Exploitation Of Water Resources Research Articles

Photocatalytic and thermodynamic study of Pr doped SrO nanoparticles

Water- the important and valuable resource in every human’s life is contaminated nowadays. Exploitation of natural drinking water resources for human needs becomes a serious environmental problem. Various technologies are developed and studied for removing contaminants from water. Commonly used methods include ion exchange, adsorption process, advanced oxidation process and photocatalysis.This work investigates the photocatalytic activity and thermodynamic kinetic study of PrxSr1-xO (where × = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08) anoparticles, synthesized through solution combustion technique. The structural characterization of the sample is done by X-ray diffraction (XRD) andvibrational spectroscopic analysis and the optical characterization is done using UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Surface area, pore volume and pore radius of the samples are determined using BET analysis. The mechanism on thermodynamic and photocatalytic activity of pristine and Pr-doped SrO NPs on MB dye is investigated using different kinetic models.

Urban Water Management with a Full Cost Recovery Policy: The Impact of Externalities on Pricing

Water has complex cost dimensions and is considered a scarce commodity under a reduced-recycle-reuse system with a full cost recovery strategy. The impact of externalities from the social, economic, and ecological aspects of exploiting water resources are often not accounted into the pricing mechanism. We discuss the current work model as well as a pricing strategy for a water infrastructure program with a full cost recovery strategy. Single and multi-block pricing models are created, and their effect on water pricing is discussed. The impact of externalities is accounted for, and respective cost components, namely, environmental cost, opportunity cost, and ecological imbalance cost are included in the water pricing, to analyze the impact on the cost of produced water. A comparison under the normalized, single-block and multi-block pricing strategy are discussed and the payback period is found. It is seen that the unit cost of potable and non-potable water is brought down from 0.94 USD/m3 and 0.51 USD/m3 to 0.62 USD/m3 and 0.29 USD/m3, respectively using a multi-block pricing strategy. It is recommended that policy interventions in a full cost recovery water pricing strategy should consider the cost of externalities with a multi-block pricing system for breakeven in water infrastructural investments.

Changes in and driving factors of the lake area of Huri Chagannao’er Lake in Inner Mongolia

Inland lakes are an important component of the terrestrial water cycle in Inner Mongolia's typical steppe region, and their variations have far-reaching implications for the sustainable development of water resources in this region. Huri Chagannao'er Lake, one of Inner Mongolia's four major freshwater lakes and the second largest inland lake in the typical steppe region, was chosen as the research object. In this study, the spatiotemporal changes in the area of Huri Chagannao’er Lake over the last 30 years were analyzed using the modified normalized difference water index method and Landsat data. Then, we used regression analysis, correlation analysis, gray relational analysis, and Geodetector to investigate the potential causes of lake area changes. Changes in the lake's water balance, meteorological and climatic changes near the lake, and changes in land use and land cover in the drainage basin are all possible driving factors. Finally, the main driving factors of the lake area change are discussed in conjunction with the literature and field investigation, and measures and suggestions for the lake's sustainable utilization and protection are proposed. The findings revealed that i) from 1988 to 2017, the lake shrank from 98.99 km2 to 29.81 km2, with year 2000 marking the start of the dramatic changes in lake areas; ii) the lake shrinkage was primarily concentrated in the western part of the lake, while the eastern part of the lake remained stable; iii) human activities, such as water interception and storage, as well as excessive exploitation of water resources, were the most significant causes of the dramatic fluctuation in the area of the lake's western part; iv) climate change also had some influence on the lake area changes. The regional climate became warmer and drier, reducing the amount of water entering the drainage basin. The findings of this study highlight the dominant role of human activity intensity in lake area changes and provide a theoretical foundation and technical support for the study of inland lakes in Inner Mongolia's typical steppe region.

Identifying the geochemical evolution and controlling factors of the shallow groundwater in a high fluoride area, Feng County, China.

Understanding how groundwater is formed and evolves is critical for water resource exploitation and utilization. In this study, hydrochemistry and stable isotope tracing techniques were adopted to determine the key factors influencing groundwater chemical evolution in Feng County. A total of fourteen wells and five surface water samples were investigated in November 2021. The δD and δ18O compositions show that both surface water and groundwater are recharged from atmospheric precipitation. The dominating order of cations and anions in groundwater appears to be Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > K+ and HCO3- > SO42- > Cl- > NO3- > F-, respectively. The groundwater hydrochemical facies are mainly characterized by HCO3-Ca-Mg and SO4-Cl-Na types. The chemical evolution of groundwater is dominated by water-rock interaction and cation exchange reactions. The major ions in groundwater are mainly controlled by various geogenic processes including halite, gypsum, calcite, dolomite, Glauber's salt, feldspar, and fluorite dissolution/precipitation. Furthermore, the abundant fluoride-bearing sediments, together with low Ca2+, promote the formation of high F- groundwater. Approximately 85.7% and 28.6% of groundwater samples exceeded the permissible limit for F- and NO3- respectively. Apart from geogenic F-, human interventions (i.e., industrial fluoride-containing wastewater discharge and agricultural phosphate fertilizer uses) also regulate the F- enrichment in the shallow groundwater. Nitrate pollution of the groundwater may be attributed to domestic waste and animal feces. Our findings could provide valuable information for the sustainable exploitation of groundwater in the study area and the development of effective management strategies by the authorities.

Classification of off-stream dams in the state of Minas Gerais in relation to potential risk and potential for envrionmental damage

The increase in demand for water use has caused serious environmental problems and conflicts between users. Reservoirs off-stream the water bed, commonly called “Piscinões”, have been presented as a common practice for maintaining irrigated agriculture in the dry season. During the rainy season and the beginning of the dry season, the user of water resources captures more water than he needs in order to store the water resources and use them in the period of lower flows in the rivers. For a more efficient management of the safety of these hydraulic structures, it is important to know the real impact that the current pond-reservoirs can cause to the environment and the people who live in their surroundings. Inserted in this context, methods, methodologies and tools capable of measuring the value of risk through indicators were found in the technical literature and the Potential Environmental Damage methodology was adopted. The present work adopted the Potential Risk methodology proposed by COGERH and the Potential Environmental Damage proposed by FEAM. It is concluded that the tools can be adopted for a classification of reservoirs-pools, however there is room for improvement and an improvement in the management of these water structures.

The Role of Environmental Flows in the Spatial Variation of the Water Exploitation Index

This article presents a novel methodology to assess the spatial and temporal variations of water resources exploitation within regulated river basins. The methodology, which is based on the application of a basin management model to properly assess the consumed and available water, was applied to a case study in the Iberian Peninsula to analyze the effects of environmental flows in the water resources exploitation of all rivers in the basin. It was demonstrated that the river sections in the upper part of the Órbigo River are subjected to lower water stress levels, so that they would be more suitable alternatives to supply new possible water uses. In addition, it was found that, during the summer months, the available water resources in natural regime are more than 1.5, 1.8 and 2.4 times lower than the consumed water in the upper, lower and middle stretches of the Órbigo River, respectively. This reveals the necessity of regulating the water resource to fulfill the water demands of the basin throughout the year. Finally, it was found that increases (decreases) in environmental flows not only lead to reductions (rises) in water availability, but also can induce decreases (increases) in consumed water resources due to lower (greater) water availability. This effect is more significant as water stress levels are higher. The results of this paper highlight the importance and usefulness of basin management models to accurately estimate the spatial variability of the water exploitation index, and the effects of environmental flows on both water availability and consumed water resources. The proposed approach to reduce the spatial scale of the water exploitation index is also helpful to identify the best water sources in river basins to meet future demands and/or higher values of environmental flows.

The Added Value of Technology in Food Integration - Holistic Approach

The increasingly widespread consequences of globalization, and of an incongruous and unbalanced distribution of food, between geographical areas with reduced threshold of access to food, and industrialized areas where there is excess food and overeating, raise the urgent problem of proper regulation and management of all available food resources. The emergence and expansion of diseases related to malnutrition and hypernutrition have reached pandemic and irreversible dimensions and, despite the excessive exploitation of water resources and primary food sources and the total depletion of natural resources, a positive solution has not yet been found. Industrial food production has been introducing new standards in the quality and consumption of nutrients, which are increasingly poor, with increasingly intensive and less controlled production systems. The attempt to correct the wrong eating habits and inadequate lifestyle, with the intake of nutrients and active ingredients to fill dietary deficiencies, has not been producing the desired effects. Nutraceuticals and the related sciences Nutrigenomics and Microbiomics, which should provide the basis for healthy nutrition and the correct information for the use of functional foods, too often are at the service of food multinationals, to promote the spread of an indiscriminate and massive use of supplements.

Circular Water Economy in the EU: Findings from Demonstrator Projects

Circular economy (CE) for water aims to maximise value derived from water, processes, and practices. As a result, the recovery of wastewater and renewable water resources is used to offset the exploitation and impact of abstracting new water resources. New regulations such as the new circular economy action plan by the European Commission are emerging to promote circularity within the Green Deal agenda. However, there is still a need for research and practical insights into the interaction and integration of CE for water within existing policies and regulations, and its practical application specifically at the project level. This paper presents findings from demonstrator cases used to explore the opportunities and constraints in the policy, process, and procedural frameworks that govern water circularity in important sectors in Europe. Desk reviews are used to examine and compare European legislation against national and regional legislative frameworks within the different member states. Interviews and demonstrator project feedback enabled the exploration of the policy and value constraints at the project level. The findings provide unique insights into the policy and legislative enablers for and barriers to implementing CE for water in key sectors and specifically at the project level. The paper concludes with a five-point route map for new and revised policies and regulations targeting improved uptake of circular water technologies in Europe.

Quantitative Assessment of Impact of Climate Change and Human Activities on Streamflow Changes Using an Improved Three-Parameter Monthly Water Balance Model

Understanding the impact of climate change and human activities on the hydrological cycle of any watershed can provide a scientific basis for regional water resource planning, flood management, and disaster mitigation. An improved three-parameter hydrological model (CM) based on monthly water balance using an exponential equation to depict the distribution of groundwater storage capacity was developed and evaluated. The model uses Asian Precipitation Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation (APHRODITE) rainfall data as input, with the Zhejiang Province as the case application, and the effects of climate change and human activities on streamflow changes were assessed by separating environmental variables in this study. The results indicate that APHRODITE data has excellent monthly accuracy, with a mean correlation coefficient (CC) of more than 0.96 and an average absolute percentage bias (Pbais) of less than 5%. The three models are relatively close in their ability to simulate high flows, but the CM simulated low flow is better than the other two models. Positive and negative Pbais phenomena occur in the CM model in each catchment, and absolute levels are regulated by 5%. Furthermore, the CM model’s average Nash efficiency coefficient (NSE) is greater than 0.9, indicating that it can correctly fulfill the water balance. The results are more consistent throughout multiple catchments in each watershed using Budyko-based and hydrological model technique to evaluate the influence of climate change and human activities on streamflow. Climate change dominated streamflow variations in 18 of the 21 catchments in Zhejiang Province, whereas human activities dominated the rest. The findings of the study will be used to influence the management, development, and usage of water resources in the watershed.

Evaluation of farmers' participatory behavior and compensation policy for agricultural water-saving

Today, with the decreased available water resources and the intensification of the conflicts between users of water resources, the cooperation or non-cooperation of users in water protection programs, especially in the agricultural sector, is of crucial importance. Therefore, the present study is aimed to provide a framework to evaluate the participatory behavior of farmers with optimal patterns of water allocation and to estimate the necessary budget to compensate for the reduction of water consumption in agricultural areas. To achieve this aim, the integration of the economic-environmental programming model with a top-down analytical approach and the agent-based model with a bottom-up analytical approach has been applied in the present study. Thus, the irrigation network of Jiroft Plain was chosen as the study area and a sample of farmers in this irrigation network was extracted for the analysis of the agent-based model using simple random method. It was found that different forms of insistence on the individual behavior of farmers make it difficult to participate in optimal water allocation patterns with simultaneously providing economic and environmental goals. As the degree of participation with the optimal model of water allocation with equal weight to economic and environmental goals, despite the implementation of the policy of giving facilities with a very low interest rate for the installation of new irrigation technologies, is estimated about 20%. Finally, the necessary budget for compensation policy for agricultural water storage was calculated based on the proposed framework, which can be considered a useful tool for policy makers in water resources management.

Wireless communication protocols in smart agriculture: A review on applications, challenges and future trends

IoT based smart agriculture systems are important for efficient usage of lands, water, and energy resources. Wireless communication protocols constitute a critical part of smart agriculture systems because the fields, in general, cover a large area requiring system components to be placed at distant locations. There are various communication protocols with different features that can be utilized in smart agriculture applications. When designing a smart agriculture system, it is required to carefully consider the features of possible protocols to make a suitable and optimal selection. Therefore, this review paper aims to underline the specifications of the wireless communication protocols that are widely used in smart agriculture applications. Furthermore, application-specific requirements, which may be useful during the design stage of the smart agriculture systems, are highlighted. To accomplish these aims, this paper compares the technical properties and investigates the practical applications of five different wireless communication protocols that are commonly used in IoT applications: ZigBee, Wi-Fi, Sigfox, NB-IoT, and LoRaWAN. In particular, the inconsistencies in the technical properties of these protocols reported in different resources have been highlighted and the reason for this situation has been discussed. Considering the features offered by the protocols and the requirements of smart agriculture applications, the appropriateness of a particular protocol to a particular smart agriculture application is examined. In addition, issues about cost, communication quality, and hardware of the five protocols have been mentioned. The trending technologies with high potential for the future applications of smart agriculture have been introduced. In this context, the relation of the technologies like aerial systems, cellular communication, and big data analytics with wireless have been specified. Finally, the leading protocol and the smart agriculture application area have been highlighted through observing the year-based distribution of the recent publications. It has been shown that usage of LoRaWAN protocol has become more widespread in recent years.

THE ECOCRACY OF WATER RESOURCES ON WATER CULTIVATION RIGHTS IN REALIZING SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION

There are still several problems related to water resources, which can affect poverty, food shortages, hamper economic growth, and disrupt ecosystems. Based on the literature study, two conclusions were generated. First, the function of Water Resources in business activities in laws and regulations still ignores the constitutional rights of the state and the people through the gap for companies to manage and make water and water resources as the profit-oriented business. Second, it is necessary to revitalize ecocracy in ensuring the existence of Water and Soil Conservation by inculcating two (legal) liabilities, namely the liability due to the inherent propriety to act or to do and the liability due to the inherent propriety not to act or not to do to protect ecosystem health and to ensure the environmental sustainability. It is necessary to reform the Water Resources Law in tackling the exploitation of water resources to justify monopoly or illegal profits made by certain parties.

Evolution of Sustainable Water Resource Utilization in Hunan Province, China

The demand for social and economic development has promoted research into water resources. The combined effects of natural conditions and human activities on regional water resource usage are not well understood. The sustainable utilization of water resources was assessed in terms of supply (e.g., precipitation) and demand (e.g., ecological water resources footprint (EFw)) sides in Hunan Province, China, from 2010 to 2019. The results showed that: (1) on the supply side, water resources were increased across Hunan Province. The spatial patterns of total water resources are significantly heterogeneous, with high values in the east and south, which are mainly affected by precipitation; (2) on the demand side, evapotranspiration was great in areas with high vegetation coverage. The EFw was high in relatively developed areas. The mean percentage of agricultural EFw remained dominant at approximately 60% with a steady decreasing trend, while that of eco-environmental EFw increased; and (3) the sustainable utilization of water resources in Hunan Province is generally rational. Moreover, the potential for water resource development and utilization is really significant in eastern and southern Hunan Province. The findings are beneficial in providing an important scientific basis for policymaking relating to the efficient utilization of regional water resources.

Environmental sustainability risk, institutional effectiveness and urbanization

This study examines the effect of urbanization, institutional quality and other variables on environmental sustainability risk among economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Environmental sustainability risk is examined from three main perspectives – emission of gases inimical to the environment (CO2 emissions), exploitation of land and water resources (ecological footprint) and exploitation of resources devoid of the requisite savings and education expenditure (genuine sustainability risk). Empirical analyses were performed using the Limited Information Maximum Likelihood (LIML) Instrumental Variable estimation technique. Estimated results suggest that urbanization, population growth and increase commodity prices on the global market (for key export commodities) worsen CO2 emissions among economies in the sub-region. The results further suggest that urbanization, population growth, governance and institutional structures increase resource exploitation. Additional results suggest that institutional quality lessens adverse effect urbanization has on environmental sustainability risk (CO2 emissions) and genuine sustainability risk; but exacerbates the impact urbanization has on ecological footprint. Given these findings, this study recommends conscious efforts at improving governance and institutional structures among governments in the sub-region to lessen adverse effect of urbanization and population growth on environmental sustainability risk.

Edible insects: environmentally friendly sustainable future food source

SummaryMeeting the increasing consumer demand for affordable, sustainable and nutritious food is a great challenge. The rapidly growing population will have unprecedented demand for meat and meat‐based products. The livestock sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and a major user of land and water resources. Excessive animal farming adversely affects the environment, accelerating climate change. This review article emphasises on edible insects as an alternative and sustainable food source. Edible insects can transform a wide variety of organic products, including agricultural and food wastes, into high‐quality proteins with essential amino acids. Edible insect oil contains healthy fatty acids such as lauric acid, oleic acid and omega‐3 and 6 commonly found in coconut oil, olive oil and fish oil with health benefits. Substitution of edible insects in some food products with low nutritional value can increase protein content up to 100%. Farming edible insects can be an effective solution to food waste management which is a global problem.

Water Sustainability in the Context of Global Warming: A Bibliometric Analysis

Sustainable water use is becoming a key problem in the present time, since global warming is having a strong impact on usable water resources. This study aims to provide a systematic bibliometric analysis on water sustainability in the context of global warming, in order to provide a clearer view on the existing research trends and to find eventual gaps in research that can be exploited in the future. The selection and analysis of the most relevant papers discussing the chosen topic pointed out a strong increase in research in the last period, dominated by US scientists and research entities, with researchers focusing on either the present impact of global warning on water sustainability and its effects on water supply and ecosystem functioning, or on problem solving and creating a framework for water sustainability in the context of global warming, or on the future perspectives and potential solutions for achieving water sustainability in the future period. The study pointed out that only 6% of the article regarding water sustainability include information about global warming, with an increasing trend in the latter period in both the number of articles and citations, but the field of study seems to be incipient, with a large number of journals publishing a very low number of articles. The main drawbacks identified were the orientation of a large majority of the studies on present day problems and not on future approaches, the complete lack of studies regarding the role of preserving natural habitats or of spontaneous renaturalization, as well as the relative absence of including cultural aspects in addressing water-sustainability issues.

Küresel Su Stresi ve Ölçüm Yöntemleri

Dünyada yaklaşık 332,5 milyon kübik mil sudan oluşan su kaynaklarının %96’sı okyanus ve denizleri içeren tuzlu su kaynaklarıdır. Geriye kalan %4’lük tatlı su kaynaklarının %68’i buzullarda sıkışmış halde bulunurken, %30’u ise toprak altı suyu olarak yer almaktadır. Kullanılabilir su kaynaklarının doğal nedenlerle bu kadar az olmasının yanı sıra; sanayileşme ve kentleşmenin yarattığı çevre kirliliği, sera gazı emisyonlarının sürekli ve önemli ölçüde artması sonucu oluşan küresel ısınma kaynaklı kuraklık ve yağış rejimlerinde görülen değişiklikler ile geometrik olarak artan nüfus gibi beşeri faktörler kişi başına düşen temiz su miktarının daha da azalmasına yol açmaktadır. Su, kıtlık derecesi giderek artan bir doğal kaynakken, özellikle az gelişmiş ülkelerde yaşanan yoksulluk, bu ülkelerde yaşayan insanların suya erişimini iyice zorlaştırmaktadır. Bu çalışmada ele alınan veriler, dünyanın özellikle 2030 ve sonrasında çok daha ciddi bir su sorunu ile karşı karşıya kalacağını göstermektedir. Çalışmanın öncelikli amacı, dünyada su stresini ölçen önemli indekslerden biri olan ‘Su Yoksulluğu İndeksi’ (Water Poverity Index-WPI) ile ilgili olarak ülkemizdeki literatür eksikliğinin giderilmesine katkı sağlamaktır. Söz konusu eksikliğin giderilmesi, özellikle bizim gibi su stresi yaşayan ülkelerde gerekli bilimsel çalışmaların yapılarak, politika yapıcılar ve toplum nezdinde konu ile ilgili farkındalığı artırmak açısından oldukça önemlidir. Ayrıca, gelecekte tartışmaya açılması muhtemel görünen su karnesi uygulamasına gerek duyulmaması için, suyun geleceği adına, neler yapabileceğimizi bir kez daha gözden geçirmek yine bu çalışmanın amacını oluşturmaktadır.

Computing Cost and Time Contingency for Box Culverts Construction Projects using Integrated Risk Management Technique

Construction and rehabilitation of water control structures in Egypt considered as an important project, as it influences the usage of water resources in Egypt which become limited resources due to water scarcity existed in the last decades. Also these projects helps in the optimization of water resources, Moreover it helps in the growth of agricultural and industrial sector. Project Risk Management (RMP) is considered as a vital and important tool in decision making, thus RMP used as a planning management system to detect risks affecting project deliverables; such as cost and time target. This research shows how to optimize the deliverables for construction of box culverts in Egypt, through a well-defined risk management framework and real case study for a certain project executed in the last decade. Finally, this study shows how to calculate cost and time contingency for these projects through an integrated risk management technique. Finally this study shows hazard risk identification and assessment for these type of projects. The conclusion of this study show that the cost contingency needed to resolve different risk factors arise in the shown case study is to increase the estimated budget with average value 11.50 percent on the total estimated budget, as well as the time contingency is found with average value 16.00 percent to be added over the total original baseline schedule of the construction project.

Impact of Commercial Car Washing Bay on Water Quality of River Nakiyanja in Central Uganda

Car washing bays discharge a wide range of pollutants into water bodies which degrade water quality and affect aquatic ecosystem functions. The study examined the influence of the motor vehicle-washing bay on water quality of River Nakiyanja wetland system. Physicochemical water quality was measured by both in-situ and x-situ following standard protocols. Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The study revealed higher concentrations of contaminants such as oil and grease, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and turbidity at impact sites associated with vehicle washing compared to the pre-washing bay sites, and these differed significantly. This affects aquatic ecosystem functions and probably posing health impacts to the direct users of water resources. The study recommended enforcement of water and environmental legislations and constructions of wastewater treatment facilities at each of the car washing bays to protect aquatic ecosystems.

Earth Dam Design for Drinking Water Management and Flood Control: A Case Study

Water management for natural channels is a frequent challenge due to the inefficient usage of water resources. The 2030 Agenda of the United Nations (SDG 6 of sustainable development) focuses its attention on water and sanitation. The Sara Guerrero site, located in the Mocache municipality in Los Ríos province (Ecuador), has issues related to access to drinking water, flood control, and crop irrigation that affect 4300 people and 24,000 hectares. The river overflows throughout the rainy season (late December to early May), whereas there is a noticeable water shortage during the dry season. This project aims to design a multiple-use earth dam on the Vinces River, simulating the resulting flow in extreme cases due to its possible failure. Such a study implies the development of a contingency plan for the preservation of life. It considers (i) dam breach analysis and design, and (ii) hydraulic model development using the ArcMap and HEC-RAS software packages. The design includes a waterproofing system that controls possible leaks and a cymbal spillway, mainly for raw water collection. The generated model showed that the shorter the failure time, the higher the maximum output flow. Modelling revealed that four towns would be affected for a maximum of 31 h in extreme cases. This approach offers comprehensive management for this community with regards to the earth dam and flood control.