Managing Water Resources Under Conditions of Scarcity: On Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Improving Water Supply Infrastructure

Conservation and efficient management of water resources is an essential ingredient for achieving sustainable development. River basins in Southern Europe are suffering from high water stress, while leakages in some areas far surpass recommended levels. This study uses the contingent valuation method in order to assess willingness to pay (WTP) by consumers in the Guadalquivir River basin in Spain for improving urban water supply infrastructure and reducing leakages. On average, individuals would be willing to pay an extra charge on their water bill ranging from €8.23 to €9.65. In addition to the expected positive effect of income on WTP, respondents with negative perceptions of their drinking water quality as well as those most affected by the economic crisis have a lower WTP. Conversely, WTP is higher for men and respondents showing greater commitment to the environment. These results provide policymakers with information that might help them to improve water-pricing policies in a context of severe water scarcity, especially considering the principle of cost recovery introduced by the EU Water Framework Directive in pricing water services.     

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.     

System Dynamics Analysis for Managing Iran’s Zayandeh-Rud River Basin

Within river basins different social, economic, political and physical subsystems interact. When making decisions, policy makers should be aware of such interactions as any new policy will affect more than one subsystem. To determine the adequacy of a specific management policy, an integrated study is needed of a complicated water management system in the basin considering major physical, social, economic and political aspects. The Zayandeh-Rud river basin, in central Iran with a semi-arid climate and large agricultural, industrial and domestic water uses, is an example of a complicated watershed system where the lack of complete knowledge about all the interacting subsystems has led to failure of the policy makers in addressing the water shortage in the basin. Although water shortages occur fairly soon after completion of each new water source, transbasin water diversion is still the major policy of water planners to address ongoing shortages. System dynamics provides a unique framework for integrating the disparate physical, socio-economic and political systems important to watershed management. This approach is used to comprehend the interactions of different drivers of the problem and to convey the experiences, lessons learned, and perceptions gained during the model development process. A simulation model, built based on causal loop diagrams of the problem, shows that transbasin diversion is not the best and only solution to the problem. The results of the model for different scenarios suggest that various options of demand management and population control can be more effective in addressing the water crisis of the basin when combined with transbasin water diversions, increasing water storage capacity and controlling of groundwater withdrawal.     

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…     

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.     

Challenge and Perspective of Yangtze River Basin Water Resources Protection

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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.     

Water Quantity and Quality in the Zerafshan River Basin: Only an Upstream Riparian Problem?

In discussing the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention, McCaffrey (1998) gave a theoretical example of the late-developer problem. This paper complements that theoretical example with a real case study of the Zerafshan basin in Central Asia. While McCaffrey addressed the water quantity issue in his example, the focus here also includes water pollution. The aim of the paper is to analyze some of the provisions of the mechanisms in the field of international water law—the Helsinki Rules and the UN Watercourses Convention—for water quantity and quality aspects, as well as to provide an insight into the basin regarding these two aspects.     

Water Use and Climate Stressors in a Multiuser River Basin Setting: Who Benefits from Adaptation?

Adapting to new climate conditions will require an intricate mix of knowledge, planning, coordination, and foresight. There is increasing sectoral evidence on the implementation of successful adaptation actions. However, the success of these actions when we consider the interdependencies among sectors remains debatable. This paper aims to assess who benefits from implementing adaptation options in a multiuser river basin to both climate-induced and demographic stress on water use. Our analysis relies on a hydro-economic model that considers two sets of water users: agriculture and urban households. We innovate in our modelling approach by analyzing and explicitly integrating the household-level economic behavior through its water demand. We assess the cross-user consequences of autonomous and planned adaptation actions. We provide insights into the different trade-offs at the basin level, demonstrating the compatibilities and divergences between agriculture and household-level water demand. We found different consequences of implementing either autonomous or planned adaptation measures. For instance, a decentralized scheme would drive negative implications for the entire basin, although the less water-intensive sector will be better off. On the other hand, different policy interventions would drive positive consequences for the entire basin, with the most water-intensive sector benefiting the most. These results highlight the distributional consequences across users of different adaptation measures.

     

PCJ River Basins’ Water Availability Caused by Water Diversion Scenarios to Supply Metropolitan Areas of São Paulo

A dynamic systems simulation model of water resources was developed as a tool to help analyze alternatives to water resources management for the Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí River Water Basins (RB-PCJ), and used to run six 50-year simulations from 2004 to 2054. The model estimates water supply and demand, as well as contamination load by several consumers. Six runs were performed using a constant mean precipitation value, changing water supply and demand and different volumes diverted from RB-PCJ to RB-Alto Tietê. For the Business as Usual scenario, the Sustainability Index went from 0.44 in 2004 to 0.20 by 2054. The Water Sustainability Index changed from 74% in 2004 to 131% by 2054. The Falkenmark Index changed from 1,403 m³ person^− 1 year^− 1 in 2004 to 734 m³ person^− 1 year^− 1 by 2054. We concluded that sanitation is one of the major problems for the PCJ River Basins.     

A Combined Methodology for Transboundary River Basin Management in Europe. Application in The Nestos–Mesta Catchment Area

Water management has been the focus of research, not only because of water scarcity, but also as a result of its sharing across national boundaries. Approximately 40% of the global population lives in tranboundary water basins, shared by more than one country, emphasizing the need for concerted management of transboundary water bodies and harmonization of policies. Under this view, water should be managed in an internationalized way, integrating methodologies and techniques used in natural as well as social sciences. Public participation and information are vital procedural safeguards of transboundary water recourses management and sustainable regional development. The paper presents a combined methodology based on traditional engineering oriented tools on the one hand and interactive public participation procedures on the other, applied in the Greek–Bulgarian transboundary Mesta/Nestos river basin.     

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.     

Water Allocation as a Planning Tool to Minimise Water Use Conflicts in the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro North Basin, Kenya

Inadequate water resources management and a general decline in rainfall have aggravated water scarcity problems in the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro North Basin in Kenya. Furthermore, water use conflicts in the basin have escalated in recent decades due to increased competition for available water resources. Excessive abstraction of the declining river water mainly for irrigation in the Mount Kenya and Nyandarua foot zones often leads to reduced water flow during the dry seasons, greatly affecting downstream water users. Increased water use in the basin coupled with deterioration of the vegetative cover has resulted in reduced water flows in the Ewaso Ng’iro river and its major tributaries. In addition, lack of sufficient knowledge about available water resources and current lack of coordination in water resources management in the basin often result in water deficits which have hampered development in the downstream catchment. The goal of this study was to match the water requirements of various competing sectors in the basin with the available water resources in order to attain both economic and ecological sustainability. To achieve this, GIS techniques were used to quantify the spatial and temporal stream flow. The Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model was applied to evaluate water resources development based on an equilibrium scenario of the current water demand. Water use was simulated for five different sectors (domestic, livestock, wildlife, irrigation and reserve). The analyses revealed that high water demand for irrigation was the main cause of excessive water abstraction particularly in the upstream catchments, giving rise to water shortages and consequently, water use conflicts downstream. The study, therefore, recommends that rainwater harvesting be promoted in the basin in order to improve water availability for productive use.     

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     

Hydrological Impacts of Flood Storage and Management on Irrigation Water Abstraction in Upper Ewaso Ng’iro River Basin, Kenya

The upper Ewaso Ng’iro basin, which starts from the central highlands of Kenya and stretches northwards transcending different climatic zones, has experienced decreasing river flows for the last two decades. The Naro Moru sub-basin is used to demonstrate the looming water crisis in this water scarce river basin. The objective of the study was to show the extent of dry seasons’ irrigation water abstractions on river flows, and to assess the hydrological impact of flood storage on temporal water distribution and irrigation water management. Decreasing river flows are attributed to over-abstraction mainly for irrigating horticultural crops. The number of abstractors has increased four times over a period of 10 years. The amount of water abstracted has also increased by 64% over the last 5 years. Moreover, the proportion of unauthorized abstractions has been increasing over the years, currently at about 80% and 95% during high and low flows respectively. This has resulted in alarming conflicts among various water users. The situation is aggravated by low irrigation efficiency (25–40%) and inadequate flood storage facilities. The paper analyzes over 40 years’ observed river flow data and 5-year interval water abstraction monitoring records for 15 years. It assesses whether flood storage and management, can reduce dry seasons’ irrigation water abstractions without significantly reducing river flows to affect the sustenance of natural ecosystems downstream. The results demonstrate that flood storage and management can reduce water abstraction and increase river flows during the dry seasons, without significantly reducing high flows to affect the downstream water users. However, socio-economic, hydrological and environmental implications should be considered if a sustainable river basin water resources management strategy is to be developed and implemented. The case study of Naro Moru sub-basin is representative of the situation in the other sub-basins, and hence can be taken as a pilot basin for developing an integrated water resources management strategy that will foster socio-economic development with minimal negative hydrological impacts in the water scarce upper Ewaso Ng’iro river basin.     

Precipitation Analysis and the Influence of the El Niño Phenomenon on the Transboundary Basin of the Madeira River

The current paper aims at analyzing the behavior of monthly precipitation in the Brazilian and Bolivian parts of the basin of the Madeira river, one of the most important sub-basins of the Amazon basin. Both parts account for 93 % of its total, and studies on this topic are lacking. The research was based on data from 41 rainfall stations considering a historic series from 1978 to 1998, which encompasses two of the largest El Niño events (1982–1983 and 1997–1998), hence its influence on the precipitation of the region was assessed as well. To study precipitation behavior, rainfall was regionalized using data clustering methods (Ward and K-means), with the basin being divided into five regions of homogeneous rainfall. Both methods were applied to the regions and showed similar results, providing a higher reliability for the clusters obtained. The results of the analysis show the homogeneous regions of the basin, the spatial variability of precipitation, seasonality and the influence of the phenomenon on the region.     

A Site-Specific Index to Control the Total Effect of Point Sources Discharges and to Achieve ‘Good Chemical Status’ in Effluent Dependent and Effluent Dominated Water Bodies: Application on Ergene River Basin

In this study, a simple site-specific index entitled “Discharge Effect Index (DEI)” was developed to rank and control the potential risks of point sources discharges effects to Ergene River and its branches. The basin is densely populated and heavily industrialized and all the water bodies in the basin are effluent-dependent or dominated. A case study is presented to assess the most important pollution parameters in the water bodies and to evaluate relationship between toxicity to Vibrio fischeri organism and chemical parameters in receiving waters. The aim of the study was to develop a simple site-specific control approach for seriously polluted and effluent-dominated water bodies in this developing country, Turkey and guide to decision makers about controlling point sources pollution in such heavily industrialized basins and achieve ‘good chemical status’ in ambient waters. The results of the study should be useful to encourage site-specific policies on point sources pollution especially to who had such these pollution problems in their receiving water bodies.     

An Evaluation of China’s Water Footprint

The water footprint is an indicator of freshwater consumption that looks not only at direct water consumption of a consumer or producer, also at the indirect water consumption. The water footprint can be regarded as a comprehensive indicator of freshwater resources appropriation, next to the traditional and restricted measure of water withdrawal. Based on the concept and calculating method of water footprint, this paper estimates the water footprint of China in 2007. The result shows that the total water footprint of China is 856.34 × 10⁹ m³ and the per capita water footprint is 648.11 m³/year. The spatial difference of per capita water footprint is obvious among all provinces of China. Generally, the more developed cities, the southern and coastal provinces have a higher per capita water footprint, lower water footprint intensity and higher efficiency of water consumption, while the North West China has lower water utilization efficiency. China is one of the thirteen water scarce countries in the world and spatial distribution of water resources is non-uniform. In addition to the virtual water trade, government should apply advanced technology and best available management practices, improve the efficiency of water use, reduce virtual water content per unit product, and continue nation-wide readjustment of industrial structure to guarantee an efficient use of limited water resources.