A Numerical Solution for the Integrated Analysis of Water Resources Management: Application to the Mero River Watershed, La Coruña, Spain

This research is concerned with new developments and practical applications of a physically-based numerical model that incorporates new approaches for a finite elements solution to the steady/transient problems of the joint ground/surface water flows. Python scripts are implemented in Geographic Information System (GIS) to store, represent and take decisions on the simulated conditions related to the water resources management at the scale of the watershed. The proposed surface-subsurface model considers surface and groundwater interactions to be 2-D horizontally distributed and depth-averaged through a diffusive wave approach for surface flood routing. Infiltration rates, overland flows and evapotranspiration processes are considered by a diffuse discharge from surface water, non-saturated subsoil and groundwater table. Recent developments also allow for the management of surface water flow control through the capacity of diversion on river beds, spillways and outflow operations of floodgates in weirs and dams of reservoirs. Practical application regards the actual hydrology of the Mero River watershed, with two important water bodies mainly concerned with the water resources management at the Cecebre Reservoir and the present flooding of a deep coal mining excavation. The MELEF model (Modèle d’éLéments Fluides, in French) was adapted and calibrated during a period of five years (2008/ 2012) with the help of hydrological parameters, registered flow rates, water levels and registered precipitation, water uses and water management operations in surface and groundwater bodies. The results predict the likely evolution of the Cecebre Reservoir, the flow rates in rivers, the flooding of the Meirama open pit and the local water balances for different hydrological components.

Integrated Water Resources Management in the Sandougou Catchment Area(Senegal):Going beyond Soil Defence and Restoration(SDR)

The Sandougou River is the last major right bank tributary of the Gambia River.It has a catchment area of 11,668 km² and is located in Senegalese territory.The flow in this sloping basin(1‰)is favoured by the conservation of soils and vegetation.Since 1970,global rainfall trends(below the average of 800 mm)have shown a drought affecting the whole basin with an average deficit of 100 mm per year.In addition,erosion phenomenon combined with high rainfall intensities explains the rapid run-off.This constitutes a considerable loss of water resources,up to 20%in the Sandougou basin.In this rural area where primary activities predominate,anthropogenic pressure is considerable.Indeed,overexploitation of firewood,resulting from the strong dependence of local populations on this resource,is at the origin of deforestation in the Sandougou basin.Such a situation contributes to environmental degradation and also has repercussions on soil erosion.Erosion affects the water retention capacity of the soil making it more susceptible to extreme conditions such as drought.The impact of soil erosion on more remote sites is not always as apparent as the impact of erosion on the site itself.Sediment reaching watercourses can accelerate slope erosion,silt up drainage ditches and streams,silt up reservoirs,cover spawning areas and reduce water quality.Fertilizers frequently transported with soil particles can contaminate or pollute water sources.To cope with this dynamic,soil defence and restoration(SDR)techniques have long been considered as the solution to the problems.However,the multifaceted nature of environmental problems and their persistence leads to the consideration of a more holistic approach.In the Sandougou catchment area,the application of article R50 of the Senegalese Forestry Code,the implementation of planning tools(AP-IWRM),institutional development in the framework of integrated water resources management(IWRM)prove the interest of such an approach for the protection of water resources.

Eco-Toxicological Approach as a Contribution to Integrated Water Management on Okpara Dam at Kpassa in Benin: Evaluation of Contamination of Fish and Surface Water by Organochlorine Pesticides

The paper explores the degree of pollution of organochlorine pesticides in fish and water in the dam at Kpassa on a tributary of Okpara River that is pumped by Benin National Water agency (SONEB) in supplying drinking water to supply the city of Parakou. Doing so, fourteen parameters of organochlorine are analyzed. Most of obtain organoclorine concentration in water and fish below is indicated critical values. However, DDT and endrine concentration in water is slightly above legal tolerable values. Hexachlorobenen and dieldrine concentrations are three times higher than legal limit value while aldrine is ten times higher. However, heptachlore is double concentrated in fishery while aldrine (endrine, dieldrine aldrine, lindane, hexachloro-benzene, DDT) is found in the dam fish and surface water three times concentrated than tolerated value. These levels of concentrations result from the intensification of organoclorine pesticide used in agriculture especially in cotton production. These are caused by the chemical application accumulated in soil and through the food value chain system. Therefore, it is very important to extract sediment from the reservoir by dredging in oder to renew the ecosystem of the dam. To persistently manage the basin water resources, it is imperatively important to observe a significant behaviour changed from all stakeholders.

Management of Water Resources in a Hyper-Arid Area: Strategy and Issues (Case of Oued-Souf Valley-South Eastern of Algeria)

Rising Groundwater in Oued-Souf valley is result to errors committed by human in their interventions on the ecosystems and the mismanagement of this resource, witch principally marked in overexploitation of depth groundwater and the used sewerage system, leading the region to a truly dramatic and almost desperate, palms were turned into sort of marshes, where reeds take the place of dead palm trees. This situation lead us to search a model of water resources management, according to sustainability criteria taking into account the socio-economic (social, agricultural, industrial, tourism ) and ecosystem aspects (environmental and territorial). This by adapting and implementing the Integrated Management of Water Resources (IMWR) in this unit of water resources, so as to guide and mobilize progressively human, informational, financial and material resources, as well as the various sectors private and public to research concrete and measurable results, for water and ecosystems those are associated and that people wanted to see protected and restored.

Overall-effective Measures for Sustainable Water Resources Management in the Coastal Areas of Shandong Province, China——Case Study: the Huangshuihe River Catchment of Longkou City

In the coastal catchments of Shandong Province the water scarcity is aggravated due to saltwater intrusion, reducing the usability of water resources available. Such a situation calls for sustainable integrated water resources management (IWRM). The idea for the objectives and implementation of the IWRM are explained in this paper. The general objective of the planned project disscussed in the present study is to bring together German traditional expertise in water resources management and newer developments in the context of the European Water Framework Directive; the research efforts aim to relieve the desperate water scarcity situation in the costal area of Shandong Province.

Improving Water Quantity and Quality Supply Security by Managed Artificial Recharge Technologies in the Lower Llobregat Aquifers Integrated into a Conjunctive Surface and Groundwater Management Scheme for Barcelona,Spain

The large concentration of human population,industry and services in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona has to confront scarce water resources,serious seasonal and inter-annual variations and quality deficiencies in the sources.A large fraction of these water resources are in the medium-size Llobregat River basin and the remaining ones correspond to a surface water transfer,seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation.Groundwater dominated water resources availability before 1950.Afterwards,water supply has evolved progressively to integrated water resources management,which includes serious water quality concerns to deal with population density,river pollution,seawater intrusion in the main aquifer,and brine generation in the mid Llobregat basin due to old mining of saline minerals.The role of the alluvial aquifers has progressively evolved from being the main water source to reserve storage to cope with seasonal and drought water resources availability.River-enhanced recharge and artificial recharge are needed to assure enough groundwater storage before surface water becomes scarce and/or suffers a serious temporal loss of quality.Enhanced river recharge started in 1950.Treated river water injection in dual-purpose wells was put into operation in the early 1970s.Basin and pond recharge was added later,as well as a deep well injection barrier along the coast to reduce seawater intrusion and to allow increased groundwater abstraction in moments of water scarcity.There is a progressive evolution from solving water quantity problems to consideration of water quality improvement during recharge,with attention to emergent concern pollutants in river water and in reclaimed water to be considered for artificial recharge.Improvement of artificial recharge operation activities has been introduced and research is being carried out on the difficult behavior to degrade organic pollutants during infiltration and in the terrain.This paper presents the different activities carried out and presents the research activities,and comments on the economic,social and administrative issues involved as well.

Integrated water resources management for emergency situations： A case study of Macao

Integrated urban water management （IUWM） is a useful tool that can be used to alleviate water resource shortages in developing regions like Macao, where 98% of the raw water comes from China's Mainland. In Macao, scarce water resources deteriorate rapidly in emergency situations, such as accidental chemical spills upstream of the supply reservoir or salty tides. During these times, only the water from the two freshwater reservoirs in Macao can be used. In this study, we developed urban water management optimization models that integrated the raw water supply from the two reservoirs with various proposed governmental policies （wastewater reuse, rainwater collection, and water saving）. We then determined how various water resource strategies would influence the urban water supply in Macao in emergency situations. Our results showed that, without imported raw water, the water supply from only the two Macao reservoirs would last for 7.95 days. However, when all the government policies were included in the model, the supply could be extended to 13.79 days. Out of the three non-conventional water resources, wastewater reuse is the most beneficial for increasing the Macao water supply, and rainwater collection also has great potential.

A review of inexact optimization modeling and its application to integrated water resources management

Water is crucial in supporting people＇s daily life and the continual quest for socio-economic development. It is also a fundamental resource for ecosystems. Due to the associated complexities and uncertainties, as well as intensive competition over limited water resources between human beings and ecosystems, decision makers are facing increased pressure to respond effectively to various water-related issues and conflicts from an integrated point of view. This quandary requires a focused effort to resolve a wide range of issues related to water resources, as well as the associated economic and environmental implications. Effective systems analysis approaches under uncertainty that successfully address interactions, complexities, uncertainties, and changing conditions associated with water resources, human activities, and ecological conditions are desired, which requires a systematic investigation of the previous studies in relevant areas. Systems analysis and optimization modeling for integrated water resources management under uncertainty is thus comprehensively reviewed in this paper. A number of related methodologies and applications related to stochastic, fuzzy, and interval mathematical optimization modeling are examined. Then, their applica- tions to integrated water resources management are presented. Perspectives of effective management schemes are investigated, demonstrating many demanding areas for enhanced research efforts, which include issues of data availability and reliability, concerns over uncertainty, necessity of post-modeling analysis, and the usefulness of the development of simulation techniques.

Changing Forestry Policy by Integrating Water Aspects into Forest/Vegetation Restoration in Dryland Areas in China

Restoration forestry (forest rehabilitation) or re-vegetation is one effective measure to solve environmental problems, notably soil erosion. It may be further stimulated by the Clean Development Mechanism for carbon sequestration. However, there is an intensive and on-going debate about the adverse effects arising from afforestation in dryland areas, such as soil drying up which may cause further damage to the success of forest restoration, and the water yield reduction from watershed which may harm the regional development. On other hand, some preliminary studies showed a possibility that these adverse effects may be diminished more or less by properly designing the system structure and spatial distribution of forest/vegetation in a watershed. However, it is urgent to develop an evidence-based and sustainable new forestry policy for harmonizing forest-water interrelation. As a leading country in afforestation, China is beginning to develop a more trans-disciplinary and cross-sectoral forestry policy for harmonizing forestry development with water management. The main points of the changing new forestry policy should include: (1) Establishing a regional development strategy focusing on harmonized forest-water relations; (2) Taking forest-water interactions as an important part of evaluation; (3) Reducing the 'eco-water' quota of forests through technical advancement; (4) Developing and extending water-adaptive forest management practices; (5) Strengthening forest ecohydrological research and decision support ability.

可持续水资源综合管理定量评价——基于IWRM理论的实证研究

当前我国面临的水资源问题日趋复杂多样且相互交织,这需要在水资源管理中引入系统思维和综合集成的方法。研究在对现代可持续集成水资源管理(IWRM)理念及实施框架阐释和剖析的基础上,构建了可持续水资源综合管理实施指标体系,并依照指标体系以黑河流域甘州区为例对我国西北干旱区水资源管理实施现状进行了系统评价,提出了相应的改进措施。研究表明,我国干旱区水资源管理仍然存在着区域政策不协调,水权制度不完善,资金支持不足等外部实施环境问题以及管理机构间缺乏有效的协调、信息交流和监管机制缺乏且能力建设滞后,公众缺乏真正参与等管理体制问题;在管理工具运用方面,也缺乏可从根本上改变社会公众水资源及用水态度的社会改革措施,定价、市场等节水经济激励机制也没有真正建立起来等问题。因而需进一步强化区域政策整体设计、深化管理体制改革、增强市场机制的作用等,建立起适合我国的可持续集成水资源管理模式。

埃及水资源综合管理:动因、实践与挑战

水资源问题长期困扰着埃及的经济、政治和社会发展。面对日益严重的水资源短缺、人口快速增长、气候变化导致的海平面上升和持续干旱,以及因修建复兴大坝而加剧的地区冲突等问题,埃及采取了水资源综合管理模式以应对上述挑战。埃及政府积极争取国际组织和域外国家的资金和技术支持,推广灌溉改善项目与设立综合水管理区,出台法律(令)以适配改革。埃及还将水资源与灌溉部门确立为改革主导部门,协同多个相关职能部门共同推进水资源管理改革。然而,该模式存在以下问题:囿于外部援助的控制与埃及传统政治“惯性”导致政府与农户之间的信任缺失;水资源管理法律与农业灌溉法律存在高度重叠,缺乏专门且有针对性的法规;复兴大坝引发的水资源争端进一步削弱了地区政治互信,并阻碍了流域整体化管理进程;不同级别的用水者协会成员参与管理的程度不一,而农户的节水意识亟待提高。从长远来看,虽风险与机遇并存,但受制于多重因素制约,埃及水资源综合管理发展前景不容乐观。

Toward a socio-political approach to water management: successes and limitations of IWRM programs in rural northwestern China

In rural north-western China,the tension between economic growth and ecological crises demonstrates the limitations of dominant top-down approaches to water management.In the 1990s,the Chinese government adopted the Integrated Water Resources Management(IWRM)approach to combat the degradation of water and ecological systems throughout its rural regions.While the approach has had some success at reducing desertification,water shortage,and ecological deterioration,there are important limitations and obstacles that continue to impede optimum outcomes in water management.As the current IWRM approach is instituted through a top-down centralized bureaucratic structure,it often fails to address the socio-political context in which water management is embedded and therefore lacks a complete treatment of how power is embedded in the bureaucracy and how it articulates through economic growth imperatives set by the Chinese state.The approach has relied on infrastructure heavy and technocratic solutions to govern water demand,which has worked to undermine the focus on integration and public participation.Finally,the historical process through which water management mechanisms have been instituted are fraught with bureaucratic fragmentation and processes of centralization that work against some of its primary goals such as reducing uncertainty and risk in water management systems.This article reveals the historical,social,political,and economic processes behind these shortcomings in water management in rural northwestern China by focusing on the limitations of a top-down approach that rely on infrastructure,technology,and quantification,and thereby advances a more holistic,socio-political perspective for water management that considers the state-society dynamics inherent in water governance in rural China.

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) through Surface Infiltration in the Azraq Basin / Jordan

Until the early 1990s the Azraq basin in Jordan was covered by a huge wetland in the central parts representing a source of fresh water for all purposes. The presence of such wetland in the desert created a natural pathway for migratory birds. Man made and natural impacts caused severe depletion of this basin and the oasis disappeared in the early 1990s. Under a GIS environment MAR layers were prepared for the Azraq basin. MAR mapping showed a very high and high potentials over 20.55% and 61.63% of the total basin area respectively;while the low potential areas represent only 4.03% of the total area.

Water use efficiency in an arid watershed: a case study

Integrated Water Resource Management （IWRM） becomes increasingly important in arid watersheds, where water resources are scarce and demands are rising under increased population pressure. In this case study, we present the results from the Elqui Valley in Chile, where water resources are shared between agriculture, mining operations, hydropower generation and drinking water for nearby cities. An IWRM model was applied to visualize water resources distribution in the catchment and determine irrigation and water use efficiencies. After calibration with observed surface and groundwater measurements, the model showed large differ- ences in efficiencies between different irrigation sectors. Most notably, irrigation sectors with the highest irrigation security, i.e., higher water rights per hectare, were characterized with lower water use efficiencies. Frequent water deficits were present in sec- tors downstream of the main reservoir, which was related to limited water rights per hectare, lower irrigation efficiencies and higher water demands due to larger agricultural areas. In subsequent scenario analyses, the model was used to evaluate the impact of improved irrigation and water use efficiencies in these downstream sectors, to confirm an important reduction in water deficits, except for drought years when surface water resources are insufficient. In a third scenario, groundwater resources were allowed to compensate for water deficits, effectively reducing these in most irrigation sectors, especially during droughts. Expansion of the current agricultural area by 37% was evaluated, as a future scenario, and was found to be unsustainable, as aquifer levels are low- ered to such levels that make annual recharge insufficient.

How Water-Development Nexus Can Reunite Central Asia?

The following article has been retracted due to the fact that it cannot be accepted by the author’s university as a scientific peer-reviewed publication. The Editorial Board takes a very strong respect to the author’s situation on this matter. This paper published in World Journal of Engineering and Technology Vol.2 No.3B, September 2014, has been removed from this site.

城市水资源综合管理研究进展

针对城市化发展过程中水资源短缺、水资源管理不合理等问题,对城市水资源综合管理的基本框架和实施环境进行梳理;对目前国内外应用较广的城市水资源综合管理策略的发展状况和研究动态进行综述,包括海绵城市、低影响开发、可持续城市排水系统、水敏感城市设计、低影响城市设计与开发以及“活力-美观-洁净”水计划;指出未来城市水资源综合管理的研究重点应包括城市水系统的监测、评估和管理体系研究,城市水系统的综合模拟模型研究,城市水资源综合管理策略实施的空间尺度效应研究,以及城市水资源综合管理建设项目的成本效益分析和方案优化研究。