The Spanish water ?pressure cooker?: Threading the interplay between resource resilient water governance outcomes by strengthening the robustness of water governance processes.

This paper uses the metaphor of a pressure cooker to highlight how water problems in Spain are highly geographical and sectorial in nature, with some specific hotspots which raise the temperature of the whole water complex system, turning many potentially solvable water problems into ?wicked problems?. The paper discusses the tendency for water governance to be hydrocentric, when often the drivers and in turn the ?solutions? to Spanish water problems lie outside the water sphere. The paper analyzes of the current water governance system by looking at water governance as both a process, and its key attributes like participation, trans- parency, equity and rule of law, as well as an analysis of water governance as an outcome by looking at efficiency and sustainability of water use in Spain. It concludes on the need to have a deeper knowledge on the interactions of water governance as a process and as an outcome and potential synergies and arguing that water governance is an inherently political process which calls for strengthening the capacity of the system by looking at the interactions of these different governance attributes.

Water and nitrogen footprint in an irrigated crop under mineral and organic fertilization

In order to establish rational nitrogen (N) application and reduce groundwater contamination, a clearer understanding of the N distribution through the growing season and its balance is crucial. Excessive doses of N and/or water applied to fertigated crops involve a substantial risk of aquifer contamination by nitrate; but knowledge of N cycling and availability within the soil could assist in avoiding this excess. In central Spain, the main horticultural fertigated crop is the melon type ?piel de sapo¿ and it is cultivated in vulnerable zones to nitrate pollution (Directive 91/676/CEE). However, until few years ago there were not antecedents related to the optimization of nitrogen fertilization together with irrigation. Water and N footprint are indicators that allow assessing the impact generated by different agricultural practices, so they can be used to improve the management strategies in fertigated crop systems. The water footprint distinguishes between blue water (sources of water applied to the crop, like irrigation and precipitation), green water (water used by the crop and stored in the soil), and it is furthermore possible to quantify the impact of pollution by calculating the grey water, which is defined as the volume of polluted water created from the growing and production of crops. On the other hand, the N footprint considers green N (nitrogen consumed by the crops and stored in the soil), blue N (N available for crop, like N applied with mineral and/or organic fertilizers, N applied with irrigation water and N mineralized during the crop period), whereas grey N is the amount of N-NO3- washed from the soil to the aquifer. All these components are expressed as the ratio between the components of water or N footprint and the yield (m3 t-1 or kg N t-1 respectively). The objetives of this work were to evaluate the impact derivated from the use of different fertilizer practices in a melon crop using water and N footprint.

Sustainability in the Upper Colorado River Basin: A Struggle Between Water Resource Use and Remnants of the Natural Ecosystem

This study evaluated whether development of the Colorado River system has exceeded sustainability by comparing the trends in water use in the Colorado River. Two sustainable areas were identified in the upper basin and one in the lower-- the mainstream Colorado River, Green and Yampa rivers, and the Little Colorado River. These areas are also high priority recovery areas for four endangered fishes and protected by critical habitat provisions of the ESA. Unfortunately, the endangered fishes are declining because of habitat destruction and non-native species. If increasing water demand causes the fishes to go extinct the few sustainable areas will be lost. It will take careful management of the endangered fishes and water users to ensure these areas are maintained.

Beyond megaprojects?. Water alternatives for mass tourism in coastal Mediterranean Spain

Water availability in adequate quantities and qualities is a fundamental requirement for tourism. In the Mediterranean, one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, water availability is subject to modest and erratic precipitation figures which may decline with climate change. The tourist industry therefore may have to assure future supplies by either recurring to new technologies such as desalination or increasing efficiency in water use. A third and yet little explored alternative would be to seek for complementary of uses with irrigation, the traditional user in many coastal Mediterranean areas and holder of substantial amounts of water. In this paper we present the example of the Consorcio de Aguas de la Marina Baja to show how Benidorm, in Mediterranean Spain and one of the most important tourist centers of the Mediterranean, obtains part of its water through agreements with farmers by which these trade their water with Benidorm and other towns’ treated wastewater of enough quality to be used for irrigation, and obtain several compensations in return. The advantages and disadvantages of the water trade between farmers and tourist interests in the Benidorm area are discussed and we argue that solutions to the pending water crisis of many coastal Mediterranean tourist areas may not need to rely uniquely on expensive technologies to generate new resources but may attempt other alternatives.

Toposequential effects on water balance and productivity in rainfed lowland rice ecosystem in Southern Laos

In the Mekong region, most paddies in rainfed lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) lie in a sequence on gentle sloping land, and grain yield (GY) often depends on the toposequence position. There is, however, lack of information on toposequential effects on field water supply in rainfed lowland rice and how that influences GY. A total of eight field experiments were carried out on sandy, coarse-textured soils in Southern Laos (Champassak Province and Savannakhet Province) over three wet seasons (2000-2002). Components of the water balance, including downward and lateral water movement (D and L, respectively), were quantified at three different positions along toposequences (top, middle and bottom). GY, days-to-flower (DTF) and rainfall were measured, and the water productivity (WP) was determined. In most experiments, standing water disappeared first in the top position and gradually in lower positions. This was associated with the observation that when there was standing water in the field, the higher position had larger D in both the provinces and also larger L in Champassak Province. However, in one experiment, water loss appeared later in the higher position, as the result of lower L, apparently due to some water inputs other than rainfall occurring at this position. Despite larger D plus L at the top position, seasonal sum of D and L were not much affected by the toposequence position, as the daily rate of D plus L became minimal when the standing water was lost earlier in the top position. Lower GY was associated with earlier disappearance of standing water from the field. Relatively low GY was expected in the top toposequence position. This was clearly shown in the toposequence of Phonthong, Champassak Province, as the timing of standing water disappearance relative to flowering was earlier in the top position. Variation in GY across the toposequence positions was coupled with the WP variation, and both GY and WP tended to decline with increased DTF. Therefore, variation in productivity of rainfed lowland rice across toposequence positions depends mainly on the field water status around flowering time. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrated assessment of water conservation practices for sustainable management strategies

Miami-Dade County implemented a series of water conservation programs, which included rebate/exchange incentives to encourage the use of high efficiency aerators (AR), showerheads (SH), toilets (HET) and clothes washers (HEW), to respond to the environmental sustainability issue in urban areas. This study first used panel data analysis of water consumption to evaluate the performance and actual water savings of individual programs. Integrated water demand model has also been developed for incorporating property’s physical characteristics into the water consumption profiles. Life cycle assessment (with emphasis on end-use stage in water system) of water intense appliances was conducted to determine the environmental impacts brought by each practice. Approximately 6 to 10 % of water has been saved in the first and second year of implementation of high efficiency appliances, and with continuing savings in the third and fourth years. Water savings (gallons per household per day) for water efficiency appliances were observed at 28 (11.1%) for SH, 34.7 (13.3%) for HET, and 39.7 (14.5%) for HEW. Furthermore, the estimated contributions of high efficiency appliances for reducing water demand in the integrated water demand model were between 5 and 19% (highest in the AR program). Results indicated that adoption of more than one type of water efficiency appliance could significantly reduce residential water demand. For the sustainable water management strategies, the appropriate water conservation rate was projected to be 1 to 2 million gallons per day (MGD) through 2030. With 2 MGD of water savings, the estimated per capita water use (GPCD) could be reduced from approximately 140 to 122 GPCD. Additional efforts are needed to reduce the water demand to US EPA’s “Water Sense” conservation levels of 70 GPCD by 2030. Life cycle assessment results showed that environmental impacts (water and energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions) from end-use and demand phases are most significant within the water system, particularly due to water heating (73% for clothes washer and 93% for showerhead). Estimations of optimal lifespan for appliances (8 to 21 years) implied that earlier replacement with efficiency models is encouraged in order to minimize the environmental impacts brought by current practice.

Sugarcane Water Productivity Assessments in the São Paulo state, Brazil.

São Paulo state, Brazil, has been highlighted by the sugarcane crop expansion. The actual scenario of climate and land use changes, bring attention for the large-scale water productivity (WP) analyses. MODIS images were used together with gridded weather data for these analyses. A generalized sugarcane growing cycle inside a crop land mask, from September 2011 to October 2012, was considered in the main growing regions of the state. Actual evapotranspiration (ET) is quantified by the SAFER (Simple Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving) algorithm, the biomass production (BIO) by the RUE (Radiation Use Efficiency) Monteith?s model and WP is considered as the ratio of BIO to ET. During the four generalized sugarcane crop phases, the mean ET values ranged from 0.6 to 4.0 mm day-1; BIO rates were between 20 and 200 kg ha-1 day-1, resulting in WP ranging from 2.8 to 6.0 kg m-3. Soil moisture indicators are applied, indicating benefits from supplementary irrigation during the grand growth phase, wherever there is water availability for this practice. The quantification of the large-scale water variables may subsidize the rational water resources management under the sugarcane expansion and water scarcity scenarios.

Allelic variation at a single gene increases food value in a drought-tolerant staple cereal

The production of adequate agricultural outputs to support the growing human population places great demands on agriculture, especially in light of ever-greater restrictions on input resources. Sorghum is a drought-adapted cereal capable of reliable production where other cereals fail, and thus represents a good candidate to address food security as agricultural inputs of water and arable land grow scarce. A long-standing issue with sorghum grain is that it has an inherently lower digestibility. Here we show that a low-frequency allele type in the starch metabolic gene, pullulanase, is associated with increased digestibility, regardless of genotypic background. We also provide evidence that the beneficial allele type is not associated with deleterious pleiotropic effects in the modern field environment. We argue that increasing the digestibility of an adapted crop is a viable way forward towards addressing food security while maximizing water and land-use efficiency.

Systems modelling of mine water and energy tradeoffs

In the coming decades, the mining industry faces the dual challenge of lowering both its water and energy use. This presents a difficulty since technological advances that decrease the use of one can increase the use of the other. Historically, energy and water use have been modelled independently, making it difficult to evaluate the true costs and benefits from water and energy improvements. This paper presents a hierarchical systems model that is able to represent interconnected water and energy use at a whole of site scale. In order to explore the links between water and energy four technologies advancements have been modelled: use of dust suppression additives, the adoption of thickened tailings, the transition to dry processing and the incorporation of a treatment plant. The results show a synergy between decreased water and energy use for dust suppression additives, but a trade-off for the others.

A robust methodological approach for mine site water accounting

Over the past decade, the mining industry has come to recognise the importance of water both to itself and to others. Water accounting is a formalisation of this importance that quantifies and communicates how water is used by individual sites and the industry as a whole. While there are a number of different accounting frameworks that could be used within the industry, the Minerals Council of Australia’s (MCA) Water Accounting Framework (WAF) is an industry-led approach that provides a consistent representation of mine site water interactions regardless of their operational, social or environmental context that allows for valid comparisons between sites and companies. The WAF contains definitions of offsite water sources and destinations and onsite water use, a methodology for applying the definitions and a set of metrics to measure site performance. The WAF is comprised of two models: the Input-Output Model, which represents the interactions between sites and their surrounding community and the Operational Model, which represents onsite water interactions. Members of the MCA have recently adopted the WAF’s Input-Output Model to report on their external water interactions in their Australian operations with some adopting it on a global basis. To support this adoption, there is a need for companies to better understand how to implement the WAF in their own operations. Developing a water account is non-trivial, particularly for sites unfamiliar with the WAF or for sites with the need to represent unusual features. This work describes how to build a water account for a given site using the Input-Output Model with an emphasis on how to represent challenging situations.

Improving the accuracy of mine site water balances through improved estimation of runoff volumes

A mine site water balance is important for communicating information to interested stakeholders, for reporting on water performance, and for anticipating and mitigating water-related risks through water use/demand forecasting. Gaining accuracy over the water balance is therefore crucial for sites to achieve best practice water management and to maintain their social license to operate. For sites that are located in high rainfall environments the water received to storage dams through runoff can represent a large proportion of the overall inputs to site; inaccuracies in these flows can therefore lead to inaccuracies in the overall site water balance. Hydrological models that estimate runoff flows are often incorporated into simulation models used for water use/demand forecasting. The Australian Water Balance Model (AWBM) is one example that has been widely applied in the Australian context. However, the calibration of AWBM in a mining context can be challenging. Through a detailed case study, we outline an approach that was used to calibrate and validate AWBM at a mine site. Commencing with a dataset of monitored dam levels, a mass balance approach was used to generate an observed runoff sequence. By incorporating a portion of this observed dataset into the calibration routine, we achieved a closer fit between the observed vs. simulated dataset compared with the base case. We conclude by highlighting opportunities for future research to improve the calibration fit through improving the quality of the input dataset. This will ultimately lead to better models for runoff prediction and thereby improve the accuracy of mine site water balances.

Optimal Irrigation and N-fertilizer Management for Sustainable Winter Wheat Production in Khorezm, Uzbekistan

The efficiency of the nitrogen (N) application rates 0, 120, 180 and 240 kg N ha−1 in combination with low or medium water levels in the cultivation of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cv. Kupava was studied for the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 growing seasons in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan. The results show an impact of the initial soil Nmin (NO3-N + NH4-N) levels measured at wheat seeding on the N fertilizer rates applied. When the Nmin content in the 0–50 cm soil layer was lower than 10 mg kg−1 during wheat seeding in 2005, the N rate of 180 kg ha−1 was found to be the most effective for achieving high grain yields of high quality. With a higher Nmin content of about 30 mg kg−1 as was the case in the 2006 season, 120 kg N ha−1 was determined as being the technical and economical optimum. The temporal course of N2O emissions of winter wheat cultivation for the two water-level studies shows that emissions were strongly influenced by irrigation and N-fertilization. Extremely high emissions were measured immediately after fertilizer application events that were combined with irrigation events. Given the high impact of N-fertilizer and irrigation-water management on N2O emissions, it can be concluded that present N-management practices should be modified to mitigate emissions of N2O and to achieve higher fertilizer use efficiency.

The robustness of mine water accounting over a range of operating contexts and commodities

Communicating the mining industry’s water use is fundamental to maintaining its social license to operate but the majority of corporate reporting schemes list indicators. The Minerals Council of Australia’s Water Accounting Framework was designed to assist the minerals industry obtain consistency in its accounting method and in the definitions of terms used in water reporting. The significance of this paper is that it shows that the framework has been designed to be sufficiently robust to describe any mining/mineral related operation. The Water Accounting Framework was applied across four operations over three countries producing four commodities. The advantages of the framework were then evident through the presentation of the reports. The contextual statement of the framework was able to explain contrasting reuse efficiencies. The Input-Output statements showed that evaporation was a significant loss for most of the operations in the study which highlights a weakness of reporting schemes that focus on discharge volumes. The framework method promotes data reconciliation which proved the presence of flows that two operations in the study had neglected to provide. Whilst there are many advantages of the framework, the major points are that the reporting statements of the framework, when presented together, can better enable the public to understand water interactions at a site-level and allows for valid comparisons between sites, regardless of locale and commodity. With mining being a global industry, these advantages are best realised if there was international adoption of the framework.