Abstract
This study developed a multi-criteria approach to spatially assess the robust water resource vulnerability in sub-basins and applied it to the Han River basin. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggested three factors of vulnerability; namely, exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity were used in this study with respect to water quantity and quality. In this study, 16 water quantity indicators and 13 water quality indicators were selected to identify the vulnerability using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. Environmental and socioeconomic data were obtained from the national statistics database, and hydrological data were simulated using the calibrated Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Expert surveys and Shannon entropy method were used to determine subjective and objective weights for all indicators, individually. As a result, water quantity-vulnerable sub-basins were associated with high water use and water leakage ratios. Water quality-vulnerable sub-basins were associated with relatively high values of maximum consecutive dry days and heatwave days. The water quantity indices of both weighting methods showed relatively similar spatial distributions, while the distribution of water quality indices was distinct. These results suggest that considering different weighting methods is important for assessing the robust water resource vulnerability of sub-basins.
Highlights
The Han River basin in South Korea is home to 24 million people and includes the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area; there is high water usage/demand in the region
As a larger population increases water demands and extreme droughts occur due to climate change, water shortages are expected to diminish the reliability of the water supply
This study developed an indicator-based multi-criteria approach to assess water resource vulnerability in sub-basins and applied the approach in the Han River basin using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach [22]
Summary
The Han River basin in South Korea is home to 24 million people and includes the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area; there is high water usage/demand in the region. As a larger population increases water demands and extreme droughts occur due to climate change, water shortages are expected to diminish the reliability of the water supply. It is vital for the water supply to be assessed quantitatively to minimize the risk of water scarcity. The water quality and hydrologic characteristics in the Han River basin play important roles in the spatial dynamics of a range of ecological patterns and processes that are often key components of river health assessments. Assessing water resource vulnerability in the Han River basin in terms of water quantity/quality is of vital importance for the implementation of efficient water quantity and quality strategies
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