In recent publications it is questioned whether the existing wastewater management system is suitable for future requirements. The today’s wastewater infrastructure is a complex socio-technical system characterized by centralization, very long life-spans and sunk costs. Thus, it appears questionable whether this system is suitable against the background of a context of dynamic conditions as demographic change, climate change and the emerging requirements in terms of sustainability. This paper adds a contribution to the growing body of literature on prospective waste water management systems. Focusing on long term developments this paper aims to build up scenario-modules towards the year 2050. Our approach combines three methodologies which appear to be suitable with each other, namely the method of explorative scenario development, a modified Delphi method and content analysis. As the waste water sector is a very complex system with various impact factors which are characterized by high dynamics and strong uncertainty the scenario technique appears as an appropriate method. Within the scenario building process a modified Delphi method had been applied to generate the input for the scenario-modules. Key drivers and uncertainties in the field of waste water management were identified by interviewing 16 experts who are scientists or practitioners in the waste water sector. The interviews had been transliterated and then evaluated by using the content analysis approach. Afterwards scenario-modules were derived which provide a basis for further procedure towards complete scenarios for future wastewater infrastructure.

Orientador: Denise Gallo Pizella / Resumo: O enquadramento de corpos hídricos superficiais é um instrumento de planejamento presente na Política Nacional de Recursos Hídricos que tem por objetivo delinear a meta de qualidade hídrica a ser mantida ou alcançada dos corpos hídricos, de acordo com seus usos preponderantes e pretendidos pela sociedade. O estabelecimento deste instrumento de gestão hídrica apresenta alguns entraves para sua elaboração e efetivação, tais como ausência de Planos de Bacias, insuficiência de monitoramento qualiquantitativo das águas superficiais, dificuldades metodológicas nos estudos que subsidiam o enquadramento, insuficiência de corpo técnico nos órgãos gestores de recursos hídricos, falta de participação social nestes locais e de articulação entre estes e os municípios presentes nas Bacias Hidrográficas, dentre outros. Diante disto, este trabalho teve por objetivo identificar, por meio do estudo de caso das Bacias dos rios de domínio da União que possuem Comitês de Bacias instalados (Bacias Hidrográficas dos Rios Piracicaba, Capivari e Jundiaí, Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Paranapanema, Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio São Francisco, Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Paranaíba, Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Paraíba do Sul, Bacia hidrográfica do Rio Grande, Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Piancó-Piranhas-Açu, Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Verde Grande e a Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Doce), os desafios que envolvem a implementação do enquadramento. Para tanto, foram analisados os Planos de Bacias mais recentes das nove Bacias... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The framing of surface water bodies is a planning instrument present in the National Water Resources Policy that aims to delineate the goal of water quality to be maintained or achieved by water bodies, according to their preponderant and intended uses by society. The establishment of this water management instrument presents some obstacles to its elaboration and implementation, such as absence of Basin Plans, insufficient qualitative and quantitative monitoring of surface waters, methodological difficulties in the studies that support the framework, insufficient technical staff in the managing bodies of resources, lack of social participation in these places and of articulation between these and the municipalities present in the River Basins, among others. Given this, this study aimed to identify, through the case study of the river basins of the Union domain that have Interstate Basin Committees installed (Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí River Basins, Paranapanema River Basin, Rio São Francisco River Basin, Paranaíba River Basin, Paraíba do Sul River Basin, Grande River Basin, Piancó-Piranhas-Açu River Basin, Verde Grande River Basin and the Doce River Basin), the challenges that involve the implementation of the framework. To this end, the most recent Plans of the nine River Basins in question were analyzed and electronic questionnaires were applied to the Interstate Committees of each Basin studied, as well as to the National Water Agency (ANA). In all the analyzed Basin... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

<p>Osnovni cilj istraživanja je razvoj metodologije za okvirno vrednovanje uticaja<br />režima padavina na retencioni kapacitet sliva i upravljanje vodama. Formulisana<br />je originalna jednačine za indikator retencionog kapaciteta neizučenog sliva, u<br />funkciji kratkotrajnih jakih ki&scaron;a i prirodnih karakteristika čiji je uticaj na brzinu i<br />količinu oticaja sa sliva moguće nedvosmisleno kvantifikovati.Ovo je omogućilo<br />vrednovanje indikatora retencionog kapaciteta sliva, lociranje i procena uticaja<br />različitih mera na vrednost indikatora, kao i procenu uticaja predloženih mera na<br />sintetičke jedinične hidrograme. Praktičnost metodologije se ogleda u efikasnosti<br />sagledavanja uticaja predloženih mera, dono&scaron;enju odluka o njihovoj lokaciji na<br />slivu i primeni. Na ovaj način, dobijen je koristan alat za dobijanje informacija od<br />značaja za dono&scaron;enje odluka u sektoru voda i ostalim sektorima.</p> / <p>The main goal of this research is methodology development for assessment of the<br />rainfall impact on river basin retention capacity and water management. The original<br />equation is developed for the ungauged river basin retention capacity indicator in terms<br />of short-term heavy rainfall and natural features whose influence on the speed and the amount of surface runoff from the basin can be clearly quantified. This enabled the evaluation of the retention capacity indicator, location and evaluation of the effect of<br />different NWRM scenarios, as well as the assessment of the impact of the proposed<br />NWRM to synthetic unit hydrograph. Methodology convenience is reflected in the<br />efficiency of identifying the impact of the proposed measures, decisions on their<br />location in the basin and implementation. In this way, there has been a useful tool<br />obtained for providing the information relevant to decision-making in the water sector<br />and other sectors.</p>

Vatten är grunden för allt liv på jorden och en livsviktig resurs för både människor, djur och växtlighet. Trots det tenderar människor att se vatten som en oändlig resurs och tar tillgången på rent dricksvatten för givet. I Sverige används både grundvatten samt ytvatten från vattendrag och sjöar till dricksvatten. Tillgången på sötvatten påverkas av förändringar i klimatet och under de senaste åren har somrarna i de södra delarna av Sverige varit ovanligt torra och varma samtidigt som det har fallit mindre nederbörd än vad som är normalt. Detta har tidvis medfört en osäkerhet kring tillgången på dricksvatten. Syftet med studien som gjordes var att kartlägga allmänhetens kunskap och medvetenhet kring yt-och grundvattenbrist i framförallt de östra delarna av Blekinge län och undersöka ifall denna uppfattning stämde överens med ansvariga offentliga verksamheters strategi och information kring vattenbrist. I studien genomfördes två intervjuer med ansvariga verksamheter för vattenförvaltning i Blekinge län samt en allmän enkätundersökning som metod för att kartlägga allmänhetens kunskap kring vattenbrist. Utifrån resultaten från enkätundersökningen kunde det konstateras att den allmänna medvetenheten kring vattenbrist i Blekinge län generellt sett var god och att utgångspunkten för att människor skulle vara beredda att förändra sina dagliga vanemönster såg relativt hoppfull ut. Däremot framgick det att majoriteten av de respondenter som svarade på enkätundersökningen skulle önska mer information från ansvariga offentliga verksamheter gällande vattenbrist och tydligare riktlinjer för hur man kan gå tillväga för att hushålla med dricksvatten. / Water is the basis of all life on Earth and a vital resource for humans, animals and plants. Despite this, the public tends to see water as an endless resource and many people often take the supply of drinking water for granted. The access of fresh water is affected by climate change and in the last couple of years, the summers in the southernmost parts of Sweden have been unusually dry and warm and meanwhile there has been less precipitation than usual. This has occasionally led to an uncertainty regarding access to drinking water. The purpose of the study was to estimate the awareness of the public regarding surface and groundwater scarcity, particularly in the eastern parts of Blekinge county, and to examine if this awareness overlapped with public authorities' strategies and information about water scarcity. The study consisted of two interviews with responsible water management authorities in Blekinge and a general survey as a means to clarify the public's knowledge about water scarcity. Based on the results of the survey it was determined that the general awareness of water scarcity in Blekinge is generally good. Furthermore, the outlook for changed behaviour among the public on daily habit basis look promising. However, the majority of the respondents in the survey would wish for more information from responsible public authorities regarding water scarcity and more distinct guidelines on how to save drinking water.

[pt] Este trabalho objetiva a definir as motivações, benefícios e limitações de atuação – e protagonismo – de empresas para a gestão dos recursos hídricos em nível de bacia hidrográfica. Aborda a bacia como espaço de conflito e cooperação, demonstrando como o conflito ante a escassez hídrica atual ou iminente é constantemente o resultado da (falta de) interação cooperativa entre os atores. Aprofunda, ainda, sobre a disputa pelo uso da água ante a lógica da interdependência água-energia-alimento e argumenta, a partir de uma análise da Teoria dos Jogos, que o conflito é consequência da falta de diálogo e de expectativas diferentes entre os atores. Por fim, demonstra como esses gaps podem ser, e já são, superados a partir da liderança de atores empresariais, enfatizando os ganhos potenciais da ação e gargalos para seu sucesso. / [en] The economic and population growth of the last two centuries presents a clear challenge to the management of water resources, easily explained by the relationship between supply and demand as well. Going beyond the usual categorization on the availability of fresh and salt water in the world, as important it is to mention the total amount of water on Earth. The water supply remains stable in absolute amounts on the planet, ranging just from where it can be captured and subsequent used, as well as its quality. Natural to say that water security is closely connected to food, energy, climate and, ultimately, to the classic sense of security of countries. It should be considered the tenuous balance between water availability and its multiple uses; agricultural production and the supply needs; generation by hydropower and growing energy demand; and changes of the hydrological cycle and changes in rainfall and flow. Globally, it is projected a growth of over 60 percent on water demand, driven mainly by rising industrial demand and power generation. (OECD, 2012) In Brazil, water management is largely decentralized since 1997 s Water Law. This means that the discussions, definitions, policies and actions with respect to water resources management in Brazil is made largely by local actors that are more affected. Institutionally, the Watershed Committees are the formal space for this dialogue. In this dynamic of Watershed Committees, given that participation is precisely from those who have the most interest in better use by availability and quality of water of the watershed, there is a great possibility that those users make choices that optimize the potential for multiple uses water, maximizing the possibility of continuity of their activities. This work analyzes the duality between conflict and cooperation in these scenarios, especially at the logic of the water-energy-food nexus. To this end, it uses concepts of Games Theory to demonstrate how rational actors tend to take collective decisions potentially bad for everyone precisely due their visions of maximization of their own gains. Finally, in the other hand, it presents the overcoming of these joint performance gaps in favor of the collective good from the institutionalization of a better-concerted action by the leadership of the business sector.

The growing pressure on the world‘s fresh water resources is enforced by population growth that leads to conflicts between demands for different purposes. A main concern on water use is the conflict between the environment and other purposes like hydropower, irrigation for agriculture and domestic and industry water supply, where total flows are diverted without releasing water for ecological conservation. As a consequence, some of the common problems related to water faced by many countries are shortage, quality deterioration and flood impacts. Hence, utilization of integrated water resources management in a single system, which is built up by river basin, is an optimum way to handle the question of water. However, in many areas, when planning for balancing water demands major gaps exist on baseline knowledge of water resources. In order to bridge these gaps, hydro-logical models are among the available tools used to acquire adequate understanding of the characteristics of the river basin. Apart from forecasting and predicting the quantity and quality of water for decision makers, some models could also help in predicting the impacts of natural and anthropogenic changes on water resources and also in quantifying the spatial and temporal availability of the resources. However, main challenges lie in choosing and utilizing these models for a specific basin and managerial plan. In this study, an analysis of the different types of models and application of a selected model to characterize the Awash River basin, located in Ethiopia, is presented. The results from the modeling procedure and the performance of the model are discussed. The different possible sources of uncertainties in the modeling process are also discussed. The results indicate dissimilar predictions in using different methods; hence proper care must be taken in selecting and employing available methods for a specific watershed prior to presenting the results to decision makers. / QC 20110516

Management of water bodies according to their river basinsis becoming increasingly common, as the concept of IntegratedWater Resources Management (IWRM) is getting more and moreacknowl-edged. In Europe, a large portion of these“new”management units will probably be internationalor transboundary. Decisions and policies consideringtransboundary water issues need to be based on reliable andcomprehendible information. In this thesis, a review of variousexisting models that may be used for understanding the role anduse of information in (transboundary) water management ispresented. Further, the thesis reports on an assessment of theinformation management of three transboundary water regimes inEurope, namely the international water commissions for LakeNeusiedl, Lake Constance and Elbe River. Besides examining theinformation management of the regimes as such, the managementwas also related to information needs implied by the IWRMcon-cept and by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Thereviewed models and approaches were grouped into threecategories: information management models, information cyclemodels and communication between actors. The first categorycomprised models that may be used for managing and assessingdifferent types of information. The second group dealt withmodels explaining the production and communication ofinformation predominately from an information producer/senderperspective. The third group focused on ideas concerninginteractions and communication of information between differentkinds of actors. The studies on information management intransboundary water regimes showed that the information needsand strategies often were defined primarily with watercommissions’own needs in mind. The data collected by thecommissions were predominated by monitoring data, describingthe status of the environment and the impact caused by humanactivities. Furthermore, any communication of information toother groups of actors was mainly done through passivechannels. The information management in these transboundarywater regimes was not fully in accordance with informationneeds implied by the IWRM concept and the EU WFD. <b>Keywords:</b>Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM);transboundary water management; information; EU Water FrameworkDirective (WFD); regimes; policy and decision making; LakeNeusiedl; Lake Constance; Elbe River. / NR 20140805

Flooding over the last few years has become the most frequent and devastating of the natural disasters. This has accounted for approximately half of the death-rate and a third of economic losses as a result of weather-related events. Though these flooding events affect many cities across the globe, it is often the less fortunate who are disproportionately impacted by such events. There are many factors as to why this is the unfortunate case, with a high number of the underprivileged urban population finding themselves living in informal settlements. These settlements are often developed on environmentally-fragile land on steep sites or floodplains and lack the adequate waste and drainage systems that control the flow of water, further aggravating the flood risk within these areas. These uneven hardships are no different to Cape Town metropolitan region. Flooding has become an annual recurrence for the city during the wet winter months between May and September, with the informal settlements in the Cape Flats low-lying area bearing the brunt of this impact. The research therefore aims to explore how integrated flood control design within urban development can contribute to creating social and environmental sustainable interventions for flood resilience in informal settlements within the Cape Town municipality. One of the most important findings was the strong relation between waste as one of the largest contributors to the flooding events in these settlements, which became a key driver for investigation within the research. Kosovo informal settlement is one of the hardest hit communities during Cape Town’s high rainfall winter seasons and will used as the case study area for the research. The objective of the study is to investigate the existing condition and the involved stakeholders to develop well thought design strategies and toolbox for the municipality, planners, and residents. The design strategies and toolbox provides mechanisms to rethink flood prevention measures by shifting from creating barriers [interrupt], to mechanisms that engage with floodwater [interact] within a case study area. This research has attempted to position the community at the centre. Community participation and collaboration with key stakeholders will allow the residents to contribute with their local knowledge, experience and voices, sharing their views on the design solutions that are required to be integrated into their spaces.

Solar Irrigation Pumps (SIPs) are used to pump (ground and surface) water to irrigate farm lands. In a country with a historical mismatch of energy supply and demand, and almost 120 million families dependent on earnings from agriculture (Prachi Salve, 2014), SIPs offer great prospects. Unlike electric and diesel pumps – dominating the market till today – SIPs have almost zero marginal costs. This leads to extra crop production at negligible costs and also generation of electricity when not being used for pumping. Due to almost zero emissions, it simultaneously addresses the issue of climate change hence bringing prosperity to the population at all levels.SIPs are a new phenomenon in India and due to the comparatively1 high capital costs, SIPs require subsidies to make them affordable for a farmer. Support in the form of subsidies has been given to around 15,000 farms in the whole country. By introducing solar pumps on a subsidy scheme in 2009-2010, Rajasthan has become the pioneer state of India. Since then numerous solar pumps have been deployed and farmers have gained experience with their usage. These farmers appear to be happy with the functioning of the pumps; 95% of the farmers, who gained enough knowledge to answer the question, say that the pump works better than their diesel or electric pump. A surprising finding is that the project cost per pump is getting higher while the pumps are getting cheaper. This means that the government is using more money to run the project. To find the reasons for the rising project costs and to find a way to decrease them, further research is needed. If the project cost could be decreased more pumps could be supplied with the same amount of subsidy.It was also found that the SIPs were not successful in replacing the electric and diesel pumps. The diesel and electric pumps had more horse power (hp) so were able to pump more water resulting in irrigation of more land in the same amount of time. Farmers expressed they could fully switch to SIPs when more powerful pumps were supplied.Because the present SIPs are off grid systems, it is not possible to sell the excess electricity that is not needed for pumping water. Because there are no marginal costs, there is no incentive for switching off the machines either. The consequence is excessive pumping of water leading to groundwater depletion. An important improvement would be to connect these pumps to the electricity grid. The possibility to earn some money with delivering energy would probably be a good reason to stop needless pumping.The subsidy program that was in place in Rajasthan had an 86% capital subsidy (the farmer had to pay only 14% of the price of SIP). With the available money only 10,000 pumps per year could be supplied (Dr. Dinesh Kumar Goyal, 2013). When the subsidy per pump is decreased more pumps could be deployed and it was shown that even with a lower subsidy getting a SIP will still be attractive.One of the points of improvement for a quick roll out of SIPs might be found in the way these pumps are financed. Pumps have a high capital cost and are currently financed by 70-90% capital subsidies of the government. The amount of total subsidy is limited and so with a high percentage of subsidy a small amount of pumps are deployed by this subsidy. These subsidies could be dramatically reduced when a loan/lease product would be put in place. Without a bank loan farmers are unable to pay the major part of the capital cost of the pump. Offering a bank loan is a win-win situation for the farmers and the people of India, represented by the government. With these pumps farmers are able to sell electricity to the grid and earn extra income or they can sell water to other farmers for a price below the price of current diesel pumping. With this income they could pay off the loan in 7 years and earn a reasonable income. The people of India will not only benefit by having to pay less for subsidies, they will also benefit from less greenhouse gas emissions as solar has almost zero emissions compared to mainly coal based electricity pumps and diesel pumps.SIPs supplying electricity can have a big effect on grid stability. Hence, in chapter 6 the question of grid stability was raised. Under what conditions can the Indian grid deal with a large amount of electricity injected from SIPs. India currently has 70% of the electricity produced from coal power plants while 3% comes from Nuclear power plants (Trading Economics, 2011a). These sources have a response time of several hours which is not quick enough to respond to fluctuations in the demand of energy by for example households, or a change in production by other sources, for example solar. The present sources should be partly replaced by quick response sources like the renewable sources and gas turbines. Currently 6% of the installed capacity is a gas power plant (Central Electricity Authority, 2015) but this percentage should be increased. Also other solutions should be implemented, such as developing storage of energy and more interconnections between grids of states and other countries.Since the idea is that SIPs would not use electricity from the grid anymore unlike electric pumps, 25% of electricity currently used from the grid by agriculture will be less. The current electric pumps only get electricity for certain hours a day and are used to balance the grid, only at times of low electricity use of other users, farmers will get electricity. When the electric pumps are replaced by SIPs that do not use electricity from the grid the balancing function that the electric pumps currently fulfil will no longer be present. Having no experience with SIPs connected to the grid so far, it will be difficult for the state load dispatch centres, which manage the grid, to schedule the expected load. Hence, pilots should be set up to find out how these pumps are used throughout the day so that in the future these loads can be predicted. In Gujarat the solar installed capacity could easily be a fivefold without having to invest in extra capacity of quick responsive sources, since enough installed capacity of gas turbines is already in place but currently not used. Extra investment would be needed in the grid in order to be able to transmit so much electricity over the grid from the (distributed) solar plants.Solar irrigation pumps, when implemented correctly, can not only lead to much cheaper irrigation for farmers but also less groundwater depletion and a source of extra income. Solar pumps can lead the way to more prosperity for the Indian people, but new guidelines and plans have to be made by the government to realise this potential. Without policy changes as described in this thesis SIPs benefit a small number of lucky farmers at the expense of the larger whole (wasting public money and groundwater).

Bangladesh and India share 54 transboundary rivers. Despite that, the transboundary water management between these two countries is heavily concentrated on the Ganges river basin, in which, mode of cooperation is still based on physical sharing of water. The study is developed on the argument that Bangladesh and India need a shift of focus in their current mode of transboundary water management from physical sharing of water to sharing of benefits derived from the use (and non-use) water in order to foster transboundary water cooperation in the Ganges river basin. Based on a single-case study, the research work aims to explore the scope of benefit-sharing in the transboundary water cooperation in the Ganges river basin and how benefit-sharing can be facilitated between these two countries. The findings show that the water negotiation in the Ganges basin would become much more complicated in the future, primarily due to the growing gap between the demand and the availability of water. The adverse impact of climate change will further deteriorate the situation. Besides, the changing nature of India’s domestic politics and the growing internal conflict between its provincial states will weaken the Indian central government’s authority to manage transboundary water resources jointly. Therefore, in the future, Bangladesh and India would find it difficult to elicit a positive-sum outcome from any water negotiation in Ganges river if they still focus on the volumetric allocation of water. The study suggests that inland navigation and water transit, multipurpose storage dam projects and joint management of the Sundarbans can be the potential areas for benefit-sharing in the Ganges basin. The study stresses the importance of shifting the policy outlook and developing institutional arrangements between Bangladesh and India to introduce and facilitate benefit-sharing in the Ganges river basin that will help to share benefits equitably, hence foster cooperation.