Abatement subsidies for groundwater conservation

Groundwater is characterized by high storage capacity relative to inflows. As such, it is commonly taken for granted as a buffer storage that can assure water availability during times of drought. Terms such as “insurance policy,” “water savings account,” and “resilience to climate variations and change” are commonly applied to groundwater. The reality can be different, however, with groundwater management failing to adequately consider the natural cycles of wet years and dry years, let alone potential long-term climate change. As a result, groundwater may fail to meet its expected role in drought mitigation and droughts simply intensify the overexploitation of groundwater resources. The recent drought in California is Exhibit A of this phenomenon, with groundwater levels falling to new lows and renewed land subsidence. Public and media attention to groundwater also undergoes a climate-induced periodicity, tending to diminish during wet periods and increase after droughts are well underway. For example, Congress funded the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Regional Aquifer-System Analysis Program in response to the 1976–1977 drought. Hydrogeologist Harold E. Thomas famously quipped, “The science of hydrology would be relatively simple if water were unable to penetrate below the earth's surface” (USGS Water-Supply Paper 2220, p. 1), yet surface-water hydrology offers some useful lessons on how to improve management of groundwater systems that are sensitive to climate variations. Surface-water reservoirs are designed and operated on the basis of historical inflows with potential adjustments for climate change scenarios. Uncertainty and variability resulting from climate are central features of these analyses. Reservoir operating strategies must contend with multiple competing purposes, such as flood control versus water supply. Hydrogeologic analyses should likewise incorporate explicit recognition of the effects of climate variability on groundwater resources and how these affect the multiple uses of groundwater systems for both humans and nature. In so doing, groundwater systems would be analyzed for their resilience and vulnerability to climate perturbations rather than just assuming groundwater is a convenient backup supply. This requires building climatic variations in models and projecting groundwater conditions over years to decades with a range of possible future climate conditions. Such projections should be part of overall efforts to raise awareness about maintaining groundwater as a reserve. Monitoring of water use and water levels is a key component of such efforts, as is recognition of managed aquifer recharge as a potentially critical element of drought mitigation planning. Current laws and regulations contribute to the problem. Because groundwater was developed after surface water, it has low priority in prior appropriation states. Shutting down wells during droughts, as dramatically illustrated several years ago in the South Platte Basin in Colorado, clearly works against the maximum beneficial use of groundwater. At the same time, overexploitation of groundwater during wet periods can lead to a drilling “arms race” during droughts that no one can afford to lose and damages the long-term viability of the resource. An alternate approach would increase groundwater rights during droughts, with more restrictive use during the intervening periods when surface water is more available. None of this is of course easy, and solutions require cooperative arrangements tuned to local conditions. Simply ignoring the reality of droughts for climate-sensitive groundwater systems, however, is a recipe for problems down the road when groundwater is most needed. Making use of the large volume of groundwater in storage through a conjunctive groundwater and surface-water system has the potential to greatly enhance the efficient use of water and help the world meet its growing food and water demands. Unfortunately, conjunctive use has not lived up to its promise. It's time to try new approaches, including greater emphasis on climatic effects and uncertainties in future scenarios of pumping impacts, maintaining awareness during wet periods of the importance of groundwater as a backup resource as a part of good groundwater governance, and working toward laws, regulations, and incentives that encourage use of surface water during wet periods and prepare for increased groundwater use during droughts.

Optimal Conjunctive use of Surface and Groundwater under Fuzzy Environment

This research presents alternate policy decisions based on technical strategies to operate minor and medium irrigation schemes with integrated conjunctive use of surface and groundwater to improve groundwater systems in Vavuniya area for the economic pumping for agricultural and domestic water use, by optimizing the use of groundwater and surface water. Forty one domestic dug wells were identified as observation wells among the available domestic/agro wells within the study area of 185.23 km2, to represent the aquifer in Vavuniya. This study area was divided into forty one Thiessen polygons. A complete water balance study for each polygon for each season was carried out. Water levels were predicted for changes in operational policy of minor and medium irrigation schemes by forgoing certain percentage of cultivation, boundary treatment to reduce the transmissibility in steps, and combination of both. The economic feasibility was analyzed by taking the energy saved in pumping of raised groundwater as a benefit and boundary treatment cost and income loss due to change in operational policy of minor and medium irrigation schemes by forgoing certain percentage of cultivation as cost. The present worth of benefit and cost for various interest rate and project life period were calculated and compared. Change in operational policy of minor and medium irrigation schemes by forgoing one third of the cultivation under them or keeping one fourth of the storage of minor and medium irrigation schemes at any time together with 40% -50% reduction in boundary permeability will recover an average of 60% to 70% of the loss of water table in any consecutive season in almost 95% of the area under consideration. ENGINEER, Vol. 46, No. 01, pp. 21-29, 2013

The demand for clean water in Pekalongan City is rising due to population growth, urbanization, and industrial and hotel development. The scarcity of surface water and contamination of water sources are prompting residents to turn to groundwater. However, excessive groundwater use for domestic and industrial needs could potentially lead to problems like tidal waves and floods. Despite these risks, groundwater remains a crucial source of clean water for many. This study assesses community awareness and perceptions regarding the use and conservation of groundwater. The research, conducted from July to August 2023, involved a survey, comprehensive interviews, and field observations with 200 participants. A quantitative descriptive analysis and the Chi-Square test were applied to the data. Findings reveal that while most people recognize the adverse environmental impacts of groundwater exploitation and the necessity for its conservation, insufficient government outreach has led to poor conservation practices. The study also found a positive community perception towards groundwater use and its conservation. Although only a few respondents had low awareness, their attitudes could potentially affect overall community consciousness. A significant correlation between knowledge and public perception of groundwater use and its preservation was identified, suggesting that better understanding could bolster conservation efforts. Nonetheless, enhancements in various programs, particularly those related to groundwater conservation techniques like rainwater harvesting and public water utility (PDAM) initiatives, are essential.

Will farmers save water? A theoretical analysis of groundwater conservation policies

Measurements of rates of flow of percolation waters in karst aquifers (Abs.): G. H. Davis: Eos (Amer. Geophys. Union, Trans.), vol. 50, no. 11, p. 616–617, 1969

A combined optimization-simulation approach was used to develop and evaluate the alternate priority-based policies for operation of surface and groundwater systems and is demonstrated with a case study. An optimization model was used to find optimal cropping pattern with and without the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, as well as with and without socio-economic constraints. The optimization model, based on linear programming, maximizes the net benefit from irrigation activities subject to various physical, economical, and social constraints. A simulation model was used to evaluate the conjunctive operation of the system using the optimal cropping pattern derived from the optimization model. The developed policies have been verified with long-generated stream flow sequences. Three alternate priority-based policies differing in level of groundwater pumping and area of cultivation of rice crop have been evaluated: (1) irrigation with surface water only (Policy-1); (2) irrigation with conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, without socio-economic constraints (Policy-2); and (3) irrigation with conjunctive use operation and with socio-economic constraints (Policy-3). It was found that the use of available groundwater within three meters below ground level (Policy-2) to be optimal, and these results were used in simulation for further evaluation of policies. It was also found that the policy-3 of conjunctive use operation with a priority of 75 percent of maximum possible rice area (using groundwater available within four meters below ground level) resulted in a better scenario. Thus the conjunctive use Policy-2 and Policy-3 with 75 percent of maximum possible rice crop area can be used as better policies for the system studied.

This research was conducted at Tidore Island, –Tidore City, North Maluku Archipelago Province. Objective of this study were 1) build a water balance model Tidore Island. This Method used in this research is method of survey with water balance analysis. Analysis of the data used is the analysis of dynamic system to determine the balance of the year 2009 - 2032 with software stella version 9.0.2. The result of analysis showed that in 2009 there were water balance 21,189,941.20 m3 / year and in 2032 there was a deficit of 427,678.61 m3 / year. Water availability index (IKA) in 2009 amounted to 1416.10 and in the year 2032 amounted to 82.54 IKA the value, it indicates that in 2032 the availability of groundwater only able to serve 82.54% the water demand. To improve the balance of water needed for water saving and conservation policies at each land use.Saving measures water use and conservation of groundwater done using three policy scenarios, the model simulation results indicate that both scenarios can increase the efficiency of water use and water balance in 2009 to 21,270,444.14 m3 / year with a value of 1490.63 and value IKA in 2032 can be water deficit of 31128.46 m3 / year. While the results of the simulation scenario 3 scenario between saving integrated water use and conservation can improve the water balance in 2009 amounted to 21,350,947.08 m3 / year and the value IKA 1573.44, and in 2032 the value decreased to 117.92 IKA shows the availability of ground water able to serve 117.92% of water demand people. Keywords: water balance,system dynamic, water demand, ground water availability

Uncontrolled and excessive use of groundwater leads to economic, social, and environmental impacts. This study investigated factors influencing the low willingness to utilize piped water. The research was conducted in Duren Sawit Village, East Jakarta. The study focused on the sources of household clean water and the factors affecting the low utilization of piped water. A qualitative research approach was employed through in-depth interviews with key informants selected using purposive sampling, and the problem was analyzed using a fishbone diagram. The study found 81% of households use groundwater, only 9% use piped water, and 10% use both sources. The findings reveal that 25% of the households using piped water still rely entirely on groundwater. The low utilization of piped water was influenced by several factors, including socio-economic conditions, environmental behavior, groundwater quality, performance of PAM Jaya, and groundwater regulations for household usage. Based on the analysis, strategies for accelerating piped water utilization were proposed, including socialization and education on groundwater conservation, quality of groundwater, improvement of PAM Jaya performance, and changes in regulations regarding groundwater use for household. Environmental behavior is identified as the primary factor influencing the high use of groundwater. Several strategies involving stakeholders are necessary to promote the use of piped water among households. Keywords: Environmental behaviour, Ground water, Ground water regulation, Piped water, Socio economic.

Resource rich and with a growing economy, the Russian Federation is currently targeting improvement of public funds allocation via program based budgets. First attempted by Moscow as a region of Russia in 2012, this ambitious transformation has subsequently been taken up by the national government followed by regional governments. Effectively, over 83% of the national budget or over $360 billion was allocated to 39 state public programs in 2014. Although the proposed program based budget system is novel for modern Russia, it has its foundations in the existing practice of public program development and implementation in Russia. Analysis of this practice demonstrates the limitations of the existing system highlighting the lack of economic analysis at the earlier stages of public program development. It reveals the potential for improvement in the program planning and budgeting system in the region and country. The objective of this research is to develop recommendations for the integration of specific tools for economic analysis which would address the current problems of program planning and budgeting in Russian regions within the constraints of evolving institutional arrangements. This requires identifying, developing and adapting economic evaluation and modelling techniques as well as applying them to a specific public program before they can be recommended for implementation. Russia is frequently referred to as a country with enormous energy efficiency and green energy prospective. The potential for energy efficiency improvement is estimated to be 45% of primary energy use. In 2009 Russia introduced national goals targeting a 40% decrease in energy intensity by 2020 across all sectors in the economy. This goal was taken up by Russian regions, which were required to establish regional energy efficiency targets and implement public programs to meet them. Moscow is one of several regions where energy efficiency and energy savings programs have been in place since 2004. The current goal for Moscow is a 40% reduction in energy intensity by 2020. The ambitious goal and the importance of improvements in energy efficiency motivated the selection of the Moscow regional energy efficiency program as a case study for this research. Based on a literature review and analysis of current Russian energy sector operations, this research identifies two decision support tools - levelised cost of energy model (LCOE) and multicriteria analysis evaluation (MCA). Both have a demonstrated international reputation for their robustness and efficiency, but have had limited application in Russian regional energy sector studies. This research applies the MCA PROMETHEE method to identify and prioritise policy alternatives targeting energy efficiency improvements in the Moscow industry sector. The analysis ranked policy options by using an iterative and discursive approach which sought stakeholder involvement to identify policy objectives, alternative approaches to meet the objectives and criteria against which to measure the ability of alternatives to meet the objectives. The evaluation identified government support of energy management for industrial organisations as the best performing policy alternative. Overall, the research recommends integration of MCA into regional public program development procedures to assist in specification and selection of policy objectives, alternatives and measures for public programs in energy efficiency. The LCOE is proposed to complement the MCA in addressing other issues with current practise in public program development in Russia, including determination of quantitative parameters and estimates of least cost technology for energy programs for the regions. This research develops a modified LCOE with separation coefficients for heat and electricity cost determination in combined heat and power generation (CHP). Providing over a third of the installed generation capacity in the country, CHP plays a crucial role in the Russian energy sector. The LCOE application in this research provides robust outcomes and recommends the cost efficiency of CHP generation in regional conditions. The modelling is undertaken for two natural gas price scenarios raising discussion about the independence of regional energy systems. The results also raise questions about the feasibility of renewable generation targets and stimulation of new technology adoption in Russia. Overall, the research develops recommendations on the application of the modified LCOE for regional energy program development. This research modifies existing analytical tools and tests them in an application to the energy efficiency program in a Russian region. However, the potential implementation of this research includes a wider range of regional public programs in Russia and neighbouring countries. The research outcomes have also demonstrated applicability for the purposes of regulatory impact assessment (RIA).

Ground water should not be used for various purposes, because if it is excessively used it will disturb the balance of the groundwater environment. Various negative impacts of groundwater exploitation include a decrease in groundwater quality, a decrease in the ground water level or land subsidence and the number of unlicensed wells so that groundwater must be managed in balance through conservation. The mandate of the West Java Provincial Regulation Number 1 of 2017 in article 5 (five) that conservation is included in the implementation stage of groundwater management and the mandate of the Bandung City Regional Regulation Number 18 of 2011 which contains control of groundwater use. It is known that groundwater conservation in the city of Bandung has not been implemented properly by groundwater users. As a result, in several areas in the city of Bandung there has been a decrease in the depth of the groundwater level. This occurs because the implementation of policies on the dimensions of communication, resources, disposition, and bureaucratic structure is still not understood as revealed in George C Edwards's theory. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the implementation of groundwater conservation policies in the city of Bandung, namely by analyzing the internal and external environment with the SWOT analysis method of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and formulating a strategy for implementing the implementation policies. groundwater conservation in the city of Bandung. The results of this strategy formulation can be applied through a program of activities at the Bandung City Government, namely organizing socialization and public awareness through publications, optimizing the manufacture of infiltration wells, biopores, injection wells to control groundwater pollution and analyzing groundwater balance to monitor the decline in groundwater levels.

Groundwater is used in Obama City, Japan, to melt snow (~13% of total groundwater use) during the winter, the remainder being used for mostly domestic purposes, such as drinking water. Due to concern about the impacts of this snow-melting practice on nearshore marine resources, we estimate the benefits and costs of increasing the volume of the groundwater used for snow-melting by 50%. Assuming that the outcome is the same for all possible snow-melting techniques—snow effectively removed from roads—the primary benefit of the use of groundwater for snow-melting is the avoided cost of, or cost savings relative to, alternative technologies. The costs include losses to nearshore fishery productivity, due to a decline in submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), and increased energy expenditures on groundwater pumping, used to supply the snow-melting system. Our results suggest that the net benefit of increasing the use of groundwater to melt snow by 1.5 times its current rate in Obama is positive, and that the annual net benefit ranges from 10.9 million JPY/year to 547.7 million JPY/year. Because the cost of operating the groundwater system is relatively low, the net benefit of continuing to use groundwater for snow-melting becomes negative only if the impact on fishery productivity is substantial.

This Briefing Paper presents one of six analyses of cross-sectoral coordination challenges that were conducted as part of the STEER research project and on which separate Briefing Papers are available. The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires member states to achieve a good status for all waters by 2027. Mediterranean countries, including Spain, are facing significant problems of water quantity, which is why one of their main challenges in achieving a good water status is to maintain ecological flows and reduce over-extraction of groundwater. Authorities are confronted with mediating between the competing interests of different water using sectors, such as irrigation, urban water supply and tourism, and non-consumptive uses, such as the environment. Despite recurring requests by scholars and commitments by policy-makers to strengthen cross-sectoral and cross-level coordination to address these trade-offs, coordination deficits remain in the Mediterranean, but also in many other parts of the world. This Briefing Paper examines coordination and implementation challenges between the water and agricultural sectors in relation to water quantity in the context of WFD implementation in the Guadalquivir river basin, southern Spain. These have been identified as: (i) the lack of revision of water rights after the implementation of drip irrigation, (ii) weaknesses in monitoring water use and closing illegal wells, and (iii) limited cross-sectoral exchange during participatory processes. These challenges are interlinked by the underlying difficulty of imposing unpopular decisions against the will of powerful actors in the agricultural sector. To address these challenges, we suggest various coordination instruments based on incentives, voluntary cooperation, persuasion and information exchange. In particular, we recommend the following: * Increase financial and human resources for the revision of water rights, monitoring of water use and closure of illegal wells. * Facilitate cooperative processes to achieve a multisectoral consensus on how and where water rights will be reduced. * Provide incentives for irrigation communities to further strengthen self-control of groundwater use among members. * Strengthen cross-sectoral exchange among stakeholders within participatory processes, especially between environmental and agricultural interest groups and improve communication with citizens. * Use more comprehensive and inclusive ways of providing information in the context of river basin planning. However, since the identified challenges are systemic and relate to fundamental distributional questions, there are limits to the potential of coordination instruments. Thus, a clear indication of political will is also needed.

Iran is among the world’s top five groundwater exploiters and, similar to many countries in the world, aquifers in Iran have been rapidly depleted over the past decades primarily as a result of groundwater use by farmers. This research was conducted to explore whether the perceptions of pistachio growers in Rafsanjan Plain, Iran (a global center for pistachio production), on the depleting groundwater resources have led to the conservation of the resources and/or income diversification. In addition, the association between these perceptions and factors representing knowledge of growers was examined. To this end, two path models were developed and tested using path analysis and logistic regression. The results indicate that growers who had more pessimistic perceptions of the groundwater resources in Rafsanjan were more likely to increase groundwater extraction; however, these growers were also more likely to seek external employment (income diversification). The final path models suggest attitudes toward groundwater conservation were the most important determinants of pumping behavior, while perceptions of the state of the groundwater were the most important determinants of income diversification. Whether Iranian policies to increase awareness of falling water tables could succeed in securing water conservation would depend on the ‘balance’ of these two forces—an increase in pumping with increased pessimism or a potential decrease in pumping through income diversification. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of the results for interventions aimed at changing not only the groundwater users’ decisions about groundwater use, but also their decisions about income diversification.

Groundwater management law has evolved in this century from a simple rule of capture to a variety of rules that require sharing among claimants, both within and outside of groundwater basins. Courts and legislatures have modified the law of groundwater in response to aquifer depletion. Most of the change has occurred in the Far West, but eastern states are now modifying their law as shortages and use conflicts intensify. Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico have developed the most sophisticated conservation regimes that attempt to limit groundwater use to improve methods of extraction and to move water to higher valued uses. Other large groundwater using states are also implementing or considering similar conservation regimes. Groundwater conservation is encouraged by a recent Supreme Court decision that holds that groundwater is subject to the negative commerce clause. The decision has the effect of forcing states to justify conservation regimes that block out‐of‐state and perhaps in‐state access to the resource.