deciding factor. The paper describes the procedure applied, focusing on the diversity of drivers, constraints, benefits and outcomes. It also points out the main challenges and the results obtained through the implementation of a structured procedure for supporting urban water IAM.

  7. A mixed-methods approach to assessing success in transitioning water management institutions: a case study of the Platte River Basin, Nebraska

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina Hoffman Babbitt

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available To address increasing conflicts between surface water and groundwater users, the state of Nebraska has adopted a more localized and integrated approach in managing water resources. Integrated approaches offer promise in better managing connected water resources within the state; however, little review of the potential benefits and/or challenges of these actions has been conducted. This case study uses both qualitative and quantitative data collection efforts to take an in-depth look at how this new and innovative management system is working through the eyes of stakeholders living and working in the basin. Data collection reveals that overall the current water management system is working relatively well, even though it is still in its infancy. However, the system could be further improved by ensuring all that stakeholder interests are represented, providing increased opportunities to participate, and continuing to work toward more holistic and proactive water management.

  8. Basin scale management of surface and ground water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tracy, J.C.; Al-Sharif, M.

    1993-01-01

    An important element in the economic development of many regions of the Great Plains is the availability of a reliable water supply. Due to the highly variable nature of the climate through out much of the Great Plains region, non-controlled stream flow rates tend to be highly variable from year to year. Thus, the primary water supply has tended towards developing ground water aquifers. However, in regions where shallow ground water is extracted for use, there exists the potential for over drafting aquifers to the point of depleting hydraulically connected stream flows, which could adversely affect the water supply of downstream users. To prevent the potential conflict that can arise when a basin's water supply is being developed or to control the water extractions within a developed basin requires the ability to predict the effect that water extractions in one region will have on water extractions from either surface or ground water supplies else where in the basin. This requires the ability to simulate ground water levels and stream flows on a basin scale as affected by changes in water use, land use practices and climatic changes within the basin. The outline for such a basin scale surface water-ground water model has been presented in Tracy (1991) and Tracy and Koelliker (1992), and the outline for the mathematical programming statement to aid in determining the optimal allocation of water on a basin scale has been presented in Tracy and Al-Sharif (1992). This previous work has been combined into a computer based model with graphical output referred to as the LINOSA model and was developed as a decision support system for basin managers. This paper will present the application of the LINOSA surface-ground water management model to the Rattlesnake watershed basin that resides within Ground Water Management District Number 5 in south central Kansas

  9. Pediatric CT quality management and improvement program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larson, David B.; Chan, Frandics P.; Newman, Beverley; Fleischmann, Dominik; Molvin, Lior Z.; Wang, Jia

    2014-01-01

    Modern CT is a powerful yet increasingly complex technology that continues to rapidly evolve; optimal clinical implementation as well as appropriate quality management and improvement in CT are challenging but attainable. This article outlines the organizational structure on which a CT quality management and improvement program can be built, followed by a discussion of common as well as pediatric-specific challenges. Organizational elements of a CT quality management and improvement program include the formulation of clear objectives; definition of the roles and responsibilities of key personnel; implementation of a technologist training, coaching and feedback program; and use of an efficient and accurate monitoring system. Key personnel and roles include a radiologist as the CT director, a qualified CT medical physicist, as well as technologists with specific responsibilities and adequate time dedicated to operation management, CT protocol management and CT technologist education. Common challenges in managing a clinical CT operation are related to the complexity of newly introduced technology, of training and communication and of performance monitoring. Challenges specific to pediatric patients include the importance of including patient size in protocol and dose considerations, a lower tolerance for error in these patients, and a smaller sample size from which to learn and improve. (orig.)

  10. Pediatric CT quality management and improvement program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larson, David B.; Chan, Frandics P.; Newman, Beverley; Fleischmann, Dominik [Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Stanford, CA (United States); Molvin, Lior Z. [Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, CA (United States); Wang, Jia [Stanford University, Environmental Health and Safety, Stanford, CA (United States)

    2014-10-15

    Modern CT is a powerful yet increasingly complex technology that continues to rapidly evolve; optimal clinical implementation as well as appropriate quality management and improvement in CT are challenging but attainable. This article outlines the organizational structure on which a CT quality management and improvement program can be built, followed by a discussion of common as well as pediatric-specific challenges. Organizational elements of a CT quality management and improvement program include the formulation of clear objectives; definition of the roles and responsibilities of key personnel; implementation of a technologist training, coaching and feedback program; and use of an efficient and accurate monitoring system. Key personnel and roles include a radiologist as the CT director, a qualified CT medical physicist, as well as technologists with specific responsibilities and adequate time dedicated to operation management, CT protocol management and CT technologist education. Common challenges in managing a clinical CT operation are related to the complexity of newly introduced technology, of training and communication and of performance monitoring. Challenges specific to pediatric patients include the importance of including patient size in protocol and dose considerations, a lower tolerance for error in these patients, and a smaller sample size from which to learn and improve. (orig.)

  11. Challenges facing water management in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varis, O.; Vakkilainen, P.

    2000-01-01

    The amount of water per person in northern China is less than half of that in Egypt, a country with very scarce water resources. Clearly, then, China is one of the regions on our planet that is going to have to face severe problems of water supply in the future. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation growing agricultural output, environmental degradation, climatic instability, a large population density and worsening regional disparities are all factors that will challenge the management and utilisation of China's water resources in the years to come. (orig.)

  12. A model to assess water tariffs as part of water demand management

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... to calculate the predicted change in water use and the associated income. The model takes into account variation in price elasticity per tariff block. The effectiveness of the model as a planning tool is illustrated through an appropriate example. Keywords: water demand management, price elasticity, change in water tariff, ...

  13. Water Demand Management for Social Justice | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2012-01-18

    Jan 18, 2012 ... Water Demand Management for Social Justice ... Women play larger role in Latin America's commercial urban waste management ... the management of solid waste in Latin America, according to research supported by IDRC.

  14. Analysis of realization of the water chemistry modes in the NPP with the RBMK-1000 and main directions of their improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kritskij, V.G.; Tyapkov, V.F.; Belous, V.N.; Egorova, T.M.; Gost'kov, V.V.; Tishkov, V.M.; Yatsko, O.V.

    2005-01-01

    Paper deals with the analysis of normalization of the RBMK reactor NPP water chemistry conditions. One analyzed the imposed restrictions at deviation of the normalized parameters from the ones recommended for the normal operating conditions. Paper contains data on water chemistry management and describes measures to improve radiation situation near NPP reactor equipment. One studied the reasons of corrosion damage of the RBMK-1000 reactor NPP pipelines and the ways to prevent them via optimization and improvement of water chemistry conditions [ru

  15. The central role of agricultural water-use productivity in sustainable water management (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gleick, P. H.

    2013-12-01

    As global and regional populations continue to rise for the next several decades, the need to grow more food will worsen old -- and produce new -- challenges for water resources. Expansion of irrigated agriculture is slowing due to constraints on land and water, and as a result, some have argued that future new food demands will only be met through improvements in agricultural productivity on existing irrigated and rainfed cropland, reductions in field losses and food waste, and social changes such as dietary preferences. This talk will address the central role that improvements in water-use productivity can play in the food/water/population nexus. In particular, the ability to grow more food with less water will have a great influence on whether future food demands will be met successfully. Such improvements can come about through changes in technology, regulatory systems, economic incentives and disincentives, and education of water users. Example of potential savings from three different strategies to improve agricultural water productivity in California. (From Pacific Institute).

  16. When private water rights become a public asset: Stakeholder perspectives on the fairness of environmental water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukasiewicz, Anna; Dare, Melanie (Lain)

    2016-05-01

    This paper explores environmental water management as a social process of navigating conflicting interests through a distributive justice lens. Environmental water management can achieve substantial ecological outcomes and address ongoing river degradation caused by past management and climate change; however it also causes specific and substantial burdens and benefits to different groups of stakeholders. Given that in most developed countries the majority of land is under private tenure, environmental watering must have active cooperation of private landholders to achieve its ecological outcomes and thus it must effectively deal with an array of vested interests. Australia's reforms aimed at reallocating water from production to the environment have resulted in significant considerable volumes of environmental water. In the state of New South Wales, this water is managed by the state and national governments with the help of five Environmental Water Advisory Groups made up of a wide representation of interests. In this paper, we explore the perceptions of environmental, government, irrigator and grazing representatives, which demonstrate conflicting principles over how environmental water should be distributed. We detail how government water managers reconcile competing distributive principles of equity (ensuring that no one is disproportionally affected or benefits unduly), need (achieving environmental outcomes) and efficiency (prioritizing operational feasibility) in order to maintain the social acceptability of environmental water.

  17. Importance of bottom-up approach in water management - sustainable development of catchment areas in Croatia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavic, M.; Cosic-Flajsig, G.; Petricec, M.; Blazevic, Z.

    2012-04-01

    Croatia. Construction of multipurpose water storage KAMENSKA with capacity of about 45 million cubic meters per year was planned in 1984 but the project was postponed due to the war activities and never realized. None the less, the need for Kamenska is great. Orljava river basin, tributary of river Sava, has great significance for the Posavina area and wider area of Pozega. Improvements in water supply, flood control, irrigation and renewable hydro energy are not possible without new management of river Orljava basin. On round table in Pozega in October 2011 we have managed to gather all the relevant stakeholders including regional governor, directors of Croatian waters (state owned water management company), representatives of ministries and regional development agencies. The result was revitalization of the Kamenska multipurpose water storage project and inclusion in the Croatian waters and regional plans for 2012. Both examples stress the importance of the bottom-up approach to the stakeholders in the water management and give the way how scientific research can be transmitted to the decision making establishment trough organization of public events.

  18. Water Resources Management and Hydrologic Design Under Uncertain Climate Change Scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teegavarapu, R. S.

    2008-05-01

    The impact of climate change on hydrologic design and management of water resource systems could be one of the important challenges faced by future practicing hydrologists and water resources managers. Many water resources managers currently rely on the historical hydrological data and adaptive real-time operations without consideration of the impact of climate change on major inputs influencing the behavior of hydrologic systems and the operating rules. Issues such as risk, reliability and robustness of water resources systems under different climate change scenarios were addressed in the past. However, water resources management with the decision maker's preferences attached to climate change has never been dealt with. This presentation discusses issues related to impacts of climate change on water resources management and application of a soft-computing approach, fuzzy set theory, for climate-sensitive management of water resources systems. A real-life case study example is presented to illustrate the applicability of soft-computing approach for handling the decision maker's preferences in accepting or rejecting the magnitude and direction of climate change.

  19. Core issues of a water resource management. A review of literature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chavarro Velandia, Andres

    2011-01-01

    Water becomes recently scarce in many developing countries. Colombia is one of these if it takes into account the warnings included in the last national water research. Therefore is urgent debate about which are the options to achieve a sustainable management of water. So, the objective of the present paper is to explore the core issues to be considered in order to discuss the problematic of the water management for Colombia. The paper is a review of literature from 5 date bases internationally recognized. From the review it found the management of water is more than the mere use of mechanisms but it implies consider topics like governance, solid knowledge about who and how use the water and then yet the options to manage it. In addition it found that market based perspectives tend to work isolated compare to the rest of alternatives which are multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional. Finally, stand out the fact that the non-market management tools tends to be integrated management water models (it includes multiple sources, actors and different applications)

  20. Water management in Angkor: human impacts on hydrology and sediment transportation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kummu, Matti

    2009-03-01

    The city of Angkor, capital of the Khmer empire from the 9th to 15th century CE, is well known for its impressive temples, but recent research has uncovered an extensive channel network stretching across over 1000 km2. The channel network with large reservoirs (termed baray) formed the structure of the city and was the basis for its water management. The annual long dry season associated with the monsoon climate has challenged water management for centuries, and the extensive water management system must have played an important role in the mitigation of such marked seasonality. However, by changing the natural water courses with off-take channels the original catchments were also reshaped. Moreover, severe problems of erosion and sedimentation in human built channels evolved and impacted on the whole water management system. This paper describes the present hydrology of the area and discusses the impacts of water management on hydrology during the Angkor era. The paper, moreover, attempts to summarise lessons that could be learnt from Angkorian water management that might apply to present challenges within the field.

  1. Recognizing 21. century citizenship: 1997 federal energy and water management award winners

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-31

    Energy is a luxury that no one can afford to waste, and many Federal government agencies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of using energy wisely. Thoughtful use of energy resources is important, not only to meet agency goals, but because energy efficiency helps improve air quality. Sound facility management offers huge savings that affect the agency`s bottom line, the environment, and workplace quality. Hard work, innovation, and vision are characteristic of those who pursue energy efficiency. That is why the Department of Energy, Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) is proud to salute the winners of the 1997 Federal Energy and Water Management Award. The 1997 winners represent the kind of 21st century thinking that will help achieve widespread Federal energy efficiency. In one year, the winners, through a combination of public and private partnerships, saved more than $100 million and 9.8 trillion Btu by actively identifying and implementing energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy projects. The contributions of these individuals, small groups, and organizations are presented in this report.

  2. The 2000 DOD Financial Management Improvement Plan

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2001-01-01

    The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 requires DoD financial management systems to comply substantially with Federal financial management system requirements, Federal accounting standards, and the U.S...

  3. Increasing Awareness of Sustainable Water Management for Future Civil Engineers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilic, Suzana; Karleusa, Barbara; Deluka-Tibljas, Aleksandra

    2010-05-01

    There are more than 1.2 billion people around the world that do not have access to drinking water. While there are plans under the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to halve this number by 2015, there are a number of regions that will be exposed to water scarcity in the coming future. Providing sufficient water for future development is a great challenge for planners and designers of water supply systems. In order to design sustainable water supplies for the future, it is important to learn how people consume water and how water consumption can be reduced. The education of future civil engineers should take into account not only technical aspects of the water supply but also the accompanying social and economical issues, and appreciated the strengths and weaknesses of traditional solutions. The Faculty of Civil Engineering, at the University of Rijeka, has begun incorporating a series of activities that engage undergraduate students and the local community to develop a mutual understanding of the future needs for sustainable management. We present one of the activities, collaboration with the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University in the UK through the field course Water and environmental management in Mediterranean context. The course, which is designed for the Lancaster University geography students, features a combination of field trips and visits to provide an understanding of the socio-economic and environmental context of water management in two counties (Istra and Primorsko-Goranska). Students from Lancaster visit the Croatian water authority and a regional water company, where they learn about current management practices and problems in managing water supplies and demand through the year. They make their own observations of current management practices in the field and learn about water consumption from the end users. One day field visit to a village in the area that is still not connected to the main water supply system is

  4. The urban harvest approach as framework and planning tool for improved water and resource cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leusbrock, I; Nanninga, T A; Lieberg, K; Agudelo-Vera, C M; Keesman, K J; Zeeman, G; Rijnaarts, H H M

    2015-01-01

    Water and resource availability in sufficient quantity and quality for anthropogenic needs represents one of the main challenges in the coming decades. To prepare for upcoming challenges such as increased urbanization and climate change related consequences, innovative and improved resource management concepts are indispensable. In recent years we have developed and applied the urban harvest approach (UHA). The UHA aims to model and quantify the urban water cycle on different temporal and spatial scales. This approach allowed us to quantify the impact of the implementation of water saving measures and new water treatment concepts in cities. In this paper we will introduce the UHA and its application for urban water cycles. Furthermore, we will show first results for an extension to energy cycles and highlight future research items (e.g. nutrients, water-energy-nexus).

  5. Assessing water reservoirs management and development in Northern Vietnam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Castelletti

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In many developing countries water is a key renewable resource to complement carbon-emitting energy production and support food security in the face of demand pressure from fast-growing industrial production and urbanization. To cope with undergoing changes, water resources development and management have to be reconsidered by enlarging their scope across sectors and adopting effective tools to analyze current and projected infrastructure potential and operation strategies. In this paper we use multi-objective deterministic and stochastic optimization to assess the current reservoir operation and planned capacity expansion in the Red River Basin (Northern Vietnam, and to evaluate the potential improvement by the adoption of a more sophisticated information system. To reach this goal we analyze the historical operation of the major controllable infrastructure in the basin, the HoaBinh reservoir on the Da River, explore re-operation options corresponding to different tradeoffs among the three main objectives (hydropower production, flood control and water supply, using multi-objective optimization techniques, namely Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm. Finally, we assess the structural system potential and the need for capacity expansion by application of Deterministic Dynamic Programming. Results show that the current operation can only be relatively improved by advanced optimization techniques, while investment should be put into enlarging the system storage capacity and exploiting additional information to inform the operation.

  6. Improved Energy Recovery by Anaerobic Grey Water Sludge Treatment with Black Water

    OpenAIRE

    Tervahauta, Taina; Bryant, Isaac; Leal, Lucía; Buisman, Cees; Zeeman, Grietje

    2014-01-01

    This study presents the potential of combining anaerobic grey water sludge treatment with black water in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor to improve energy recovery within source-separated sanitation concepts. Black water and the mixture of black water and grey water sludge were compared in terms of biochemical methane potential (BMP), UASB reactor performance, chemical oxygen demand (COD) mass balance and methanization. Grey water sludge treatment with black water increased...

  7. Barriers to sustainable water resources management : Case study in Omnogovi province, Mongolia

    OpenAIRE

    Enkhtsetseg, Mandukhai

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the barriers to sustainable water resources management in water vulnerable, yet a mining booming area. The case study is conducted in Omnogovi province of Mongolia in Nov-Dec 2016. This study presents how the Omnogovi province manages its water with increased mining and examines what hinders the province from practicing sustainable water resources management and examines the involvement of residents in the water resources management of Omnogovi province. Qualitative approa...

  8. Changing Planning by Changing Practice: How Water Managers Innovate Through Action

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wessel, van M.; Buuren, van R.; Woerkum, van C.

    2011-01-01

    In this study, we show how water managers who were not in strategic decision-making positions strategized in order to innovate water management practice. They undertook actions in order to infuse water management with a pragmatic logic that in their view would be better able to handle complexity.

  9. Safety culture improvement. An adaptive management framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obadia, Isaac Jose

    2005-01-01

    After the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) established the safety culture concept as a proactive mean to contribute to safety improvement, starting a worldwide safety culture enhancement program within nuclear organizations mainly focused on nuclear power plants. More recently, the safety culture concept has been extended to non-power applications such as nuclear research reactors and nuclear technological research and development organizations. In 1999, the Nuclear Engineering Institute (IEN), a research and technological development unit of the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), started a management change program aiming at improving its performance level of excellence. This change program has been developed assuming the occurrence of complex causal inter-relationships between the organizational culture and the implementation of the management process. A systematic and adaptive management framework comprised of a safety culture improvement practice integrated to a management process based on the Criteria for Excellence of the Brazilian Quality Award Model, has been developed and implemented at IEN. The case study has demonstrated that the developed framework makes possible an effective safety culture improvement and simultaneously facilitates an effective implementation of the management process, thus providing some governance to the change program. (author)

  10. 33 CFR 223.1 - Mississippi River Water Control Management Board.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ..., responsibilities and authority of the Mississippi River Water Control Management Board. (b) Applicability. This... control management within the Mississippi River Basin. (c) Objectives. The objectives of the Board are: (1...) Composition. The Mississippi River Water Control Management Board is a continuing board consisting of the...

  11. Modeling Stochastic Energy and Water Consumption to Manage Residential Water Uses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdallah, A. M.; Rosenberg, D. E.; Water; Energy Conservation

    2011-12-01

    Water energy linkages have received growing attention from the water and energy utilities as utilities recognize that collaborative efforts can implement more effective conservation and efficiency improvement programs at lower cost with less effort. To date, limited energy-water household data has allowed only deterministic analysis for average, representative households and required coarse assumptions - like the water heater (the primary energy use in a home apart from heating and cooling) be a single end use. Here, we use recent available disaggregated hot and cold water household end-use data to estimate water and energy consumption for toilet, shower, faucet, dishwasher, laundry machine, leaks, and other household uses and savings from appliance retrofits. The disaggregated hot water and bulk water end-use data was previously collected by the USEPA for 96 single family households in Seattle WA and Oakland CA, and Tampa FL between the period from 2000 and 2003 for two weeks before and four weeks after each household was retrofitted with water efficient appliances. Using the disaggregated data, we developed a stochastic model that represents factors that influence water use for each appliance: behavioral (use frequency and duration), demographical (household size), and technological (use volume or flowrate). We also include stochastic factors that govern energy to heat hot water: hot water fraction (percentage of hot water volume to total water volume used in a certain end-use event), heater water intake and dispense temperatures, and energy source for the heater (gas, electric, etc). From the empirical household end-use data, we derive stochastic probability distributions for each water and energy factor where each distribution represents the range and likelihood of values that the factor may take. The uncertainty of the stochastic water and energy factors is propagated using Monte Carlo simulations to calculate the composite probability distribution for water

  12. Municipal management and geo-hydrological aspects of importance in the potable water supply of Lindley

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric Nealer

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available When the South African Government in 1998 re-demarcated its 283 municipalities so that they completely cover the country in a “wall-to-wall” manner, their main focus was on growing local economies and maintaining the provision of an increased number of diverse and more complex basic municipal services to new geographical areas consisting of millions of citizens who might previously had been neglected. In most of the instances the newly established and merged municipalities were demarcated according to geographical aspects inherited from the previous political dispensation, historical municipal areas and magisterial district farm names. The fact that these municipal government jurisdictions for the purpose of improving co-operative municipal- and integrated water resources management (IWRM, in most instances do not correspond with environmental and physical land features such as the demarcated surface water (rivers drainage regions’ boundaries, could lead to the ineffective, inefficient and non-economic municipal management of water, sanitation and environmental services. The aforementioned is a case with reference to water services management in the Free State Province town of Lindley located in the Vals River catchment and the Nketoana Local Municipality’s area of jurisdiction. An extensive literature review, the use and study of geographic tools such as maps, ortho- photos and information data bases, as well as two field visits to the area, enabled the researchers to identify the essential geographical, geo-hydrological and municipal management aspects of importance for the potable water service providers and managers in the Lindley municipal area. The researchers argue that effective trans-boundary municipal management through simunye-type co-operative governance and IWRM must be facilitated in the Vals River surface water catchment between the respective local- and district municipalities for the benefit of the Lindley, Arlington

  13. A Synthesis of Sierran Forest Biomass Management Studies and Potential Effects on Water Quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J. Weisberg

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The Lake Tahoe basin, located along the California and Nevada border between the Carson and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, represents a complex forested ecosystem consisting of numerous sub-watersheds and tributaries that discharge directly to Lake Tahoe. This synthesis focuses on historical and current nutrient pools and the effects of biomass management in watersheds of the basin relative to their potential impacts on nutrient (N, P related discharge water quality. An accumulating forest floor as a result of fire suppression has resulted in the build-up of large nutrient pools that now provide a “natural” source of long term nutrient availability to surface waters. As a consequence, stand and forest floor replacing wildfire may cause a large magnitude nutrient mobilization impact on runoff water quality. Hence, mechanical harvest and controlled burning have become popular management strategies. The most ecologically significant long-term effects of controlled fire appear to be the loss of C and N from the forest floor. Although the application of controlled fire may have some initial impact on overland/litter interflow nutrient loading, controlled burning in conjunction with mechanical harvest has the potential to improve runoff water quality by reducing N and P discharge and improving the overall health of forest ecosystems without the danger of a high intensity wildfire.

  14. Improving Conservation of Florida Manatees ( Trichechus manatus latirostris): Conceptualization and Contributions Toward a Regional Warm-Water Network Management Strategy for Sustainable Winter Habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flamm, Richard Owen; Reynolds, John Elliot; Harmak, Craig

    2013-01-01

    We used southwestern Florida as a case study to lay the groundwork for an intended and organized decision-making process for managing warm-water habitat needed by endangered manatees to survive winters in Florida. Scientists and managers have prioritized (a) projecting how the network of warm-water sites will change over the next 50 years as warmed industrial discharges may expire and as flows of natural springs are reduced through redirection of water for human uses, and (b) mitigating such changes to prevent undue consequences to manatees. Given the complexities introduced by manatee ecology; agency organizational structure; shifting public demands; fluctuating resource availability; and managing within interacting cultural, social, political, and environmental contexts, it was clear that a structured decision process was needed. To help promote such a process, we collected information relevant to future decisions including maps of known and suspected warm-water sites and prototyped a characterization of sites and networks. We propose steps that would lead to models that might serve as core tools in manatee/warm-water decision-making, and we summarized topics relevant for informed decision-making (e.g., manatee spatial cognition, risk of cold-stress morbidity and mortality, and human dimensions). A major impetus behind this effort is to ensure proactively that robust modeling tools are available well in advance of the anticipated need for a critical management decision.

  15. Syntheses of the current model applications for managing water and needs for experimental data and model improvements to enhance these applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    This volume of the Advances in Agricultural Systems Modeling series presents 14 different case studies of model applications to help make the best use of limited water in agriculture. These examples show that models have tremendous potential and value in enhancing site-specific water management for ...

  16. Functional analysis, a resilience improvement tool applied to a waste management system - application to the "household waste management chain"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beraud, H.; Barroca, B.; Hubert, G.

    2012-12-01

    A waste management system plays a leading role in the capacity of an area to restart after flooding, as their impact on post-crisis management can be very considerable. Improving resilience, i.e. enabling it to maintain or recover acceptable operating levels after flooding is primordial. To achieve this, we must understand how the system works for bringing any potential dysfunctions to light and taking preventive measures. Functional analysis has been used for understanding the complexity of this type of system. The purpose of this article is to show the interest behind this type of method and the limits in its use for improving resilience of waste management system as well as other urban technical systems1, by means of theoretical modelling and its application on a study site. 1In a systemic vision of the city, urban technical systems combine all the user service systems that are essential for the city to operate (electricity, water supplies, transport, sewerage, etc.). These systems are generally organised in the form of networks (Coutard, 2010; CERTU, 2005).

  17. Efficient Assessment of the Environment for Integral Urban Water Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rost, Grit; Londong, Jörg

    2015-04-01

    Introduction: Sustainable water supply and sanitation is fundamental, especially in countries that are also particularly vulnerable to water-related problems. The Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach makes sure that water management is organised in a transdisciplinary way taking into account the river basin, the hydrologic system and the appendant organisation like culture, law and economics. The main objective of IWRM is the sustainable organisation of water resources quality and quantity (GWP and INBO 2009). However there are more important targets in sustainable use of water resources. New sanitation systems are focussing on adding value and maintaining essential resources in circular flow. Focussing on material fluxes can contribute on water quality, food security, sustainable use of renewable energy, adaption on water scarcity and also on rising water and sanitation demand because of rapid urban and suburban growth (Price and Vojinović 2011; Rost et al 2013; Stäudel et al 2014). Problem: There are several planning tools for IWRM as well as for urban water management. But to complete the IWRM approach for the resource oriented concept a systematic assessment tool is missing. The assessment of crucial indicators obviously requires a lot of data from different subjects/disciplines, in different scales of detail and in different accuracy and in data acquisition (Karthe et al 2014). On the one hand there will be data abundance and on the other hand the data can be unavailable or unfeasible for example because of scale and specification(Rost et al 2013). Such a complex integrated concept requires a clearly worked out structure for the way of managing and priority setting. Purpose: To get systematic in the complex planning process the toolbox model is going to develop. The assessment of the environmental screening (one part of the toolbox) is going to be presented in this paper. The first step of assessment leans on the assertion that each of the

  18. Analysis of Best Management Practices Implementation on Water Quality Using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jason Motsinger

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The formation of hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico can be traced to agricultural watersheds in the Midwestern United States that are artificially drained in order to make the land suitable for agriculture. A number of best management practices (BMPs have been introduced to improve the water quality in the region but their relative effectivenss of these BMPs in reducing nutrient load has not been properly quantified. In order to determine the BMPs useful for reducing nutrient discharge from a tile drained watershed, a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT model was calibrated and validated for water flow and nitrate load using experimental data from the Little Vermillion River (LVR watershed in east-central Illinois. Then, the performance of four common BMPs (reduced tillage, cover crop, filter strip and wetlands were evaluated. For BMPs, the usage of rye as cover crop performed the best in reducing nitrate discharge from the watershed as a single BMP, with an average annual nitrate load reduction of 54.5%. Combining no tillage and rye cover crops had varying results over the period simulated, but the average nitrate reduction was better than using rye cover crops with conventional tillage, with the average annual nitrate discharge decreased by 60.5% (an improvement of 13% over rye only.

  19. Nuclear techniques in integrated plant nutrient, water and soil management. Proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2002-04-01

    The need to produce sufficient food of acceptable quality in the context of an ever-expanding human population has been recognized as a priority by several international conventions and agreements. Intensification, rather than expansion of agriculture into new areas, will be required if the goal of food security is to become a reality. Problems related to the sustainable production of food, fuel and fibre, both in low input and in high input agricultural systems, are now widely recognized. The overexploitation of the natural resource base has led to serious declines in soil fertility through loss of organic matter, nutrient mining, and soil erosion. The overuse of external inputs of water and manufactured fertilizers has resulted in salinization and pollution of ground and surface waters. Nuclear science has a crucial role to play in supporting research and development of sustainable farming systems. An FAO/IAEA International Symposium on Nuclear Techniques in Integrated Plant Nutrient, Water and Soil Management, held in Vienna from 16 to 20 October 2000, was attended by 117 participants representing forty-three countries and five organizations. The purpose was to provide an international forum for a comprehensive review of the state of the art and recent advances made in this specific field, as well as a basis for delineating further research and development needs. The participation of soil, crop and environmental scientists, as well as isotope specialists, ensured an exchange of information and views on recent advances in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to addressing problems in sustainable land management. The symposium was organized around seven themes, each represented by a technical session introduced by a keynote speaker: Evaluation and management of natural and manufactured nutrient sources; Soil organic matter dynamics and nutrient cycling; Soil water management and conservation; Plant tolerance to environmental stress; Environmental and

  20. Nuclear techniques in integrated plant nutrient, water and soil management. Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    The need to produce sufficient food of acceptable quality in the context of an ever-expanding human population has been recognized as a priority by several international conventions and agreements. Intensification, rather than expansion of agriculture into new areas, will be required if the goal of food security is to become a reality. Problems related to the sustainable production of food, fuel and fibre, both in low input and in high input agricultural systems, are now widely recognized. The overexploitation of the natural resource base has led to serious declines in soil fertility through loss of organic matter, nutrient mining, and soil erosion. The overuse of external inputs of water and manufactured fertilizers has resulted in salinization and pollution of ground and surface waters. Nuclear science has a crucial role to play in supporting research and development of sustainable farming systems. An FAO/IAEA International Symposium on Nuclear Techniques in Integrated Plant Nutrient, Water and Soil Management, held in Vienna from 16 to 20 October 2000, was attended by 117 participants representing forty-three countries and five organizations. The purpose was to provide an international forum for a comprehensive review of the state of the art and recent advances made in this specific field, as well as a basis for delineating further research and development needs. The participation of soil, crop and environmental scientists, as well as isotope specialists, ensured an exchange of information and views on recent advances in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to addressing problems in sustainable land management. The symposium was organized around seven themes, each represented by a technical session introduced by a keynote speaker: Evaluation and management of natural and manufactured nutrient sources; Soil organic matter dynamics and nutrient cycling; Soil water management and conservation; Plant tolerance to environmental stress; Environmental and