Will Irrigation Technology, Pricing, or Quotas Ensure Sustainable Water Use?

2018 ◽  
pp. 75-96
Author(s):  
Chris Perry
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Water System ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Irrigation Technology ◽  
Sustainable Water Use ◽  
Local Water ◽  
Improved Technology ◽  
Technology Pricing ◽  
Water Accounts

Irrigation dominates demand in many watershort countries, generating competition, scarcity, and environmental degradation. Remedies require political commitment, laws, institutional reforms and technical interventions, collectively based on physical water accounts that distinguish between nonconsumptive uses that largely return water to the surface or subsurface system environment for reuse, and consumptive uses that remove water from the local water system. Domestic and industrial uses predominate in the former category; irrigation dominates the latter. The most commonly recommended solution to the water crisis, namely improved technology, has the potential to worsen scarcity by increasing both consumption and demand for water. An alternative option, pricing, has nowhere been successfully demonstrated to reduce irrigation demand to sustainable levels. Enforced physical quotas that are consistent with sustainable consumption is the only proven approach, and it is essential that the elements necessary to achieve this are introduced before widespread adoption of ‘hi tech’ irrigation is promoted.

scholarly journals Flood Effects on the Phytoplankton Diversity of Bega River (Banat, Romania)

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 207
Author(s):  
Hanelore Muntean ◽  
Laura Alexoaie
Keyword(s):  
Water Body ◽  
Nutrient Balance ◽  
Water System ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Phytoplankton Diversity ◽  
Before And After ◽  
High Precipitation ◽  
Local Water ◽  
Flooded Area ◽  
Water Administration

ABSTRACT Situated on the Western Plains of Romania, the Banat region has an adverse natural condition that makes it a frequently-flooded area. A lack of natural drainage due to a low slope, shallow gound water, slow-moving water course densities, and precipitation in this close, mountainous area all contribute to periodic flood events. Water courses in the region have snake-like river beds and swamps present in the area before the XVIIIth century (Griselini, 1979) also create a tendency toward flood activity. The Bega is a river in the Timiș- Bega water system, originating from Poiana Rusca Mountains and the lower basin becomes channeled before entering Timișoara City. Seasonal floods and overall water quality influence the quantity and quality of phytoplankton and macrozoobenthos in the Bega River. Phytoplankton obtains energy through the process of photosynthesis and must therefore live in the well-lit surface layer of a water body. Crucially dependent on minerals, phytoplankton primarily subsist on macronutrients such as nitrate, phosphate or silicic acid, which are governed by the balance between the socalled biological pump and the upwelling of deep, nutrient-rich waters. After floods the balance of nutrients in a river is changed and the effects can be observed by discerning differences in phytoplankton biomass and families living in the water body before and after the flood event (Muzaffar, 2007). In this study, based on the information from local water administration, we provide data about the flood in 2005 and its effects on the biodiversity in the river. The measurements were made at 2 sites, one before the Bega River enters Timișoara and the other at Otelec station, 45.5 km downstream from Timișoara. The runoff in 2005, caused by high precipitation in the upper basin, disturbed the nutrient balance in the river by transporting debris and sediment discharge from upstream, and carrying the local macrozoobenthos out of their normal habitat. Upstream from Timișoara, phytoplankton is dominated by species of diatomes like Diatoma sp., Synedra sp., Navicula sp., Fragilaria sp., Rhoicospahenia sp., Gyrosigma sp., Cymatopleura sp. and Amphora sp. During floods the flow and speed of the water increases, which dilutes the water and modifies the concentration of nutrients and pollutants in the affected area, therefore changing the processes at a biological level. This specific process is important for the possibility of selfpurification in water bodies.

scholarly journals How Should Disaster Base Hospitals Prepare for Dialysis Therapy after Earthquakes? Introduction of Double Water Piping Circuits Provided by Well Water System

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoki Ikegaya ◽  
George Seki ◽  
Nobutaka Ohta
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Water System ◽  
Renal Diseases ◽  
Water Supply Systems ◽  
Well Water ◽  
Dialysis Therapy ◽  
Dialysis Treatment ◽  
Local Water ◽  
End Stage ◽  
Near Future

After earthquakes, continuing dialysis for patients with ESRD and patients suffering from crush syndrome is the serious problem. In this paper, we analyzed the failure of the provision of dialysis services observed in recent disasters and discussed how to prepare for disasters to continue dialysis therapy. Japan has frequently experienced devastating earthquakes. A lot of dialysis centers could not continue dialysis treatment owing to damage caused by these earthquakes. The survey by Japanese Society for Dialysis Treatment (JSDT) after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 showed that failure of lifelines such as electric power and water supply was the leading cause of the malfunction of dialysis treatment. Our hospital is located in Shizuoka Prefecture, where one of the biggest earthquakes is predicted to occur in the near future. In addition to reconstructing earthquake-resistant buildings and facilities, we therefore have adopted double electric and water lifelines by introducing emergency generators and well water supply systems. It is very important to inform politicians, bureaucrats, and local water departments that dialysis treatment, a life sustaining therapy for patients with end stage renal diseases, requires a large amount of water. We cannot prevent an earthquake but can curb the extent of a disaster by preparing for earthquakes.

scholarly journals EVALUATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STATE OF THE WESTERN SECTOR OF SEPETIBA BAY (SE BRAZIL): TRACE METAL CONTAMINATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shéron Joyce Díaz Morales ◽  
Josefa Varela Guerra ◽  
Márcia Andréia Da Silva Nunes ◽  
Ariadne Marra de Souza ◽  
Mauro César Geraldes
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metals ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Water System ◽  
Bottom Surface ◽  
Icp Oes ◽  
Sepetiba Bay ◽  
Western Sector ◽  
Se Brazil ◽  
Local Water

Sepetiba Bay located in Rio de Janeiro State (RJ), Southeast Brazil, is a region under heavy influence of seaports and mining. This feature puts at risk the quality of the local water system, especially due to the deposition of trace metals on the sediments. This work aimed to report the values of total concentrations of Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Zn and Hg obtained in bottom surface sediments collected in Nov/2010 in the Western sector of Sepetiba Bay, through the Plasma Spectrometer (ICP-OES). The average concentrations of Ag (0.40 µg/g), Cd (0.76 µg/g), Cu (62.59 µg/g), Li (43.29 µg/g), Ni (16.65 µg/g), Pb (20.08 µg/g), Sr (389.64 µg/g) and Zn (184.2 µg/g) exceeded the limits allowed by Brazilian legislation, and are, in addition, above the natural values found in Ribeira Bay (RJ), the considered control region. It is necessary to monitor this area, due to its economic and environmental importance. AVALIAÇÃO DO ESTADO AMBIENTAL DO SETOR OCIDENTAL DA BAÍA DE SEPETIBA (SE BRASIL): CONTAMINAÇÃO POR METAIS TRACEResumoA Baía de Sepetiba localizada no Estado do Rio de Janeiro (RJ), sudeste do Brasil, é uma região sob forte influência de portos marítimos e mineração. Esta característica coloca em risco a qualidade do sistema de água local, especialmente devido à deposição de metais traço nos sedimentos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo reportar os valores das concentrações totais de Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, U e Zn obtidos em sedimentos de superfície de fundo coletados em Nov / 2010 no Setor Oeste da Baía de Sepetiba, através do Espectrômetro de Plasma (ICP-OES). As concentrações médias de Ag (0,40 µg / g), Cd (0,76 µg / g), Cu (62,59 µg / g), Li (43,29 µg / g), Ni (16,65 µg / g), Pb (20,08 µg / g ), Sr (389,64 µg / g) e Zn (184,2 µg / g) ultrapassaram os limites permitidos pela legislação brasileira, e estão, além disso, acima dos valores naturais encontrados na Baía da Ribeira (RJ), a região de controle considerada. É necessário monitorar esta área, devido à sua importância econômica e ambiental. Palavras-chave: Total Trace Metals. Sedimentos Litoral. Contaminação

Contentment: An Important Factor for Sustainable Consumption

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose A. Rosa ◽  
Shikha N. Upadhyaya ◽  
Christopher P. Blocker
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Consumption

Vesicles as an equilibrium structure of a simple surfactant-water system

1994 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 1585-1604 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Cantù ◽  
M. Corti ◽  
E. Del Favero ◽  
A. Raudino
Keyword(s):  
Water System ◽  
Equilibrium Structure

Stellenwert der Navigation

2017 ◽  
Vol 01 (04) ◽  
pp. 317-334
Author(s):  
Jan-Sven Jarvers ◽  
Ulrich Spiegl ◽  
Stefan Glasmacher ◽  
Christoph Heyde ◽  
Christoph Josten
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Radiation Exposure ◽  
Pedicle Screw ◽  
Spinal Surgery ◽  
Intraoperative Imaging ◽  
Intraoperative Navigation ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Tumor Diseases ◽  
Intraoperative Control ◽  
Improved Technology

Abstract Importance of Navigation Navigation and intraoperative imaging have undergone an enormous development in recent years. By using intraoperative navigation, the precision of pedicle screw implantation can be increased in the sense of patient safety. Especially in the case of complex defects or tumor diseases, navigation is a decisive aid. As a result of the constantly improved technology, the requirements for reduced radiation exposure and intraoperative control can also be met. The high costs of the devices can be amortized, for example by a reduced number of revisions. This overview presents the principles of navigation in spinal surgery and the advantages and disadvantages of the different navigation procedures.

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