Pareto Optimization of Water Resources Using the Nexus Approach

Abstract

The continuously growing population in combination with the escalating urbanization and economic growth increase the pressure on water, energy and food resources of our planet. This entails an urgent need for proper water resources management within the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus concept. The WEF nexus considers water, energy and food as three continuously interconnected sectors, whose complex interactions lead to an increased number of trade-offs and potential conflicts. Computational modeling can be used to quantify these interactions, reduce trade-offs and promote synergies. We investigate the water resources in the Upper Blue Nile River (UBNR) basin, one of the two main sources of the Nile, using the Hydronomeas tool. Hydronomeas is based on the parameterization-simulation-optimization method; optimization is implemented in two levels, using a holistic approach and multiple criteria. We assign various targets, constraints and priorities to the UBNR system of reservoirs, hydropower plants and irrigation projects and derive a Pareto front that contains alternative, optimal solutions, for which improvement of one objective can be achieved only at the expense of another. By visualizing the trade-offs between the conflicting objectives of hydropower and irrigation, we aim to help decision makers understand changes due to different management policies and thus, achieve greater efficiency in water resources management in the Nile region.