water resources assessment 1 dominique senn, seecon gmbh

Water Resources Assessment


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Dominique Senn, seecon gmbh


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Contents

1. Water Resources Assessment

2. Purpose of Water Resources Assessment

3. Components of Water Resources Assessment

4. Conducting a Water Resources Assessment

5. Content Example

6. Advantages and Disadvantages

7. References

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Introduction (1/2)

Water Resources Assessment (WRA) is a classic tool used in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

Proposed definitions: •WRA is the process of measuring, collecting and analysing

relevant parameters on the quantity and quality of water resources for the purpose of a better development and management of water resources.

•WRA is the “determination of sources, extent, dependability and quality of water resources for their utilisation and control.” (HUBERT n.y.)

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Introduction (2/2)

WRA is a tool to...

... Evaluate water resources in relation to a reference frame

... Evaluate the dynamics of the water resource in relation to human impacts or demands.

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Depending on the objective of the assessment, WRA may look at a range of physical, chemical and biological features in assessing the dynamics of the resource.

By conducting a WRA, you are establishing a common, agreed and trusted information base that can be used by stakeholders as a basis for informed and effective decision making.

Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1214/ [Accessed: 06.01.2014]



WRA helps clarifying the following issues

•Current status of water resources at different scales, including inter- and intra-annual variability

•Current water use (including variability), and the resulting societal and environmental trade-offs

•Scale related externalities, especially when patterns of water use are considered over a range of temporal and spatial scales

•Social and institutional factors affecting access to water and their reliability

•Opportunities for saving or making water distribution and use more productive, efficient and/or equitable

•Efficacy and transparency of existing water-related policies and decision making processes

•Conflicts between existing information sets, and the overall accuracy of government (and other) statistics

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When to conduct a WRA

•When you want to improve your sanitation and water system to make it more sustainable.

•When a comprehensive and large-scale change in the water and sanitation system is envisaged.

Example:

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Illustration of main components

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Collection of hydrological data

(e.g. in data banks)(water cycle components,

including quantity and quality of surface and groundwater, station

information)

Collection of physiographic data

(e.g. in a GIS)(topographic, soils,

geology, political borders, catchment borders, land

use, river network)

Education and training

Basic and applied

research

Techniques of areal

assessment of water

resources (regionalisation

techniques)

Water resources

information (publications,

maps, etc.)

Users (planning for

water resources facilities)

Components of a water resources assessment (WRA) program. Source: UNESCO and WMO (1997)



Explanation of main components (1/3)

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•Collection of hydrological data: historical data on water cycle components at a number of points distributed over the assessment area such as quantity and quality of surface and groundwater.

Discharge history of the Nile and lake levels at Qarun Lake. Source: http://www.paleoresearch.com/UW_Files/archaeo_models-nile.html [Accessed: 03.02.2014]




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•Collection of physiographic data: obtaining data on the natural characteristics of the terrain that determine the areal and time variations of the water cycle components, such as topography, soils, surface and bed rock geology, land-use and land-cover.

Subsurface characterisation of

water bodies. Source:

http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/karst/kigconference/jlk_subsurface.htm

[Accessed: 03.02.2014]




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•Collection of data from basic and applied research: especially when some data is missing or the available date is out of date or in order to develop the required technology used for the water resources assessment.

•Education and training: all the basic water resources assessment activities require skilled manpower and this in turn require training and education of the manpower need.

•Techniques of areal assessment of water resources: techniques of transforming data into information and of relating the hydrological data to the physiographic data for the purpose of obtaining information on the water-resource characteristics at any point of the assessment area.



Things to consider

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•Include various experts from different backgrounds•Identify the most important issues and priority areas in a

rapid water resources assessment•Include the examination of changes in land use, possible soil

degradation and climate variability and change for large and long-term projects

•If possible, link the WRA to an environmental impact assessment

•To analyse the change capacity of a river basin and to protect its water quality and quantity, include a strategic impact assessment.



Assessments in an IWRM perspective additionally include

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•Demand assessment: examines the competing uses of water with the physical resource base and assesses demand for water (at a given price), thus helping to determine the financial resources available for water resource management.

•Environmental impact assessment and strategic impact assessment: collect data on the social and environmental implications of development programmes and projects.

•Social impact assessment: examines how social and institutional structures affect water use and management, or how a specific project might affect social structures.

•Risk or vulnerability assessment: looks at the likelihood of extreme events, such as flood and droughts, and the vulnerability of society to them.



A WRA could include the following points (1/3):

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5. Content Example

1. Introduction

2. Country Profile•Geography•Population and social impacts•Economy•Flood control•Legislative framework

Example of a Country Water Resource Profile for Mozambique.

Source: http://nepadwatercoe.org/nepad-water-coes-country-water-resource-profiles-wwweek/

[Accessed: 21.01.2014]




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5. Content Example

3. Current Uses of Water Resources•Water supply•Domestic uses and needs•Industrial/commercial uses and

needs•Agricultural uses and needs•Hydropower•Stream gauge network•Waterway transportation

4. Surface Water Resources•Precipitation and climate•Rivers and basins•Lakes and swamps•Deforestation effects Water uses in Bangladesh, UK and USA.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/water_rivers/water_usage_rev1.shtml [Accessed: 21.01.2014]




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5. Content Example

5. Ground Water Resources •Aquifer definition and characteristics•Hydrogeology

6. Water Quality

•Surface water•Ground water•Domestic waste disposal

Water Quality Mapping.Source: http://www.epa.state.il.us/water/water-

quality/report-1996/ [Accessed: 21.01.2014]



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+ Conducting a water resources assessment provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the quality and quantity of water resources in your area.

+ Only by having a detailed understanding of the water resources in your area, allows large-scale change in your water system.

- “Classic” WRA focuses predominantly on water and does usually not consider the nutrient cycle and sanitation.

- Conducting a WRA requires considerable time and resources.

- Requires training and education in order to conduct a comprehensive analysis.

- Requires a network of experts who are able to conduct, analyse and share the data.

6. Advantages and Disadvantages



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HUBERT, P. (n.y.): International Glossary of Hydrology. Fontainebleau: Hubert Pierre. URL: http://hydrologie.org/glu/HINDEN.HTM [Accessed: 06.01.2014].

UNESCO (Editor); WMO (Editor) (1997): Water Resources Assessment. Handbook for Review of National Capabilities. Geneva and Paris: World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). URL: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/hwrp/wrahand.php [Accessed: 06.01.2014]

7. References

Water Resources Assessment 19

“Linking up Sustainable Sanitation, Water Management & Agriculture”

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