Integrated Water Resources Management

An important element of IWRM modeling is management and processing of data. Data is the fundamental key to a successful representation of a system. Without proper data representation, the model is lost. I decided to do a quick search to see what people are using today. Doing simple Google searches on the various tools, I found HEC-DSSVue and Hydstra to be the most popular (assuming Internet search returns is a measure of popularity). Here are the search results: HEC-DSSVue => 320 unique results Hydstra => 390 unique results Aquarius => 100 unique results In looking at scholarly documents online, I was able to compare the 3 tools (shown above) by counting the different kinds of models these were used for. HEC-DSSVue seems to have been used most often for water resources and flood modeling, Aquarius for water resources and operations models, and Hydstra for water quality and runoff models. Table 1 summarizes the results from this comparison. As part of my research, I p...

It is known that large and complex water treatment plants are most efficient when production levels are maintained at or near the design capacity over the long term. As production rates rise and fall dramatically, it is required to change operations and startup/shutdown major pieces of equipment, costing the plant more money to operate and maintain. One of the major problems with treating stormwater is that the water rushes through during storm events then virtually disappears at other times, usually at times that are unpredictable. Regulating these flows using storage is most likely uneconomical because of the high cost to build huge storage facilities. Another problem with treating stormwater for reuse is that the water quality of the stormwater is possibly different than the traditional water supply and so a totally different treatment process might be necessary. What if a treatment plant was able to quickly change the type of treatment process but maintain overall producti...

Introduction According to an article here , a major energy project could potentially impact future water supplies in Queensland, Australia. The project is to develop coal seam gas and could be worth over $30 billion, which would make it the most significant energy project in Queensland. One man who was interviewed stated his concern over possible impacts to farmland and underground water supplies when this project is put into place. The title of the article is "Water Supply Major Concern." With a title like that, I felt it was time to investigate this a little further to see what was being done to ensure sustainable water supply for both the local farmers, the environment, and the energy needs of the state. The opposition leade r  John-Paul Langbroek  sa id , "[The]  onus will be on this State Government to ensure that all of the operating conditions are met by the industry to protect the communities, the farming land and water." Background The Queensland go...

How do you incorporate the IWRM framework into modeling, planning, and decision-making? Before attempting to answer this question, it is a good idea to review what others have done about it. Below is a list of references that might help shed some light on the subject. **Added in 2011: Rahaman, Muhammad Mizanur and Vari, Olli.  Integrated water resources management: evolution, prospects and future challenges. 2005. Integrated Water Resource Management, Vol. 1, Issue 1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).  Building Strong Collaborative Relationships for a Sustainable Water Resources Future. National Report: Responding to National Water Resources Challenges. 2010 James, AJ. Institutional challenges for water resources management: India and South Africa . 2003. WHIRL Project Working Paper 7 (draft). Hooper, Bruce. Integrated Water Resources Management: Governance, Best Practice, and Research Challenge.  Universities Council on Water reso...

Integrated Water Management (IWRM) is the practice of making decisions and taking actions while considering multiple viewpoints of how water should be managed ( www.waterencyclopedia.com , 2010). IWRM has been defined by the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership  (GWP) as "a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. IWRM is a systematic process for the sustainable development, allocation and monitoring of water resource use in the context of social, economic and environmental objectives. IWRM is based on the understanding that water resources are an integral component of the ecosystem, a natural resource, and a social and economic good. Typical components of this framework are shown in the figure below. IWRM is a way to plan for and manage water resources wi...