Implications of excessive water withdrawals to the environment of Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus (NC) is at the cutting edge of complete salinization of freshwater resources. In spite of some precautions taken to reduce seawater intrusion of the groundwater resources, the contamination had increased up to brackish water attribute in the coastal aquifers. The Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management (IWRM) system was introduced as a powerful tool in order to identify water consumption in the country. To perform the future forecast, it is necessary to determine the water needs at the present time; thus, this research analysed the present and historical water budget of the country under normal and drought conditions. The calculations were extended to future forecasting of water needs considering different scenarios for the country. The results obtained were grouped into monthly, sector wise and regional consumptions. The water extractions are linked to the available water amounts, and the water deficiencies in the aquifers were revealed. A rough economical analysis of new water resources was also performed. Conclusions and recommendations are provided to guide scientists, engineers and stakeholders for the future studies and evaluations.     

Water governance and the quality of water services in the city of Melbourne

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) was reviewed in the city of Melbourne. Melbourne performs well and shows a good level of commitment to sustainable solutions. The city scores highly in areas such as water efficiency, wastewater efficiency, i.e., energy recovery, and climate change commitments related to heat and water scarcity. Nearly 30% of houses in Melbourne have installed rainwater tanks and plans to increase the use of stormwater have recently been published. Energy efficiency of buildings, nutrient recovery (especially phosphate) from wastewater, as well as sewage sludge recycling are topics for improvement. A transparent governance structure has been set up in a reaction to the ‘Millennium Drought’ and success has come from many organizations working together to a common goal. This is the secret of Melbourne’s success and can be used as an example for other cities in the world.     

Integrated Catchment Modelling as a Water Resources Management Tool

Groundwater models are becoming increasingly important in water resources management. Most aquifers in the UK are closely linked with river systems, to which they contribute baseflow from seepages and springs. As a result, major groundwater abstractions almost inevitably affect river flows. To assess with confidence the effect of utilizing ground-water resources, an aquifer and river system has to be linked within an integrated model which can simulate varying hydrogeological conditions throughout the catchment.
The main features of an integrated catchment management model, which links aquifer and river systems, are described in this paper. The model has been applied to a number of catchments in southern England including the River Darent in Kent, which is probably the most well-known and worst-affected of all rivers identified nationally as suffering from over-abstraction.
The process of model preparation and calibration is illustrated with reference to the River Darent. Twenty years of river flow and groundwater hydrograph records were used in producing a close simulation of modelled and actual hydrological conditions. The model was then operated to assess a large number of possible options for restoring flows to the river. Examples of various management strategy simulations are given, leading to formulation of a water resources management plan for the Darent. This involved (a) reductions in selected abstractions, (b) flow augmentation using river support boreholes, and (c) meeting peak groundwater supply demands in drought periods.     

Water issues in Kuwait: a future sustainable vision

Kuwait, an arid country, has an acute lack of natural groundwater resources, an increasing demand for water supply, but no clear plan for water management. On this basis, a future water crisis will be inevitable. This paper offers proposals that could lead to the sustainable management of water resources in Kuwait. The objective should be less the increase of supply than the improvement of its reliability and quality. The establishment of a unified water authority is desirable.     

Water resources management in the Jordan River Basin

The Jordan River Basin is under great hydric stress. Increases in population and agricultural demand are contributing to the closure of the basin. This paper analyses the results of integrated water resources planning model (WEAP) by studying the vulnerability of water resources in the lower Jordan River under a changing climate pattern and growing water demands. Water balance models show that all aquifers supplying the city of Amman will be depleted within the next few decades. Mitigation measures should include the introduction of additional water into the basin through the Red Sea–Dead Sea canal, in addition to demand management measures such as water conservation and increase in irrigation efficiency. The findings of this study would provide a useful guide to the co‐riparians for policy formulation, decision making and dispute resolution. Cooperation among the five riparian countries may be improved by building a Geographic Information System (GIS) database that provides access to accurate data for hydrological analysis.     

Praxisorientierter Ansatz zur kartographischen Darstellung von Karst-Grundwasserressourcen

In spite of their abundant water resources, in Switzerland as well as in other countries, the location and extent of karst aquifers have not yet been systematically studied and documented – mainly due to the lack of systematic and dedicated approaches for their characterization. In the framework of a project aiming at documenting the karst aquifers in Switzerland (SWISSKARST Project) the pragmatic KARSYS approach has been developed to systematically assess the main characteristics of karst aquifers and karst systems. One part of this project deals with the development of a practical method for mapping 2D hydrogeological karst systems, which is designed to address both scientific and applied issues. A series of maps based on the approach is proposed to describe the main characteristics of karst groundwater systems resulting in a synthesized map which suitably combines all relevant information.     

Measuring the severity of transboundary freshwater conflict: structural vs. behavioural indices in Africa

In the global crisis over access to clean, adequate freshwater, Africa is a special case. Not only are many African states under severe water stress, but the continent is one of the most hydrologically interconnected regions on the planet. With 113 rivers, lakes and aquifers that cross an international border, over 60% of Africa’s territory falls into a transboundary watershed. Africa’s hydrology is interdependent, and mass poverty and political volatility heighten the risk of conflict over freshwater resources. This paper compares two approaches to understanding the severity of transboundary freshwater conflict; one based in behavior and the other based on structural factors unique to each water resource and its users. The goal is to identify Africa’s water hot spots, or those areas where violence over water resources is most likely. The broader aim is to better understand how the way we measure severity affects our understanding of freshwater conflict, and how policy-makers might best approach water politics in Africa.     

The Water Supplies of Bahrain Island – 21 Years On

T he P aper describes the dramatic changes which have occurred in the provision of public water supplies in Bahrain over the past 21 years since an earlier paper' outlined the original situation in 1965. It shows how the serious and irreversible ramifications of the continuously declining piezometry and increasing salinity of the natural, brackish, artesian groundwaters were tackled by the Government. A massive and imaginative programme was introduced to convert almost the whole island population from groundwater to mainly desalinated water by 1986. The relative success of this expensive programme and its novel use of reverse osmosis for desalinating the deeper saline water to relieve the piezometric pressure invasions of the upper fresh water aquifers is discussed. Finally, the outlook for the future stability and management of the island's total water resources is mentioned.     

Grundwasserbilanzmodell Benker Sandstein in Mittelfranken/Bayern

The balance model “Benker Sandstein” is a 2-layered regional-scale groundwater model comprimising both important aquifers für water supply in Mid Franconia, the Sandsteinkeuper and the Benker Sandstein. The investigation is aiming at evaluating the groundwater balance and therefore recharge for the Benker Sandstein to estimate resources for future water supply in the lower aquifer. As input data for the model, the flux for both aquifers has been estimated from water balance calculations. Spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity has been based on hydrogeological aspects. Areally distributed recharge from infiltrating water and the withdrawals of groundwater have been realized. Model calibraton has been evaluated by variation of hydraulic conductivity with groundwater leel and runoff data along the major streams taken into consideration. The groundwater budget for the Benker Sandsteins has been calculated. The hydrogeological model for the southwestern part of the investigation area has been improved.     

A decision support system for water quality issues in the Manzanares River (Madrid, Spain)

The Manzanares River, located in Madrid (Spain), is the main water supplier of a highly populated region, and it also receives wastewater from the same area. The effluents of eight Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) downstream of the river, which represent 90% of the flow in the middle and lower parts of the river, are the primary sources of water pollution. Although the situation has improved slightly in the last two years, the water in the river is highly polluted, making it uninhabitable for aquatic life. Water quality modelling is typically used to assess the effect of treatment improvements in water bodies. In this work, the GESCAL module of the Aquatool Decision Support System Shell was used to simulate water quality in the Manzanares River. GESCAL is appropriate for modelling in an integrated way water quality for whole water resources systems, including reservoirs and rivers. A model was built that simulates conductivity, phosphorous, carbonaceous organic matter, dissolved oxygen, organic nitrogen, ammonia, and nitrates. The period from October 2006 to September 2008 was selected for calibration due to the many treatment modifications that occurred during this time. An earlier and longer period, from October 2000 to September 2006, was used for validation. In addition, a daily model was used to analyse the robustness of the GESCAL model. Once the GESCAL model was validated, different scenarios were considered and simulated. First, different combinations of nutrient elimination among the different WWTPs were simulated, leading to the conclusion that investments have to focus on three of the proposed WWTPs. Moreover, these treatments will not be sufficient to maintain fish habitat conditions at all times. Additional measures, such as the increment of the flow in the river or oxygen injection, were simulated. Incrementing the flow of the Manzanares River has been shown to be an efficient means of increasing water quality, but this implies an increment in the risk of water scarcity situations in the Madrid water supply system.     

Long term change of nutrient concentrations of rivers discharging in European seas

Cases of severe eutrophication are still observed in European surface waters even though tough regulation has been in place since the beginning of the 1990s to control nutrient losses and inputs in the environment. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the evolution since 1991 of the quality of the water entering European seas in terms of the concentration of major nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), and to analyze the effectiveness of implemented national/international measures and EU legislation in reducing water nutrient pollution. Despite the reduction in large portions of the European territory of agricultural nutrient applications and nutrient point source emissions, the impact on water quality is limited. It is shown using two large river basins that this lack of response for nitrogen, and nitrate in particular, between the reduction of the nitrogen surplus and the recovery of water quality is partly explained by the lag time due to transfer of nitrates in the unsaturated and saturated zones and storage in the soils and aquifers. In order to monitor efficiently the impact of policy implementation on water quality, the Nitrates Directive and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive in particular, it is recommended to use long term permanent monitoring stations to be able to separate the impact of climate variability from that of policy implementation. It is also recommended to investigate and develop harmonized methodologies for estimating the lag time in order to come up with realistic estimates of response time of water bodies due to the implementation of measures.     

Extreme salt concentrations in deep aquifers in the Netherlands

In The Netherlands fresh water is mostly extracted from Pliocene and Quaternary aquifers and less often from Mesozoic aquifers. In these aquifers brackish groundwater is also present. A possible explanation of the salt distribution in the Pliocene and Quaternary aquifers has been given by several authors.In this paper an attempt is made to identify the aquifer system including deeper aquifers in The Netherlands. An overview of chloride concentrations at greater depths is presented and some remarkable examples are mentioned. Attention is given to the explanation of the differences in quality which exist between the southern and northern region of the Eocene aquifer. In the southern region infiltration in the outcrop area in Belgium determines water quality. In the northern region local contact with salt diapirs which are broken through the Lower-Tertiary, leads to dissolving of salt minerals.     

建筑给排水节水技术浅议

本文结合当前水资源缺乏的严峻形势,从建筑给水、排水、雨水、中水、消防、自动控制和计量等方面对节水技术进行介绍,提出要增强节水意识,保护水资源,同时提供一些节水理念供水设计参考。     

天津生态城三区合一水资源平衡与高效利用模式

天津生态城在完成30 km^2核心区建设过程中,通过实施指标体系建设与提升、推进再生水等基础设施建设,提前完成非传统水利用率> 50%的规划建设目标。同时,结合生态城三区合一的建设需求与现状水资源利用情况,对2020年、2030年的总用水量进行预测分析,结合区域可利用的不同水资源,进行科学合理的优化配置,推进水资源的高效利用,提升非传统水资源的利用效率。按照水资源匹配方案,非传统水资源利用率近期有可能达到60%以上,含生态补水的非传统利用率甚至超过70%,污水资源利用率可达到100%,保证年均生态补水换水两次以上,基本可使景观水体达到地表Ⅳ类水要求,2020年和2030年人均用水指标分别不高于110 L/(人·d)和100 L/(人·d),达到生态城指标体系的新目标要求。实现生态城水资源供需平衡与优化配置,为生态城水资源的科学利用规划与管理提供支撑。     

The social benefits of restoring water quality in the context of the Water Framework Directive: A comparison of willingness to pay and willingness to accept

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is by far the most important piece of water legislation in Europe for the coming decades. Its main aim is to achieve “good ecological status” for all water resources by 2015. The economic valuation of the non-market benefits derived from improving water quality is an important input in assisting the design and implementation of efficient and effective water management policies. In this study, the contingent valuation method has been applied with a double purpose. On the one hand, we have estimated the value of a hypothetical improvement in water quality of a river asking individuals about their willingness to pay, and on the other hand, the issue of exemptions contemplated in the WFD has been addressed surveying people on their willingness to accept compensation if projected improvements were not carried out. Finally, a comparison of costs and benefits in a cost-benefit framework shows that the net present value of the water quality policy is positive both if we consider willingness to pay estimates as willingness to accept estimates, therefore this policy appears desirable from a social perspective.     

南水北调中线河南受水区水资源优化配置研究

介绍了南水北调中线河南受水区的概况,分析了受水区水资源开发利用中存在的问题,以及规划水平年的供需水情况,建立了受水区水资源优化配置模型,探讨了交互式多目标决策方法、大系统分解协调技术、遗传算法相结合的模型求解方法,并对结果进行了分析。优化配置结果表明:受水区水资源供需矛盾基本解决,缓解了地下水的开采压力。最后讨论了研究过程中的一些问题。     

山西省城镇供水现状及用水需求发展趋势

针对山西省城镇供水现状进行了分析,分别阐述了全社会供水、公共供水及自建供水设施三方面的数据统计结果,探讨了山西省用水、用水需求及今后发展趋势,提出今后城镇供水工作重点,为山西省合理开发利用水资源提供了科学建议。     

Valuing the subsurface pathogen treatment barrier in water recycling via aquifers for drinking supplies

A quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) was performed at four managed aquifer recharge (MAR) sites (Australia, South Africa, Belgium, Mexico) where reclaimed wastewater and stormwater is recycled via aquifers for drinking water supplies, using the same risk-based approach that is used for public water supplies. For each of the sites, the aquifer treatment barrier was assessed for its log₁₀ removal capacity much like for other water treatment technologies. This information was then integrated into a broader risk assessment to determine the human health burden from the four MAR sites. For the Australian and South African cases, managing the aquifer treatment barrier was found to be critical for the schemes to have low risk. For the Belgian case study, the large treatment trains both in terms of pre- and post-aquifer recharge ensures that the risk is always low. In the Mexico case study, the risk was high due to the lack of pre-treatment and the low residence times of the recharge water in the aquifer. A further sensitivity analysis demonstrated that human health risk can be managed if aquifers are integrated into a treatment train to attenuate pathogens. However, reduction in human health disease burden (as measured in disability adjusted life years, DALYs) varied depending upon the number of pathogens in the recharge source water. The beta-Poisson dose response curve used for translating rotavirus and Cryptosporidium numbers into DALYs coupled with their slow environmental decay rates means poor quality injectant leads to aquifers having reduced value to reduce DALYs. For these systems, like the Mexican case study, longer residence times are required to meet their DALYs guideline for drinking water. Nevertheless the results showed that the risks from pathogens can still be reduced and recharging via an aquifer is safer than discharging directly into surface water bodies.     

吉林省植被分布对地表水与地下水资源的影响分析

通过植被分布规律与水资源分布的内在联系,阐明植被分布对吉林省水资源分布的影响,初步分析了植被分布在水文循环中的作用机制,从微观角度分析了植被分布与水资源分布内在联系。结果表明:吉林省水资源分布与植被分布有着密切的相关关系;植被作为水文循环的一个重要环节,是制约水资源分布规律的一个重要因素;水资源缺乏地区可大量植树造林,调节水资源的合理分布,为社会经济的发展提供必要的条件。     

Protection of groundwater in relation to waste disposal in Wessex water authority

Wessex Water Authority, as one of the 10 water authorities of England and Wales, has the responsibility of liaising with Waste Disposal Authorities, that is the County Councils, to ensure that the water resources both groundwater and surface water are not polluted by waste disposal activities.The general policy adopted by Wessex in waste disposal liaison is to discourage waste disposal sites on aquifers. However, taking a realistic view on the subject and bearing in mind that a very large proportion of Wessex area is aquifer outcrop and the need to balance all interests, sites on aquifers are not ruled out automatically.All sites are looked at individually with all advantages and disadvantages being considered and if adequate reliable evidence can be provided to show that a site will not have a detrimental effect on a particular aquifer then the site would be accepted if the need was sufficiently great.This practical approach has been generally well accepted by all parties involved in Wessex and it has resulted in a wide variety of types of site and mechanisms employed to protect both surface water and groundwater.Three sites are described which represent very different circumstances. One is a large site in an isolated area of Carboniferous Limestone for which the proposed technique is to control groundwater levels around the site to ensure inflow to the top rather than outflow. The collected groundwater and leachate is then discharged to a sewer for treatment.A different approach used at a site on Forest Marble which is a fairly clayey material, which although used for small private supplies is not used for major public water supply sources to any significant degree, has been to line the site with a butyl rubber lining in order to contain the leachate and then dispose for treatment.The next approach considered is the acceptance of the dilute and disperse approach at an existing site on chalk; a limestone aquifer which is extremely permeable due to a profusion on inter connected fissures.Finally a proposed site at a non-aquifer site is described which avoids many of the problems encountered at sites situated on aquifers where groundwater has to be protected.The general conclusion reached is that waste disposal requires a flexible approach which results in a wide range of types of site. Such an approach can prevent many problems that can be caused by too rigid an approach.