Water and sustainable development

In this paper, it is proposed that water resources should be managed as an integral part of a nation's social and economic development. Water resources managers should broaden their scope of work to include an integrated management approach. Instead of the traditional 'supply oriented approach' in which they act in response to ever-increasing demands for water from different sectors of the economy, water resources management agencies should play a more active role in guiding and stimulating socioeconomic development through more efficient water use. Demand management should be an important tool which should go beyond the improvement of technical efficiencies. Most important is to develop economic and institutional approaches that accept charging for the full costs of the utilization and management of water resources. Implementation of such an approach will require more sectoral integration than is currently the case and will have considerable implications for organizations, staffing, institutional arrangements and corresponding capacity building.     

THE ROLE OF ADVISORY BOARDS IN A WATER MANAGEMENT AGENCY1

ABSTRACT: Since Saskatchewan assumed the responsibility for managing the Province's water resources in 1930, the importance of the Province's water resources has been recognized by assigning the responsibility for managing the resource to higher levels in the government structure. With such recognition, there tended to be an overlapping of responsibilities that resulted in undefined areas of jurisdiction and duplication of services. Also, there was no opportunity for direct public participation in the management structure. These deficiencies were recognized, and following a series of public hearings a “Cabinet Committee on Water Concerns” in 1983 concluded that the most appropriate government structure for managing the water resources of Saskatchewan would be a Crown corporation. As a result, in 1984 the Saskatchewan Water Corporation was formed and given the responsibility to manage, administer, develop, control, and protect the water and related land resources in Saskatchewan. An important aspect of this responsibility was that the corporation should initiate a process of public involvement. Thus, six “Regional Watershed Advisory Boards” were established. The Advisory Boards provide the Corporation with a linkage to the general public by providing advice, participating in policy revision and development, and assisting Corporation staff in other related water management activities.     

Multicriteria Evaluation of Water Resources Sustainability in the Context of Watershed Management1

Kang, Min‐Goo and Gwang‐Man Lee, 2011. Multicriteria Evaluation of Water Resources Sustainability in the Context of Watershed Management. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(4):813‐827. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00559.x Abstract: To evaluate water resources sustainability at the watershed scale within a river basin’s context, the Water Resources Sustainability Evaluation Model is developed. The model employs 4 criteria (economic efficiency, social equity, environmental conservation, and maintenance capacity) and has 16 indicators, integrating them using their relative weights. The model is applied to evaluate the water resources sustainability of watersheds in the Geum River basin, South Korea. A geographic information system is employed to efficiently build a database for the indicators, and the values of the indicators are normalized using the probability distribution functions fitted to the datasets of the indicators. The evaluation results show that, overall, the water resources sustainability of the watersheds in the upper basin is better than other areas due to the good environmental conditions and the dam management policies of South Korea. The analysis of the correlations among the model’s components and the comparison between the results of the model and the Water Poverty Index show that the model can provide reasonable evaluation results for the water resources sustainability of watersheds. Consequently, it is concluded that the model can be an effective tool for evaluating the states of water resource management from the perspective of sustainable development and provide a basis on which to create policies for improving any inadequacies in watersheds.     

基于Meta分析的中国水资源价值移位研究

Meta分析价值移位方法是国际上资源价值评价领域关注的热点,国内相关研究较少。水作为重要的自然资源,研究其价值是解决我国水资源问题的关键途径。本文搜集我国水资源价值评估实证研究结果,建立效益移位基础数据库,应用基于Meta分析的函数效益移位方法,对我国水资源价值移位做实证研究,探讨效益移位法在我国水资源价值评估领域的可应用性及发展前景。结果表明:①水资源所在地、人口密度、水质、供水成本和利润以及对最大水费承受程度的差异会影响地区水资源价值变化;②模型平均移位误差在可接受范围内,可用于快速评估地区水资源价值;③省级层面水资源价值呈现出沿海高于内陆,华北、华东和西南高于其他地区的空间分异 规律。     

An Analysis of Water Data Systems to Inform the Open Water Data Initiative

Improving access to data and fostering open exchange of water information is foundational to solving water resources issues. In this vein, the Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Water and Science put forward the charge to undertake an Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) that would prioritize and accelerate work toward better water data infrastructure. The goal of the OWDI is to build out the Open Water Web (OWW). We therefore considered the OWW in terms of four conceptual functions: water data cataloging, water data as a service, enriching water data, and community for water data. To describe the current state of the OWW and identify areas needing improvement, we conducted an analysis of existing systems using a standard model for describing distributed systems and their business requirements. Our analysis considered three OWDI‐focused use cases—flooding, drought, and contaminant transport—and then examined the landscape of other existing applications that support the Open Water Web. The analysis, which includes a discussion of observed successful practices of cataloging, serving, enriching, and building community around water resources data, demonstrates that we have made significant progress toward the needed infrastructure, although challenges remain. The further development of the OWW can be greatly informed by the interpretation and findings of our analysis.     

Water management in the world of globalization

Water management is changing its paradigm. The millennia of economic indoctrination are to be replaced by the logic of ecology. The economic sector satisfying the demands for water and water‐related services guided until now by its own ideology and institutions, is gradually becoming an integral part of environmental protection and eco‐economy. Within the great diversity of national water policies, efforts towards sustainability are a dominant common objective. Discussions of the World Water Fora and other initiatives indicate that ecologically oriented water management is the emerging new challenge for achieving this objective. Ecological orientation emphasizes the unified system of the world water balance processes as transmitters of various human impacts leading to economic externalities. Water management is becoming a component of the processes of globalization primarily through its externalities requiring a comprehensive informational infrastructure as well as adequate institutional competence for their management. The paper analyzes fundamental features of the conceptual models incorporating such informational and institutional arrangements. The outlook of water is inseparably tied to the world order of the future, and water management in the world of globalization can either promote a genuine worldwide collaboration or can become a source of dangerous international tensions and conflicts.     

Beijing's Water Resources: Challenges and Solutions

Beijing's local water resources have been overexploited and the ecological and environmental pressures exceed the carrying capacity of this densely populated megacity. This article examines the current status of Beijing's water resources with respect to its industrial, residential, and eco‐environmental water usage and the challenges it may face in the near future. The article describes the context of water uses, the steps taken by Beijing to alleviate the water shortage problems, and challenges to Beijing's abilities to meet its urgent and future water needs. A multipronged strategy is proposed that aims at both the present problems and the anticipated future challenges. In particular, engineering and institutional approaches for Beijing's successful transition from overexploitation to sustainable utilization of water resources are explained. Actions include reasonable water utilization, water conservation, reclaimed wastewater, and importing water from neighboring areas. We conclude that Beijing must take additional steps in water resource management to ensure its sustainable development that involves continued urbanization sprawls and population growth. Future water resource management strategies should focus on strengthening water demand management through water conservation, efficient interbasin water transfers, use of nontraditional water resources, strategically reserving water supply, and promoting rehabilitation of the eco‐environments.     

Non-conventional Water Resources

This two-part article gives an overview of the use of non-conventional water resources in developing countries. The first part presented below reviews United Nations involvement with the subject and its relationship to the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. The main emphasis of the first part is on the development of technology and markets for the various desalination processes — distillation, electrodialysis and reverse osmosis. The general costs of the various processes are compared.
The second part of the article (to be published in the April 1985 issue) concentrates on the other non-conventional water resources: transport of water by tanker and iceberg, waste water re-use and weather modification. For all the processes, examples are given and economic comparisons are made. It is concluded that it is always preferable to use conventional resources where available. However, in water-short areas, consideration might be given to the available non-conventional resources, and economic and technical comparisons made, before a final choice is reached.     

A STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTING BMPs FOR CONTROLLING NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION: THE CASE OF THE FEI‐TSUI RESERVOIR WATERSHED IN TAIWAN1

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a concerted effort by the Taiwan Water Resources Bureau, the City of Taipei, and the Bureau of Fei‐tsui Reservoir Management to protect the water quality in the Fei‐tsui Reservoir.The reservoir is the major source of water supply for over two million people in the metropolitan area of Taipei. Over the years the reservoir has suffered from siltation and more recently eutrophication. The sources of the pollution are traced to the hundreds of tea gardens, rice fields and other agricultural areas in the watershed and to urban sources such as construction sites. Large amounts of nutrients enter the reservoir by way of storm water runoff during storm or typhoon events. Since 1999, various agencies have worked to initiate an effort to reduce nonpoint pollution in the Fei‐Tsui Reservoir watershed. Practices being considered include nonstructural measures such as nutrient management, and structural measures such as swales, detention basins, and wetlands, in addition to erosion and sediment control methods. A number of field tests have been completed on the performance of selected best management practices (BMPs). A strategy for implementing the BMPs at the watershed scale has been developed based on a total maximum daily load (TMDL) analysis that is reported in this paper.     

A Retrospective Look at the Water Resource Management Policies in Nassau County,Long Island,New York1

Abstract: The residents of Nassau County Long Island, New York receive all of their potable drinking water from the Upper Glacial, Jameco/Magothy (Magothy), North Shore, and Lloyd aquifers. As the population of Nassau County grew from 1930 to 1970, the demand on the ground‐water resources also grew. However, no one was looking at the potential impact of withdrawing up to 180 mgd (7.9 m³/s) by over 50 independent water purveyors. Some coastal community wells on the north and south shores of Nassau County were being impacted by saltwater intrusion. The New York State Legislature formed a commission to look into the water resources in 1972. The commission projected extensive population growth and a corresponding increase in pumping resulting in a projected 93.5 to 123 mgd (4.1 to 5.5 m³/s) deficit by 2000. In 1986, the New York Legislature passed legislation to strengthen the well permit program and also establish a moratorium on new withdrawals from the Lloyd aquifer to protect the coastal community’s only remaining supply of drinking water. Over 30 years has passed since the New York Legislature made these population and pumping projections and it is time to take a look at the accuracy of the projections that led to the moratorium. United States Census data shows that the population of Nassau County did not increase but decreased from 1970 to 2000. Records show that pumping in Nassau County was relatively stable fluctuating between 170 and 200 mgd (7.5 to 8.8 m³/s) from 1970 to 2004, well below the projection of 242 to 321 mgd (10.6 to 14.1 m³/s). Therefore, the population and water demand never grew to projected values and the projected threat to the coastal communities has diminished. With a stable population and water demand, its time to take a fresh look at proactive ground‐water resource management in Nassau County. One example of proactive ground‐water management that is being considered in New Jersey where conditions are similar uses a ground‐water flow model to balance ground water withdrawals, an interconnection model to match supply with demand using available interconnections, and a hydraulic model to balance flow in water mains. New Jersey also conducted an interconnection study to look into how systems with excess capacity could be used to balance withdrawals in stressed aquifer areas with withdrawals in unstressed areas. Using these proactive ground‐water management tools, ground‐water extraction could be balanced across Nassau County to mitigate potential impacts from saltwater intrusion and provide most water purveyors with a redundant supply that could be used during water emergencies.     

流域比较视角的钱塘江与黑河流域水资源问题及对策研究——基于水足迹核算分析

产品贸易及水权交易使得水资源问题"跨流域化",不再单纯是流域内部管理问题。本文从流域比较视角出发,在区分蓝、绿、灰三种水足迹的基础上,应用水足迹模型,测算了两流域典型地区的水足迹,进行流域水资源问题对比分析,并分析了经济发展模式对流域水资源可持续性的影响。结果发现,杭州市经济用水中灰色水足迹占总量的90%,而张掖市经济用水中绿色水足迹占总量的60.8%,说明钱塘江流域水资源问题在于质,而黑河流域水资源问题在于量;经济发展模式中的产业结构、水资源开发效率、工业化路径等影响流域水资源可持续利用,同时基于GDP导向的流域间的水资源逆向配置,更加剧了流域水资源矛盾。最后根据流域对比结果提出治理措施,从而形成流域间协作的良性循环。     

Evaluating the Management Effectiveness of Five Protected Areas in Taiwan Using WWF’s RAPPAM

This study adopts and modifies the WWF Rapid assessment and prioritization of protected areas management methodology (RAPPAM) to evaluate the management effectiveness of five protected areas in Taiwan. The results indicate that, unlike the situation in most developing countries, the threats and pressures faced by protected areas in Taiwan come mainly from the outside-with pollution as the most common pressure and threat, and difficult for their management authorities to deal with effectively. The categories and extent of these pressures and threats are related to remoteness and geographic location of the protected areas. All five cases under study reveal a similar management approach, clear management goals, adequate basic infrastructure and clear management decision-making; on the down side, however, all of them suffer from the lack of an effective comprehensive management plan, inadequate or poor quality human resources and insufficient funding. The present study suggests that first priority should be given to strengthening management planning in order to improve management effectiveness of protected areas in Taiwan. The adjustment made to RAPPAM in this study was to amend and take the format of the management plan as the basis for evaluation material preparations and open the discussion to encourage stakeholders' participation to open the dialogue among them. The results indicate that, although the system evaluation design still has some constraints, the quality of information collected is improved and can respond more directly to the specific demands of the respective areas.     

Pragmatic Approaches for Water Management Under Climate Change Uncertainty1

Stakhiv, Eugene Z., 2011. Pragmatic Approaches for Water Management Under Climate Change Uncertainty. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(6):1183–1196. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00589.x Abstract: Water resources management is in a difficult transition phase, trying to accommodate large uncertainties associated with climate change while struggling to implement a difficult set of principles and institutional changes associated with integrated water resources management. Water management is the principal medium through which projected impacts of global warming will be felt and ameliorated. Many standard hydrological practices, based on assumptions of a stationary climate, can be extended to accommodate numerous aspects of climate uncertainty. Classical engineering risk and reliability strategies developed by the water management profession to cope with contemporary climate uncertainties can also be effectively employed during this transition period, while a new family of hydrological tools and better climate change models are developed. An expansion of the concept of “robust decision making,” coupled with existing analytical tools and techniques, is the basis for a new approach advocated for planning and designing water resources infrastructure under climate uncertainty. Ultimately, it is not the tools and methods that need to be revamped as much as the suite of decision rules and evaluation principles used for project justification. They need to be aligned to be more compatible with the implications of a highly uncertain future climate trajectory, so that the hydrologic effects of that uncertainty are correctly reflected in the design of water infrastructure.     

WATER CONSTRAINTS ON EMERGING ENERGY PRODUCTION1

ABSTRACT: A comprehensive nationwide recognizance-level assessment of water needs for energy development over the 1985 to 2000 time frame and options for overcoming any actual or potential water supply problems are summarized. Water requirements for energy production and other uses are totaled for each geographic region of the United States and compared with available stream flow to identify regions with potentially inadequate water supplies to meet expanding energy needs. Water quality impacts and water-related institutional factors affecting energy development are also considered. It is concluded that, if proper planning measures are not initiated, water demands for energy production will not be satisfied by the year 2000, particularly in those areas with known fossil energy resources. No unmanageable water quality problems are foreseen, and water-related institutional factors will primarily delay rather than exclud energy development.     

Water Resources Research Prioritization and Management-Problems and Perspectives1

ABSTRACT: At a time when productive water resources research is essential to protecting the quality of and wisely using our limited water resources, pervasive trends toward consumerism, fiscal restraint, centralized management, and using research for other social objectives threaten research productivity. The research prioritization and management structure that these trends have created was examined in the microcosm of its application at the Utah Water Research Laboratory. The result indicated that ephemeral prioritization and the failure of research users to target researchers to their own particular needs is diluting productivity. Incremental research prioritization and greater use of advisory councils in facilitating user-researcher interaction are suggested as corrective approaches, but the only firm conclusion at this point in time must be that empirical studies of the performance of alternatives in research management structure are solely needed.     

Indicator-Based Approach for Assessing the Vulnerability of Freshwater Resources in the Bagmati River Basin,Nepal

To assess the vulnerability of water resources in the Bagmati River Basin in Nepal, this paper adopts an indicator-based approach wherein vulnerability is expressed as a function of water stress and adaptive capacity. Water stress encompasses indicators of water resources variation, scarcity, and exploitation and water pollution, whereas adaptive capacity covers indicators of natural, physical, human resource, and economic capacities. Based on the evaluation of eleven indicators, which were aggregated into eight vulnerability parameters, an increasingly stressful situation and lack of adaptive capacity became evident. Considerable spatial variation in indicator values suggests differential policy options. While the northern parts need attention to reduce pollution loading and conserve vegetation cover, the southern parts need improvements in physical capacity, i.e. water infrastructures. The comprehensive and easily interpretable findings of the study are expected to help decision makers reach sound solutions to reduce freshwater resources vulnerability in the Bagmati River Basin, Nepal. With its inherent flexibility, the approach has demonstrated its potential for application in different times and areas for monitoring and comparison purposes.     

Managing climate change vulnerabilities: formal institutions and knowledge use as determinants of adaptive capacity at the local level in Sweden

Though managing vulnerabilities posed by climate change calls for effective strategies and measures, its challenges have hitherto not been fully understood. In Sweden, municipalities have recently started incorporating vulnerability management into their political and administrative agendas. This study discusses such experiences and explores how institutional determinants may influence adaptive capacity within a local case study area, to illustrate emerging challenges and opportunities for Swedish municipalities in managing climate vulnerabilities. Specifically, formal institutional structure and the use of knowledge are analysed, concluding that vulnerability management often is focused on technical and reactive fixes, due to limited co-operation between local sector organisations, lack of local co-ordination, and an absence of methods and traditions to build institutional knowledge. Even so, opportunities, such as a high capacity to examine risks to technical systems and important establishments which in turn facilitates protection of technical infrastructure exposed to climate variability and change, also exist.     

Non-conventional Water Resources Economics and Experiences in Developing Countries (II)

This two-part article gives an overview of the use of non-conventional water resources in developing countries. The first part (published in the January 1985 issue) reviewed United Nations involvement with the subject, and its relationship to the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. The main emphasis of the first part was on the development of technology and markets for the various desalination processes — distillation, electrodialysis and reverse osmosis. The general costs of the various processes were compared.
The second part of the article (presented here) concentrates on the other non-conventional water resources: transport of water by tanker and iceberg, wastewater reuse and weather modification. For all of the processes examples are given and economic comparisons made. It is concluded that it is always preferable to use conventional resources where available.
However, in water-short areas, consideration might be given to non-conventional resouces.     

Water Dispatch Model for Middle Route of a South‐to‐North Water Transfer Project in China1

Chang, Jian‐xia, Yi‐min Wang, and Qiang Huang, 2011. Water Dispatch Model for Middle Route of a South‐to‐North Water Transfer Project in China. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):70‐80. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00478.x Abstract: The objective of this paper is to present a simulation model to address the water dispatch problem of the south‐to‐north water transfer project for the Middle Route system in China. Reasonable rules and a system network structure are established. This model consists of five modules: (1) a data‐processing module, (2) an initial control module, (3) a multisource simulation dispatch module, (4) a system identification module, and (5) a revision module. Water allocated to each province and city along the route is obtained by simulation, and the long‐term operation results show that water supply reliabilities are significantly improved if the transferred water is jointly dispatched with the local water resources.     

Is the National Water Commission an appropriate institutional and governance structure to address the fundamental requirements of the water and irrigation industry in Australia?

The National Water Commission (NWC) and the $2 billion Australian Government Water Fund (the fund) has drawn attention to the need for innovative and adaptive practices for water use. The NWC and the fund, whilst a critical and catalytic step in the recognition of the current water situation in Australia, has thus far neglected to consider the systemic failures of the water, irrigation and related industries that led to this point. The underlying issue of the efficient allocation of water resources can be resolved by the harmonisation of competing demands (economic, social and environmental) and the establishment of governance structures to reduce institutional impediments. The linking of the fund to National Competition Council (NCC) payments is an important consideration in this process. This paper will argue that governance reform and institutional (re)alignment to remedy the impediments to the efficient allocation of water resources needs to be embedded in and linked to national competition policy principles. This paper will consider the NWC in this context with the aim of informing future policy to consider the systemic failures of the water industry and to forge institutional change for the more effective allocation of water.