A publicação da lei 9.433 de 1997, que institucionaliza a Política Nacional de Recursos Hídricos no Brasil, abriu a perspectiva de uma gestão integrada, participativa e descentralizada dos recursos hídricos. A integração da gestão de bacias hidrográficas com a gestão da zona costeira é uma diretriz dessa política e a participação social é pressuposto para medidas de gestão mais sustentáveis e legítimas. A qualidade dos processos participativos está ligada à incorporação de diferentes atores, com perspectivas distintas em relação à bacia hidrográfica, em processos de grupo que permitam reflexão e aprendizado, sobre o próprio grupo e sobre o ambiente natural e institucional da bacia. O presente trabalho é um estudo de caso sobre a gestão da bacia do rio Ribeira de Iguape, no litoral sul de São Paulo. Na porção terminal desse rio, uma obra hidráulica construída no século XIX, conhecida como Valo Grande, retificou seu curso, desestabilizando o sistema estuarino adjacente pelo aporte de água e sedimentos em região abrigada. Desde a década de 70, houve uma série de ações governamentais no sentido de recuperara essa região do estuário, o que gerou tensão e conflito com os atores a montante da bacia. Em resposta, o assunto foi debatido e negociado em diferentes fóruns criados a partir da década de 80. O presente trabalho analisa o processo decisório sobre o canal, buscando identificar elementos que favorecem ou inibem a transformação da participação em aprendizagem social. Os resultados revelam que a aprendizagem social não é um processo espontâneo, e, apesar da forte interdependência entre os atores envolvidos, espaços de convergência e consenso são prejudicados por fatores como a falta de liderança pró-ativa, representação desproporcional dos atores, ausência de redes de cooperação e coalizões, além da falta de implementação de medidas negociadas. / The launch of the Law 9.433 of 1997, wich institutionalizes the National Policy of Water Resources, opened the prospect of an integrated, participatory and decentralized management of the water resources. The integration of the watershed management with the management of the coastal zone is a guideline of this policy and social participation is prerequisite for more sustainable and legitimate. The quality of participatory process is linked to the incorporation of different actors, with distinctive perspectives in relation to the catchment area, in a group process that enable reflection and learning, about the own group itself and about the natural and institutional framework of the basin. The present study is a case study on the management of river basin of Ribeira de Iguape, on the southern coast of São Paulo State. In the terminal part of this river, a hydraulic work was built in the nineteenth century, known as Valo Grande, rectify its course, destabilizing the adjacent estuary system by the input of water and sediments in a sheltered area. Since the 70s, there was a series of government in order to recover this region of estuary, wich created tension and conflict with the upstream actors of the basin. In response, the matter was discussed and negotiated in different decision-makers forums created since the 80s. The present work examines the decision process on the channel, in order to identify factors that promote or inhibit the transformation of participation in social learning. The results show that the social learning is not a spontaneous process, and despite the strong interdependency among the actors envolved, areas of convergence and consensus are affected by aspects like the lack of a proactive leadership, disproportionate representation of actors, lack of networks of cooperation and coalition, and the lack of implementation of negotiated measures.

Modificações da cobertura natural dos solos podem ocasionar alterações no ciclo hidrológico, que por sua vez podem impactar a disponibilidade de água. Na Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Paraíba do Sul (BHPS) vem ocorrendo uma substituição de coberturas vegetais em função da expansão de monoculturas de eucalipto. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar os impactos de ordem hidrológica sobre a disponibilidade hídrica (quali e quantitativa) no trecho paulista da BHPS, em decorrência da implantação da atividade de silvicultura de eucalipto para produção de celulose. Para isso, foi utilizado o método de Pegada Hídrica (PH) para avaliar a alocação de água da produção de madeira de floresta nativa e de eucalipto, método que vem sendo aplicado pelo setor silvícola. Foram empregados também métodos de Balanço Hídrico Climatológico, Balanço Hídrico Geral e a abordagem de Serviços Ecossistêmicos para avaliar a relação entre a água e as principais coberturas vegetais da bacia (pastagem, floresta nativa e eucalipto), de forma a permitir uma análise ampliada e integrada do comportamento hidrológico da bacia. Ao analisar os métodos empregados, observou-se que a PH de produtos avalia apenas a eficiência do uso da água, o que pode mascarar altos consumos de água em função de maior produtividade por hectare. Isto porque se obteve menor valor de PH da madeira, em m³ por tonelada para o caso do eucalipto, e maior alocação total de água, em m³ por hectare por ano, em comparação à floresta nativa. Os resultados obtidos pela análise de Balanço Hídrico Climatológico para as principais coberturas vegetais mostraram que o eucalipto apresentou maior evapotranspiração e menor excedente hídrico. Já o Balanço Hídrico Geral, analisado mensalmente, permitiu visualizar que as coberturas vegetais influenciam o serviço de provisão de água e concorrem pelo uso de água com os demais usuários da bacia (naturais e antrópicos) em períodos de menor precipitação. Por fim, concluiu-se que são necessárias medições locais para determinação de volumes de escoamento (superficial e subterrâneo), infiltração, bem como do processo de lixiviação e perdas de solo para apontar de forma mais precisa os impactos hídricos da monocultura de eucalipto. / Modifications in the natural land cover can change the hydrological cycle, which might have an impact on water availability. In the river basin of the Paraíba do Sul river (RBPS), the natural vegetation has been being replaced due to the expansion of eucalyptus monocultures. This research assessed the impacts on water availability (both qualitative and quantitative), caused by eucalyptus forestry for pulp production in the RBPS part in Sao Paulo. The water footprint (WF) method was applied to assess the water used on the cellulose production of native forest and eucalyptus, given the use of this method by the industry. Also, the Climatic Water Balance, General Water Balance methods and the Ecosystem Services approach were used in order to perform an extended and integrated analysis of the hydrological behavior of the basin. By analyzing these methods, it was found that the products WF only assesses the efficiency in water use, which can mask high water consumption with higher productivity per hectare. This because a smaller value for wood WF was observed, in m³/ton for eucalyptus, and higher total water use, in m³ per hectare per year, compared to the native forest. The results observed by the Climatic Water Balance analysis for the main vegetation cover showed that the eucalyptus presented higher evapotranspiration and smaller water surplus. The General Water Balance, analyzed on a monthly basis, showed that the vegetation has an impact on the water provision service and competes for water with other users in the basin (natural and anthropic) in periods with less precipitation. Finally, it was concluded that local measurements are required to determine the runnof volumes (superficial and subsurface), infiltration, as well as the process of leaching and soil loss in order to have a more accurate assessment of the hydrological impacts of the eucalyptus monoculture.

Even though practical water resources planning and management has evolved greatly, there is still a mismatch between it and Integrated Water Resources Management. In light of the European Water Framework Directive and other European Policies related to water and sustainability, the Ecosystem Services assessment and Water Accounting methodologies have been identified as tools that can help approaching Integrated Water Resources Management. However, the existing methodologies are disconnected from the real requirements of water resources planning and management in complex river basins such as the ones suffering from water scarcity. The Water Accounting frameworks adopt a financial accounting perspective that is too exhaustive for the purpose of transmitting the relevant water stocks and flows for water managers and users in a river basin, and that entail less accuracy in the global water balance. Also, the analysed Ecosystem Assessment Tools overlook the influence of water management as well as the temporal and spatial variability of water resources and demands. This Thesis proposes methodologies for Water Accounting and Ecosystem Services Assessment which overcome the identified limitations and are especially adapted to be implemented in water scarce river basins. The Australian Water Accounting Standards are simplified to avoid exhaustive accounting for the sake of accuracy and transparency of water management information. An improved version is fully designed, and some criteria are proposed to guide its implementation at river basin scale with the purpose of improving public information and governance. A set of Integrated Water Resources Management Tools embedded in the Decision Support System AQUATOOL is tailored with economic information in order to obtain the benefits of three Freshwater Ecosystem Services considering the influence of water management with a detailed time step. The application of the resulting methodologies to different cases of study show the relevance of adopting a water management perspective in order to capture all the complexity of water scarce river basins in the results, so that they are useful for informed decision making. The Water Accounting results disclose synthesised and relevant information for water users and other stakeholders about the state of water resources and their allocation and supply during the analysed period. The Freshwater Ecosystem Services assessment results reveal helpful to classify water bodies or watersheds according to their capacity to provide environmental benefits, and to analyse the tradeoffs between the traditional water demands and the Ecosystem Services beneficiaries. Finally, the methodologies are put into context inside the Integrated Water Resources Management process that covers the target variables to consider, the tools that allow analysing the influence of management actions on them, the indicators that are more informative to water managers, and the ways to transmit the information to the general public. Furthermore, the types of analyses which can be conducted with the proposed methodologies are detailed, and illustrated with examples in scientific literature. The presented research is based on published work, which is expanded or detailed, and includes other non published material. The result is a Thesis that provides improved results and conclusions with respect to the stand-alone papers. / A pesar de que la planificación y gestión de los recursos hídricos ha evolucionado enormemente, existe todavía discordancia entre la misma y la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos. A la luz de la Directiva Europea Marco del Agua y otras Políticas Europeas relacionadas con el agua y la sostenibilidad, la Contabilidad del Agua y la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas se han identificado como herramientas que pueden ayudar a aproximarse a la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos. Sin embargo, las metodologías existentes actualmente están desconectadas de los requisitos reales de la planificación y gestión de los recursos hídricos en cuencas hidrográficas complejas como las que sufren de escasez hídrica. Los marcos de Contabilidad del Agua adoptan una perspectiva de contabilidad financiera que es demasiado exhaustiva para el propósito de transmitir información relevante sobre las reservas y flujos a los gestores y usuarios del agua en una cuenca, y conllevan menos precisión en el balance global de agua. Además, las herramientas analizadas para la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas pasan por alto la influencia de la gestión del agua así como la variabilidad temporal y espacial de los recursos hídricos y las demandas. Esta Tesis propone metodologías para la Contabilidad del Agua y la Evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas que superan estas limitaciones y que están especialmente adaptadas para su implementación en cuencas con escasez de agua. Los Estándares Australianos de Contabilidad del Agua se simplifican para evitar la contabilidad exhaustiva a favor de la precisión y la transparencia en la información sobre la gestión del agua. Se diseña una versión mejorada y se proponen algunos criterios para guiar su implementación a escala de cuenca con el propósito de mejorar la información pública y la gobernanza. Un conjunto de herramientas para la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos que forman parte del Sistema Soporte a la Decisión AQUATOOL se une con información económica para obtener los beneficios generados por tres Servicios de los Ecosistemas de Agua Dulce considerando la influencia de la gestión del agua a una escala temporal detallada. La aplicación de las metodologías resultantes a distintos casos de estudio muestra la relevancia de adoptar una perspectiva de gestión del agua para capturar en los resultados la complejidad de las cuencas con escasez de agua, de modo que sean útiles para la toma de decisiones informadas. Los resultados de Contabilidad del Agua muestran información sintética y relevante para los usuarios del agua y otros actores interesados sobre el estado de los recursos hídricos, y su asignación y suministro durante el periodo analizado. Los resultados de la evaluación de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas de Agua Dulce se revelan útiles para clasificar las masas de agua o subcuencas de acuerdo con su capacidad para proporcionar beneficios ambientales y para analizar el equilibrio entre las demandas de agua tradicionales y los beneficiarios de los Servicios de los Ecosistemas. Finalmente, las metodologías se ponen en contexto dentro del proceso de Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos que abarca las variables objetivo a considerar, las herramientas que permiten analizar la influencia de las acciones de gestión sobre ellas, los indicadores más informativos para los gestores del agua, y los modos de transmitir la información al público en general. Además, se detallan e ilustran con ejemplos en la literatura científica los tipos de análisis que pueden llevarse a cabo mediante las metodologías propuestas. La investigación que se presenta está basada en trabajos publicados, que se expanden o detallan, e incluye material no publicado. El resultado es una Tesis que proporciona resultados y conclusiones mejorados respecto a los artículos independientes. / A pesar que la planificació i la gestió dels recursos hídrics ha evolucionat enormement, existeix encara discordancia entre aquesta i la Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics. A la llum de la Directiva Europea Marc de l'Aigua i altres Polítiques Europees relacionades amb l'aigua i la sostenibilidad, la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua i l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes s'han identificat com a ferramentes que poden ajudar a aproximar-se a la Gestió Integrada de Recusos Hídrics. No obstant això, les metodologies existents actualment estan desconnectades dels requeriments reals de la planificació i gestió dels recursos hídricos en conques hidrogràfiques complexes com les que pateixen d'escassesa hídrica. Els marcs de Comptabilitat de l'Aigua adopten una perspectiva de Comptabilitat financera que és massa exhaustiva per al propòsit de transmetre informacó relevant sobre les reserves i fluxes als gestors i usuaris de l'aigua en una conca, i comporten menys precisió al balanç global de l'aigua. A més, les ferramentes analitzades per a l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes passen per alt la influència de la gestió de l'aigua així com la variabilitat temporal i espacial dels recursos hídrics i les demandes. Aquesta Tesi proposa metodologies per a la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua i l'Avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes que superen aquestes limitacions i que estan especialment adaptades per a la seua implementació en conques amb escassesa d'aigua. Els Estàndards Australians de Comptabilitat de l'Aigua es simplifiquen per evitar la comptabilitat exhaustiva a favor de la precisió i la transparència en la informació sobre la gestió de l'aigua. Es dissenya una versió millorada i es proposen alguns criteris per guiar la seua implementació a escala de conca amb el propòsit de millorar la informació pública i la governança. Un conjunt de ferramentes per a la Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics que formen part del Sistema Suport a la Decisió AQUATOOL s'uneix amb informació econòmica per obtindre els beneficis generats per tres Serveis dels Ecosistemes d'Aigua Dolça considerant la influència de la gestió de l'aigua a una escala temporal detallada. L'aplicació de les metodologies resultants als distints casos d'estudi mostren la rellevància d'adoptar una perspectiva de gestió de l'aigua per capturar als resultats la complexitat de les conques amb escassesa d'aigua, de manera que siguen útils per a la presa de decisions informades. Els resultats de la Comptabilitat de l'Aigua mostren informació sintètica i rellevant per als usuaris i altres actors interessats sobre l'estat dels recursos hídric, i la seua assignació i subministrament al llarg del període analitzat. Els resultats de l'avaluació dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes d'Aigua Dolça es revelen útils per classificar les masses d'aigua o subconques d'acord amb la seua capacitat per proporcionar beneficis ambientals i per analitzar l'equilibri entre les demandes d'aigua tradicionals i els beneficiaris dels Serveis dels Ecosistemes. Finalment, les metodologies es posen en context dins del procés de Gestió Integrada de Recursos Hídrics que abarca les variables objectiu a considerar, les ferramentes que permeten analitzar la influència de les accions de gestió sobre elles, els indicadors més informatius per als gestors de l'aigua, i les maneres de transmetre la informació al públic en general. A més, es detallen i il¿lustren amb exemples en la literatura científica els tipus d'anàlisis que es poden portar a terme mitjançant les metodologies propostes. La investigació que es presenta està basada en treballs publicats, que s'expandeixen o detallen, i inclou material no publicat. El resultat és una Tesis que proporciona resultats i conclusions millorades respecte als articles independents. / Momblanch Benavent, A. (2016). Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Water Accounting Methodologies for Integrated Water Resources Management in water scarce basins [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/75523 / TESIS

abstract: Water desalination has become one of the viable solutions to provide drinking water in regions with limited natural resources. This is particularly true in small communities in arid regions, which suffer from low rainfall, declining surface water and increasing salinity of groundwater. Yet, current desalination methods are difficult to be implemented in these areas due to their centralized large-scale design. In addition, these methods require intensive maintenance, and sometimes do not operate in high salinity feedwater. Membrane distillation (MD) is one technology that can potentially overcome these challenges and has received increasing attention in the last 15 years. The driving force of MD is the difference in vapor pressure across a microporous hydrophobic membrane. Compared to conventional membrane-based technologies, MD can treat high concentration feedwater, does not need intensive pretreatment, and has better fouling resistance. More importantly, MD operates at low feed temperatures and so it can utilize low–grade heat sources such as solar energy for its operation. While the integration of solar energy and MD was conventionally indirect (i.e. by having two separate systems: a solar collector and an MD module), recent efforts were focused on direct integration where the membrane itself is integrated within a solar collector aiming to have a more compact, standalone design suitable for small-scale applications. In this dissertation, a comprehensive review of these efforts is discussed in Chapter ‎2. Two novel direct solar-powered MD systems were proposed and investigated experimentally: firstly, a direct contact MD (DCMD) system was designed by placing capillary membranes within an evacuated tube solar collector (ETC) (Chapter ‎3), and secondly, a submerged vacuum MD (S-VMD) system that uses circulation and aeration as agitation techniques was investigated (Chapter ‎4). A maximum water production per absorbing area of 0.96 kg·m–2·h–1 and a thermal efficiency of 0.51 were achieved. A final study was conducted to investigate the effect of ultrasound in an S-VMD unit (Chapter ‎5), which significantly enhanced the permeate flux (up to 24%) and reduced the specific energy consumption (up to 14%). The results add substantially to the understanding of integrating ultrasound with different MD processes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Mechanical Engineering 2020

abstract: Governance of complex social-ecological systems is partly characterized by processes of autonomous decision making and voluntary mutual adjustment by multiple authorities with overlapping jurisdictions. From a policy perspective, understanding these polycentric processes could provide valuable insight for solving environmental problems. Paradoxically, however, polycentric governance theory seems to proscribe conventional policy applications: the logic of polycentricity cautions against prescriptive, top-down interventions. Water resources governance, and large-scale water infrastructure systems in particular, offer a paradigm for interpretation of what Vincent Ostrom called the “counterintentional and counterintuitive patterns” of polycentricity. Nearly a century of philosophical inquiry and a generation of governance research into polycentricity, and the overarching institutional frameworks within which polycentric processes operate, provide context for this study. Based on a historically- and theoretically-grounded understanding of water systems as a polycentric paradigm, I argue for a realist approach to operationalizing principles of polycentricity for contribution to policy discourses. Specifically, this requires an actor-centered approach that mobilizes subjective experiences, knowledge, and narratives about contingent decision making. I use the case of large-scale water infrastructure in Arizona to explore a novel approach to measurement of polycentric decision making contexts. Through semi-structured interviews with water operators in the Arizona water system, this research explores how qualitative and quantitative comparisons can be made between polycentric governance constructs as they are understood by institutional scholars, experienced by actors in polycentric systems, and represented in public policy discourses. I introduce several measures of conditions of polycentricity at a subjective level, including the extents to which actors: experience variety in the work assigned to them; define strong operational priorities; perceive their priorities to be shared by others; identify discrete, critical decisions in the course of their work responsibilities; recall information and action dependencies in their decision making processes; relate communicating their decisions to other dependent decision makers; describe constraints in their process; and evaluate their own independence to make decisions. I use configurational analysis and narrative analysis to show how decision making and governance are understood by operators within the Arizona water system. These results contribute to practical approaches for diagnosis of polycentric systems and theory-building in self governance. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Environmental Social Science 2020

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第23164号 / 工博第4808号 / 新制||工||1752(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科社会基盤工学専攻 / (主査)教授 立川 康人, 准教授 KIM SUNMIN, 教授 中北 英一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

abstract: This dissertation investigates the mechanisms that lead to fouling, as well as how an understanding of how these mechanisms can be leveraged to mitigate fouling. To limit fouling on feed spacers, various coatings were applied. The results showed silver-coated biocidal spacers outperformed other spacers by all measures. The control polypropylene spacers performed in-line with, or better than, the other coatings. Polypropylene’s relative anti-adhesiveness is due to its surface free energy (SFE; 30.0 +/- 2.8 mN/m), which, according to previously generated models, is near the ideal SFE for resisting adhesion of bacteria and organics (~25 mN/m). Previous research has indicated that electrochemical surfaces can be used to remove biofilms. To better elucidate the conditions and kinetics of biofilm removal, optical coherence tomography microscopy was used to visualize the biofouling and subsequent cleaning of the surface. The 50.0 mA cm-2 and 87.5 mA cm-2 current densities proved most effective in removing the biofilm. The 50.0 mA cm-2 condition offers the best balance between performance and energy use for anodic operation. To test the potential to incorporate electrochemical coatings into infrastructure, membranes were coated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), rendering the membranes electrochemically active. These membranes were biofouled and subsequently cleaned via electrochemical reactions. P. aeruginosa was given 72h to develop a biofilm on the CNT-coated membranes in a synthetic medium simulating desalination brines. Cathodic reactions, which generate H2 gas, produce vigorous bubbling at a current density of 12.5 mA cm-2 and higher, leading to a rapid and complete displacement of the biofilm from the CNT-functionalized membrane surface. In comparison, anodic reactions were unable to disperse the biofilms from the surface at similar current densities. The scaling behavior of a nanophotonics-enabled solar membrane distillation (NESMD) system was investigated. The results showed the NESMD system to be resistant to scaling. The system operated without any decline in flux up to concentrations 6x higher than the initial salt concentration (8,439 mg/L), whereas in traditional membrane distillation (MD), flux essentially stopped at a salt concentration factor of 2x. Microscope and analytical analyses showed more fouling on the membranes from the MD system. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2019

For a long time, water shortages and flooding have been challenges in many parts of China. Meanwhile, the Chinese government announced the change of water management from engineering-oriented approach towards integrated approach in the last decades. However, the announced changes in management approach does not necessarily lead to the wide implementation of institutions, infrastructures and practice. They can be confronted by a strong resistance from the existing management approach. In fact, the development of water resources management is a complex process. Such a complexity raise the following questions: did fundamental changes really take place in the structure of water supply and demand management and flood management in China? If yes, how? In order to answer this question, the author (1) developed conceptual frameworks to enable a detailed and precise analysis of regime development; (2)applied the elaborated conceptual frameworks to explore the development of the water resources management regime in China, at the example of three case studies. These three case studies were: •Flood Management (IFM) took place in the Dongting Lake Area in the middle Yangtze River, •Water allocation in the Yellow River Basin, •The experimentation period of Water Saving Society in China. With the support of the developed framework, the case studies show that fundamental changes, i.e. transitions, have taken place in flood management regime and water supply-demand regime in China, but transitions have not yet completed, due to, namely, the lack of reconfiguration of other regime components and other relevant regimes. In addition, the case studies also depict how the start of transitions were triggered and how informal learning processes influenced regime development. The thesis contributed to sustainability transitions research by developing an operational approach to analyze transitions of water resource management regime and by expanding the empirical basis for transitions research to natural resources management regime in emerging economies.

abstract: Imagine you live in a place without any storm water or wastewater systems! Wastewater and storm water systems are two of the most crucial systems for urban infrastructure. Water resources have become more limited and expensive in arid and semi-arid regions. According to the fourth World Water Development Report, over 80% of global wastewater is released into the environment without adequate treatment. Wastewater collection and treatment systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) covers about 49% of urban areas; about 25% of treated wastewater is used for landscape and crop irrigation (Ministry of Environment Water and Agriculture [MEWA], 2017). According to Guizani (2016), during each event of flooding, there are fatalities. In 2009, the most deadly flood occurred in Jeddah, KSA within more than 160 lives lost. As a consequence, KSA has set a goal to provide 100% sewage collection and treatment services to every city with a population above 5000 by 2025, where all treated wastewater will be used. This research explores several optimization models of planning and designing collection systems, such as regional wastewater and stormwater systems, in order to understand and overcome major performance-related disadvantages and high capital costs. The first model (M-1) was developed for planning regional wastewater system, considering minimum costs of location, type, and size sewer network and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The second model (M-2) was developed for designing a regional wastewater system, considering minimum hydraulic design costs, such as pump stations, commercial diameters, excavation costs, and WWTPs. Both models were applied to the Jizan region, KSA. The third model (M-3) was developed to solve layout and pipe design for storm water systems simultaneously. This model was applied to four different case scenarios, using two approaches for commercial diameters. The fourth model (M-4) was developed to solve the optimum pipe design of a storm sewer system for given layouts. However, M-4 was applied to a storm sewer network published in the literature. M-1, M-2, and M-3 were developed in the general algebraic modeling system (GAMS) program, which was formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) solver, while M-4 was formulated as a nonlinear programming (NLP) procedure. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2019

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Maintenance of water resources protection practice for water availability, uninterrupted water utilization, and for ecosystem integrity is critical for sustainable achievement of resource security for all. Therefore, operationalization of water resource protection strategies such as resource directed measures, especially at catchment level where water resources utilization takes place is critical. The main aim of the current study was to develop a citizen science framework for operationalization of resource directed measures at catchment level. Such a framework used a nexus approach, and its development was guided by the principles of socio-ecological model from a systems thinking perspective. This demonstrated importance of resource directed measures which are accepted as relevant policy implementation strategies towards improved and integrated water resources management practice at catchment level, where local citizens become part of such practice.