Modeling the Impacts of Climate Change, Landuse Change, and Human Population Dynamics on Water Availability and Demands in the Southeastern U.S.

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ge Sun ◽  
Steven G. McNulty ◽  
Erika Cohen ◽  
Jennifer Moore Myers ◽  
David Wear
Author(s):  
Siriwat Boonwichai ◽  
Sangam Shrestha ◽  
Pragya Pradhan ◽  
Mukand S. Babel ◽  
Avishek Datta

Abstract This study investigates the potential impacts of climate change on water resources and evaluates adaptation strategies on rainfed rice water management under climate change scenarios in the Songkhram River Basin, Thailand. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to project the future water availability under climate change scenarios for the period of 2020–2044. Future annual water availability is expected to remain unchanged due to unchanged future rainfall but expected to reduce from June to November due to changes in seasonal rainfall. The effects of supplying irrigation water to reduce the impact of climate change and increase rainfed rice production were evaluated. To increase the rice production by 15%, it is proposed to construct a reservoir with a capacity of below 65 MCM in each of the 15 sub-basins to fulfill the irrigation water requirements during the rainfed rice season. Alternatively, adaptation at the farm scale can be implemented by constructing ponds with a capacity of 900 m3 to store water for 1 ha of rice field to meet the potential rice yield during the non-rainfed rice season. The results of this study are helpful to policymakers in understanding the potential impacts of climate change and the formulation of adaptation strategies for water and rice sectors in the basin.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erle Kristvik ◽  
Tone M. Muthanna ◽  
Knut Alfredsen

Abstract Climate change is likely to cause higher temperatures and alterations in precipitation patterns, with potential impacts on water resources. One important issue in this respect is inflow to drinking water reservoirs. Moreover, deteriorating infrastructures cause leakage in water distribution systems and urbanization augments water demand in cities. In this paper, a framework for assessing the combined impacts of multiple trends on water availability is proposed. The approach is focused on treating uncertainty in local climate projections in order to be of practical use to water suppliers and decision makers. An index for water availability (WAI) is introduced to quantify impacts of climate change, population growth, and ageing infrastructure, as well as the effects of implementing counteractive measures, and has been applied to the city of Bergen, Norway. Results of the study emphasize the importance of considering a range of climate scenarios due to the wide spread in global projections. For the specific case of Bergen, substantial alterations in the hydrological cycle were projected, leading to stronger seasonal variations and a more unpredictable water availability. By sensitivity analysis of the WAI, it was demonstrated how two adaptive measures, increased storage capacity and leakage reduction, can help counteract the impacts of climate change.


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