ALBERT

Description: Modelling the design and implementation of urban water infrastructure (particularly decentralised systems) for strategic planning and policymaking requires detailed information of the spatial environment and quantitative knowledge of social preferences. Currently available models, however, mostly use land use, population and impervious cover data without much regard for detailed urban form or society. This study develops an algorithm for determining urban form from minimal spatial data input by incorporating local planning regulations. The interaction between urban form and implementation of lot-scale infiltration systems under different social, biophysical and climate constraints is then investigated, firstly by looking at how this varies in different residential land uses and subsequently in a case study of a typical Melbourne residential subdivision of mixed land uses. Feasibility of infiltration and its downstream impact (runoff volume, frequency and pollution) were assessed for a range of social preferences (quantified as allowable garden space) and climate scenarios (30 % increase/decrease in rainfall and evapotranspiration). Performance indicators were determined through long-term simulation with the MUSIC software. Results show how different biophysical, planning, social and climate conditions affect infiltration feasibility as well as system performance. High infiltrating soils, for example, allow smaller, well-performing and socially less-imposing systems. Low infiltrating soils lead to larger system sizes, occupy much of the allotment’s garden space, but nevertheless provide the benefit of runoff frequency reduction. Overall, climate impact was not significant except for areas with poorly infiltrating soils. Joint consideration of social, planning, climate and water management aspects potentially allows more efficient policymaking, as an array of system configurations can be tested against different multi-faceted scenarios. Such models can help facilitate better participatory planning and policymaking.

Description: Cities in developed countries have increasingly adopted rainwater tanks as an alternative water source over the last 15 years. The rapid uptake of rainwater tanks has been driven by the need to reduce demand for centralised water services that are under pressure to adapt to population growth and climate change impacts. Rainwater tanks are part of integrated urban water management approach that considers the whole water cycle to provide water services on a fit for purpose basis that minimises the impact on the local environment and receiving waters. Rainwater tanks are typically applied at the household scale for non-potable water source uses such as toilet flushing and garden irrigation. However, this paper reports on a communal approach to rainwater harvesting, where the water is treated for potable use. A communal approach to rainwater harvesting can offer benefits, such as: economies of scale for capital costs, reduced land footprint, centralised disinfection and flexibility in matching supply and demand for different households. The analysis showed that the communal approach could provide a reliable potable water source to a small urban development. However, there was an energy penalty associated with this water source compared to centralised systems that could be addressed through more appropriate pump sizing. The outputs from this monitoring and modelling study demonstrated rainwater harvesting can be expanded beyond the current mainstream practices of household systems for non-potable use in certain development contexts. The analysis contained in this paper can be used for the improved planning and design of communal approaches to rainwater harvesting.

Description: The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the global performance and to assess the current trends in research of water resource management. The methods of informetric analysis were used to survey water resource management related articles in the Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) during the past decades. The publication records, subjects, journals, countries, institutes, authors, citations and keywords were analyzed respectively for each paper. The number of papers related to water resource management in 2012 was approximately 8 times that of the year 2000 and hundreds of times more than early 1990s. Water resource management related papers were distributed unevenly by countries. The USA, P.R. China, Australia and UK were the top contributing countries, also present normalized by dividing with population that published most SCI papers as well as SSCI papers. The largest water resource management research center is located in the USA according to the number of publications and citations, with P.R. China becoming more proficient in water resource management according to the data from country and institute. In addition, the quality of papers produced by developed countries is more advanced than developing countries. All these efforts contributed to the indication in trends of water resource management research on a global scale. Earlier water resource management research appeared and was originally concentrated on engineering, irrigation and geography. Issues gradually transferred to management, economics and regime recently.

Description: A remote sensing-based approach to estimate actual evapotranspiration ( ET ) was tested in an area covered by olive trees and characterized by Mediterranean climate. The methodology is a modified version of the standard FAO-56 dual crop coefficient procedure, in which the crop potential transpiration, T p, is obtained by directly applying the Penman-Monteith (PM) equation with actual canopy characteristics (i.e., leaf area index, albedo and canopy height) derived from optical remote sensing data. Due to the minimum requirement of in-situ ancillary inputs, the methodology is suitable also for applications on large areas where the use of tabled crop coefficient values become problematic, due to the need of corrections for specific crop parameters, i.e., percentage of ground cover, crop height, phenological cycles, etc. The methodology was applied using seven airborne remote sensing images acquired during spring-autumn 2008. The estimates based on PM approach always outperforms the ones obtained using simple crop coefficient constant values. Additionally, the comparison of simulated daily evapotranspiration and transpiration with the values observed by eddy correlation and sap flow techniques, respectively, shows a substantial agreement during both dry and wet days with an accuracy in the order of 0.5 and 0.3 mm d −1 , respectively. The obtained results suggest the capability of the proposed approach to correctly partition evaporation and transpiration components during both the irrigation season and rainy period also under conditions of significant reduction of actual ET from the potential one.

Description: Seasonality characteristics and spatio-temporal trends of 7-day low flows were investigated for the 41,470 km 2 semi-arid Karkheh watershed (western Iran), representing 12 stations with record length of 51 years (1958–2008). Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was used to identify low-flow seasonality (clusters of low flow seasons). Monotonic trends were detected by the Mann-Kendall test. Breaks in low flow trends were detected by the Lombard’s change point test. Breaks in short-term trends were detected by the Lepage test. According to results seasonal clusters were different in most of the stations, indicating uniqueness in station low flow behaviour. Among the 12 stations studied, four stations showed seasonal monotonic trend and change points, some with abrupt change (change point in consecutive years). Two stations near watershed outlet with no monotonic trend showed abrupt change. Most seasonal change points (dates) compared well with documented droughts, highlighting drought impacts on low flow trends at affected stations. The Lepage test detected change point in seasonal low flow trends of most stations during 5- and 10-year periods. This research has shown that in semi-arid environments low flow seasonality characteristics may vary among stations, an indication that low flow trends should be evaluated individually for each station.

Description: With the transformation of water conservancy from traditional to eco-hydraulic aiming at sustainable development, the study on eco-efficiency of the water system has attracted a great deal of attention. This study aims to develop a methodology for evaluating the eco-efficiency of water systems of 31 administrative regions in China. Considering the multiple attributes of water systems and a piecewise linear technological frontier, the Rough Set Theory (RST) and Data Envelopment Analysis model (DEA) are combined to analyze the eco-efficiency of water systems. An input-and-output index system is established based on RST. The eco-efficiency for the water system of 31 administrative regions in China is calculated by DEA, and the characteristics of its spatial differences are discussed. The results show that there is a significant difference in the eco-efficiency of water systems: (1) On the whole, the efficiency value of north China is slightly higher than the south; (2) In the eight sub-regions of China, the north coastal area gains the highest efficiency score and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River obtains the lowest value; (3) There are 11 out of 31 regions at the best practice frontier. The spatial difference in eco-efficiency of the water system is a common phenomenon, which reflects the direct or indirect influence by economical, political, legislative, historical, cultural factors and other social development. Based on the above findings, some suggestions are made to improve the eco-efficiency of the water systems in China.

Description: Drought severity and duration are usually modelled independently. However, these two characteristics are known to be related. To model this relationship, a joint distribution of drought severity and duration using a bivariate copula model is proposed and applied to daily rainfall data (1976–2007) of 30 rain gauge stations in Peninsular Malaysia. The drought characteristics are classified using the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and their univariate marginal distributions are further identified by fitting exponential, gamma, generalized extreme value, generalized gamma, generalized logistics, generalized pareto, gumbel max, gumbel min, log-logistic, log-pearson3, log-normal, normal, pearson 5, pearson 6 and weibull distributions. The three-parameter log-normal distribution is identified as the best fitting distribution for drought severity while the generalized pareto distribution is determined as the most appropriate distribution for drought duration with respect to the application of the Anderson-Darling procedure. The dependency among the drought properties is analysed using Kendall’s τ method. The maximum likelihood estimation of the univariate marginal distributions and the maximisation of the bivariate likelihood are employed to compute the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) values in verifying the best fitting copula distribution. The Galambos distribution is recognised as the most appropriate copula distribution for describing the relationship between drought severity and duration. The conditional drought probability and drought return period are further described to explain the drought properties comprehensively. The probabilities of drought occurrences under certain circumstances with a specific seriousness or duration can be determined in order to verify the possibility of drought episodes. The return period of a recurrent drought has also been investigated to identify the time-interval for repeated drought occurrences under similar situation.

Description: Model-supported real-time flood control requires the development of effective and efficient hydraulic models. As large numbers of iterations are to be executed in optimization procedures, the hydraulic model needs to be computationally efficient. At the same time, it is also required to generate high-accuracy results. Therefore, an identification and calibration procedure was developed for the purpose of having this conceptual model built up and calibrated based on a limited number of simulations with a more detailed full hydrodynamic model. The performance of the conceptual model was evaluated for historical events under different regulation conditions. Robustness test results show close agreement, with Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency values higher than 0.90. In addition, it is found that the conceptual model is capable of accomplishing simulation of historical flood events within few seconds. That is much faster than the detailed full hydrodynamic model, which enables the conceptual model to be applied for real-time flood control.

Description: In this study, the performance of M5 model tree and conventional method for converting pan evaporation data (E p ) to reference evapotranspiration (ET 0 ) were assessed in semi-arid regions. Conventional method uses pan coefficient (K p ) as a factor to convert E p to ET 0 . Two common K p equations for pans with dry fetch (Allen et al. 1998 ; Abdel-Wahed and Snyder in J Irrig Drain Eng 134(4):425–429, 2008 ) were considered for the comparison. The values of ET 0 derived using these three methods were compared to those estimated using the reference FAO Penmane Monteith (FAO-PM) method under semi-arid conditions of the Khuzestan plain (Southwest Iran). The results showed that the M5 model is the best one to estimate ET 0 over test sites (0.5 mm d −1 of root mean square error (RMSE) and 0.98 of coefficient of determination ( R 2 ). Conversely, the performance of the two K p equations was poor.

Description: Infiltration is the only way water enters soil on the cultivated slopes of the China’s Loess Plateau, so infiltration plays an important role in conserving soil moisture. The objective of this study was to investigate how a soil wetting front created by simulated rainfall migrated in soil with different types of surface roughness. The three types of soil surface treatments studied included surfaces of smooth, medium rough and rough soil. The results showed that, 1) compared with a smooth surface texture, medium rough and rough surface textures have a higher infiltration capacity; 2) the infiltration rate gradually decreases as the wetting front deepens and the rate tends stabilize over time. This change could be described by a logarithmic function; 3) at the early stage of rainfall, the wetting front of medium rough and rough surface textures varied greatly, while the variability of the wetting front decreases markedly after the infiltration rate stabilizes; 4) with increasing depth of the wetting front, the similarity between the wetting front and soil surface profile decreased significantly for the medium rough and rough surface textures. These results indicate that the process of infiltration on cultivated slopes on the Loess Plateau changed from a non-uniform pattern to a uniform pattern as time passed during a rainfall event. Overall, soils with rougher soil surfaces experienced a larger effect of roughness on the process of infiltration.

Description: Optimum reservoir operation is a challenging problem in water resources systems. In this paper, Intelligent Water Drops (IWD) algorithm is applied in a reservoir operation problem. IWD is a population based algorithm and is initially proposed for solving combinatorial problems. The algorithm mimics the dynamics of river system and the behavior of water drops in the rivers. For this purpose data from Dez reservoir, located in southwestern Iran, has been used to examine the performance of the model. Moreover, due to similarities between IWD and the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithms, the results are compared with those of the ACO algorithm. Comparison of the results shows that while the IWD algorithm finds relatively better solutions, it is able to overcome the computational time consumption deficiencies inherited in the ACO methods. This is very important in large models with too many decision variables where run time becomes a limiting factor for optimization model applications.

Description: Understanding temporal variability in water quality in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) is crucial for evaluating environmental effects of damming and protecting China’s largest freshwater resource. This study examined water quality changes in the main channel of the Yangtze River after dam completion as well as its relationship with water level fluctuation (WLF), controlled by annual impoundment operations and conditioned by flooding. Finally, the mass balance budget and integrative water quality indexing (WQI) methods were applied to elucidate the status of overall water quality since dam completion. Results showed that TGR outlet water (Yichang) exhibited higher pH and COD Mn values and lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) and ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N) than inlet water (Zhutuo). Temporal variations in water quality parameters displayed similar trends for the outlet and inlet. Water quality parameters all showed negative correlations to water level, revealing the different effects of damming on water quality. It was estimated that reservoir impoundment led to a DO depletion of 1495.5 (±1482.0) × 10 3 tons/yr and a COD Mn increase of 564.0 (±405.0) × 10 3 tons/yr, likely deriving from various internal pollutant loads from the WLF zone and tributary watersheds. According to WQI, TGR water quality remained at healthy levels. However, WQI linear regression showed that water quality at the outlet significantly decreased over time, indicating that the construction of the Three Gorges Dam generally caused water quality deterioration. Further investigation is required to determine the spatial distribution of point and non-point pollution sources and to identify major factors that influence TGR water quality.

Description: Concern continues to grow over unreliable water access at the household level in many developing countries. A contingent valuation survey was designed to elicit willingness-to-pay for safe and reliable drinking water in León, Nicaragua. In addition, split-sample treatments were used to investigate preferences for two forms of service governance: the current, centralized water supplier and a decentralized service implemented at the municipal level. Results show that households are willing to pay a substantial increase in their water bills for reliable water supply. Findings also indicate that households hold greater confidence in the current, centralized provider rather than a localized service based on several characteristics such as overall service, awareness of water issues, interest in solving water problems, capacity, accountability, and potential investment.

Description: Waterlogging and secondary salinization have become a serious problem in the canal irrigated areas of arid and semi–arid regions worldwide. In this study, a unique and simple technique was evolved in which a linear programming (LP) optimization model was first developed that allocates available land and water resources in order to maximize net annual returns by mitigating the waterlogging problems. A finite–difference two–dimensional simulation model was then used to evaluate the long–term impacts of various water management strategies on the groundwater table with the optimal land and water use parameters which were obtained through the optimization model. The model was used to combat the waterlogging and salinity problem of an area located in Haryana State of India. The calibration, validation, sensitivity analysis, and error analysis of the model was performed before it was used to study the impact of various water management scenarios on the long-term groundwater level. Based on the model results a change in cropping pattern with reduced rice area is suggested. Groundwater withdrawal should be increased by 1–7 % in the various nodes. It is concluded from the analysis of various scenarios that implementing multiple approaches simultaneously are more effective in controlling waterlogging problems as compared to individual interventions.

Description: Groundwater overexploitation is threatening our ecosystems and even the life of future generations. Once happens, elimination of the bad influence will be a long-term process. It should be a feasible approach to take the environmental recovery as a whole by the way of the groundwater management. A case study of water resources management in Huaibei city, within semiarid region of north Anhui province, China, was illustrated, especially on the issues of groundwater over-extraction drawdown funnel recovery. Taking into account the water demand for satisfying the urban development in the next 15 years, three target years of water resources planning were postulated as the present (2005), the short-term (2010) and the long-term (2020), respectively. Four hydrological years: wet year, mean year, dry year and extremely dry year, were also defined by the rainfall data for many years. A groundwater management model which could deal with twelve possible scenarios (3 target years of water resources planning ×4 hydrological years) was established based on simulation and optimization. The groundwater management model could optimize the strategies of water resources development, integrate various kinds of water sources, e.g. groundwater, surface water and additive water sources, and meet the water demand for the urban development within an area of Huaibei city. Importantly, in accordance with the groundwater management model solutions, the issues of groundwater over-extraction drawdown funnel, which has formed within the Huaibei downtown area for many years and lead to some environmental and social problems, would be solved over the whole planning period.

Description: This study discusses the effects of water abstractions from two alternative sources on the available water volume around Lake Naivasha, Kenya: the lake itself and a connected aquifer. An estimation of the water abstraction pattern for the period 1999–2010 is made and its effect on the available water volume in Lake Naivasha and its connected aquifer is evaluated using a simple water balance modeling approach. This study shows that accurate estimates of annual volume changes of Lake Naivasha can be made using a simple monthly water balance approach that takes into account the exchange of water between the lake and its connected aquifer. The amount of water that is used for irrigation in the area around Lake Naivasha has a substantial adverse effect on the availability of water. Simulation results of our simple water balance model suggests that abstractions from groundwater affect the lake volume less than direct abstractions from the lake. Groundwater volumes, in contrast, are much more affected by groundwater abstractions and therefore lead to much lower groundwater levels. Moreover, when groundwater is used instead of surface water, evaporation losses from the lake are potentially higher due to a larger lake surface area. If that would be the case then the overall water availability in the area is more strongly affected by the abstraction of groundwater than by the abstraction of surface water. Therefore water managers should be cautious when using lake levels as the only indicator of water availability for restricting water abstractions.

Description: This paper considers the retail water provider’s purchasing decision of a portfolio of permanent contracts from wholesalers with multiple volatile water sources. We consider the reliability of two contract types: (1) fixed annual quantities, and (2) an inflow harvest function with storage. Our four-reservoir case in Sydney (Australia) has cross-correlated inflow data. To accommodate multi-reservoir cross-correlation we adapt Portfolio Theory from finance to lognormal reservoir inflows, re-framing traditional storage theory from the wholesaler’s optimal operating policy to the retailer’s optimal purchasing policy. We find that Reliability improves with access to a source pool (cf. fixed quantities from separate sources), demonstrating the ‘insurance effect’, and the portfolio that minimises lognormal variance also minimises harvest (and thus environmental impact). Reform direction in Australian (and other international) water markets is towards multi-provider vertical disintegration, which may reduce pool opportunities and negate the insurance effect. We consider diminishing reliability returns as reservoir harvesting increases, and conclude a retail portfolio of permanent contracts from reservoirs, plus short-term contracts from alternative sources (either independently or negatively cross-correlated) efficiently secures high reliability. The challenge in incomplete water markets remains in encouraging and sustaining supply diversification that may only be needed aperiodically during extreme droughts.

Description: The paper is the introduction to the special issue Water Engineering and Management in a Changing Environment which presents a set of the most innovative contributions at the EWRA Symposium, held in Catania, Italy on 2011.

Description: The Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method is widely used for predicting direct runoff volume for a given rainfall event. However, previous results indicated that when the CN value is determined from measured rainfall-runoff data in a natural watershed it is not possible to attribute a single CN value to the watershed, but actually the calculated CN values vary systematically with the rainfall depth. In a previous study, the authors investigated the hypothesis that the observed correlation between the calculated CN value and the rainfall depth in a watershed reflects the effect of the inevitable presence of soil-cover complex spatial variability along watersheds. In this study, a method to determine SCS-CN parameter values from rainfall-runoff data in heterogeneous watersheds is proposed. This method exploits the observed correlation between the calculated CN values and the rainfall depths in order to identify the spatial distribution of CN values along the watershed taking in to account the specific characteristics of the watershed. The proposed method utilizes the available rainfall-runoff data, remote sensing data and GIS techniques in order to provide information on spatial watershed characteristics that drive hydrological behavior. Furthermore, it allows the estimation of CN values for specific soil-land cover complexes in more complex watersheds. The proposed method was tested in a small experimental watershed in Greece. The watershed is equipped with a dense hydro-meteorological network, which together with a detailed land cover and soil survey using remote sensing and GIS techniques provided the detailed data required for this analysis.

Description: This paper presents a study for finding the optimal management plan of an overexploited aquifer under global climate change. The study area is the aquifer of the basin of Lake Karla, located in the eastern part of Thessaly in Greece. An optimization method has been used to evaluate the optimum volume of water that can be extracted from the aquifer and the optimum position of the wells with the objective of water table rise to a desirable sustainable level, taking into consideration the climate change forcing. The modelling system consists of a series of interlinked models: a hydrological, a lake-aquifer, a reservoir operation, a groundwater, and an optimization model. The climate change forcing on precipitation and temperature has been evaluated using the outputs of Canadian Centre for Climate Model Analysis General Circulation Model (CGCMa2) and a hybrid downscaling method which combines a multiple regression (MLR) model and a timeseries model for two socioeconomic emissions scenarios. The results of this study show that climate change plays an important role, as it affects the optimum volume of the extracted groundwater and the position of the irrigation wells.

Description: Regional frequency analysis is a useful tool for accurate estimation of precipitation quantiles than at-site frequency analysis, especially in the case of regions with a short rainfall time series. The use of meteorological information, combined with rainfall data analysis, could improve the selection of homogeneous regions. Starting from 1958, 198 meteorological configurations, related to extreme events, have been identified throughout the national territory of Italy. The reanalyzed meteorological data of the 40 Year Re-analysis Archive (ERA-40) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) have been analyzed to identify homogeneous regions with respect to the Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE), the Q vector Divergence (QD) and the Vertically Integrated Moisture Flux (VIMF). The latter index appears to be the better candidate for finding regional homogeneity inside areas where high frequency values of CAPE or QD are present. The paper presents an application based on the delimitation of homogeneous regions using climatic indexes for the island of Sicily. By applying the proposed methodology, seven homogeneous areas over Sicily were found. The consistency of the final results has been validated by using a coupled approach based on the Valuation of Floods in Italy procedure (VAPI) and on the heterogeneity test of Hosking and Wallis (Water Resour Res 29:271–281, 1993 , 1997 ).

Description: Each single phase of a water supply network, from water adduction to distribution to end-users, is exposed to many diverse potential sources of intentional contamination (or malicious attacks). One of the most dangerous threats is a backflow attack that occurs when a pump system, easily available on the market, is utilized to overcome the pressure gradient of network pipes. In this work, a simple backflow attack with cyanide being introduced into a real-water system is modeled and the most dangerous introduction points for a contaminant incident are defined. Moreover, the network vulnerability has been analyzed by computing the lethal dose of cyanide ingested by users and the total length of the contaminated water system. Eventually the effects of network partitioning and district isolation to protect water supply systems have been investigated. The results show how district closing - by network sectorization techniques used to improve leakage search and reduction - can significantly decrease contaminant diffusion and protect part of the users from cyanide uptake. Network sectorization can also reduce the risk of simple malicious attacks because several introduction points are necessary to have a massive negative impact on the network. Simulation results also show that in some cases water network partitioning may worsen water network protection and further studies are necessary to design water districts for network security and safety.

Description: This article examines available methods for assessing all types of drought costs, including both damage costs and costs arising from adopting policy measures to encourage mitigation of, and adaptation to, droughts. It first discusses damage costs, distinguishing between direct, indirect and non-market costs. Then it examines the suitability of existing methods for estimating drought costs in different economic sectors, their underlying theoretical assumptions, complementarity between different methods, and conditions relevant for their application. The latter include precision, ability to deal with future climate change risks, data needs and availability, and required financial and human resources. The article further considers potential policies for drought mitigation and adaptation and different cost types associated with them. It ends with providing recommendations for good practices regarding the use of methods as well as drought mitigation and adaptation policies.

Description: Dependency of reservoir operation on the climate variation occurs especially in regions, where agricultural demand has a significant share of the total water demands. The variability between demands that are based on annual climate conditions may be larger than the uncertainty associated with other explanatory variables in long-term operation of an irrigation dam. This paper proposed a rule curves to the water managers of the Zayandeh-rud reservoir in Iran in long-lead reservoir operation. A regional optimal allocation of water among different crops and irrigation units is developed. The optimal allocation model is coupled with a reservoir operating model, which is developed based on the certain hedging that deals with the available water and the water demands mutually. This coupled model is able to activate restrictions on allocating water to agricultural demands considering variation of inflow to the reservoir, variation of demands and the economic value of allocating water among different crops and irrigation units. The resulted rule curve is presented with a number of tables for more details and accuracy and a simple curve, which is more useful for operational purpose.

Description: This paper addresses the problem of the localization of contamination sources after deliberate contaminations in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS). The proposed methodology is based on the information given by successive positive readings of sensors. Thus, it is possible to estimate the localization of the contamination sources based on only the first sensor that detected a contamination, and then update the results when more information is available. From the tests performed on a real drinking water distribution system, it was possible to observe that as new sensors detect changes in contaminant concentration, other possible contaminations may be detected and the location of contamination sources may be more restricted. The results achieved for the two set of sensors considered in the study contained the correct locations and the instants of contaminations previously simulated. Two case studies were also analysed to study the effect of the occurrence of false positives. It was concluded that it is not always possible to verify the occurrence of those anomalies and when it is verified, it is not possible to distinguish between a false positive and a false negative. The occurrence of false positives did not affect also the results related with the real detections.

Description: The importance of simulation models to assess the impacts of droughts and the effects of mitigation options on water supply systems is well known. However a common procedure about the exploitation of model results is not established yet. Vulnerability is used to characterize the performance of the system, and it can be a helpful indicator in the evaluation of the most likely failures. In this paper a water allocation model is applied to the water supply system of the upper Tiber Basin (Central Italy) in which both surface waters (rivers, reservoirs) and ground waters (wells, springs) are exploited to feed mainly irrigation and civil users. Drought vulnerability indices are calculated to analyze the performance of the supply system under different climate and management conditions. Water shortage scenarios are simulated as a progressive reduction of mean precipitation, an increase in its standard deviation or a combination of both. The model shows that the safety of the water supply system mainly relies on the reservoirs and that the foreseen increased exploitation of the springs to replace contaminated wells, could be seriously limited by discharge decrease during fall. The vulnerability reduction obtained by a hypothetical augmentation of the storage capacity through additional small reservoirs was positively tested by the model. In conclusion vulnerability indices and synoptic risk maps demonstrated to be useful tools to analyze the model outputs. They provide easy-to-read scenarios to be used in a decision making framework considering negotiating among the main users.

Description: The work presented herein addresses the problem of sensor placement optimization in urban water distribution networks by use of an entropy-based approach, for the purpose of efficient and economically viable waterloss incident detection. The proposed method is applicable to longitudinal rather than spatial sensing, thus to devices such as acoustic, pressure, or flow sensors acting on pipe segments. The method utilizes the maximality, subadditivity and equivocation properties of entropy, coupled with a statistical definition of the probability of sensing within a pipe segment, to assign an entropy metric to each pipe segment and subsequently optimize the location of sensors in the network based on maximizing the total entropy in the network. The method proposed is a greedy-search heuristic.

Description: With the worldwide depletion of groundwater and the intensified use around the world, particularly in many arid and semi-arid regions for irrigation and municipal use, there is no satisfactory approach to groundwater sustainability. The lack of and miss-management of this valuable resource has not only created serious groundwater pollution problems but has created present and/or future water supply problems. This paper does not present a solution, but instead examines economic ideas such as exhaustible resource theory (over exploitation), and optimization methodologies that can incorporate new ideas of groundwater sustainability, population growth constraints, include both short term and long term consequences, and consider multi-objectives. Concepts of groundwater footprint, recharge, and safe yield are discarded as concepts for measuring groundwater sustainability. The concept of developing a sustainability index that could also be used within the context of optimization is introduced. Also the concepts of traditional knowledge are discussed with the emphasis on the use of these methodologies for both developed and developing regions of the world to achieve groundwater sustainability.

Description: Reservoir operation cannot be carried out without due heed to surface water and groundwater resources, since neglecting either will have irreversible consequences. Optimal operation of the Zayandehrood Dam which supplies water into the Zayandehrood River basin in the central plateau of Iran is a case in point which warrants due consideration paid to both dam operation and the climate conditions in the region suffering from a history of successive droughts. The main objective of the present research is to develop operation rules for the Zayandehrood reservoir through a combined perspective of both surface and ground water resources using the fuzzy inference system, and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. The objective is to determine the share of the Zayandehrood reservoir in meeting downstream water demands. For this purpose, the water shortage and the dramatic groundwater drawdown in the Zayandehrood River basin faced with in recent years have been studied in an attempt to develop operation models capable of controlling groundwater drawdown. The models indicate that not only can groundwater drawdown be controlled, but that it is also possible to establish a greater sustainability. Different operation models have been compared in terms of their operation criteria. Results show that the ANFIS model composed of optimal data enjoys a higher sustainability compared to others.

Description: Genetic algorithms (GA) are optimization techniques that are widely used in the design of water distribution networks. One of the main disadvantages of GA is positional bias, which degrades the quality of the solution. In this study, a modified pseudo-genetic algorithm (PGA) is presented. In a PGA, the coding of chromosomes is performed using integer coding; in a traditional GA, binary coding is utilized. Each decision variable is represented by only one gene. This variation entails a series of special characteristics in the definition of mutation and crossover operations. Some benchmark networks have been used to test the suitability of a PGA for designing water distribution networks. More than 50,000 simulations were conducted with different sets of parameters. A statistical analysis of the obtained solutions was also performed. Through this analysis, more suitable values of mutation and crossover probabilities were discovered for each case. The results demonstrate the validity of the method. Optimum solutions are not guaranteed in any heuristic method. Hence, the concept of a “good solution” is introduced. A good solution is a design solution that does not substantially exceed the optimal solution that is obtained from the simulations. This concept may be useful when the computational cost is critical. The main conclusion derived from this study is that a proper combination of population and crossover and mutation probabilities leads to a high probability that good solutions will be obtained.

Description: Public utilities could improve their efficiency by pursuing specific strategies, such as growth, diversification of investments, or serving mainly high densely areas. For example, in the water sector, economies of scope and scale both appear possible, but extant literature does not offer clear or consensual findings. To address this lack of clarity, this article investigates the potential for efficiency improvement in the diverse Italian water sector, which comprises utilities of various sizes, operating in areas with various population densities and organized as mono- or multi-utilities. Technical and financial data from 64 different utilities were collected and then analyzed with a two-stage data envelopment analysis approach to reveal the impacts of different operational and exogenous variables on efficiency, including firm size, the degree of investment diversification, and customer density. The results obtained confirm the existence of all three types of economies (scale, scope and density), albeit with different impacts for each DEA score.

Description: Green roofs are increasingly used as sustainable urban drainage systems due to their retention and detention capacity; however, the impact of green roofs in term of water quality is still a debated issue among researchers. A monitoring programme was carried out at the University of Genoa on a full-scale experimental site to assess the quality of storm water outflows. As for rainfall, the bulk deposition (dry and wet fractions) is collected to evaluate the role of the overall atmospheric deposition in altering storm water quality. The pollutant load observed in the green roof outflow is limited; concentration values for solids and metals are lower than those generally observed in storm water runoff from impervious surfaces. Suspended solids and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) are below respectively 10 and 20 mg/l, on average; as for heavy metals, copper and zinc are equal to 30 μg/l on average, while iron is equal to 120 μg/l. The Event Mean Concentration (EMC) statistics of the pollutant loads associated with the rainfall and outflow have been compared and discussed. The observed green roof behaviour as a sink/source of pollutants with respect to the atmospheric deposition is also investigated based on both concentration and mass. Results demonstrate that: green roof behaves as a source with respect to solids, COD and potassium while zinc and mainly copper are retained within the green roof stratigraphy. The resulting mass delivery behaviour reveals that no significant first flush occurs for pollutant constituents irrespective of the hydrologic characteristics and pollutant sources.

Description: This paper describes a new multi-objective evolutionary optimization approach to the simultaneous layout and pipe size design of water distribution systems. Pressure-deficient and topologically infeasible solutions are fully incorporated in the genetic algorithm without recourse to constraint violation penalties or tournaments. The proposed approach is demonstrated by solving three benchmark problems taken from the literature. New optimal layouts and/or new feasible solutions that are cheaper than the best solutions in the literature were found for both branched and looped network configurations. Specifically, a new best solution was generated for each of the above-mentioned benchmark problems. In addition, the case of the looped design of a hitherto branched network in the literature was considered. Detailed results are included that show that the proposed approach achieves good solutions efficiently and consistently.

Description: There is no doubt that groundwater is an important and vital source of water supply in arid and semi-arid areas. Therefore, prediction of groundwater level fluctuations is necessary for planning conjunctive use in these areas. This research was aimed to predict groundwater levels in the Neishaboor plain using N eural N etwork – A uto R egressive e X tra input (NN-ARX) and Static-NN models. The NN-ARX model determines a nonlinear ARX model of a dynamic system by training a hidden layer neural network with the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. In this model the current outputs depend not only on the current inputs, but also on the inputs and outputs at the pervious time periods. The available observation wells in the study area were clustered according to their fluctuation behavior using the “Ward” method, which resulted in six areal zones. Then, for each cluster, an observation well was selected as its representative, and for each zone, values of monthly precipitation, temperature and groundwater extraction were estimated. The best input of the Static-NN model was identified using combination of Gamma Test and Genetic Algorithm. Also, Gamma Test is applied to identify the length of the training dataset. The results showed that the NN-ARX model was suitable and more practical. The performance indicators ( R 2  = 0.97, RMSE = 0.03 m, ME = --0.07 m and R 2  = 0.81, RMSE = 0.35 m, ME = 0.60 m, respectively for the best and worst performance of model) reveals the effectiveness of this model. Moreover, these results were compared with the results of a static-NN model using t-test , which showed the superiority of the NN-ARX over the static-NN.

Description: In western Victoria, Australia the water table and lake level in the Glenelg-Hopkins catchment have been declining for the last 15 years, and this is attributed to either the low rainfall over this time and/or a substantial change in land use. Stream flow modelling was carried out using monthly empirical water balance model (modified tanh function together with double mass curve analysis), on 37 stream gauges to assess whether the impact of land use change could be detected by a change in the magnitude of the resulting runoff. The empirical hydrological model was able to distinguish impact of land use change on stream flow from the climatic variables. There were substantial decreases in stream flow in the 1970s–1980s, probably related to increasing livestock densities in the region. Furthermore, the methodology can be a powerful tool to monitor and evaluate the possible impacts of future land use changes. It can be concluded that the use of such empirical hydrological modelling greatly improves the ability to analyse the impact of land use on catchment runoff. The model is a practical tool that can be readily used for identifying and quantifying the effect of landuse changes on catchment for water resource decision-making, which could be hardly possible using the time consuming, data hungry and expensive physical process models available.

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

Description:    Water is currently an essential and strategic resource for society and its importance will rise in the future due to the increasing number of threats. However, water management is not currently up to par taking into consideration this well acknowledged importance. Generally speaking, water use is not efficient and loss figures are often too high. The reasons behind this situation are complex and diverse, however, in principle, they can be divided into four categories: cultural, political, social and economic. Since the latter are of most importance, this paper focuses on water costs from source to tap. The economic analysis presented quantifies the costs of a sustainable urban water service in a structured way. The second part of the paper present a case study in which the economic losses linked to leakage are assessed as a function of how expenses are recovered. The cost of apparent losses could also be assessed in a similar way and will always be higher, since apparent losses (unlike real ones) are present throughout the whole water cycle, thus increasing the unit costs. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0181-3 Authors E. Cabrera, ITA, Department Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, C/Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain M. A. Pardo, INGHA, Area of Hydraulic Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, PO BOX 99, 03080 Alicante, Spain E. Cabrera Jr., ITA, Department Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, C/Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain F. J. Arregui, ITA, Department Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, C/Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The use of groundwater from alluvial aquifers largely affects stream discharge by capturing the stream resources. This affects hydrological processes and riparian biodiversity. In this study, complementary water resources are investigated in an effort to ease human pressure on alluvial systems and, eventually, on stream-aquifer relationships. Discharge and hydrochemical data along a 5 km reach of the Tordera River (NE Spain) provide evidence that groundwater fluxes, associated with a regional hydrogeological system related to the basement fracture network, contribute to alluvial recharge and to stream flow. End-member mixing analysis considering upstream discharge, groundwater flows, and human inputs to the stream as major flow sources shows that regional basement groundwater fluxes are responsible for as much as 20 % of the total discharge, which also explains unexpected rises in stream flow. This suggests a possible new approach to local water resources planning, indicating that conjunctive use might actually be feasible. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0186-y Authors Josep Mas-Pla, Grup de Geologia Aplicada i Ambiental (GAiA), Centre de Geologia i Cartografia Ambiental (Geocamb), Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain Anna Menció, Grup de Geologia Aplicada i Ambiental (GAiA), Centre de Geologia i Cartografia Ambiental (Geocamb), Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain Albert Marsiñach, Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Based on the meteorological and surface runoff data from Xinjiang for the past 50 years, this study examined the temporal-spatial variation characteristics of the air temperature, precipitation and runoff in Xinjiang using nonparametric tests and wavelet analysis. The results indicate that the air temperature declined slightly in Kuche (KC). There were slight increasing trends in Bayinbluk (BYBLK), Alar (ALR) and Yutian (YT). The rest of the meteorological stations all had significant increasing trends. The precipitation showed significant increasing trends in the Altai Mountains, Alashankou (ALSK) and Jinghe (JH) in northern Xinjiang and a slight decreasing trend in Tuoli (TL). The other stations showed slight increasing trends. The annual rate of change of precipitation was greater in the northern mountain area than in the southern plains area. In the Tianshan Mountains, the decreasing trend of precipitation at BYBLK was not statistically significant, while the precipitation in the other stations increased to the high-precipitation areas from two low-precipitation centers, Zhaosu (ZS) and BYBLK. In the Tarim Basin of southern Xinjiang, the increasing trend and increasing rate of precipitation were more significant on the northern margin than they were on the southern margin. With regard to the surface runoff, significant uptrends appeared in Kenswat (KSWT), Dashankou (DSK), Shiliguilank (SLGLK), Xiehela (XHL) and Yzmeilek (YZMLK). Kaqun (KQ) and Wuluwat (WLWT) had slight increases, and Tongguzlek (TGZLK) showed a slight downtrend. The variations in air temperature and precipitation in Xinjiang had significant periods of 4–9 years and 3–10 years, respectively. The periods for the annual runoff were 5–9 years. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0192-0 Authors Hongbo Ling, State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China Hailiang Xu, State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China Jinyi Fu, State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Hydrological models have been used in many places of the world in order to support practitioners with respect to watershed management actions. The goal of this research was to apply the Lavras Simulation of Hydrology (LASH model) to a Brazilian tropical watershed dominated by Oxisols, to estimate maximum, minimum and mean stream flows for both current land-use (“scenario 1”) and other regional trend land-use scenarios (“scenario 2”—pasture into eucalyptus; and “scenario 3”—eucalyptus into pasture). This model is a continuous, distributed and semi-conceptual model for simulation of different hydrological components on a daily basis. The model had a good performance with respect to the “scenario 1”, resulting in Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients equal to 0.81, 0.82 and 0.98 for minimum, maximum and mean discharges, respectively. When “scenario 2” was simulated, it was found that minimum, mean and maximum stream flows had their values reduced in average by 7.39 %, 13.84 % and 20.38 %, respectively. On the contrary, it was observed in “scenario 3” an increase in average by 0.23 %, 0.44 % and 1.19 % for minimum, mean and maximum stream flows, respectively. With respect to water yield, scenario 2 resulted in a mean reduction of 119 mm, whereas for scenario 3 the difference was not so pronounced in relation to the current land use. Results obtained in scenario 2 are troublesome since this watershed drains into an important regional Hydroelectric Power Plant Reservoir and this approach needs to be considered by the Minas Gerais State electric energy company for its planning strategies for the future. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-23 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0189-8 Authors Samuel Beskow, Center of Technological Development/Water Resources Engineering, Federal University of Pelotas, 01 Gomes Carneiro, 96010-670 Pelotas, RS, Brazil Lloyd D. Norton, USDA-ARS National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory, Purdue University, 275 South Russell Street, 47907-2077 West Lafayette, IN, USA Carlos R. Mello, Soil and Water Engineering Group, Engineering Department, Federal University of Lavras, C.P. 3037, 37200-000 Lavras, MG, Brazil Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Cost and reliability are two diametrically opposite objectives in a pumping main design as the objective of an uninterrupted supply of water will increase the system cost. In this investigation, a methodology for pumping main design is presented by considering the costs of pumping main and pipeline breakage. Although it has been found that there is no clear-cut optimum point in such a design objective, there is however, a set of non-dominated points called Pareto-optimal front which can be used to optimize pipe diameter. It is hoped that this methodology will be useful to design engineers engaged in the design of pumping mains and will also result in the cost savings to water service providers. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-9 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0178-y Authors Prabhata K. Swamee, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016 India Ashok K. Sharma, CSIRO Land and Water, 37 Graham Road, Highett, VIC 3190, Australia Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    In practice, water pricing is the main economic instrument used to discourage the wasteful use of residential water. Owing to considerations of affordability, residential water is systematically underpriced because water is essential for life. Such a low price results in water being used inefficiently. This paper proposes a system that supplements the existing price system with a cap-and-trade measure to reconcile conflicts among the goals of residential water use. It forces all people (independent of income) to be faced with reasonable price signals and to use water efficiently. The poor could, however, gain from trade and afford water. By taking advantage of the agent-based model, a simulation of this system applied to Taipei, Taiwan shows that those with lower income per capita are better off under this system even though the equilibrium price of residential water is higher. The simulated average price elasticity of market demand is −0.449. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-17 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0185-z Authors Ming-Feng Hung, Department of Industrial Economics, Tamkang University, Tamsui District, New Taipei City 25137, Taiwan, Republic of China Bin-Tzong Chie, Department of Industrial Economics, Tamkang University, Tamsui District, New Taipei City 25137, Taiwan, Republic of China Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The effect of climate change on water resources is an important challenge. To analyze the negative effects of this phenomenon and recommend adaptive measures, it is necessary to assess streamflow simulation scenarios and streamflow transition probabilities in future periods. This paper employs the HadCM3 (Hadley Centre Coupled Model, version 3) model to generate climate change scenarios in future periods (2010–2039, 2040–2069, and 2070–2099) and under A2 emission scenarios. By introducing climatic variable time series in future periods to the IHACRES (Identification of unit Hydrographs And Component flows from Rainfall, Evaporation and Streamflow data) hydrological model, long-term streamflow simulation scenarios are produced. By fitting statistically different distributions on runoff produced by using goodness-of-fit tests, the most appropriate statistical distribution for each month is chosen and relevant statistical parameters are extracted and compared with statistical parameters of runoff in the base period. Results show that long-term annual runoff average in the three future periods compared to the period 2000–1971 will decrease 22, 11, and 65 %, respectively. ِDespite the reduction in total runoff volume in future periods compared to the baseline period, the decrease is related to medium and high flows. In low flows, total runoff volumes for future periods compared to the baseline period will increase 47, 41, and 14 %, respectively. To further assess the impact of annual average runoff on flows, it is necessary to examine the correlation of time series using streamflow transition probabilities. To compare the streamflow transition probability in each of the future periods with base period streamflow in each month, streamflow is discretized and performance criteria are used. Results show a low coefficient of correlation and high error indicators. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-20 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0182-2 Authors Parisa Sadat Ashofteh, Department of Irrigation & Reclamation, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj Province, Tehran, Iran Omid Bozorg Haddad, Department of Irrigation & Reclamation, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj Province, Tehran, Iran Miguel A. Mariño, Department of Land, Air & Water Resources, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of California, 139 Veihmeyer Hall, Davis, CA 95616-8628, USA Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Water transfer from agriculture to urban uses will likely become increasingly common worldwide. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of converting paddy rice to dry land crops (PPRDC) on local farmers’ income in China’s Chaobai watershed and to analyze the responses of surface water quality to the change in cropping system. An on-site investigation of 485 households and water quality data from 1999 to 2008 are presented in this study. The cost of cultivation as a percentage of the total revenue was 22.3 % for rice and 30.1 % for corn, and the calculated compensation level (CCOM) should be 6172.3 Yuan ha −1 . PPRDC provided farms with stable income without regard to drought and flood: thus, farmers responded positively to PPRDC, and 76.7 % of farmers expected to continue PPRDC. Inflow water quality was improved in terms of total nitrogen (TN) and nitrate (NO 3 –N) because of the reduction in fertilizer and pesticides after PPRDC, but there was no significant change in total phosphorus (TP). PPRDC not only reallocates water resource to different users but also improves water quality through crop adjustment. A dynamic compensation mechanism based on changing crop price is required for the future water transfer project. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0176-0 Authors Wenyong Wu, State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, No. 21 Che Gongzhuang West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China 10048 Suchuang Di, Center for Water Resources Research, Beijing Hydraulic Research Institute, Beijing, China 100048 Qianheng Chen, College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China 100083 Shengli Yang, Center for Water Resources Research, Beijing Hydraulic Research Institute, Beijing, China 100048 Xingyao Pan, Center for Water Resources Research, Beijing Hydraulic Research Institute, Beijing, China 100048 Honglu Liu, Center for Water Resources Research, Beijing Hydraulic Research Institute, Beijing, China 100048 Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    In this study, a simple site-specific index entitled “Discharge Effect Index (DEI)” was developed to rank and control the potential risks of point sources discharges effects to Ergene River and its branches. The basin is densely populated and heavily industrialized and all the water bodies in the basin are effluent-dependent or dominated. A case study is presented to assess the most important pollution parameters in the water bodies and to evaluate relationship between toxicity to Vibrio fischeri organism and chemical parameters in receiving waters. The aim of the study was to develop a simple site-specific control approach for seriously polluted and effluent-dominated water bodies in this developing country, Turkey and guide to decision makers about controlling point sources pollution in such heavily industrialized basins and achieve ‘good chemical status’ in ambient waters. The results of the study should be useful to encourage site-specific policies on point sources pollution especially to who had such these pollution problems in their receiving water bodies. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-17 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0180-4 Authors E. Güneş, Çorlu Enginering Faculty, Department of Environmental Engineering, Namık Kemal University, Çorlu, Tekirdağ, Turkey İ. Talınlı, Department of Environmental Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This paper considers aspects of environmental social science research in the UK and explores an obvious bias towards the development of instruments to manage demand as an adaptation to climate change, and consequently the predominance of interest in the customer from a demand-side perspective. In the case of water, this has resulted in an inappropriate mixing of individualist research methods designed to measure public perceptions of risk and water-based practices, with mass consumption data that cannot be specifically linked to the individual. This mixing has a tendency to reinforce a long-standing blame culture that drives interest in the development of behaviour change initiatives while the relatively unchallenged hydraulic mission to provide safe drinking water and sanitation progresses. With this in mind this paper reviews examples of water use research from California, Australia, and the UK and highlights the more effective routes to understanding water customers and developing behaviour change initiatives that utilise stages of change models and grounded techniques incorporating qualitative and quantitative data from individual sources. A secondary aim is to argue for re-framing the relations between various actors in a changing climate to allow the development of new policy approaches, learning, and openness, from industry, regulators, and customers, based on new theories from the field. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-21 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0184-0 Authors Rebecca Pearce, Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ UK Suraje Dessai, Sustainability Research Institute and ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK Stewart Barr, Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ UK Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The management of complex water resource systems that address water service recovery costs and consider adequate contributions and priorities require methods that integrate technical, economic, environmental, social and legal aspects into a comprehensive framework. In Europe, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC recommends that the pricing politics in a river basin take into account the cost recovery and the economic sustainability of the water use. However, the current cost allocation methods do not consider the user’s willingness to pay and often do not permit a total cost recovery. Thus, a new approach is required that includes these requirements when defining water rates. This article presents a methodology to allocate water service costs in a water resource system among different users that attempts to fulfil the WFD requirements. The methodology is based on Cooperative Game Theory (CGT) techniques and on the definition of the related characteristic function using a mathematical optimisation approach. The CGT provides the instruments that are necessary to analyse situations that require a cost-sharing rule. The CGT approach can define efficient and fair solutions that provide the appropriate incentives among the parties involved. Therefore, the water system cost allocation has been valued as a game in which it is necessary to determine the right payoff for each player that is, in this case, a water user. To apply the CGT principles in a water resources system, the characteristic function needs to be defined and evaluated using an adequate modelling approach; in this study, it is evaluated using the optimisation model WARGI. (Sechi and Zuddas 2000 ). The so-called “core” represents the game-solution set. It represents the area of the admissible cost allocation values from which the boundaries on the cost values for each player can be supplied. Within the core lie all of the allocations that satisfy the principles of equity, fairness, justice, efficiency and that guarantee cost recovery. The core of a cooperative game can represent a useful instrument to define the water cost rates. Furthermore, it can be used as a valid support in water resource management to achieve the economic analysis required by the WFD. The methodology was applied to a multi-reservoir and multi-demand water system in Sardinia, Italy. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0171-5 Authors Giovanni M. Sechi, Department of Land Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy Riccardo Zucca, Department of Land Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy Paola Zuddas, Department of Land Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    A new approach is developed for assessing water security status: the Water Security Status Indicators (WSSI) assessment method. The WSSI has four innovative aspects which address important gaps in the literature. First, it was developed in cooperation with end-users, whose participation enabled the design of a user-friendly assessment method. Second, this method is designed to be implemented at the local scale (small scale watershed or sub-watershed). Third, the WSSI is multivariate: it integrates variables pertaining to water quality and water quantity as they relate to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Fourth, the method provides concrete outputs for incorporation into water decision-making processes. In this paper, we document the WSSI assessment method and its application in a community in British Columbia (Canada), including the incorporation of community input into the development and application of the WSSI, and the integration of WSSI results into community water governance. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-17 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0200-4 Authors Emma S. Norman, Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Road, Houghton, MI 49931, USA Gemma Dunn, Program on Water Governance, University of British Columbia, 439-2202 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z4 Karen Bakker, Department of Geography and Program on Water Governance, University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z2 Diana M. Allen, Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6 Rafael Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6 Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This paper discusses the development of an analytical support system for implementation of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) process. The system integrates four analytical tools: (i) geographic information system; (ii) system dynamics simulation; (iii) agent-based model; and (iv) hydrologic simulation. The choice of tools is driven by their ability to (a) respond to the main requirements of the IWRM and (b) explicitly describe system behaviour as function of time and location in space. The system dynamics simulation captures temporal dynamics in an integrated feedback model that includes sectors representing physical and socioeconomic system components. Management policies established in the participatory decision making environment are easily investigated through the simulation of system behaviour. Agent-based model is used to analyze spatial dynamics of complex physical-social-economic-biologic system. The IWRM support system is tested using data from the Upper Thames River Watershed, Ontario, Canada, in collaboration with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-17 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0193-z Authors Vladimir V. Nikolic, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada Slobodan P. Simonovic, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada Dragan B. Milicevic, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Nis, Nis, Serbia Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Reliability analysis of water distribution systems is a complex task, as it requires both definition and calculation of several reliability measures. In this paper, a methodology for evaluating water distribution system reliability is developed and demonstrated on a simple water distribution network based on the minimum cut-set approach. In general, the definition of the minimum cut-set can arise either from the mechanical reliability or from the concept of hydraulic reliability. In the case of mechanical reliability, a new method based on graph theory is developed, in order to determine the minimum cut-set. This method is based on the counting of paths between nodes. Furthermore, the general concept of reliability is proposed, to include apart from the mechanical reliability, more generally, the pressure availability at nodes as a main hydraulic property. Based on the pressure availability, the sense of hydraulic availability can be expressed as a fuzzy set, while the combination of the water unavailability of the nodes can be achieved by using fuzzy averaging aggregator. Finally, an overall reliability index is proposed based on both the hydraulic and the mechanical reliability. An illustrative example is developed to indicate the methodology. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0163-5 Authors Stavros Yannopoulos, Faculty of Engineering, School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, Department of Transportation and Hydraulic Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR - 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece Mike Spiliotis, School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, Centre for the Assessment of Natural Hazards and Proactive Planning and Laboratory of Reclamation Works and Water Resources Management, National Tehnical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou, GR-15780 Athens, Greece Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    South Florida ecosystem is dictated by a large wetland, karst hydrogeology and extended coastal boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. The risks related to the ecosystem include: disruption of groundwater flow as a result of frequent sinkhole formation; flooding in urban areas as a result of the shallow water table; saltwater intrusion from the ocean; and excessive nutrient load to surficial water bodies and subsequently eutrophication because of the intensive utilization of wetlands for nutrient removal. Attempts to understand eco-hydrological processes primarily focus on extensive monitoring and use of distributed hydrological models. However, the relatively flat nature of the region and also the extended coastal boundary with the ocean, makes watershed-based approaches less realistic. A regional spatiotemporal groundwater level modeling approach was attempted using a Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA) method. The daily water levels of 13 monitoring well sites from major hydrogeologic regions and different land uses were used to conduct the DFA analysis, and six dynamic factors were identified using minimum Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Further exploratory analysis to relate the dynamic factors with physically attributable explanatory variables has helped to identify five of the major factors that govern the groundwater dynamics in south Florida. Three of the factors were attributable to the Lake Kissimmee water level in the north, Caloosahatchee River water level in the west, and Hillsboro canal in the east. The other two factors identified were the regional averaged rainfall and soil moisture. The spatiotemporal simulation involved interpolation of the loadings of the dynamic factors using an inverse distance weighted method and convoluting with the dynamic factors. The result has shown a good fit with the maximum RMSE of 0.12 m. Retrieval of rainfall, soil moisture, and surface water level from satellite imagery makes spatiotemporal modeling of the groundwater level achievable. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0156-4 Authors Y. Chebud, Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA A. Melesse, Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Using structural and nonstructural measures for flood damage reduction is a long-standing problem in water resources planning and management. In the present study, an algorithm is presented for the optimal design of structural and nonstructural flood mitigation measures based on simulation-based optimization approach. For this purpose, the MIKE-11 simulation model, a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model, was used to calculate the potential damages of different flood scenarios under the various combinations of structural and nonstructural measures and this model was coupled with the NSGA-II multi-objective optimization model to provide the optimal Pareto solutions between two conflict objectives of minimizing the investment costs of flood mitigation measures and the potential damages of the floodplain. The proposed model was then applied to a small watershed in central part of Iran as a case study and the optimal trade-off solutions were calculated for different flood scenarios. Using these trade-offs, for each level of funding, decision makers can assign the optimal design of flood mitigation measures considering decision criteria. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0167-1 Authors J. Yazdi, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran S. A. A. Salehi Neyshabouri, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The southern border of the Brazilian Amazon is one of the most sensitive areas to deforestation in Brazil. In addition to problems related to changes in land use, new issues are emerging, including climate change and its negative effects on the regional hydrological cycle. In recent years considerable research has been undertaken focusing on climate change and its effects on Amazon Biodiversity, carbon cycle, fire incidence and even on regional water resources, but there is very little research linking territorial planning and public policies to prospective planning scenarios and climate change and the necessary adaptation or mitigation actions to address climate vulnerability. This study examines issues pertaining to social, economic and environmental vulnerability, including new challenges posed by climate change. Examples of environmental problems related to climate dynamics of the Rio Acre Basin are floods and dry periods such as the major drought of 2005 and the 2009 flood. The use of methodology for integrated assessment of vulnerability to river basins in Amazon Region constitutes a valuable instrument for territorial planning, since it takes into account both the challenges of poverty and the environmental fragility, as well the possible aggravations of extreme climatic events in the future. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0166-2 Authors José Antônio Sena, Energy Planning Program (PPE), Coordination of Post-Graduation Programs in Engineering of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ), Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Bloco C, Sala C-211, C.P: 68565, CEP 21945-970, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Marcos Aurélio V. Freitas, Energy Planning Program (PPE), Coordination of Post-Graduation Programs in Engineering of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ), Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Bloco C, Sala C-211, C.P: 68565, CEP 21945-970, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Daniel de Berrêdo, Energy Planning Program (PPE), Coordination of Post-Graduation Programs in Engineering of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ), Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Bloco C, Sala C-211, C.P: 68565, CEP 21945-970, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Lazaro Costa Fernandes, International Virtual Institute of Global Change- IVIG, Centro de Tecnologia Bloco I - Sala 129, C.P. 68501 Cidade Universitária, CEP 21945-970, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This paper presents a new penalty-free multi-objective evolutionary approach (PFMOEA) for the optimization of water distribution systems (WDSs). The proposed approach utilizes pressure dependent analysis (PDA) to develop a multi-objective evolutionary search. PDA is able to simulate both normal and pressure deficient networks and provides the means to accurately and rapidly identify the feasible region of the solution space, effectively locating global or near global optimal solutions along its active constraint boundary. The significant advantage of this method over previous methods is that it eliminates the need for ad-hoc penalty functions, additional “boundary search” parameters, or special constraint handling procedures. Conceptually, the approach is downright straightforward and probably the simplest hitherto. The PFMOEA has been applied to several WDS benchmarks and its performance examined. It is demonstrated that the approach is highly robust and efficient in locating optimal solutions. Superior results in terms of the initial network construction cost and number of hydraulic simulations required were obtained. The improvements are demonstrated through comparisons with previously published solutions from the literature. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-23 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0158-2 Authors Calvin Siew, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Strathclyde Glasgow, John Anderson Building, 107 Rottenrow, Glasgow, G4 0NG UK Tiku T. Tanyimboh, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Strathclyde Glasgow, John Anderson Building, 107 Rottenrow, Glasgow, G4 0NG UK Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Quantitative and qualitative monthly precipitation forecasts are produced with ANFIS. To select the proper input variable set from 30 variables, including climatological and hydrological monthly recording data, the forward selection method, which is a wrapper method for feature selection, is applied. The error analysis of the results from training and checking the data sets suggests that 3 variables can be used as a suitable number of inputs for ANFIS, and the best five 3-input-variable sets were selected. The quantitative monthly precipitation forecasts were computed using each 3-input-variable set, and the ensemble averaging method over the five forecasts was used for calculations to reduce the uncertainties in the forecasts and to remove the negative rainfall forecasts. A qualitative forecast that is computed with the quantitative forecast also produced three types of categories that describe the next month’s precipitation condition and was compared with data from the weather agency of Korea. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-17 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0157-3 Authors Changsam Jeong, Department of Civil and Environmental Eng, Induk University, Seoul, 139-749 South Korea Ju-Young Shin, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749 South Korea Taesoon Kim, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Hydroelectric Powers, Seoul, 135-881 South Korea Jun-Haneg Heo, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749 South Korea Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This paper presents a new game theoretic methodology for equitable waste load allocation in rivers utilizing fuzzy bi-matrix games, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithms II (NSGA-II), cooperative game theory, Bayesian Networks (BNs) and Probabilistic Support Vector Machines (PSVMs). In this methodology, at first, a trade-off curve between objectives, which are average treatment level of dischargers and fuzzy risk of low water quality, is obtained using NSGA-II. Then, the best non-dominated solution is selected using a non-zero-sum bi-matrix game with fuzzy goals. In the next step, to have an equitable waste load allocation, some possible coalitions among dischargers are formed and treatment costs are reallocated to discharges and side payments are calculated. To develop probabilistic rules for real-time waste load allocation, the proposed model is applied considering several scenarios of pollution loads and the results are used for training and testing BNs and PSVMs. The applicability and efficiency of the methodology are examined in a real-world case study of the Zarjub River in the northern part of Iran. The results show that the average relative errors of the proposed rules in estimating the treatment levels of dischargers are less than 5 %. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0165-3 Authors Mohammad Reza Nikoo, Department of Civil Engineering, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Reza Kerachian, School of Civil Engineering and Center of Excellence for Engineering and Management of Civil Infrastructures, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Hossein Niksokhan, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    During the last decades, a progressive decrease of water level in shallow Mediterranean lakes was recorded. This contribution tried to identify whether the rapid decrease of the Lake Doiran (N. Greece) water level was associated with drought phenomena. Drought characteristics over the study area were revealed by employing the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) in different time scales. Negative trends of the SPI drought index were recognized by using the Mann-Kendall non parametric test, which suggested that drought conditions were intensified through time. The impact of the intense drought phenomena to the lake’s water level became evident by employing the Pearson correlation coefficient. A year ahead forecast of future drought conditions was achieved by training a hybrid ARIMA/ANN model. The predicted results indicated that mild drought conditions should be anticipated in the future and the water level would further drop as well. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0169-z Authors Dimitrios Myronidis, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124 Po Box 268, Thessaloniki, Greece Dimitrios Stathis, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124 Po Box 268, Thessaloniki, Greece Konstantinos Ioannou, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124 Po Box 268, Thessaloniki, Greece Dimitrios Fotakis, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124 Po Box 268, Thessaloniki, Greece Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    By the concept of systems risk and resilience, this paper presents a technique based on probabilistic and stochastic modelling to gauge the adequacy of the supply—demand relation of rainwater tank harvesting in suburban Melbourne, Australia. A domestic rainwater harvesting system may be viewed from a technical (e.g. risk of demand not being met), economic (e.g. most economical tank capacity), or managerial (e.g. acceptable duration of time with empty tank) perspective. Rather than the traditional command-and-control approach to system selection and management, risk assessment provides a flexible way, in probabilistic term, to address the technical and economic perspectives, whereas resilience concept addresses the managerial perspective. This has the advantage of allowing a number of criteria for gauging the performance of alternative harvesting systems, as shown in an example by Monte Carlo simulation for a typical household rainwater tank system in Melbourne. This research provides a typical paradigm for analysis of systems of cluster or regional scales. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0150-x Authors Chi-Hsiang Wang, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, P.O. Box 56, 37 Graham Road, Highett, Victoria 3190, Australia Jane M. Blackmore, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Julius Avenue, North Ryde, NSW 2112, Australia Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This study aims to improve the method to measure the vulnerability of water supply that arises mainly due to water scarcity in the dry season, and a situation that is expected to be exacerbated by climate change. The authors discuss the usefulness of the Gwangdong Reservoir Drought Management Model (GRDM2), which was developed in a previous study, and built on the basis of the adaptation mechanism, specifying the relationship between external disturbances (or future scenarios), system components pertaining to adaptation capacity, and vulnerability. The authors derive a total of 48 future scenarios, which consist of combinations of 6 future inflow scenarios and 8 future water requirement scenarios, of the Gwangdong reservoir drought management system. They then estimate the damage cost due to water scarcity in the dry season until the 2050s after feeding data in each scenario into GRDM2. The simulation reveals that extensive damage due to water scarcity may occur from the 2020s, and catastrophes, with damage four times greater than in the 2009 water scarcity accident, may occur in the 2050s. Assembling those results together, the authors conclude that GRDM2 is useful to measure the magnitude of climate change vulnerability, focusing on damage caused by water scarcity during the dry season. It is finally stated that to well prepare for climate change, engineers should investigate a suitable combination of available solutions, and at the same time perceive the threats that are attributed to high uncertainty. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0139-5 Authors Donghoon Cha, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea Sangeun Lee, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea Heekyung Park, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The important relationship between health and water necessitates consideration of water vulnerability. Water vulnerability is contingent upon biophysical and social drivers operating at multiple scales, and is difficult to assess. This paper offers a systematic review of 50 water vulnerability assessment tools. We identify and synthesise the contents of these assessment tools (710 indicators) into five dimensions and 22 sub-dimensions and consider the extent to which they reflect environmental and social aspects. The findings are discussed in light of a holistic approach to water resources management, and specifically Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). Significant opportunities exist to enhance the efficacy of water vulnerability assessment tools by incorporating indicators and operational measures for social considerations (e.g., adaptation, institutions, governance) that are developed outside the context of water. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-20 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0147-5 Authors Ryan Plummer, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Ave., St. Catharines, ON, Canada L2S 3A1 Rob de Loë, Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1 Derek Armitage, Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1 Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    A new approach for optimization of long-term operation of large-scale reservoirs is presented, incorporating Incremental Dynamic Programming (IDP) and Genetic algorithm (GA) . The immense storage capacity of the large scale reservoirs enlarges feasible region of the operational decision variables, which leads to invalidation of traditional random heuristic optimization algorithms. Besides, long term raised problem dimension, which has a negative impact on reservoir operational optimization because of its non-linearity and non-convexity. The hybrid IDP-GA approach proposed exploits the validity of IDP for high dimensional problem with large feasible domain by narrowing the search space with iterations, and also takes the advantage of the efficiency of GA in solving highly non-linear, non-convex problems. IDP is firstly used to narrow down the search space with discrete d variables. Within the sub search space provided by IDP, GA searches the optimal operation scheme with continuous variables to improve the optimization precision. This hybrid IDP-GA approach was applied to daily optimization of the Three Gorges Project-Gezhouba cascaded hydropower system for annual evaluation from the year of 2004 to 2008. Contrast test shows hybrid IDP-GA approach outperforms both the univocal IDP and the classical GA. Another sub search space determined by actual operational data is also compared, and the hybrid IDP-GA approach saves about 10 times of computing resources to obtain similar increments. It is shown that the hybrid IDP GA approach would be a promising approach to dealing with long-term optimization problems of large-scale reservoirs. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0131-0 Authors Fang-Fang Li, Technology and Environmental Protection Department, China Three Gorges Corporation, Beijing, 100038 China Jia-Hua Wei, State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience & Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China Xu-Dong Fu, State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience & Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China Xin-Yu Wan, State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience & Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Hazard risk assessment of land subsidence is a complicated issue aiming at identifying areas with potentially high environmental hazard due to land subsidence. The methods of hazard risk assessment of land subsidence were reviewed and a new systematic approach was proposed in this study. Quantitative identification of land subsidence is important to the hazard risk assessment. Field observations using extensometers were used to determine assessment indexes and estimate weights of each index. Spatial modelling was also established in ArcGIS to better visualize the assessment data. These approaches then were applied to the Chengnan region, China as a case study. Three factors, thickness of the second confined aquifer, thickness of the soft clay and the annual recovery rate of groundwater level were incorporated into the hazard risk assessment index system. The weights of each index are 0.33, 0.17 and 0.5 respectively. The zonation map shows that the high, medium and low risk ranked areas for land subsidence account for 9.5 %, 44.7 % and 45.8 % of the total area respectively. The annual recovery rate of groundwater level is the major factor raising land subsidence hazard risk in approximately half of the study area. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0141-y Authors Bijuan Huang, State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098 China Longcang Shu, State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098 China Y. S. Yang, Key Lab of Groundwater Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 China Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This paper presents a new game theoretic methodology for water and discharge permit allocation to agricultural zones in shared rivers. The methodology consists of four main steps: (1) initial allocation of water rights and pollutant discharge permits, (2) forming possible coalitions and optimal water and discharge permit reallocation to water users participating in a coalition to increase their total net benefit, (3) equitable benefit reallocation by utilizing some solution concepts in cooperative game theory, and (4) identifying the best water and pollutant discharge permit allocation strategies by minimizing the maximum regret in the system. A new linear form for crop water production function is used in the objective function of the water allocation optimization models. To show the efficiency and applicability of the methodology, it is applied to the Karoon-Dez river system in Iran. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-17 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0142-x Authors Hamed Poorsepahy-Samian, Research Associate, School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Reza Kerachian, Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering and Center of Excellence for Engineering and Management of Civil Infrastructures, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Reza Nikoo, Research Associate, School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    An accurate and simple Reference Evapotranspiration (ETo) numerical model eases to use for supporting irrigation planning and its effective management is highly desired in Sahelian regions. This paper investigates the performance ability of the Gene-expression Programming (GEP) for modeling ETo using decadal climatic data from a Sahelian country; Burkina Faso. For the study; important data are collected from six synoptic meteorological stations located in different regions; Gaoua, Pô, Boromo, Ouahigouya, Bogandé and Dori. The climatic data combinations are used as inputs to develop the GEP models at regional-specific data basis for estimating ETo. GEP performances are evaluated with the root mean square error (RMSE), and coefficient of correlation (R) between estimated and targeted Penman-Monteith FAO56 set as the true reference values. Obviously; from the statistical viewpoint; GEP computing technique has showed a good ability for providing numerical models on a regional data basis. The performances of GEP based on temperatures data are quite good able to substitute empirical equations at regional level to some extent. It is found that the models with wind velocity yield high accuracies by causing radical improve of the performances with R 2 (0.925-0.961) and RMSE (0.131-0.272 mm day -1 ); while relative humidity may cause only (R 2  = 0.801-0.933 and RMSE = 0.370-0.578 mm day -1 ). Statistically; GEP is an effectual modeling tool for computing successfully evapotranspiration in Sahel. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0149-3 Authors Seydou Traore, African Climate Policy Center (ACPC/FSSDD), United Nation Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia Aytac Guven, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Gaziantep, 27310 Gaziantep, Turkey Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The impact of urbanisation on catchment hydrological response was investigated by using a process-based coupled surface water–groundwater model (MODHMS). The modelling estimated likely changes in river discharge as a result of land-use change in the Southern River catchment in Western Australia, underlined by a highly transmissive aquifer, has permeable soils and a shallow watertable. A significant increase in total annual discharge was predicted as a result of urbanisation area with the runoff coefficient rising from 0.01 to more than 0.40. In contrast with urban areas elsewhere, these changes were mainly due to a shift in the subsurface water balance, leading to significant reduction in evaporative losses from the soil profile and shallow watertable after urbanisation (from nearly 80 % of infiltration to less than 20 %). The infiltration of roof and road runoff and establishment of subsurface drainage adopted in local construction practice leads to higher groundwater recharge rates and subsequently groundwater discharge to the urban drainage network. Urban density and groundwater abstraction for urban irrigation most strongly influence the urbanisation impact on catchment fluxes. The results shows that urban development leads to a production of ‘harvestable’ water; and depending on local needs, this water could be used for public and private water supply or to improve environmental flows. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-21 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0168-0 Authors O. V. Barron, CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship, CSIRO Land and Water, PB 5, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia M. J. Donn, CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship, CSIRO Land and Water, PB 5, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia A. D. Barr, CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship, CSIRO Land and Water, PB 5, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    In the 1992 Rio World Summit on Environment and Development/UNCED), water resources are indicated to remain at the core of sustainable development and, thus, they are to be managed and developed on a sustainable basis. Sustainability is a philosophical concept and thus difficult to measure. Yet, we need to describe it on rather precise terms to assess whether our water management practices are sustainable and to ensure sustainability in decision making for management. To this end, a number of sustainability criteria have been defined, based on quantifiable measures, without overlooking immeasurable aspects of sustainable development. This paper considers economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability as the basic criteria to be pursued in evaluating how effective our water management plans are in achieving sustainability. On the other hand, actual case studies are needed to test the usefulness of selected criteria by using computer-based interactive optimization and simulation models with associated databases embedded into a decision support system (DSS). The study herein intends to present such a case study based on economic, social and environmental criteria to assess sustainability in management of the Gediz River Basin in Turkey. Various management scenarios developed for the basin are evaluated within a DSS while ensuring multi-stakeholder involvement in defining the three sustainability criteria. The case study is a result of the analyses carried out in SMART (Sustainable Management of Scarce Resources in the Coastal Zone) and OPTIMA (Optimization for Sustainable Water Resources Management) projects funded respectively by the 5 th and 6 th Framework Programmes of the European Union. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-25 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0172-4 Authors Nilgun B. Harmancioglu, Water Resources Management Res. & App. Center (SUMER), Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Turkey Filiz Barbaros, Water Resources Management Res. & App. Center (SUMER), Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Turkey Cem P. Cetinkaya, Water Resources Management Res. & App. Center (SUMER), Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Turkey Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Drought is a natural and worldwide phenomenon that occurs when water availability is significantly below normal levels during a significant period of time and cannot meet demand. This work focused on the hydrologic drought defined by the streamflow drought index (SDI) for overlapping periods of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months at 14 hydrometric stations in the northwest of Iran over the period 1975–2009. It was found that some of the streamflow volume series did not follow the normal distribution. The ability of the log-normal, exponential and uniform probability distributions was examined in order to choose the most suitable distribution, and the log-normal distribution was used to fit the long-term streamflow data. The results of the hydrological drought analysis based on the SDI showed that almost all the stations suffered from extreme droughts during the study period. Additionally, extreme droughts occurred most frequently in the last 12 years from 1997–1998 to 2008–2009. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0173-3 Authors Hossein Tabari, Department of Irrigation, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, 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:    The Lower Zab watershed is one of the most important catchment areas in the northern region of Iraq, as it includes large dam which is called Dukan Dam. Besides this, there are four other catchment areas, which are the Greater Zab (Upper Zab), Diyala, Khabur, and Uzem. During the last few decades like the other places in the world, the northern region of Iraq has been severely affected by the climatic changes, long-term drought, water shortage and some casual flood events. The former has impacted negatively on the wide range of areas in the region and continues to be a problem. However, the latter occasionally occurs during the winter season as a result of heavy rainfall and the lack of the required dams and artificial drainage. Both problems cause socio-economic damage in the region. This paper seeks to enhance water-based information in the region under study using the technique of GIS-based remotely sensed image that give us more accurate results and less time consuming to process data comparing with the GIS-based Topographic Maps (GTMs). This modern technique provides powerful and cost-effective tools for managing and processing data and creating maps for water resources. This would enable hydrologists and researchers to get better access to high quality hydrologic data. Thus, an accurate gemorphological parameters for watersheds and catchments can be calculated. Accordingly, more accurate hydraulic structures can be designed for the region under study. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0179-x Authors Y. Saeedrashed, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Gaziantep, Turkey A. Guven, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Gaziantep, Turkey Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Rooftop rainwater harvesting systems for human consumption represent an alternative among individual technologies of water supply. However, this solution should not be treated exclusively as an emergency and pro-poor alternative when it is applied in the form of public policy intended for supplying water to rural populations of semi-arid regions. By aiming at the assessment of the role that this type of solution represents for rural populations, this study evaluates the Brazilian rainwater harvesting program which has already constructed 372,000 cisterns with a storage capacity of 16 m 2 of water. A survey covering 623 beneficiaries of this program in 68 municipalities located across the state of Minas Gerais revealed that obstacles in terms of the articulation of water supply and health programs remain for the success of the program. In addition, the adoption of appropriate practices involved in the handling of the different components of the program depends on improving the awareness among the beneficiaries. This represents one of the major challenges for the effectiveness of the program. The present study indicates that the precarious living conditions of the population who beneficiates from the Brazilian rainwater harvesting program impose a major challenge to the overall effectiveness of the program and increases the level of involvement and responsibility on the part of the government. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-12 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0041-1 Authors Uende A. F. Gomes, Environment and Water Resources, Department of Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Léo Heller, Department of Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil João L. Pena, Department of Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Water and poverty are closely related to each other. The Water Poverty Index (WPI) can identify and track the drivers (physical, environmental, social and economic) that link water and poverty. This study uses WPI framework to assess water poverty situation of medium-sized river basins in Nepal that cover 8.7 % of the country’s territory, produce 6.5 % of the country’s water resources and host 23.1 % of the country’s population. The study results show that water poverty index varies from 40.6 (in West Rapti basin ) to 55.5 (in Kankai basin ). Based on the WPI results, the basins in decreasing order of priority need for water poverty situation improvement can be listed as West Rapti, Babai, Bagmati, Kamala and Kankai . Even in the basin with high water poverty (i.e., West Rapti basin), suggested priority order for the areas of intervention need is Use 〉 Environment 〉 Capacity 〉 Resources 〉 Access. The results are useful to prioritize areas and extent of policy intervention need at different scales. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0027-z Authors Vishnu Prasad Pandey, International Research Center for River Basin Environment (ICRE), University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan Sujata Manandhar, International Special Doctoral Course for Integrated River Basin Management, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan Futaba Kazama, International Research Center for River Basin Environment (ICRE), University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Agriculture is the largest consumer of water in world. Due to demand of water for industrial and drinking purposes, the share of available water resources in agriculture sector is reducing substantially in near future. However, the food, fodder, fuel, and fibre production for satisfying the demands of enhanced population requires more water. In this scenario, increasing water productivity through diversified farming system has been identified as one of the viable options. Diversified farming, otherwise also called integrated farming system (IFS), represents integration of various enterprises such as cropping systems, horticulture, animal husbandry, fishery, agro-forestry, apiary etc. for optimal utilization of farm resources besides water. Integrated farming, a judicious mix of cropping systems suited to given agro-climatic conditions and socio-economic status of the farmers, shall be able to generate additional employment and income for the small and marginal farmers under both rain-fed and irrigated environment. Although, IFS was mainly initiated in Asian agriculture, it is being introduced in almost all the countries of world. Such a system results in more rationale use of water with judicious distribution among different users. In this paper, different aspects of multiple uses of water for higher productivity and future strategies for enhancing water productivity are discussed. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0035-z Authors U. K. Behera, Division of Agronomy, IARI, New Delhi, 110 012 India P. Panigrahi, Division of Agronomy, IARI, New Delhi, 110 012 India A. Sarangi, Division of Agronomy, IARI, New Delhi, 110 012 India Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The reliable forecasting of the peak flood discharge at river basins is a common problem, and it becomes more complicated when there is inadequate recorded data. The statistical methods commonly used for the estimation of peak flood discharges are generally considered to be inadequate because of the complexity of this problem. Recently, genetic programming (GP) which is a branch of soft computing methods has attracted the attention of the hydrologists. In this study, gene-expression programming (GEP) and linear genetic programming (LGP), which are extensions to GP, in addition to logistic regression (LR) were employed in order to forecast peak flood discharges. The study covered 543 ungauged sites across Turkey. Drainage area, elevation, latitude, longitude, and return period were used as the inputs while the peak flood discharge was the output. Model comparison results revealed that GEP predicted the peak flood discharges with R 2  = 57.4 % correlation, LGP with 56 % and LR model with 42.3 %, respectively. The peak flood discharges in all river basins can now be determined using the single equation provided by the GEP model. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0033-1 Authors Neslihan Seckin, Civil Engrg. Dept., Cukurova University, Balcali, 01330 Adana, Turkey Aytac Guven, Civil Engrg. Dept., Gaziantep University, 27310 Gaziantep, Turkey Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Upper Karha watershed from semi-arid part of Deccan Volcanic Province, India was investigated to identify the potential sites to construct rainwater harvesting structures with the help of remote sensing and geographical information system. Attempt was made to understand the basaltic terrain in spatial context to find out the rainwater harvesting structures like farm ponds, percolation tank, check dams and gully plugs deriving from thematic layers, such as landuse/landcover, slope, soil, drainage and runoff from Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery and other collateral data. Subsequently, these layers were processed to derive runoff from Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method using Arc-CN runoff tool. The SCS-CN method shows that the high runoff potential is from water-body, agriculture land (including harvested land) and followed by settlement, open scrub, dense scrub and low for the open forest, dense forest area. Parameters like hydro-geomorphology, geology were considered as per Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development specifications for identification of the structures. The thematic layers overlaid using intersection based on these specifications. Derived sites were investigated for its suitability and implementation by ground truth field verification. In conclusion, the method adopted in present study deciphers the more precise, accurate and ability to process large catchment area than other methods. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0031-3 Authors Ajaykumar K. Kadam, Geoinformatics, Department of Geography, University of Pune, Pune, 411 007 India Sanjay S. Kale, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Pune, Pune, 411 007 India Nagesh N. Pande, Geoinformatics, Department of Geography, University of Pune, Pune, 411 007 India N. J. Pawar, Department of Geology, University of Pune, Pune, 411 007 India R. N. Sankhua, National Water Academy, Khadakwasala, Pune, 411 024 India Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This paper presents an integrated economic model which is able to explicitly address both water quantity and quality. We use a welfare program to maximize social welfare subject to the economic and ecological constraints, where interactions, emissions and environmental impacts are incorporated. Such a welfare program can provide the marginal values of commodities and therefore can price water by means of shadow pricing. The optimal solution to a specified program provides the optimal response strategies, i.e. the efficient allocation of resources in the economy including water use and the efficient level of water quality. We illustrate the mechanism in a numerical example and show, as an example, how we can achieve efficiency by reserving water in the high season for times of high demand in the low season and by introducing price differentiation between the two seasons. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-21 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0029-x Authors Xueqin Zhu, Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands Ekko C. van Ierland, Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The typical modeling approach to groundwater management relies on the combination of optimization algorithms and subsurface simulation models. In the case of groundwater supply systems, the management problem may be structured into an optimization problem to identify the pumping scheme that minimizes the total cost of the system while complying with a series of technical, economical, and hydrological constraints. Since lack of data on the subsurface system most often reflects upon the development of groundwater flow models that are inherently uncertain, the solution to the groundwater management problem should explicitly consider the tradeoff between cost optimality and the risk of not meeting the management constraints. This work addresses parameter uncertainty following a stochastic simulation (or Monte Carlo) approach, in which a sufficiently large ensemble of parameter scenarios is used to determine representative values selected from the statistical distribution of the management objectives, that is, minimizing cost while minimizing risk. In particular, the cost of the system is estimated as the expected value of the cost distribution sampled through stochastic simulation, while the risk of not meeting the management constraints is quantified as the expected value of the intensity of constraint violation. The solution to the multi-objective optimization problem is addressed by combining a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm with a stochastic model simulating groundwater flow in confined aquifers. Evolutionary algorithms are particularly appropriate in optimization problems characterized by non-linear and discontinuous objective functions and constraints, although they are also computationally demanding and require intensive analyses to tune input parameters that guarantee optimality to the solutions. In order to drastically reduce the otherwise overwhelming computational cost, a novel stochastic flow reduced model is thus developed, which practically allows for averting the direct inclusion of the full simulation model in the optimization loop. The computational efficiency of the proposed framework is such that it can be applied to problems characterized by large numbers of decision variables. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-24 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0030-4 Authors Domenico A. Baú, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Residential water demand is one of the most difficult parameters to determine when modeling drinking water distribution networks. It has been proven to be a stochastic process that can be characterized as a series of rectangular pulses with a set intensity, duration and frequency. These parameters can be determined using stochastic models such as the Neyman-Scott Rectangular Pulse (NSRP) model. The NSRP model is based on the solution of a non-linear optimization problem. This solution involves theoretical moments that represent the synthetic demand series (equiprobable) and the observed moments (field measurements) that statistically establish the measured demand series. The NSRP model has been applied for residential demand, and the results have been published. However, this model has not been validated for a real distribution network or compared with traditional methods. The present study compared the results of synthetic stochastic demand series, which were calculated using the NSRP model, applied to the determination of pressures, flow rates and leaks; to the results obtained using traditional simulation methods, which use the curve of hourly variation in demand, and to actual pressure and flow rate measurements. The Humaya sector of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, was used as the study area. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-9979-2 Authors Victor H. Alcocer-Yamanaka, Mexican Institute of Water Technology, Paseo Cuauhnahuac 8532, Col. Progreso, Jiutepec, Morelos CP 62550, Mexico Velitchko G. Tzatchkov, Mexican Institute of Water Technology, Paseo Cuauhnahuac 8532, Col. Progreso, Jiutepec, Morelos CP 62550, Mexico Felipe I. Arreguin-Cortes, Comision Nacional del Agua, Insurgentes Sur 2416, Col. Copilco El Bajo, Delegacion Coyoacan, Mexico, DF CP 04340, Mexico Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    An integrated hydrologic/hydraulic model of the Kemptville Creek basin has been built using the Mike11 modeling system of the Danish Hydraulic Institute and available GIS-based watershed data. This watershed system is complex, comprising of channels, local drainage areas, lateral inflows, wetlands, and a regulated dam. The model was calibrated using measured streamflow data for five years and then validated for another five years. A wide range of methods—both qualitative and quantitative—were used to evaluate the model performance. It was found that the model can simulate high flows with a high degree of accuracy, and the low flows less satisfactorily. Additional (split-sample) validation tests were conducted for another two five-year periods, which revealed that the model is capable of performing equally well for time periods beyond those used for calibration and validation. This model is now being used for various watershed management purposes, including synthetic hydrograph generation, flood forecasting, design flood estimation, wetland function analysis, etc. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-22 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0034-0 Authors Ferdous Ahmed, Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, Manotick, Ontario, Canada Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Understanding the characteristics of historical droughts will benefit water resource managers because it will reveal the possible impacts that future changes in climate may have on drought, and subsequently, the availability of water resources. The goal of this study was to reconstruct historical drought occurrences and assess future drought risk for the drought-prone Blue River Basin in Oklahoma, under a likely changing climate using three types of drought indices, i.e., Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and Standardized Runoff Index (SRI). No similar research has been conducted in this region previously. Monthly precipitation and temperature data from the observational period 1950–1999 and over the projection period 2010–2099 from 16 statistically downscaled Global Climate Models (GCM) were used to compute the duration, severity, and extent of meteorological droughts. Additionally, soil moisture, evapotranspiration (ET), and runoff data from the well-calibrated Thornthwaite Monthly Water Balance Model were used to examine drought from a hydrological perspective. The results show that the three indices captured the historical droughts for the past 50 years and suggest that more severe droughts of wider extent are very likely to occur over the next 90 years in the Blue River Basin, especially in the later part of the 21st century. In fact, all three indices display lower minimum values than those ever recorded in the past 50 years. This study also found that SRI and SPI (PDSI) had a correlation coefficient of 0.81 (0.78) with a 2-month (no appreciable) lag time over the 1950–2099 time period across the basin. There was relatively lower correlation between SPI and PDSI over the same period. Although this study recommends that PDSI and SRI are the most suitable indices for assessing future drought risks under an increasingly warmer climate, more drought indices from ecological and socioeconomic perspectives should be investigated and compared to provide a complete picture of drought and its potential impacts on the dynamically coupled nature-human system. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0044-y Authors Lu Liu, School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, 202 W. Boyd St., Room 334, Norman, OK 73019-1024, USA Yang Hong, School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, 202 W. Boyd St., Room 334, Norman, OK 73019-1024, USA Christopher N. Bednarczyk, Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program, National Weather Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA Bin Yong, State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098 China Mark A. Shafer, Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, Oklahoma Climatological Survey, University of Oklahoma, 120 David L. Boren Blvd., Suite 2900, Norman, OK 73072, USA Rachel Riley, Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, Oklahoma Climatological Survey, University of Oklahoma, 120 David L. Boren Blvd., Suite 2900, Norman, OK 73072, USA James E. Hocker, Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, Oklahoma Climatological Survey, University of Oklahoma, 120 David L. Boren Blvd., Suite 2900, Norman, OK 73072, USA Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Using China’s Lake Baiyangdian sub-basin for a case study, we developed an ecologically oriented dam release plan that can be used to define an optimal dam operation scheme that provides both the environmental flows required by bodies of water and wetlands downstream from the Xidayang Reservoir dam and enough water for agricultural, and industrial water users. In addition, we evaluated the benefits that might be provided by modifying releases of water from the reservoir. To attain ecological sustainability in the sub-basin, we used the supply for each water user as a decision variable based on three objectives: (1) to achieve sustainable socioeconomic development; (2) to keep the water volume as close as possible to the ideal environmental flows in the urban rivers of Baoding City; and (3) to keep the water amount as close as possible to Lake Baiyangdian’s ideal environmental water requirements. We used the ideal-point method to provide dimensionless values for the first objective, and then used a weighting method to integrate the three objectives into a single holistic goal. We then used the GAMS/CONOPT software to solve the nonlinear model and predict the optimal results. We discuss the optimal water allocation and ecologically oriented dam release plans for the three scenarios. To determine the limitations of the method, we performed a sensitivity analysis, and discuss the optimal results for different weightings of objectives provided by decision-makers. The results of the optimization analysis provide a set of effective compromises among the target objectives that can guide future management of water releases from the reservoir. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-22 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0198-7 Authors Wei Yang, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 10087 China Zhifeng Yang, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 10087 China Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    In the present paper, regional drought modes in Iran are identified applying the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Varimax rotation to the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) computed on different time scales. Data used include gridded monthly precipitation covering the period 1951–2007 retrieved from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) archive with different spatial resolutions (2.5, 1 and 0.5° resolution). The objective of the study is twofold: (i) Investigate the stability of drought spatial modes as a function of the SPI time scales used for monitoring the different kinds of drought, (ii) Evaluate the impact of the spatial resolution of gridded data on drought regionalization. For the coarse spatial resolution of 2.5°, results show four drought modes of distinct variability, which remain quite stable when the SPI time scale is varied from 1- to 24-month. Differently, for higher spatial resolutions drought modes appear more sensitive to the index time scale and become less spatially homogeneous as the time scale is increased. Moreover, the number of identified modes (sub-regions) may reduce to three or two, but in all cases the most well defined sub-region appears to be the southern one. This suggests that both the spatial resolution of precipitation data and the time scale may affect drought regionalization, i.e. the number of drought modes and their spatial homogeneity. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0120-3 Authors Tayeb Raziei, Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute (SCWMRI), Tehran, Iran Isabella Bordi, Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy Luis Santos Pereira, CEER-Biosystems Engineering, Institute of Agronomy, Technical University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    With the acceleration of the urbanization process, urban waterlogging problems are becoming more and more serious in Nanjing, China. In order to mitigate the urban waterlogging problems, it is necessary to reduce surface runoff from the source by rainwater harvesting and utilization. An urban residential district with an area of 0.58 km 2 in Nanjing was selected as the study area. Based on a large-scale topographic map data and the long term rainfall data (1951–2008), the types of underlying surfaces were classified. The potentiality of collectable rainwater and the possibility of runoff volume reduction were calculated. The results showed that exploitation of rainwater harvesting from rooftops and other underlying surfaces has high potential. The annual collectable rainwater is approximately 372,284 m 3 , 314,034 m 3 and 275,180 m 3 under different cumulative frequency of rainfall at 20 %, 50 % and 75 %, respectively. The total capacity of cisterns under assumptions of return period of rainfall and rainfall duration with 5 years and 20 min is 11,022 m 3 . The cistern’s capacity which is used for roof rainwater harvesting is 4,083 m 3 , the cistern capacity for per unit roof area (1 m 2 ) is 0.0267 m 3 . The results of the feasibility analysis of setting up above-ground cisterns showed that 55 % of the total roof areas in the study area are available for setting up cisterns. In the three building types, 16 % of the commercial building’s roof areas and 77 % of that of the residential and the “others” buildings are available for setting up cisterns. Urban waterlogging problems can be effectively reduced through rainwater harvesting by 13.9 %, 30.2 % and 57.7 % of runoff volume reduction in three cases of the maximum daily rainfall (207.2 mm), the average annual maximum daily rainfall (95.5 mm) and the critical rainfall of rainstorm (50 mm). Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-10 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0101-6 Authors Xingqi Zhang, School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210093, China Maochuan Hu, School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210093, China Gang Chen, School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210093, China Youpeng Xu, School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210093, China Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Traditional selection of structural solutions in river training works are mainly focused on basic requirements as flood protection, coastal protection, protection of the river bed, providing the space for economic development. These solutions may lead to environmental degradation, i.e. alteration of physical-chemical and structural characteristics of the natural components of the environment, decrease of diversity and biological productivity of natural and anthropogenic ecosystems, impacts on the ecological balance and quality of life. These negative effects are also caused by the poor management and use of water, as well as inappropriate planning of the territory in general and river channels in particular. The main goal of this study was to present the approach for selection of hydraulic structures using multi criteria analysis, which would in addition to the basic requirements provide the ecological development of rivers and coastal rivers in accordance with the objective of “sustainable development”. For comparative review of alternative engineering solutions simplified ELECTRA method is applied. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0110-5 Authors Milica Markovic, Public Water Management Company “Srbijavode”, Belgrade, 2A Bulevar Umetnosti Street, New Belgrade, 11070 Republic of Serbia Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Natural flow regimes are of primary interest in designing environmental flows and therefore essential for water management and planning. The present study discriminated natural hydrologic variation using two different environmental classifications (REC-Segura and WFD-ecotypes) and tested their agreement with an a posteriori (hydrologic) classification in a Spanish Mediterranean basin (the Segura River, SE Spain). The REC-Segura was developed as a two-level hierarchical classification based on environmental variables that influence hydrology (climate and source-of-flow). The WFD-ecotypes were developed by the Spanish Ministry for the Environment to implement the Water Framework Directive (WFD) using hierarchical hydrologic, morphologic and physicochemical variables. The climate level in the REC-Segura broadly described the hydrologic pattern observed along the NW-SE aridity gradient of the basin. However, source-of-flow (defined by karstic geology) was only able to discriminate variation in flow regimes within one climatic category. The WFD-ecotypes, despite incorporating hydrologic variables, did not fully discriminate hydrologic variation in the basin. Ecotypes in tributary streams located in dry or semiarid climates embrace different flow regimes (both perennial and intermittent). There was little agreement between environmental and hydrologic classifications. Therefore, the authors advise against the use of environmental classifications for the assessment of environmental flows without first testing their ability to discriminate hydrologic patterns. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0104-3 Authors O. Belmar, Department of Ecology and Hydrology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Espinardo Campus, Murcia, 30100 Spain J. Velasco, Department of Ecology and Hydrology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Espinardo Campus, Murcia, 30100 Spain F. Martínez-Capel, Institut d’Investigació per a la Gestió Integrada de Zones Costaneres, Universitat Politècnica de València, Calle Paranimf nº1, Grao de Gandia, 46730 Valencia, Spain M. Peredo-Parada, Plataforma de Investigación en Ecohidrología y Ecohidráulica, EcoHyd, Almirantes Riveros 075, Providencia, Santiago, Chile T. Snelder, NIWA, 10 Kyle Street, Riccarton, P.O. Box 8602, Christchurch, New Zealand Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The purpose of this study is proposing a methodology to determine the ecological base flow of a river. In the past in Taiwan, the ecological base flow was calculated according to the basin area, and the influence of the water supply was not considered. This study proposes a methodology combining the water distribution optimization model with the Riverine Habitat Simulation System model to demonstrate the impact on the aquatic habitat for indicator species with different ecological base flow settings. The most suitable value of the ecological base flow between the indicators of the Shortage Index and the average value of Percentage Usable Area is determined using trade-off analysis and the incremental method. The result shows for the indicator species in the study area, Tou-Qian River Basin in Northern Taiwan, the most appropriate ecological base flow is 3.75 m 3 /s and it’s the optimal use of the ecological base flow between the water supply and the ecology. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0050-0 Authors Nien-Sheng Hsu, Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Chung-Hsiang Chiang, Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Wen-Ming Cheng, Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Chih-Chiang Wei, Department of Information Management, Toko University, Chiayi, Taiwan, Republic of China Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    This paper presents a study for finding the optimal management plan of an overexploited aquifer under global climate change. The study area is the aquifer of the basin of Lake Karla, located in the eastern part of Thessaly in Greece. An optimization method has been used to evaluate the optimum volume of water that can be extracted from the aquifer and the optimum position of the wells with the objective of water table rise to a desirable sustainable level, taking into consideration the climate change forcing. The modelling system consists of a series of interlinked models: a hydrological, a lake-aquifer, a reservoir operation, a groundwater, and an optimization model. The climate change forcing on precipitation and temperature has been evaluated using the outputs of Canadian Centre for Climate Model Analysis General Circulation Model (CGCMa2) and a hybrid downscaling method which combines a multiple regression (MLR) model and a timeseries model for two socioeconomic emissions scenarios. The results of this study show that climate change plays an important role, as it affects the optimum volume of the extracted groundwater and the position of the irrigation wells. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0083-4 Authors P. Sidiropoulos, Laboratory of Hydrology and Aquatic Systems Analysis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Pedion Areos, 38334 Volos, Greece N. Mylopoulos, Laboratory of Hydrology and Aquatic Systems Analysis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Pedion Areos, 38334 Volos, Greece A. Loukas, Laboratory of Hydrology and Aquatic Systems Analysis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Pedion Areos, 38334 Volos, Greece Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The purpose of this study was to develop and apply the neural networks models to estimate daily pan evaporation (PE) for different climatic zones such as temperate and arid climatic zones, Republic of Korea and Iran. Three kinds of the neural networks models, namely multilayer perceptron-neural networks model (MLP-NNM), generalized regression neural networks model (GRNNM), and support vector machine-neural networks model (SVM-NNM), were used to estimate daily PE. The available climatic variables, consisted of mean air temperature (T mean ), mean wind speed (U mean ), sunshine duration (SD), mean relative humidity (RH mean ), and extraterrestrial radiation (R a ) were used to estimate daily PE using the various input combinations of climate variables. The measurements for the period of January 1985–December 1990 (Republic of Korea) and January 2002–December 2008 (Iran) were used for training and testing the employed neural networks models. The results obtained by SVM-NNM indicated that it performs better than MLP-NNM and GRNNM for estimating daily PE. A comparison was also made among the employed models, which demonstrated the superiority of MLP-NNM, GRNNM, and SVM-NNM over Linacre model and multiple linear regression model (MLRM). Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0069-2 Authors Sungwon Kim, Department of Railroad and Civil Engineering, Dongyang University, Yeongju, Republic of Korea Jalal Shiri, Sama Technical and Vocational Training College, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, Tabriz, Iran Ozgur Kisi, Architecture and Engineering Faculty, Civil Engineering Department, Canik Basari University, Samsun, Turkey Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    The North Saskatchewan River basin is a large watershed in central Alberta that provides water for a range of stakeholders, including large municipalities, agricultural operations, power generation, and resource extraction industries. This study assesses potential future changes in snowpack for the North Saskatchewan River watershed in response to a range of GCM-derived climate warming scenarios representing the periods from 2010-2039 (2020s), 2040-2069 (2050s), and 2070-2099 (2080s). The GENESYS (GENerate Earth SYstems Science input) spatial hydrometeorological model is applied to simulate potential changes in the zero degree isotherm, precipitation phase, watershed average maximum spring snow water equivalent (SWE), the dates of maximum and minimum SWE, and snowmelt period for these future climate scenarios. Climate warming is likely to result in an upwards shift in elevation of the zero degree isotherm, with a transition to more precipitation occurring as rain than snow. Although watershed average maximum SWE may not change under future conditions, the timing of spring snowmelt onset is likely to change under the future climate scenarios applied. It is demonstrated that increased air temperatures are expected to result in substantial changes in snowpack processes in the North Saskatchewan River watershed. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-24 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0016-2 Authors Ryan J. MacDonald, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4 James M. Byrne, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4 Sarah Boon, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4 Stefan W. Kienzle, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4 Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    We explore the use of large ensembles of climate scenarios to inform climate change adaptation in response to hydrological impacts on the freshwater environment, using a sensitive chalk river in south east England to illustrate the approach. The climateprediction.net experiment provides large ensembles of transient climate series from 1920 to 2080. We use 246 transient climate series in the CATCHMOD rainfall-run-off model to develop large ensembles of plausible river flows for the River Itchen. This transient ensemble allows the exploration of how flows may change through the twenty-first century, and demonstrates the range of possible consequences for freshwater ecosystems, based on invertebrate community impacts. Hydrological modelling of flow sequences including abstraction allows the continued effectiveness of river support from groundwater to be assessed. A new environmental impact matrix considers the response of the freshwater ecosystem in the Itchen, concentrating particularly on macro-invertebrates. Through the century increasing numbers of models fail the flow targets, with a minority of models suggesting flows that would lead to irreversible change to the invertebrate community. The large ensemble provides a richer picture of the range of possible change, allowing managers to explore a range of different responses. The approach used is illustrative, but demonstrates that large ensembles may be of great value in improving the understanding of the possible impact of climate change, provided that they can be communicated effectively to decision-makers. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-22 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0080-7 Authors Fai Fung, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY United Kingdom Glenn Watts, Environment Agency of England and Wales, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AH United Kingdom Ana Lopez, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY United Kingdom Harriet G. Orr, Environment Agency of England and Wales, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AH United Kingdom Mark New, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY United Kingdom Chris Extence, Environment Agency of England and Wales, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AH United Kingdom Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Maintaining a river system’s minimum water flow is a pre-condition for achieving the “good ecological status” prescribed by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). In areas of water scarcity the reuse of treated water for agricultural irrigation is seen as a promising option to reduce the quantitative pressure on the resource. As part of assessing the viability of reclaimed water use in agriculture, and in accordance with the economic principles underpinning the WFD, a comprehensive economic analysis of this irrigation option is needed. This paper contributes to fill this knowledge gap by producing a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the use of reclaimed water in agriculture. The costs and benefits of reclaimed water use on an experimental mandarin farm in the south-east of Spain are compared with those of using surface water and a mixture of water sources. The novelty of this study is that non-market benefits are incorporated in the CBA. We thereby account for the increase in welfare that the environmental services of this supply option provide to society at large. These kind of “intangible” benefits are often ignored, but only the combination of market and non-market costs and benefits can produce a balanced assessment of water management options and lead to an efficient and sustainable allocation of the resource. Our results suggest that at the private and social level, when environmental benefits are included, the use of a mixture of water sources, including reclaimed water, seems the best option. However, at low mandarin prices (lower than 0.23 €/kg) the exclusive use of reclaimed water seems the most beneficial option. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-12 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0108-z Authors Francisco Alcon, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII, 48, 30203 Cartagena, Murcia, Spain Julia Martin-Ortega, The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH UK Francisco Pedrero, Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC), Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain Juan Jose Alarcon, Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC), Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain M. Dolores de Miguel, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII, 48, 30203 Cartagena, Murcia, Spain Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    Climate change, drought and the world’s growing population are increasing the demand for water which in turn requires improved water resources management. The sustainable management of a watershed requires a thorough knowledge of its water resources, including monthly streamflow. Spain is home to a large number of ungauged watersheds, the streamflows of which are often unknown. Chavez et al. (2007) reported a model for predicting monthly streamflow in ungauged watersheds that was validated for use in areas of tropical climate in Central America and a dry area in South America. This work reports an attempt to assess the performance of this model for eventual use with ungauged watersheds in Spain, using data for a number of watersheds for which gauging data were available. The proposed model took into account physical characteristics such us the soil infiltration rate, the slope of the terrain, plant fractional cover, the monthly moisture adequacy index, and the leaf area index. Comparisons of model-predicted monthly streamflows and those actually measured showed the Chavez et al. model unable to make reliable predictions for Spanish watersheds in its current form. A new approach has been developed considering only smaller watersheds in Spanish conditions, changing parameters in the original model. These parameters have been calibrated and validated, reaching adequate adjustment of results. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0102-5 Authors J. Vicente-Guillén, BIPREE Research Group, Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain), ETSIAgronomos, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain E. Ayuga-Telléz, BIPREE Research Group, Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain), ETSIAgronomos, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain D. Otero, TRAGSATEC Engineering Water Section, C/ Julián Camarillo 6 B 4C, 28037 Madrid, Spain J. L. Chávez, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 1372 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1372, USA F. Ayuga, BIPREE Research Group, Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain), ETSIAgronomos, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain A. I. García, BIPREE Research Group, Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain), ETSIAgronomos, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741

Description:    From the water management perspective, water scarcity is an unacceptable risk of facing water shortages to serve water demands in the near future. Water scarcity may be temporary and related to drought conditions or other accidental situation, or may be permanent and due to deeper causes such as excessive demand growth, lack of infrastructure for water storage or transport, or constraints in water management. Diagnosing the causes of water scarcity in complex water resources systems is a precondition to adopt effective drought risk management actions. In this paper we present four indices which have been developed to evaluate water scarcity. We propose a methodology for interpretation of index values that can lead to conclusions about the reliability and vulnerability of systems to water scarcity, as well as to diagnose their possible causes and to propose solutions. The described methodology was applied to the Ebro river basin, identifying existing and expected problems and possible solutions. System diagnostics, based exclusively on the analysis of index values, were compared with the known reality as perceived by system managers, validating the conclusions in all cases. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s11269-012-0081-6 Authors Francisco Martin-Carrasco, Department of Hydraulic and Energy Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, c/Profesor Aranguren, 3, 28040 Madrid, Spain Luis Garrote, Department of Hydraulic and Energy Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, c/Profesor Aranguren, 3, 28040 Madrid, Spain Ana Iglesias, Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, Technical University of Madrid, Avenida de la Complutense, 3, 28040 Madrid, Spain Luis Mediero, Department of Hydraulic and Energy Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, c/Profesor Aranguren, 3, 28040 Madrid, Spain Journal Water Resources Management Online ISSN 1573-1650 Print ISSN 0920-4741