Sustainability evaluation for water resources use in the Curema – Mãe d'Água System

Abstract

The water crises experienced in recent years in the Brazilian semi-arid region imply the need for better management of water resources in the region. Thus, this research seeks to evaluate the sustainability of the water resources use in the Curema – Mãe D'Água water system. For that, three scenarios were idealized considering the current situation of the water system and the increase of the exogenous flow from PISF in the Engenheiro Ávidos reservoir and directly in the Piancó river. To simulate the reservoirs operation, the Acquanet decision support model was used. A methodology was also developed to analyze whether the reservoirs were operating jointly or separately. For a better analysis of the results, performance and efficiency indicators were used. It’s concluded that the water system can’t sustainably meet its water demands even with the increase in exogenous flow from the PISF. Despite having a high reliability in meeting water demands, it proved to be not very resilient and highly vulnerable. Besides, the use of water resources was shortly efficient, as a large part of the affluent volume was lost to evaporation or spillage.