ALBERT

Description:    This study examines biophysical and socio-demographic factors potentially affecting water use patterns of households with mandatory rainwater tanks in South East Queensland (SEQ). The Queensland Development Code (QDC) MP 4.2 promotes the use of rainwater tanks at the domestic level to reduce direct reliance on mains water supply. A sample of 1,134 mandated rainwater tank households were surveyed across SEQ. Results indicated that the majority of participants (78%) had tanks of 5 kL in capacity or larger, with 35% of householders having at least half of roof catchment area connected to their tanks. Also, the majority of participants utilised their rainwater for toilet flushing (97%), clothes washing (94%) and garden irrigation (77%). These biophysical findings indicate a high level of compliance with the QDC MP 4.2 code. Social factors affecting potential yields from mandated rainwater tanks were also examined, to complement the biophysical data obtained. It was found that the majority of tank users were happy to use rainwater as an alternative water supply option for non-potable uses. However, most participants reported being unaware of past or present water restrictions to their water supply, highlighting important social implications for total mains water savings. In conclusion, this study presents important biophysical and social descriptions about mandated water users in urban SEQ, as well as providing a foundation for future modelling of actual yields from mandated rainwater tanks to facilitate improved assessment of mains water savings due to the implementation of mandated rainwater tanks. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0003-7 Authors Aditi Mankad, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, GPO Box 2583, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia Meng Nan Chong, CSIRO Land and Water, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia Ted Gardner, CSIRO Land and Water, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia Ashok Sharma, CSIRO Land and Water, Highett, VIC 3109, Australia Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Monitoring the temporal variations of reference evapotranspiration (ET o ) and quantifying any trends offer valuable information for regional hydrology, agricultural water requirements and water resources management. This study aimed to examine the temporal trends in the Penman–Monteith ET o in the west and southwest of Iran by using the Kendall and Spearman tests after eliminating the influence of significant lag-1 serial correlation from the ET o time series. The magnitudes and starting years of significant ET o trends were determined by the Mann-Kendall rank statistic and the Theil–Sen’s estimator, respectively. For the study period of 1966–2005, a significant positive lag-1 serial correlation coefficient was observed at almost all the stations. The existence of the positive serial correlation in the ET o series increased the possibility of the Kendall and Spearman tests to reject the null hypothesis of no trend while it is true. It was found that the Kendall test was more sensitive than the Spearman test to the existence of the positive serial correlation in the ET o series. After removing the serial correlation effect with pre-whitening method, only three significant increasing ET o trends were obtained at Khorram-Abad, Shahrekord and Zanjan stations at the rates of 0.16, 0.06 and 0.06 mm/day per decade, respectively. The significant increasing ET o trends of Khorram-Abad, Zanjan and Shahrekord stations started in 1997, 1994 and 1998, respectively. The stepwise regression method showed that wind speed was the most dominating variable affecting on the significant changes of ET o . Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0011-7 Authors Hossein Tabari, Department of Water Engineering, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran Jaefar Nikbakht, Department of Water Engineering, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran P. Hosseinzadeh Talaee, Young Researchers Club, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Scarcity of water is now the biggest threat in many parts of the world, specially in arid and semi arid regions. Establishing balance between water resources and the demands in a catchment scale basis could be one of the most important strategies to overcome this problem. In this regard, determination and analysis of water balance components (inputs and outputs) would be necessary. This study has focused on estimation of water balance components in arid-mountainous catchment of Manshad in Yazd province of Iran, during the year 2006–2007 using remote sensing and GIS techniques. To estimate actual evapotranspiration (ET a ) of the catchment, time series of MODIS images were obtained and used via Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) approach. Measured precipitation (P) and runoff (R) data of the catchment were also used to calculate water balance equation components. Results indicated that a large volume of catchment water (about 70%) is wasted through evapotranspiration, while the rainfall is not enough to compensate this volume of water during the year. It seems that the negative (descending) trend has become dominant to the water budget of the area and gradually moves to harsh conditions of water shortage in future decades. Therefore, some actions would be necessary to overcome the problem. Water conservation strategies‚ improvement of water use efficiency, and control on agricultural field expansions are some solutions that could be advised for the studied catchment. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-12 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-9999-y Authors Mohammad Taghi Dastorani, Faculty of Natural Resources, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran Samaneh Poormohammadi, Faculty of Natural Resources, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    As there is a limited availability of information on the domestic water consumption through kitchen taps, data collected in a study on dishwashing habits in four European countries has been analysed to gather common habits in the water end-use of households. This paper provides empirical data based on water consumption measurements in 81 households. With the help of a simultaneous webcam observation of the kitchen sink, it was possible to assign the metered consumption data to a specific water use, such as cleaning, drinking or cooking. Water end-use has been analysed with this approach at a very deep level. The study shows that there are, in some measure, large country-specific differences in diurnal water use, as well as in the composition of kitchen activities. Furthermore, the research findings indicate that small households use much more water per person and day than bigger households. This is rather important as demographic shifts are causing a decreased average household size - particularly in urban areas - and, therewith, a growing demand. Water-saving measures at the household and individual level should meet this trend. This paper, therefore, also provides information on to what extent particular kitchen tasks are influential for water consumption in the kitchen, respectively, which activities are important to concentrate on for consumer advice regarding water conservation. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-9976-5 Authors Christian Paul Richter, University of Bonn/Germany, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Section Household and Appliance Technology, Nussallee 5, 53115 Bonn, Germany Rainer Stamminger, University of Bonn/Germany, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Section Household and Appliance Technology, Nussallee 5, 53115 Bonn, Germany Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The quality of harvested rainwater used for toilet flushing in a private house in the south-west of France was assessed over a one-year period. Twenty-one physicochemical parameters were screened using standard analytical techniques. The microbiological quality of stored roof runoff was also investigated and total flora at 22°C and 36°C, total coliforms, Escherichia Coli , enteroccocci, Cryptospridium oocysts, Giardia cysts, Legionella species , Legionella pneumophila , Aeromonas , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were analysed. Chemical and microbiological parameters fluctuated during the course of the study, with the highest levels of microbiological contamination observed in roof runoffs collected during the summer. Overall, the collected rainwater had a relatively good physicochemical quality but variable, and, did not meet the requirements for drinking water and a microbiological contamination of the water was observed. The water balance of a 4-people standard family rainwater harvesting system was also calculated in this case study. The following parameters were calculated: rainfall, toilets flushing demand, mains water, rainwater used and water saving efficiency. The experimental water saving efficiency was calculated as 87%. The collection of rainwater from roofs, its storage and subsequent use for toilet flushing can save 42 m 3 of potable water per year for the studied system. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-9 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0012-6 Authors C. Vialle, INRA; Université de Toulouse; INP; LCA (Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-Industrielle); ENSIACET, 4 Allées Emile Monso, 31029 Toulouse, France C. Sablayrolles, INRA; Université de Toulouse; INP; LCA (Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-Industrielle); ENSIACET, 4 Allées Emile Monso, 31029 Toulouse, France M. Lovera, Veolia Water North America, Technical Direction Group, 101, W Washington Street, Suite 1440 East, IN-46204 Indianapolis, USA M.-C. Huau, Veolia Eau, 36-38 avenue Kleber, 75016 Paris, France S. Jacob, Veolia Eau, Direction Technique, Immeuble Giovanni Battista B, 1, rue Giovanni Battista Pirelli, 94410 Saint Maurice, France M. Montrejaud-Vignoles, INRA; Université de Toulouse; INP; LCA (Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-Industrielle); ENSIACET, 4 Allées Emile Monso, 31029 Toulouse, France Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Urban stormwater quality is multifaceted and the use of a limited number of factors to represent catchment characteristics may not be adequate to explain the complexity of water quality response to a rainfall event or site-to-site differences in stormwater quality modelling. This paper presents the outcomes of a research study which investigated the adequacy of using land use and impervious area fraction only, to represent catchment characteristics in urban stormwater quality modelling. The research outcomes confirmed the inadequacy of the use of these two parameters alone to represent urban catchment characteristics in stormwater quality prediction. Urban form also needs to be taken into consideration as it was found have an important impact on stormwater quality by influencing pollutant generation, build-up and wash-off. Urban form refers to characteristics related to an urban development such as road layout, spatial distribution of urban areas and urban design features. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-7 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0014-4 Authors An Liu, School of Urban Development, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia Ashantha Goonetilleke, School of Urban Development, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia Prasanna Egodawatta, School of Urban Development, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The present study was carried out with the objective of determining the extent of groundwater pollution caused by tanning industries in Chromepet area located south of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Groundwater samples were collected during January and March 2008 from 36 wells and were analysed for the concentration of various major ions and chromium. Na-Cl was the dominant water type found in this area. Groundwater in this area is not suitable for drinking as it contains elevated concentration of most major ions and chromium. This is due to the recharge of partially treated effluent discharged by tanning industries into open drains. The concentration of chromium was above the permissible limit (0.05 mg/l) in 86% of the groundwater samples. The use of chemicals, such as sodium chloride, sodium sulphate, chromium sulphate etc. during the tanning processes is the major reason for the high concentration of major ions and chromium in groundwater. Hence it is important to regulate the industries and also take measures to reduce the total dissolved solids in the treated effluent before disposal. The groundwater quality of this region can also be improved by adopting rainwater harvesting thereby increasing groundwater recharge. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-9985-4 Authors K. Brindha, Department of Geology, Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India L. Elango, Department of Geology, Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The Agua Amarga coastal aquifer, located in the southeast of Spain (Alicante province) has suffered a significant decrease in its piezometric levels due to its use to supply water to Alicante I and II desalination plants. In order to recover its natural levels and to preserve the salt marsh of ecological interest linked to the aquifer, whose origin is related to ancient saltworks, a pilot scheme based on depositing seawater over the salt marsh surface has been carried out from December 2009 to July 2010. As a result, piezometric levels have increased by around 2 and 3 m below the salt marsh and a general decrease in groundwater salinity of between 15 and 100 g/l has been measured. A flow-transport numerical model with SEAWAT is used to assess and evaluate the seawater depositing programme. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-9987-2 Authors I. Alhama Manteca, Departamento Ingeniería Minera, Geológica y Cartográfica, UPCT, Cartagena, Spain T. Rodríguez Estrella, Departamento Ingeniería Minera, Geológica y Cartográfica, UPCT, Cartagena, Spain F. Alhama, Departamento Física Aplicada, UPCT, Cartagena, Spain Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Groundwater is a valuable resource for irrigation water. The use of groundwater for irrigation depends on environmental factors affecting long term sustainability and the costs of extraction which affect the economic viability. The cost of extraction depends upon the depth of drilling required and the rates of groundwater extraction that can be achieved. This is determined by the natural water flow through aquifers and so requires an estimation of hydraulic conductivity (K). In the irrigated area of Pakistan the Geoelectrical method, Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) was tested to estimate aquifer hydraulic conductivity. A resistivity meter was used to collect VES data by employing a Schlumberger electrode configuration, with half current electrode spacings (AB/2) ranging from 2 to 180 m and the potential electrode (MN) from 1 to 40 m. The field data were interpreted using the Interpex IX1D computer software and the aquifer resistivity (ρ) vs depth models for each location were estimated. A total of 102 groundwater samples from nearby hydrowells at different depths were also collected for Electrical Conductivity (EC) to measure groundwater resistivities (ρ o ). The resultant formation factor (F=ρ/ρ o ) values varied between 0.79 and 12.32 for the entire study area. The extreme values of F obtained from the VES surveys were paired with extreme values of K derived from field tests to provide a linear model of F:K. Seven pumping tests were also carried out to determine K and test the F:K correlation. The empirical relationship developed between the formation factors was highly significant and as such can be helpful for the estimation of hydraulic conductivity for groundwater pumping investigations in this area. This approach to deriving a relationship between the formation factor and hydraulic conductivity can be useful for groundwater investigations elsewhere. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-011-9954-3 Authors P. Sikandar, CSIRO, Land and Water, 2680 Griffith, NSW, Australia E. W. Christen, Griffith laboratory, CSIRO Land and Water & Sustainable Agriculture Flagship, Griffith, NSW 2680, Australia Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This work discusses the conflict between two of the main objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive: cost recovery and economic efficiency in the use of irrigation water. In the Mediterranean region, this conflict is commonly embedded in a state of under-utilization of irrigation networks managed by Water User Associations (WUAs). This under-utilization arises from factors independent of farmers’ choice, such as water shortage, crises in the sector, and changes to the Common Agricultural Policy. This prevents the facilities from operating at the minimum average cost. This paper argues that farmers should not suffer this inefficiency, which results in them paying higher water prices to cover the costs of water supply. Indeed, the application of the Water Directive should be rethought, taking into account the specific problems related to irrigation in the Mediterranean region. Based on an econometric analysis of the costs of water distribution in a WUA in Sardinia (Italy), we propose a payment system based on two components. Primarily there is a fee related to the number of hectares under irrigation. In addition there is a fee that considers the intensity of irrigation: this component is to encourage farmers to save water. The results show that the proposed approach has some desirable effects, including higher rates of cost recovery and possibly a reduction in the use of groundwater. Finally, the proposed system is not overly expensive for the rest of the community, who must bear the costs of inefficiencies in the use of irrigation water that do not depend on choices of farmers. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-9991-6 Authors Gabriele Dono, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy Luca Giraldo, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy Simone Severini, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741