Search results for "Water scarcity"
showing 7 items of 47 documents
A review of preferential water flow in soil science
2018
A better understanding of preferential water flow is important because water-related crises, i.e., water scarcity and security, are strongly associated with water retention rates in different landscapes. This review aims to evaluate significant advances in the main themes of preferential water flow to establish the inconsistent roles of preferential water flow in eco-hydrology and suggest promising areas for future work. Results showed that preferential water flow studies have made significant advances in our understanding of certain parameters functioning at multiple scales but that most studies focus on preferential water flow in the vadose zone, whereas few studies on the soil surface. …
The Economic Impact of the South-North Water Transfer Project in China: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis
2006
Water resources are unevenly spread in China. Especially the basins of the Yellow, Hui and Hai rivers in the North are rather dry. To increase the supply of water in these basins, the South-to-North Water Transfer project (SNWT) was launched. Using a computable general equilibrium model this study estimates the impact of the project on the economy of China and the rest of the world. We contrast three alternative groups of scenarios. All are directly concerned with the South-to-North water transfer project to increase water supply. In the first group of scenarios additional supply implies productivity gains. We call it the "non-market" solution. The second group of scenarios is called "marke…
The Influence of Seasonality on the Economic Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants
2010
Many tourist areas are often characterized with seasonal water demand. The influence of seasonality on water management is more intensive in the context of water scarcity. Thus the use of so-called non-conventional water resources in these areas becomes a key aspect. In this sense, efficient performance, both in technical and cost terms, favors water reuse possibilities and, therefore, increases the supply of non-conventional resources. In tourist areas, seasonality is a determining factor in the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as these are operating at full capacity only during the summer season while the rest of the year they have under-utilization problems. Using the Fr…
Desertification and Water Scarcity as a Security Challenge in the Mediterranean
2009
There is a new perception of a global dimension: environmental security. The protection of our fixed and shared environment is gradually coming to people’s attention as an obligatory requirement for equitable development, in order to prevent disasters related to environmental security and to avoid conflicts. The Euro-Mediterranean Region is also immersed in this general trend partly as a consequence of more frequent severe environmental events, such as forest fires, floods and landslides, droughts, torrential rains, heat waves and water scarcity. The Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean undergo even more harsh environmental impacts affecting the stability of the land, its capaci…
Assessing performance in the management of the urban water cycle
2011
This paper proposes the use of directional distance functions and Data Envelopment Analysis techniques to assess technical efficiency in the provision of the different stages of the urban water cycle in Andalusia, a Southern European region. Evaluating performance in the management of specific stages of the urban water cycle provides utility managers and regulating authorities with relevant information that may not be detected by more conventional approaches based on assessing performance at utility level. We find that Andalusian water and sewage utilities could achieve significant increases in the volume of water delivered without diminishing the output of their other services and using th…
A management and optimisation model for water supply planning in water deficit areas
2014
Summary The integrated water resources management approach has proven to be a suitable option for efficient, equitable and sustainable water management. In water-poor regions experiencing acute and/or chronic shortages, optimisation techniques are a useful tool for supporting the decision process of water allocation. In order to maximise the value of water use, an optimisation model was developed which involves multiple supply sources (conventional and non-conventional) and multiple users. Penalties, representing monetary losses in the event of an unfulfilled water demand, have been incorporated into the objective function. This model represents a novel approach which considers water distri…
Voluntary Agreements to Promote the Use of Reclaimed Water at Tordera River Basin
2015
The voluntary agreement to promote the use of reclaimed water is an economic policy instrument (EPI) which focuses on improving water management by using reclaimed water. Following a win-win strategy, this EPI was implemented in the Tordera river basin (Spain), an area with endemic water scarcity problems and high competition among users for water resources. The assessment of the EPI suggests that significant positive outcomes have achieved from an environmental and economic point of view. Thus, the demand of freshwater has decreased and the availability of water is guaranteed even during summer period allowing therefore for the maintenance of economic activities (agriculture and golf cours…