scholarly journals Integrated assessment of the influence of climate change on current and future intra-annual water availability in the Vaal River catchment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akanbi T. Remilekun ◽  
Ndarana Thando ◽  
Davis Nerhene ◽  
Emma Archer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Vaal River ◽  
Supply Capacity ◽  
Annual Water

Abstract Increasing water demand due to population growth, economic expansion and the need for development puts a strain on the supply capacity of the Vaal River catchment in South Africa. Climate change presents additional challenges in the catchment which supports the country's economic hub, more than 30% of its population and over 70% of its maize production. This study evaluates the influence of climate change on current and future intra-annual water availability and demand using a multi-tiered approach where climate scenarios, hydrological modelling and socio-economic considerations were applied. Results shows exacerbated water supply challenges for the future. Temperature increases of between 0.07 and 5 °C and precipitation reductions ranging from 0.4 to 30% for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5, respectively, are also predicted by the end of the century. The highest monthly average streamflow reductions (8–10%) are predicted for the summer months beyond 2040. Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) simulations project an increase in future water requirements, gaps in future water assurance and highlight limitations in existing management strategies. The study recommends a combination of adaptation plans, climatic/non-climatic stressor monitoring, wastewater-reuse, conservation, demand management and inter-basin transfers to reduce future uncertainty in monthly water sustainability.

scholarly journals Long-Term Variability in Potential Evapotranspiration, Water Availability and Drought under Climate Change Scenarios in the Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahtsente Tadese ◽  
Lalit Kumar ◽  
Richard Koech
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Awash River Basin ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

Understanding the hydrological processes of a watershed in response to climate change is vital to the establishment of sustainable environmental management strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the variability of potential evapotranspiration (PET) and water availability in the Awash River Basin (ARB) under different climate change scenarios and to relate these with long-term drought occurrences in the area. The PET and water availability of the ARB was estimated during the period of 1995–2009 and two future scenarios (2050s and 2070s). The representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) simulations showed an increase in the monthly mean PET from March to August in the 2050s, and all the months in the 2070s. The study also identified a shortage of net water availability in the majority of the months investigated and the occurrence of mild to extreme drought in about 40–50% of the analysed years at the three study locations (Holetta, Koka Dam, and Metehara). The decrease in water availability and an increase in PET, combined with population growth, will aggravate the drought occurrence and food insecurity in the ARB. Therefore, integrated watershed management systems and rehabilitation of forests, as well as water bodies, should be addressed in the ARB to mitigate climate change and water shortage in the area.

Understanding drivers and barriers: the key to water use behaviour change

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 679-688
Author(s):  
Michelle Graymore ◽  
Anne Wallis ◽  
Kevin O'Toole
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Effective Demand ◽  
Pricing System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Common Barriers

In southwest Victoria, like many other regions in Australia, drought, climate change and population growth have exposed gaps in water supply. To develop effective demand management strategies for rural and regional areas, this paper investigates the drivers and barriers to water saving in southwest Victoria. Although the majority of people felt water saving was important, the drivers for water saving differed between different groups. Residential users were saving water for altruistic reasons, while for farmers the drivers were farm viability and productivity. Although the barriers differed between property types, common barriers included lack of understanding of the impact their water use has on supplies, lack of knowledge, the pricing system and distrust of the water authority. The findings provide information for effective demand management strategies for the region.

Integrating Climate and Socio-Economic Scenarios in a Hydrological Model for the Santa River Basin, Peru

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Teutsch ◽  
Faizan Anwar ◽  
Jochen Seidel ◽  
András Bárdossy ◽  
Christian Huggel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Study Region ◽  
River Catchment

<p>High mountain regions, like the Andes, face various risks due to climate change. In the Santa River catchment in Peru which includes the glaciated Cordillera Blanca, water availability is threatened by many climatic and non-climatic impacts. The water resources in the catchment heavily rely on seasonal precipitation and during the dry season glacier melt water plays an important role. However, both, precipitation patterns and glacier extent are affected by climate change impacts. Additionally, socio-economic changes put further pressure on water resources and hence on water availability.</p> <p>Within the AguaFuturo Project we established a conceptual integrated water balance model based on a semi-distributed HBV model for the data scarce Santa River catchment. The hydrological model processes are extended by feedback loops for agricultural and domestic water use. The model runs on daily time scale and includes two hydrological response units. One includes the irrigated agricultural areas which are predominately located in the valley of the catchment; the other includes non-irrigated areas and domestic water use.</p> <p>To assess future water balance challenges we downscaled and disaggregated monthly CORDEX scenarios for 2020-2050 using information from the new Peruvian precipitation dataset PISCO (Peruvian Interpolated data of the SENAMHI’s Climatological and hydrological Observations) for simulations of future changes in hydro-climatology. In the model, these climate scenarios are combined with possible socio-economic scenarios which are translated into time series for domestic and agricultural water demand. The socio-economic scenarios are developed by using the Cross-Impact-Balance-Analysis (CIB), a method used for analyzing impact networks. Using CIB, the interrelations between 15 social, economic and policy descriptors were analyzed and as a result a total of 29 possible consistent scenarios were determined. For further analysis and validation of these scenarios a participatory process was included, involving local experts and stakeholders of the study region.</p> <p>The climate and socio-economic scenarios are independent and can be combined randomly. The uncertainties of the climatic and socio-economic scenarios are quantified by Monte Carlo simulations.</p> <p>The output of the model runs is an ensemble of possible future discharges of the Santa River, which can be further analyzed statistically to assess the range of the possible discharges. This evaluation provides an estimate of the probability of water shortages, especially with regard to conflict potential with hydropower production and the large scale irrigated agriculture areas in the adjacent coastal desert which also rely on water from the Santa River.</p>

scholarly journals The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus in the Mediterranean: Current Issues and Future Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ad De Roo ◽  
Ioannis Trichakis ◽  
Berny Bisselink ◽  
Emiliano Gelati ◽  
Alberto Pistocchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Irrigation Efficiency ◽  
Water Efficiency ◽  
The Mediterranean

The Mediterranean is an area where the balance between water demand and abstractions vs. water availability is often under stress already, as demonstrated here with the Water Exploitation Index. In this work, model estimates on how different proposed measures for water resources management would affect different indicators. After a review of the current water resources status in the Mediterranean and the definition of indicators used in this study, aspects interlinked with water in the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus are briefly discussed, focusing on problems linked with water scarcity and depletion of groundwater resources as well as with climate change projections. Subsequently, the proposed measures for water efficiency are detailed—irrigation efficiency, urban water efficiency, water reuse and desalination—that might be effective to reduce the growing water scarcity problems in the Mediterranean. Their effects that result from the LISFLOOD model, show that wastewater reuse, desalination and water supply leakage reduction lead to decreased abstractions, but do not affect net water consumption. Increased irrigation efficiency does decrease consumption and reduces abstractions as well. We deduct however that the current envisaged water efficiency measures might not be sufficient to keep up with the pace of diminishing water availability due to climate change. More ambition is needed on water efficiency in the Mediterranean to keep water scarcity at bay.

Impacts of climate change on the hydrology of northern midlatitude cold regions

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Okan Aygün ◽  
Christophe Kinnard ◽  
Stéphane Campeau
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Frozen Soil ◽  
Cold Region ◽  
Cold Regions ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Subsurface Flows ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Cold region hydrology is conditioned by distinct cryospheric and hydrological processes. While snowmelt is the main contributor to both surface and subsurface flows, seasonally frozen soil also influences the partition of meltwater and rain between these flows. Cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes have been shown to be sensitive to climate change. Assessing the impacts of climate change on the hydrology of this region is therefore crucial, as it supports a significant amount of population relying on hydrological services and subjected to changing hydrological risks. We present an exhaustive review of the literature on historical and projected future changes on cold region hydrology in response to climate change. Changes in snow, soil, and streamflow key metrics were investigated and summarized at the hemispheric scale, down to the basin scale. We found substantial evidence of both historical and projected changes in the reviewed hydrological metrics. These metrics were shown to display different sensitivities to climate change, depending on the cold season temperature regime of a given region. Given the historical and projected future warming during the 21st century, the most drastic changes were found to be occurring over regions with near-freezing air temperatures. Colder regions, on the other hand, were found to be comparatively less sensitive to climate change. The complex interactions between the snow and soil metrics resulted in either colder or warmer soils, which led to increasing or decreasing frost depths, influencing the partitioning rates between the surface and subsurface flows. The most consistent and salient hydrological responses to both historical and projected climate change were an earlier occurrence of snowmelt floods, an overall increase in water availability and streamflow during winter, and a decrease in water availability and streamflow during the warm season, which calls for renewed assessments of existing water supply and flood risk management strategies.

scholarly journals The Indus basin in the framework of current and future water resources management

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1063-1083 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Laghari ◽  
D. Vanham ◽  
W. Rauch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Supply Management ◽  
Indus Basin ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Water Supply Management

Abstract. The Indus basin is one of the regions in the world that is faced with major challenges for its water sector, due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, environmental degradation, unregulated utilization of the resources, inefficient water use and poverty, all aggravated by climate change. The Indus Basin is shared by 4 countries – Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and China. With a current population of 237 million people which is projected to increase to 319 million in 2025 and 383 million in 2050, already today water resources are abstracted almost entirely (more than 95% for irrigation). Climate change will result in increased water availability in the short term. However in the long term water availability will decrease. Some current aspects in the basin need to be re-evaluated. During the past decades water abstractions – and especially groundwater extractions – have augmented continuously to support a rice-wheat system where rice is grown during the kharif (wet, summer) season (as well as sugar cane, cotton, maize and other crops) and wheat during the rabi (dry, winter) season. However, the sustainability of this system in its current form is questionable. Additional water for domestic and industrial purposes is required for the future and should be made available by a reduction in irrigation requirements. This paper gives a comprehensive listing and description of available options for current and future sustainable water resources management (WRM) within the basin. Sustainable WRM practices include both water supply management and water demand management options. Water supply management options include: (1) reservoir management as the basin is characterised by a strong seasonal behaviour in water availability (monsoon and meltwater) and water demands; (2) water quality conservation and investment in wastewater infrastructure; (3) the use of alternative water resources like the recycling of wastewater and desalination; (4) land use planning and soil conservation as well as flood management, with a focus on the reduction of erosion and resulting sedimentation as well as the restoration of ecosystem services like wetlands and natural floodplains. Water demand management options include: (1) the management of conjunctive use of surface and groundwater; as well as (2) the rehabilitation and modernization of existing infrastructure. Other demand management options are: (3) the increase of water productivity for agriculture; (4) crop planning and diversification including the critical assessment of agricultural export, especially (basmati) rice; (5) economic instruments and (6) changing food demand patterns and limiting post-harvest losses.

scholarly journals Land Degradation and Climate Change Resilient Soil and Crop Management Strategies for Maize Production in Coastal Western Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (06) ◽  
pp. 24-30
Author(s):  
Jean Mianikpo Sogbedji ◽  
Kodjovi Sotomè Detchinli ◽  
Mihikouwè Mazinagou ◽  
Ruth Atchoglo ◽  
Komi Agbémébia Bona
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Crop Management ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Western Africa

scholarly journals Development of Irrigation Regime of Limited and Unlimited Water Supply for Satisfactory Rice Yield

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Dillip Kumar Swain ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Rice Yield ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
High Water ◽  
Staple Food ◽  
Irrigation Regime ◽  
Different Levels

Rice is the staple food for majority of the population worldwide and is a water-consuming crop. Decreasing water availability due to climate change necessitates the development of water saving rice production technology. The objective of this study was to develop water management strategies for two contrast scenarios of water availability for improvement of rice yield with high water productivity. A pot experiment using different levels of water percentages for water management treatments in rice was conducted inside a greenhouse during the wet

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document