scholarly journals Characterizing the Potential for Drought Action from Combined Hydrological and Societal Perspectives

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Towler ◽  
Heather Lazrus ◽  
Debasish PaiMazumder
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Sustainable Water Management ◽  
South Central ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Water Uses

Abstract. Drought is a function of both natural and human influences, but fully characterizing the interactions between human and natural influences on drought remains challenging. To better characterize parts of the drought feedback loop, this study combines hydrological and societal perspectives to characterize and quantify the potential for drought action. For the hydrological perspective, we examine historical groundwater data, from which we determine the decadal likelihoods of exceeding hydrologic thresholds relevant to different water uses. Stakeholder interviews yield data about how people rate the importance of water for different water uses. We combine these to quantify the Potential Drought Action Index (PDAI). The PDAI is demonstrated for a study site in south-central Oklahoma, where water availability is highly influenced by drought and management of water resources is contested by local stakeholders. For the hydrological perspective, we find that the historical decadal likelihood of exceedance for a moderate threshold associated with municipal supply has ranged widely: from 23 % to 75 %, which corresponds well with natural drought variability in the region. For the societal perspective, stakeholder interviews reveal that people value water differently for various uses. Combining this information into the PDAI illustrates that potential drought action increases as the hydrologic threshold is exceeded more often; this occurs as conditions get drier and when water use thresholds are more moderate. The PDAI also shows that for water uses where stakeholders have diverse views of importance, the PDAI will be diverse as well, and this is exacerbated under drier conditions. The variability in stakeholder views of importance is partially explained by stakeholders' cultural worldviews, pointing to some implications for managing water when drought risks threaten. We discuss how the results can be used to reduce potential disagreement among stakeholders and promote sustainable water management, which is particularly important for planning under increasing drought.

scholarly journals Characterizing the potential for drought action from combined hydrological and societal perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 1469-1482
Author(s):  
Erin Towler ◽  
Heather Lazrus ◽  
Debasish PaiMazumder
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Sustainable Water Management ◽  
South Central ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Water Uses

Abstract. Drought is a function of both natural and human influences, but fully characterizing the interactions between human and natural influences on drought remains challenging. To better characterize parts of the drought feedback loop, this study combines hydrological and societal perspectives to characterize and quantify the potential for drought action. For the hydrological perspective, we examine historical groundwater data, from which we determine the decadal likelihoods of exceeding hydrologic thresholds relevant to different water uses. Stakeholder interviews yield data about how people rate the importance of water for different water uses. We combine these to quantify the Potential Drought Action Indicator (PDAI). The PDAI is demonstrated for a study site in south-central Oklahoma, where water availability is highly influenced by drought and management of water resources is contested by local stakeholders. For the hydrological perspective, we find that the historical decadal likelihood of exceedance for a moderate threshold associated with municipal supply has ranged widely: from 23 % to 75 %, which corresponds well with natural drought variability in the region. For the societal perspective, stakeholder interviews reveal that people value water differently for various uses. Combining this information into the PDAI illustrates that potential drought action increases as the hydrologic threshold is exceeded more often; this occurs as conditions get drier and when water use thresholds are more moderate. The PDAI also shows that for water uses where stakeholders have diverse views of importance, the PDAI will be diverse as well, and this is exacerbated under drier conditions. The variability in stakeholder views of importance is partially explained by stakeholders' cultural worldviews, pointing to some implications for managing water when drought risks threaten. We discuss how the results can be used to reduce potential disagreement among stakeholders and promote sustainable water management, which is particularly important for planning under increasing drought.

scholarly journals Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Management of Water Resources in the Island of Crete, Greece

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1538 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Tzanakakis ◽  
A. N. Angelakis ◽  
N. V. Paranychianakis ◽  
Y. G. Dialynas ◽  
G. Tchobanoglous
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Treated Effluent ◽  
Critical Issues

Crete, located in the South Mediterranean Sea, is characterized by long coastal areas, varied terrain relief and geology, and great spatial and inter-annual variations in precipitation. Under average meteorological conditions, the island is water-sufficient (969 mm precipitation; theoretical water potential 3284 hm3; and total water use 610 hm3). Agriculture is by far the greatest user of water (78% of total water use), followed by domestic use (21%). Despite the high average water availability, water scarcity events commonly occur, particularly in the eastern-south part of the island, driven by local climatic conditions and seasonal or geographical mismatches between water availability and demand. Other critical issues in water management include the over-exploitation of groundwater, accounting for 93% of the water used in agriculture; low water use efficiencies in the farms; limited use of non-conventional water sources (effluent reuse); lack of modern frameworks of control and monitoring; and inadequate cooperation among stakeholders. These deficiencies impact adversely water use efficiency, deteriorate quality of water resources, increase competition for water and water pricing, and impair agriculture and environment. Moreover, the water-limited areas may display low adaptation potential to climate variability and face increased risks for the human-managed and natural ecosystems. The development of appropriate water governance frameworks that promote the development of integrated water management plans and allow concurrently flexibility to account for local differentiations in social-economic favors is urgently needed to achieve efficient water management and to improve the adaptation to the changing climatic conditions. Specific corrective actions may include use of alternative water sources (e.g., treated effluent and brackish water), implementation of efficient water use practices, re-formation of pricing policy, efficient control and monitoring, and investment in research and innovation to support the above actions. It is necessary to strengthen the links across stakeholders (e.g., farmers, enterprises, corporations, institutes, universities, agencies, and public authorities), along with an effective and updated governance framework to address the critical issues in water management, facilitate knowledge transfer, and promote the efficient use of non-conventional water resources.

Integrated management of water resources in the National Capital Region-Delhi

Social Change ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 38-60
Author(s):  
Ashis Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Ground Water ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
National Capital Region

Competing demands between various sectors of water users such as agriculture, industry, urban and domestic use have put enormous pressure on the fresh water availability in India. Some investigations have shown that the per capita availability of water has gone down drastically in the last few decades. Yet, there is a little evidence to show that measures are being drawn up either to augment fresh water resources or to manage existing resource equitably. The reasons usually cited for the decline of water availability are deforestation, intensive water use in agriculture, growing population etc. Remedies must therefore be addressed to all these issues. However, there is an urgent need to look at the opportunities available in a country which is said to have had a riverine civilization and one which has the blessings of intensive precipitation during the monsoon months. Thus, on the one hand there are enormous possibilities available in rationalising water use in the agriculture sector, recycling water for industrial use and harnessing monsoon precipitation through water harvesting on a very large scale. It is also necessary to look at some of the policy aspects, legal aspects and financial aspects of water management. For instance, it needs to be asked whether official policy of conjunctive use of surface and ground water is being followed adequately. Also it needs to be asked whether, given that water is a State subject, there is adequate coordination among the States in order to facilitate optimalities in water use. In this context, it may be useful to re-evaluate all the existing inter-State water agreements which were drawn up several decades ago. Further, it needs to be investigated whether the moneys being spent on different aspects of water management such as inter-basin transfers, dam and canal construction, ground water management etc. are being done in a manner that is economically justifiable. Simultaneously, the existing fiscal mechanism in relation to water use should also be reexamined to see the future scope of making water use economically viable.

WATER POLICY STRATEGY OF UKRAINE: PROSPECTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

2021 ◽  
pp. 6-15
Author(s):  
Mykhailo Khvesyk ◽  
Lyudmila Levkovska ◽  
Valeriy Mandzyk
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Economic Regulation ◽  
Sustainable Water Management ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Water Strategy ◽  
Territorial Water

The article is devoted to the development of theoretical approaches to the formation and implementation of the strategy of water policy of Ukraine in the context of climate change. As a result of the conducted research, it is proved that because of influence of various external factors there are changes of basic imperatives of functioning of modern systems of management of water resources. The need to consider these changes by improving the strategic documents that define the priorities and principles of national water management policy is substantiated. It is established that one of the main reasons for the lack of water of good quality is its low value compared to other natural resources. This leads to a lack of legal, organizational, and financial and economic grounds for ensuring the payback of water and water-dependent ecosystem services, which is the reason for lack of funds and relevant work to improve and restore environmental and hydro morphological characteristics of reservoirs and repair and modernization of existing hydraulic structures. In this regard, emphasis is placed on the need to improve methods of economic regulation and the development of mechanisms and tools for financial support of sustainable water management. In the context of the above, it is proposed to include in the list of main tasks of the draft Water Strategy of Ukraine two groups of economic levers to increase the financial base of investment support for sustainable water management. The first group is aimed at improving the rent regulation of special use of water resources and provides for raising standards for unauthorized groundwater production, for companies that produce beverages and sell bottled drinking water, as well as limiting various benefits and preferences when paying special water use fees. The second - to change the system of water resources management, the development of institutional and legal support for their use in a globalized market environment, the implementation of modern instruments of financial and economic support for the formation of territorial water resources on a corporate basis.

Use of land in a water fund in modern conditions

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (92) ◽  
pp. 26-29
Author(s):  
K.I. Ryzhova ◽  
V.M. Mandzyk
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Private Enterprise ◽  
The State ◽  
Institutional System

The article deals with issues of management and financial support land use water resources Ukraine in terms of decentralization. It was established that one of the obstacles to decentralization in Ukraine is the lack of necessary funding infrastructure upgrades lands of water fund. The necessity of reforming the institutional system of water use on the lands of water fund, through the implementation of new institutional forms of economic development, water resources, focused on the water and agricultural needs of communities. In particular, they provide for the establishment of partnerships between the state and private enterprise entities and ensure diversification of investment water management and protection projects.

An Agent Based Hydro Informatics Approach for the Engagement of Farmers in Irrigation Water Management in Saudi Arabia

2016 ◽  
pp. 404-423
Author(s):  
Tagelsir Mohamed Gasmelseid
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Software Agents ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
Cropping Patterns ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Government

The use of software agent systems and technologies to simulate water resources management scenarios and improve the engagement of stakeholders in policy making is gaining paramount importance. Such importance originates from two main concerns or change agents. Firstly, the context of water management is becoming highly complicated due to the intensity of connections with other systems, the diversity of stakeholders and the multiplicity (and sometime conflicting) objectives of decision partners. Moreover, the domain used for capitalizing on water management issues is becoming planetary (as it is the case of shared basins) rather than being local (watershed, watercourse, scheme, etc.). As a result, the concern is not limited to the optimization of the utility matrix of stakeholders but additional attention is required to incorporate many emerging issues such as the maintenance of financial sustainability, functional mainstreaming and improving engagement to promote reconciliation and change of water use behaviors. Secondly, the recent technological developments have improved the processing capacity of hardware, software functionalities and the accessibility of telecommunication platforms. Such developments have been reflected in the improvement of the capacities of decision makers to address complex problem domains. Software agents' technologies possess the qualities that make them useful for the provision of decision support in water management domains. As it is the case of irrigated agriculture, software agents' technology can be used for the design of farm surface irrigation systems, the improvement of irrigation systems management and the enhancement of the involvement of farmers in the processes of integrated water management. This paper is concerned with the use of agent based systems to facilitate the engagement of farmers in Al Ahsaa area in the management of water resources. The government of the Kingdom is adopting a demand management approach for the management of irrigation water by discouraging the cultivation of water-consuming crops such as wheat and dates. Improving the ability of farmers to analyze alternative cropping patterns significantly affects their water use behavior.

scholarly journals An integrated model for the assessment of global water resources – Part 2: Applications and assessments

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1027-1037 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Hanasaki ◽  
S. Kanae ◽  
T. Oki ◽  
K. Masuda ◽  
K. Motoya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Environmental Flow ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region ◽  
Meteorological Forcing ◽  
Global Water

Abstract. To assess global water resources from the perspective of subannual variation in water availability and water use, an integrated water resources model was developed. In a companion report, we presented the global meteorological forcing input used to drive the model and six modules, namely, the land surface hydrology module, the river routing module, the crop growth module, the reservoir operation module, the environmental flow requirement module, and the anthropogenic withdrawal module. Here, we present the results of the model application and global water resources assessments. First, the timing and volume of simulated agriculture water use were examined because agricultural use composes approximately 85% of total consumptive water withdrawal in the world. The estimated crop calendar showed good agreement with earlier reports for wheat, maize, and rice in major countries of production. In major countries, the error in the planting date was ±1 mo, but there were some exceptional cases. The estimated irrigation water withdrawal also showed fair agreement with country statistics, but tended to be underestimated in countries in the Asian monsoon region. The results indicate the validity of the model and the input meteorological forcing because site-specific parameter tuning was not used in the series of simulations. Finally, global water resources were assessed on a subannual basis using a newly devised index. This index located water-stressed regions that were undetected in earlier studies. These regions, which are indicated by a gap in the subannual distribution of water availability and water use, include the Sahel, the Asian monsoon region, and southern Africa. The simulation results show that the reservoir operations of major reservoirs (>1 km3) and the allocation of environmental flow requirements can alter the population under high water stress by approximately −11% to +5% globally. The integrated model is applicable to assessments of various global environmental projections such as climate change.

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