Abstract
Abstract. Drought and water shortage effects are normally exacerbated due to collateral impacts on water quality, since low streamflow affects water quality in rivers and water uses depend on it. One of the most common problems during drought conditions is maintaining a good water quality while securing the water supply to demands. This research analyses the case of the Turia River Water Resource System located in Eastern Spain. Its main water demand comes as urban demand from Valencia City, which intake is located in the final stretch of the river, where streamflow may become very low during droughts. As a result, during drought conditions concentrations of pathogens and other contaminants increase, compromising the water supply to Valencia City. In order to define possible solutions for the above-mentioned problem, we have developed an integrated model for simulating water management and water quality in the Turia River Basin to propose solutions for water quality problems under water scarcity. For this purpose, the Decision Support System Shell AQUATOOL has been used. The results demonstrate the importance of applying environmental flows as a measure of reducing pollutant's concentration depending on the evolution of a drought event and the state of the water resources system.
Highlights
Apart from water scarcity, a relevant impact of droughts on river basins is the worsening of water quality in river systems
Water management models provide indicators about water supply reliabilities and vulnerabilities, which represent the level of satisfaction of water demands
A key objective of this research is to develop a water quality model along the Turia River to analyse the influence of nitrates, and total (TC) and faecal coliforms (FC) in the final stretch of the river, as well as building a water allocation model to assess water supply reliability for agricultural demands
Summary
Apart from water scarcity (i.e. quantity), a relevant impact of droughts on river basins is the worsening of water quality in river systems. This can render water resources useless for economic activities and human water supply, while seriously damaging the environment (Momblanch et al, 2015). An integrated evaluation combining water management and water quality models would be desirable. The use of a water allocation and a water quality model, integrated in the same platform, facilitates the transfer of results and allows interactive simulations, which are useful to perform scenario analysis (Momblanch et al, 2015). We connect a water allocation model with a water quality model in order to test different scenarios and propose a balanced solution considering water quantity-quality tradeoffs
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