Attitudes to conservation and water consumption

Sydney's water supply is under great pressure as the demand continues to rise. Demand mitigation strategies have had some success, but domestic consumption remains high. This paper discusses the attitudes of households to their water consumption in a search for ways in which domestic demand for water may be reduced. Evidence on attitudes of households in different kinds of housing was obtained using a telephone interview survey supplemented by information derived from focus groups drawn from households in the same areas. The information was collected in a period when strong water use restrictions were in place and major arguments were being mounted in favour of water pricing as a way of moderating demand. The paper argues that the complexity of the forces shaping demand needs to be understood in the context of the socio-demographic composition of households in different kinds of dwellings, as well as the cultural, behavioural and institutional aspects of consumption, if public policy is to be successful in reducing consumption and/or providing alternative domestic supplies of potable water.     

Problems of Syrdarya river basin management

Prior to independence, Central Asian countries were closely interconnected through the regional management incorporating water, energy, and food sectors. This approach, supported by the central government of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), functioned effectively — meeting the needs of both upstream and downstream countries. However, after independence, Central Asian countries started prioritizing their own economic development policies without due account to regional concerns such as joint use of water resources, leading to instability. In this study, the case of Syrdarya basin was investigated to show how such strategies create tension in the region, since primary focus is given to national interests, without consideration for regional problems. To address this issue, an integrated approach to incorporating water, energy, and agriculture is needed. It is suggested that a single sector approach on water alone does not lead to stability, and a multi-sectoral approach is necessary to ensure sustainable development. Countries sharing benefits from the river have to be responsible for costs of operation and maintenance of the water facilities.     

Climate change and water resources management in Tuwei river basin of Northwest China

Water resources are an integral part of the socio-economic-environmental system. Water resources have dynamic interactions with related social, economic and environmental elements, as well as regulatory factors that are characterized by non-linear and multi-loop feedbacks. In this paper, a complex System Dynamic (SD) model is used to study the relationship among population growth, economic development, climate change, management strategies and water resources, and identify the best management strategy to adapt with the changing environment in the Tuwei river basin of Northwest China. Three management alternatives viz. business as usual, water supply management and water demand management are studied under different climate change scenarios. Results indicate that water shortage rate in Tuwei river basin may increase up to 80 % by the year 2030 if current management practices are continued or the supply based management strategy is adopted. On the other hand, water demand management can keep the water shortage rate within a tolerable limit and therefore can be considered as the sustainable strategy for water resources management to maintain the economic growth and ecological status of the Tuwei river basin.     

Gini coefficient to assess equity in domestic water supply in the Yellow River

Yellow River, is designated as “the cradle of Chinese civilization” and played a key role not only in the country’s economic development but also in the historic and cultural identity of the Chinese people. With the rapid economic development and population growth, water demand for industry and households has increased significantly in the Yellow River basin; this has caused an increasing gap between water supply and demand. Competing water demands triggered conflicts between disparate water users on different scales such as the rich and the poor, or between different sectors and regions, such as domestic and agriculture, agriculture and industry, upstream and downstream, rural and urban areas, etc. Ensuring equity in water supply for conflicting water users is one of the major challenges that facing water managers and in particular water management in the Yellow River basin. In this paper, a method has been developed to calculate the Gini coefficient of water use as an indicator to measure the equality in domestic water supply. A dual domestic water use structure model is employed for this purpose. The developed method is subsequently applied to assess the equality in domestic water supply in the Yellow River. Data of population growth, domestic water use and economic development over the time period 1999-2006 are used to calculate the Gini coefficient of water use over the same length of period. The result shows a decreasing trend in Gini coefficient of domestic water use in the Yellow River basin after 2001 which means domestic water use is becoming more and more equitable in the basin. The study justifies that the Gini coefficient of water use can be used and recommended as a useful tool for the water management especially in the context of global change.     

Climate change, water availability and future cereal production in China

Climate scenarios from a regional climate model are used to drive crop and water simulation models underpinned by the IPCC A2 and B2 socio-economic development pathways to explore water availability for agriculture in China in the 2020s and 2040s. Various measures of water availability are examined at river basin and provincial scale in relation to agricultural and non-agricultural water demand and current and planned expansions to the area under irrigation. The objectives are to understand the influences of different drivers on future water availability to support China's food production. Hydrological simulations produce moderate to large increases in total water availability in response to increases in future precipitation. Total water demand increases nationally and in most basins, but with a decreasing share for agriculture due primarily to competition from industrial, domestic and municipal sectors. Crop simulations exhibit moderate to large increases in irrigation water demand which is found to be highly sensitive to the characteristics of daily precipitation in the climate scenarios. The impacts of climate change on water availability for agriculture are small compared to the role of socio-economic development.The study identifies significant spatial differences in impacts at the river basin and provincial level. In broad terms water availability for agriculture declines in southern China and remains stable in northern China. The combined impacts of climate change and socio-economic development produce decreases in future irrigation areas, especially the area of irrigated paddy rice. Overall, the results suggest that there will be insufficient water for agriculture in China in the coming decades, due primarily to increases in water demand for non-agricultural uses, which will have significant implications for adaptation strategies and policies for agricultural production and water management.     

Catastrophe theory to assess water security and adaptation strategy in the context of environmental change

Economic development, population growth, urbanization and climate change have led to an increasing water shortage across the globe. Ensuring water security under changing environment will be the greatest challenge for water resources managers in near future. In this paper, catastrophe theory based multi-criteria evaluation model has been proposed to assess water security under different management strategies to recommend the best water management strategy to achieve water security in the context of global environmental change. The assessment model involves future scenarios of climate change, population growth and economic development. Total 16 indicators related to climate, socio-economy and water availability and consumption have been proposed to measure water security under three management strategies viz. business-as-usual, water demand management and water supply management. The model has been applied to Yulin city of North West China to assess water security as well as to identify the water management strategy under changing environment. The results show that under business-as-usual situation the water shortage rate will reach up to 44 % by the year 2020 and up to 70 % by the year 2030 in Yulin. Water supply is required to increase by 41 % to meet the water demand under supply management strategy which is beyond the safe baseline rate. The study reveals that water demand management can reduce the gap between water supply and demand to a reasonable amount and therefore, can be considered as the most effective approach for adapting with environment change.     

Water quality issues in the Nakdong River Basin in the Republic of Korea

A framework for evaluating alternative management strategies for the Nakdong River Basin in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was developed and applied jointly by Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois, USA, and the Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology in Pohang, South Korea. Water from this basin, the second largest in South Korea, supports a total population of more than 13 million people. Rapid industrial expansion, urbanization, and population growth have dramatically increased the demand for water and have severely degraded water quality, particularly near large industrial complexes and in the lower portion of the basin. Management strategies for the entire basin through to the year 2011 were evaluated with a computer model for basin-wide predictions of water flow and quality (HSPF). This continuous-event model was developed and calibrated using site-specific data for the basin over a two-year period (1994-1995) that included periods of both high (monsoonal) and low (drought) flows. Water quality impacts for different wastewater treatment strategies were assessed in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) levels. The results of the study indicate that BOD levels in the main stem of the Nakdong River below the Kumhogang (a major tributary with low flow and heavy pollution loads) cannot be significantly improved by reducing direct BOD loads from point sources along the river. To reduce main stem BOD levels, the nutrient loading to the river must be reduced. In order to reduce these loads, additional advanced treatment methods (i.e., tertiary treatment) must be incorporated in the treatment facilities to remove N and P. The discharge inventory data further suggest that a large portion of N and P loads are derived from non-point agricultural practices. Reduction of these loads is difficult to accomplish and may require extensive modifications in agricultural and land-use practices. The modeling framework developed provides a means to evaluate these and other basin management strategies.     

Water quality issues in the Nakdong River Basin in the Republic of Korea

A framework for evaluating alternative management strategies for the Nakdong River Basin in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was developed and applied jointly by Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois, USA, and the Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology in Pohang, South Korea. Water from this basin, the second largest in South Korea, supports a total population of more than 13 million people. Rapid industrial expansion, urbanization, and population growth have dramatically increased the demand for water and have severely degraded water quality, particularly near large industrial complexes and in the lower portion of the basin. Management strategies for the entire basin through to the year {dy2011} were evaluated with a computer model for basin-wide predictions of water flow and quality (HSPF). This continuous-event model was developed and calibrated using site-specific data for the basin over a two-year period (1994-1995) that included periods of both high (monsoonal) and low (drought) flows. Water quality impacts for different wastewater treatment strategies were assessed in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) levels. The results of the study indicate that BOD levels in the main stem of the Nakdong River below the Kumhogang (a major tributary with low flow and heavy pollution loads) cannot be significantly improved by reducing direct BOD loads from point sources along the river. To reduce main stem BOD levels, the nutrient loading to the river must be reduced. In order to reduce these loads, additional advanced treatment methods (i.e., tertiary treatment) must be incorporated in the treatment facilities to remove N and P. The discharge inventory data further suggest that a large portion of N and P loads are derived from non-point agricultural practices. Reduction of these loads is difficult to accomplish and may require extensive modifications in agricultural and land-use practices. The modeling frame-work developed provides a means to evaluate these and other basin management strategies.     

Impacts of climate variability and changes on domestic water use in the Yellow River Basin of China

We present a methodology for using a domestic water use time series that were obtained from Yellow River Conservancy Commission, together with the climatic records from the National Climate Center of China to evaluate the effects of climate variability on water use in the Yellow River Basin. A suit of seven Global Circulation Models (GCMs) were adopted to anticipate future climate patterns in the Yellow River. The historical records showed evidences of rises in temperature and subsequent rises in domestic water demand in the basin. For Upstream of Longyangxia region, the impact was the least, with only 0.0021?×?10⁸ m³ for a temperature increase of 1 °C; while for Longyangxia-Lanzhou region, domestic water use was found to increase to 0.18?×?10⁸ m³ when temperature increases 1 °C. Downstream of Huayuankou was the region with the most changes in temperature that gave the highest increase of 1.95?×?10⁸ m³ in domestic water demand for 1 °C of change of temperature. Downstream of Huayuankou was identified as the most vulnerable area, where domestic water demand increases nearly by 42.2 % with 1 °C increase of temperature. Judging from the trends of temperature range, we concluded that future temperature in Yellow River Basin has an increasing tendency. This could worsen the existing issues of domestic water demand and even more to trigger high competition among different water-using sectors.     

一种农村生活污水流量在线监测新方法

流量是农村生活污水处理设施所需在线监测的重要运行参数之一。根据农村生活污水的导电特性,探索出了一种农村生活污水流量在线监测的新方法,该方法主要利用巴歇尔槽和基于污水导电性的液位计（CLG）实现流量的在线监测。巴歇尔槽可将流量数据测量转化为液位数据测量。CLG主要由测量电极和参比电极2部分组成,通过试验进一步确定CLG的最佳工艺设计条件为:400 Hz频率的交流电源供电条件下,测量电极和参比电极支路上均串联10 kΩ的电阻。经校正后,CLG平均相对误差为3.49%,测量误差中位数为0.3 cm,量程至少为2.1~19.2 cm。将由CLG和巴歇尔槽所构成的流量在线监测试验样机安装应用于实际发现,该样机与其他流量计所监测到的日流量数据均在0.01水平（双侧）上显著相关,说明该农村生活污水流量在线监测方法在实际应用中可实现流量的远程在线监测,具有可行性。     

The economics of green transition strategies for cities: Can low carbon,energy efficient development approaches be adapted to demand side urban water efficiency?

Cities are major contributors to global emissions, producers of waste and consumers of resources such as energy, water and food: implementing green development strategies is hence a core challenge of modern city-planning. The attention of research has been focusing on the development of energy efficient, low carbon strategies, yet city decision-makers need truly integrated approaches, as the one proposed by the water-energy-food Nexus. The purpose of our paper is to investigate whether it is possible to take one step in this direction by extending existing approaches to energy efficiency strategies to progressively include other priority resources, in particular water. To test this hypothesis we have taken a robust and well accepted methodology, the ELCC (Economics of Low Carbon development strategies for Cities) developed by SEI and CCCEP, and we have extended it to the case of demand side water efficiency strategies for cities. We have then applied the adapted ELCC framework to the case study of the domestic sector of the city of Bologna (Italy), identifying and prioritizing several efficiency measures. Measures were evaluated through their capital investment, annual values of savings, payback period and reduction in consumption, and then aggregated in different scenarios in order to highlight potential urban investments and to showcase a possible approach to the prioritization of demand side water efficiency measures. The results show that, with an upfront investment of € 17 million, a feasible subset of Bologna’s households could be equipped with five selected cost-effective measures, generating annual savings of € 10.2 million and reducing the total domestic water consumption of 34% by 2020 compared to the 2012 initial value. With additional € 28.5 million, households could be equipped with more costly appliances reaching an overall water reduction of 37% by 2020. Our findings confirm that it is possible to successfully extend current approaches to urban energy efficiency strategies to include demand side water efficiency, adding an important building block to the construction of an integrated Nexus-based approach to green development strategies at the city-level. We encourage further tests to confirm the robustness of the methodology.     

Water resources management strategy for adaptation to droughts in China

Water Scarcity and drought are recurrent phenomena in China. In the context of environmental change, an increasing tendency in drought frequency and severity is observed in China in recent years. Therefore, it is imperative to take necessary initiatives to reduce the impacts of drought. In this paper, an attempt is made to identify the best water management strategies to cope with droughts. For this objective the records of historical droughts and their impacts in China over the period of 1950?C2009 are analyzed. It is observed that the drought affected area has increased nearly by 12 folds and the drought damaged area has increased by about 22 times in China in last 60?years. Over 87,000 reservoirs were built with a total water storage capacity of about 7,064 billion m³ to cope with droughts. However, this structural supply-based management strategy was not enough to meet the increasing water demand caused by rapid economic development and population growth. A typical relationship between socio-economic development and water resources management strategy to attain sustainability in water management is developed in this study. The relationship shows that the demand-side water management strategies can be the best option to meet the challenges posed by increased severity of drought, population growth, economic development and possible climate change. The concept is later verified through the analysis of changing pattern of water consumptions by different sectors in last 60?years.     

城市供水管网漏损控制潜力研究

在我国各城市普遍缺水的同时，城市供水管网的漏损状况却相当的严重，科学衡量漏损控制的潜力，对于控制漏损和科学地进行城市水资源规划和需求管理非常重要。从技术潜力、经济潜力、社会潜力三方面将城市供水管网漏损控制的潜力进行了分析。提出了以社会最优值作为漏损控制的目标，以社会潜力作为需求管理的依据，同时综合考虑技术潜力和经济潜力。社会最优控制水平和企业的经济漏损控制水平之间有时会存在很大差异。科学的划分政府和企业在控制漏损的义务是非常必要的，如果需要企业的漏损控制水平小于经济漏损水平时政府应该给予一定的补偿，这样才能增加企业控制管网漏损的积极性。     

Institutional design in transformation: A comparative study of local irrigation governance in Uzbekistan

The irrigation sector constitutes the backbone of Uzbekistan's economy, providing social and economic stability in the region. The sector collapsed with the fall of the Soviet Union, due to worsening of infrastructure conditions causing tensions among resource users. Subsequent irrigation management reforms were implemented in a top-down manner. More than a decade after the initial reforms – which established local Water Consumers Association (WCA) and transferred operation and maintenance responsibilities for on-farm irrigation canals – the poor performance of these associations is still apparent, illustrating the heritage of the strong role of state agencies in Uzbek water management that still affects collective irrigation management today. This paper identifies the necessary and sufficient conditions for successfully managing common pool resources (CPRs) and, more specifically, irrigation canal maintenance in the rural Bukhara region of Uzbekistan. Fifteen WCAs were examined regarding conditions that may facilitate successful irrigation canal maintenance. Methods involved focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with the associations concerned. Data gathered was analyzed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The results indicate that two paths of local factors can lead to well-maintained irrigation canals: (1) the combination of appropriate chairmanship skills with sustainable resource appropriation or (2) the combination of appropriate chairmanship skills with the presence of effective participatory governance. The results also illustrate the role of path-dependence and traditional co-production of irrigation management in Uzbekistan.     

Three decades of changes in water environment of a large freshwater Lake and its relationship with socio-economic indicators

Tai Lake (Ch: Taihu) has attracted international attention forcyanobacteria blooms. However, the drivers of cultural eutrophication, especially long-term socio-economic indicators have been little researched. The results of research demonstrate how socio-economic development affected quality of water and how it has been improved by anthropogenic activities. This study described variability in indicators of water quality in Tai Lakeand investigated thedrivers. Significant relationships existed between concentrations of annual mean total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD), and population, per capital gross domestic production (GDP) and sewage discharge (p?<?0.05). However, mechanisms causing change varied among TN, TP, COD and BOD. Before 2000, the main contributors to increases in concentrations of TN were human population, GDP and volumes of domestic sewage discharges. After 2000, discharges of industrial sewage become the primary contributor. After 1998, the regressions of annual mean TN, TP and COD on per capital GDP, population and domestic sewage discharge were reversed compared to the former period. Since 1999, an apparent inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental pollution and economic development has developed, which indicated that actions taken by governments have markedly improved quality of water in Tai Lake. The statistical relationship between BOD and per capital GDP didn’t conform to the Kuznet curve. The U-shaped Kuznet curve may offer hope for the future that with significant environmental investments a high GDP can be reached and maintained without degradation of the environment, especially through appropriate management of industrial sewage discharge.     

Coping with change: responses of the Uzbek water management regime to socio-economic transition and global change

Water management in Uzbekistan (Central Asia) is facing tremendous challenges. They are rooted in past and present environmental degradation, the socio-economic transition after the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the impacts of climate change. The Uzbek government has initiated reforms in the agricultural and water sectors to steer the socio-economic transition and address the threats of increasing water scarcity and decreasing agricultural productivity. However, despite the urgency of the problems and massive international assistance changes to the water management regime have only been minimal so far. In this paper we identify major structural barriers for adaptation of the water management regime through an analysis of two recent policy processes. Both processes address pressing water management issues such as “coping with extreme events” and “providing water for ecosystems”. They were analyzed using the Management and Transition Framework as well as a group model building exercises with stakeholders on the national, regional and local levels. The analyses reveal a lack of vertical integration across administrative levels of the formal system and a still prevailing strong centralization of water management. Moreover the water management regime is strongly influenced by informal institutions that shape the outcomes of policy processes. The interactions guided by informal institutions provide an informal link between different administrative levels of the regime. However, those informal networks and the social capital embedded in them rather prevent needed changes. The resulting combination of top down institutional change initiated by socio-economic transition and bottom-up consolidation of the existing status quo via informal processes and networks prevents social learning. It also slows down an adaptation process that potentially could lead to a transition towards a more adaptive regime.     

黄河健康生命初探

在分析黄河演变规律的基础上,提出维持黄河健康生命是人类与黄河和谐相处的必然要求,同时黄河健康生命的保障程度决定于人类经济社会的发展水平。针对目前维持黄河健康生命面临的主要挑战,阐述了现阶段治黄工作的基本原则和工作重点,提出目前维持黄河的健康生命首先在于保障黄河自身用水,需要通过全流域节水或跨流域调水对水资源进行合理配置,保障黄河的输沙水量、自净需水量和生态需水量等。另外,减少入黄泥沙和合理布置河道工程也是保障黄河健康生命的重要途径。     

Re-thinking water policy priorities in the Mediterranean region in view of climate change

Water is scarce in Mediterranean countries: cities are crowded with increasing demand; food is produced with large amounts of water; ecosystems demand more water that is often available; drought affects all. As climate change impacts become more noticeable and costlier, some current water management strategies will not be useful. According to the findings of CIRCE, the areas with limited water resources will increase in the coming decades with major consequences for the way we produce food and we protect ecosystems. Based on these projections this paper discusses water policy priorities for climate change adaptation in the Mediterranean. We first summarise the main challenges to water resources in Mediterranean countries and outline the risks and opportunities for water under climate change based on previous studies. Recognising the difficulty to go from precipitation to water policy, we then present a framework to evaluate water availability in response to natural and management conditions, with an example of application in the Ebro basin that exemplifies other Mediterranean areas. Then we evaluate adaptive capacity to understand the ability of Mediterranean countries to face, respond and recover from climate change impacts on water resources. Social and economic factors are key drivers of inequality in the adaptive capacity across the region. Based on the assessment of impacts and adaptive capacity we suggest thresholds for water policy to respond to climate change and link water scarcity indicators to relevant potential adaptation strategies. Our results suggest the need to further prioritise socially and economically sensitive policies.     

Management Options to Conserve and Sequester Carbon in the Agricultural Sector of the Former Soviet Union

Several management practices are available to conserve and sequester C in the agricultural sector of the former Soviet Union (FSU). The highest rate of C accumulation would result from the implementation of a no-till management option which will only continue during the first ten years until new C equilibrium is reached. Agroforestry management options provide a longer period for C accumulation, but at a lower rate. It is possible that the longest period of C conservation may be achieved by increasing the area under perennial grasses in the crop rotation. During the first decade of implementation of the management practices, the amount of C conserved or sequestered would be approximately equal to the current rate of net C sequestration in FSU forest sector. At present, agricultural soils and vegetation of the FSU store approximately 120 Pg C; the accumulation of soil organic matter is 0.032 Pg C yr^-1. The annual C loss in the FSU agricultural sector was estimated at 0.21 Pg C yr^-1.     

城市供水管网漏损控制潜力研究

在我国备城市普遍缺水的同时,城市供水管网的漏损状况却相当的严重,科学衡量漏损控制的潜力,对于控制漏损和科学地进行城市水资源规划和需求管理非常重要.从技术潜力、经济潜力、社会潜力三方面将城市供水管网漏损控制的潜力进行了分析.提出了以社会最优值作为漏损控制的目标,以社会潜力作为需求管理的依据,同时综合考虑技术潜力和经济潜力.社会最优控制水平和企业的经济漏损控制水平之间有时会存在很大差异.科学的划分政府和企业在控制漏损的义务是非常必要的,如果需要企业的漏损控制水平小于经济漏损水平时政府应该给予一定的补偿,这样才能增加企业控制管网漏损的积极性.