Annual Water Withdrawal Research Articles

Assessment of river response to water abstractions in the Weyib Watershed, Ethiopia

The studies aimed to examine the impact of water abstractions on runoff and streamflow using the MIKE 11 NAM model. A field survey of water abstraction was conducted to ascertain the actual withdrawal from the Weyib watershed. The baseline period from 1986-2000 was considered based on low human interventions of water abstractions to simulate existing from 2013 to 2022, short-term from 2026 to 2035, and 2036 to 2045 for long-term developments. The annual water withdrawals for those development periods were 10.22, 31.25, and 77.42 Mm3, respectively. The mean annual streamflow in the baseline period was 15.16 m3/s, whereas for existing, short-term, and long-term developments depicted as 10.81 m3/s, 9.55 m3/s, and 8.42 m3/s, respectively. The mean annual runoff for the natural baseline was 132.53 mm, and it dropped down by 37.64 mm, 48.70 mm and 58.54 mm for existing, short-term and long-term developments, respectively. In comparison to the baseline period (7177.93 Mm3), the cumulative volume streamflow of the river was decreased by 2038.01, 2637.12, and 3169.84 Mm3 owing to the development periods, respectively. The streamflow and surface runoff dropped significantly due to increasing water abstraction. The beneficiaries need to employ efficient irrigation water extraction practices for sustainable water development. To cope up with the challenges of water abstraction, the long-term development plan needs to be revised, and Ethiopia's proposed irrigation water charges policy must be implemented. Article highlights MIKE 11 NAM model sensitive parameters identified and performance evaluated for future studies in data-scare regions. Estimation of water balance for Weyib watershed. Impacts of water abstractions on the runoff and streamflow assessed.

Dynamic optimization of carbon capture technology deployment targeting carbon neutrality, cost efficiency and water stress: Evidence from China's electric power sector

The potential of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) has been widely discussed worldwide, while the dynamic changing process, lock-in risk and water resource constraints towards carbon neutrality target are not fully considered in the previous studies. This study developed a comprehensive approach to optimize carbon mitigation potential, total capital expenditure and water resource stress for China's coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) with CCUS retrofitting in a dynamic environment. We found that the annual capture scale will start to increase significantly until 2030 and reach 2.4 billion tons CO2 in 2050. The newly-added capture scale of first-generation technology will decline gradually after 2030 due to the breakthrough in second-generation technology. Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu and Guangdong have the greatest potential for implementing CCUS projects, and the least in Hainan, Sichuan and Qinghai. The annual capture cost roughly presents an "inverted U" shape with the peaking (14.70 billion CNY) occurring in 2035, while the annual R&D investment can be observed a moderate "N" shape with the peaking (11.24 billion CNY) occurring in 2030. The annual non-corporate expenditures (subsidy) will picture a significant "inverted U" type trend, peaking at 63.71 billion CNY in 2044 as a result of the risk factors such as CCUS facility investment and additional storage cost caused by uncertain geological conditions. In addition, the annual water withdrawal and consumption of capture process will increase from 0.09 and 0.06 billion m3 respectively in 2021 to 9.12 and 6.22 billion m3 respectively in 2050, while CO2-EWR (Enhanced water recovery) process will make CCUS technology supply extra water resource since 2035, reaching 27.05 billion m3 in 2050. Meanwhile, in terms of first- and second-generation capture technology, the unit water withdrawal will drop 35.04% and 36.71%, respectively, while the unit water consumption will drop 66.89% and 74.12%, respectively during 2021–2050. Overall, although CCUS will not intensify water resource stress in the future, the appropriate relaxation ratio of water quota is essential at the initial stage.

Online Control of the Raw Water System of a High-Sediment River Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning

Water supply systems that use rivers with high sedimentation levels may experience issues such as reservoir siltation. The suspended sediment concentration (SSC) of rivers experiences interannual variation and high nonlinearity due to its close relationship with meteorological factors, which increase the mismatch between the river water source and urban water demand. The raw water system scheduling problem is expressed as a reservoir and pump station control problem that involves real-time SSC changes. To lower the SSC of the water intake and lower the pumping station’s energy consumption, a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) model based on SSC prediction was developed. The framework consists of a DRL model, a hydraulic model for simulating the raw water system, and a neural network for predicting river SSC. The framework was tested using data from a Yellow River water withdrawal pumping station in China with an average capacity of 400,000 m3/d. The strategy created in this study can reduce the system energy consumption per unit of water withdrawal by 8.33% and the average annual water withdrawal SSC by 37.01%, when compared to manual strategy. Meanwhile, the deep reinforcement learning algorithm had good response robustness to uncertain imperfect predictive data.

Retirement of US fossil fuel-fired power plants will increase water availability

Nearly two-thirds of fossil fuel-fired electricity generation capacity in the United States is expected to reach its typical end of life by 2035. While the closure of fossil fuel-fired power plants will help advance decarbonization goals, the cessation of water use for fossil fuel-fired power plant cooling - the largest water user in the US - will also impact the nation’s water resources. We assess when, where, and how much water will be made available upon the expected retirement of the nation’s nearly one thousand fossil fuel-fired power plants by combining a lifespan-based model of fossil fuel-fired generator retirements for the US fossil fuel-fired electricity generation fleet with a national-scale hydrologic model. We show that annual water withdrawals and consumption of fossil fuel-fired power generators will be significantly curtailed (85 % and 68 % reduction, respectively) by 2035 if these generators follow their typical retirement timeline. Most rivers with fossil fuel-fired power plants diverting and/or discharging water will have a net increase in annual streamflow after plant retirement (maximum decrease of 2 %, maximum increase of 57 % by 2050), with the most pronounced increases occurring in the summer months. The retirement of fossil fuel-fired power plants will lead to a large relative change (>5%) in streamflow at least one month per year by 2050 in 31 subbasins. The retirement of power generators was shown to produce noticeable streamflow impacts up to hundreds of kilometers downstream. By the retirement of the last US fossil fuel-fired power generator, 2.6 billion m3 of water that was once consumed by these power plants could be made available for other uses. In addition to the global benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions, the notable increases in streamflow and water availability in many US rivers due to the retirement of fossil fuel-fired power plants could benefit local water users and ecosystems.

Assessing Groundwater Withdrawal Sustainability in the Mexican Portion of the Transboundary Santa Cruz River Aquifer

The impact of climate uncertainties is already evident in the border communities of the United States and Mexico. This semi-arid to arid border region has faced increased vulnerability to water scarcity, propelled by droughts, warming atmosphere, population growth, ecosystem sensitivity, and institutional asymmetries between the two countries. In this study, we assessed the annual water withdrawal, which is essential for maintaining long-term sustainable conditions in the Santa Cruz River Aquifer in Mexico, which is part of the U.S.–Mexico Transboundary Santa Cruz Aquifer. For this assessment, we developed a water balance model that accounts for the water fluxes into and out of the aquifer’s basin. A central component of this model is a hydrologic model that uses precipitation and evapotranspiration demand as input to simulate the streamflow into and out of the basin, natural recharge, soil moisture, and actual evapotranspiration. Based on the precipitation record for the period 1954–2020, we found that the amount of groundwater withdrawal that maintains sustainable conditions is 23.3 MCM/year. However, the record is clearly divided into two periods: a wet period, 1965–1993, in which the cumulative surplus in the basin reached ~380 MCM by 1993, and a dry period, 1994–2020, in which the cumulative surplus had been completely depleted. Looking at a balanced annual groundwater withdrawal for a moving average of 20-year intervals, we found the sustainable groundwater withdrawal to decline from a maximum of 36.4 MCM/year in 1993 to less than 8 MCM/year in 2020. This study underscores the urgency for adjusted water resources management that considers the large inter-annual climate variability in the region.

Quantification of the water-use reduction associated with the transition from coal to natural gas in the US electricity sector

The transition from coal to natural gas and renewables in the electricity sector and the rise of unconventional shale gas extraction are likely to affect water usage throughout the US. While new natural-gas power plants use less water than coal-fired power plants, shale gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing has increased water utilization and intensity. We integrated water and energy use data to quantify the intensity of water use in the US throughout the electricity’s lifecycle. We show that in spite of the rise of water use for hydraulic fracturing, during 2013–2016 the overall annual water withdrawal (8.74 × 1010 m3) and consumption (1.75 × 109 m3) for coal were larger than those of natural gas (4.55 × 1010 m3, and 1.07 × 109 m3, respectively). We find that during this period, for every MWh of electricity that has been generated with natural gas instead of coal, there has been a reduction of ∼1 m3 in water consumption and ∼40 m3 in water withdrawal. Examining plant locations spatially, we find that only a small proportion of net electricity generation takes place in water stressed areas, while a large proportion of both coal (37%) and natural gas (50%) are extracted in water stressed areas. We also show that the growing contribution of renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar will reduce water consumption at an even greater magnitude than the transition from coal to natural gas, eliminating much of water withdrawals and consumption for electricity generation in the US.

Impacts of Anthropogenic Water Withdrawals on the Hydropower Potential of the Ouémé River at the 2040’s Horizon in Benin

Hydropower is one of the major renewable energy resources worldwide faces challenges day after day. Climate change and anthropogenic pressures can have negative impacts on hydropower production. This paper considers reservoir-dams in the GR2M hydrological model in order to simulate the impacts of anthropogenic water withdrawals on the hydropower potential of the Oueme River basin (Benin) by 2040. The rain-flow model, GR2M of the National Institute for Research in Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture (IRSTEA) is used to estimate the impacts of two scenarios of future water withdrawals on the hydropower potential of the Oueme River. Water withdrawals taken respectively at the Beterou, Save and Ketou sites, representing the Oueme River, using multifunction tanks and mixed tanks were carefully analyzed. The results obtained show that the mixed reservoir scenario is more tolerant to water withdrawals compared to the multi-function reservoir scenario regardless of the site considered. In addition, high sensitivity of the hydropower potential to annual water withdrawals was observed at Beterou, which was relatively lower at the Save and Ketou sites. Moreover, with the mixed reservoir scenario, Save and Ketou sites show stability in their production at water withdrawals rates lesser than 10% and 20% respectively. This study highlights the importance of the Oueme basin’s potential, the exploration of which would constitute a strong link in the development strategy of energy and hydro-agricultural sectors of Benin Republic.

Water resource potential for large-scale sweet sorghum production as bioenergy feedstock in Northern China

This study investigated the water resource potential for bioenergy production from sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.)) in Northern China according to the distribution of water resources, climate conditions and the total water consumption of bioenergy based on sweet sorghum, which consisted of blue water, green water and grey water. At a case study site in Inner Mongolia, simulation with a plant phenological model was used to determine whether sweet sorghum could reach the harvestable stage for sugar juice production. The blue water in the agricultural phase was estimated according to the potential crop evapotranspiration (ETc), the drought sensitivity of sweet sorghum in different stages and the precipitation during the growing season. The results showed that the irrigation water was significantly different among the districts, ranging from 730 to 5500 m3/ha and 2060 to 6680 m3/ha for early-maturing and late-maturing varieties, respectively. To avoid the water pressure level to be exacerbated and the severe reallocation of water resources resulting in negative effects on other sectors, the maximal annual water withdrawal was set to not surpass the upper threshold of water stress level of 40%. That makes the maximum area for the production of sweet sorghum cannot exceed 1.95 × 104 ha, representing only 0.24% of the total marginal land area in Inner Mongolia. However, the economic benefits of bioenergy production from sweet sorghum would be negative due to the high labour input. Therefore, not only the availability of marginal land, the climate conditions and local water resources but also the improvement of mechanisation and agricultural production techniques should be considered to attain the sustainable development of bioenergy production and address global energy and environmental crises.

Evaluation of Future Water Use for Electricity Generation under Different Energy Development Scenarios in China

Water scarcity and uneven water demand in regional electricity generation pose substantial challenges to the sustainable development of water resources and electricity production in China. Based on the latest official policy of China’s electricity development, i.e., the 13th Five-Year Plan of electricity development, this study quantified annual water withdrawal and consumption for future electricity generation in China from 2015 to 2030. This study simulated a three-prong approach to impacting water use for electricity development, i.e., updating the cooling technology mix, increasing non-thermal power generation and relocating thermal power plants to the west. The results showed that solutions to relieve water stress caused by electricity production entail major trade-offs. Annual water withdrawal and consumption were projected to exceed 63.75 and 8.30 billion m3 by 2030, up approximately 14% and 21% of those in 2015, respectively, if China does not implement any new water and energy policies. Replacing once-through cooling systems with closed-loop cooling systems would decrease national water withdrawal remarkably but increase water consumption. The west-centered spatial distribution of thermoelectric power generation would reduce water use at the national level; however, it will largely increase water stress in northern and northwestern China. Thus, relieving the stress of growing electricity demand on water resources in China requires comprehensive measures and quantitative estimates.

Water seasonality in granting permits and impact of irrigation in the Dourados River basin, MS, Brazil

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate water seasonality in the process of granting permits and the impact of irrigation in the Dourados River basin. For that, the hydrological behavior of the basin was analyzed. The minimal streamflows (Q7,10 and Q95), irrigation withdrawal flow (Qr) and the percent variation of the grant flows relative to monthly seasonal period in relation to the monthly withdrawal flow were obtained. The results allowed to verify that using criteria based on the monthly streamflow allows for better management of water use, because it allows for greater utilization of this resource in times with high water availability and imposes a realistic restriction during critical periods. The average annual water withdrawal for irrigation in the basin during the studied period was on the order of 2.99 m3 s-1, and the withdrawal flow in the month of highest demand (August) was 5.95 m3 s-1.

Recent desiccation of Western Great Basin Saline Lakes: Lessons from Lake Abert, Oregon, U.S.A.

Although extremely important to migrating waterfowl and shorebirds, and highly threatened globally, most saline lakes are poorly monitored. Lake Abert in the western Great Basin, USA, is an example of this neglect. Designated a critical habitat under the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, the lake is at near record historic low levels and ultra-high salinities that have resulted in ecosystem collapse. Determination of the direct human effects and broader climate controls on Lake Abert illustrates the broader problem of saline lake desiccation and suggests future solutions for restoration of key habitat values. A 65-year time series of lake area was constructed from Landsat images and transformed to lake volume and salinity. “Natural” (without upstream withdrawals) conditions were calculated from climate and stream flow data, and compared to measured volume and salinity. Under natural conditions the lake would have higher volume and lower salinities because annual water withdrawals account for one-third of mean lake volume. Without withdrawals, the lake would have maintained annual mean salinities mostly within the optimal range of brine shrimp and alkali fly growth. Even during the last two years of major drought, the lake would have maintained salinities well below measured values. Change in climate alone would not produce the recent low lake volumes and high salinities that have destroyed the brine shrimp and alkali fly populations and depleted shorebird use at Lake Abert. Large scale withdrawal of water for direct human use has drastically increased the imbalance between natural runoff and evaporation during periods of drought in saline lakes worldwide but could be offset by establishing an “environmental water budget” to lay a foundation for the conservation of saline lake habitats under continued threats from development and climate change.

Food Security in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): The Great Competition between the Agricultural and Forestry Sector on Irrigation Resources

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country that has scarcity in fresh water resources. Groundwater, which contributes to 70% of the total water resources in the country, is a non-renewable water resource. This resource plays significant role in converting the desert to a green paradise. It covers around 95% and 82% of the watering requirements of the agricultural and forestry sector, respectively. Besides the critical problems that this resource suffers from; including depletion, saline water intrusion and contamination. It has also a limited life time expectancy, estimated to be between 16 to 36 years. The total annual water withdrawal by the green sector in the country is estimated to be above 2198 million m3, from which above 32% is used to cover the irrigation requirements for the forestry sector and landscaping, while the rest amount is used for crop production purposes. The great competition between the two sectors, lead to make the sustainability approach in maintaining both sectors extremely difficult, especially with the absence of groundwater supply and the sharp population growth. Therefore, serious and quick actions have to take place; in order to save the future of food security in the UAE.

Long-term trends in reservoir water quality and quantity in two major river basins of the southern Great Plains

Trends in water quality and quantity were assessed for 11 major reservoirs of the Brazos and Colorado river basins in the southern Great Plains (maximum period of record, 1965–2010). Water quality, major contributing-stream inflow, storage, local precipitation, and basin-wide total water withdrawals were analyzed. Inflow and storage decreased and total phosphorus increased in most reservoirs. The overall, warmest-, or coldest-monthly temperatures increased in 7 reservoirs, decreased in 1 reservoir, and did not significantly change in 3 reservoirs. The most common monotonic trend in salinity-related variables (specific conductance, chloride, sulfate) was one of no change, and when significant change occurred, it was inconsistent among reservoirs. No significant change was detected in monthly sums of local precipitation. Annual water withdrawals increased in both basins, but the increase was significant (P < 0.05) only in the Colorado River and marginally significant (P < 0.1) in the Brazos River. Salinity-related variables dominated spatial variability in water quality data due to the presence of high- and low-salinity reservoirs in both basins. These observations present a landscape in the Brazos and Colorado river basins where, in the last ∼40 years, reservoir inflow and storage generally decreased, eutrophication generally increased, and water temperature generally increased in at least 1 of 3 temperature indicators evaluated. Because local precipitation remained generally stable, observed reductions in reservoir inflow and storage during the study period may be attributable to other proximate factors, including increased water withdrawals (at least in the Colorado River basin) or decreased runoff from contributing watersheds.

Re-evaluation of future water stress due to socio-economic and climate factors under a warming climate

We re-evaluated a method to estimate water stress changes as a function of increasing global mean temperature. Trends in the total population under high water stress (defined as when the annual water withdrawal divided by the annual water availability is higher than 0.4) now and in the future (total HWSP) and the population exposed to high water stress in the future but not now (add_HWSP) are dependent on differences in each scenario, not the global mean temperature increase. The ensemble mean of the total HWSP and its ratio for emissions scenarios A1B and B1 are close to constant values and decreased when the global mean temperature increase exceeded 1.9°C and 1.3°C, respectively. If the global mean temperature increase reaches a maximum ensemble-mean value in each scenario, the total HWSP (its ratio) in scenarios A1B, A2 and B1 was about 4.5 billion (0.54), 8.6 billion (0.64) and 4.1 billion (0.49), respectively. We estimated the contributions of climate change to runoff, water withdrawal and population growth on total HWSP and add_HWSP to separate the influences of climate change and socio-economic change. Climate change and socio-economic factors (water withdrawal and population growth) decreased and increased add_HWSP, respectively.Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Turkey's Animal Production Water Footprint; Heading in the Wrong Direction

Scarcity of freshwater for agricultural production is becoming an ever increasing global environmental issue and one that will impact the food security of many nations in the very near future. Turkey is one of the key agricultural production nations in the world. The OECD estimates that Turkey is the world's seventh-biggest agricultural producer. With 40% of its total land area arable, it is the world's number one producer in numerous agricultural produce, including being the biggest wheat producer in the region. However its animal production system with the exception of poultry has declined considerably over the past few decades. The country has gone from being a livestock exporter in the 1980's to a major importer of red meat and slaughter animals since 2009. Despite the reduction in it national herd size the country has still managed to increase it's animal production water footprint (WF) due to inefficient natural resource management practices. Simulations of global climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with 21 different models, predicts a 12% decrease in annual rainfall in southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. As Turkey's annual water withdrawals are expected to exceed 20% of the annual renewable water supply, the country is likely to be at risk of suffering water stress in the next decade. Despite such grim prospects Turkey's agricultural sector is taking very few tangible water conservation measures. There is a real opportunity for Turkey to better utilize its rich water resources and become self sufficient for its animal production systems by adopting irrigated pasture improvement for grazing.

On the Relationship between Water Withdrawal and Income: Smooth Transition Regression (STR) Approach

The Purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between annual water withdrawal (AWW) and income in some countries. To achieve this end, a smooth transition regression (STR) model on cross section data of 163 countries in 2006 was used. The findings support the nonlinearity of the link between AWW and income. The findings, further, reveal the income elasticity of AWW as a bible-shaped curve. Hence, the policies and management processes in water sector including water allocation between activities and reigns should take into account the development degree and also focus on income level, water scarcity and the economic, social and ecological structure in each country.

04/00880 Energy sector and wind energy potential in Turkey: Ogulata, R. T. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2003, 7, (6), 469–484

Scarcity of freshwater for agricultural production is becoming an ever increasing global environmental issue and one that will impact the food security of many nations in the very near future. Turkey is one of the key agricultural production nations in the world. The OECD estimates that Turkey is the world's seventh-biggest agricultural producer. With 40% of its total land area arable, it is the world's number one producer in numerous agricultural produce, including being the biggest wheat producer in the region. However its animal production system with the exception of poultry has declined considerably over the past few decades. The country has gone from being a livestock exporter in the 1980's to a major importer of red meat and slaughter animals since 2009. Despite the reduction in it national herd size the country has still managed to increase it's animal production water footprint (WF) due to inefficient natural resource management practices. Simulations of global climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with 21 different models, predicts a 12% decrease in annual rainfall in southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. As Turkey's annual water withdrawals are expected to exceed 20% of the annual renewable water supply, the country is likely to be at risk of suffering water stress in the next decade. Despite such grim prospects Turkey's agricultural sector is taking very few tangible water conservation measures. There is a real opportunity for Turkey to better utilize its rich water resources and become self sufficient for its animal production systems by adopting irrigated pasture improvement for grazing.