Good Water Supply Research Articles

The sources of water supply, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in oil producing communities in central senatorial district of Bayelsa state, Nigeria

Background: It has been estimated that 100million Nigerians still lack basic sanitation facilities and 63 million also do not have access to portable drinking water and as many as 80% of all diseases worldwide are related to unsafe water as well as poor environmental hygiene. Most infectious, diseases are caused by living organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, or parasitic worms, and a disease is transmitted by the passing of these organisms from one person's body to another or through intermediate hosts. The World Bank reports that 30% of the total disease burden in developing countries results from contamination at the household level and that 75% of life years lost within this 30% are due to lack of good water supply and sanitation and the prevalence of risky hygiene behaviour. This study aimed to assess the sources of water supply, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in oil producing communities in Central Senatorial District of Bayelsa State. Materials and method: The study designs adopted for this research work were quantitative analysis and descriptive research method. The study population covered all housing units in the randomly selected communities in the central senatorial district of Bayelsa state. The 400 sample size for housing units was determined using the Taro Yamane formula, and systematic sampling method was used with a sampling interval of three. A 26-item administered closed-ended structured questionnaire was used. Data was collected from 296 out of 400 questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics with frequency counts and simple percentages using SPSS. Results: The result identified multiple sources of water supply which includes rain, river/stream, pipe borne, borehole and hand-dug well with borehole being the major source (91%). The major toilet facility used was the flush toilet (45%) and majority of residents clean their toilet once weekly (60%), however, about half of the residents (51%) practice unsafe excreta disposal. Hygiene practices such as bathing occurred among all resident at least once daily and hand washing was frequent after toilet visit (73%) but not before eating (35%). Conclusion: Water supply was seen to be relatively adequate, but its quality was poor, necessitating treatment. Unsafe excreta disposal is still widely practiced. Critical hand washing practice was still poor amongst residents. The State and Local Government including Oil companies in oil producing communities in Central Senatorial District should provide adequate portable water and sanitation facilities in public places with hygiene enlightenment campaign.

Quality of Roof-Harvested Rainwater for Irrigation of Crops by Family Farmers in Brazil

The efficiency of family farmers irrigation is conditioned by several factors such as good quality water supply. In this context, it was to evaluate the salinity and physical, chemical, and bacteriological characteristics of water harvested from roofs for irrigation of crops by family farmers in Brazil. The experiment was conducted at the Federal Institute Goiano, in Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil. The rainwater collected on the roofs was sent through vertical and horizontal conductors to the storage tank, which has a capacity of 5000 L. The risk of salinity, pH, turbidity, conductivity, color, total dissolved solids and thermotolerant coliforms during 13 precipitation events was analyzed. Rainwater was classified as water with no salinity problem (EC < 0.7). The variation of the electrical conductivity (EC) and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) were similar during the collection period, with mean values of 0.05 dS m-1 and 29.72 mg L-1 for EC and TDS, respectively. The pH of the rainwater presented little variation, presenting a mean of 7.37. The mean value of the color of rainwater was 11.45 PtCo L-1, while the turbidity averaged 4.89 UT. During the period of rainwater harvesting, it was observed absence of thermotolerant coliforms in all samples. It is concluded that rainwater does not present restrictions on the risk of salinity and that all physical-chemical and bacteriological parameters analyzed are within the limits allowed by Resolution 357/2005 of CONAMA, indicating the propensity of this type of water for irrigation.

Application of Regression Models on Panel Data in the Regional Analysis of Water Consumption

Water is a core component of the nature environment. The problem of good quality water supply to the humans has been aggravating because the available resources of fresh water in some regions of the planet proved to be insufficient for satisfying all the consumer needs. Lack of fresh water has been a structural factor affecting the global economic development, with drinking water acquiring the characteristics of a strategic commodity. These circumstances raise the importance of solutions on saving fresh water resources and ways of their rational use from the local level to the global one.
 The article contains a description of the current situation with water supply and water consumption in Ukraine. As regards water supply, Ukraine, according to the hydrological classification, is undergoing water stress, in parallel with extra water consumption and high water intensity in the domestic production sector.
 The subject of the study is water intensity of the gross domestic product, its main factors and ways of reduction. The object of the study is seven Ukrainian regions across which the river Dnieper flows, and the city of Kyiv. A significant variation of water intensity is observed in administrative and territorial units located in the Dnieper basin, which is caused by the varying industrial capacities, varying systems of technical water supply at industrial enterprises, and varying scopes of fresh water use in water supply for agricultural and utility needs, lack of advanced systems for water supply in some of the regions, which causes large losses of water and high water intensity in some production facilities.
 The impact from the above mentioned factors on the regional water intensity is assessed by the regression model on panel data. The specific conditions of the business operation in some regions of the Dnieper basin are represented in the model by dummy variables. By the model of water intensity of GDP, the largest one is the impact from industrial specialization of a region (especially Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv and Kherson regions), the existence of water recycling systems at industrial enterprises, scopes of water drainage and capacities of sewage treatment plants.
 Effective use, rehabilitation and protection of water resources, improvement of water quality, and reduction of water intensity in the production facilities through taking technological and economic measures in water consumption are considered as important factors of the national security.

Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II-Induced Neural-Supported Prediction of Water Quality with Stability Analysis

Water is one of the most important necessities for human survival. In municipal corporation areas, water quality affects a large part of the population. Good quality water supply is an imperative parameter that influences individuals’ health. Automated accurate water quality determination becomes an urgent necessity. Detecting the drinking water quality can prevent such scenarios prior to the critical stage. Recent research works have achieved reasonable success in predicting the water quality by deploying several machine learning-based techniques and utilising different aspects to analyse water quality. The accuracy levels of already proposed models are to be improved, keeping in mind the sensitivity of the problem domain. In the current work, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NN-NSGA-II) was employed to train the artificial neural network (ANN) to improve its performance over its traditional counterparts. The proposed model gradually minimises two different objective functions, namely the root mean square error (RMSE) and Maximum Error (ME) in order to find the optimal weight vector for the ANN. The proposed model was compared with another two well-established models namely ANN trained with Genetic Algorithm (NN-GA) and ANN trained with Particle Swarm Optimisation (NN-PSO) in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, [Formula: see text]-Measure, Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) and Fowlkes–Mallows (FM) index. Furthermore, a data perturbation-based stability analysis is proposed to test the stability of the proposed method. The simulation results established superior accuracy of NN-NSGA-II over the other models.

A framework for evaluating the current level of success of micro-hydropower schemes in remote communities of developing countries

Micro-hydropower (MHP) schemes can be a good option to meet the energy demands of remote communities in developing countries, particularly in mountainous areas with good water supplies. Physical (i.e. head and flow) and economic requirements are essential for MHP scheme feasibility, but social, environmental and political factors can also be critical for the performance and longevity of the scheme after its installation. MHP scheme feasibility evaluation, thus, requires a holistic approach, where the socio-economic characteristics of the community, electricity policies and other geophysical parameters of the environment have to be considered. This study identified the most important criteria for evaluating the success of MHP schemes from the communities' point of view based on site visits and interviews with developers, operators and key community members of 35 schemes spanning Nepal, Bolivia, Cambodia and the Philippines. Proper regular operation, ongoing support by the community, and long term support from the government or local developer were key factors for MHP scheme success. The most recurrent failure reasons were maintenance difficulties, extreme weather events, and the arrival of the national grid. A framework to evaluate the current level of success of existing schemes was developed and applied for cross country comparison.

The Use of System Dynamics Model to Enhance Integrated Resources Planning Implementation

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD), like many other water agencies in southern California, relies heavily on imported water supply. The uncertainty associated with reliable imported water supplies due to drought conditions and climate change, and the increasing cost of imported water are areas of concern for EVMWD. Considering these conditions, EVMWD, which serves one of the fastest growing regions within Riverside County, embarked upon the development of its first Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) – a long term strategy for providing reliable water supplies to its growing customer base. The IRP’s evaluation methodology consists of three steps: Identification of potential water supply projects, project evaluation, and recommendation of a water supply portfolio comprised of the specific projects. A System Dynamics (SD) Water Resources Decision Support System (WRDSS) was used to evaluate different scenarios and examine EVMWD’s vulnerability to risks such as water supply shortage, and changes to water quality and/or water demand projections. Even though SD has been extensively applied to many water resources planning modeling efforts, based on our literature review, there is not a documented case of SD modeling applied to an IRP project. The recommended water supply portfolio represents the most cost effective option. It meets the forecasted long term deficit and provides the best reliability while providing good quality water supplies to EVMWD’s customers. The recommended water supply portfolio will be implemented using an adaptive management approach to adjust to changing conditions, coupled with long-range resource management policies that optimize water supply and storage assets in times of both drought and surplus.

English

Water quality concerns have been very crucial because good quality water supplies in abundance and readily available for production and productivity is of great importance. Therefore, the study was conducted to assess irrigation water quality of the lowlands of Delo Menna and Berbere districts. The samples were collected from the upstream and downstream of the canals along the farms of the districts during the medium and low peaks of the rivers’ flow. About 1 L of water sample was collected from each site. Likewise, the sampling date was on the 15th of designated months. Accordingly, the results reveal that the surface irrigation water has less salinity, sodium hazard and residual sodium carbonate hazard in the irrigated canals and canals along the farms. The electrical conductivity ranges from 0.17 to 0.49 ds/m at lower peak and from 0.06 to 0.24 ds/m at medium peak in Delo Menna district. Moreover, the residual sodium carbonate ranges from 1.34 to 2.57 at lower peak flow and 0.79 to 1.30 at medium peak flows; sodium concentration ranges from 0.36 to 0.46 meq/L at lower peak of the river flow and very small concentrations at the medium peak flow period in Berbere district. The salinity indicator parameters such as all cations and anions, total dissolved solid, adjusted sodium ratio, residual sodium carbonates in the irrigated rivers were low in Delo Menna and Berbere. Therefore, the rivers in both districts are normal for agricultural production of all types of crops which are grown in the low lands of Bale. Key words: Cation, anion, assessment, conductivity, irrigation, water quality.

PERENCANAAN SISTEM PENYEDIA AIR BERSIH IKK KARANGBINANGUN

Water is a basic human need. The effect of water is vast for life, especially water for cooking and drinking. Karangbinangun district does not yet have a good and clean water supply network system. In the effort to provide clean water, distribution network is important. Because this distribution network that distributes from production installation to the community. The purpose of this research is to know the planning of clean and good network system for Karangbinangun district and To know the average amount of water demand needed by the people of Karangbinangun district in the next 10 (ten) years. The research methods using two methods, namely data collection technique, and data analysis technique. Data collection technique was conducted with primary survey and secondary survey. As for data analysis processed using the relevant empirical formula, without changing the authenticity of data. Prediction of population In Karangbinangun district in 2026 is 17420. And from the calculation of planning can be known service of clean water requirement in Karangbinangun district in year projection 2026 minimum required debit is 1,443,818,38 lt / hr or 60,159,10 lt / jm = 1,002.65 lt / mnt = 16,71 lt / dt = 0.02 m3 / s. From the calculation result is known pipe diameter of 150 mm, and pump spesification Q = 16,71 lt / dt and Head of 27,9 m or 30 m, for planning of water supply system IKK Karangbinangun.

Environmental quality assessment of groundwater resources in Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Sultanate of Oman

The research was conducted to assess the quality of groundwater resources of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman. 11 drinking water sources were sampled during summer and winter seasons during 2012–2013 to evaluate their physico-chemical quality indicators; and assess their suitability for drinking and other domestic purposes. Sample collection, handling and processing followed the standard methods recommended by APHA and analyzed in quality assured laboratories using appropriate analytical methods and instrumental techniques. The results show that the quality parameters in all drinking water resources are within the permissible limits set by Omani and WHO standards; and the drinking water quality index is good or medium in quality based on NFS-WQI classification criteria, indicating their suitability for human consumption. There is an indication of the presence of high nitrate concentrations in some groundwater wells, which require more investigations and monitoring program to be conducted on regular basis to ensure good quality water supply for the residents in the mountain. The trilinear Piper diagram shows that most of the drinking water resources of the study area fall in the field of calcium and bicarbonate type with some magnesium bicarbonate type indicating that most of the major ions are natural in origin due to the geology of the region. This study is a first step towards providing indicators on groundwater quality of this fragile mountain ecosystem, which will be the basis for future planning decisions on corrective demand management measures to protect groundwater resources of Al Jabal Al Akhdar.

Impact and ecosystem service of forest and sacred grove as saviour of water quantity and quality in Garhwal Himalaya, India.

The present study was conducted in environs of the sacred grove of Garhwal Himalaya, India, with a view to assess the impacts of sacred groves and forests on the quality and quantity of water and also to assess the effect of seasonality on perennial stream quality. Water samples were collected from three randomly selected stream spots of both the sacred grove dominated by deodar (Cedrus deodara) and the non-sacred patch dominated by oak (Quercus leucotrichophora). Water samples from both patches were within the World Health Organization (WHO) standard limits. Based on an already established water quality index, water quality of both patches was safe for domestic and irrigation purposes but needs treatment for drinking purposes. Results of the present study also showed a very prominent impact of forest type as well as management condition on water quality and quantity. The water discharge from an oak forest shows more consistency than the discharge from a deodar forest. Due to the presence of the sacred grove, the area has become the source of good quality water supply during lean season for the surrounding villages. Water quality and quantity differed along with the change in season. The sacred grove and the existing forest leave a great impression on local dwellers, as due to its presence, local dwellers never run out of water supply during the dry season. As a result, the villagers sincerely want to protect the area for the sake of their own well-being.

Greenlandic water and sanitation systems-identifying system constellation and challenges.

A good water supply and wastewater management is essential for a local sustainable community development. This is emphasized in the new global goals of the UN Sustainable Development, where the sixth objective is to: "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" (United Nations 2015). This obviously raises the question of how this can be achieved considering the very different conditions and cultures around the globe. This article presents the Greenlandic context and elucidates the current Greenland water supply system and wastewater management system from a socio-technical approach, focusing on the geographic, climatic and cultural challenges. The article identifies a diverse set of system constellations in different parts of Greenland and concludes with a discussion of health and quality of life implications.

Selecting traits to increase winter wheat yield under climate change in the North China Plain

To mitigate the possible yield reduction of winter wheat under climate change in the North China Plain (NCP), cultivars with traits that could offset the negative effects of several deteriorating weather factors in the future should be developed. This study used 16 recently certified cultivars of winter wheat each season for five seasons from 2011 to 2016 under three irrigation treatments (I0: without irrigation; I1: moderate irrigation; and I2: well water supply) to examine the agronomic traits of winter wheat that may be able to reduce the negative effects of abiotic stress. Yield variation up to 32% was observed during the five seasons, indicating the significant effects of seasonal weather conditions. The yield difference among the cultivars reached 33%, indicating the benefit of selecting a better cultivar to minimize the negative effects of weather and water deficit. Cultivars with higher seed numbers per area and greater biomass usually gave better grain production under all three water supply conditions. Under good water supply conditions, sunshine duration during the vegetative growth stage significantly affected the spike numbers per area and seed numbers per spike. Diurnal temperature range (DTR) during the grain-fill stage was positively related to the seed weight. Cultivars with higher leaf photosynthetic rates and earlier anthesis dates had an advantage to relieve the influence of climate change and produced higher yield. Due to the reduced rainfall and increased atmospheric evaporation potential under the climate change background, for winter wheat grown under limited water supply, cultivars with a higher kernel Δ13C, a lower canopy temperature and a larger root system usually produced a higher yield. In general, for winter wheat grown under good water supply conditions, cultivars that had higher efficiency in dry matter assimilation and allocation performed better. Under dry conditions, cultivars with a high ability to use the soil water stored before sowing had an advantage that allowed them to produce a higher yield.

Multipurpose renewable energy resources based hybrid energy system for remote community in northern Ghana

Many developing countries face the triple problems of unreliable supply of electricity, inadequate access to good drinking water supply and insecurity. The problem of electricity and water supply are more pronounced in remote areas due to lack of utility grid extension. This study examines the feasibility of using hybrid energy system consisting of solar PV and biodiesel generators in meeting the electricity and domestic water needs of a remote community in Ghana. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software was used to carry out the analysis presented in this study. A daily electrical load of 104kWh/day to meet the need of 100 households, small-scale businesses and a central water pumping system is estimated. Five different initial investment support scenarios, are considered: 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 0%. The results show a rather poor load profile (load factor of 12.26%) and a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of US$0.76/kWh at full cost (100% cost). The LCOE declines to US$.20/kWh when the entire upfront cost of the project is grant-financed. Compared with end-user tariff of US$0.10/kWh for lifeline customers in Ghana, beneficiaries of this PV-based mini-grid system will pay up to 200% more, even under full-grant finance conditions for maintenance of the system. Such interventions often replace inferior and health-threatening options such kerosene lamps, candles and in some cases outright darkness. Although the system is relatively expensive from a purely financial point of view, social equity considerations, together with innovative approaches encouraging daytime use of electricity for productive activities can help sustain such mini-grid solutions.

The relationship between the soil water storage and water-use efficiency of seven energy crops

The aim of this work was to determine two types of photosynthetic water-use efficiency in order to examine their utility as selection criteria for tolerance of energy crops to soil water deficit. Furthermore, effects of crop cultivation on soil water content and storage were investigated. Seven energy crops were examined: miscanthus, prairie cordgrass, willow, thorn-free rose, Virginia mallow, Bohemian knotweed, and topinambour. The highest values of instantaneous (WUE) and intrinsic (WUEi) water-use efficiencies were found for miscanthus and prairie cordgrass. The reduction of WUE and/or WUEi was caused mainly by a rapid rise in the transpiration rate and a greater stomatal conductance, respectively. Principal component analysis showed that neither WUE nor WUEi could be recommended as universal selection criteria for the drought tolerance in different energy crops. The proper localization of soil with a good supply of water is most the important condition for energy crop plantations.

Linking Household Source of Water to Child Health Technology: Evidence from 2004-2011 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey

This study is caption ‘Household Source of Water and Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from 2004-2011 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey’. Contaminated source of water use for bathing, washing, drinking as well as in the preparation of food and poor hygienic environment are a major nuance to human health especially child health. To contribute in solving this problem, we shall examine the following objectives: (1) explore the determinants of household water supply, (2) quantify the effects of water source on child health outcomes; 3) decompose the water child health effects on child age 0 to 59 months; and (4) derived policy implication on the basis of our analysis. Methodologically, we will use the pool data of the third and fourth Cameroon demographic and health survey collected in 2004 and 2011 respectively after the 1991 and 1998 data. The 2SLS and ivprobit model that takes care of the endogeneity problem is used to estimate our results in STAA 11.0. Our result shows that factors such as parent literacy, breast feeding mothers, male household head; household social status, household size and urban residence are strong determinants of household source of water. We also observed that a marginal change in water supply will result to a corresponding increase in child health. Other factors positively associated with child health increase due to water effects include: household size, urban household residence. Child health of age 24 and 36 months is strongly affected by source of water supply. Other factors positively affecting children’s health of age 24 to 36 months are household size and place of residence. In terms of policy, we recommend that decision makers through the ministry of public health should intensify child health – good water supply campaigns, as well as to increase the supply of good drinking water following the WHO standards. This is a major step towards economic growth and poverty reduction in the different regions of Cameroon.

Soil and water conservation in India: Strategies and research challenges

Soil and water are the most important natural resources that meet all human needs, and protect the environment and the civilization. Ever increasing demands for land and water resources due to burgeoning population cause the degradation of these two precious natural resources. Land degradation is a serious problem in India and out of 329 million hectare (Mha) of total geographical area, 146.8 Mha is reported as degraded. India is losing a huge amount of money in terms of loss of productivity from these degraded lands. Though India receives good amount of annual rainfall (1190 mm), due to enhanced need for domestic, agriculture and industrial developmental activities, over-exploitation and laxity of water resource, it becomes scarce. The declining trend of groundwater level in all parts of the country also indicates that the assured supply of good quality water will become a concern for country's development. Hence holistic management approach of soil and water resources by linking social and economic development with protection of natural ecosystem is the need of the hour. Creation of inventory on soil and water resources, use of modern technological tools for developing conservation strategies, changes in policy to protect natural resources, development of site specific soil and water conservation measures and involvement of local people in conserving the soil and water resources are the future challenges for the scientists and policy makers. This paper highlights the soil and water conservation strategies and areas to be addressed on priority.

Experimental Investigation and Performance Analysis of Single Slope Solar Still

Abstract - Shortage of good drinking water supply is one of the major challenges facing the global community especially developing and under developed countries, like Nigeria. However, these challenges can be overcome through the use of solar stills for water distillation which is considered as a viable option for converting dirty water to distillate. The solid particles (dissolved minerals) which were left behind at the basin during the distillation process gradually accumulated and cause basin corrosion and/ or low yield, in order to have a sustainable and working solar distillation technology, this paper presents an experimental investigation and performance analysis of single slope solar stills of identical size (0.35 m 2 ). The stills includes; still D 1 , (conventional with galvanized iron basin), still D 2 , (galvanized iron basin with 4inch hand hole attached at the side), still D 3 ,(conventional with blacked ceramic basin), and still D 4 , (Ceramic basin with 4 inch hand hole attached at the side). The result obtained show that stills D 1 , and D 2 with galvanized iron basin revealed higher productivity of 580ml/day and 510ml/day respectively, compared to stills D 3 , and D 4 , which have 340ml/day and 315ml/day respectively. Further results indicate that still D1 with galvanized iron at the basin and hermetic seal has greater efficiency and distillate productivity of 54.06 % compared to stills D2, D3 and D4 which have daily efficiency and productivity of 50.91 %, 28.20 %, and 27.97 % respectively. This however, indicates that the adoption of 4 inch hand hole in solar still design can help in reducing the particles deposits at the basin to minimize basin corrosion.

Water Loss Reduction as the Basis of Good Water Supply Companies’ Management

Companies using water distribution systems to reduce the operating costs and increase the reliability of water supply systems, as well as to protect disposable water resources, must search for ways to reduce water losses. The article points out the economic and environmental aspects of water losses. The possibilities of using international water loss assessment standards have been analysed. The reflections presented in the paper refer to the current trends and world standards in the field of water distribution systems management. The article presents the results and analysis of water losses for the water supply network operated by the Water Supply and Sewerage Company in Gliwice (Przedsiebiorstwo Wodociągow i Kanalizacji w Gliwicach, PWiK). The losses were determined on the basis of numerous indicators and compared with other distribution systems. At present, most indicators of water loss are at a very good or good level. The Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI), as one of the most reliable loss indicators for the surveyed distribution system, assumed values from 3.33 in 2012 to 2.06 in 2015. The recent drop in ILI values indicates the effectiveness of the Company's strategy for water leakage reduction. The success comprises a number of undertakings, such as ongoing monitoring, pressure reduction and stabilisation, repairs and replacement of the most emergency wires.

The influence of site characteristics on the leaf-to-sapwood area relationship in chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Mill.)

Biomass allocation in Castanea sativa varies according to the environmental conditions. Specifically, leaf-to-sapwood area ratio is higher on sites with good water supplies and lower in water-stressed conditions. Ecological plasticity allows organisms to adapt and to cope with environmental conditions. This is a key trait for species with long live span, which will probably be more vulnerable to changing climate because of their lower adaptation potential via natural selection. We studied the case of the sweet chestnut tree, a naturalized forest species in many European mountain areas, where it grows on very different climates and sites. This raises the question of its adaptation capacity to very different environmental conditions. To test this hypothesis, we applied the pipe model approach for analysing the variation in the leaf-to-sapwood area ratio (A L:A S) in 82 chestnut trees growing in very different site conditions (e.g., water-stressed convex vs. water-rich concave sites). We used linear regression analyses to model the A L:A S relationship to environmental and dendrometric parameters. Results confirm that A L:A S is significantly higher when trees grow on good nutrient- and water-supplied concave sites with respect to water-stressed, convex sites. Chestnut trees are thus able to vary their biomass allocation between sapwood and leaves to adapt their hydraulic characteristics to the site conditions. Trees seem to react to water-stressed conditions by allocating more biomass in the sapwood in respect to the leaves. A L:A S may thus represent a useful indicator of tree species plasticity and their adaptation potential to different environmental and climate conditions.

Addressing barriers in the water-recycling innovation system to reach water security in arid countries

As arid regions face increasing pressures on their water resources, the challenge of securing an adequate supply of good quality water to meet growing demands calls for innovative approaches that involve a diversification of water supply options and improved management of wastewater. Water recycling is a disruptive innovation that can help to achieve this goal in arid countries if the appropriate technical and institutional barriers are broken down. Within the water innovation literature, key questions remain as to the nature of the process and of the temporal dynamics of a shift towards decentralized wastewater infrastructure. This study offers insights into these mechanics using the Framework for Analyzing a Multi-level Innovation System (FAMIS), a cross-sectoral model that draws on the theories of technological innovation systems, system dynamics, transitions of socio-technical regimes, and evolutionary theories of technology. Cases from three water-scarce countries with distinct political economies—Australia, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and Jordan—were used to document the dynamics of innovation in the water recycling system and identify policy solutions. Despite important contextual differences, in the three cases examined, actors and institutions have dynamically interacted to create a small niche where water recycling has emerged as a viable technology. Yet the application of the FAMIS model revealed that the dominant regime of water management has not been fundamentally altered due to blockages mainly at two “stages” of the FAMIS innovation lifecycle: the selection and adoption stages. We identified cross-geographical socio-technical and environmental characteristics and common mechanisms that strongly influence the evolution of water recycling technology through the innovation system. We find that the water-recycling technology evolves into the later stages of the innovation system in Australia, with the chokepoint occurring most importantly within the sophisticated but fragmented institutions that regulate water recycling. In the U.A.E., while agricultural reuse is widespread (to a larger extent than in Australia), major barriers occur earlier in the system, leaving mainly the water recycling technologies in the early stages of the system, where policy-induced path dependency block most selection mechanisms. With a wider infrastructural and institutional gap, Jordan may actually face less stringent barriers to water-recycling developments throughout all stages of the innovation system, namely influenced by international donors. Policy recommendations derived from this work to address barriers at the selection and adoption stages include favoring a coordinated institutional long-term vision and planning to overcome path dependence, enhancing social acceptance and adequate implementation of laws and regulations, and supporting data acquisition and model developments to build a stronger business case for water recycling.