Urban Water Scarcity in Semi-arid Regions: Water Management in Southern Spain

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Álvaro-Francisco Morote ◽  
Saeid Eslamian
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Southern Spain ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Semi Arid

Working towards sustainable urban water management: the vulnerability blind spot

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 2362-2369 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Werbeloff ◽  
R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Diversity Strategy

The unprecedented water scarcity in Australia coincides with the adoption of a new urban water rhetoric. The ‘Security through Diversity’ strategy has been adopted in a number of Australian cities as a new and innovative approach to urban water management. Although this strategy offers a more holistic approach to urban water management, in practice, the Security through Diversity strategy is largely being interpreted and implemented in a way that maintains the historical dependence on large scale, centralised water infrastructure and therefore perpetuates existing urban water vulnerabilities. This research explores the implementation of Security through Diversity as the new water scarcity response strategy in the cities of Perth and Melbourne. Through a qualitative study with over sixty-five urban water practitioners, the results reveal that the practitioners have absorbed the new Security through Diversity language whilst maintaining the existing problem and solution framework for urban water management. This can be explained in terms of an entrenched technological path dependency and cognitive lock-in that is preventing practitioners from more comprehensively engaging with the complexities of the Security through Diversity strategy, which is ultimately perpetuating the existing vulnerability of our cities. This paper suggests that greater engagement with the underlying purpose of the security though diversity strategy is a necessary first step to overcome the constraints of the traditional technological paradigm and more effectively reduce the continued vulnerability of Australian cities.

scholarly journals REÚSO DE ÁGUA E CONSTRUÇÃO DE CENÁRIOS FUTUROS: PERSPECTIVAS E DESAFIOS PARA REGIÕES SEMIÁRIDAS

polemica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 072-086
Author(s):  
Sandra Sereide Ferreira da Silva ◽  
Vera Lúcia Antunes De Lima ◽  
Ângela Maria Cavalcanti Ramalho ◽  
Allan Carlos Alves
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Building Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Semi Arid

Resumo: A escassez da água em regiões áridas e semiáridas tem sido tema de debates, políticas e pesquisas com o objetivo principal de subsidiar as ações capazes de permitir o seu aproveitamento racional, permitindo a convivência da população com os períodos de seca ou reduzida precipitação. Assim, a escassez de água tem conduzido à implantação de projetos de desenvolvimento, que têm como desafio a busca de alternativas de convivência com a seca que conduzam a melhorias sociais. Com base nesse contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo propor a criação de um modelo de construção de cenários para viabilidade do reúso de água para ser utilizado como elemento mitigador das implicações da seca em regiões semiáridas. O modelo de construção de cenários é um importante instrumento de gerenciamento de recursos naturais, neste caso específico, recursos hídricos, pois permite envolver um grande número de participantes, tem a possibilidade de orientar o debate público para a construção estratégica coletiva de um futuro almejado, contribui para um eficaz processo de aprendizagem organizacional no âmbito do Sistema Nacional de Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos visando um melhor entendimento, tanto dos aspectos ambientais quanto dos aspectos sociais e institucionais relacionados aos recursos hídricos no País, em especial, nas regiões semiáridas. Como se trabalham e convivem com a incerteza, os cenários procuram analisar e sistematizar as diversas probabilidades dos eventos e dos processos por meio da exploração dos pontos de mudança e das grandes tendências, de modo que as alternativas mais prováveis sejam antecipadas.Palavras-chaves: Recursos Hídricos. Reúso de Água. Regiões Semiáridas. Construção de Cenários.Abstract: Water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions has been the subject of debates, policies and research with the main objective of subsidizing actions capable of allowing their rational use, allowing the population to coexist with periods of drought or reduced precipitation. Thus, water scarcity has led to the implementation of development projects, which challenge the search for alternatives to coexistence with drought that lead to social improvements. Based on this context, this study aims to propose the creation of a model for the construction of scenarios for the feasibility of water reuse to be used as a mitigating element of the drought implications in semi-arid regions. The scenario building model is an important tool for managing natural resources, in this specific case, water resources, since it allows a large number of participants to be involved, it has the possibility of guiding the public debate towards the collective strategic construction of a desired future, contributes to an effective organizational learning process within the National Water Resources Management System aiming at a better understanding of both the environmental aspects and the social and institutional aspects related to the water resources in the Country, especially in the semi-arid regions. As they work and coexist with uncertainty, the scenarios seek to analyze and systematize the various probabilities of events and processes by exploring the points of change and the major trends, so that the most likely alternatives are anticipated.Keywords: Water Resources. Water reuse. Semi-Arid Regions. Construction of Scenarios.

scholarly journals Effects of model calibration on hydrological and water resources management simulations under climate change in a semi-arid watershed

2020 ◽  
Vol 163 (3) ◽  
pp. 1247-1266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagen Koch ◽  
Ana Lígia Chaves Silva ◽  
Stefan Liersch ◽  
José Roberto Gonçalves de Azevedo ◽  
Fred Fokko Hattermann
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Model Calibration ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Semi Arid

AbstractSemi-arid regions are known for erratic precipitation patterns with significant effects on the hydrological cycle and water resources availability. High temporal and spatial variation in precipitation causes large variability in runoff over short durations. Due to low soil water storage capacity, base flow is often missing and rivers fall dry for long periods. Because of its climatic characteristics, the semi-arid north-eastern region of Brazil is prone to droughts. To counter these, reservoirs were built to ensure water supply during dry months. This paper describes problems and solutions when calibrating and validating the eco-hydrological model SWIM for semi-arid regions on the example of the Pajeú watershed in north-eastern Brazil. The model was calibrated to river discharge data before the year 1983, with no or little effects of water management, applying a simple and an enhanced approach. Uncertainties result mainly from the meteorological data and observed river discharges. After model calibration water management was included in the simulations. Observed and simulated reservoir volumes and river discharges are compared. The calibrated and validated models were used to simulate the impacts of climate change on hydrological processes and water resources management using data of two representative concentration pathways (RCP) and five earth system models (ESM). The differences in changes in natural and managed mean discharges are negligible (< 5%) under RCP8.5 but notable (> 5%) under RCP2.6 for the ESM ensemble mean. In semi-arid catchments, the enhanced approach should be preferred, because in addition to discharge, a second variable, here evapotranspiration, is considered for model validation.

scholarly journals Bias-corrected and spatially disaggregated seasonal forecasts: a long-term reference forecast product for the water sector in semi-arid regions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christof Lorenz ◽  
Tanja C. Portele ◽  
Patrick Laux ◽  
Harald Kunstmann
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Seasonal Forecasts ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Model Biases ◽  
The World ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. Seasonal forecasts have the potential to substantially improve water management particularly in water scarce regions. However, global seasonal forecasts are usually not directly applicable as they are provided at coarse spatial resolutions of at best 36 km and suffer from model biases and drifts. In this study, we therefore apply a bias-correction and spatial-disaggregation (BCSD) approach to seasonal precipitation, temperature and radiation forecasts of the latest long-range seasonal forecasting system SEAS5 of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). As reference we use data from the ERA5-Land offline land surface re-run of the latest ECMWF reanalysis ERA5. By that, we correct for model biases and drifts and improve the spatial resolution from 36 km to 0.1°. This is exemplary performed over 4 predominately semi-arid study domains across the world, which include the river basins of the Karun (Iran), the São Francisco (Brazil), the Tekeze-Atbara and Blue Nile (Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea), and the Catamayo-Chira (Ecuador and Peru). Compared against ERA5-Land, the bias-corrected and spatially disaggregated forecasts have a higher spatial resolution and show reduced biases and better agreement of spatial patterns than the raw forecasts. Furthermore, the lead-dependent drift effects are remarkably reduced in the BCSD-forecasts. However, our analysis also showed that computing monthly averages from daily bias-corrected forecasts can lead to statistical inconsistencies particularly during periods and seasons with strong temporal climate gradients or heteroscedasticity. During such periods, particularly the lowest- and highest-lead forecasts can show remaining biases. Our dataset covers the whole (re-)forecast period from 1981 to 2019, for which we provide bias-corrected and spatially disaggregated daily ensemble forecasts for precipitation, average, minimum and maximum temperature as well as for shortwave radiation from the initial date to the coming 214 days. This sums up to more than 100,000 forecasted days for each of the 25 (until the year 2016) and 51 (from the year 2017) ensemble members and each of the 5 analyzed variables. The full repository is made freely available to the public via the World Data Centre for Climate at https://doi.org/10.26050/WDCC/SaWaM_D01_SEAS5_BCSD (Domain D01, Karun Basin (Iran), Lorenz et al., 2020b), https://doi. org/10.26050/WDCC/SaWaM_D02_SEAS5_BCSD (Domain D02: São Francisco Basin (Brazil), Lorenz et al., 2020c), https://doi.org/10.26050/WDCC/SaWaM_D03_SEAS5_BCSD (Domain D03: Tekeze-Atbara and Blue Nile Basins (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan), Lorenz et al., 2020d), and https://doi.org/10.26050/WDCC/SaWaM_D04_SEAS5_BCSD (Domain D04: Catamayo-Chira Basin (Ecuador, Peru), Lorenz et al., 2020a). It is currently the first publicly available daily high-resolution seasonal forecast product that covers multiple regions and variables for such a long period. It hence provides a unique test-bed for evaluating the performance of seasonal forecasts over semi-arid regions and as driving data for hydrological, ecosystem or climate impact models. Therefore, our forecasts provide a crucial contribution for the disaster preparedness and, finally, climate proofing of the regional water management in climatically sensitive regions.

scholarly journals Droughts and governance impacts on water scarcity: an~analysis in the Brazilian semi-arid

2015 ◽  
Vol 369 ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. S. Silva ◽  
C. O. Galvão ◽  
G. N. S. Silva
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Drought Event ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. Extreme events are part of climate variability. Dealing with variability is still a challenge that might be increased due to climate change. However, impacts of extreme events are not only dependent on their variability, but also on management and governance. In Brazil, its semi-arid region is vulnerable to extreme events, especially droughts, for centuries. Actually, other Brazilian regions that have been mostly concerned with floods are currently also experiencing droughts. This article evaluates how a combination between climate variability and water governance might affect water scarcity and increase the impacts of extreme events on some regions. For this evaluation, Ostrom's framework for analyzing social-ecological systems (SES) was applied. Ostrom's framework is useful for understanding interactions between resource systems, governance systems and resource users. This study focuses on social-ecological systems located in a drought-prone region of Brazil. Two extreme events were selected, one in 1997–2000, when Brazil's new water policy was very young, and the other one in 2012–2015. The analysis of SES considering Ostrom's principle "Clearly defined boundaries" showed that deficiencies in water management cause the intensification of drought's impacts for the water users. The reasons are more related to water management and governance problems than to drought event magnitude or climate change. This is a problem that holdup advances in dealing with extreme events.

Proactive Drought and Extreme Event Preparedness: Seasonal Climate Forecasts offer Benefit for Decision Making in Water Management in Semi-arid Regions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Portele ◽  
Christof Lorenz ◽  
Patrick Laux ◽  
Harald Kunstmann
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Extreme Event ◽  
Seasonal Forecast ◽  
Seasonal Forecasts ◽  
Seasonal Climate ◽  
Early Action ◽  
Climate Forecasts ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Seasonal Climate Forecasts

&lt;p&gt;Semi-arid regions are the regions mostly affected by drought. In these climatically sensitive regions, the frequency and intensity of drought and hot extremes is projected to increase. With increasing precipitation variability in semi-arid regions, sustainable water management is required. Proactive drought and extreme event preparedness, as well as damage mitigation could be provided by the use of seasonal climate forecasts. However, their probabilistic nature, the lack of clear action derivations and institutional conservatism impedes their application in decision making of the water management sector. Using the latest global seasonal climate forecast product (SEAS5) at 35 km resolution and 7 months forecast horizon of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, we show that seasonal-forecast-based actions offer potential economic benefit and allow for climate proofing in semi-arid regions in the case of drought and extreme events. Our analysis includes 7 semi-arid, in parts highly managed river basins with extents from tens of thousands to millions of square kilometers in Africa, Asia and South America. The value of the forecast-based action is derived from the skill measures of hit (worthy action) and false alarm (action in vain) rate and is related to economic expenses through ratios of associated costs and losses of an early action. For water management policies, forecast probability triggers for early action plans can be offered based on expense minimization and event maximization criteria. Our results show that even high lead times and long accumulation periods attain value for a range of users and cost-loss situations. For example, in the case of extreme wet conditions (monthly precipitation above 90&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; percentile), seasonal-forecast-based action in 5 out of 7 regions can still achieve more than 50 % of saved expenses of a perfect forecast at 6 months in advance. The utility of seasonal forecasts strongly depends on the user, the cost-loss situation, the region and the concrete application. In general, seasonal forecasts allow decision makers to save expenses, and to adapt to and mitigate damages of extreme events related to climate change.&lt;/p&gt;

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