Approach To Water Management Research Articles

Gender Transformative Impacts from Watershed Interventions: Insights from a Mixed-Methods Study in the Bundelkhand Region of India

HighlightsSocial and technical interventions related to agriculture, watersheds, and capacity building should enhance women’s awareness, access, and decision-making role in agrarian communities.Strict gender norms and relations hinder the empowerment of women in the Bundelkhand region and prevent women from participating in the decision-making process at the household, farm, and community level.When implementing watershed projects in a highly patriarchal context, as in the Bundelkhand region, advocacy of behavioral change communication must be implemented, addressing the diverse needs of women and men.Strengthening of systematic and gender-sensitive institution building, social engagement, and capacity development for global water security is needed for sustainable watershed interventions.ABSTRACT. This study examined gender perspectives on water security by exploring an integrated water management approach for agriculture, livestock, and human consumption. The data were generated in a watershed project to enhance drought resilience of farming through groundwater recharge and agroforestry interventions in the water-scarce Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh in central India. Post-intervention, a quantitative survey and qualitative gender and social analysis tools were applied to understand the benefits of the interventions for women, men, and the community as a whole. Quantitative data were collected from 700 individuals in five villages (three treatment villages and two villages where watershed interventions were not implemented). In addition, 33 semi-structured interviews and eight focus group discussions were conducted to understand local gender norms at the project sites. Data analysis revealed that the community benefits accrued from the watershed interventions included increased crop productivity and diversification of agriculture and livelihoods. However, strict patriarchal norms restricted the visibility, mobility, and communication of women within the household and community during the interventions. Considering gender diversity, this study identifies that women can benefit from participating in watershed interventions and provides a deeper understanding of the constraints and barriers to women’s participation in such projects, including economic, social, and cultural factors. The construction of check dams reduced women’s time per day for fetching water by about 29%. Groundwater level increases reduced the effort required of women to draw water from open wells and hand pumps. Female education is a significant factor related to the benefits of watershed interventions, and regression analysis indicated that households with higher levels of education of adult women were significantly more likely to benefit from the interventions than other households. To avoid perpetuation of the exclusion of diverse local knowledge and gender inequality at the community level, mechanisms must be developed and adjusted continuously such that whole communities, including men and women, are empowered to participate in the decision-making process at various levels and for different purposes. When implementing watershed projects in a highly patriarchal context, as in the Bundelkhand region where women are hidden behind the strong presence of men, advocacy of behavioral change communication must be implemented regularly. The community needs to be sensitized toward systematic and gender-sensitive institution building, social engagement, and capacity development for local as well as global water security. Keywords: Bundelkhand region, Gender, Social norms, Transformative, Watershed intervention.

Community water management to intensify agricultural productivity in the polders of the coastal zone of Bangladesh

Most of the lands of the southern coastal zone of Bangladesh are protected from tidal flooding and storm surges by embankments constructed during the 1960s and 1970s, creating polders. Sluice gates in the embankments connect the canals (former river distributaries) inside the polders to the surrounding rivers, providing the opportunity for water intake from, or drainage to the rivers by judicious management of the gates. Yet, unlike northern and central Bangladesh, the polders have not benefited from the genetic breakthroughs which underpinned the Green Revolution during the 1960s. Flooding during the wet season followed by severe drought and high levels of salinity during the dry season plague the coastal zone, limiting the application of improved technologies that increase agricultural productivity (amount of harvestable produce per unit of land). While the potential of these technologies has been clearly demonstrated, the lack of an integrated landscape approach to water and crop management precludes agricultural intensification in the polders. Therefore, the ability of community-led water management and land-use planning at the watershed level was tested to improve agricultural productivity in a polder in southwest Bangladesh during 2015–2017. Engaging with communities to employ more pragmatic land-use planning (based on topography/hydrology) and scheduling of sluice gate operations has shown the potential to intensify and diversify cropping systems in the polders, and increasing production by twofold to threefold. This was achieved using improved rice varieties and non-rice crops in wet and dry seasons, respectively, enabled by strategic management of the sluice gates to drain the lands as needed during the wet season and to facilitate timely establishment of non-rice crops after rice harvest. The community-based water management approach has been the key entry point for making inroads toward transforming the agricultural production systems in the polders.

Rice Production with Restricted Water Usage: A Global Perspective

GLOBAL rice production remains critically import for food security; however, fresh water is an ever-increasingly diminished resource. The objective of this manuscript is to select central and comprehensive research focusing on rice production and diminished water availability to isolate and authenticate emerging initiatives to address continuance of rice production and to ensure water sustainability. Three regions were selected: (i) Asia with an emphasis of China and India, (ii) The United States of America and (iii) The Mediterranean region with an emphasis on Egypt. Each of these regions recognize current or emerging issues associated with water quantity, water quality, urbanization, climate change and other technological, social and policy constraints; however, each region has a different hierarchy of issue importance. China and India recognize climate change, aquifer overdraft and pollution of water resources as central issues, whereas the mid-South region of the United States of America is more focused on irrigation technology to improve farm profitability. Egypt is primarily focused on water quantity and quality limitations, with substantial research addressing desertification and saline soils/water. This review focuses on stated research objectives in compelling, peer-reviewed literature to indicate regional approaches addressing the causes of restricted water availability for rice production and the most-probable approaches for maintaining rice production to safe-guard food security and producer profitability. Thus, unique rice water management approaches are predicated on the region’s water quantity and quality environmental assessment.

The Emerging Flood Risk on the Lower Part of Transboundary Meric/Maritsa River Basin

Meric (Maritsa, Evros) River is not only a transboundary river but also a border river among Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece. 65% of its catchment area is within the borders of Bulgaria. A portion of the lower part of Meric River constitutes the Turkey-Greece border, and the other portion of it flows in Turkey. The effects of global climate change are observed in the Meric River Basin. The changes on precipitation and temperature over the upper part of Meric River Basin situated in Bulgaria cause major problems in the lower part of the river basin in Turkey. Climate changes that have occurred in Bulgaria and projections on climate change over region, the Maritsa River water management approaches. Turkey has constructed a bay pass channel to protect Edirne city and surrounding agricultural lands from transboundary floods. This by pass channel is 7,8 km long 50 m width and 4 m depth has been almost completed. This channel capacity is about 1000 m3/s. This channel together with the original river bed will transmit flood discharge to Meric River bed about 7,5 km downstream of the Edirne City. Although it is completed recently, Lower Part of the Meric Basin is still under the flood risk and flood problems such as deterioration of water quality, ecosystem problems and socio-economic problems of the local population. Prevention and/or mitigation of these problems depend on the effective implementation of integrated transboundary watershed management strategies in the joint coordination among Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece. In this study we aim to investigate flood risk on the Lower Part of the Maritsa River Basin and necessary measures need to be taken in both side of the river. In this context, we also focused on hydrographic effect of Edirne By pass Channel, as well as run off from inter basin (Byala River-Greece) to the Lower Part of the Meric River and raising awareness on the importance of a basin wide flood management project. Altough Turkey implemented a by-pass channel to protect the Edirne city from transboundary floods of Meric River, additional measures such as basin wide flood management project , need to be taken to protect both side of the river bed in the lower part of the basin. Keywords: Edirne by Pass Channel, Maritsa Floods, Maritsa Basin, Lower Maritsa Basin. DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/5-9-01

Urban water metabolism information for planning water sensitive city-regions

Climate change and growing populations will stretch water resources in many city-regions globally, and urbanisation will continue to degrade water quality and upset natural hydrological flows. These pressures call for alternative urban water management approaches with improved connection with land use planning. Evaluating the water metabolism of urban areas gives a holistic picture of how water flows through and is transformed by urban settlements, to inform land use planning for sustainably managing urban water. Previous research has conceptualised how metabolism science may inform urban land use planning. In this work, we build on to identify how urban water metabolism evaluations can inform urban planning practice. We ask, ‘how can urban water metabolism evaluations support urban and water planning towards water sensitive city-regions?’ Focusing on three Australian capital city-regions, we empirically identify the knowledge needs of practitioners and compare this against the knowledge known to be generated from past urban water metabolism evaluations. This was done within a framework of urban water resource management objectives for water sensitive cities - that is, protection of water resources and hydrological flows, recognition of the diverse functions of water, and resource efficiency and supply internalisation. Based on the findings, the paper discusses five key strategic initiatives for planning for water sensitive city-regions: resource efficiency and hydrological performance benchmarks and targets for urban developments, tailoring programmes for resource efficiency, making case for regional blue-green space networks for improved hydrological performance, small and large-scale infrastructure innovation, and social and institutional innovation in urban water management.

A Coupled Modeling Approach for Water Management in a River-Reservoir System.

A coupled model is an effective tool to understand the nutrient fate associated with hydrodynamic and ecosystem processes and thereby developing a water resource management strategy. This paper presents a coupled modeling approach that consists of a watershed model and a hydrodynamic model to evaluate the nutrient fate in a river–reservoir system. The results obtained from the model showed a good agreement with field observations. The results revealed that the Shuikou reservoir (Fuzhou, China)exhibited complicated hydrodynamic characteristics, which may induce the pattern of nutrient export. Reservoirs can greatly lower water quality as a result of decreasing water movement. Three scenarios were analyzed for water management. The NH3-N (Ammonia Nitrogen) decreased sharply in the outlet of Shuikou reservoir after NH3-N level in its tributary was reduced. After removing the farming cages, the water quality of the outlet of Shuikou reservoir was improved significantly. The DO (Dissolved Oxygen) had increased by 3%–10%, NH3-N had reduced by 5%–17%, and TP (Total Phosphorus) had reduced by 6%–21%. This study demonstrates that the proposed coupled modeling approach can effectively characterize waterway risks for water management in such a river–reservoir system.

Removal of Reactive Dyes in Textile Effluents by Catalytic Ozonation Pursuing on-Site Effluent Recycling.

The textile wash-off process consumes substantial amounts of water, which generates large volumes of wastewater that pose potential pollution issues for the environment. In the present study, catalytic ozonation was applied to degrade residual dyes present in rinsing effluents from wash-off processes towards the aim of recycling the waste effluents. A magnetic catalyst was prepared for promoting dye degradation by catalytic ozonation. Via a hydrothermal reaction, highly magnetic manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4) particles were successfully loaded on carbon aerogel (CA) materials (MnFe2O4@CA). The results showed that the developed catalyst strikingly promoted the degradation of dye contaminants by catalytic ozonation, in terms of color removal and reduction of chemical oxidation demand (COD) in rinsing effluents. COD removal efficiency in catalytic ozonation was enhanced by 25% when compared with that achieved by ozonation alone under the same treatment conditions. Moreover, we confirmed that after catalytic ozonation, the rinsing effluents could be recycled to replace fresh water without any evident compromise in the color quality of fabrics. The color difference (ΔEcmc(2:1)) between fabrics treated with recycled effluents and water was not more than 1.0, suggesting that the fabrics treated with recycled effluents displayed acceptable color reproducibility. Although colorfastness and color evenness of fabrics treated with recycled effluents were slightly poorer than those of fabrics treated with water, they were still within the acceptable tolerance. Therefore, the present study validated that catalytic ozonation was a promising technology for saving water and wastewater elimination in textile dyeing. It provides a feasibility assessment of catalytic ozonation for recycling waste effluents to reduce water dependence in textile production. Furthermore, we show a new perspective in on-site recycling waste effluents by catalytic ozonation and enrich the knowledge on feasible approaches for water management in textile production.

Augmenting Water Supplies Through Urban Wastewater Recycling (March 2019)

Projections indicate a high-risk water stress level (+80%) in the Western Cape province of South Africa by 2040. The reassessment of water management is paramount in ensuring water security for the generations to come. Water management approach, which recognizes the value of alternative water sources such as Urban Wastewater recycling (UWWR) amid shrinking surface water supplies is of critical importance. This management process mimics natural systems, placing the focus on stakeholder engagement and meaningful public participation. The objective is to ensure a vibrant economy, social equity, and protection of water resources for current and future generations. This paper's main goal is the assessment of the impact of UWWR on water availability in the Stellenbosch urban water system. Vensim PLE 7.2 systems dynamic modeling tools constructed the qualitative and quantitative systems dynamics models. The results from the simulation indicated that UWWR in Stellenbosch has a significant potential of augmenting water supplies over a period of ten years. Of the three scenarios investigated, the 50% reuse scenario projected the best option for augmenting water supplies. In addition, results extrapolated from availability index graphs, depicted a water availability index, which is greater than 1 for every UWWR scenario investigated, i.e., 10%, 30%, and 50%, a positive result which supports the decision for UWWR in Stellenbosch as a water augmentation option.

Can the Implementation of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Support Economic Growth in the Mediterranean Region? The Current Status and the Way Forward

Water resources is a crucial environmental good for the function of the human societies and the ecosystems. Moreover, water is an important input for the economy and an indispensable factor for economic growth. Especially in regions that are facing water scarcity, the adoption of water management policies and approaches fostering the sustainable use of resources while promoting economic growth becomes an emerging issue. The Mediterranean region is one of the most vulnerable regions regarding the availability of water resources due to climate change and human activities. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus offers an integrated approach analyzing the synergies and trade-offs between the different sectors in order to maximize the efficiency of using the resources, whereas adapting optimum policies and institutional arrangements. The Mediterranean is a region where we observe a large spectrum of issues emanating from water pollution and natural resource degradation to water scarcity, large amounts of food loss and waste and increasing demand for energy and food. Agricultural practices, urban development, demand management for water, and protection of ecosystems, particularly aquatic ecosystems, are areas of particular intervention available to the decision-makers in enhancing availability of water for the various water using sectors. In this context, the current policy note paper aims to address a major issue: how can the implementation of the WEF Nexus support the economic growth in the Mediterranean? Based on the outcome of an experts and stakeholders regional workshop, this paper presents the current status, including the opportunities and the practices of applying the WEF Nexus in the Mediterranean and draws specific recommendations for the way forward. Regarding the later, the strengthening of WEF Nexus in the Mediterranean requires a set of interventions to strengthen the institutional capacities, to enhance the finance mechanisms, to support the intra-regional dialogue as well, to enhance data collection and management, as well as to implement economic instruments and integrated economic approaches to measure the impact of Nexus into economy and employment.

The Implementation of a Hybrid Model for Hilly Sub-Watershed Prioritization Using Morphometric Variables: Case Study in India

Among several components of watershed prioritization, morphometric parameters are considered to be essential elements for appropriate water resource planning and management. In the current study, nine hilly sub-watersheds are prioritized using novel hybrid model based on morphometric variables analysis at Bino Watershed (BW) located in the upper Ramganga basin, India. The proposed model is based on the hybridization of principal component analysis (PCA) with weighted-sum approach (WSA), presenting a single-frame methodology (PCWSA) for sub-watershed prioritization. The prioritization process was conducted based on several morphometric parameters including linear, areal, and shape. The PCA was performed to identify the significant correlated factor-loading matrix whereas WSA was established to provide the weights for the morphometric parameters and fix their priority ranking (PR) to be categorized based on compound factor value. The findings showed that 37.81% of total area is under highly susceptible zone sub-watersheds (SW-6 and SW-7). This is verifying the necessity for appropriate soil and water conservation measures for the area. The proposed hybrid methodology demonstrated a reliable approach for water resource planning and management, agriculture, and irrigation activities in the study region.

Transformative Approaches for Sustainable Water Management in the Urban Century

Sustainable Urban Water Management (SUWM) approaches highlighted in this special issue have the potential to contribute to the transformation of urban water systems. The aim of the transformation is to accommodate population and economic growth and at the same time enable a system which is environmentally sustainable and resilient to future challenges such as climate change. These approaches have increasingly entered mainstream dialogue over the last ten years as knowledge on the approaches has developed, and there is an acceptance that there needs to be a change to how urban water systems are designed and operated. However, there are still a range of aspects of these approaches that are maturing and require further research to realize the objectives of SUWM. The issue explored supply-side interventions, such as rainwater harvesting and stormwater harvesting, demand-side interventions, and water storage solutions that have the potential to enable a range of recycling technologies. The issue also highlighted a novel method for better managing the integrity of a conventional sewer system. Furthermore, there are articles that explore methods for integrated assessments, integrated decision making and an exploration of what factors may promote community adoption of technology.

Planning for water resilience: Competing agendas among Cape Town’s planners and water managers

Facing acute water challenges, the City of Cape Town has to reconcile the goal of building resilience to increasingly pronounced climate change impacts, including drought, with the persistent need to deliver equitable services and to achieve socially and environmentally just outcomes. In so doing, Cape Town is actively leveraging ideas of resilience in dealing with acute water shortages and in planning for new approaches for water management in the future. In light of multiple and discordant approaches to building resilience to water risks, this paper traces the emergence of an unfolding water resilience agenda in Cape Town. Specifically, the paper investigates how different framings of resilience enable planners to consider and prioritize particular solutions, their implications for water planning, and how lessons from Cape Town’s experiences might apply to other contexts. The findings demonstrate the predominance of expert-driven and technocratic approaches in Cape Town’s resilience-building efforts in the water sector, as well as the presence of key tensions and potential synergies emerging from competing perspectives on water resilience.

A 32-year aridity analysis: a tool for better understanding on water resources management in Lebanon

Water scarcity has been well pronounced in the Middle East Region; however, Lebanon is still characterized by wet climate and sufficient water resources. It is a paradox that Lebanon is now under water stress, and many contradictory studies on the climate of Lebanon attributed water stress to the changing climate. Most of these studies were applied with incomplete climatic data records. Therefore, all management approaches were implemented after considering climate as a major influencer on water resources. In this study, the Emberger Aridity Index (EAi) was employed to investigate the climate regime of Lebanon over more than 30 years focusing on ten representative meteorological stations where comprehensive climatic records were analysed and supported by remotely sensed data. The EAi indicates that Lebanon is still characterized by humid climate, which conflicts with the concept of drought existence. Thus, 47% of the Lebanese territory is characterized by humid to sub-humid climate and 29% by semi-arid climate according to Emberger classification. This obviously shows that even the climate impact has a role on water scarcity, but it is not the principal influencer. The results of this study help applying new approaches for water management where the negative human interference should be accounted. It guides stakeholder and decision-maker to follow appropriate water and agricultural policies and strategies for better sustainable development.

Physicochemical Analysis of Surface Water Quality on Seasonal Ponds along Riverine Communities

Water as a resource is essential to human life beside been the most fundamental resource for his socio-economic development. Within the land-lock Northern Nigeria, the surface water and groundwater resource remain the only source of the region fresh water. With contemporary pronounced effects of climate change as well as various anthropogenic activities, there is consequential rise in demand of fresh water. Consequently, both quantity and quality of fresh water resource is threatened largely due to recent population explosion. However, most developing regions of the world require new methods and innovative approaches for fresh water management, conservation, and judicious uses. Nonetheless, the dependence of arid and semi-arid regions on irrigation holds a special place in the water scarcity and management debates. This study was carried out along the river Anumma in Ngalda area of Yobe State, Nigeria. The study revealed that there is an active pollution largely associated to higher fertilizers and pesticides residues. The study also reaffirmed the calls for immediate action and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices along riverine communities in order to safe-guide the region most precious resource (water).

A distributed interval nonlinear multiobjective programming approach for optimal irrigation water management in an arid area

Considering the uncertainties in agricultural system and spatiotemporal variability in evapotranspiration and precipitation, a distributed interval nonlinear multiobjective programming (DINMP) model was developed for optimal allocation of limited irrigation water resources in the middle reaches of Heihe River basin. The meteorological data from meteorological stations were used to estimate reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0) through FAO56 Penman-Monteith (PM) equation, and then the remote sensing MOD16/PET data were fitted by linear regression model according to the FAO56 PM results. The 95% confidence interval was used to further improve the accuracy of the fitting results. Thus, satellite-based potential evapotranspiration (PET) and ground-based ET0 estimation were integrated to not only reflect the spatial and temporal variability but also guarantee the accuracy of the ET0. In the terms of precipitation, spatial interpolation was used to spatial information of precipitation. Based on these spatiotemporal data, a DINMP with three objectives, including maximizing economic benefits and water saving as well as minimizing water shortage of critical growth periods, was formulated, and further solved by fuzzy coordination method. The optimal allocation scheme improves the irrigation water productivity by [0.50, 0.66] kg/m3, and decreases net irrigation water allocation by [0.33, 1.01] ×108 m3. These results show that DINMP can not only consider the uncertainties and multiple objectives in agricultural water management, but also improve the spatial resolution of optimal water allocation strategies. The framework of this study can provide a reference for agricultural water managers in similar areas to obtain more reasonable water allocation schemes.

From ‘government’ to ‘governance’: A quantitative transition analysis of urban wastewater management principles in Stellenbosch Municipality

Water demand continues to increase amid shrinking natural water sources in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This holds true for Stellenbosch Municipality, which is situated in the Western Cape. The prevailing draught, coupled with rainfall projections predicting that the region will be in a high-risk draught category by 2040, prompted municipal authorities to devise alternative water sources, such as urban waste water recycling (UWWR), to augment its water supplies. This water management approach is a component of integrated urban water management (IUWM), which stems from the water ‘governance’ paradigm. Research on the transition process from a ‘government’ to a ‘governance’ UWWR paradigm is limited both in the global south and in South Africa. Hence, the main objective of this study was to investigate the action knowledge required for a sustainable transition from a ‘government’ to an IUWW ‘governance’ paradigm in the context of Stellenbosch town. The study adopted a transdisciplinary research methodology, while the transformative research paradigm guided the research. Quantitative data collection from a single case study, namely Stellenbosch town, was through the administration of a questionnaire distributed to purposefully sampled participants. ANOVA statistical tools analysed the data. The study ascertained that transitioning frameworks considered in this study could guide a transition process of migrating from conventional urban wastewater management government towards IUWM governance principles in Stellenbosch town and other global south locations.

From Water Management to Water Stewardship—A Policy Maker’s Opinion on the Progress of the Mining Sector

Water is a critical resource for mining operations, as it is for many other water users within any local catchment. With operations often located in water scarce areas, mining companies are increasingly experiencing competition for access to water resources. Concerns over the potential adverse impacts of mining on these shared resources has resulted in the sectors water management approach and practices being challenged by external stakeholders including local communities. This paper overviews the drivers that have resulted in the mining sector expanding its approach from water management within the operational fence line to catchment water stewardship, some of the major obstacles to continued progress and the related needs for guidance, research and research applications.

Estimation of potential area of preparatory irrigation for rainy season lowland rice and supplemental irrigation for dry season cropping using existing reservoirs constructed for aquaculture: a case study in semi-mountainous village, Lao PDR

The rural area in Lao PDR has a low yield of rainy season lowland rice, and most rice fields are not utilized for crop cultivation during the dry season. Delay in transplanting owing to late field ponding is considered the cause for the low yield of rainy season lowland rice. Reservoirs for aquaculture are located in the upper part of fields; however, stored water is not efficiently utilized. In this study, a potential area of preparatory irrigation for early field ponding (APIR) and supplemental irrigation for dry season cropping (ASID), using existing reservoirs, was estimated in two basins in the semi-mountainous village of Lao PDR. Estimated water withdrawal was calculated considering water balance in four cases of water management in reservoirs, considering aquaculture cultivation period and timing of the drainage operation. Water requirements for early field ponding and soybean, a candidate crop for dry season cropping, and conveyance efficiency were calculated using hydrological approaches. Results show APIR in each basin was 4.1 ha and 8.6 ha under current water management in a low-yield rice field area of 7.8 ha and 6.3 ha, respectively. ASID in each basin was 2.1 ha and 1.1 ha, respectively, under current water management. Although APIR and ASID increased under closed aquaculture, the impact was negligible. ASID increased when the drainage operation shifted to the final timing of supplemental irrigation. This water management approach was recommended for both types of irrigation considering improved agricultural productivity obtained through more efficient use of stored water, with aquaculture maintained.

Водное хозяйство России: проблемы организации и управления

The article examines proposals for a qualitative improvement in water use in Russia and the problems in applying the cluster approach in water management; it also highlights Russia's participation in international cooperation in this field.

Impact of Water Governance Regimes on Forage Characteristics and Soil Properties in Kajiado County, Kenya

Water governance regimes have a profound effect on vegetation and soil attributes. This is because they directly impact on grazing patterns. Kenyan peri-urban drylands are grappling with climate change and variability, population spill-over from neighboring towns and cities and land degradation that put strain on water resources. Water demand therefore outstrips supply. Sustainable water governance regimes are therefore a prerequisite for climate change resilience, building of adaptive capacities and reduction of climate induced vulnerabilities. This study sought to evaluate the impact of various water regimes on vegetation and soil attributes. Organizational and operational characteristics of diverse water governance regimes were studied and measured against respective vegetation and soil physio-chemical attributes. Soil and vegetation data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA on GenStat 15th edition. The study revealed a shifting trend from traditional water resource management institutions to more formalized regimes. Both public and private water governance regimes and systems existed though most of these lacked proper documentation and clearly defined terms of engagement among relevant actors. These systems applied diverse water management approaches creating significance differences in plant species diversity (p<0.05, F=0.565), richness (p<0.05, F=14.717), soil organic carbon (p<0.001, F=10.67), pH (p<0.05, F=4.84) and particle size distribution (p<0.05, F=5.72) because of varying extents of range access and use. This study concluded that there is need for integrating indigenous knowledge into modern water governance approaches for sustainable crop and livestock production systems. Both national and devolved governance structures should therefore invest in awareness and capacity building to enhance knowledge and skill transfer that would spur development of ecologically, socially and economically responsive systems aimed at augmenting climate resilience of current and emerging production systems and livelihoods.