Socio-hydrological water balance for water allocation between human and environmental purposes in catchments

Abstract. Rebalancing water allocation between human consumptive uses and the environment in water catchments is a global challenge. This paper proposes a socio-hydrological water balance framework by partitioning catchment total evapotranspiration (ET) into ET for society and ET for natural ecological systems, and establishing the linkage between the changes of water balance and its social drivers and resulting environmental consequences in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB), Australia, over the period 1900–2010. The results show that the 100-year period of water management in the MDB could be divided into four periods corresponding to major changes in basin management within the socio-hydrological water balance framework: period 1 (1900–1956) – expansion of water and land use for the societal system, period 2 (1956–1978) – maximization of water and land use for the societal system, period 3 (1978–2002) – maximization of water use for the societal system from water diversion, and period 4 (2002–present) – rebalancing of water and land use between the societal and ecological systems. Most of management changes in the MDB were passive and responsive. A precautionary approach to water allocation between the societal and ecological systems should be developed. The socio-hydrological water balance framework could serve as a theoretical foundation for water allocation to evaluate the dynamic balance between the societal and ecological systems in catchments.

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Recasting catchment water balance for water allocation between human and environmental purposes

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-12-911-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 911-938

Author(s):

S. Zhou ◽

Y. Huang ◽

Y. Wei ◽

G. Wang

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Land Use ◽

Water Balance ◽

Water Allocation ◽

Dynamic Balance ◽

Ecological Systems ◽

Water Diversion ◽

Global Challenge ◽

Period 2 ◽

Murray Darling Basin

Abstract. Rebalancing water allocation between human consumptive uses and the environment in water catchments is a global challenge. The conventional water balance approach which partitions precipitation into evapotranspiration (ET) and surface runoff supports the optimization of water allocations among different human water use sectors under the cap of water supply. However, this approach is unable to support the emerging water management priority issue of allocating water between societal and ecological systems. This paper recast the catchment water balance by partitioning catchment total ET into ET for the society and ET for the natural ecological systems, and estimated the impacts of water allocation on the two systems in terms of gross primary productivity (GPP), in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) of Australia over the period 1900–2010. With the recast water balance, the more than 100 year water management in the MDB was divided into four periods corresponding to major changes in basin management: period 1 (1900–1956) expansion of water and land use by the societal system, period 2 (1956–1985) maximization of water and land use by the societal system, period 3 (1985–2002) maximization of water diversion for the societal system, and period 4 (2002–present) rebalancing of water and land use between the societal and ecological systems. The recast water balance provided new understandings of the water and land dynamics between societal and ecological systems in the MDB, and it highlighted the experiences and lessons of catchment water management in the MDB over the last more than 100 years. The recast water balance could serve as the theoretical foundation for water allocation to keep a dynamic balance between the societal and ecological systems within a basin for sustainable catchment development. It provides a new approach to advance the discipline of socio-hydrology.

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Application of hydrometeorological data to analyze water balance conditions in Bengkulu watershed

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/893/1/012078 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 893 (1) ◽

pp. 012078

Author(s):

G I S L Faski ◽

Ig L S Purnama ◽

S Suprayogi

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Water Resources ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Water Balance ◽

Water Shortage ◽

Climate Impact ◽

Excess Water ◽

Period 2 ◽

Monthly Water Balance ◽

Water Holding

Abstrak Water balance serves to determine hydrological conditions in a watershed, one of which is by analyzing the surplus (excess water) and deficit (water shortage) that occurs. Extreme surpluses or deficits can cause hydrometeorological disasters, such as floods or droughts. This study aims to calculate the monthly water balance using the Thornthwaite-Mather method to determine variations in the incidence of surplus and deficit months in all three sub-watersheds in Bengkulu Watershed, namely Rindu Hati, Susup, and Bengkulu Hilir sub-watershed. The data used are monthly hydrometeorological data for 2009-2018 (10 years) were divided into two periods of water balance based on land use data. Water balance period 1 (2009-2013) uses 2009 land use data, while period 2 (2014-2018) uses 2014 land use data. The results show that the surplus, deficit, runoff, and discharge in the three sub-watersheds in the Bengkulu watershed are affected by rainfall. In general, the deficit incidents in all three sub-watersheds occur almost every three years. The Rindu Hati and Susup sub-watersheds have the same variations of surplus and deficit month incidents, while the Bengkulu Hilir sub-watershed is different, both in periods 1 and 2. It is not only the rainfall that affects the variation in the events of surplus and deficit in all three sub-watersheds of the Bengkulu watershed, but also the amount of water holding capacity (WHC). Therefore, the application of hydrometeorological data to analyze the water balance conditions in the Bengkulu watershed provides information on climate impact on water resources and environmental impact on flows in the watershed.

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Afforestation of Degraded Croplands as a Water-Saving Option in Irrigated Region of the Aral Sea Basin

Water ◽

10.3390/w13101433 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 1433

Author(s):

Navneet Kumar ◽

Asia Khamzina ◽

Patrick Knöfel ◽

John P. A. Lamers ◽

Bernhard Tischbein

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Water Balance ◽

Water Supply ◽

Water Availability ◽

Irrigation Water ◽

Water Saving ◽

Aral Sea ◽

Water Balance Components ◽

Study Region ◽

Trade Offs

Climate change is likely to decrease surface water availability in Central Asia, thereby necessitating land use adaptations in irrigated regions. The introduction of trees to marginally productive croplands with shallow groundwater was suggested for irrigation water-saving and improving the land’s productivity. Considering the possible trade-offs with water availability in large-scale afforestation, our study predicted the impacts on water balance components in the lower reaches of the Amudarya River to facilitate afforestation planning using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The land-use scenarios used for modeling analysis considered the afforestation of 62% and 100% of marginally productive croplands under average and low irrigation water supply identified from historical land-use maps. The results indicate a dramatic decrease in the examined water balance components in all afforestation scenarios based largely on the reduced irrigation demand of trees compared to the main crops. Specifically, replacing current crops (mostly cotton) with trees on all marginal land (approximately 663 km2) in the study region with an average water availability would save 1037 mln m3 of gross irrigation input within the study region and lower the annual drainage discharge by 504 mln m3. These effects have a considerable potential to support irrigation water management and enhance drainage functions in adapting to future water supply limitations.

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Risk Assessment of Future Climate and Land Use/Land Cover Change Impacts on Water Resources

Hydrology ◽

10.3390/hydrology8010038 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 38

Author(s):

Nick Martin

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Land Use ◽

Water Resources ◽

Land Cover ◽

Water Balance ◽

Water Availability ◽

Reference Conditions ◽

Weather Generator ◽

Future Climate ◽

Lulc Change

Climate and land use and land cover (LULC) changes will impact watershed-scale water resources. These systemic alterations will have interacting influences on water availability. A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) framework for water resource impact analysis from future systemic change is described and implemented to examine combined climate and LULC change impacts from 2011–2100 for a study site in west-central Texas. Internally, the PRA framework provides probabilistic simulation of reference and future conditions using weather generator and water balance models in series—one weather generator and water balance model for reference and one of each for future conditions. To quantify future conditions uncertainty, framework results are the magnitude of change in water availability, from the comparison of simulated reference and future conditions, and likelihoods for each change. Inherent advantages of the framework formulation for analyzing future risk are the explicit incorporation of reference conditions to avoid additional scenario-based analysis of reference conditions and climate change emissions scenarios. In the case study application, an increase in impervious area from economic development is the LULC change; it generates a 1.1 times increase in average water availability, relative to future climate trends, from increased runoff and decreased transpiration.

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Hydrological regime, water availability and land use/land cover change impact on the water balance in a large agriculture basin in the Southern Brazilian Amazon

Journal of South American Earth Sciences ◽

10.1016/j.jsames.2021.103224 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 108 ◽

pp. 103224

Author(s):

Tárcio Rocha Lopes ◽

Cornélio Alberto Zolin ◽

Rafael Mingoti ◽

Laurimar Gonçalves Vendrusculo ◽

Frederico Terra de Almeida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Water Balance ◽

Land Cover Change ◽

Water Availability ◽

Hydrological Regime ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Land Use Land Cover ◽

Change Impact

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Modelling the water balance with SWAT as part of the land use impact evaluation in a life cycle study of CO2 emission reduction scenarios

Hydrological Processes ◽

10.1002/hyp.5620 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 729-748 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Griet Heuvelmans ◽

Juan F. Garcia-Qujano ◽

Bart Muys ◽

Jan Feyen ◽

Pol Coppin

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Water Balance ◽

Impact Evaluation ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Co2 Emission ◽

Co2 Emission Reduction ◽

Life Cycle Study ◽

Land Use Impact

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Modelling monthly runoff generation processes following land use changes: groundwater–surface runoff interactions

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-8-903-2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 903-922 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

M. Bari ◽

K. R. J. Smettem

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Water Balance ◽

Surface Runoff ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Rainfall Runoff ◽

Runoff Generation ◽

Mean Annual Rainfall ◽

Monthly Runoff ◽

Stream Bed

Abstract. A conceptual water balance model is presented to represent changes in monthly water balance following land use changes. Monthly rainfall–runoff, groundwater and soil moisture data from four experimental catchments in Western Australia have been analysed. Two of these catchments, "Ernies" (control, fully forested) and "Lemon" (54% cleared) are in a zone of mean annual rainfall of 725 mm, while "Salmon" (control, fully forested) and "Wights" (100% cleared) are in a zone with mean annual rainfall of 1125 mm. At the Salmon forested control catchment, streamflow comprises surface runoff, base flow and interflow components. In the Wights catchment, cleared of native forest for pasture development, all three components increased, groundwater levels rose significantly and stream zone saturated area increased from 1% to 15% of the catchment area. It took seven years after clearing for the rainfall–runoff generation process to stabilise in 1984. At the Ernies forested control catchment, the permanent groundwater system is 20 m below the stream bed and so does not contribute to streamflow. Following partial clearing of forest in the Lemon catchment, groundwater rose steadily and reached the stream bed by 1987. The streamflow increased in two phases: (i) immediately after clearing due to reduced evapotranspiration, and (ii) through an increase in the groundwater-induced stream zone saturated area after 1987. After analysing all the data available, a conceptual monthly model was created, comprising four inter-connecting stores: (i) an upper zone unsaturated store, (ii) a transient stream zone store, (ii) a lower zone unsaturated store and (iv) a saturated groundwater store. Data such as rooting depth, Leaf Area Index, soil porosity, profile thickness, depth to groundwater, stream length and surface slope were incorporated into the model as a priori defined attributes. The catchment average values for different stores were determined through matching observed and predicted monthly hydrographs. The observed and predicted monthly runoff for all catchments matched well with coefficients of determination (R2) ranging from 0.68 to 0.87. Predictions were relatively poor for: (i) the Ernies catchment (lowest rainfall, forested), and (ii) months with very high flows. Overall, the predicted mean annual streamflow was within ±8% of the observed values. Keywords: monthly streamflow, land use change, conceptual model, data-based approach, groundwater

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