Million Cubic Meters Research Articles

Assessment of Water Availability and Demand in Goronyo Reservoir Sokoto, Nigeria

Climatic parameters are subjected to variation due to atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases, so it is essential to assess the water availability and demand under the climate variation in Goronyo reservoir since supply of water is one of the significant tasks in water resources management. In this study, estimation of available water, demand and unmet demand was simulated using Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) Software with the opinion of assessing the availability of the water for it use under climate change. Firstly, the climatic data was obtained and used to simulate the surface water situation with the model. Secondly, the data was projected based on the initial model output and compared with the existing (observed) data. The comparison involved calibration and validation with the recorded data of river flow. Thirdly, the hypothetical climate change Scenarios were applied to the model so as to know what is to be expected if climate changes. Thus, the model was used to analyse what happened to demand and water availability in the study area. The study found the demand and Unmet demand as the output of the model, and the result showed that the annual total demand for various uses from 2018 to 2070 is 7076.4 million cubic meters (MCM) and annual average of 133.4 million cubic meters (MCM). Meanwhile, the unmet demand ranges from annual total of 1157.5 million cubic meters to 1199.7 million cubic meters and annual average of 21.84 MCM to 22.64 MCM. From the result the highest unmet was recorded under the worst scenario i.e. scenario 9 with 1.2oC increase in temperature and 10% decrease in precipitation. In Conclusion, it was found that the demand in the area is 6 times higher in years to come i.e. 50 years from now and deficit is 61% increased.Keywords – Climate variation, Goronyo Reservoir, Water Demand and Unmet

Irrigation and crop water requirement estimation for oil palms using soil moisture balance model in Peninsular Malaysia

This study presents the irrigation and crop water estimation in a Malaysian oil palm plantation for effective irrigation water management during water years 2013 and 2014. The study area was divided into four plots: 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2010, indicating years of peat swamp forest conversion to oil palm plantation. Hydrologic Engineering Centre-Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) and Soil moisture balance hydrologic models were used to model the rainfall-runoff in the basin. Statistical analysis using coefficient of determination (R2) and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) were used to evaluate the performance and correlation of the two hydrologic models. The result showed that R2 and NSE were 0.94 and 0.90 respectively for calibration and 0.92 and 0.54 respectively, for monthly validation. This showed that the models performed well for simulation of the peatland hydrology. With the modelling of rainfall-runoff satisfied, the irrigation demand of the study plots was determined using the same soil moisture balance model. The irrigation demand ranged from 0.893 to 1.6 million cubic meters (MCM) in 2010 and 2000 study plots respectively. Irrigation demand is observed to be site specific which depends on the soil moisture deficit, readily available water in the oil palm root zone and oil palm rooting depth. Estimation of a future oil palm water requirement using the soil moisture balance model would be recommended for further studies for use as an advisory manual for the oil palm managers to enhance adequate water resources planning for oil palm productivity.

Sustainable Agriculture Development in the Western Desert of Egypt: A Case Study on Crop Production, Profit, and Uncertainty in the Siwa Region

The Egyptian government initiated a development project in 2015 to reclaim 1.5 million acres with the primary goal of increasing agricultural production. Siwa is one of these areas in the Western Desert of Egypt, with 30,000 acres using groundwater from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS). This study investigates if government goals are achievable in the next 20 years to secure the food and water needs of the Siwa region. Results show that total required crop areas are 7154 and 6629 acres in winter and summer, respectively. These areas are less than 17,010 acres of available area for cultivation (Av). The estimated total water use is 40.6 million cubic meters (MCM), which is less than the 88 MCM that is considered available groundwater in the Nubian Aquifer System (NAS). Due to available capacity in Siwa, an optimization model is used to maximize crop production considering government policies. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model was applied to predict production costs and sell prices of cultivated crops. Analysis included different scenarios beyond government-recommended approaches to identify ways to further expand agriculture production under sustainable conditions. Results provide valuable insights to the ability to achieve government goals from the project and changes that may be required to enhance production.

Assessment of Future Water Demand and Supply under IPCC Climate Change and Socio-Economic Scenarios, Using a Combination of Models in Ourika Watershed, High Atlas, Morocco

Climate change will affect the water resources system, on global and regional levels. Over the past thirty years, the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco have experienced severe droughts, which causes a decrease in water supply that affects both agriculture and the urban water system. In this paper, we assess the impact of climate change and socio-economic activities on water supply and demand in the Ourika watershed (High Atlas of Morocco), then we evaluate the efficiency and sustainability of regional adaptation strategies for water supply management. For this, we simulate and analyze the future water situation using the statistical downscaling model (SDSM) and the water assessment and planning tool (WEAP). After the model’s calibration and validation, the precipitation, minimum (Tmin) and maximum (Tmax) temperatures, water demand and unmet water demand were projected for 2100 horizon, using different climate change scenarios. The results revealed that the model’s performance, calibration and validation were found to be satisfactory. The analysis shows that the mean precipitation will decrease by 49.25% and 34.61% by 2100, under A2 and B2 emission scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The projected mean Tmax and Tmin will be warmer than the baseline period, with Tmax increasing by 4.2 °C (A2) and 3.6 °C (B2), and Tmin by 3.5 °C (A2) and 2.9 °C (B2) by 2100. The results also show that water demand and the unmet water demand will increase in all scenarios, the pressure on water resources will increase, leading to water scarcity. The results reveal that, under the influence of climate change, future unmet water demand is expected to reach 64 million cubic meters (MCM) by 2100. The results demonstrate that the assessments of the proposed adaptation strategies are effective, but not sufficient to ensure water sustainability for the Ourika watershed.

Towards quantification of the national water footprint in rice production of China: A first assessment from the perspectives of single-double rice

Rice is one of the most important crops in China, contributing to approximately 28% of total cereal yield. Despite substantial production, given that rice is a high water-consuming crop, the water shortage due to the irreversible decline in available water resources on a global scale induced by undergoing climate change will pose grave challenges to rice reproductive growth and related water resources utilization. As a consequence, investigating the responses of rice productivity and water consumption to more pronounced climate changes is of great significance for water resources sustainable utilization in terms of reducing irrigation water requirements and ensuring food security. Present water footprint (WF) methods do not calculate the weighted average of each WF component at the national level when evaluating the effects of prospective climate change upon rice production. The national water footprint (NWF), i.e. taking the share of each province in the total production of crops as weighting factors, has been regarded as an effective approach to determine where each WF component is originally located. In this study, the temporal change characteristics of NWF for single-rice (SR), early-rice (ER) and late-rice (LR) in different agro-ecological zones across China during 2001–2010 were assessed for the first time. The results exhibited that NWF of rice was an estimated 304,848 million cubic meters (MCM) per year. The SR accounted for the greatest portion of NWF, followed by ER and LR. The NWF rank was SR-V > SR-I > ER-VI > SR-IV > LR-III > LR-VI > SR-II > ER-III. The blue water footprint (WFb) presents decreasing trends in most agro-ecological zones (SR-I, SR-II, SR-IV, ER-III and LR-VI), while green water footprint (WFg) exhibits increasing trends within these regions. This study provides a beneficial approach for decision-making processes aiming at better agricultural water resources management strategies to alleviate water resources scarcity and reduce food risk in the context of surging demand, which will support agricultural water resources management of China towards a more balanced direction at the national level.

Spatio-temporal distribution of water availability in Karnali-Mohana Basin, Western Nepal: Hydrological model development using multi-site calibration approach (Part-A)

Study regionKarnali-Mohana (KarMo) river basin, Western Nepal. Study focusThis study has developed a hydrological model using multi-site calibration approach for a large basin, the Karnali-Mohana (KarMo) in Western Nepal, which has a lot of potential for water resources development and contribute to the national prosperity. It further applies the model to characterize hydrology and water resources availability across spatio-temporal scales to enhance understanding on water availability and potential uses. The newly developed hydrological model in Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is capable of reproducing the hydrological pattern, the average flows, and the flow duration curve at the outlet of the basin and five major sub-basins. New hydrological insights for this regionThe model simulated results showed that about 34 % of average annual precipitation in the KarMo basin is lost as evapotranspiration, but with a large spatio-temporal heterogeneity. The Hills and Tarai are relatively wetter than the Mountains. The average annual flow volume at the basin outlet is estimated as 46,250 million-cubic-meters (MCM). The hydrological characterization made in this study are further used for climate change impact assessment (Part-B in the same journal), environmental flows assessment and evaluating trade-offs among various water development pathways, which are published elsewhere. This model, therefore, has potential to contribute for strategic planning and sustainable management of water resources to fuel the country’s prosperity.

Determination of an Annual Groundwater Recharge and Demand in Oke-Ero LGA, Kwara State, Nigeria

Efficient groundwater management, water consumption rate and quantitative determination of the amount of rainfall that recharges groundwater naturally is essential for a place like Oke-Ero LGA where the people in Oke-Ero depend mainly on groundwater as the only source of water supply. In this work, an attempt has been made to evaluate the amount of rainfall that recharges aquifers using Krishna model with a view to knowing the groundwater potential of the area and determine the water consumption rate. This study established that Oke-Ero LGA has 65.7 million cubic meters (MCM) groundwater potential annually, from the survey output the average daily water demand in Oke-Ero is 75 l/c/d. The total water demands across the LGA based on 2016 population estimate is 2.11 MCM/year with anticipated increase of 4.34 MCM/year by 2040 and expected water demand increase rate of 3.2% annually. This work has ascertained that the available water is sufficient to take care of the water demand of the people in Oke-Ero LGA and it also shows that there is more water for other activities such as industrial purposes. Keywords - Groundwater potential, Groundwater recharge, Oke-Ero LGA, Water demand.

Assessment of Sedimentation and Useful Life of Tehri Reservoir using Integrated Approaches of Hydrodynamic Modelling, Satellite Remote Sensing and Empirical Curves

The higher rate of sedimentation in reservoirs is one of the main concerns in sustainable reservoir management, which impairs the functional capacity of reservoirs that may lead to various environmental risks. Estimation of sedimentation rate and useful life of a reservoir using appropriate methods is imperative for sustainable management. This paper deals with the computation of sedimentation rate and useful life of Tehri reservoir of Bhagirathi river, in India, using hydrographic survey analysis, Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) modelling, satellite remote sensing (SRS) technique, and trap efficiency based empirical curve methods. The rate of sedimentation was found as 5.33 million cubic metres (MCM)/year based on hydrographic survey analysis from the data obtained for the years 2005, 2008 and 2013. Likewise, the mean annual rate of sedimentation was estimated to be 5.07 MCM/year and 5.75 MCM/year based on the HEC-RAS model and SRS techniques respectively. Brune’s method and Churchill’s method of trap efficiency were found to be inconsistent with the hydrographic survey results. The reservoir can be classified as Type III reservoir with respect to the sediment vertical distribution analysis. Changes in bathymetry obtained in the simulation studies showed that the Bhagirathi river’s 28–30 km reach would be most vulnerable to sedimentation problems. The estimated useful life of Tehri reservoir was found to be in the range of 160–180 years. The SRS technique and hydrodynamic model provided a better fit with the observed data.

Potential assessment of non-automatic and automatic modernization alternatives for the improvement of water distribution supplied by surface-water resources: A case study in Iran

Water shortages have led farmers within irrigation districts to resort to groundwater resources. In this scenario, a decrease in those water losses due to improper operational management within the districts may halt the increasing trend of groundwater overexploitation. This study aims to examine the impact of improving operational management in irrigation districts both to provide reliable surface water distribution and to reduce groundwater demands therein. To this end, a set of operational alternatives were investigated, including nonstructural approaches, structural modification, and automatic control systems. The potential amount of the reduction in the groundwater demands can be measured under each of the alternative operations for the delivery of water to farmers. The study is conducted on the hydrodynamic model of an irrigation canal affected by 20–70 % inflow fluctuations, which occur due to water shortages at the head source. The results of the operational simulation indicate that appropriate management of the water delivery systems within non-structural alternatives can lead to a 2–13 % improvement in operational performance indicators in comparison with the structural modification. Accordingly, the application of non-structural approaches can potentially decrease the groundwater demand by 5.352 and 8.428 Million Cubic Metres (MCM) from deep tube-wells and 2.817 and 2.007 MCM from the semi-deep tube-wells over the period of one water year. However, when employing automatic control systems, operational services to the users undergo a 15–62 % enhancement such that groundwater demand drops by 11.561 and 20.39 MCM per year, respectively.

Improving water management in date palms using economic value of water footprint and virtual water trade concepts in Iran

Iran has the second rank in production and cultivation area and the fifth in exporting date palm in the world. Even though the date palm has a high economic value, due to the water crisis in Iran, the effect of date palm production on the water resources along with its economic value should be considered. This research assesses the index of water footprint and economic value of water footprint for three cultivars of date palms, including the soft, semi-dry and dry during the period 2008–2016. Through this study, these indices have been computed for date palms and compared with the other agricultural products in Iran. Finally, the results are used for prioritization of the cultivated area. The outputs show that the average footprint and economic value of water footprint for date palm is 3.02 m3/kg and 0.59 USD/m3, respectively, which in this regards the share of green, blue and grey water footprint are 9.1 %, 76.9 %, and 14 %. The maximum value of water footprint (8.6 m3/kg) and economic value of water footprint (1.49 USD/m3) belongs to the dry date palm while the minimum value of those indices is 0.97 m3/kg and 0.19 USD/m3 which belongs to the semi-dry date palm. In comparison the date palm with 43 agricultural products in Iran, the dry date palm is ranked 33 in water footprint and 18 in the economic value of water footprint while the semi-dry and the soft date palms are ranked 33 and 34 in water footprint and 29 and 30 in the economic value of water footprint. The volume of water footprint for date palm is about 2437 million cubic meters (MCM) per year in Iran, which the share of soft, semi-dry, and dry date palms are 79.6 %, 18 %, and 2.45 % respectively. The volume of the exported virtual water is 1243 MCM with 733 million USD economic value of water footprint, whereas the net benefit of exported date palm is one-quarter of its economic value of water footprint. The results of this study show that the indices discussed through this study capable to provide valuable information for prioritization of date palm cultivation and management of water resources in Iran.

Estimation of groundwater potential using GIS modeling in Kohistan region Jamshoro district, Southern Indus basin, Sindh, Pakistan (a case study)

The subsurface groundwater potential was calculated through the Geographic Information System (GIS) tool in district Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan; research was carried out in the vulnerable and arid climatic regions of the study area, which experienced unpredictable droughts and extreme floods. The primary recharging source of the aquifer is rainfall only in monsoon season from July to September. The current situation of water resources is critical in the region; in the present research work, two principal groundwater aquifers were encountered present in lithology of Laki formation mostly in sand and gravel lithology, which are shallow and deep aquifers. The GIS has been employed as a preservative tool to estimate groundwater potential. The estimated groundwater potential was 29,330.22 million cubic meter (MCM) under the monitoring area of 3207.25 square kilometers (km2); thus, the volume of groundwater was 9.14 MCM/km2 in the selected cluster zone of the study area. It is realized that using a GIS tool combats the susceptible situation and shows authenticated results of groundwater potential.

Melamchi water supply project: potential to replenish Kathmandu's groundwater status for dry season access

Abstract Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) currently uses 35 surface and 57 groundwater sources to supply water for Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. It is necessary to understand if the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) can assist lean period water supply by indirectly increasing groundwater storage, through diverting excess water supply to groundwater recharge zones. The current study analyzed long-term groundwater depletion to assess available groundwater storage, followed by assessment of groundwater balance for the Kathmandu Valley. Results show that total groundwater extraction for Kathmandu was 69.44 million cubic meters (MCM) and drawdown of the groundwater surface was 15–20 m since the construction of wells in 1984/85, indicating substantial overexploitation. Results indicate that the ongoing unmet demand of 170 MCM/year can be easily satisfied if groundwater storage is recharged effectively, as underground water storage potential is 246 MCM/year due to a groundwater depletion rate of 2–10 m. From results, it is evident that that the timely implementation of the MWSP can help ease ongoing water stress and aid in reversing the damage caused to groundwater storage. In the long run, MWSP can supply water and recharge groundwater during monsoon periods, thus improving the quality of life and socio-economic status in Kathmandu.

Impacts of land use changes and climate variability on transboundary Hirmand River using SWAT

Abstract Many river basins are facing a reduction of flows which might be attributed to changes in climate and human activities. This issue is very important in transboundary river basins, where already existing conflicts about shared water resources between riparian countries can easily escalate. The decrease of streamflow in the transboundary Hirmand (Helmand) River is one of the main challenges for water resources management in Iran and Afghanistan. This research aims to quantify the causes of this problem which has a direct impact on the dryness of the Hamoun wetlands being an international Ramsar site. To achieve this, the land use changes in the Middle Helmand Basin (MHB) in Afghanistan were evaluated for three time periods between 1990 and 2011 using remote sensing data and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Model for understanding watershed response to environmental changes. It was concluded that the total irrigated area in the region has increased from 103,000 ha in 1990 to 122,000 ha in 2001 and 167,000 ha in 2011 (62% increase). According to the results, the average annual discharge when adapting the land use during the simulations was 4,787 million cubic meters (MCM)/year and while employing the land use of 1990 from the beginning of the simulations, the average annual discharge was 5,133 MCM/year. Therefore, the agricultural developments in the Helmand basin decreased the discharge with about 346 MCM/year accompanying an increase of 64,000 ha in an irrigated area in MHB after 1990. Notably, the impact of land use change increases significantly for more recent periods and causes a reduction of 810 MCM in annual streamflow for the MHB. The amount of water depletion (i.e. actual evapotranspiration) per hectare has increased from 5,690 in 1985 to 7,320 m3 in 2012. The applied methodology of this study is useful to cope with such a data scarcity region. It can help quantify the impact of land use change on the region and formulates strategies that can improve the situation between Iran and Afghanistan.

Sustainable management of the groundwater resource of Jaffna, Sri Lanka with the participation of households: Insights from a study on household water consumption and management

Groundwater is the only source of water for drinking, domestic, and agricultural needs in Jaffna, a district in northern Sri Lanka. While the sustainability challenges to this groundwater resource in terms of water availability and quality have been highlighted and studied extensively through existing research, household water consumption and management practices have been overlooked. Hence, this study tried to investigate on household water consumption pattern and management practices along with comparing the effectiveness of different water management measures on reducing water deficit of the district. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire survey from 142 households belonging to a water rich rural area, a water scarce rural area, a coastal area and an urban area. The data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Based on the results there was no statistically significant difference in average per capita consumption among the different areas studied and on average a person in Jaffna, Sri Lanka consumes 200 L per day. Also, household size and households having their own water source are the two most important predictors of total water consumed in a household. In addition, more than half of the respondent households do not engage in water conservation at their households at present due to continuous access to water through their own water source. Further analysis on the effectiveness of management interventions by using Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) modeling on reducing deficit showed that if the current consumption patterns continue, there will be an unmet demand of 51.7 million cubic meters (MCM) of water in the year 2030. On the other hand, by implementing the management interventions, such as increasing recharge, reducing per capita consumption, having additional water sources, reducing non-revenue water, and installing a water treatment plant, together all the water demand for the year 2030 can be met.

Groundwater potential for irrigation in the Nabogo basin, Northern Region of Ghana

The inhabitants of Nabogo basin in the Northern region of Ghana rely on surface water sources for their daily water needs. These sources are, however, unreliable throughout the year due to semi-arid conditions of the area, leading to water scarcity in the dry season, redundancy of farmers and thereby affecting their livelihoods. Although there is groundwater use in the basin, it is mostly at isolated areas and mainly for domestic purposes. Hence, this study seeks to assess the sustainability of utilizing groundwater in the basin for irrigation in the dry season, in addition to the basic water demands for domestic and livestock use. In doing so, borehole logging data were obtained and used to estimate the thickness of the aquifer formation, which together with the specific yields of the different formations, were exported to a GIS environment to estimate the groundwater storage volume of the basin. The water demands, on the other hand, were estimated using a combination of the population and livestock data of the basin alongside their respective per capita water demands as well as the crop water requirements for dry season irrigation. The study estimates the available groundwater storage volume of the basin to be 1073 MCM (million cubic meters) whereas the current and 30-year future basic water demands were estimated to be 10.5 MCM and 39.4 MCM, respectively. The results further show that the remaining groundwater storage volume in the basin, after meeting the basic water demands and taking net recharge into consideration, could potentially irrigate up to 28,000 ha of farms in the dry season without compromising the baseflow to streams. Thus, the groundwater in the basin could be utilised to curb the water scarcity problems and ensure farming all year round to increase productivity and improve the livelihoods of the inhabitants.

Multi-Reservoir System Optimization Based on Hybrid Gravitational Algorithm to Minimize Water-Supply Deficiencies

The growing prevalence of droughts and water scarcity have increased the importance of operating dam and reservoir systems efficiently. Several methods based on algorithms have been developed in recent years in a bid to optimize water release operation policy, in order to overcome or minimize the impact of droughts. However, all of these algorithms suffer from some weaknesses or drawbacks – notably early convergence, a low rate of convergence, or trapping in local optimizations – that limit their effectiveness and efficiency in seeking to determine the global optima for the operation of water systems. Against this background, the present study seeks to introduce and test a Hybrid Algorithm (HA) which integrates the Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) with the Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (PSOA) with the goal of minimizing irrigation deficiencies in a multi-reservoir system. The proposed algorithm was tested for a specific important multi-reservoir system in Iran: namely the Golestan Dam and Voshmgir Dam system. The results showed that applying the HA could reduce average irrigation deficiencies for the Golestan Dam substantially, to only 2 million cubic meters (MCM), compared to deficiency values for the Genetic Algorithm (GA), PSOA and GSA of 15.1, 6.7 and 5.8 MCM respectively. In addition, the HA performed very efficiently, reducing substantially the computational time needed to achieve the global optimal when compared with the other algorithms tested. Furthermore, the HA showed itself capable of assuring a high volumetric reliability index (VRI) to meet the pattern of water demand downstream from the dams, as well as clearly outperforming the other algorithms on other important indices. In conclusion, the proposed HA seems to offer considerable potential as an optimizer for dam and reservoir operations world-wide.

A New Integrated Portfolio Based Water-Energy-Environment Nexus in Wetland Catchments

Increasing demand of vital resources such as water and energy will impose some overwhelming environmental degradation, particularly on wetlands as the most vulnerable bodies of the environment. Consequently, optimization of water and energy portfolios have been widely studied in order to ensure environmental sustainability and to consider the constraints simultaneously. In this study improving the security of portfolios has been performed based on resource security index to find non-dominated portfolios (Pareto Frontier). Non-dominated portfolios as scenarios to remediate water bankruptcy have been developed and probable environmental impacts have been assessed. A new Financial-Environmental Index called Water-Energy-Environment Nexus Security Index (WEENSI) have been utilized through a multi criteria decision making approach to find admiringly compatible non-dominated water and energy portfolios for environmental remediation purposes in the case of the Lake Urmia catchment as an epitome of water bankruptcy situation. Results indicate that portfolio based management approaches could be a desired solution to water bankruptcy and an inspiring option for environmental remediation, particularly in wetland catchments. It has further become known that persisting on the conventional water resources management in this catchment will increase water demand of energy sector up to more than 500 million cubic meters (MCM) in 2060, exacerbating the current critical environmental condition. Also, increasing the share of renewable energies at least up to 40% must be taken into account by managers and policy makers. Broadly speaking, any development of energy sector requires an urgent change in the currently practiced approach and considerable investment in non-conventional energy resources. The increase in primary costs of optimizing and improving the water and energy portfolios may alleviate the anthropogenic impacts with high social costs to the region.

Assessing Water Use, Energy Use And Carbon Emissions In Lift‐ Irrigated Areas: A Case Study From Karshi Steppe In Uzbekistan

AbstractThe advantages of a nexus approach in addressing complex environmental challenges are becoming increasingly clear. In Central Asia, however, the nexus between water–food–energy has not received adequate attention, as the very few studies that have been conducted fell short of quantifying nexus trade‐offs and benefits at a practical, small scale. This paper applies a quantitative accounting method to assess water and energy use intensity in irrigated areas of the Karshi Steppe of Central Asia that are supplied by pumping water uphill (lift‐irrigated) from the underlying river. The results indicated that the potential water and energy savings as well as the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions could be achieved by applying an optimal planning deficit irrigation schedule simulated using CROPWAT 8. Some 575 MCM (million cubic metres) of water and 259 GWh of electricity can be saved, while the CO2 equivalent emissions can be reduced by almost 122 000 t. Achieving these savings requires a mix of technical and policy components. This paper describes an example of proper irrigation planning as a tool for water/energy savings and consequent reduction of CO2 emissions. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effluent Water Reuse Possibilities in Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus (NC) is suffering from limited water resources and reiterated drought condition experiences due to global warming effects. Previous studies revealed that the water management policy in the country is not sustainable from the perspective of demand and balance. Apparently, the reuse of recycled water will be an alternative resource and can be utilized for some specific purposes to reduce water extraction from the ground. It is expected that treated wastewater will reach 20 million cubic meters (MCM) per year after the completion of the new sewage system for Lefkosa. Today, 20,000 m3 of wastewater is treated at the Lefkosa Central Treatment Plant up to the secondary treatment level, in which the degree of treatment varies from 60% to 95% owing to the weather conditions in the country during the year. Effluent water reuse in NC was not accepted due to cultural belief. However, water scarcity was experienced in the country during the last decade, forcing the farmers to benefit from the recycled water. There is no regulatory framework available in the country for effluent water reuse. However, preparation studies are almost finalized after discussions among government and European Union (EU) agencies. Cyprus, as an EU country, has an obligation to treat the wastewater up to the secondary level before releasing it in an environmentally friendly nature, following the Directive 91/271/EEC. This paper analyzes the effluent water reuse possibilities as a component of integrated water resource management in Northern Cyprus considering laboratory experiment results. It appears that applying tertiary treatment in Northern Cyprus will allow 20 MCM of water contribution to the water budget and it will help protect the vulnerable environment. Also, since the cost of tertiary treatment will be 0.2 United States dollars (USD)/m3, it would be reasonable to prefer this process to the desalination of water, which costs of 1 USD/m3.

Evaluation and interpolation of rainfall trends over the semi-arid upper Godavari basin

Dams are the major source of water for irrigation in India. As a result, any variability in rainfall over the catchment area of dams leads to huge economic loss. It also triggers water-sharing conflicts. Hence, understating the variation in rainfall in association with dams becomes essential. For the present study, the upper Godavari basin, primarily representing the semi-arid region in India, is selected. To understand the rainfall variation, the Mann–Kendall trend test is employed after checking the homogeneity of the data. Using the inverse distance weighted technique, the monthly, seasonal and annual trends in rainfall are interpolated. These interpolated results are then superimposed over the location of the dams. The results depict that the rainfall decreases in June, while it increases in August for most of the stations. The highest increase in monsoon rainfall is experienced in Akole (11.7 mm/year), while Khuldabad has experienced the maximum decline (− 6.58 mm/year) in rainfall. When the spatial variability of annual rainfall is considered, it is mostly declining in the eastern part of the basin. This area of decreasing rainfall accounts for more than 35% of the total basin area. Around 34 dams with capacity of more than 0.5 MCM (million cubic meter) are situated here. As a result of declining rainfall, the water supply from these dams might get adversely affected. Hence, for the upper Godavari basin, based on the rainfall variability analysis, policies should focus on demand side management of water resources.