A comparative appraisal of the use of rainwater harvesting in single and multi-family buildings of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (Spain): social experience,drinking water savings and economic costs

Many urban areas suffer water scarcity but paradoxically, a local source of water such as rainwater is mostly treated as a risk rather than as a valuable resource. Scepticism regarding the use of rainwater harvesting technologies still prevails today, particularly in low precipitation areas. However, some regions such as the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (MAB) have started to promote the use of rainwater through specific regulations and incentives. This paper aims to examine the use of rainwater harvesting in the two main types of buildings prevalent in the MAB by analysing users’ practices and perceptions, drinking water savings and economic costs. Despite low precipitation inputs and a high variability of precipitation, daily balances show that toilet flushing demand of a single family house can be practically met with a relatively small tank. Rooftop rainwater can also meet more than 60% of the landscape irrigation demand in both single and multi-family buildings. The main drawback is the long pay-back period that rainwater harvesting systems present today. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that in multi-family buildings residents usually take no notice of the costs associated with the system. In contrast, benefits for the whole society are usually much more appreciated. Users’ reactions and their level of satisfaction towards rainwater harvesting systems suggest that both regulations and subsidies are good strategies to advocate and expand rainwater harvesting technologies in residential areas. However, a multidirectional learning environment needs to be promoted to ensure a proper use of rainwater harvesting systems and risk minimisation.     

The impact of climate change mitigation on water demand for energy and food: An integrated analysis based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways

Climate change mitigation, in the context of growing population and ever increasing economic activity, will require a transformation of energy and agricultural systems, posing significant challenges to global water resources. We use an integrated modelling framework of the water-energy-land-climate systems to assess how changes in electricity and land use, induced by climate change mitigation, impact on water demand under alternative socioeconomic (Shared Socioeconomic Pathways) and water policy assumptions (irrigation of bioenergy crops, cooling technologies for electricity generation). The impacts of climate change mitigation on cumulated global water demand across the century are highly uncertain, and depending on socioeconomic and water policy conditions, they range from a reduction of 15,000 km³ to an increase of more than 160,000 km³. The impact of irrigation of bioenergy crops is the most prominent factor, leading to significantly higher water requirements under climate change mitigation if bioenergy crops are irrigated. Differences in socioeconomic drivers and fossil fuel availability result in significant differences in electricity and bioenergy demands, in the associated electricity and primary energy mixes, and consequently in water demand. Economic affluence and abundance of fossil fuels aggravate pressures on water resources due to higher energy demand and greater deployment of water intensive technologies such as bioenergy and nuclear power. The evolution of future cooling systems is also identified as an important determinant of electricity water demand. Climate policy can result in a reduction of water demand if combined with policies on irrigation of bioenergy, and the deployment of non-water-intensive electricity sources and cooling types.     

Scarce water resources and priority irrigation schemes from agronomic crops

Global environmental change places unavoidable pressure on water resources and agronomic crop production systems. Irrigation development is a credible measure to alleviate the challenge of food safety under water shortages, but it needs sufficient basis. The aim of this study is to address the problem of balancing water scarcity with food requirements, which are the key components of water security in regions with population growth. Marginal water productivity (MWP) indices for irrigation water performance and productivity evaluation were established in the current study. Based on the analysis of the regional water-crop relationship and spatial differences of MWP in China, the priorities for developing irrigation areas in different types of regions are discussed in this study. The results show that high MWPs are mainly in semi-arid regions with precipitation (P) between 500 and 1000 mm, while low MWPs mostly occur in areas with P more than 1000 and less than 500 mm. The significance and spatial distribution patterns of MWP are different than those of conventional irrigation water use efficiency evaluation indices, so its role cannot be replaced for the real production capacity of irrigation water evaluation. The strategies for global environmental change adaptation suggested in this study are taking MWP for irrigation water productivity evaluation and the priority irrigation schemes for agronomic crop determination; increasing MWP by means of irrigation efficiency and crop variety improvement worldwide; and raising global food production through the expansion of irrigation area in the regions hold high MWP and abundant water resources.

     

新疆玛纳斯河流域灌溉水资源保证程度及提升策略

从供需两方面,构建了区域灌溉水资源保证程度分析模型,利用该模型对玛纳斯河流域灌溉水资源保证程度进行了分析。结果表明,现状年玛纳斯河流域灌溉水资源保证程度为79.21%,各灌区存在较大的差异,下野地、莫索湾、金安、玛纳斯等灌区灌溉水资源保证程度较低,分别为69.09%、78.76%、78.25%、71.24%,明显处于亏缺状态,而石河子灌区达115.06%,处于相对盈余状态。在各灌区灌溉总面积维持现有数量以及保证灌区水资源安全的前提下,随着加大部分灌区(金安、玛纳斯和石河子灌区)地下水资源开发力度,大力发展高新节水技术以及调整种植结构,近期流域灌溉水资源保证程度总体可接近100%,但流域内除石河子灌区外,下野地、莫索湾、金安、玛纳斯等灌区灌溉水资源仍处于亏缺状态。2020年随着各种综合措施的进一步实施,全流域灌溉保证程度将增加至113.19%,各灌区将实现灌溉水资源供需平衡。最后,针对3类不同灌溉水资源保证程度地区的水资源利用状况,提出了差别化的提升策略。     

Impact of climate change on regional irrigation water demand in Baojixia irrigation district of China

Water scarcity in China would possibly be aggravated by rapid increase in water demand for irrigation due to climate change. This paper focuses on the mechanism of climate change impact on regional irrigation water demand by considering the dynamic feedback relationships among climate change, irrigation water demand and adaptation measures. The model in implemented using system dynamics approach and employed in Baojixia irrigation district located in Shaanxi Province of China to analyses the changes in irrigation water demand under different climate change scenarios. Obtained results revealed that temperature will be the dominant factor to determine irrigation water demand in the area. An increase of temperature by 1 °C will result in net irrigation water demand to increase by about 12,050?×?10⁴ m³ and gross water demand by about 20,080?×?10⁴ m³ in the area. However, irrigation water demand will not increase at the same rate of temperature rise as the adaptation measures will eventually reduce the water demand increased by temperature rise. It is expected that the modeling approach presented in this study can be used in adopting policy responses to reduce climate change impacts on water resources.     

滇池河流降雨径流资源利用的技术途径

根据城市污水土地处理慢速渗滤等工艺的去除率BOD₅和COD_Cr分别为84.3%和82.5%,TP、KN和NH_3-N分别为94.9%、85.8%和89.4%,SS也高达58.4%。保证这类生态工程终年稳定运行的核心问题是:处理出水水质稳定和处理水量的稳定。影响稳定的主要因素有作物非用水季节(收获和栽种)的水量调节系统、雨季稳定运行和高去除率的处理工艺、适应慢速土地处理的气候和土壤等环境条件以及水量平衡调节与管理的有效保证。集水区域内实行分区管理的截流和改善下垫面排水调控能力的水利工程,配合使用灌溉型慢速土地处理(SR)或植物生长淹没床(VSB)湿地资源化利用与处理系统等生态工程处理工艺,是实现降雨径流资源化利用的主要技术保证。     

河套灌区土壤水和地下水动态变化及水平衡研究

为探究田间土壤水及地下水在不同作物种植区、不同灌期等情况下的动态变化规律与水平衡特征,以春小麦、玉米、向日葵为典型作物,在河套灌区选取4块2亩的试验田,于2009年4-11月采集田间土壤及地下水样品进行研究.结果表明,不同作物地块间土壤含水率的变化差别主要集中在5-9月的作物生长期.夏灌灌水量不足,土壤含水率呈下降趋势,田间土壤水分变化属于“蒸腾蒸发消耗型”;秋浇期内水量充足,各地块各土层含水率均明显增加,田间土壤水分呈“入渗补给型”.各地块地下水埋深月均变化趋势基本一致,由于优先流的存在,地下水对灌溉降水响应快.本文定量研究了区域土壤水和地下水的变化规律,揭示了灌区水平衡要素间的相互转换关系,可为灌区科学合理的水资源管理提供理论依据.     

Adaptation of land management in the Mediterranean under scenarios of irrigation water use and availability

Meeting the growing demand for food in the future will require adaptation of water and land management to future conditions. We studied the extent of different adaptation options to future global change in the Mediterranean region, under scenarios of water use and availability. We focused on the most significant adaptation options for semiarid regions: implementing irrigation, changes to cropland intensity, and diversification of cropland activities. We used Conversion of Land Use on Mondial Scale (CLUMondo), a global land system model, to simulate future change to land use and land cover, and land management. To take into account future global change, we followed global outlooks for future population and climate change, and crop and livestock demand. The results indicate that the level of irrigation efficiency improvement is an important determinant of potential changes in the intensity of rain-fed land systems. No or low irrigation efficiency improvements lead to a reduction in irrigated areas, accompanied with intensification and expansion of rain-fed cropping systems. When reducing water withdrawal, total crop production in intensive rain-fed systems would need to increase significantly: by 130% without improving the irrigation efficiency in irrigated systems and by 53% under conditions of the highest possible efficiency improvement. In all scenarios, traditional Mediterranean multifunctional land systems continue to play a significant role in food production, especially in hosting livestock. Our results indicate that significant improvements to irrigation efficiency with simultaneous increase in cropland productivity are needed to satisfy future demands for food in the region. The approach can be transferred to other similar regions with strong resource limitations in terms of land and water.     

Eco-environmental water demands for the Baiyangdian Wetland

In recent years, the hydrological characters of Baiyangdian Wetland have changed greatly, which, in turn, influence the biotic component, the structure and function of the wetland ecosystem. In order to determine the demands for water resources of ecological wetland system, a method of ecological water level coefficient was suggested to calculate the water resources demands for wetland environment use. This research showed that the minimum coefficient is 0.94 and the optimal coefficient is more than 1.10. According to these two coefficients, the ecological water level and water quantity can be estimated. The results indicate that the amount of the minimal and optimal eco-environmental water requirements are 0.87 × 10⁸ and 2.78 × 10⁸ m³ in average monthly, respectively, with the maximum eco-environmental water requirement in summer and the minimum in winter. The annual change of eco-environment water demand is in according with the climate change and hydrological characters. The method of ecological water level emphasizes that wetland ecosystem adapts to the hydrological conditions, so it can be used in practice well. __________ Translated from Acta Scientiae Circumstantiae, 2005, 25(8): 1,119–1,126 [译自: 环境科学学报]     

国家应通过立法，强制推行中水回用

西南部地区干旱突显出我国水资源的供求矛盾。中水回用可以提高水资源的使用效率、缓解水资源匮乏的问题，但从全国看，推行的阻力很大。建议通过立法，强制推行中水回用政策，以实现水资源的可持续利用和社会经济的可持续发展。     

“一带一路”沿线国家水资源禀赋及开发利用分析

水资源是基础性的战略资源,开展“一带一路”沿线国家水资源研究对于促进“一带一路”的科学建设具有重要意义。基于世界银行与联合国粮农组织水资源数据库,从水资源开发利用角度入手,分析“一带一路”沿线国家水资源自然禀赋、利用状况,在此基础上进一步分析水资源开发潜力。结果表明：（1）从水资源禀赋来看,“一带一路”沿线国家地表水、地下水和水资源总量均以俄罗斯、中国、东南亚和南亚地区相对较高,中亚、西亚等地区相对较低;人均水资源量则以中东欧、俄罗斯和东南亚地区较高,西亚、南亚地区较低;“一带一路”沿线国家外来水依赖率整体表现为跨境河流下游高,上游及海岛国家低。（2）就水资源利用而言,“一带一路”沿线国家用水量整体呈现“东多西少”的格局,人均用水量表现为“中亚最高,周边较低”的特点;用水结构亚洲国家多以农业用水为主,中东欧国家则多以工业用水为主。（3）水资源开发潜力分析发现,阿拉伯半岛地区各国水资源开发潜力很低,中东欧及东南亚地区水资源开发潜力很高。     

区域水资源介循环利用模式:概念·结构·特征

为解决我国面临的突出水环境问题,破解经济发展需求与水资源短缺、水环境污染和水生态破坏之间的矛盾,提出区域水资源“介循环”(water meta-cycle)利用模式,系统地阐述了区域水资源介循环利用模式的结构特征、基本特点和目标定位,并通过案例分析了其适用效果. 介循环是一种人工强化生态调控的区域水资源多阶多元循环利用模式. 通过企业、家庭和社区等局部单元内的水循环利用,工业和城市等社会系统尺度内的污水再生处理与直接利用,以及区域层面上再生水的生态媒介循环利用(water natural system-mediated reuse)等,促进不同层阶和不同用途水循环利用的有机衔接与耦合,实现再生水的安全聪巧(safe and smart)利用、区域尺度上水资源的闭环循环利用和趋零排放. 区域水资源介循环利用模式以再生水的生态媒介循环利用为核心,具有闭环趋零、多阶多元、强化调控和复合高效等特点,有望成为区域水资源可持续管理、保障水环境安全的有效模式.      

我国西部水资源供需关系地区性差异变化研究

利用地理信息系统技术,对我国西部12个省(市、区)按流域进行了划分,结合1980年和1990年水文资料,比较了我国西部各流域两个时段可供水量、需水量、缺水量和缺水率变化,系统分析了西部水资源供需关系变化的地区性差异及其原因,并预测了未来我国西部缺水情况,这些研究为我国西部大开发战略的实施提供了基础性依据。     

查干湖汇水区面源污染风险识别及管控

面源污染是我国流域面临的主要水环境问题,为了识别面源污染高风险区和潜在风险路径,实现流域水环境保护,以查干湖水质目标为约束条件,构建4类关键“源”景观.选取高程、坡度、土地利用类型、污染强度、距居民点距离、距公路距离、距铁路距离、距水体距离等8个评价因子构建阻力面,对查干湖汇水区面源污染风险区和风险路径进行识别,提出管控分区和治理措施.结果表明:①查干湖汇水区关键“源”景观有4类,分别为面源污染单位面积高负荷区、坡度>3°区域、污染传输通道和临湖区域,面积共126.33 km2.②查干湖汇水区面源污染高风险区即面源污染重点管控区,占汇水区总面积的27.10%,主要位于乾安灌区有字泡区域、查干湖及周边泡沼沿岸.区内现有耕地不再增加,同时对坡度较大的区域退耕还湿、退耕还草,并设置污染降解设施.③查干湖汇水区面源污染较高风险区即面源污染一般管控区,占汇水区总面积的20.23%.该区鼓励开展有机农业,发展生态旅游.④查干湖北岸和东南岸、库里泡周边设置一定宽度的植被缓冲带,汇水区设置生态降解渠道333.41 km,生态湿地节点9个.研究显示,污染排放强度是查干湖汇水区面源污染风险的主要威胁因素,需要重点加强查干湖汇水区乾安灌区有字泡、湖区北岸及东南岸的面源污染管控.      

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.     

海河流域水量平衡与水资源安全问题研究

海河流域的水资源问题十分严重,但是水量平衡问题尚未很好地解决。水量平衡有三层含义,第一是降雨径流平衡;第二是水资源的供用耗排平衡;第三是水资源的供需平衡。目前海河流域水资源供用耗排平衡不明确的主要原因是非用水消耗量的定量不明确,论文对海河流域的现状水量平衡问题进行了分析和计算,得出了一般平水偏枯年份下的各平衡要素是定量值,其中海河流域年用水量为410×10⁸m³,入海水量为50×10⁸～100×10⁸m³,非用水消耗量为59×10⁸～71×10⁸m³,并对缺水量进行估算。论文还分析了近年来海河流域的用水特点,对水资源供需平衡进行研究和探讨,按照有关方法对过去几年中海河水安全状况进行评价,得出了1994～1996年海河流域供水安全而1997～2001年不安全的结论,并提出了今后要达到水资源供需平衡需要的条件以及应采取的对策和建议。     

The vulnerability of hydropower production in the Zambezi River Basin to the impacts of climate change and irrigation development

The Zambezi River Basin in southern Africa is relatively undeveloped from both a hydropower and irrigated agriculture perspective, despite the existence of the large Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams. Accelerating economic growth increases the potential for competition for water between hydropower and irrigated agriculture, and climate change will add additional stresses to this system. The objective of this study was to assess the vulnerability of major existing and planned new hydropower plants to changes in climate and upstream irrigation demand. Our results show that Kariba is highly vulnerable to a drying climate, potentially reducing average electricity generation by 12 %. Furthermore, the expansion of Kariba generating capacity is unlikely to deliver the expected increases in production even under a favourable climate. The planned Batoka Gorge plant may also not be able to reach the anticipated production levels from the original feasibility study. Cahora Bassa’s expansion is viable under a wetting climate, but its potential is less likely to be realised under a drying climate. The planned Mphanda Nkuwa plant can reach expected production levels under both climates if hydropower is given water allocation priority, but not if irrigation is prioritised, which is likely. For both Cahora Bassa and Mphanda Nkuwa, prioritising irrigation demand over hydropower could severely compromise these plants’ output. Therefore, while climate change is the most important overall driver of variation in hydropower potential, increased irrigation demand will also have a major negative impact on downstream plants in Mozambique. This implies that climate change and upstream development must be explicitly incorporated into both project and system expansion planning.     

内蒙古农业灌区水循环特征及对土壤水运移影响的分析

针对引黄灌区所面临的水资源问题及灌溉引起的环境问题,以内蒙古河套灌区为研究对象,从灌溉引水、用水、排水之间的转化关系为切入点,以地表水、土壤水和地下水之间的水量平衡理论为基础,定量研究了河套灌区在人类影响条件下的水循环特征.结果表明:灌区内的水循环过程为灌溉(降雨)-下渗-潜水蒸发类型,降水的影响较小,以灌溉水的垂向入渗和潜水的蒸发蒸腾消耗为主,地下水消耗量大于补给量,地下水位呈逐年下降趋势.通过HYDRUS模型模拟计算了河套灌区不同灌溉时期(作物生长期和秋浇期)葵花根层(0～40cm)土壤水的动态规律.结果表明,灌区葵花土壤的水含量在生长期呈下降趋势;在秋浇期呈上升趋势.土壤水渗漏动态与灌溉或降雨关系密切,生育期、秋浇期土壤水渗漏量分别与相应时期的灌水量显著相关.     

西北地区县域农业水资源平衡问题研究

水土资源不匹配和水资源时空分布不均的自然本底,加之人口大量增加和经济高速发展的驱动,使得西北地区农业水资源供需矛盾十分突出。论文系统分析了县域单元农业水资源平衡的两个层次及其计算方法,并对西北地区314个县域单元进行了实证研究。天然状态下农田水量平衡模型计算结果表明:西北地区各个县域单元降水均不能满足各种作物的水分需求,亏水为水量平衡的首要特征。就各省而言,新疆为亏水量最高的省份,其多年平均作物亏水量达628.02mm,陕西最小,其值为87.51mm。人工状态下水土资源平衡模型结果表明:受灌溉水平的影响,西北地区各个县域单元水量平衡差异明显。各省份中,新疆水土资源利用处于水少地多的超量承载状态,其它各省灌水量略有盈余,灌溉面积的扩大尚有一定潜力。     

浅析水资源与人口、经济和社会环境的关系

水资源是人类社会生存和发展的物质基础,水资源问题是涉及到包括人口、经济、社会与环境的一个复杂巨系统。在对水资源的概念及其自然、经济和社会等属性综述的基础上,详细论述了水资源与水文循环、水量平衡结构、人口、经济、社会与环境等的相互关系,并以黄河流域水资源问题为例,说明目前阶段的水资源问题与人口、经济发展、社会与环境的联系愈加紧密。在上述分析的基础上,作者认为水资源承载力是刻画水资源与区域人口、经济、社会与环境复杂关系的一个很好的分析途径,并进一步明晰了水资源承载力的概念和研究方向。