Integrating Stakeholders’ Preferences into Water Resources Management Planning in the Incomati River Basin

Stakeholder participation is a key principle of the integrated water resources management. It is a central issue in planning and decision making processes for the development of suitable water resources management strategies at the river basin level. This study tests a methodology for identifying stakeholders’ preferences regarding water resources management objectives, to incorporate them in the design of water resources management plans at the river basin level. The empirical application of this study focused in Mozambique, on the Incomati river basin. This research applies the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to evaluate stakeholders’ involvement and participation in the selection of water resources management plans. This research revealed that there are heterogeneities in stakeholders’ individual groups preferences regarding water resources management objectives and the management options of their satisfaction. Furthermore it revealed the potential utility of the AHP methodological framework in facilitating stakeholders’ participation and involvement in planning and decision-making processes for the development of water resources management plans. The application of this approach may improve water governance at the river basin level through higher commitments of stakeholders to the proposed objectives.     

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.     

XI World Water Congress of IWRA “Water Resources Management in the 21st Century”

Abstract

Stochastic Dynamic Programming and Deterministic Dynamic Programming techniques are used in this study to optimize a reservoir system under a max-min type of objective function to maximize the on-peak firm energy generation. This paper shows that SDP is not appropriate for the optimization as it significantly overestimates the firm energy targets while DDP resulted in very reasonable on-peak firm energy targets. An advantage of this objective function under DDP optimization is that it facilitates the sequential optimization of complex reservoir systems and successfully avoids the problem of dimensionality. The local optimum achieved by the sequential optimization is comparable with the global optimum. Implicit stochastic schemes are used to incorporate the stochastic behavior of the system in optimization. Simulation of the system with the optimum on-peak firm energy targets and synthetic flow series have resulted in high reliabilities for targets from DDP while those from SDP are very low.     

Combined Use of Local and Global Hydro Meteorological Data with Hydrological Models for Water Resources Management in the Magdalena - Cauca Macro Basin – Colombia

Water Resources Management - Reanalysis and earth observation data have enormous potential to support water resources management, particularly in river basins where data availability is poor or...     

Water Resources Development in the SãTo Francisco River Basin (Brazil): Conflicts and Management Perspectives

Abstract

Water scarcity is matter of growing concern in Brazil, especially in the semi-arid, inland area of the Northeast, where the São Francisco River flows. This paper concentrates on the relations between the concrete experience of water resources development and the remaining demands for efficient water management in that river basin. The emphasis is on its Sub-Middle section, which since 1948 has been the preferential area for irrigation projects and hydropower generation. Recent modifications in the Brazilian legislation provide for a new approach to water resources policy, which is in favor of more decentralized and proactive forms of water management. In spite of such institutional evolution, conservative political groups in the SãTo Francisco River Basin have put obstacles before the transformation of established practices. In addition, there are other structural limitations contributing to hinder the adoption of a more comprehensive framework of water management. Resulting water conflicts have raised increasing demands for proper attention to the social, economic and environmental requirements of the sustainable management of water. The requisites for that go beyond the water question itself because they involve broader political and socio-economic controversies. At the local level, priority must be given to measures aimed at achieving water efficiency and conservation. It is fundamental to address the reduction of human vulnerability to climatic risks and to adopt alternatives of better utilization of water resources     

Challenge and Perspective of Yangtze River Basin Water Resources Protection

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Groundwater Demand Management in the Great Lakes Basin—Directions for New Policies

Demand-side management should be used to maximize the efficiency of groundwater use. Implementation of conservation measures would decrease the volume of water use and also exert less pressure on the water distribution system as well as the wastewater treatment system. Allocation of ground water in the Great Lakes basin must conform to priorities established at the community level. Groundwater pricing should reflect the full costs arising from ground water use. A differential pricing structure would help conserve water in the residential and industrial sectors. A user-friendly database on ground water use, quality and quantity for the entire Great Lakes basin is also essential. New policies for sustainable groundwater allocation, regulating water prices for water conservation, conservation education, pollution prevention, recycling and reuse of water as well as effective information management provide new directions for managing the groundwater demand in the Great Lakes basin.     

Special Issue on Water Resources Construction in the Development of the West

General Thoughts on Water Resources Devel-opment In Western Regions In order to realize the objective of having abreakthrough in construction of infrastructure facilitiesand ecological environment, Ministry of Water Re-sources has proposed the Guiding Principles of WaterResources Development in West Regions as follows:     

Modeling Water Resources and River-Aquifer Interaction in the Júcar River Basin,Spain

The paper presents how to solve some practical problems of water planning in a medium/large river basin, such as: the water resources assessment and its spatial-temporal variability over the long-short term, the impact of human activities on the water cycle, due to groundwater pumping and water returns into aquifers, the river-aquifer interactions and the aquifer depletion. It is based on the use of a new monthly conceptual distributed water balance model -PATRICAL- that includes the surface water (SW), groundwater (GW) behavior and the river-aquifer interaction. The model is applied to the Júcar River Basin District (RBD) in Spain (43,000 km²), with more than 250 aquifers, including catchments with humid climates (Júcar RBD northern), semiarid and arid catchments (southern). The model has a small number of parameters and obtains a satisfactory performance in SW and GW behavior. It has been calibrated/validated using monthly streamflows and two additional elements not generally used in models for large river basins, GW levels and river-aquifer interactions. In the hydrological time series of the Júcar RBD headers a statistical change point in the year 1979/80 is detected. It is due to changes in precipitation patterns and represents a 40 % of reduction in streamflows in relation with the previous period. The impact of GW pumping in all aquifers is determined, the ‘Mancha Oriental’ aquifer produces a significant reduction in streamflows of the Júcar river –around 200–250 hm³/year. The GW level in the ‘Villena-Benejama’ aquifer -Vinalopo Valley- has declined more than 200 m in last 30 years.     

Cost–Effectiveness Analysis of Water Management Measures in Two River Basins of Jordan and Lebanon

Chekka Bay area and Amman Zarqa Basin are two complex river basins in northern Lebanon and northern Jordan respectively. Both regions are faced with growing populations, urban development and land-use changes. They also both suffer from water-resource scarcity and contrasted seasons that threaten the perennity of sufficient water supply. Decision makers may have several water-management measures in response to the issue of water deficiency in their regions, but they need simple methods and criteria for ranking the alternatives with respect to their economical efficiency. In this paper, the Cost–Effectiveness Analysis method is used for supporting decisions to optimally combine water management measures at the river basin scale. Hydrologic and socio-economic data are used for assessing the future water balance and determine the sustainable management objectives. Both supply- and demand-side measures are investigated and compared. The analysis is based on two basic metrics to assess cost–effectiveness ratios: the average annualized and the marginal (or incremental) unit cost. The results show that the cost–effectiveness ranking of alternative measures strongly depends on the selected metric. The average annualized unit cost systematically favours large scaled water measures with high costs while the average incremental unit cost facilitates the selection of smaller and costless measures reflecting the time preference for water supply.     

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.     

Priorities and Preferences in Water Quality Management - a Case Study of the Alsterån River Basin

Sweden is a decentralised country where local managers, who are key actors in water management, often deal with relatively difficult prioritisations, tradeoffs and conflicting goals. Many of these challenges relate to the effective implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive. As an input to these challenges, the present paper elicits and analyses local and semi-local citizens’ preferences for water quality attributes related to the European Water Framework directive in a river basin located in southeast of Sweden. Based on a choice experiment tailored to the case study area, the paper analyses preferences for selected attributes based on real criteria for ecological water status in the implementation of the directive. The target population lives in the municipalities through which the river passes, or in municipalities neighbouring those. Despite this spatial proximity to the river, the analysis reveals limited knowledge and interest in matters related to the environmental quality of the river. There is no evidence that preferences differ between respondents with regard to experience or knowledge about the water basin, nor with regard to recreational habits in the area. These results offer input to local water management by providing information about preferences for explicit water quality attributes.

     

The Sustainable Utilization of Lake Resources in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River

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Evaluation of the Bankruptcy Approach for Water Resources Allocation Conflict Resolution at Basin Scale,Iran’s Lake Urmia Experience

Water conflicts appear when there are insufficient and less available water resources than water demands claimed by different agents. In this study, a new bankruptcy approach is investigated to resolve water conflicts in the Zarrinehroud River Basin, the largest and most important sub-basin of Lake Urmia’s Basin in the northwest of Iran. The new bankruptcy method is compared with the proportional rule (PRO) and another alternative based on the cessation of irrigated agriculture in the region proposed to supply and save environmentally in danger Lake Urmia. Four scenarios consisting of the current situation, optimistic, average and pessimistic scenarios regarding the future of water resources of the basin and agricultural developments were considered. According to the results, both bankruptcy rules helped Lake Urmia to receive more water, but neither could utterly overcome the water shortage of the Lake, so can be used as supplementary actions alongside other solutions. The cessation of irrigated agriculture throughout the basin overcame the average annual shortage of Lake Urmia in the first and second scenarios equal to 137 and 148 million cubic meters respectively. It showed disability to fully supply the lake in the third and fourth scenarios. These three methods must be combined with a social-economic policy like the purchase of decreased water allocations to farmers to be socially acceptable.     

Water Balance of Zhangdu Lake in Yangtze River Basin

1 IntroductionIn the central Yangtze Basin in China ,there were thou-sands of large lakes .In the past , most of them were naturallyconnected with rivers ,such as the Yangtze ,but gradually losttheir hydrological and biological linkages due to both natura…     

风轮机技术发展浅谈-ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management

由于现代技术的发展，风力设计已经取得长足进步。从1980年以来，由于空气动力学、结构力学和“微型仪表学”的发展，使得涡轮机的发电量以每年5％的速度递增。目前的研究技术正在生产出功率更大、重量更轻、效率更高的涡轮机叶片。在过去几年内，涡轮机的单机年发电量大幅度提高，而涡轮机的重量和噪音却降为原来的一半。现代风轮机的使用已在生产和运用方面积累了许多经验，     

Comparison of Interpolation Methods for the Prediction of Reference Evapotranspiration—An Application in Greece

The objective of this paper is to evaluate four interpolation methods, concerning their suitability for spatial prediction of long-term mean daily reference evapotranspiration (calculated by Penman–Monteith equation) for each month in Greece. The methods studied were ordinary kriging (OK) and inverse distance squared (IDS) and their modifications in which elevation data was incorporated into the interpolation process. The modified methods were named residual kriging (RK), and gradient-plus-inverse distance squared (GIDS). Apart from interpolation methods, two different approaches were studied in order to define what the proper sequence of steps is in the case of the interpolation of reference evapotranspiration. More particularly the ‘calculate first, interpolate later’ (CI) procedure was compared to the reverse procedure, namely ‘interpolate first, calculate later’ (IC). The assessment criteria of the methods accuracy were: mean error (ME), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE). The results revealed that the incorporation of elevation significantly improved the performance of interpolation methods. On the contrary, procedures CI and IC were very similar since they had no effect on the performance of the four interpolation methods studied.