Does Water Efficiency Reduce Water Consumption? The Economy-Wide Water Rebound Effect

Water Resources Management - Governments stimulate efficiency measures to save water resources, particularly in areas with high water stress and those that experience droughts. However, economic...     

From Water Poverty to Water Prosperity—A More Participatory Approach to Studying Local Water Resources Management

The Water Poverty Index (WPI), a tool designed for integrated analysis of water issues, was set-up in a community in Madhya Pradesh, India through a transparent and participatory process. Though the aim of the WPI is to primarily use existing statistical data, quantitative information from census and local records was combined with qualitative data from community interviews and participatory exercises. The inclusion of community chosen indicators and the adjustment of values so that higher numbers represent water prosperity rather than water poverty, led to the Water Prosperity Index (WPI⁺). The WPI?⁺?score was contrasted with the WPI at community level. It was also calculated for two community areas with different caste and socio-economic characteristics and weighted separately according to water issues prioritized by men and women. The WPI?⁺?revealed a great difference in water access between the two areas and in prioritized issues between men and women illustrating the importance of appropriate spatial representation and gender sensitive assessments for revealing important disparities. Results also showed that highly aggregated data hide these differences making it more difficult to target the most vulnerable groups when planning measures to increase equitable water allocation. While quantitative data reveal an important perspective of the water situation, qualitative data about adequacy of resources, services or institutions, improve understanding of which issues to prioritize. A valid and useful community water index must be based on representative participation, transparency and local influence on the methodology and subsequent results.     

Rethinking the Concepts of Virtual Water and Water Footprint in Relation to the Production–Consumption Binomial and the Water–Energy Nexus

In the field of Ecological Economics, the need of using physical indicators to analyse economic processes, at the same time they serve as tools in decision making, has been lately highlighted. Virtual Water (VW) and Water Footprint (WF) are two useful indicators in achieving this objective, the first one from the perspective of production, the second one from that of consumption. This difference between them is interesting inasmuch as it allows to identify the subjects who are responsible for water consumption, whether producers or consumers, and proves both indicators’ potential when designing water management policies. In this work, we consider a hypothesis according to which there is a clear difference between the two concepts—Virtual Water and Water Footprint—and this difference, although evident in their respective conceptualizations, is not reflected in their estimations and applications. This is true to the point that the two concepts are often used as synonyms, thus wasting the enormous potential associated to their difference. Starting from this hypothesis, our objective is, first of all, to highlight this evident but ignored difference between VW and WF through a deep and thorough literature review of the conceptual definitions and contributions, the methodologies developed and the applications made regarding the two concepts. Second, we intend to make a conceptual and methodological proposition aimed at underlining the differences already mentioned and to identify responsibilities in water consumption. We do it by broadening the context of analysis and by integrating the production–consumption binomial and water–energy nexus.     

Water Resources Allocation Considering the Water Use Flexible Limit to Water Shortage—A Case Study in the Yellow River Basin of China

Water resources allocation in a river basin is customarily determined based on long-term mean water availability. However, inter-annual variability of water resources caused by climate fluctuation should also be considered in order to keep an effective and flexible allocation policy. This paper analyzes the historical evolution of the water resources allocation system in the Yellow River basin of China. Based on the concept of water use flexible limit to water shortage and actual water use data from 1988–2006, a set of flexible limits to water shortage adapted to the Yellow River basin has been proposed. This includes total water use flexible limit to water shortage for all provinces, which is approximately 70%; and the different water use flexible limits to water shortage for each social sector, which are approximately 90% for agriculture, 85% for domestic use, and 50% for other industries. It offers a simple, yet effective, method for future water resources allocation in the Yellow River basin to achieve the optimal use of water resources. It likewise provides a beneficial reference for water resources management in the water deficient regions of China.     

Modelling Sectorally Differentiated Water Prices - Water Preservation and Welfare Gains Through Price Reform?

This study simulates the economy-wide effects of introducing new water pricing systems in Israel. A Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, STAGE_W, is used that includes multiple water commodities produced from different water resources. The current water pricing scheme supplies potable water to municipalities at fees above the supply costs and subsidizes water delivered to the agricultural and the manufacturing sectors. Due to limited freshwater resources, climate change and population growth, water scarcity is an increasing problem in Israel. Therefore, pricing systems which lead to a more efficient allocation of water are intensely debated. This study analyzes two alternative pricing schemes under discussion in Israel: price liberalization, which unifies the prices for all potable water consumers at cost recovery rates, and marginal pricing that lifts the potable water price to the cost of desalination. Both schemes reduce water demand with limited economic costs. Price liberalization is the more favourable option from a national welfare perspective, while marginal pricing allows for larger water savings and, in the long run, independence from fresh water resources.     

河海大学Water Science and Engineering创刊

国家新闻出版总署日前正式批复，同意河海大学创办英文期刊Water Science and Engineering（水科学与水工程）。该刊为季刊，面向国内外公开发行，国内统一连续出版物号为：CN32—1785／TV。     

Water Resources ＆ Hydropower of Northeast

Construction diversion design of lower reservoir dam for Pushihe pumped storage power station
WANG Fu-yun, FENG Ji-xin, WANG Fu-qiang, KUANG Qi-bing [Abstract] The lower reservoir dam of Pushihe pumped storage power station is the concrete dam, which is composed by the 7 holes desilting gates and retaining dam section. The construction flood mostly concentrated in July and August, has the typical features of peak with rising and dropping steeply in northeast mountain rivers. The stage diversion mode is adopted for the construction of lower reservoir dam, main riverbed sluicing in the first-phase construction and overflow cofferdam retaining water and dam diversion bottom oudet drainage in the second-phase construction. The paper introduces the diversion design of the lower reservoir construction for the Pushihe pumped storage power station, briefly discusses the diversion standards, the diversion mode and the arrangement of the diversion structures combinning with the choice of the construction period. [Key words] construction diversion; diversion mode; diversion standards; diversion structures arrangement     

Relative Effects of Water Temperature and Water Chemistry on the Fish of the Thames Tideway

1 IntroductionThe Tidal Thames is a well mixed estuary stretching some140 km from Teddington to the North Sea , which provideshabitats for both resident and migrant fish species . With tidalwater enteringfromthe ocean and fresh water flowingfromtheland ,t…     

Water Resources ＆ Hydropower of Northeast

Numerical simulation calculation of hydraulic transition process in free-flow tunnel;Discussion on frost heave mechanical model of canal with U shape concrete lining;Discussion on influence of construction method of crushing side wall to face slab stressing;Application of flood classification forecast in flood control operation of Qinghe reservoir     

Virtual Water in Global Food and Water Policy Making: Is There a Need for Rethinking?

The argument that economies that face acute water scarcity problems can and should meet their water demand for food through cereal imports from water-rich countries; and that virtual water trade can be used to achieve water securities has become dominant in global water discussions. Analysis of country level data on renewable freshwater availability and net virtual water trade of 146 nations across the world shows that a country's virtual water trade is not determined by its water situation. Some countries have the advantage of high “economic efficiency” in food production and have surplus water, but resort to food import, whereas some water scarce countries achieve high virtual water trade balances. Further analysis with a set of 131 countries showed that virtual water trade increased with increase in gross cropped area. This is because of two reasons: First, when access to arable land increases, the ability to utilize available blue water for irrigation increases. Second, increasing access to arable land improves the access to water held in the soil profile as “free good”, a factor not taken into account in assessing water availability. Hence, many of the humid, water-rich countries will not be in a position to produce surplus food and feed the water scarce nations; and virtual water often flows out of water-poor, land rich countries to land-poor water-rich countries. This means that “distribution of scarcity” and “global water use efficiency”, are goals that are difficult to achieve through virtual water trade in a practical sense. For a water-poor, but land rich country, virtual water import offer little scope as a sound water management strategy as what is often achieved through virtual water trade is improved “global land use efficiency”. The important policy inferences emerging from the analyses are two: First, assessing the food security challenges posed to nations in future purely from a water resource perspective provides a distorted view of the food security scenario. National policies on food security should take into account “access to arable land” apart from water availability. Second, analysis of water challenges posed by nations purely from the point of view of renewable water availability and aggregate demands will be dangerous. Access to water in the soil profile, which is determined by access to arable land, would be an important determinant of effective water availability.     

The First Announcement of 2ndInternational Symposium of Water Disaster Mitigation and Water Environment Regulation

Dear Colleagues,I am delighted to announce the 2^ndInternational Symposium of Water Disaster Mitigation and Water Environment Regulation(WDWE2021).to be held at Sichuan University,Chengdu,from July 7^thto 9^th,2021.The first symposium was successfully held.by Sichuan University in 2019,to provide a platform for global academic exchanges on the scientific effort in disaster loss reduction and ecological restoration associated with the more frequent urban and rural flooding.     

Surveillance of Drinking Water Quality for Safe Water Supply—A Case Study from Shillong,India

To ascertain the quality of drinking water being supplied and maintained, it is necessary to conduct water quality surveillance for evolving suitable strategy for future planning. In the present investigation, water quality was monitored in treatment plants, service reservoirs, and at consumer ends in three seasons to assess the baseline water quality status at Shillong in Meghalaya. There are three water treatment plants at Shillong namely Umkhen, Mawlai and GSWS with design capacities of 1.5, 3.4 and 34 Million liter per day (MLD) respectively. Each treatment plant is having rapid sand filtration followed by disinfection. The study reveals that the physico-chemical parameters of water quality at consumer end meets Indian drinking water quality standards (BIS 1991) after conventional treatment followed by disinfection, whereas the bacteriological parameters for raw water sources exceed the permissible limit indicating the treatment need for drinking purposes. Throughout year the average feacal coliform contamination at service reservoir and to consumer end were found as 44 to 156 CFU/100 ml which may be attributed to the general management practices for maintenance of service reservoirs and the possibility of en route contamination.     

Water Managers’ Boundary Judgments and Adaptive Water Governance. An Analysis of the Dutch Haringvliet Sluices Case

In this paper, we explore how managing actors’ boundary judgments influence the adaptability of water governance. We approach this question by examining the relationship between the way water managers frame, and act in, complex water issues on the one hand and develop adaptive water governance strategies on the other. We define four categories of boundary judgments made by water managers in order to deal with the complexities in water governance issues. An in-depth case study analysis of an attempt to adjust the management of the water regime in the south-west Delta of the Netherlands is provided in order to reconstruct the water managers’ boundary judgments and their impact upon governance strategies used. We found that, most of the time, the water managers involved predominantly made tight boundary judgments. These tight boundary judgments seemed to hamper the mutual learning process among a variety of stakeholders that is needed to realize adaptive water governance. We argue that wide boundary judgments enhance the chance of realizing adaptive practices and build upon exploration, learning, and connection.     

Analysis of Storm Water Runoff Impact on Water Quality of Dishui Lake in New Harbour Town, Shanghai

1 IntroductionThe Shanghai Municipality Government is planning a har-bour town,on the coast southeast of Shanghai , will be one ofprospective . The city centre of the new harbour town will be amixedland-use catchment with residential ,commercial ,and e-du…