Multicriteria Analysis For Water Productivity in the Jordan Valley

Abstract

Multiple variables associated with agricultural sector, including crop water consumption, salinity tolerance, marketing, evapotranspiration and other factors related to industrial sector, were incorporated into a multi-criteria analysis (MCA). The MCA utilized Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) which resulted in the prioritization of water use for management in the Jordan Valley. The inputs to the MCA were generated through metrological variables for the Jordan Valley for the period 1980 to 1999. Soil data and crop data were evaluated using the EVAPOT program, the KCISA program, and the ISAREG model to estimate reference evapotranspiration, crop coefficiency, crop water requirement, and calculations of water productivity for agricultural and industrial sectors. The results of the MCA make recommendations for enhancing long-term sustainability of water resources in the Jordan Valley, while allowing for water utilization and economic growth. The MCA ranked the date palm as the highest priority crop with respect to the goal of sustainable agricultural use of water. Apparel manufacturing was the most sustainable industry. Overall, the industrial sector seems to perform better with regards to water productivity than the agricultural sector. It can be concluded that the MCA tool and ISAREG model are potentially positive contributions to the process of decision- making for selection and ranking of alternatives for help in solving problems that include conflicting criteria.     

Decision-making criteria and indicators for water and sanitation projects in developing countries

Water and sanitation projects for solving the needs of small communities in developing countries are complex in nature and involve complex decision-making, which must consider technical, socioeconomic and environmental dimensions. Multicriteria analysis (MCA) is a suitable decision-aid method that scores a finite number of options on the basis of a set of evaluation criteria. The main challenge in MCA is choosing the appropriate criteria and evaluation indicators to use for assessment. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive and wide list of criteria and evaluation indicators as a guideline in MCA of water and basic sanitation projects in small rural communities of developing countries. First, the paper details the general criteria to be considered in all the projects, which are classified in to 4 main groups: technical (e.g., local resources use, appropriate management); social (e.g., local community participation, overcoming discrimination of conflict); economic (e.g., low cost, employment of local staff) and environmental criteria (e.g., atmospheric emissions, water pollution). Then, it describes technical criteria to be additionally considered in each specific type of project: water supply (e.g., water needs, independent access), water treatment (e.g., constant resource availability, flexibility of use for different types of water) and basic sanitation projects (e.g., maximum number of people per system, effluent quality).     

Using System Dynamics Method to Determine the Effect of Water Demand Priorities on Downstream Flow

During the past decades, the command and control approaches were used to access a safe water supply policy. However, traditional methods of water management rarely consider complex interactions and outcomes of water allocations which can show their effects in feedback loops. These methods also might deteriorate the situation in long terms as they have not taken into account the outcome of such plans on the future of a watershed as a whole system. Dynamic simulation methods provide flexible tools to accomplish a holistic analysis. This ability of system dynamics method is used in this research to show the feedback of water allocation. Bookan dam is one of the constructed dams in Urmia Lake basin upstream of which four dams are being constructed. Three well known archetypes are shown in this paper that help to recognize the effect of a reservoir water supply on downstream flow. The result of dam construction and water supply priorities on Bookan dam inflow is investigated too. The difference of inflow reduction to Bookan reservoir for the best and worst policies is about 18.4 MCM which is a significant amount. Also the best preference of water demand allocation for four dams was defined as agricultural demand, domestic demand, industrial demand and environmental demand.     

Sustainable Water Management through Flexible Method Management

Water management projects are complex and contain many dimensions, including the nature of the problem, technologicalchallenges, and political relevance. Experts and consultants in water management usually work with a limited set of analysis and project planning methods. This implies that expertsand consultants have a restricted spectrum for bidding on watermanagement projects and that the engagement of a specific expertor consultant introduces a biased approach to water management.To alleviate these limitations, experts and consultants shouldhave a readily accessible collection of analysis and project management methods at their disposal, coupled with guidelinesfor combining these methods to best approach a water managementproject. In this paper we propose a taxonomy for classifying methods used in water management. Using this taxonomy, we derivea Project Management Specification Model (PMSM) to help expertsselect, combine, and operationalize methods to match best therequirements posed by a project. The taxonomy and PMSM were derived and validated by analyzing more than 90 methods togetherwith experts in the field of water management, and by using themwithin two new project proposals made by an engineering company.We could conclude that PMSM's broad view on water managementhelps experts and consultants choose flexible analysis and project management approaches, and that it increases the involvement of, and acceptance by, all parties involved in water management.     

Multi-criteria Decision Making for Integrated Urban Water Management

The city of Zahedan, in South-eastern Iran, has high population growth, limited local freshwater resources and inadequate water distribution system resulting in water supply failures in recent years. This paper will investigate integration of several demand management measures such as leakage detection on water distribution network, water metering and low volume water fixtures as well as the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources of this city. For integration of water management criteria, compromise programming will be used as a multi-objective decision making method. The criteria include minimizing the cost, maximizing water supply and minimizing the social hazards due to the water supply operations. This model will derive optimum long-term plans for implementation of water resources. The results will show that demand management can delay a water transfer project for Zahedan city up to 10 years. Compromise programming is as an efficient tool for integrated water resources management in urban areas and the method is capable to being used by decision-makers in other cases.     

Distance Learning in Support of Water Resources Management: An Online Course on Decision Support Systems in River Basin Management

This paper presents the conceptualisation, design and implementation of an online course on the topic of Decision Support Systems in River Basin Management. The need for development of such a course has been recognised, as activities in the field of water resources planning and management increasingly depend on decision support methods such as simulation, optimisation and Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA). The online learning approach is particularly needed for continuous professional development and life-long learning of professionals active in this field, and especially for those coming from developing countries. The course was developed and implemented following the competence-based learning approach, supported by the EU FP 7 educational research project named TenCompetence, which also provided the learning platform for deploying and delivering the course. The paper presents the course design, implementation and evaluation by the course participants, with special focus on the course content and the developed learning resources. Participants’ evaluations show high appreciation for the course, but they also highlight areas for future improvements.     

可持续水资源管理量化研究的关键问题

“可持续水资源管理”是当今世界水问题研究的热点之一 [1 ] 。目前 ,国际上对可持续水资源管理的研究还处在对量化研究的积极探索阶段。由于可持续水资源管理量化研究涉及的内容广泛、许多基础问题还没有完全解决 ,使得可持续水资源管理量化研究方法还很不成熟。本文在总结前期研究成果的基础上 ,探讨了目前研究的几个关键问题 ,即准则问题、指标体系问题、基础模型问题、量化方法问题     

Systemic Input-Output Computation of Green and Blue Virtual Water ‘Flows’ with an Illustration for the Mediterranean Region

The term virtual water refers to the volume of water used in the production of a commodity or service. Accordingly, virtual water ??trade?? is the amount of water ??embedded?? in commodities being transferred from one place to another as a consequence of trade. This paper argues that the conventional methods so far adopted for the computation of virtual water ??flows?? (based on Hoekstra and Hung 2002) have considered only direct water usage and not sufficiently distinguished between blue and green water resources. This has brought about flawed estimates of virtual water ??flows??, thereby limiting the usefulness of the virtual water concept as a tool for informing water policy. A novel approach for computing virtual water ??flows?? which applies the Input?Coutput (IO) methodology to account for both direct and indirect water consumption, and simultaneously distinguishes between the different typologies of water, is presented. The study upholds that the integration of these two methods can not only provide a more robust framework for quantifying virtual water ??flows??, but also enhance the relevance of the concept as a tool for water resource management policy. The implications of these alternative estimation methods are here illustrated using data referring to 11 Mediterranean economies and 7 internationally traded agricultural commodities.     

防洪调度及水资源管理数据挖掘系统研究

采用美国SAS数据挖掘软件,在对我国防洪调度及水资源管理需求详尽分析的基础上,探索了数据挖掘技术在防洪调度及水资源管理方面的应用理论、方法及技术;研究了商品化数据挖掘软件与防洪调度及水资源管理需求相结合的具体方法,建立了太湖流域和中央节点的防洪调度和水资源管理数据仓库系统;分析研究了数据应用的基本模式,提出了数据挖掘的主题,运用SAS数据挖掘套件建立了基于数据仓库的防洪调度及水资源管理数据挖掘系统。     

基于作物耗水定额控制的灌溉管理模型

海河流域水资源供需矛盾突出,其中农业灌溉所占用水量和耗水量比例最大,而其水分利用效率相对偏低,因此节水潜力较大,为合理调控区域灌溉用水,本文将田间试验观测为基础的灌溉节水理论和方法与遥感数据反演区域耗水(ET)的点面优势相结合,提出了基于作物耗水定额管理的农业灌溉管理模型,通过控制区域上的作物耗水量分布,促进区域灌溉水资源的合理调配和利用,实现资源性节水。模型主要功能包括遥感反演数据统计分析、区域耗水目标分解、作物ET定额分配、种植结构调整、节水潜力分析以及净灌溉需水量估算。可实现从区域综合耗水控制目标向主要作物ET定额的分解,并转化为灌溉用水管理中可控制的灌溉定额,通过逐年设置主要作物的ET控制定额和种植结构情景方案,分析区域的节水潜力,消除奢侈耗水,实现不同水文年和耗水控制阶段目标下的灌溉定额管理,为区域灌溉水管理提供技术支持。     

最佳管理措施及其在非点源污染控制中的应用

在非点源污染控制中,最佳管理措施(BMPs)采用工程与非工程相结合的分散式综合控制体系,能适应非点源污染的复杂性特点,已在美国、加拿大等成功应用。介绍BMPs的基本概念和非点源污染控制中的BMPs,包括污染源管理、农业用地管理和城市土地规划管理等非工程性BMPs以及滞留式、渗透式、过滤式和生物式等工程性BMPs,提出我国应以建立雨水排放管理制度为重点,推广应用BMPs。     

IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN COMPLEX WATER RESOURCES SYSTEMS – CASE STUDY: THE DUERO RIVER BASIN,SPAIN

European river basin authorities are responsible for the implementation of the new river basin management plans in accordance with the European Water Framework Directive. This paper presents a new methodology framework and approach to define and evaluate environmental flow regimes in the realistic complexities that exist with multiple water resource needs at a basin scale. This approach links river basin simulation models and habitat time series analysis to generate ranges of environmental flows (e‐flows), which are evaluated by using habitat, hydropower production and reliability of water supply criteria to produce best possible alternatives. With the use of these tools, the effects of the proposed e‐flows have been assessed to help in the consultation process. The possible effects analysed are impacts on water supply reliability, hydropower production and aquatic habitat. After public agreements, a heuristic optimization process was applied to maximize e‐flows and habitat indicators, while maintaining a legal level of reliability for water resource demands. The final optimal e‐flows were considered for the river basin management plans of the Duero river basin. This paper demonstrates the importance of considering quantitative hydrologic and ecological aspects of e‐flows at the basin scale in addressing complex water resource systems. This approach merges standard methods such as physical habitat simulations and time series analyses for evaluating alternatives, with recent methods to simulate and optimize water management alternatives in river networks. It can be integrated with or used to complement other frameworks for e‐flow assessments such as the In‐stream Flow Incremental Methodology and Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Model-based knowledge acquisition in environmental decision support system for wastewater integrated management

The main goal of the Water Framework Directive is to achieve good chemical and ecological status of water bodies by 2015. The implementation of integrated river basin management, including sewer systems, wastewater treatment plants and receiving water bodies, is essential to accomplishing this objective. Integrated management is complex and therefore the implementation of control systems and the development of decision support systems are needed to facilitate the work of urban wastewater system (UWS) managers. Within this context, the objective of this paper is to apply integrated modelling of an UWS to simulate and analyse the behaviour of the 'Congost' UWS in Spain, and to optimize its performance against different types of perturbations. This analysis results in optimal operating set-points for each perturbation, improves river water quality, minimizes combined sewer overflows and optimizes flow lamination from storm water tanks. This is achieved by running Monte Carlo simulations and applying global sensitivity analysis. The set-points will become part of the knowledge base composed of a set of IF-THEN rules of the environmental decision support system being developed for this case study.     

Commentary

This paper presents an urban water management framework consisting of six requisites for effective water management identified based on a literature review: source water protection; stormwater management; water conservation; water pricing; wetland conservation; and drought management. The objective was to test the requisite framework in three Canadian urban centres within a region of increasing water stress, the Canadian Prairie. The findings point to variable water management efficiency across the study region and to requisite selection being regionally dependent. A common set of requisites may not be suitable for all urban regions when attempting to assess effective urban water management.     

简析水情自动测报系统的管理和维护

随着世界各国对水利事业的日益重视和科技的不断进步,水情自动测报系统在我国水文、防汛和水库调度领域也得到了广泛的应用。为了使其有效发挥作用,对系统进行日常管理和维护就显得十分重要。文章结合实践,主要就系统运行过程中的管理和维护方法,以及系统发生故障时如何分析、判断和处理进行了经验总结,有助于系统更好地发挥作用。     

Pipe Networks Risk Assessment Based on Survival Analysis

Integrated management of pipe networks should include methods for monitoring, repairing and replacing deteriorating components (usually pipes), but also methods and everyday operating practices towards a proactive risk assessment approach in order to give a solid answer to the unavoidable “repair or replace” dilemma. The present paper attempts to check whether the Discriminant Analysis and Classification (DAC) method can be used to achieve the above mentioned goals and predict the future behaviour of network pipes. Three pipe networks carrying different types of fluids (oil; gas; and water) are used as case studies. For each case study network, the DAC method is used to classify the pipes into two groups (failures/successes), based on simple variables (pipe/network characteristics) and dimensionless joint ones. Several scenarios are being analysed for each case. The results for the two cases of oil and gas networks are very satisfying. The implementation of the DAC method to water pipe networks needs to overcome serious problems related to the quality, reliability and compatibility of the data records provided by the Water Utilities. In this paper, these shortcomings are faced combining field data with theoretical one. Also the distinction between what “failure” and “success” actually mean in a water pipe network has to be determined. The present study uses the total water volume being lost as a definition criterion.     

基于聚类分析方法的节水型社会分区研究

 南水北调东、中线一期工程受水区39个城市的经济社会发展水平、水资源禀赋、用水效率、节水型社会建设现状等条件各不相同,其节水型社会建设模式也有一定差异。以受水区城市2005年统计资料为依据,引入聚类分析方法研究受水区城市节水型社会建设分区。分区结果作为受水区节水型社会管理模式研究典型城市及节水型社会建设试点的选择依据。     

陕北地区石油开采理论用水定额研究

陕西省石油开采主要集中在陕西北部的延安、榆林两市(陕北地区),石油开采量约占全国总量的13.4%,水资源利用量较大,为贯彻落实最严格水资源管理制度和建设节水型社会,有必要对陕北地区石油开采用水定额进行研究。本文采用物质平衡法和注采比法进行理论分析和实例计算,研究表明：在特定条件下,两种方法计算结果基本相同;同时考虑辅助生产用水和附属生产用水两部分时,得出的陕北地区石油开采用水定额与采用传统的企业用水平衡分析法计算的结果基本一致;陕北地区石油开采用水定额最终确定为2.0m³/t,与陕西省目前执行的石油开采用水定额(3.0m³/t)相比较,可节水33.3%。研究结果可用来指导陕北地区水资源管理和约束石油开采行业严格执行节水措施,缓解区域水资源短缺矛盾。     

A New Integrated MADM Technique Combined with ANP,FTOPSIS and Fuzzy Max-Min Set Method for Evaluating Water Transfer Projects

In sustainable water resources management, it is essential to rank inter-basin water transfer projects. This task is difficult due to many different conflict criteria, complex relations among criteria and various judgments of decision makers. In this paper, an integrated multiple attribute group decision making method consists of ANP (Analytical Network Process), fuzzy TOPSIS and fuzzy max-min set methods is proposed for evaluating water transfer projects. A set of over 60 criteria in social, environmental and economic sectors are used for ranking four water transfer projects in Karun River based on three decision maker judgments. A key novelty of the proposed methodology is its ability to model both complex relations among different criteria in water management and the influence of decision maker judgments’ weights on the final ranking in group decision making problem. The procedure starts by obtaining the priority of water transfer projects and the weight of each decision maker judgments by employing ANP and fuzzy TOPSIS, respectively. These weights are used as inputs in the fuzzy max-min set method. Then the effects of decision maker weights on the final ranking are determined in fuzzy environment. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of decision makers’ weights has been conducted. The results show that the proposed method is an effective tool for group decision making problems by considering different criteria and decision makers’ weights.     

考虑气象协变量的非一致性设计枯水流量研究

研究非一致性条件下枯水流量设计值对流域水资源管理具有重要意义,然而如今常用的时变矩法推求出的每年一个设计值很难用于实际。选取渭河流域实测枯水流量序列作为实例进行研究,将气象协变量引入到枯水流量频率分析,结合重现期的期望超过次数(Expected Number of Exceedances, ENE)概念推求非一致性条件下枯水流量设计值,并与传统以时间为协变量的情况进行比较。结果表明:2种协变量情况下非一致性设计枯水流量相比于一致性结果存在明显差别,且以气温和降水为协变量的非一致性设计结果相比于时间为协变量更为合理。研究所得设计结果可为流域枯水期水资源管理提供一定参考依据。