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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Water from (waste)water--the dependable water resource.

Water reclamation and reuse provides a unique and viable opportunity to augment traditional water supplies. As a multi-disciplined and important element of water resources development and management, water reuse can help to close the loop between water supply and wastewater disposal. Effective water reuse requires integration of water and reclaimed water supply functions. The successful development of this dependable water resource depends upon close examination and synthesis of elements from infrastructure and facilities planning, wastewater treatment plant siting, treatment process reliability, economic and financial analyses, and water utility management. In this paper, fundamental concepts of water reuse are discussed including definitions, historical developments, the role of water recycling in the hydrologic cycle, categories of water reuse, water quality criteria and regulatory requirements, and technological innovations for the safe use of reclaimed water. The paper emphasizes the integration of this alternative water supply into water resources planning, and the emergence of modern water reclamation and reuse practices from wastewater to reclaimed water to repurified water.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed2006

Global hydrological cycles and world water resources.

Water is a naturally circulating resource that is constantly recharged. Therefore, even though the stocks of water in natural and artificial reservoirs are helpful to increase the available water resources for human society, the flow of water should be the main focus in water resources assessments. The climate system puts an upper limit on the circulation rate of available renewable freshwater resources (RFWR). Although current global withdrawals are well below the upper limit, more than two billion people live in highly water-stressed areas because of the uneven distribution of RFWR in time and space. Climate change is expected to accelerate water cycles and thereby increase the available RFWR. This would slow down the increase of people living under water stress; however, changes in seasonal patterns and increasing probability of extreme events may offset this effect. Reducing current vulnerability will be the first step to prepare for such anticipated changes.

Agriculture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect on water resources from upstream water diversion in the Ganges basin.

Bangladesh faces at least 30 upstream water diversion constructions of which Farakka Barrage is the major one. The effects of Farakka Barrage on water resources, socioeconomy, and culture have been investigated downstream in the basins of the Ganges and its distributaries. A diversion of up to 60% of the Ganges water over 25 yr has caused (i) reduction of water in surface water resources, (ii) increased dependence on ground water, (iii) destruction of the breeding and raising grounds for 109 species of Gangetic fishes and other aquatic species and amphibians, (iv) increased malnutrition, (v) deficiency in soil organic matter content, (vi) change in the agricultural practices, (vii) eradication of inland navigable routes, (viii) outbreak of waterborne diseases, (ix) loss of professions, and (x) obstruction to religious observances and pastimes. Further, arsenopyrites buried in the prebarrage water table have come in contact with air and formed water-soluble compounds of arsenic. Inadequate recharging of ground water hinders the natural cleansing of arsenic, and threatens about 75,000,000 lives who are likely to use water contaminated with up to 2 mg/L of arsenic. Furthermore, the depletion of surface water resources has caused environmental heating and cooling effects. Apart from these effects, sudden releases of water by the barrage during the flood season cause devestating floods. In consideration of such a heavy toll for the areas downstream, strict international rules have to be laid down to preserve the riparian ecosystems.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A data mining approach to simulating farmers' crop choices for integrated water resources management.

Water and land resources in Thailand are increasingly under pressure from development. In particular, there are many resource conflicts associated with agricultural production in northern Thailand. Communities in these areas are significantly constrained in the land and water management decisions they are able to make. This paper describes the application of a data mining approach to describing and simulating farmers' decision rules in a catchment in northern Thailand. This approach is being applied to simulate social, economic and biophysical constraints on farmers' decisions in these areas as part of an integrated water management model.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2002

Avoiding conflicts over Africa's water resources.

Some 85% of Africa's water resources are comprised of large river basins that are shared between several countries. High rates of population growth accompanied by continued increases in the demand for water have resulted in several countries passing the point where the scarcity of water supplies effectively limits further development. Present population trends and patterns of water use suggest that more African countries will exceed the limits of their economically usable, land-based water resources before 2025. Normally, water allocation and distribution priorities within a country are aligned with national development objectives. While this may achieve national "water security" objectives, greater emphasis needs to be placed on regional efforts to ensure that the available water resources are used to derive sustainable long-term benefits for the peoples of Africa as a whole. Ideally, each country's water-resource management strategy needs to be aligned with that of its neighbors if peace and prosperity are to be maintained and conflict is to be avoided in the region.

Africa↗
PubMed2004

Virtual water trade and world water resources.

Global virtual water trade was quantitatively estimated and evaluated. The basic idea of how to estimate unit requirement of water resources to produce each commodity is introduced and values for major agricultural and stock products are presented. The concept of virtual water and the quantitative estimates can help in assessing a more realistic water scarcity index in each country, projecting future water demand for food supply, increasing public awareness on water, and identifying the processes wasting water in the production. Really required water in exporting countries is generally smaller than virtually required water in importing countries, reflecting the comparative advantage of water use efficiency, and it is estimated to be 680 km3/y for 2000. On the contrary the virtually required water for the same year is estimated to be 1,130 km3/y, and the difference of 450 km3/y is virtually saved by global trade. However, solely virtual water should not be used for any decision making since the idea of virtual water implies only the usage and influence of water and no concerns on social, cultural, and environmental implications. Virtual water trade also does not consider other limiting factors than water.

Commerce↗
PubMed2005

Application of a physical input-output table to evaluate the development and sustainability of continental water resources in Spain.

Continental waters are complex resources in terms of a measurable physical quantity, and measuring them requires a good knowledge of total water availability. In this research, an accounting physical input-output table (PIOT) was applied to evaluate total water resources and gross annual availabilities at each stage of the natural-artificial water cycle. These stages are considered subsystems of a continental water resource system describing water transfers for an average year within 13 administrative basins of Spain. Water transfers between various subsystems are characterized by internal flows decreasing the water resource availabilities. The PIOT analysis establishes these internal flows, and the origins and final uses of the total resources for each subsystem. The input-output balance registered an unsustainable negative net accumulation in eight water basins. The PIOT analysis also allowed the calculation of significant indicators such as water resource developments (RDI) and their sustainable use (SUI). RDI and SUI demonstrate that groundwater is a critical resource affecting the environment (e.g., wetlands in the upper Guadiana) and the water supply (e.g., irrigation in the Segura basin). The results of this model suggest that above-/below-ground hydrological links are important when decisions have to be made in order to provide a satisfactory supply of water in Spain. The model integrates the different water basins under territorial criteria, and therefore it may be useful for the Spanish National Hydrological Plan.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed1997

Water Resource Protection in Taiwan: An Evaluation of the Taipei Water Management Commission

/ This study evaluates the institutional capacity and performance of the Taipei Water Management Commission. The commission, which manages the Taipei Water Special Area-one of 95 such areas in Taiwan and the only one managed by a supervisory agency-has established a record of water conservation that suggests its utility as a model for managing other protected water resources areas in Taiwan. However, its present institutional structure limits its ability deliver on its mandate. The study identifies a number of problems related to the commission's current institutional structure that need to be addressed if the commission is to serve as a viable model for managing other protected water resource areas in Taiwan.KEY WORDS: Water resources management; Commissions; Institutional capacity; Taiwan

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Water pricing towards sustainability of water resources: a case study in Beijing.

The role of water pricing for managing water resources is widely recognized in many areas of the world because of the increasing scarcity of water resources, a high competition between water uses and environmental degradation. Based on the analysis of cost of water, this paper explores which types of cost should be reflected in the water pricing enhancing the sustainability of water resources. The principle of full cost pricing in which the cost should include supply cost, opportunity cost and externalities is proposed as a means to achieve the sustainability of water resources. In a case study of Beijing, low water price is analyzed as one reason for unsustainable water consumption. Thus water pricing justified is necessary and pressing. It is proposed to justify water price in phased manner and eventually towards full cost pricing. The assessment of impacts on water resources by raising water price shows water pricing could alleviate the conflict between water supply and demand. This paper concludes that water pricing can play an effective role in enhancing the sustainability of water resources in Beijing.

China↗
PubMed2002

Water resources management within the water-protection zone of the "Donauried": solving conflicts between water supply, ecology and agriculture.

One of the tasks of sustainable water-quality and resources management must be to resolve conflicts between its demands and those of agriculture and ecology. In most industrial countries, there are conflicts between the different requirements of water supply, i.e. water quality, and those of agriculture and the conservation of wetlands, i.e. water quantify. Solving these conflicts means a reorganisation of land use. A non-governmental committee has initiated a voluntary compromise program for the water-protection zone of the Donauried. On the basis of criteria assessing the significance of areas of land, a plan for the reorganisation of land use has been developed. Moreover, an action plan has been prepared; it includes steps for reducing nitrate, a program for reducing land-use intensity, a concept for re-wetting bog areas and an investigation into measures for optimising local water resources using a numerical groundwater model. This was accompanied by an economic evaluation of the measures.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2002

World water dynamics: global modeling of water resources.

The growing scarcity of fresh and clean water is among the most important issues facing civilization in the 21st century. Despite the growing attention to a chronic, pernicious crisis in world's water resources our ability to correctly assess and predict global water availability, use and balance is still quite limited. An attempt is documented here in modeling global world water resources using system dynamics approach. Water resources sector (quantity and quality) is integrated with five sectors that drive industrial growth: population; agriculture; economy; nonrenewable resources; and persistent pollution. WorldWater model is developed on the basis of the last version of World3 model. Simulations of world water dynamics with WorldWater indicate that there is a strong relationship between the world water resources and future industrial growth of the world. It is also shown that the water pollution is the most important future water issue on the global level.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2005

[Evaluation of China' s regional sustainable utilization of water resources and its type classification].

Based on the idea of sustainable development, this paper analyzes the characteristics of sustainable utilization of water resources and builds the sustainable utilization evaluation system of water resources in the aspect of the status of water resources, the efficiency of water resources utilization, the stress of water resources sustainable utilization and the capacity of water resources sustainable utilization. According to this evaluation system, the sustainable utilization of water resources in China's 31 provincial regions is evaluated and is classified as 5 types correspondingly, namely high, relative high, medium, relative low and low types. The situation of water sustainable development presents the general decrease trend from the northeast coastal area to northwest inland. Compared with water resources endowment, the low water utilization efficiency is becoming another restrict to water sustainable utilization. There is obvious inverse correlation between water resources endowment and its utilization efficiency.

China↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Isotopes and sustainability of ground water resources, North China Plain.

Ground water in deep confined aquifers is one of the major water resources for agricultural, industrial, and domestic uses in the North China Plain. Detailed information on ground water age and recharge is vital for the proper management of these water resources, and to this end, we used carbon 14 of dissolved inorganic carbon and tritium in water to measure the age and determine the recharge areas of ground water in the North China Plain. These isotopic data suggest that most ground water in the piedmont part of the North China Plain is <40 years old and is recharged locally. In contrast, ground water in the central and littoral portions of the North China Plain is 10,000 to 25,000 years old. The delta18O (deltaD) values of this ground water are 1.7 per thousand (11 per thousand) less than that in the piedmont plain ground water and possibly reflect water recharged during a cooler climate during the last glaciation. The temperature of this recharge, based on delta18O values, ranges from 3.7 degrees C to 8.4 degrees C, compared to 12 degrees C to 13 degrees C of modern recharge water. The isotopic data set combined indicates that ground water in the central and littoral part of the North China Plain is being mined under non-steady state conditions.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗
PubMed2001

The role of institutional arrangements for more efficient water resources use and allocation.

Water resources management requires an interdisciplinary approach to meet the challenges posed by ever increasing water demand and pollution. This paper discusses in which way appropriate institutional arrangements are complementary to technical interventions that aim to increase more efficient water use and allocation. Specific emphasis is given to water property rights as one of the determining factors in regard to the institutional framework. Issues such as the range of flexibility in designing property rights to water, the implications for pricing, enforcement and sanctioning mechanisms as well as for water trading and information needs are highlighted.

Efficiency↗
PubMed2003

Potential impacts of global warming on water resources in southern California.

Global warming will have a significant impact on water resources within the 20 to 90-year planning period of many water projects. Arid and semi-arid regions such as Southern California are especially vulnerable to anticipated negative impacts of global warming on water resources. Long-range water facility planning must consider global climate change in the recommended mix of new facilities needed to meet future water requirements. The generally accepted impacts of global warming include temperature, rising sea levels, more frequent and severe floods and droughts, and a shift from snowfall to rain. Precipitation changes are more difficult to predict. For Southern California, these impacts will be especially severe on surface water supplies. Additionally, rising sea levels will exacerbate salt-water intrusion into freshwater and impact the quality of surface water supplies. Integrated water resources planning is emerging as a tool to develop water supplies and demand management strategies that are less vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. These tools include water conservation, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater and desalination of brackish water and possibly seawater. Additionally, planning for future water needs should include explicit consideration of the potential range of global warming impacts through techniques such as scenario planning.

California↗
PubMed2001

Reclaimed municipal wastewater--a potential water resource in China.

Due to water resource shortage and socio-economic development within twenty years, China faces serious problems of water supply and water pollution. Several criteria and suitable reclamation processes related to water reuse have been created in China, which are helpful to improve the situation of water scarcity. In the future, reclaimed municipal wastewater reuse will mainly be developed for urban and industrial use. Potential supply quantity of reclaimed water, quality of reclaimed water, and reclamation cost are favorable to potential reuses. Based on further public environmental education, on a relevant development of national and local standards for reclaimed water quality, and on an increase of sanitary rate, more and more planned reclaimed water reuse projects would be expected in China.

Agriculture↗