Water is an essential element for life and crucial to survival. South Africa is a semi-arid country and therefore water should be protected and managed effectively by all residents of the country. In the 1830s the Mooi River was the key reason for the Voortrekkers to establish Potchefstroom at a locality adjacent to this river. The Voortrekkers noticed the dolomitic outcroppings in the vicinity, but still opted to reside next to the river for it provided easily accessible water and fertile soil. Since the 1830s water legislation regulating the management and use of the water in the Mooi River has been amended innumerable times to bring us to the current situation of Potchefstroom’s water (mis)management by the role-players and stakeholders of the water source. As a resident of Potchefstroom, the researcher has a keen interest in the origin of the city’s water sources, the re-routing of the water from the origin to the water purification unit via the open-on-top cement canal system, and the overall management of these canals and their servitudes. In order to conduct a research study on the Mooi River’s water re-routing canals and servitudes, the following research methods were applied: The researcher performed a comprehensive literature review, conducted fieldwork, held interviews with landowners and experts in the geographical area of the Mooi River Valley, and performed statistical analyses as well as content analyses of the findings. Some of the most alarming findings include the lack of co-operative governance between water users and – authorities, and the current public management and disaster risk management challenges in the re-routing of water from Klerkskraal Dam down to the water purification plant of Potchefstroom. It is recommended that the major stakeholders of the Mooi River Valley, e.g. the disaster management centre in Potchefstroom, the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) regional offices in Potchefstroom, as well as the Tlokwe Local Municipality need to join forces for a combined effort to accomplish the overarching research objective of achieving improved cooperative municipal governance and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to eventually ensure the safe and effective re-routing of water from the Klerkskraal Dam to the Potchefstroom water purification plant. Note: Since July 2014 the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) has changed to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). / MA (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa‟s hydrological and geographical characteristics, coupled with the location of a large part of its mineral endowment, required the development of the complex Vaal River Supply System, including inter-basin water transfer (IBT) projects which have been in operation for over twenty-five years. This research compares the actual water transfers of two such IBTs with their original, appraisal stage, predictions. Transfers are shown to be significantly less and also more variable than predicted. Further research reveals that the state of the receiving system has a large bearing on year-to-year decisions regarding transfers. Past appraisals, following what is called the Incremental Approach, do not adequately consider the likely future inter-basin transfer operating regime. Examination of six case studies, four South African, one Chinese and one Australian, shows that the Incremental Approach is still in general use – despite tools available for an improved approach. A new approach is proposed to upgrade estimations of variable costs associated with water transfers – often substantial life-cycle cost components of IBTs. The generally used unit reference value (URV) measure for appraising and ranking water resource projects in South Africa is also rooted in the economic theory of cost-effectiveness. This shows that the current approach is conceptually flawed; it fails to distinguish between water transfers and effectiveness outputs. The determination of the URV equation is expanded and improved. The upgraded appraisal approach, inclusive of the improved URV methodology, is named the Comprehensive Approach. A step-wise demonstration of the Comprehensive Approach is provided. Uncertainty regarding future water transfers and associated variable costs are provided for by stochastic simulation modelling. Decision analysis theory is applied to obtain the appropriate input value of variable costs. It is shown that the Comprehensive Approach can lead to an outcome significantly different from the Incremental Approach. The research provides new insights, placing water resource planning practitioners in a better position to recommend appropriate IBTs in future. These insights can also be transferred to the design of institutional and financial models related to IBTs, as well as the configuration and operation of supply systems including sea-water desalination projects. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika se hidrologiese en geografiese eienskappe, gekoppel aan die ligging van 'n groot deel van sy minerale bates, het gelei tot die ontwikkeling van die komplekse Vaalrivier Voorsieningstelsel, insluitend tussen-bekken oordragskemas waarvan sommige al vir meer as vyf-en-twintig jaar in werking is. Hierdie navorsing vergelyk die werklike wateroordragte van twee sulke oordragskemas met die oorspronklike vooruitskattings tydens die beplanning-stadium. Daar word getoon dat oordragte noemenswaardig minder en ook meer onreëlmatig was as wat voorspel is. Verdere ondersoek toon dat die stand van die stelsel, aan die ontvangskant, die besluitneming rakende die jaar-tot-jaar oordrag beïnvloed het. Historiese evaluerings het 'n “Inkrementele Benadering” (soos hier genoem) gevolg, wat nie voldoende die toekomstige bedryfsomgewing ten opsigte van tussen-bekken oordragte inagneem nie. Ondersoek van ses gevalstudies, vier Suid-Afrikaans, een Sjinees en een Australies, toon dat die Inkrementele Benadering nog algemeen in gebruik is, ten spyte daarvan dat hulpmiddels vir 'n verbeterde benadering beskikbaar is. 'n Nuwe benadering word voorgestel vir die verbetering van vooruitskattings van veranderlike koste wat met wateroordragte geassosieer word – dikwels 'n aansienlike gedeelte van die lewenssiklus-koste van sodanige skemas. Die Eenheidverwysingswaarde (EVW) maatstaf, wat algemeen in Suid-Afrika gebruik word om waterbronprojekte te beoordeel en in rangorde te plaas, word ook geanker in die ekonomiese teorie van koste-effektiwiteit. Daarmee word getoon dat die huidige gebruik van die EVW konsepsioneel gebrekkig is; dit tref nie 'n onderskeid tussen wateroordragte en effektiwiteitsuitsette nie. Die bepaling van die EVW vergelyking is verbreed en verbeter. Die opgegradeerde benadering, met insluiting van die verbeterde EVW metodiek, word die Omvattende Benadering genoem. 'n Stapsgewyse uiteensetting van die Omvattende Benadering word voorsien. Onsekerhede ten opsigte van wateroordragte en geassosieerde veranderlike koste word deur middel van stogastiese modellering aangespreek. Besluitnemingontledingsteorie word ingespan om die toepaslike insetwaarde van die veranderlike koste te bepaal. Daar word getoon dat die Omvattende Benadering tot 'n resultaat kan lei wat aansienlik verskil van wat met die Inkrementele Benadering verkry word. Die navorsing verskaf nuwe insigte wat die waterbronbeplanner in 'n beter posisie sal plaas om gepaste tussen-bekken oordragskemas voor te stel. Hierdie insigte kan ook oorgedra word na die ontwerp van institusionele en finansiële modelle rakende oordragskemas, asook die uitleg en bedryf van voorsieningstelsels, insluitend seewater-ontsoutingsaanlegte.

Water resource management is a multifaceted issue that becomes more complex when considering multiple nations’ interdependence upon a single shared transboundary river basin. With over 200 transboundary river basins worldwide shared by two or more countries, it is important to develop tools to allow riparian countries to cooperatively manage these shared and often limited water resources. Cooperative game theory provides tools for determining if cooperation can exist across jurisdictional boundaries through a suite of mathematical tools that measure the benefits of cooperation among basin stakeholders. Cooperative game theory is also useful for transboundary negotiation because it provides a range of solutions which will satisfy all players in the game and provides methods to fairly and equitably allocate the gains of that cooperation to all participating stakeholders, if that cooperation is shown to be possible. This dissertation applies cooperative game theory concepts to the Rio Grande/Bravo basin in North America as a case study. The Rio Grande/Bravo forms the 1,200 km border between the United States and Mexico. A comprehensive water resources planning model was developed for the basin including the major water users, water related infrastructure including reservoirs, and water policy logic related to the bi-national water sharing agreements. The water planning model is used to calculate the characteristic functions for the cooperative game analysis. For the Water Demand Reduction Game, the largest agricultural users, District 005, District 025 and the Texas Watermaster Section below Falcon were defined individual players. The cooperative analysis was between the individual players rather than the countries. In addition to the cooperative analysis, performance measures for water deliveries were calculated to determine if water delivery was improved to each player under the cooperative game. The results show that the amount of additional water to the downstream players may not be large enough to induce cooperation. The small amount of increase in water deliveries is related to the large system losses as the water travels downstream over a long distance and a division of water under the 1944 Treaty between the United States and Mexico. / text

Monthly water samples collected from four sites in the Lost River Groundwater Basin, a shallow karst aquifer in the Bowling Green-Warren County area of Kentucky, represented samples from sites receiving conduit and diffuse flow. All sites were severely contaminated with bacteria, and on some occasions the surface water criteria for some heavy metals were exceeded. Of the total 334 bacterial colonies identified 92.1% were verified as Escherichia coli by the API20E system. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. anitratum accounted for 2.10% of colonies; Citrobacter freundii for 0.30% Klebsiella pneumoniae for 0.90%; Klebsiella oxytoca, 0.90%; Citrobacter amalonaticus 0.30%; Enterobacter cloacae, 1.20%; Enterobacter sakazakii 0.60% and unidentifiable isolates 1.2%. A calcoaceticus var. anitratum had morphologically distinct tiny blue colonies on Levine Eosin Methylene Blue agar (LEMB). Fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS) densities were variable and FC densities exceeded surface water criteria (SWC) on numerous occasions. Geometric means for FC colonies also exceeded SWC. The FC/FS ratios indicated both farmland and human pollution. The most frequently identified E. coli had an API profile No. 5144572 and the second most frequent had an API profile No. 5044552. The most frequently (76.92%) identified streptococcal species was Streptococcus durans. The S. durans that was most frequent (33.85%) of the Streptococcal isolates identified had an API profile No. of 5200441. All C. perfringens isolated gave a positive Reverse Camp Test. The bacterial densities at all sites followed the pattern of the respective hydrographs. The analysis of heavy metals indicated that varying concentrations of different metals were present at the sites studied. The metal found in the highest concentration at all four sites was iron. The concentrations of iron found were virtually always (>94% of the time) in violation of surface water criteria (SWC). Copper and zinc concentration were always less than that specified by SWC while silver, cadmium and chromium had concentrations which exceeded SWC on occasions.

Ecological research involving habitat studies was conducted on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River in Denton County, Texas, from spring 1985 to spring 1986. Habitat Evaluation Procedures and Habitat Suitability Index Models developed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service were applied to a 1419 hectares study area to determine the quality of habitat for four species: beaver, Castor canadensis, wood duck, Aix sponsa, pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, and white crappie, Poxomis annularis. Population estimates were generated. A wildlife management plan was developed for the study area. Habitat Suitability Index Models were found to be overly conservative, underestimating the quality of habitat in areas of ecological transition.

Master of Science / Department of Civil Engineering / David R. Steward / Accurate modeling of the High Plains Aquifer depends on the availability of good data that represents and quantities properties and processes occurring within the aquifer. Thanks to many previous studies there is a wealth of good data available for the High Plains Aquifer but one key component, groundwater-surface water interaction locations and rates, is generally missing. Without these values accurate modeling of the High Plains Aquifer is very difficult to achieve. This thesis presents methods for simplifying the modeling of the High Plains Aquifer using a sloping base method and then applying mathematical optimization techniques to locate and quantify points of groundwater-surface water interaction. The High Plains Aquifer has a base that slopes gently from west to east and is approximated using a one-dimensional stepping base model. The model was run under steady-state predevelopment conditions using readily available GIS data representing aquifer properties such as hydraulic conductivity, bedrock elevation, recharge, and the predevelopment water level. The Levenberg-Marquardt and particle swarm algorithms were implemented to minimize error in the model. The algorithms reduced model error by finding locations in the aquifer of potential groundwater-surface water interaction and then determining the rate of groundwater to surface water exchange at those points that allowed for the best match between the measured predevelopment water level and the simulated water level. Results from the model indicate that groundwater-surface water interaction plays an important role in the overall water balance in the High Plains Aquifer. Findings from the model show strong groundwater-surface water interaction occurring in the northern basin of the aquifer where the water table is relatively shallow and there are many surface water features. In the central and southern basins the interaction is primarily limited to river valleys. Most rivers have baseflow that is a net sink from groundwater.

O presente trabalho tem como principal objetivo o estudo da percepção de justiça e eqüidade de grupos sociais do Pantanal Mato-Grossense, a respeito de aproveitamentos hídricos, tendo como referencial empírico o implemento da Hidrovia Paraguai-Paraná. As concepções que esses grupos sociais têm de atitudes para um planejamento hídrico justo, assim como, seu grau de informação e de participação social, foram também considerados fundamentais para uma melhor compreensão das percepções de pantaneiros e ribeirinhos. Para tanto, metodologicamente foi proposto um estudo de caso , com aplicação de questionários fechados, realização de entrevistas gravadas e fotodocumentação. Por meio dos resultados apresentados, conclui-se que a percepção do grau de justiça dos entrevistados está intimamente relacionada aos usos da água que, no nível individual e comunitário, apresentam aspectos que mais diretamente intervêm no cotidiano e na qualidade de vida das pessoas. Quanto ao grau de concordância com aspectos fisiológicos inseridos na gestão de recursos hídricos, destaca-se a percepção generalizada da água como um bem comum e de forte valor comunitário, que deve ser preservado, em detrimento de aspectos econômicos. Reconhecem a necessidade de regras de planejamento a longo prazo, assim como, a necessidade de todo um arcabouço legal, porém, existe um clima de pessimismo quanto ao cumprimento das leis, visto que, carregam uma certa desconfiança da imparcialidade da justiça, assim como, a reconhecem como morosa. Conclui-se que as atividades e ações apresentadas e necessárias para o implemento de um hidrovia são consideradas negativas à medida em que os impactos sócio-ambientais são associados como causadores de impactos negativos localizados. Quanto ao grau de informação, pode-se concluir que a falta de mesma é perceptível em todas as áreas, sexos, faixas etárias, tipos de ocupação e níveis de escolaridade - com exceção das mulheres residentes no meio urbano, que se mostram mais informadas. A respeito do nível de participação, apesar de se reconhecerem como co-responsáveis, juntamente com a ação governamental, pela gestão dos recursos hídricos e preservação do Pantanal, mostram aversão em participar do processo decisório e de se inserirem em qualquer forma associativa. Porém, acreditam na possibilidade da participação efetiva do público, deixando em aberto um canal para engajamento futuro. / It is the purpose of this study to acertain the perceptions of the riparians and small cattle ranchers of the marshes of Pantanal Mato-grossense as regards the justice and fairness of water management policies, with special reference to the implementation of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway. The conceptions of these groups about the fairness of water planning procedures, their acceptance of some of the philosophical aspects underlying the water resources management, the degree of their awareness about environmental ramifications and the level of social participation in the decision process, are considered to be of fundamental importance for a better comprehension of the perception of the said groups. To achieve an understanding of the perception of the social groups, a case study was made through the application of a questionnaire, interviews and photo-documentation. The results show that the degree of perception of justice of those interviewed is intimately associated with water use on individual as well as on community levels revealing aspects related to every day life and its quality. With reference to the degree of acceptance of the water management philosophy, it is observed that the riparians perceive water as a public good with great value for the community and that it should be preserved even at the cost of economic interests. They recognise the need for long-term planning and for the required legal framework. However, they show some pessimism as regards the effectiveness of such laws in view of their suspicions about the impartiality of the judicial system and its moroseness. As regards the awareness of riparian inhabitants of the waterway projects, the absence of such information is perceptible in all the areas and among both sexes, their age groups, occupation and education level with the exception of urban women. With respect to social participation, the riparians are averse to their involvement in the water resources decision process or any other kind of association, despite recognizing their responsability to wards the preservation of the Pantanal.

Com os problemas crescentes em relação aos recursos hídricos e aos conflitos de uso da água no Brasil, a necessidade de implantação de políticas que visem à mitigação desses problemas, se tornou evidente e crucial. Neste sentido, o conceito de Pagamentos por Serviços Ambientais (PSA) tem adquirido força e se difundido ao redor do mundo. O município de Extrema, em Minas Gerais, foi pioneiro, ao implantar a primeira iniciativa municipal brasileira de PSA, conhecida como programa Conservador das Águas, que se fundamenta na relação existente entre a floresta e os serviços prestados por ela em relação à conservação do solo, quantidade e qualidade de água. A primeira sub-bacia do município de Extrema onde se deu início às práticas de conservação previstas do referido projeto, foi a sub-bacia das Posses, devido ao fato desta possuir a menor cobertura vegetal. Nessa sub-bacia, concomitantemente com outras práticas, foram implantados cerca de 150 ha de matas ciliares (APP), 280 ha de mata de topo (MT), 300 ha de reserva legal (RL), bem como, práticas de conservação do solo em toda a sua área (cerca de 1200 ha). Tendo em vista não só a importância da implantação, mas também da avaliação dos programas/projetos de PSA, o presente estudo foi realizado objetivando-se, avaliar a perda de solo na sub-bacia onde teve início o programa Conservador das Águas, visando determinar a potencialidade que a adoção do conceito de PSA terá para a conservação do solo dessa sub-bacia, bem como otimizar o provimento do serviço ambiental de conservação do solo em função do tamanho e localização da área de floresta. Nesse sentido, considerando-se, entre outros fatores, as práticas conservacionistas previstas e a situação de uso e cobertura do solo na sub-bacia das Posses, antes e após a implantação do Programa Conservador das Águas, analisaram-se a efetividade, no que concerne a redução de perda de solo, de 36 cenários diferentes de uso e cobertura do solo. Para isso, utilizou-se um Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG) para espacialização e confecção dos diferentes planos de informação (tipos de solo, declividade, precipitação, uso e cobertura do solo, etc.) e a Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), para a estimativa da perda de solo. Como resultados, verificou-se, que, a otimização da conservação do solo pode ser feita adotando-se práticas conservacionistas na pastagem; a expectativa de perda média de solo na sub-bacia das Posses para as condições de uso e cobertura do solo, antes e após a implementação do programa Conservador das Águas, foi de, respectivamente, 30,63 Mg ha-1 ano-1 e 7,06 Mg ha-1 ano-1; com a implantação do programa Conservador das Águas a expectativa de redução de perda de solo na sub-bacia das Posses é de 91%. / Issues concerning water resources in Brazil have risen recently, therefore implementing policies aimed at mitigating this situation has become a sine qua non condition. In this context, the concept of Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) has become widespread and considered around the world. The municipality of Extrema, in Minas Gerais state, was the first city in Brazil to implement a PSA program, known as Conservador das Águas, which focuses on the benefits provided by forests for the soil conservation and water quantity and quality. The first watershed of Extrema was Posses, where the implementation of polices of this program were started, once this watershed has the lower vegetal cover. In this watershed, 730 ha of forest were implemented; 150 around the main river and its tributaries (APP), 280 ha in the highest parts of watershed (MT); 300 ha of Legal reserves and practices of soil conservation were applied in the whole watershed. Considering not the implementation, but also the assessment PSA projects, this study aimed to evaluate soil losses in Posses watershed and determine the potential of PSA concept to conserve soil in this watershed, besides to maximize the environmental service for soil conservation given the size and location of the forest. Therefore, it was analyzed the effectiveness, concerning to soil conservation, of 36 different scenarios related to soil use and forest cover. To that end, a Geographic Information System (SIG) was used to process the distinct data system plan (soil types, slop, rainfall, soil use and cover, etc.) and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to estimate soil losses. Results show that conservation could be optimized with the implementation of soil conservation practices on pasture; soil losses of Posses watershed were estimated prior and after the implementation of Conservador das Águas program, and showed 30.63 Mg ha-1 ano-1 and 7.06 Mg ha-1 ano-1 respectively. After implementation of Conservador das Águas program, the expectative of soil losses reduction is 91%.

Apesar da grande área ocupada pelo Cerrado no território brasileiro e de sua importância ecológica e hidrológica, ainda é desconhecida a repartição da água das chuvas no gradiente fisionômico da vegetação nesse bioma. No presente estudo quantificamos a interceptação da água das chuvas e a umidade do solo, para estabelecer correlações entre as características estruturais da vegetação, representadas principalmente pela área basal, e os dados hidrológicos. Para tanto, quantificamos a transprecipitação e o escoamento pelo tronco das árvores, em 15 parcelas representativas do gradiente fisionômico entre o cerrado típico e o cerradão, localizados na Estação Ecológica de Assis (EEcA), SP, para obtenção da proporção da precipitação efetiva que atravessa o dossel e chega à superfície do solo, em comparação com a precipitação total, quantificada a céu aberto. Os indivíduos lenhosos em cada parcela com DAP 5 cm foram identificados e medidos. A quantidade de transprecipitação foi tanto maior quanto menos complexa a estrutura da vegetação, sendo também influenciada pelas características da chuva incidente. A proporção da transprecipitação também foi fortemente influenciada pela estrutura da vegetação, porém, não foi detectada influência das características das chuvas. Assim, foi possível concluir que, em ambiente de Cerrado, é a estrutura da vegetação que influencia de forma decisiva a proporção de água que alcançará o solo sob forma difusa. A facilidade em captar a água da chuva e escoá-la pelo tronco variou em função de atributos da árvore, sendo que árvores mais altas e com copa volumosa escoaram maior quantidade, enquanto árvores de crescimento monopodial, tronco ereto e reto e copa compacta têm maior eficiência de captação. O agrupamento das parcelas em diferentes fisionomias resultou em diferenças significativas nas taxas de precipitação efetiva e interceptação, indicando que elas devem ser caracterizadas hidrologicamente como ambientes distintos, onde há gradação na quantidade de água que chega ao solo em função do gradiente de biomassa. A transição da entrada de água ao solo no gradiente do Cerrrado é crescente e contínua, desde as comunidades menos densas (cerrado típico) até as comunidades mais densas (cerradão). A dinâmica e a disponibilidade de água do solo foram mais influenciadas pelas propriedades do solo do que pela cobertura vegetal, quando ambos os fatores são variáveis. Concluímos que, em regiões nas quais a água é um recurso escasso, o manejo visando controlar a biomassa da vegetação é um recurso válido, visto que os resultados apontam para a importância das fisionomias mais abertas do Cerrado para a produção hídrica. / Despite the large area occupied by the Cerrado in Brazil and its ecological and hydrological importance, the rainfall partioning in the physiognomy gradient of the vegetation in this biome is still to be ellucidated. In this study, we quantified rainfall interception and the of soil moisture to establish correlations between vegetation structure, represented by the basal area, and hydrological data. Therefore, we quantified the troughfall and stemflow of trees in 15 plots representing the physiognomic gradient between typical cerradão and cerradão, located at Assis Ecological Station (EEcA), SP, to obtain the net rainfall reaching the ground, compared to the total precipitation quantified at open adjacent area. The woody plants with DBH 5 cm were identified and measured in every plot. Troughfall was lower when the vegetation structure was more complex, and was not influenced by micrometeorological factors. We concluded that, in Cerrado, vegetation structure decisively influences the proportion of rainfall to reaching the soil. The stemflow amount was greater the larger the tree and the tree canopy, while trees with monopodial growing, erect and straight trunk and compact canopy had more capture efficiency. Grouping plots by Cerrado physiognomies resulted in significant differences in both net precipitation and interception, indicating that they must be categorizes as hydrologically distinct environments. There is increasing and continuous transition from the more open communities (cerrado típico) to the forest physiognomies (cerradão) in the proportion of rainfall retained by the canopies. The dynamics and the availability of soil water were more influenced by soil properties than the vegetation cover, when both factors varies. This study points out the importance of low biomassa Cerrado physiognomies for hydric production and we concluded that, when and where water is a scarce resource, controlling vegetation biomass can be recommended to aiming at water production.

A importância do rio Paraíba do Sul em escala local, regional e nacional mostra-se por diversos indicadores, sendo um exemplo o percentual do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) nacional que circula na bacia, cerca de 12%. Neste contexto, o Comitê de Integração da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Paraíba do Sul (CEIVAP) torna-se uma arena de extrema relevância para diversos setores de usuários dos recursos hídricos, na qual a participação institucionalizada materializa-se, em parte, pela inserção de atores com perfil muito específico, possuidores de recursos pessoais e institucionais, além de grande capacidade de articulação (relacional), necessários, para legitimamente, defender os interesses destes setores. Assim, o CEIVAP, como um espaço participativo e deliberativo, torna-se lugar de atuação dos chamados burocratas de médio escalão (BMEs), públicos e privados, que, através das suas características e dinâmicas relacionais, permeiam a estrutura organizacional do Comitê e do próprio arranjo institucional da Política Nacional de Recursos Hídricos. Desta maneira, o papel desempenhado por esta categoria de ator mostra-se de grande importância, tanto no entendimento da gestão desenvolvida no CEIVAP, assim como, também, do próprio processo de implementação da PNRH. Logo, neste intento, o objetivo do estudo foi de analisar os BMEs a partir da perspectiva teórica relacional da burocracia, verificando sua importância enquanto ator no CEIVAP, mais especificamente na gestão 2013-2017. Para tanto, a tese delineada como um estudo de caso fez uso de métodos característicos das Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, conjugadas a um conjunto de métodos analíticos das diversas atividades dos BMEs. Destarte, verificou-se que ação dos BMEs é influenciada por legados históricos, que lhes conferem poderes de atuação na arena. Além disto, estes atores possuem uma conduta de atuação, norteada por valores e fatores relacionados à arena, e também opções individuais, apresentando, assim, atitudes para com as diversas situações e questões presentes na gestão. A partir disto, elementos institucionais do CEIVAP, combinados à atuação dos BMEs, estabelecem uma dinâmica muito particular ao espaço deliberativo, a qual, por sua vez, exprime-se nas deliberações e na forma como estas são realizadas. Sendo assim, verificou-se e confirmou-se a hipótese da tese quanto à importância desta classe de ator no CEIVAP, o qual, a partir de perfis característicos e uma atuação marcada pela articulação e a utilização de poderes (institucionais original/situacional, posicionais e econômicos), assume um determinado protagonismo, tornando-se uma espécie de referencial na arena. Portanto, comprovando a importância desta classe de ator, a partir da análise no período analisado. / The importance of the Paraíba do Sul river locally, regionally, and nationally is shown by many indicators; one of these examples is the percentage of the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) circulating in the river basin, around 12%. Within this context, the Watershed Committee of the Paraíba do Sul River (CEIVAP) is set as an arena of extreme significance for many sectors of water resources users, in which the institutionalized participation is materialized partly by the insertion of actors with a very specific profile, who possess personal and institutional resources, besides great articulation (relational) capacity, which are necessary to legitimately defend theses sectors interests. Thus, CEIVAP, as a participative and deliberative area, is the place of acting for the so-called mid-level bureaucrats (MLBs), public and private ones, who, through their characteristics and relational dynamics, permeate the organization structure of the Committee and of the institutional arrangement of the National Water Resources Policy (PNRH) itself. Therefore, the role played by this actor category is of great significance, both to understand the administration developed in the CEIVAP and to comprehend the process of implementation of the PNRH itself. Thus, with this intention, the studys aim was o analyze MLBs based on the theoretical relational perspective on bureaucracy, verifying their importance as actors at CEIVAP, more specifically in the 2013-2017 administration. For that end, the thesis outlined as a case study used methodologies from Applied Social Sciences, along with a set of analytical methods for the many MLB activities. Therefore, it was verified that MLBs action is influenced by historical legacies, which confer them acting powers on the arena. Besides, these actors posses an acting conduct, guided by values and factors related to the arena, as well as individual options, presenting, thus, attitudes in relation to the various situations and issues present in the administration. Based on that, institutional elements of CEIVAP, combined to the work of MLBs, stablish a very particular dynamics to the deliberative space, which, in its turn, is expressed in deliberations and in the way they are carried out. Given that, the thesis was verified and confirmed regarding the importance of this actor at CEIVAP, who, based on characteristic profiles and on a action characterized by the articulation and use of powers (original/situational institutional, positional, and economic ones), take on a certain leading role, becoming a reference in the arena; thus, confirming the significance of this actor class, based on the analysis of the studied period.