The provision of freshwater, particularly in urbanizing arid regions facing increased variability in precipitation patterns due to climate change, is one of the greatest challenges. Desalination--the conversion of seawater or brackish water to potable water--offers a potentially "limitless" supply of this vital resource. The preference for desalination, as an innovative, supply-side water augmentation option is gaining traction worldwide, including in northwestern Mexico. In arid regions, where water is a limiting factor to increased production and growth and nearly every drop of water is contested, a new technology that augments water supplies is likely to engender vast social, economic, institutional, and environmental transformations. Through an in-depth study of water management in the context of global climate change in northwestern Mexico, this dissertation examines the factors that lead to the adoption of desalination technology and assesses how the technology affects the communities where it is implemented. In seeking to understand the (potential) transformations and complex imbrications of this technology within the socioecological system in which it operates, four themes have emerged, including: 1) The best path towards improved water management is through investments in both infrastructure and institutions (i.e., governance); 2) Despite the real and urgent need to address the negative impacts of climate change on water resources, desalination should be considered as a "last resort"; 3) While desalination can increase water security at certain scales, it also introduces new vulnerabilities; and 4) While discursively, Mexico's water policy embraces principles of contemporary environmental governance (i.e., decentralization, public participation, and sustainability), these principles have yet to be fully implemented in practice. Policy recommendations include integrating land use and water planning, improving monitoring and regulation of groundwater extraction, increasing capacity building within water and planning agencies, and pre-conditioning desalination (or other supply-side water infrastructure projects) upon the successful implementation of a range of water conservation and system efficiency measures. Without such measures, increased water availability is likely to encourage additional growth, rather than resource conservation. Specific findings and contributions of this dissertation to the field of human-environment geography are discussed at the end of chapter two and in the appended articles.

I estimated patterns of shorebird abundance and species diversity in the Colorado River Delta and Upper Gulf of California wetlands in order to determine the relative contribution of intertidal wetlands and non-tidal anthropogenic wetlands to support shorebird habitat use. Species richness varied from 15 to 26 species among sites and 29 species were detected across sites. Density during the peak migration month was higher at the anthropogenic wetland Cienega de Santa Clara (mean = 168 ind/ha, 95% C.I. 29-367), and the intertidal Golfo de Santa Clara (mean = 153 ind/ha, 95% C.I. 17-323). Anthropogenic wetlands (playa and lagoons) supported high abundance of shorebirds along with intertidal wetlands in the Colorado River Delta (mudflats). In contrast, intertidal wetlands farther south on the Sonoran Coast presented lower abundance but higher diversity of shorebird, likely as a result of the higher diversity of habitats (rocky shore, sandy beach, estuary). I modeled water management scenarios for the Cienega in order to determine the response of the dominant vegetation (southern cattail, Typha domingensis Pers.) and the area of the outflow pool below the marsh to different scenarios of water management. The model indicates that if the inflow rate is reduced below the current 4-5 m³s⁻¹ the vegetated area of the Cienega that supports habitat for marsh birds would decrease in proportion, as would the area of the outflow pool in the Santa Clara Slough identified previously as shorebird habitat. Increases in salinity will also reduce the vegetated area due to the low salt tolerance of T. domingensis. In winter about 90% of inflow water exits the Cienega into the Santa Clara Slough due to low evapotranspiration contributing to inundate areas that are used by wintering and migrating shorebirds. Lastly, I explored the feasibility of using Vegetation Indices (NDVI and EVI) to model Yuma Clapper Rail detections in the Cienega de Santa Clara as well as the effects of adding other habitat variables and the presence of fire events in the performance of linear models based on NDVI. Both NDVI and EVI were positively related to the Yuma Clapper Rail detections. The relationship was weak to moderate, but significant (P<0.001), which suggests other factors besides the vegetation condition play an important role in the bird distribution pattern. A model including all the variability among years was a better predictor of the rails detected per transect, than models for fire and non-fire years. We did not find a significant effect from adding habitat features (water % or vegetation %), and we recommend to include variables at both microhabitat level and landscape level, relevant before and during the breeding season in order to increase the explanatory power of models.

Adequate water for ecosystems and humans is at a premium as the global population increases and the climate changes. Coping with these impacts requires tools to improve water governance and water management through legal or policy mechanisms. Water governance generates laws, policies, and rulings and water management implements those laws, policies, and rulings and rulings through management decisions. A key concern of water governance is balancing human and ecosystem water needs. Effective governance that promotes sustainable use of water resources to maintain ecosystem integrity is challenging. Many regions do not have sufficient resources for water management or water for ecosystems is not protected under traditional legal mechanisms. The challenge of improving water governance for ecosystems is, therefore, twofold. First, there is a need to provide resources that build the capacity of water managers to allocate water to ecosystems. Second, mechanisms to promote effective transformation of environmental flow needs into policy or practice are required. This research provides methods to advance water management by: 1) assessing environmental flow needs through creation of a geospatial database and 2) improving stakeholder engagement through lessons learned from three multi-year stakeholder engagement processes. Appendix A describes the current understanding of the link between hydrology and riparian and aquatic ecosystems in Arizona through synthesis of environmental flow needs. The synthesized information, stored in a geospatial database, can be used by water managers to determine the water needs to maintain riparian and aquatic habitats. Review of 121 studies reveals that there are very few analyses of surface water and groundwater requirements for intermittent or ephemeral river systems, and there are only limited generalizable data for aquatic species. This database can be used to identify critical geographic and topical knowledge gaps, as well as serve as a single place for water and land managers to assess and use the most current research to inform management decisions. Appendix B provides an empirical example of engagement to promote social learning as a way to preserve water for the environment when law does not protect environmental flows. Through 43 focus groups with 226 individuals representing a diversity of interests, we determined that there was common ground on concerns about water conservation, cooperation, financial incentives, and multiple benefits for water use. Through this engagement process, we found that identifying and then building common ground requires attention to details. These details include the process of analyzing qualitative data and methods for displaying complex information, which are not frequently discussed in the social learning or stakeholder engagement literature. Appendix C presents a framework for designing effective stakeholder engagement based on the experiences of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center in three separate processes that engaged water experts. The proposed framework provides an iterative and flexible approach centered on a bridging organization that can bring people together and keep the engagement process moving forward. As illustrated through an evaluation of the three projects, the proposed framework provides for inclusivity, interactiveness, and flexibility in engagement through guidance by a steering committee and iteratively examining the water resource management problem. While further assessment is necessary, it appears that this framework is general enough to be applicable across projects at three different scales and with three separate sets of goals, yet detailed enough to provide a tangible approach that could aid other processes where the goal is implementing and evaluating expert engagement to solve complex problems and promote social learning. Previous studies on water governance have focused predominantly on the identification of the current problems with governance. However, because humans have an important role in shaping the global water cycle, the time has come to focus on solutions. In order to further water management solutions, a better understanding of the tools needed to manage water for ecosystems and effective methods for co-producing knowledge or encouraging social learning are needed. This research provides a regional example of approaches to advance water management using a tool to assess environmental flows needs and frameworks for promoting common ground and social learning in stakeholder engagement.

Grey water reuse has attracted more and more attention among researchers and professionals in recent years. As most of the Chinese cities are undergoing the process of fast urbanization and economic development, many water-related problems have occurred and urban water resources management has become a strategic issue. The urge to reconsider the conventional ways of utilizing water and discharging the wastewater in cities is calling. As a relatively simple and flexible way, decentralized grey water reuse system can help to make the first step in achieving a sustainable urban water management. However, whether it is feasible in China is still a question. This paper aims at looking for the answer based on a survey and interviews with professionals in the fields from different Chinese cities. The result shows “reuse” as one of the solutions of solving water shortage and achieving sustainable water management is not as simple as one may think. In general, decentralized urban grey water / wastewater reuse is not easy to flourish in China in the near future though most of the respondents hold a positive attitude about reuse itself. To explain this difference between attitude and actual planning we need more historical, political and social-economic understanding with a touch of “Chinese characteristics”.

Vandentvarka – tai planinga veikla, nukreipta į paviršinių ir požeminių vandens resursų ekonomiškai pagrįstą naudojimą, jų apskaitą ir apsaugą, visų vandenų poveikio aplinkai ir visuomenei valgymą ir kontrolę bei kokybės gerinimą. Esant sudėtingai ekonominei situacijai, šalis yra nepajėgi įrengti naujų sausinimo ir drėkinimo sistemų. Valstybė gali skirti tik dalį lėšų, reikalingų vandentvarkos statinių eksploatavimui. Dėl šios priežasties iškyla realus pavojus kai kurių vandentvarkos sistemos statinių išlikimui ir jų ateitis tampa miglota. Bendroji valstybės politika numato šių sistemų išsaugojimą, todėl šiam tikslui kasmet skiriama kiek įmanoma daugiau lėšų. Nors ir kasmet lėšų melioracijos statinių priežiūrai ir remontui skiriama vis daugiau, tačiau jų neužtenka net svarbiausiems darbams atlikti. / In Lithuania there are established amelioration systems, hydraulic engineering equipment, operating roads established long ago. Most part of drainage and cultivation technique works were carried out in 1960 – 1995. Most of them are already not worn out, don‘t correspond with modern requirements. So at present when the draining and tilling of new lands in our country is nearly not planned, the works of reconstruction and improvement of drainage systems will have to be performed. Part of the water management equipment will be returned to the owners. In 1998 when it became obvious that the state of the drainage systems differs immensely from the situation indicated in the accountancy operative, but insufficiently detailed evaluation of these systems was performed. So in 2000 a more exact and minute inventorying of the state of drainage systems was carried out. The aim of the paper is to analyse the possible prospects of village water management system reorganization. Tasks of the investigation: 1. To analyse the volumes of the amelioration works and sources of financing of interwar Lithuania. 2. To establish the tendencies of the change of the building and reconstruction of amelioration equipment. 3. To compute the annual wear norm of amelioration equipment. 4. To forecast the state of amelioration equipment in the future with the help of Trend method. 5. To analyse the possible sources of amelioration works financing. In this paper the tendencies or change of amelioration... [to full text]

Vandens telkinių apsauga nuo užteršimo komunalinėmis nuotekomis – viena aktualiausių Kupiškio rajono savivaldybės vandensaugos problemų. Rajone geriamojo vandens tiekimą ir nuotekų šalinimą vykdo UAB „Kupiškio butų ūkis ir vandentiekis“, kuris aptarnauja 12 gyvenviečių. Nuotekų valymo įrenginius turi Kupiškio miestas ir 7 gyvenvietės: Subačius, Šepeta, Šimonys, Noriūnai, Rudiliai, Alizava, Selamiestis. Kupiškio miesto nuotekos savitakiniais tinklais yra surenkamos į nuotekų valyklą, kurios projektinis našumas 2000 m3/d , o faktinė apkrova 1016 m3/d. Nuotekų valykla pastatyta 1989 metais. Atlikus Kupiškio rajono nuotekų valyklų būklės analizę nustatyta, kad Kupiškio rajono valymo įrenginiai prastos būklės, dirba neefektyviai. Svarbu išplėsti nuotekų tinklus į naujus kvartalus Skapiškyje, Aukštupėnuose, Paketuriuose, Byčiuose ir Virbališkyje. Neefektyvūs rusiški siurbliai turi būti pakeisti naujais Kupiškio, Subačiaus siurblinėse. Atsarginiai siurbliai reikalingi Subačiaus, Šepetos, Rudilių, Salamiesčio siurblinėse. Azoto ir fosforo šalinimo įrenginiai turi būti pastatyti Kupiškio nuotekų valymo įrenginiuose. Reikia statyti Subačiaus, Alizavos, Salamiesčio nuotekų valymo įrenginius. Biologiniai tvenkiniai Rudilių nuotekų valymo įrenginiuose nėra aeruojami ir yra labai blogos būklės. Šiuo metu jie tarnauja tik kaip nuotekų kaupimo rezervuarai. Nauji nuotekų valymo įrenginiai turi būti statomi Šepetoje, Skapiškiuose, Rudiliuose, Aukštupėnuose, Paketuriuose, Byčiuose... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Protection of water bodies from pollution by municipal wastewaters is one of the most relevant water protection problems in Kupiškis District Municipality. In the region the drinking water supply and wastewater removal is being carried out by the JSC “Kupiškis flat economy and water-supply”. This company maintains 12 settlements. Kupiškis town and 7 settlements (Subačius, Šepeta, Šimonys, Noriūnai, Rudiliai, Alizava, Salamiestis) have wastewater treatment facilities. The wastewater from Kupiškis town is collected by self-flowing networks to the wastewater treatment facilities, where design efficiency is 2000 m3/d and present load is 1016 m3/d. Wastewater treatment facilities were built in 1989. It is important to expand wastewater networks into new quarters of Skapškis, Aukštupėnai, Paketuriai, Byčiai and Virbališkis. New pumps in the pumping stations of Kupškis and Subačius must replace ineffective Russian-made ones. Alternate pumps are necessary in the pumping stations of Subačius, Šepeta, Rudiliai and Salamiestis. Nitrogen and phosphorus elimination equipment must be arranged in the Kupiškis wastewater treatment facilities. In the settlements Subačius, Alizava and Salamiestis wastewater treatment facilities must be built. Biological ponds in the Rudiliai wastewater treatment facilities are not being aerated and are in a bad condition. At present they serve as wastewater storage reservoirs. New wastewater treatment facilities must be built in Šepeta, Skapiškiai, Rudiliai... [to full text]

In July 2010, the United Nations declared access to water and sanitation a human right. Certainly a success for water rights advocates worldwide, this resolution also poses a number of questions, such as how to find and distribute this water on a planet that is running out of fresh water (Barlow et al, Blue Gold xi). With this question in mind, this thesis looks at the treatment of water management projects in Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion (1987), Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water (1993), and Anne Michaels’ The Winter Vault (2009). More specifically, it examines the ways competing visions of the common good and of what development should (and should not) look like are imbricated therein. In so doing, my discussion focuses on the inextricability of social justice from water justice and it suggests that narrative can play a key role in connecting the two.

Irrigation plays an extremely important role in agriculture but climate change is predicted to modify climate patterns with potentially devastating consequences for irrigation. Potential impacts and adaptations are known, but not how implementation strategies may be implemented at the individual irrigation scheme level. Using a case study approach and qualitative research methods this thesis describes the Bwanje Valley Irrigation Scheme (BVIS), Malawi in order to explain how water is managed. Subsequently, historical adaptations are described in order to draw conclusions concerning the vulnerability of the BVIS under normal and extreme hydrological conditions. The BVIS is vulnerable in all conditions because it utilizes a common pool resource. As water supply decreases, irrigation water management becomes less and less equitable which makes the system extremely sensitive to changes in water supply. Capacity to adapt to climate change is limited to funding provided by external agencies which currently limit adaptations to reactive changes

Current mining methods used to extract coal from underground mine workings disturb the natural environment and the existing stable geological structures. As a result, the ingress of water into the mines increases and the quality of the water passing through the mine workings deteriorates, irrespective of the operational status of the mines. Water ingress is generated by regional aquifers, local aquifers, recharge from the surface through rainfall, natural drainage paths on the surface, and surface water bodies. The quality of water in the mines deteriorates as a result of contact with the remaining coal in the mine workings. Mining can therefore cause an increased influx of water into a mine and the degradation of this water. The solution to reducing the impact of mines on the environment is to prevent, or at least reduce, the amount of water entering the mines, and to manage this water to prevent further degradation in water quality. This study focused on afforestation with Eucalyptus viminalis trees to manage or inhibit ingress of water into underground mine workings. The hypothesis of this study was that a change in vegetation, from grassland to fast-growing and potentially high water-using trees like Eucalyptus. could possibly reduce the drainage of water below the root-zone and into the mine workings. The hypothesis was tested by estimating the components of the soil water balance for a grassland site and a Eucalyptus tree site. The research site was situated in Mpumalanga, (260 36' Sand 290 08' E, 1650 m a.m.s.l.), one of South Africa's major coal bearing areas. Although the Secunda area is a treeless environment and conditions are not optimal for forestry, some Eucalyptus species are suited for conditions (frost and periodic droughts) encountered in this area. The soil water balance of grassland and E. viminalis trees were studied through a field experiment and a long-term (30 years) modelling exercise. Total evaporation of the grassland site was estimated using the Bowen ratio energy balance technique. The transpiration of six representative E. viminalis trees were estimated using the heat pulse velocity technique. The soil water storage changes at both sites were determined from the soil water content, estimated using water content reflectometers. Measurements were performed in a smectic clay soil which resulted in measurements difficulties. Vertical cracks were formed under soil drying. To establish the importance of climate and plant growth on the drainage beyond the root-zone, the soil water balance of a grassland and an E. viminalis site were simulated over a 30-year period with the Soil Water Atmosphere Plant (SWAP) model. It was concluded from the comparative field experiment and modelling, that a change in vegetation from grassland to E. viminalis will reduce the drainage of water below the root-zone, especially under above-average rainfall conditions. The reduction in drainage beyond the root-zone at the E. viminalis sites, compared to the grassland site, was demonstrated in the modelling exercise and can be deduced from the total evaporation and soil water storage estimated at both sites. The results from the field experiment confirmed the modelling results and showed that usually there were higher transpiration rates for the E. viminalis tree site, compared to the grassland site. The higher transpiration rates for E. viminalis trees resulted in lower relative saturation of soil layers and lower profile soil water contents at the E. viminalis site, and higher daily soil water storage changes at the E. viminalis site compared to the grassland site. These differences were more pronounced during winter when the grassland was dormant. The results from the modelling exercise showed that an E. viminalis tree stand, with a closed canopy, reduced drainage below the root-zone compared to a grassland. The drainage at the grassland site contributed to up to 54 % of the rainfall, compared to the 43 % at the E. viminalis site. However, under below-average rainfall conditions the annual drainage at both sites, were similar. Further, the absolute magnitude of the drainage was similar to the total evaporation at the grassland site under certain conditions. The results not only suggest that a change in vegetation, from grassland to E. viminalis trees, would reduce the drainage beyond the root-zone, but that it may delay the onset of drainage. Under above-average rainfall conditions, the modelled drainage at the E. viminalis site only exceeded 20 mm, a month later than at the grassland site. The simulation results also showed that under conditions of aboveaverage rainfall, drainage occurs whenever the rainfall exceeds the long-term average rainfall, irrespective of the existing vegetation. However, when the rainfall is belowaverage drainage at both sites are limited to large rainfall events. This simulation showed that over a period of eight years, E. viminalis trees could potentially reduce the drainage by 1235 mm more than grassland, which is equivalent to 1540 m3 ha- I a-I, or 1.54 Me ha- I a-I. The annual average reduction in drainage below the root-zone caused by E. viminalis trees (1.79 Mf ha-1 a-\ is a small reduction when compared to the influx of water into mineworkings. E.g. the influx of water into a bord-and-pillar mine range between 0.5 and 4 Mt d-I per area mined and up to 17000 Mt d-I per area mined under high extraction mining (Hodgson and Krantz, 1998; Hodgson et aI., 2001). This work gave a comprehensive account of the differences in the soil water relations of grassland and E. viminalis trees overlying coal mine working. Few other studies in South Africa compared the total evaporation and soil water relations of grassland and E. viminalis trees in so much detail. State of the art monitoring techniques were used and produced valuable comparison of their use in expansive clay profiles. The work should contribute to management decisions focussed on limiting ingress of water into mine workings. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

Water is life. In South Africa it is a crucial element in the battle against poverty, the cornerstone of prosperity and a limiting factor to growth. As a fundamental and indispensable natural resource, no regional or national development plan can take shape without giving primary consideration to water. Due to water being an essential component to human and ecological life the scarcity has focused the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DW AF) to converge into the protection, use development, conservation, management and control of water resources. The Water Act (Act No. 54 of 1956) encompassed various shortcomings and therefore was replaced with the National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998) (NW A). The promulgation of the NW A gave effect to Section 24 of the Constitution, which entitles "everyone to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being". Therefore the government has an obligation to protect the water resources. In order to address this problem, government introduced the Licensing System. Therefore the "polluter pays" concept was introduced, a waste discharge fee is charged to the user. This was introduced to deter users from wasting the resources and to promote sustainable development. The information was presented in the form of a case study between the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and Mhlathuze Water. An evaluation and assessment was conducted of the current licensing procedure for Mhlathuze Water and recommendations were made for the process to occur efficiently. The License is a legal document between the government and the water user and it stipulates conditions that should be complied with all the time. It is valid for forty years, however will be reviewed every five years by the relevant authority. Monitoring and auditing will be conducted on a regular basis. In the conditions stipulated are not complied with, the license will be revoked. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, 2003.