WARP-420 Water Resources Planning and Management
Dr. Vincent Msadala
Department of Water Resources Management – Ndata School of Climate and Earth
Sciences
vmsadala@must.ac.mw
088 2 750 550
Lecture 1:
Introduction to Water Resources Planning and Management
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Lesson outcomes
Explain key concepts and processes of water resources planning and
management
Explain the importance of the knowledge of water science and
hydrology in water resources planning and management;
Explain the hydrological cycle;
Demonstrate an understanding of sustainable water use;
describe the different types of water and water uses and explain why
it is important to distinguish between them; and
Explain local and global scales as well as temporal scale in the
assessment and management of water resources.
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INTRODUCTION (1/2)
This lecture introduces students to: water science, hydrology
and water pollution; global water crisis and conflicts;
sustainable water use
Water plays an important role in food security, public health,
people’s livelihoods and other aspects of social and economic
development of a country.
Managing water resources and its quality requires knowledge
of the water sciences, hydrology in order to come up with
appropriate solutions to key water management challenges.
The key water management challenges that communities face
today include water pollution, water crises and conflicts which
solutions require an understanding of water sciences and
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hydrology in order to achieve sustainable water use.
INTRODUCTION (2/2)
Planning and management of water needs an understanding of
its local and global availability through knowledge of water
balance, types of water and water uses.
Water resources planning and management also requires a
critical appreciation of its political, environmental, social,
technical, legal and economic (PESTLE) dimensions.
Optimisation of these dimensions is key to sustainable
development
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Water Resources Planning and
Management
Water resources management has traditionally been concerned with water
resource availability and its development and optimum use.
Various sectors have their definition of good water management.
To a water utility company, good water management means abstracting water
from a source and supplying it to consumers all the time at the right quantity,
quality and pressure with minimum non-revenue water (NRW).
Planning is the process of thinking ahead to achieve optimum use and
development of water resources for sustainable development.
Water resources planning and management activities are usually motivated by
the need to provide solutions to water challenges such as pollution and the
realization of the potential opportunities that are obtained from proper
management and use of water and related land resources.
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Benefits of proper planning and
management of water resources
Reduced pollution
Reduced frequency and severity of floods and
droughts
Enhanced sustainability and resource availability
Improved water quality and aquatic habitat
Water resources planning and management involves identification and evaluation of
alternative measures that may increase the available water supplies and enhance water
quality and aquatic ecosystems.
Planning is needed in order to resolve conflict that may come due to competing needs and
requirements.
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Hydrology and Water Science
Hydrology is the science, which deals with the occurrence, distribution and
disposal of water on the planet earth; it is the science which deals with the
various phases of the hydrologic cycle.
Water Science recognises two types of water resources: the ‘blue water’ resource,
present as liquid in rivers, aquifers, lakes and reservoirs, and the ‘green water’
resource, present as moisture in the soil and as vapour when water flows back to
the atmosphere.
Blue water is used by users in irrigated farming, industry, cities and municipalities.
Wider decisions are needed for balancing green and blue water for food, nature
and society.
In practice, water resource planning must incorporate land-use activities
consuming green water and their interaction with blue water, in terms, for
example, of generating or limiting surface runoff and groundwater recharge. To
achieve this, knowledge of the hydrological circle is needed.
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The hydrologic cycle
Four basic aspects in the hydrologic cycle that are of
interest to the water resource planner or manager:
precipitation;
evaporation and evapotranspiration;
surface runoff; and
ground water.
Knowledge of the hydrological circle is used in understanding water availability and
design and operation of hydraulic structures. These could include spillways and dams.
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Water Balance
Water availability is determined from water balance computations. The
definition of a water balance is the interaction – whether in a specified area
or on the entire planet of factors such as precipitation (P), surface runoff (R),
evaporation (E), ground water and consumption/use.
Water availability is also concerned with who needs water, what water is
needed for and what form of water is required to fulfil these needs. The
concept of the hydrological cycle is thus not only an important tool for
understanding the origin, states and movement of water resources, it is also
necessary for assessing renewable freshwater resources and water
availability.
This is needed to understand and quantify the water resources of an area in
order to manage them. Water balance can be applied for the assessment of
water availability with a time series of a given duration.
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Types of water uses
Water is withdrawn from rivers, groundwater and storage for delivery to a use
such as drinking water, crops, livestock, aquaculture or industries. Depending on
level of usage, the water can be depleted and no longer be available for reuse
Consumptive use of water occurs when water is abstracted or withdrawn but not
returned to the catchment or the return is delayed. Examples of consumptive use
are crop evapotranspiration and incorporation of water into manufactured
products. Evapotranspiration of green water by natural ecosystems is also a
consumptive use. Agriculture is by far the largest consumptive use of water
globally.
Non-consumptive use of water utilises water resources without completely
diminishing, degrading or changing them, and they can therefore be used by
others or for other uses. Examples of non-consumptive uses include hydropower
generation and navigation. Water that is used for sanitation is considered non-
consumptive.
Renewable water resources are those that are used for certain purposes and are
available within the hydrological system for use again.
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Sustainable water use (1/2)
Sustainable water use is key to sustainable development. Development is
broadly defined as improvement in a country’s economic and social
conditions. More specifically, it refers to improvements in ways of managing
natural and human resources to create wealth and improve people’s lives.
Development has economic, social and human dimensions that are closely
interrelated.
Economic development is a measure of how wealthy a country is and of how
this wealth is generated and distributed. Economic growth, general gross
domestic product (GDP), per capita income and poverty levels are the
common indicators of economic development.
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Sustainable water use (2/2)
Social development is a process that results in the transformation of social
structures to improve the capacity and well-being of all sections of society.
Social development means inclusive development of all sections of a society.
Common indicators of social development are gender equity, child protection,
the fulfilled rights of persons with disabilities, the welfare of older persons
and the development of religious and ethnic minorities, indigenous
communities and other marginalized groups.
Human development measures the extent to which people have access to
wealth, jobs, knowledge, nutrition, health care, leisure and safety. More
material elements in this list, such as income and wealth, are often grouped
together under the heading “standard of living”. Less material elements, such
as education, health care and leisure, are often referred to as “quality of
life”.
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Sustainable water resources
development and Water Use
Inherent in the definition of sustainable water use are the twin concepts of
“equity” – that development should be inclusive and equitable across countries,
regions and social and economic groups and that it should fulfil all basic needs of
human beings – and “intergenerational equity” – that the process of productivity,
natural or human, should be maintained indefinitely by replacing “resources used”
with “resources of equal or greater value” without degrading or endangering the
“natural biotic system”.
Sustainable water use contributes to sustainable development. Sustainable water
use is based on a commitment to an ethic for sustainable living and caring for the
environment.
Sustainable water resources development and use involve the delicate act of
balancing three aspects: the economy, society and the environment, each
intersecting with the other resulting in sustainable livelihoods.
The economy is a function of the production of goods and services across sectors
in rural and urban areas using natural, human and technological resources
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Water Pollution (1/2)
Water pollution constitutes many types and pollution sources. Most industrial
processes use water and produce effluent that can pollute water. Some of these
processes include: abattoirs; tobacco processing; breweries; fertilizer production;
cement production; pharmaceuticals and the fruit and vegetable industry.
This pollution can be easily and clearly determined and are referred to as Point
Sources.
The strategies for dealing with this type of water pollution include the reduction
of water use at source and improved effluent purification technologies.
In some cases, runoff from industrial production areas contain toxic or hazardous
pollutants where detention facilities can be used as one of the technology to
detain the effluent during periods of runoff and releasing it in a controlled
manner.
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Water Pollution (2/2)
Non-point sources of water pollution are those that difficult to locate because
they result from many diffuse sources.
Principal types include: sediment, nutrients, toxic contaminants and
chemicals and pathogens.
Principal sources of non-point source pollution include urban and suburban
areas, agricultural operations, atmospheric inputs, slash and burn, road and
highway runoff, forestry and mining operations.
Knowledge of the types and sources of point and non-point source pollution is
critical to dealing with water pollution.
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Local and Global Water Crises and
Conflict
There are sometimes misunderstandings among local and global water users
when it comes to water resources development and management
In order to avoid conflicts that come with transboundary river basins and
water resources development, necessary international mechanisms are put in
place to regulate and manage the river flows, development and infrastructure
operation and also to support negotiation or conflict resolution.
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CONCLUSION
In this lecture the basic concepts of water resources planning and
management have been introduced such as water science, water balance,
types of water and types of water uses.
An understanding of these are key to dealing with water pollution, equitable
sharing of water and avoiding conflicts at local and global level.
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Lecture Test L1
Table L1
Score Score Weighting (0-
Primary criteria Weighting (0-100) Secondary criteria
(1-100) (1-100) 100)
Financial
21
sustainability
Economic returns 29
Resettlement 6
Impact on downstream users 4
Social and
environmental Security 1
Impact on downstream environment 3
Technical feasibility 17
Climate resilience (incl climate change)
4
Robustness / reliability
Demonstrated demand 7
Institutional feasibility 7
In order to meet sustainable water development and use requirements, a multi-criteria system
was developed for the evaluation of different project alternatives. Based on your own understanding,
List down any possible benchmarks/standards/parameters/conditions that could have been applied
during the analysis of each of the primary and secondary criteria in13-Aug-20
Table L1. Illustrate
18 each parameter
(Submit as an Assignment in Moodle by 20 August 2020)
FURTHER READING
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Van Beek, E., Loucks D.P. and Stedinger, J. R. (2010). Water resources systems
planning and management: An introduction to methods, models and
applications. Paris: UNESCO.
Gooch, G. D., Rieu- Clark, A. and Stalnacke, P. (2010). Integrating water
resources management: interdisciplinary methodologies and strategies in
practice. London; IWA publishing, UK
Grafton, R.Q. and Hussy, K. (2011). Water resources planning and
management.
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THANKS
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