Showing papers on "Water supply published in 2004"

Balancing Water for Humans and Nature: The New Approach in Ecohydrology

Abstract: Balancing Water for Humans and Nature, authored by two of the world's leading experts on water management, examines water flows - the 'blood stream' of both nature and society - in terms of the crucial links, balances, conflicts and trade-offs between human and environmental needs. The authors argue that a sustainable future depends fundamentally on our ability to manage these trade-offs and encourage long-term resilience. They advocate an ecohydrological approach to land/water/environmental problems and advance a strong, reasoned argument for viewing precipitation as the gross fresh water resource, ultimately responsible for sustaining all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem services. This book makes the most coherent and holistic argument to date for a new ecological approach to understanding and managing water resources for the benefit of all. Basing their analysis on per capita needs for an acceptable nutritional diet, the authors analyse predictions of the amounts of water needed for global food production by 2050 and identify potential sources. Drawing on small-scale experiences in Africa and Asia, they also cover the vulnerability of the semi-arid tropics through a simplified model of green and blue water scarcity components.

Water Resources: Agricultural and Environmental Issues

Abstract: The increasing demands placed on the global water supply threaten biodiversity and the supply of water for food production and other vital human needs. Water shortages already exist in many regions, with more than one billion people without adequate drinking water. In addition, 90% of the infectious diseases in developing countries are transmitted from polluted water. Agriculture consumes about 70% of fresh water worldwide; for example, approximately 1000 liters (L) of water are required to produce 1 kilogram (kg) of cereal grain, and 43,000 L to produce 1 kg of beef. New water supplies are likely to result from conservation, recycling, and improved water-use efficiency rather than from large development projects.

An Uncooperative Commodity: Privatizing Water in England and Wales

Abstract: PART I PRIVATIZATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF WATER SUPPLY 1 Introduction: From 'retreat of the state' to 'retreat of the market'? 2 Water: An uncooperative commodity 3 Building the networks 4 Commercializing water supply PART II RE-REGULATING THE WATER SUPPLY INDUSTRY 5 Privatizing water, producing scarcity: The Yorkshire drought of 1995 6 Thirsting for equity: Consumers and the contested politics of water pricing 7 The retreat of the market? Re-regulation and water supply industry restructuring 8 Conclusions: Re-regulating water supply Bibliography

The Institutional Economics of Water: A Cross-Country Analysis of Institutions and Performance

Abstract: This book provides a detailed and comprehensive evaluation of water reform and water sector performance from the perspectives of institutional economics and political economy. It integrates institutional theory with resource economics, and set against an exhaustive review of the theoretical and empirical literature, the authors develop an alternative methodology to quantitatively assess the performance of institutions in the context of water. This methodology is built on the principle of 'institutional ecology', the 'institutional decomposition and analysis' framework, and the 'subjective theory' of institutional change. Using this new methodology, plus information collected through an international survey of 127 water experts, the authors present a detailed empirical analysis of the process of institution-performance interaction in the water sector. Relying on the institutional transaction cost approach and an extensive cross-country review of recent water sector reforms, they also provide evidence on the relative role of various factors that influence the extent and depth of water institutional reforms in 43 countries and regions around the world. The book concludes with far reaching implications for the theory and policy of water sector reform in particular and institutional reform in general.

Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Metropolitan Water Systems Planning

Abstract: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is useful as an information tool for the examination of alternative future scenarios for strategic planning. Developing a life cycle assessment for a large water and wastewater system involves making methodological decisions about the level of detail which is retained through different stages of the process. In this article we discuss a methodology tailored to strategic planning needs which retains a high degree of model segmentation in order to enhance modeling of a large, complex system. This is illustrated by a case study of Sydney Water, which is Australia's largest water service provider. A prospective LCA was carried out to examine the potential environmental impacts of Sydney Water's total operations in the year 2021. To our knowledge this is the first study to create an LCA model of an integrated water and wastewater system with this degree of complexity. A "base case" system model was constructed to represent current operating assets as augmented and upgraded to 2021. The base case results provided a basis for the comparison of alternative future scenarios and for conclusions to be drawn regarding potential environmental improvements. The scenarios can be roughly classified in two categories: (1) options which improve the environmental performance across all impact categories and (2) options which improve one indicator and worsen others. Overall environmental improvements are achieved in all categories by the scenarios examining increased demand management, energy efficiency, energy generation, and additional energy recovery from biosolids. The scenarios which examined desalination of seawater and the upgrades of major coastal sewage treatment plants to secondary and tertiary treatment produced an improvement in one environmental indicator but deteriorations in all the other impact categories, indicating the environmental tradeoffs within the system. The desalination scenario produced a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions due to coal-fired electricity generation for a small increase in water supply. Assessment of a greenfield scenario incorporating water demand management, on-site treatment, local irrigation, and centralized biosolids treatment indicates significant environmental improvements are possible relative to the assessment of a conventional system of corresponding scale.

Optimal Layout of Early Warning Detection Stations for Water Distribution Systems Security

Abstract: Deliberate contamination is generally viewed as the most serious potential terrorist threat to water systems Chemical or biological agents could spread throughout a distribution system and result in sickness or death among the people drinking the water Since September 11, 2001 the US Environmental Protection Agency's water protection task force and regional offices have initiated massive actions to improve the security of the drinking water infrastructure A methodology is presented for finding the optimal layout of an early warning detection system ~EWDS! The detection system is comprised of a set of monitoring stations aimed at capturing deliberate external terrorist hazard intrusions through water distribution system nodes—sources, tanks, and consumers The optimization considers extended period unsteady hydraulics and water quality conditions for a given defensive level of service to the public, defined as a maximum volume of polluted water exposure at a concentration higher than a minimum hazard level Such a scheme provides an EWDS for a deliberate terrorist external hazard intrusion, as well as for accidental contamination entries under unsteady conditions—a problem that currently has not been solved The methodology is cast in a genetic algorithm framework for integration with EPANET and is demonstrated through two example applications DOI: 101061/~ASCE!0733-9496~2004!130:5~377! CE Database subject headings: Water distribution; Monitoring; Optimization; Evolutionary computation; Water quality; Security; Terrorism

Peer Reviewed: Recovering Sustainable Water from Wastewater

Abstract: For water supplies to be sustainable, the rate at which water is withdrawn from water sources needs to be in balance with the rate of renewal or replenishment. At the same time, water quality must also be sustainable or recoverable. In nature precipitation replenishes surface water supplies and recharges groundwater. However, urbanization, agriculture, dams and reservoirs, and other shifts in land-use patterns are altering the rate, extent, and spatial distribution of freshwater consumption and replenishment. Therefore, water withdrawn for societal needs must also be considered a source in the sustainability equation.

Water problems and hydrological research in the Yellow River and the Huai and Hai River basins of China

Abstract: This paper deals with hydrological research in regard to the water resources crisis in the vulnerable areas found in the northern part of China. This area includes three main river basins, namely the basins of the Yellow (Huang) River, the Hai River and the Huai River. Several water problems are becoming very severe. Among them, two are the most critical: the Yellow River has been drained dry in the main course of its lower reaches and along its major tributaries, and the groundwater table has rapidly declined in the floodplains of the three rivers' downstream areas. To counter the problems, particularly the critical issues mentioned above, hydrological research, which serves as the basis of water development and management, has been carried out in the last two decades. This paper addresses three basic scientific problems in North China, namely: (a) water consumption and the capacity for saving water; (b) the changes in hydrological processes and water resources caused by natural change and human activities; and (c) the ability to supply water resources and water safety in terms of both quantity and quality within a changing environment. However, opportunities and challenges for ameliorating the problems exist, and new ideas and methodology to solve the problems have been proposed, such as the interface process study on the interactions in the soil-root interface, the plant-atmosphere interface, the soil-atmosphere interface, and the interface of soil water and groundwater. In order to manage water resources in a sustainable manner, the study of water resources' renewal ability as affected by natural change and human activity is addressed from the viewpoint of both water quantity and quality, and their integration. To reduce the vulnerability of water resources in regional water management, a paradigm of sustainable water resources utilization is also proposed, using water-heat balance, water-salt balance, water-sediment balance, and water supply-demand balance. This approach may help reveal the basic problems and point to possible approaches to solving the water problems in North China in the 21st century. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons

Water resources for agriculture in a changing climate: international case studies

Abstract: This integrated study examines the implications of changes in crop water demand and water availability for the reliability of irrigation, taking into account changes in competing municipal and industrial demands, and explores the effectiveness of adaptation options in maintaining reliability. It reports on methods of linking climate change scenarios with hydrologic, agricultural, and planning models to study water availability for agriculture under changing climate conditions, to estimate changes in ecosystem services, and to evaluate adaptation strategies for the water resources and agriculture sectors. The models are applied to major agricultural regions in Argentina, Brazil, China, Hungary, Romania, and the US, using projections of climate change, agricultural production, population, technology, and GDP growth. For most of the relatively water-rich areas studied, there appears to be sufficient water for agriculture given the climate change scenarios tested. Northeastern China suffers from the greatest lack of water availability for agriculture and ecosystem services both in the present and in the climate change projections. Projected runoff in the Danube Basin does not change substantially, although climate change causes shifts in environmental stresses within the region. Northern Argentina's occasional problems in water supply for agriculture under the current climate may be exacerbated and may require investments to relieve future tributary stress. In Southeastern Brazil, future water supply for agriculture appears to be plentiful. Water supply in most of the US Cornbelt is projected to increase in most climate change scenarios, but there is concern for tractability in the spring and water-logging in the summer. Adaptation tests imply that only the Brazil case study area can readily accommodate an expansion of irrigated land under climate change, while the other three areas would suffer decreases in system reliability if irrigation areas were to be expanded. Cultivars are available for agricultural adaptation to the projected changes, but their demand for water may be higher than currently adapted varieties. Thus, even in these relatively water-rich areas, changes in water demand due to climate change effects on agriculture and increased demand from urban growth will require timely improvements in crop cultivars, irrigation and drainage technology, and water management.

Optimization of California's Water Supply System: Results and Insights

Abstract: This paper presents results of a large-scale economic-engineering optimization model of California's water supply system. The results of this 4-year effort illustrate the value of optimization modeling for providing integrated information needed to manage a complex multipurpose water system. This information includes economic benefits of flexible operations, economic valuation of capacity expansion opportunities, estimating user willingness to pay for additional water, economic opportunity costs of environmental flows, and identification of promising conjunctive use and water transfer opportunities. The limitations of such modeling also are discussed. Overall, the results suggest improvements to system operation and water allocations with a statewide expected value potentially as high as $1.3 billion/year. Significant improvements in performance appear possible through water transfers and exchanges, conjunctive use, and various operational changes to increase flexibility. These changes also greatly reduce costs to agricultural and urban users of accommo- dating environmental requirements. Model results also suggest benefits for expanding selected conveyance and storage facilities.

Heavy rainfall and waterborne disease outbreaks: the Walkerton example

Abstract: Recent research indicates that excessive rainfall has been a significant contributor to historical waterborne disease outbreaks. The Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada, provided an analysis and testimony to the Walkerton Inquiry on the excessive rainfall events, including an assessment of the historical significance and expected return periods of the rainfall amounts. While the onset of the majority of the Walkerton, Ontario, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter outbreak occurred several days after a heavy rainfall on May 12, the accumulated 5-d rainfall amounts from 8-12 May were particularly significant. These 5-d accumulations could, on average, only be expected once every 60 yr or more in Walkerton and once every 100 yr or so in the heaviest rainfall area to the south of Walkerton. The significant link between excess rainfall and waterborne disease outbreaks, in conjunction with other multiple risk factors, indicates that meteorological and climatological conditions need to be considered by water managers, public health officials, and private citizens as a significant risk factor for water contamination. A system to identify and project the impacts of such challenging or extreme weather conditions on water supply systems could be developed using a combination of weather/climate monitoring information and weather prediction or quantitative precipitation forecast information. The use of weather monitoring and forecast information or a "wellhead alert system" could alert water system and water supply managers on the potential response of their systems to challenging weather conditions and additional requirements to protect health. Similar approaches have recently been used by beach managers in parts of the United States to predict day-to-day water quality for beach advisories.

Mountains of the world: vulnerable water towers for the 21st century.

Abstract: Mountains as "Water Towers" play an important role for the surrounding lowlands. This is particularly true of the world's semiarid and arid zones, where the contributions of mountains to total discharge are 50-90%. Taking into account the increasing water scarcity in these regions, especially for irrigation and food production, then today's state of knowledge in mountain hydrology makes sustainable water management and an assessment of vulnerability quite difficult. Following the IPCC report, the zone of maximum temperature increase in a 2 x CO2 state extends from low elevation in the arctic and sub-arctic to high elevation in the tropics and subtropics. The planned GCOS climate stations do not reach this elevation of high temperature change, although there are many high mountain peaks with the necessary sensitive and vulnerable ecosystems. Worldwide, more than 700 million people live in mountain areas, of these, 625 million are in developing countries. Probably more than half of these 625 million people are vulnerable to food insecurity. Consequences of this insecurity can be emigration or overuse of mountain ecosystems. Overuse of the ecosystems will, ultimately, have negative effects on the environment and especially on water resources. New research initiatives and new high mountain observatories are needed in order to understand the ongoing natural and human processes and their impacts on the adjacent lowlands.

Wastewater use in irrigated agriculture: management challenges in developing countries.

Abstract: Cities in developing countries are experiencing unparalleled growth and rapidly increasing water supply and sanitation coverage that will continue to release growing volumes of wastewater. In many developing countries, untreated or partially treated wastewater is used to irrigate the cities’ own food, fodder, and green spaces. Farmers have been using untreated wastewater for centuries, but greater numbers now depend on it for their livelihoods and this demand has ushered in a range of new wastewater use practices. The diversity of conditions is perhaps matched only by the complexity of managing the risks to human health and the environment that are posed by this practice. An integrated stepwise management approach is called for, one that is pragmatic in the shortand medium terms, and that recognises the fundamental economic niche and users’ perceptions of the comparative advantages of wastewater irrigation that drive its expansion in urban and peri-urban areas. Comprehensive management approaches in the longer term will need to encompass treatment, regulation, farmer user groups, forward market linkages that ensure food and consumer safety, and effective public awareness campaigns. In order to propose realistic, effective, and sustainable management approaches, it is crucial to understand the context-specific tradeoffs between the health of producers and consumers of wastewater-irrigated produce as well as the quality of soils and water, on the one hand, and wastewater irrigation benefits, farmers’ perceptions, and institutional arrangements on the other. This introductory chapter to the current volume on wastewater use in agriculture highlights a series of tradeoffs associated with continued use of untreated wastewater in agriculture. Empirical results from the case studies presented in the volume shed light on devising workable solutions. Rapid Expansion of Wastewater Irrigation in the Coming Decades The use of urban wastewater in agriculture is a centuries-old practice that is receiving renewed attention with the increasing scarcity of freshwater resources in many arid and semiarid regions. Driven by rapid urbanisation and growing wastewater volumes, wastewater is widely used as a low-cost alternative to conventional irrigation water; it supports livelihoods and generates considerable value in urban and peri-urban agriculture despite the health and environmental risks associated

The Age of Commodity: Water Privatization in Southern Africa

Abstract: Introduction: From Public to Private (to Public Again?) * Part I: Theory and Practice - Theorizing Water Privatization in Southern Africa * The New Water Architecture of SADC * The Constitutional Implications of Commercializing Water in South Africa * Turning Off the Taps on the GATS * Part II: Case Studies in South Africa - Entrenching Inequalities: The Impact of Corporatization on Water Injustices in Pretoria * Managing the Poor by Remote Control: Johannesburg's Experiments with Prepaid Water Meters * Public Money, Private Failure: Testing the Limits of Market Based Solutions for Water Delivery in Nelspruit * The Political Economy of Public Private Contracts: Urban Water in Two Eastern Cape Towns * The Murky Waters of Second Wave Neoliberalism: Corporatizing as a Service Delivery Model in Cape Town * 'Free Water' as Commodity: The Paradoxes of Durban's Water Service Transformations * The Rise and Fall of Water Privatization in Rural South Africa: A Critical Evaluation of the ANC's First Term of Officer, 1994-1999 * Part III: Case Studies in the Region - Stillborn in Harare: Attempts to Privatize Water in a City in Crises * 'There is Still No Alternative': The Beginnings of Water Privatization in Luska * Water Privatization in Namibia: Creating a New Apartheid? * The New Face of Conditionalities: The World Bank and Water Privatization in Ghana * Index

Rural Water Supply in Africa: Building Blocks for Handpump Sustainability

Abstract: Rural water supplies in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly those relying on handpumps, often demonstrate low levels of sustainability. This book is designed to assist those responsible for planning, implementing and supporting rural water supply programmes to increase sustainability. Its primary aims are to raise awareness of issues that affect sustainability and the interrelationship between them, provide options for addressing these using examples, and describe how these options can be implemented. The importance of a programmatic approach to the delivery of rural water services is emphasized, as is the need for ongoing institutional support for community management and consideration of alternative management models. The book does not prescribe a 'one size fits all' solution but encourages a flexible, holistic approach to decision-making to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Tourism Development in Mallorca: Is Water Supply a Constraint?

Abstract: The successful revitalisation of the tourism product on the popular Mediterranean tourist destination of Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain since 1990, following a period of 'stagnation' in the 1980s, may be jeopardised by emerging environmental pressures, particularly water shortages and climatic change. This paper evaluates the physical and human factors that have contributed to the present water supply problems on Mallorca, with particular reference to the role of tourism in these issues. Various water management initiatives have been introduced during the last decade, although the effectiveness of these schemes for both residents and tourists remains unproven. The water supply issues on Mallorca represent a microcosm of similar problems being experienced in other Mediterranean resorts and beyond. The case is emblematic of how environmental issues are becoming more central to tourism management, as well as suggesting a potentially important variant on the tourism life-cycle model of Butler (1980).

Spatial variation in water supply and demand across river basins of India

Abstract: India is a large country with regional differences in per-capita water supply and demand. Attempts to describe the water situation in India at a national level are often misleading due to the tremendous diversity in the water situation across the country. This Report analyzes the spatial variation of water supply and demand across river basins in India. The study identifies basins that are water-scarce because of inadequate water availability to meet the effective demand. It also identifies issues that are important for estimating the future water demand and for the formation of policy for future water-resources development and management.

Disinfection of Contaminated Water by Using Solar Irradiation

Abstract: Contaminated water causes an estimated 6 to 60 billion cases of gastrointestinal illness annually. The majority of these cases occur in rural areas of developing nations where the water supply remains polluted and adequate sanitation is unavailable. A portable, low-cost, and low-maintenance solar unit to disinfect unpotable water has been designed and tested. The solar disinfection unit was tested with both river water and partially processed water from two wastewater treatment plants. In less than 30 min in midday sunlight, the unit eradicated more than 4 log10 U (99.99%) of bacteria contained in highly contaminated water samples. The solar disinfection unit has been field tested by Centro Panamericano de Ingenieria Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente in Lima, Peru. At moderate light intensity, the solar disinfection unit was capable of reducing the bacterial load in a controlled contaminated water sample by 4 log10 U and disinfected approximately 1 liter of water in 30 min. Contaminated water causes an estimated 6 to 60 billion cases of gastrointestinal illness annually. The majority of these cases occur in rural areas of developing nations where the water supply is polluted with a variety of microorganisms, including viruses, fecal coliforms, and protozoa, and adequate sanitation is unavailable. The need for a low-cost, low-maintenance, and effective disinfection system for the improvement of water quality is high. Conventional technologies used for disinfection of unpotable water include ozonation, chlorination, and artificial UV radiation. These technologies are capital intensive, require sophisticated equipment, and demand skilled operators (1, 16, 22). At the household level, boiling water for about 10 min or the use of certain chlorine compounds available in tablets (halazone or calcium hypochlorite) or solutions (sodium hypochlorite at 1 to 2 drops per liter) is commonly used to disinfect

Water quality deterioration: A study of household drinking water quality in rural Honduras

Abstract: There is growing awareness that drinking-water can become contaminated following its collection from communal sources such as wells and tap-stands, as well as during its storage in the home. This study evaluated the post-supply drinking-water quality in three rural Honduran communities using either a protected hand-dug well or borehole supply. Water management practices were documented as a basis for further research to improve household drinking-water quality. Membrane filtration was used to compare thermotolerant coliform levels in samples taken from community wells and household drinking-water storage containers. Over a 2-year period, water quality was examined in 43 households and detailed observation made of typical collection, storage and usage practice. Substantial water quality deterioration occurred between the points of supply and consumption. Deterioration occurred regularly and frequently, and was experienced by the majority of study households. Only source water quality appeared to be a significant factor in determining household water quality. None of the storage factors examined, i.e. covering the container, type of container, the material from which the container was made, and hours stored, made any significant difference to the stored water quality. Observation of household water management shows that there are multiple points during the collection to use sequence where pollution could occur. The commonality of water management practice would be an asset in introducing appropriate intervention measures.

Valuing health damages from water pollution in urban Delhi, India: a health production function approach

Abstract: Diarrhoeal diseases are endemic in Delhi. The causes of diarrhoeal illness involve both the household and the public sector as a provider of a public good, namely water supplies. Questions of both adequacy and quality of the water supply available to the household for drinking purposes are of crucial importance. The present study conducts an objective assessment of the health damages incurred by urban households by adopting a health production function approach. A model for valuing the damages from contaminated water supplies, based on the theory of utility-maximizing consumer behaviour is developed for estimating the probability of illness for a household. An estimate for the predicted probability of observing illness in a household is obtained. This probability measure is subsequently used along with data on illness to derive treatment costs and the wage-loss arising from the illness. Thus, a measure of the total costs of illness is obtained.

Food security in the face of climate change, population growth, and resource constraints: implications for Bangladesh.

Abstract: Ensuring food security has been one of the major national priorities of Bangladesh since its independence in 1971. Now, this national priority is facing new challenges from the possible impacts of climate change in addition to the already existing threats from rapid population growth, declining availability of cultivable land, and inadequate access to water in the dry season. In this backdrop, this paper has examined the nature and magnitude of these threats for the benchmark years of 2030 and 2050. It has been shown that the overall impact of climate change on the production of food grains in Bangladesh would probably be small in 2030. This is due to the strong positive impact of CO2 fertilization that would compensate for the negative impacts of higher temperature and sea level rise. In 2050, the negative impacts of climate change might become noticeable: production of rice and wheat might drop by 8% and 32%, respectively. However, rice would be less affected by climate change compared to wheat, which is more sensitive to a change in temperature. Based on the population projections and analysis of future agronomic innovations, this study further shows that the availability of cultivable land alone would not be a constraint for achieving food self-sufficiency, provided that the productivity of rice and wheat grows at a rate of 10% or more per decade. However, the situation would be more critical in terms of water availability. If the dry season water availability does not decline from the 1990 level of about 100 Bm3, there would be just enough water in 2030 for meeting both the agricultural and nonagricultural needs. In 2050, the demand for irrigation water to maintain food self-sufficiency would be about 40% to 50% of the dry season water availability. Meeting such a high agricultural water demand might cause significant negative impacts on the domestic and commercial water supply, fisheries, ecosystems, navigation, and salinity management.