River Development Projects Research Articles

Water stagnancy and wastewater input enhance primary productivity in an engineered river system

AbstractUnder warming conditions and with increasing human perturbations, rivers across the globe are facing drastic shifts in their hydrologic regime, resulting in fragmentation and disconnection from the catchment. Subsequently, a dependency on in situ primary productivity as the source of organic matter increases and warrants detailed investigation of the nature of primary production in urbanized river systems. In this study, primary productivity was estimated at multiple locations along the continuum of an engineered (Sabarmati) and a free flowing (Mahi) river systems in India using 13C tracer incubation method. Significantly enhanced primary productivity in the riverfront (engineered construction along the Sabarmati that holds water supplied by a canal) and polluted downstream of the Sabarmati compared to free flowing Mahi was observed. It was also observed that water stagnancy, temperature, and nutrient availability were the key factors regulating the rates of primary productivity in the urban river system. The study highlights the salient features of riverine primary productivity associated with engineered modifications, which needs to be considered for future river development projects.

URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA: A REVIEW OF LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

The presence of urban rivers poses significant challenges for local authorities in their efforts to create sustainable and habitable urbanriver environments. This situation has led to various repercussions for the health of urban river ecosystems. To mitigate these issues,it is imperative that development projects’ environmental impacts are effectively managed by the relevant authorities, ensuring thesustainability of urban development and urbanization. It is worth emphasizing that in environmentally sensitive areas, particularly when planning large projects, the consideration of environmental factors should be a top priority. As such, this discussion will focus on how local planning authorities in the country devise strategies to address the challenges associated with urban river development projects.

Nash bargaining in a general equilibrium framework: The case of a shared surface water supply

We extend the axiomatic Nash bargaining approach to the context of interregional water sharing in order to assess the approach’s normative implications in a general equilibrium (GE) framework. The GE model is applied to a water development project proposed for the Wasatch Front and Cache Valley regions of Utah — the Bear River Development Project (BRDP). We demonstrate conceptually how an allocation rule and attendant net regional welfare measures are endogenously determined as equilibrium solutions to the bargaining problem. Numerical analysis, based upon a simulation model calibrated to current data, reveals that Nash bargaining is generally infeasible as a solution mechanism for sharing surplus water supplies generated through the implementation of the BRDP, with or without potential ex post side-payments made between Cache Valley and the Wasatch Front. Only in the special case of (1) larger future regional population sizes, (2) a hypothetical, joint per-capita cost-share arrangement where total project (i.e. fixed) costs are shared equally across the two regions, (3) hypothetically larger water augmentation rates, and (4) the ignoring of potential environmental costs, is the Nash bargaining solution viable. Otherwise, for all other scenarios where the analysis is based upon current or future population sizes, joint- or region-specific cost-share arrangements, lower or higher water augmentation rates, and internalized or externalized environmental costs, the Nash bargaining solution is found to be unattainable as a potential mechanism to share surplus water supplies produced by the BRDP.

Evaluation of Gangetic dolphin habitat suitability under hydroclimatic changes using a coupled hydrological-hydrodynamic approach

The aquatic ecosystems are an integral part of the global environment and play a critical role in hydrogeological processes in the rivers. In recent decades, the external stressors on the aquatic species have significantly increased due to hydrologic alterations, human activities, and anthropogenic changes to their natural habitat. Global climate change has led to rivers' hydrological flow regime shifts, leading to unsuitable habitat conditions. It is, therefore, crucial to assess the potential implications of climate change on habitat suitability to ensure the long-term sustainability of freshwater species. In this direction, we investigated the association between endangered Gangetic dolphin populations and climate-driven hydrologic flow regime alterations in the Kulsi river, India. We developed a coupled eco-hydraulic framework comprising hydrological and hydrodynamic modeling to study the impact of past and projected climate change scenarios on the habitat suitability of target species. The framework was tested on a 15-km stretch of the Kulsi River, where the dolphin population has significantly declined in recent years. The temporal changes in the Weighted Usable Area (WUA) were analyzed using flow parameters and habitat suitability curves. Our findings suggest that the dolphin population decline coincided with a decrease in WUA, indicating a strong association between flow regimes and habitat suitability. Under climate change scenarios, multi-model climate projections and hydrological-hydrodynamic simulations show a rising trend in precipitation and streamflow in the basin, with substantial uncertainty. Higher flow depth and velocity would enhance WUA (habitat suitability). Still, the proposed river development projects in upstream regions could pose a serious threat to fragile dolphin communities by changing the seasonal flow patterns. The findings of this study can be included in conservation action plans and flow regulations strategies in upstream projects to ensure the long-term survival of endangered species.

Discussion on Land Consolidation Model in Urban Fringe Area -- Taking Shichuan River in Fuping as an Example

Aiming at the problems of comprehensive development and reuse of land resources and water resources in urban fringe areas, this paper puts forward that land is the basis of construction and sustainable development of urban fringe areas, and the cleanness, health and safety of land resources and water resources are the premise of urban fringe development. Taking shichuan river comprehensive regulation and development project of fuping as an example, this paper summarizes the key technologies of land comprehensive development and management in urban fringe areas, and discusses the new mode of land regulation and development in urban fringe areas. It is expected to provide scientific basis for soil and water resources optimization allocation and ecological environment quality improvement in the process of urban fringe area governance, and open up new ways.

Evaluating connectivity for two mid-sized mammals across modified riparian corridors with wildlife crossing monitoring and species distribution modeling

The movement of wildlife can be constrained by river development projects owing to the presence of artificial structures. This study analyzes the spatial riparian crossing patterns of two mammal species, the leopard cat (Felis bengalensis euptilura) and water deer (Hydropotes inermis). We examine their ability to traverse from habitat on one side of the river to the other, through riparian vegetation, embankments, and the river,. We used 34 months of monitoring on 104 stream segments with varying levels of human modification on the Seom river, South Korea, to analyze their riparian crossing preferences across the river between suitable habitats on either side of the steam. Environmental variables were used for two scales of analysis: a watershed scale and a stream segment scale that examined both riparian habitat suitability and riparian crossings. At the watershed scale, habitat suitability was determined using species distribution modeling. The resulting maps were inputted with other predictor variables to logistic regression models to predict areas of high probability for the species' occurences. For the river segment analyses, we determined species’ presences and potential crossings from snow tracking, heat sensor cameras, and scat. We compared the predicted crossing locations from the watershed scale model to observed crossings. The watershed models indicate that leopard cats prefer upland forest, while water deer prefer the forest edge and riparian corridor. For both target species, the best riparian habitats were characterized by the presence of vegetation cover on the embankment and by at least one side of an embankment being adjacent to farmland or forest cover. The two species showed different riparian crossing preferences. Water deer crossed through large culverts or under bridges, whereas leopard cats utilized drainage pipes and smaller culvert boxes. Stream reaches located close to a river tributary had the highest connectivity values, and areas modeled as good habitats were linked near riparian and watershed areas with high density for both species as well as culvert boxes with a high openness ratio. Artifacts such as steep banks, concrete embankments, and adjacent roads were found to degrade the riparian connectivity of wildlife. These outcomes can be used to identify suitable riparian wildlife habitats of mammals, to evaluate lateral connectivity of riparian corridors for mammals, and to develop criteria for river conservation and restoration in urbanizing areas and developing countries.

The Pulses of the Mekong River Basin: Rivers and the Livelihoods of Farmers and Fishers

The transboundary Mekong River is shared by six SE Asia countries (China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam). In this paper the livelihoods of farmers and fishers of Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam are examined to assess impacts of Mekong River development and modernization projects on the rural peoples of the Mekong River and Delta. A high proportion of the 190 million rural people of the Mekong basin are dependent on the diverse and abundant resources of the Mekong River and its tributaries for food security and basic necessities, livelihoods, and cultural identities. Although rice farming and fisheries occupations are primary income sources, many livelihoods involve a diversity of on-farm and off-farm activities. Agricultural specialization and intensification and hydropower dam construction on the Mekong main stem and tributaries are altering traditional rural patterns of household food security, income, and cultural ways of living at an increasingly rapid pace. Rural transformation projects must better assess how these modernization efforts change the ecology of the Mekong River and in turn affect the capacity of rural people to adapt in ways that ensure food security and improve household livelihoods. It will be critical that development efforts recognize, value, and invest in rural people’s roles in producing a stable, affordable food system and managing the integrity of river ecosystems upon which future prosperity depends. Interventions are needed to prevent degradation of the Mekong Basin soil and water resources from large-scale agricultural intensification, water diversion and overbuilding of hydropower dams which are threats to small-scale land holdings and farmers and fishers capacities to provide daily food for their own consumption and to feed SE Asia’s growing urban populations.

Flood Disaster in the Yura River in 2004 and 2013

The Yura River in northern Kyoto Prefecture has long caused flood problems in its drainage basin. Specifically, areas downstream from Ayabe, where the river comes down from mountainous regions to a basin, frequently suffered from inundations, e.g., the Disaster Relief Law was applied eight times in the 60 years from 1953 to 2013. Against those background, river development projects, including levee construction and channel dredging, have been well underway since the late 1950s. The Ohno dam upstream on the main river was completed in 1961. However, the degree of flood safety remained low at that time. In 2004, the heaviest flood in the 50 years since 1953 occurred, followed in 2013 by a massive flood recording the highest water level since observations began at Fukuchiyama. The 2013 flood occurred in the midst of urgent levee construction and land raising based on a river infrastructure development project begun in response to a 2004 flood. This paper outlines damage from floods in 2004 and 2013 and shows the effects of these floods on the inundation depth of levees under development and the effects of the difference in rainfall characteristics in 2004 and 2013 on flood and fine sediment runoff. The effectiveness of the Ohno dam and misunderstandings by residents of the dam are also described. Important points in promoting river development from hard and soft measure are presented for making use of experiences the two disaster in the future.

선진화된 하천측량자료 활용 및 관리를 위한 하상변동 자료관리 프로그램 기반의 하도유지관리체계 개선에 관한 연구

ABSTRACT The systematic management of river is difficult due to various environmental factors such as season and terrain deformation. Especially, river terrain are rapidly changing by natural and anthropogenic factors such as torrential rain during the summer and river development projects. Thus in this conditions, building the advanced river management system is an essential condition to support the ongoing management of survey data and to acquire data regularly through river terrain survey in order to maintain an active river. The need to build an efficient system have been increased through the enhancement and advancement of River Management Geographic Information Systems(RIMGIS). In this study, database design system and Riverbed Change Data Management Program was developed for systematic management of new river terrain survey data and the efficient use of river data dynamic changes. The key features are construction of river survey data, cross and longitudinal section monitoring and analysis of riverbed change data. Maintenance tasks which can be utilized in river-based architecture was constructed. The expected results are to be able to manage river systematically, and utilization of river topographic survey data efficiently for river maintenance work.KEYWORDS : Bathymetry Data, River-bed Change, Data Management, DB Design, RIMGIS

Establishment of Dams and Embankments of Frontier River of North East Part of India: Impact on North-Western Region of Bangladesh

India has built barrages on 17 more rivers in the east and northeast border with Bangladesh. Most of these dams and embankments act as the main barrier to flow water towards downstream like Bangladesh. As a result the rivers of Bangladesh that comes from India are falling in crisis of proper water. A study showed about 30 rivers of north-western part of Bangladesh gets very few water only due to dams and embankment made by India at the upstream of those rivers. Such massive water control projects of India are clearly a threat for a state that lies down of those. Unfortunately, and often ironically, national leaders of our country prefer to negotiate this sensitive matter rather than to make a strong protect of this inhuman and unethical activities. What is more astonishing news is that some time our state policy makers like to keep silent and avoid about it. India is always ready to controlling nature to serve economic development rather than addressing issues of trans-boundary and socio-environmental responsibilities. In fact, Indian plan to divert the water of Frontier Rivers is increasing at an alarming rate for Bangladesh. Here one thing is mentionable that is this types of project even harmful for India also. And peoples of north western state of India are in against of such harmful and high ambitious unnecessary project. Some time they also make a protest against it. Recently China and India are going to establish a large dam at the up Stream of Brahmaputra River. It would impair India’s own plan to link approximately thirty of its own rivers, a project that is bound to affect the downstream riparian state of Bangladesh. As a result drastic fall in the water flow of Teesta during the lean season, especially in February and March will occur in more frequent and will seriously hampers irrigation in Bangladesh. Such international trans-boundary river development projects raise many important issues. They never consider the impact that will impose upon the down stream part like Bangladesh. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsf.v8i1-2.14614 J. Sci. Foundation, 8(1&2): 1-12, June-December 2010

Disregard for the Conservation of Ainu Culture and the Environment: The Biratori Dam project and Japan's current policy toward the Ainu

Despite the decision of the Nibutani Dam Case that stated the Ainu, who have inhabited Hokkaido and its neighbouring islands since time immemorial, were entitled to have the right of enjoyment of culture as indigenous people, the Biratori Dam Project is underway in the heart of Ainu culture in Hokkaido. The legal system which includes the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Amended River Act allows the authorities to give priority to river development. In 1997 the Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act, which represented the Japanese assimilation policy, was replaced by the New Ainu Law. However, Japan's current Ainu policy has yet to take firm steps toward the protection of Ainu indigenous rights. This paper looks at the legal system surrounding the Saru River Development Project in light of the conservation of both Ainu culture and the environment. Further, the current Ainu policy is discussed in its domestic and international contexts.

How human practices have affected vector-borne diseases in the past: a study of malaria transmission in Alpine valleys

BackgroundMalaria was endemic in the Rhône-Alpes area of eastern France in the 19th century and life expectancy was particularly shortened in Alpine valleys. This study was designed to determine how the disease affected people in the area and to identify the factors influencing malaria transmission.MethodsDemographic data of the 19th century were collected from death registers of eight villages of the flood-plain of the river Isère. Correlations were performed between these demographic data and reconstructed meteorological data. Archive documents from medical practitioners gave information on symptoms of ill people. Engineer reports provided information on the hydraulic project developments in the Isère valley.ResultsDescription of fevers was highly suggestive of endemic malaria transmission in the parishes neighbouring the river Isère. The current status of anopheline mosquitoes in the area supports this hypothesis. Mean temperature and precipitation were poorly correlated with demographic data, whereas the chronology of hydrological events correlated with fluctuations in death rates in the parishes.ConclusionNowadays, most of the river development projects involve the creation of wet areas, enabling controlled flooding events. Flood-flow risk and the re-emergence of vector-borne diseases would probably be influenced by the climate change. The message is not to forget that human disturbance of any functioning hydrosystem has often been linked to malaria transmission in the past.

Can local people also gain from benefit sharing in water resources development? Experiences from dam development in the Orange-Senqu River Basin

The concept of sharing benefits derived from beneficial uses of water is increasingly embraced in numerous international discourses in place of sharing water in volumes among nations riparian to common water bodies. Many benefit-sharing efforts involve building of dams and inter-basin transfer schemes. These infrastructures have been blamed to be posing environmental and social costs and directly affecting local people ( Gupta and van der Zaag, 2007) [Gupta, J., van der Zaag, P., 2007. Inter-basin water transfers and integrated water resources management: Where engineering, science and politics interlock. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth doi:10.1016/j.pce.2007.04.003]. This paper attempts to find attributes that lead towards recognising the rights of affected people and the mechanisms that may ensure access of direct benefits to them. Four theoretical factors are identified as key in recognising the rights of the affected people and were adopted as the analytical framework: a. Appropriate legal and policy framework, b. Public participation, c. Sustainable compensation measures, and d. Equitable access of derived benefits. In order to complement these theoretical factors, the study compared two large water development projects in the Orange-Senqu river basin: the Orange River Development Project and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. In both projects, several large dams were constructed and water was transferred from one river into another. The following are the findings of the paper: a) the political environment through the legal and institutional framework plays a major role in protecting or marginalising the affected people; b) compensation measures for lost properties left many affected people destitute and food insecure; c) affected people mainly benefited from the indirect benefits of the projects instead of direct benefits. In order to ensure access to direct benefits for the affected people it is recommended that a) the national legislation must support the concept, b) mechanisms for allocating benefits to the affected people must be defined at project planning stage and should aim at long-term development goals, and c) local authorities must have sufficient capacity to ensure smooth operation.

The relationship between china and Siberia/Russian Far East: Economic cooperation and security conflicts*

This paper analyzes the current relationship between China and Siberia/Russian Far East from the economic and political‐security perspectives. The relationship between China and Siberia/Russian Far East is that of cooperation and conflict. China gains natural resources and energy from Siberia/Russian Far East, while Siberia/Russian Far East secures consumer goods, food and labor to fill its shortage from China. The two regions are in an economically complementary relationship. However, they show differences in their interests in issues such as the Tuman River Development Project. If their economic cooperation could be called the “bright” side of their relationship, there exists the “dark” side of their relationship, which is the border dispute. The paper argues that as a way to reduce conflict and increase cooperation in Northeast Asia, a multilateral security/economic organization, tentatively called the “Organization for Security and Cooperation in Northeast Asia,” should soon be established.

Simulation of Dam Failures in Multidike Reservoirs Arranged in Cascade

A majority of river development projects that imply the creation of a lake or reservoir for hydroelectric generation, water supply, and/or recreational purposes are very frequently the object of studies that relate to the consequences of dam failure. The objective of these studies is to assess the impact of such a catastrophic event on any populated areas downstream that may be in the path of the resulting surge wave. Also, the results may be used to design protective measures so as to assure the security of the areas likely to be affected, as well as to develop emergency evacuation procedures. These studies, which frequently rely on numerical simulation, cannot be accomplished with existing models when the reservoir is composed of multiple dams and embankments disposed along its perimeter. This paper describes a simulation methodology that was developed to evaluate the response of a chain of reservoirs to a catastrophic input, generated as a result of extreme floods or failure of an upstream dam. The met...

A Business Evaluation of the Nagara River Mouth Weir: Examining a River Development Project

A Business Evaluation of the Nagara River Mouth Weir: Examining a River Development Project

Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) river development project : Int water power dam constrV41, N3, March 1989, P18–21

Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) river development project : Int water power dam constrV41, N3, March 1989, P18–21

A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT IN KOREA

In the Korean peninsula, which is located at the southern edge of north-east Asia, the 24th olympic game was held on Sept., 1988 in Seoul, the capital city of Republic of Korea. Since the Neolithic Age, the Han River of the 481 kilometer-long flowing through the heart of the Korean peninsula and bisecting Seoul into northern part and southern part, not only has been the nation's political, economic, industrial and cultural center, but also has played major roles in the national defence and security. The Han River also has seen brilliant cultures arise and flourish in its basin, which has left the area with abundant legacy of relics and scores of legends and myths.To the Korean people, the river has been a fear complex of frequent flood damage. Perhaps this must have been a common conception for the most Asian. It seems for hydrologic characteristics of the rivers in Korea that rapid flow and meandering were intensive. For a long period of time, the Korean people lived with carelessness about the river management, thus there were many sufferings from floods and droughts damage which occurred in turn.In the beginning of 20th century, a great flood attacked with unprecedented quantity in the Han River Basin. This flood occurred in 1925 and was recorded as the largest flood up to now. The purpose of this study, because the managements of the Han River Basin have been changed in several ways, is to analyze and to summarize its contents and to go far for river management in the future. The results of the study are summarized by the stages with definition of their major characteristics and activities as follows; Natural river condition with waterway transportation, (until 1910), Channel improvement works with water control (1910-1945), riverside development project with increasing of land use (1946-1960), water resources and hydropower generation project with water use (since 1960), comprehensive the Han River development projects with protection of environment, flood control, and water use (since 1980).

The Freshwater-Inflow-to-Estuaries Issue

Abstract Over 55% of the United States commercial fish and shellfish catch is dependent upon estuaries for spawning and nursery functions, but estuaries cannot function ecologically without an adequate supply, seasonal inflow, and quality of freshwater from inland rivers. Such inland river development projects as constructing reservoirs, leveeing rivers, dredging navigation channels, and diverting water for agriculture, cities, and industry have drastically changed freshwater inflows to many estuaries on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Gulf of Mexico. The problems on the Atlantic coast are primarily reduced water quality and increased rate of runoff although reductions in quantity appear to be developing. On the Gulf of Mexico decreases in freshwater inflow quantity have reduced estuarine production on the Florida and Texas coasts. On the highly productive Mississippi Delta, levee and navigation channel construction has diverted river inflow to the Gulf of Mexico rather than allowing overflow to t...

Plant-Ecological Significance of the Soils of the Central Orange River Basin

Abstract Field observations made during a reconnaissance soil survey of the Central Orange River Basin for the Orange River Development Project, showed significant relationships between soil landscapes and associated vegetation. Although no intentional ecological studies were made it was clear that certain soil types (soil forms and/or series) are always associated with particular plant communities. In view of this general consistent soil-plant relationship observed in the survey area, it is reasoned that apart from climatic and topographic factors, the soil should in future be taken into consideration in defining and mapping of veld types.