Fair Water Distribution Research Articles

Analysis of technical efficiency of irrigated tomato production in North Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a country with a total population of more than 110 million, of which about 80% of the total population is engaged in subsistence farming in rural areas. Although the agricultural sector plays a great role in the Ethiopian economy, it is characterized by low productivity due to technological and socioeconomic factors. Improving smallholder irrigated tomato production, and productivity would contribute to enhancing food security and alleviating poverty. Therefore, this study was investigated to fill this gap to analyze the technical efficiency of irrigated tomato production and its determinant factors in North Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. Primary data were collected from 160 farmers selected using a multistage sampling procedure and analyzed using descriptive statistics, a parametric stochastic frontier production function model. The stochastic frontier and Cobb–Douglas functional form with a one-step approach were employed to analyze efficiency and factors affecting efficiency in irrigated tomato production. The estimated gamma parameters indicated that 0.69% of the total variation in tomato output was due to technical inefficiency. The means technical efficiency was found 60%, and about 6480.19 kg of tomato output per hectare was lost due to inefficiency factors implying there is a room for improvement in technical efficiency by 40% with the present technology. The Stochastic Production Frontier (SPF) result revealed that plot size at 1% and UREA at 10% probability level significantly influenced tomato production. The socio-economic variables that exercised an important role for variations in technical efficiency positively were the level of education, TLU, fair water distribution service and water in the morning, and in contrast watering frequency, marketing training, and credit were found to increase inefficiency significantly among farm households. To get better farmers' efficiency in the production of irrigated tomatoes continuous marketing training should be established and strengthening the available farmers training center (FTC) to improve farm productivity. The government and any concerned bodies should be built irrigation canals and other alternatives to reduce watering frequency. There should be a timely and sufficient supply of UREA to improve farmers’ efficiency in the production of tomatoes.

Water scarcity in India: How disinformation aggravates inter-state disputes

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been clashing over the fair distribution of water for over a hundred years. In recent years, this conflict has translated into heated conversations in social media platforms.

Water Productivity, Farmers Satisfaction, and Sustainability of Selected Small Scale Irrigation Schemes in Salale Zone, Ethiopia

In order to assess the potential, farmers satisfaction, and operation and maintenance issues of selected small scale irrigation schemes in Salale Zone Ethiopia, the study was designed with key objectives of evaluating the current status of irrigation water productivity of the schemes; irrigation water users satisfaction, and structures, function, and power of water users association in sustainable operation and maintenance of irrigation schemes. Structured questionnaires focus group discussion, and key informant interview was employed to collect data for each considered irrigation schemes and the data was analyzed by using SPSS and descriptive statistics. The result overall revealed that there was low water productivity of the schemes when it was compared with acceptable limit values. In each considered irrigation scheme, irrigation water users were not satisfied in operation and maintenance of irrigation schemes and less satisfied in fair distribution of water and timeline of water distribution; but fairly satisfied in fee policy. From the perspectives of roles of irrigation water users in leadership, resource mobilization, infrastructure management, equity in water distribution, and conflict management; there was a gap in effectively performing all such activities so that the overall productivity of schemes becomes very low. In general, the research indicated that there was a problem in improving water productivity, farmers’ satisfaction, role of irrigation water users in management, operation, and maintenance of schemes which need due consideration to sustain small scale irrigation schemes so that it will play the intended roles in attaining food security

Optimal and Fair Distribution of Water Under Water Scarcity Scenarios at a Macroscopic Level

This paper presents an optimization approach for designing water allocation systems at macroscopic level under water scarcity conditions. The proposed approach accounts for the proper water distribution of the available sources (dams, deep wells, lakes, rivers, etc.) and the incorporation of artificial sources (rainwater harvesting systems, and recycled water) to satisfy domestic and agricultural demands in a specific region at the maximum revenue. The proposed mathematical model incorporates fair distribution schemes (Social Welfare, Rawls and Nash Schemes), which allow determining fair water distribution options under water scarcity conditions. A case study for the city of Morelia in Mexico is presented to show the applicability of the proposed optimization approach. Results show that it is possible to obtain fair solutions for the water allocation for all the users under different water scarcity conditions.

Water-Education as a Promoter of Education for Sustainable Development: Three Studies in Portuguese-Speaking African Countries

The present study is based on research in teacher self-training in Education for Sustainable Development (Leitão, 2012). Water was the motivating theme. The priority of a fair distribution of water, guaranteeing the consumption, in quality and quantity, to all mankind and living beings is urgent. To respond to water-related sustainability challenges, people worldwide need to acquire "water literacy" about various aspects of water use and management in order to ensure safer water consumption and to contribute to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Three case studies were carried out in schools in three African countries: Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique. A model of skills in education for sustainable development was applied (Sleurs, 2008). From the analysis of these case studies the theoretical assumptions of research were strengthened by the effective professional practice. But, on contrary, the results that the pillars of sustainable development presented in the basic research should be reviewed, placing the political dimension as transversal, thus strengthening education for sustainable development as fundamental for critical and responsible citizens of the present and of the future. This experience paves the way for future water-education and education for sustainable development projects; such as the follow-up of these three schools. Keywords: Sustainable Development; Education for Sustainable Development; Water-education and Water Literacy; Case Study

Effective and convenient water management by tele-metering and controlling check gates in main open canal

Check gates being installed in a main open canal work to maintain water at a constant level in order to ensure water distribution to secondary canals. This type of water distribution is called the constant upstream water level control in Japan, and this type is suitable for supply-oriented water control. Although this type can supply more water compared to the canal structural size, the water supply and distribution schedule must be kept rigidly, and farm turnouts in upstream reaches are apt to withdraw more water than allocated, which leads to unfair water distribution. Recently, tele-meter and tele-control (TM/TC) systems have become more easily applicable to an irrigation system, and in some key points TM/TC devices are actually equipped to check and control water flow. However, their abilities in reality are not fully utilized to respond to the earnest requests of farmers, such as, flexible and labor-saving water use, or fair water distribution between upstream and downstream areas. This study aims to seek useful managing methods to solve the above problems by fully utilizing TM/TC devices to be installed at all check gates. These devices transmit data and commands between a central office and terminals, or they process data independently to control structure at each terminal. Firstly, the A Yousui, the most advanced irrigation system in Japan, is kept in mind, and a new operation system is proposed for demand-oriented water control, which can automatically respond to water demands but also can convey a relatively large flow rate. Secondly, for the T Yousui, a popular irrigation system, another operation system is proposed to solve the unfair distribution problem between upstream and downstream areas. These proposals are led based on numerical experiments using a numerical model, the facilities’ data in place, and water distribution records.

Logistics system for drinking water distribution in post disaster humanitarian relief, Al-Za’atari camp

Purpose It is essential to provide drinking water to affected population directly after a disaster. The purpose of this paper is to develop an optimization methodology that helps in the distribution of drinking water in post-disaster situations. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted on two phases: phase 1 aims at identifying an appropriate way to deliver drinking water to refugee camps from external sources, considering required drinking water quantities and four possible sources of water with respect to cost and risk assessments. Phase 2 investigates drinking water distribution within a refugee camp using covering models. The MCLP–optimal number of facilities model is proposed to ensure that the water is distributed and delivered to all individuals in a camp with minimum number of water storage tanks required. A control policy is proposed to ensure the fair distribution of water to all targeted individuals. Findings Al-Za’atari refugee camp, located in northeast of Jordan, was considered as the case study for this research. The result showed that the appropriate way to deliver water to the camp is by using tanker–trucks, and a minimum number of five tanks are required to distribute water to individuals inside the camp with respect to tank locations and the allocation of tank of each area. Originality/value The proposed methodology is essential in decision making for the distribution of drinking water in refugee camps in short-term needs. The model adds important value to the literature as the proposed problem has no solution in the literature before.

Water Allocation to Small Scale Irrigation Schemes Using the Results of Analysis from WEAP Model: An Application to Mekabo Scheme in Tigray, Ethiopia

The recently commissioned Mekabo Small Scale Irrigation (SSI) scheme may inevitably fail to collect all its water demand from Agula River because upstream water users traditionally privilege themselves with superior water rights. With the present growing desire for constructing more SSI schemes in Tigray region, it is highly likely that the current intensive water competition further escalates to a more stressful level. Given the need for a fair water distribution among all water users, the WEAP model has been employed to develop a management strategy and to perform a rigorous water balance and water allocation analysis. Accordingly, the information about six SSI schemes along Agula River was input in WEAP. A workable water management strategy was adopted and values for the two most insightful indicators "Demand Site Coverage" and "Unmet Demand" were computed and compared. The WEAP Model has competently responded to the probing management strategy and has provided a deep insight into the performance of assigned water allocation scenarios. The findings have shown that, if a fair water allocation were the only primary interest, assigning an equal priority to all water users would be a recommendable choice in WEAP. However, if the study aims at satisfying the full demand of a specific water user; therefore, assigning two-extreme priority settings could be the best-preferred management strategy.

Water Allocation to Small Scale Irrigation Schemes Using the Results of Analysis from WEAP Model: An Application to Mekabo Scheme in Tigray, Ethiopia

The recently commissioned Mekabo Small Scale Irrigation (SSI) scheme may inevitably fail to collect all its water demand from Agula River because upstream water users traditionally privilege themselves with superior water rights. With the present growing desire for constructing more SSI schemes in Tigray region, it is highly likely that the current intensive water competition further escalates to a more stressful level. Given the need for a fair water distribution among all water users, the WEAP model has been employed to develop a management strategy and to perform a rigorous water balance and water allocation analysis. Accordingly, the information about six SSI schemes along Agula River was input in WEAP. A workable water management strategy was adopted and values for the two most insightful indicators Site Coverage and Unmet Demand were computed and compared. The WEAP Model has competently responded to the probing management strategy and has provided a deep insight into the performance of assigned water allocation scenarios. The findings have shown that, if a fair water allocation were the only primary interest, assigning an equal priority to all water users would be a recommendable choice in WEAP. However, if the study aims at satisfying the full demand of a specific water user; therefore, assigning two-extreme priority settings could be the best-preferred management strategy.

The rise and fall of Munich’s early modern water network: a tale of prowess and power

Until the 19th century, not just the Isar River and its natural branches but also the “Stadtbache”, artificial canals, provided Munich with water for drinking, commerce, waste discharge, defense, ostentatious display and for other functions. In particular, the streams were the main transport route and offered hydropower for many mills and other hydropower-dependent facilities in the Preindustrial and Early Industrial Ages. The Isar—an alpine river—transported large amounts of gravel and would often change its course. Regularly, floods destroyed dams and weirs. A fair distribution of water to all users on both sides of the river was difficult to negotiate because securing constant, reliable flow was one of the biggest challenges water engineers faced. The joint development of Munich and its waters was also influenced by the conflicts between citizens and the Bavarian duke as well as by the city’s simultaneous function as ducal court of the house of Wittelsbach and as administrative centre of Bavaria. In the second half of the 19th century, when Munich became a metropolis, the city’s streams played an important role in the process of urbanisation but also became a growing problem. An unprecedented level of pollution from increasing industrial activities and growing population required action. Solutions had to be found for the many tasks that were fulfilled by the city’s streams. As in many other cities, electricity and railroads as new technologies of the Industrial Age enabled Munich’s inhabitants to replace the essential local functions of the river. The artificial canals could then be filled in and most natural branches of the Isar disappeared below ground. One of the defining characteristics of the city, its unique reliance on canals, had ceased to be.

Equitable Water Distribution in Main Irrigation Canals with Constrained Water Supply

In this study a novel configuration of the Water Level Difference Error method is introduced to speed up the error sharing in the context of Model Predictive Control (MPC). The potential application of the controller is examined. The main objective of this controller is fair distribution of water between upstream and downstream users in main canals suffering from water shortages. The scheme uses the Integrator-Delay (ID) model for canal pool responses in a model predictive controller. The designed controller is tested on an accurate simulation model of a large canal system, using four test scenarios. The scenarios suffer from limited water supply conditions that are imposed by a limitation on the canal inflow. The results show fast reactions in equitable sharing of water level deviations from target throughout the canal. Since, all the pools are involved in optimally managing the water shortage, significant improvements in operational performance of the canal are achieved. In addition, the operational performance of the designed controller is remarkably improved by applying a new strategy of target-bands instead of target-levels in the canal pools as it increases the flexibility of the controller in making appropriate decisions.

Accessibility, equity and the sharing of water resources

While the supply of water to dry or arid mountain regions has long been a major challenge, the on-going processes of climatic and socio-economic change currently affecting the hydrosystems of the Alps raise the spectre of renewed pressure on water resources and possible local shortages. In such a context, questions relating to fair distribution of water are all the more sensitive given the tendency to neglect the social dimension of sustainability. The present paper makes both a conceptual and empirical contribution to this debate by analysing a system of distribution that has a long experience of water scarcity management: the community governance models traditionally linked to the irrigation channels, or bisses, typical of the Swiss Alpine canton of Valais. More specifically, we evaluate these models in terms of accessibility and equity, characteristics that we use to operationalize the notion of ‘fair distribution’. We examine these dimensions in three case studies with a view to highlighting the limitations of the aforementioned models. Indeed, despite their cooperative and endogenous nature, they tend to not only exclude certain members of the population, but also to reproduce rather than reduce social inequalities within the community. In general, these results challenge the rosy picture generally found in the literature relating to these community governance models.

A review of progress in empowerment of women in rural water management decision-making processes

Abstract The authors of this paper explore the links between water infrastructure, water policies, processes and protections, along with mechanisms for women's leadership and decision-making for contributing to rural well-being. The broad-brush strokes approach is our attempt to reveal the breadth and complexity of the interdisciplinary nature of problems, which canonly be solved via interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches. Poor, rural women are disproportionally and adversely impacted by domestic and public gendered roles in relation to water accessibility, system design and management, as well as by the high costs of water distribution. The inadequacy of fair water distribution channels is compounded by the growing influence of water privatization advocates. The significant changes in climate and global warming also threaten accessibility to safe water and add levels of competitiveness and vulnerability for people in many regions of the world. The recommendations proposed in this paper underscore the need for proper management of water resources to prevent and to reduce water conflicts and to increase all dimensions of well-being. This paper builds upon literature from four interconnected strategies: 1) investing in water infrastructure to increase well-being; 2) establishing policies and legislation to protect the global commons, human rights and enhance economic well-being; 3) embedding gender equality and women's leadership in water management; and 4) developing strategic interventions to reduce and mitigate adverse global affects by educating for sustainable development, preventing and planning around climate change and enhancing local water management through resisting global privatization approaches.

Impact of Water Availability on Land and Water Productivity: A Temporal and Spatial Analysis of the Case Study Region Khorezm, Uzbekistan

Since irrigation water is assumedly the predominant factor determining crop yield, the difference in irrigation water availability across the administrative sub-districts of the Khorezm region, Central Asia, also inflicts an unequal distribution of agricultural revenues. Considering the national aim of a fair distribution and efficient use of resources, here we analyze the relationships between irrigation water access and rural welfare from 2000 to 2007 by descriptive statistics. Analyses revealed not only the general dependency of agricultural revenue on irrigation water availability, but also occurrence of low land productivity during water scarce years and, irrespective of the annual water availability, in some tail end regions each year. Furthermore, apart from irrigation water availability, land productivity was also impacted by soil quality, cropping structure, and type of land ownership. Fair distribution of water and land resources should also take into consideration population density. It is argued that an anticipated equal and efficient water allocation necessitates improved irrigation water conveyance, distribution, and application efficiency via best water management practices. Liberalization of markets, development of a market infrastructure and improvement in yields also contribute to increased land and water productivity.

Irrigation management transfer (IMT) and system of rice intensification (SRI) practice in the Philippines

SRI practices can usually increase the yield of paddy without using special varieties of rice or chemicals. High yield of paddy can be simply achieved through the combination of transplanting single seedlings about 8–10 days old with just two leaves on 40 cm × 40 cm spacing, providing organic fertilizer, and intermittent irrigation. No pesticides are applied. Historically, integrated management of water and crop (particularly rice) in the Philippines, had its beginning with the Spaniards, but more formal events were recorded in the 1950s by Margate (1954) in “Rice: 100 Cavans (50 kg/cavan) per Hectare.” This was followed by the Water Management Manual released in the 1970s by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA). Recently, the Southern Philippines Irrigation Sector Project (SPISP), a joint ADB–NIA effort, has commenced trials with the system of rice intensification (SRI) practice. One of the most specific features of SRI is the intermittent irrigation system which requires assured water supply at necessary timing. It is easier to attain assured water supply on timely manner through irrigation management transfer (IMT) which encourages the empowerment of fair water distribution. This article analyzes the merit of IMT for SRI.

On Achieving Fairness in the Allocation of Scarce Resources: Measurable Principles and Multiple Objective Optimization Approaches

Equity principles are embedded within a multiple objective framework for obtaining optimal solutions to a generic allocation problem, such as the fair distribution of water, energy, or other types of key resources among users in society. Because of the great import of fresh water as a scarce and diminishing resource within and among many nations of the world, the equity concepts are used in the allocation of water rights and subsequent water transfers or trades among users to improve the economic efficiency of water utilization. More specifically, water allocation is formulated as a generalized multiple objective problem and then the measurable fairness principles are used in the development of two approaches for equitable water rights allocation. In particular, the proposed priority-based maximal multiperiod network flow programming method has a social aggregation function satisfying the monotonicity and priority principles, and thus is a priority equitable allocation approach. The lexicographic minimax water shortage ratios method, which satisfies the principles of monotonicity, impartiality, and equitability, generates perfectly equitable solutions. The priority ranks and weights used in the two proposed approaches, respectively, are designed to achieve fair treatment of all the competitors for access to limited water resources and constitute important parameters. The capabilities of the approaches are tested and demonstrated in applications to the Aral Sea Basin in Central Asia and the South Saskatchewan River Basin in Western Canada.

The Water Resources of an Island State (Jamaica): Issues Related: to Allocation, Accessibility, Management and Human Rights

Water is a fundamental survival need of mankind. In fact, denying people access to water is tantamount to denying them a basic human right. Still, about one billion people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water. In developing countries, especially in small island states, water assumes great importance in sustainable development. Although water is an economic resource, its availability is intrinsically related to the question of affordability by the public at large. This paper examines the issues related to water accessibility, supply, demand, management and governance in the Caribbean island of Jamaica. The development of new water supply schemes in Jamaica is being carried out by a private company, Carib Engineering Corporation Limited, while the distribution of water, maintenance works and minor water supply and sewage systems are the responsibility of the National Water Commission, a public sector organisation. Continued good governance is needed to make water more accessible to the public in Jamaica and in the Caribbean at large. Public and private sector efforts are required to educate the public regarding the misuse of water, the reuse of household wastewater and the recycling of industrial wastewater. A multi-partisan committee consisting of members of the public, community leaders and private and public sector representatives would ensure the free and fair distribution of water, transparency in dealings and the appropriate settlement of disputes at the national level. These initiatives are expected to contribute positively towards the equitable distribution and utilisation of water resources in the Caribbean island states. Water Nepal Vol.9-10, No.1-2, 2003, pp.391-390