Hydrological impact and potential flooding of convective rain cells in a semi-arid environment

Abstract

t Spatio-temporal storm properties have a large impact on catchment hydrological response. The sensitivity of simulated flash floods to convective rain-cell characteristics is examined for an extreme storm event over a 94 km² semi-arid catchment in southern Israel. High space–time resolution weather radar data were used to derive and model convective rain cells that then served as input into a hydrological model. Based on alterations of location, direction and speed of a major rain cell, identified as the flooding cell for this case, the impacts on catchment rainfall and generated flood were examined. Global sensitivity analysis was applied to identify the most important factors affecting the flash flood peak discharge at the catchment outlet. We found that the flood peak discharge could be increased three-fold by relatively small changes in rain-cell characteristics. We assessed that the maximum flash flood magnitude that this single rain cell can produce is 175 m³/s, and, taking into account the rest of the rain cells, the flash flood peak discharge can reach 260 m³/s.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Morin, E. and Yakir, H., 2013. Hydrological impact and potential flooding of convective rain cells in a semi-arid environment. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1275–1284. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.841315     

Evaluating flash-flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: a case study with the AIGA warning system

Abstract

This article presents a comparison between real-time discharges calculated by a flash-flood warning system and post-event flood peak estimates. The studied event occurred on 15 and 16 June 2010 at the Argens catchment located in the south of France. Real-time flood warnings were provided by the AIGA (Adaptation d’Information Géographique pour l’Alerte en Crue) warning system, which is based on a simple distributed hydrological model run at a 1-km² resolution using radar rainfall information. The timing of the warnings (updated every 15 min) was compared to the observed flood impacts. Furthermore, “consolidated” flood peaks estimated by an intensive post-event survey were used to evaluate the AIGA-estimated peak discharges. The results indicated that the AIGA warnings clearly identified the most affected areas. However, the effective lead-time of the event detection was short, especially for fast-response catchments, because the current method does not take into account any rainfall forecast. The flood peak analysis showed a relatively good correspondence between AIGA- and field-estimated peak values, although some differences were due to the rainfall underestimation by the radar and rainfall–runoff model limitations.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Javelle, P., Demargne, J., Defrance, D., Pansu, J. and Arnaud, P., 2014. Evaluating flash-flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: a case study with the AIGA warning system. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1390–1402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.923970     

Four-dimensional reflectivity data comparison between two ground-based radars: methodology and statistical analysis

Abstract

A methodology is proposed to compare radar reflectivity data obtained from two partially overlapping ground-based radars in order to explain relative differences in radar-rainfall products and establish sound merging procedures for multi-radar observing networks. To identify radar calibration differences, radar reflectivity is compared for well-matched radar sampling volumes viewing common meteorological targets. Temporal separation and three-dimensional matching of two different sampling volumes were considered based on the original polar coordinates of radar observation. Since the proposed method assumes radar beam propagation under standard atmospheric conditions, anomalous propagation cases were eliminated from the analysis. The reflectivity comparison results show systematic differences over time, but the variability of these differences is surprisingly large due to the sensitive nature of the radar reflectivity measurement.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis/Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Seo, B.-C., Krajewski, W.F., and Smith, J.A., 2013. Four-dimensional reflectivity data comparison between two ground-based radars: methodology and statistical analysis. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1312–1326. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.839872     

Long-term diagnostics of precipitation estimates and the development of radar hardware monitoring within a radar product data quality management system

Abstract

Quality is key to ensuring that the potential offered by weather radar networks is realized. To achieve optimum quality, a comprehensive radar data quality management system, designed to monitor the end-to-end radar data processing chain and evaluate product quality, is being developed at the UK Met Office. Three contrasting elements of this system are described: monitoring of key radar hardware performance indicators; generation of long-term integrations of radar products; and monitoring of radar reflectivity factor using synthesized observations from numerical weather prediction model fields. Examples of each component are presented and ways in which the different types of monitoring information have been used to both identify issues with the radar product data quality and help formulate solutions are given.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Harrison, D., Georgiou, S., Gaussiat, N., and Curtis, A., 2013. Long-term diagnostics of precipitation estimates and the development of radar hardware monitoring within a radar product data quality management system. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1327–1342. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.841316     

Sensitivity analysis of the hydrological response of the Gaping River basin to radar-raingauge quantitative precipitation estimates

Abstract

The generation of reliable quantitative precipitation estimations (QPEs) through use of raingauge and radar data is an important issue. This study investigates the impacts of radar QPEs with different densities of raingauge networks on rainfall–runoff processes through a semi-distributed parallel-type linear reservoir rainfall–runoff model. The spatial variation structures of the radar QPE, raingauge QPE and radar-gauge residuals are examined to review the current raingauge network, and a compact raingauge network is identified via the kriging method. An analysis of the large-scale spatial characteristics for use with a hydrological model is applied to investigate the impacts of a raingauge network coupled with radar QPEs on the modelled rainfall–runoff processes. Since the precision in locating the storm centre generally represents how well the large-scale variability is reproduced; the results show not only the contribution of kriging to identify a compact network coupled with radar QPE, but also that spatial characteristics of rainfalls do affect the hydrographs.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Pan, T.-Y., Li, M.-Y., Lin, Y.-J., Chang, T.-J., Lai, J.-S., and Tan, Y.-C., 2014. Sensitivity analysis of the hydrological response of the Gaping River basin to radar-raingauge quantitative precipitation estimates. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1335–1352. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.923969     

Dependence of radar quantitative precipitation estimation error on the rain intensity in the Cévennes region,France

Abstract

Radar quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) were assessed using reference values established by means of a geostatistical approach. The reference values were estimated from raingauge data using the block kriging technique, and the reference meshes were selected on the basis of the kriging estimation variance. Agreement between radar QPEs and reference rain amounts was shown to increase slightly with the space–time scales. The statistical distributions of the errors were modelled conditionally with respect to several factors using the GAMLSS approach. The conditional bias of the errors presents a complex structure that depends on the space–time scales and the considered geographical sub-domains, while the standard deviation of the errors has a more homogeneous behaviour. The estimation standard deviation of the reference rainfall and the standard deviation of the errors between radar and reference rainfall were found to have the same magnitude, indicating the limitations of the available network in terms of providing accurate reference values for the spatial scales considered (5–100 km²).

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Delrieu, G., Bonnifait, L., Kirstetter, P.-E., and Boudevillain, B., 2013. Dependence of radar quantitative precipitation estimation error on the rain intensity in the Cévennes region, France. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1300–1311. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.827337     

Groundwater-level forecasting under climate change scenarios using an artificial neural network trained with particle swarm optimization

Abstract

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have recently been used to predict the hydraulic head in well locations. In the present work, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was used to train a feed-forward multi-layer ANN for the simulation of hydraulic head change at an observation well in the region of Agia, Chania, Greece. Three variants of the PSO algorithm were considered, the classic one with inertia weight improvement, PSO with time varying acceleration coefficients (PSO-TVAC) and global best PSO (GLBest-PSO). The best performance was achieved by GLBest-PSO when implemented using field data from the region of interest, providing improved training results compared to the back-propagation training algorithm. The trained ANN was subsequently used for mid-term prediction of the hydraulic head, as well as for the study of three climate change scenarios. Data time series were created using a stochastic weather generator, and the scenarios were examined for the period 2010–2020.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor L. See

Citation Tapoglou, E., Trichakis, I.C., Dokou, Z., Nikolos, I.K., and Karatzas, G.P., 2014. Groundwater-level forecasting under climate change scenarios using an artificial neural network trained with particle swarm optimization. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59(6), 1225–1239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.838005     

Effects of urbanization variables on model parameters for watershed divisions

Abstract

A semi-distributed model with a parallel connection was applied to examine the effects of urbanization variables. Data were obtained from watershed divisions that were characterized by various degrees of urbanization. The mean rainfall was calculated using the kriging method. The model inputs were obtained by subtracting mean rainfall from Ф-index values, based on the spatially uniform loss assumption. Regression analysis was applied to determine the relationship between the parameters of 64 calibrations and urbanization variables among the divisions. The results showed that overland parameters produced more consistent change in response to imperviousness than to population. Conversely, the channel parameter was unaffected by changes in urbanization. The verification results of 46 cases showed that power linkage was a potential option for linking division parameters with the corresponding imperviousness based on four evaluation criteria. The changes in imperviousness on overland parameters show the hydrological effects of division urbanizations.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor T. Wagener

Citation Chen, R., Chuang, W.-N., and Cheng, S., 2014. Effects of urbanization variables on model parameters for watershed divisions. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (6), 1167–1183. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.910305     

Catchment-scale storm velocity: quantification,scale dependence and effect on flood response

Abstract

The concept of “catchment-scale storm velocity” quantifies the rate of storm motion up and down the basin accounting for the interaction between the rainfall space–time variability and the structure of the drainage network. It provides an assessment of the impact of storm motion on flood shape. We evaluate the catchment-scale storm velocity for the 29 August 2003 extreme storm that occurred on the 700 km²-wide Fella River basin in the eastern Italian Alps. The storm was characterized by the high rate of motion of convective cells across the basin. Analysis is carried out for a set of basins that range in area from 8 to 623 km² to: (a) determine velocity magnitudes for different sub-basins; (b) examine the relationship of velocity with basin scale and (c) assess the impact of storm motion on simulated flood response. Two spatially distributed hydrological models of varying degree of complexity in the representation of the runoff generation processes are used to evaluate the effects of the storm velocity on flood modelling and investigate model dependencies of the results. It is shown that catchment-scale storm velocity has a non-linear dependence on basin scale and generally exhibits rather moderate values, in spite of the strong kinematic characteristics of individual storm elements. Consistently with these observations and for both models, hydrological simulations show that storm motion has an almost negligible effect on the flood response modelling.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Nikolopoulos, E.I., Borga, M., Zoccatelli, D., and Anagnostou, E.N., 2014. Catchment-scale storm velocity: quantification, scale dependence and effect on flood response. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1363–1376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.923889     

Impact of climatic change on river discharge in the driest region of Poland

Abstract

Discharge in the Warta River in Poland has been analysed based on long series of measurements at the Gorzów Wielkopolski gauge station (covering the whole catchment area) and at Poznań (middle and upper catchment area), and the Note? River is characterized by the gauge station at Nowe Drezdenko. The annual mean discharge of the Warta River for the period 1981–2010 was equal to the average value for the last 163 years (209 m³ s^-1), and there was no significant change in comparison with the ratio of runoff in the summer and winter half-years. In the driest region of Poland, the climate has been described on the basis of precipitation and air temperature. The annual mean precipitation for 1981–2010 (544 mm) in the Warta River catchment area was the same as that for the period 1848–2010. The precipitation has been increasing in spring and winter, and decreasing in summer. There is a positive and very significant correlation (r = 0.705) between the annual discharge and annual precipitation totals. The annual mean air temperature has risen by 0.6°C between the periods 1848–1980 and 1981–2010.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis

Citation Ilnicki, P., Farat, R., Górecki, K., and Lewandowski, P., 2014. Impact of climatic change on river discharge in the driest region of Poland. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (6), 1117–1134. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.831979     

Isotopic tracing for conceptual models of groundwater hydrodynamics in multilayer aquifer systems of central and southern Tunisia

Abstract

New and previously published data sets including stable and radiogenic isotope measurements (¹⁸O, ²H, ³H, ¹³C and ¹⁴C) were used to investigate, conceptualize and compare groundwater hydrodynamics within three major multilayer aquifer systems located in central and southern Tunisia. It has been demonstrated that the investigated aquifer systems contain modern and palaeoclimatic waters. Modern groundwaters, which refer to contemporaneous and post-nuclear recharge waters, are characterized by enriched stable isotope contents, high carbon-14 activities and high to moderate tritium concentration. While palaeoclimatic groundwaters, which refer to Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene recharge waters, are distinguished by their depleted stable isotope contents, low carbon-14 activities and insignificant tritium concentrations. Established conceptual models have elucidated the groundwater hydrodynamics within the studied aquifer systems. They show that groundwater mixing occurs between end-members from the shallow and deep aquifers that migrate by downward and upward leakage towards the intermediate aquifer.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor S. Faye

Citation Dassi, L. and Tarki, M., 2014. Isotopic tracing for conceptual models of groundwater hydrodynamics in multilayer aquifer systems of central and southern Tunisia. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (6), 1240–1258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.892206     

Development of an operational rainfall data quality-control scheme based on radar-raingauge co-kriging analysis

Abstract

Automatic raingauge data often serve as an important input to hydrological and weather warning operations. They are not only fundamental in quantitative rainfall analysis, but also act as the ground truth in warning operation and forecast validation. Quality control is required before the data can be used quantitatively due to systematic and random errors. Extremely large random errors and unreasonably small or false zero values can hamper effective monitoring of heavy rain. Yet both are difficult to detect in real-time by objective means. In an attempt to address these problems, a rainfall data quality-control scheme based on radar-raingauge co-kriging analysis was developed. The important threshold values required in the data quality control of 60-min raingauge rainfall were determined from a detailed analysis of the distributions of rainfall residuals defined as the arithmetic difference and the logarithm of the ratio between a raingauge measurement and its co-kriging estimate. The scheme has been developed and is in real-time use in Hong Kong, a coastal city of about 1100 km² area with more than 150 raingauges installed. Geographically, it is located in the subtropics and dominated by heavy convective rainfall in the summer. As a basis of the quality-control scheme, the co-kriging rainfall analysis was shown through a verification exercise to be superior to those obtained by the Barnes analysis and ordinary kriging of raingauge data. The performance of the quality-control algorithm was assessed using selected cases and controlled tests, and was found to be satisfactory, with a high error detection rate for the two targeted types of error. Limitations and operational issues identified during a real-time trial of the quality-control scheme are also discussed.

Citation Yeung, H.Y., Man, C., Chan, S.T., and Seed, A., 2014. Development of an operational rainfall data quality-control scheme based on radar-raingauge co-kriging analysis. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1285–1299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.839873     

Improvement and comparative assessment of a hydrological modelling approach on 20 catchments of various sizes under different climate conditions

Assessing water resources is an important issue, especially in the context of climatic changes. Although numerous hydrological models exist, new approaches are still under investigation. In this context, we propose a modelling approach based on the physical principle of least action. We present new hypotheses to develop the model further, to widen its application. The improved version of the model MODHYPMA was applied on 20 sub-catchments in Africa and the USA. Its performance was compared with two well-known lumped conceptual models, GR4J and HBV. The model could be successfully calibrated and validated. In calibration, GR4J performed better, while other models had similar performance. In validation, MODHYPMA and GR4J performed similarly and better than HBV. The parameter λ has medium sensitivity while parameters λ and TX have low sensitivity. The parameter uncertainty for MODHYPMA, analysed using the GLUE methodology, was higher during high flows but with good p and r factors.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis ASSOCIATE EDITOR not assigned     

Exercice de scénarisation hydrologique en Afrique de l’Ouest—Bassin du Bani

Résumé

Les pays sub-sahariens basent principalement leur économie sur l’agriculture pluviale. Les projections démographiques à moyen ou long terme montrent que la pression démographique va s’accroître très fortement. A l’avenir, il faudra soutenir encore plus fortement le développement de stratégies agricoles de ces pays : cela nécessite une meilleure connaissance de leurs ressources en eau futures. Cette connaissance de la ressource en eau dans le futur passe par l’élaboration de scenarios climatiques et hydrologiques qui font intervenir différents acteurs, compétents dans des activités très variées, qu’ils soient scientifiques de divers domaines (climatologues, hydrologues, sociologues, …) mais aussi financiers, politiques, acteurs sociaux et décideurs. Ce processus d’élaboration de scenarios s’accompagne de nombreuses incertitudes, plus ou moins bien maitrisées, avec lesquelles doivent s’accommoder les gestionnaires d’ouvrages et planificateurs d’aménagements régionaux. Illustré par l’exemple du bassin du Bani, affluent du fleuve Niger, ce travail propose une réflexion sur la « scénarisation hydrologique » et la prédétermination des paramètres d’un modèle hydrologique dans un contexte global non stationnaire. Le choix de jeux de paramètres a de nombreux impacts sur les résultats de la scénarisation comme l’estimation de la ressource et la variabilité de cette ressource. Ces deux éléments sont fondamentaux pour qui doit conduire un processus de décision en réponse à une demande de stratégie d’aménagement ou à une demande de stratégie de développement. Nous proposons une méthodologie de détermination des jeux de paramètres se basant sur la construction de plusieurs jeux de paramètres issus de calages glissants, qui permet d’aller dans le sens de ce que de plus en plus de gestionnaires préconisent : ne pas essayer de prévoir le futur mais plutôt des futurs envisageables qui forceront des modèles d’impact, ce qui leur permettra de fournir des éléments de décision afin de s’adapter ou d’adapter des solutions d’aménagement aux conditions de ces futurs.

Editeur Z.W. Kundzewicz; Editeur associé C. Perrin

Citation Paturel, J.-E., 2014. Exercice de scénarisation hydrologique en Afrique de l’Ouest—Bassin du Bani. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (6), 1135–1153. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.834340     

Grid-enabled Monte Carlo analysis of the impacts of uncertain discharge rates on seawater intrusion in the Korba aquifer (Tunisia)

Abstract

The Korba aquifer, located in the north of Tunisia, suffers heavily from salinization due to seawater intrusion. In 2000, the aquifer was exploited from more than 9000 wells. The problem is that no precise information was recorded concerning the current extraction rates, their spatial distribution, or their evolution in time. In this study, a geostatistical model of the exploitation rates was constructed based on a multi-linear regression model combining incomplete direct data and exhaustive secondary information. The impacts of the uncertainty on the spatial distribution of the pumping rates on seawater intrusion were evaluated using a 3-D density-dependent groundwater model. To circumvent the large amount of computing time required to run transient models, the simulations were run in a parallel fashion on the Grid infrastructure provided by the Enabling Grid for E-Science in Europe project. Monte Carlo simulations results showed that 8.3% of the aquifer area is affected by input uncertainty.

Citation Kerrou, J., Renard, P., Lecca, G. & Tarhouni, J. (2010 Kerrou, J., Renard, P. and Tarhouni, J. 2010. Status of the Korba groundwater resources (Tunisia): observations and three-dimensional modelling of seawater intrusion. Hydrogeol. J., 18(5): 1173–1190. doi:10.1007/s10040-010-0573-5[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Grid-enabled Monte Carlo analysis of the impacts of uncertain discharge rates on seawater intrusion in the Korba aquifer (Tunisia). Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(8), 1325–1336.     

Nonstationarity and clustering of flood characteristics and relations with the climate indices in the Poyang Lake basin,China

The magnitude, occurrence rate and occurrence timing of floods in the Poyang Lake basin were analysed. The flood series were acquired by annual and seasonal maximum flow (AMF) sampling and peaks-over-threshold (POT) sampling. Nonstationarity and uncertainty were analysed using kernel density estimation and the bootstrap resampling methods. Using the relationships between flood indices and climate indices, i.e. El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the potential causes of flooding were investigated. The results indicate that (1) the magnitudes of annual and seasonal AMF- and POT-based sampled floods generally exhibit an increasing tendency; (2) the highest occurrence rates of floods identified were during the 1990s, when the flood-affected crop area, flood-damaged crop area and crop failure area reached the highest levels; and (3) ENSO and IOD are the major climate indices that significantly correlate with the magnitude and frequency of floods of the following year.

EDITOR A. Castellarin ASSOCIATE EDITOR T. Kjeldsen     

Using Lightning Data to Better Understand and Predict Flash Floods in the Mediterranean

One of the costliest natural hazards around the globe is flash floods, resulting from localized intense convective precipitation over short periods of time. Since intense convective rainfall (especially over the continents) is well correlated with lightning activity in these storms, a European Union FP6 FLASH project was realized from 2006 to 2010, focusing on using lightning observations to better understand and predict convective storms that result in flash floods. As part of the project, 23 case studies of flash floods in the Mediterranean region were examined. For the analysis of these storms, lightning data were used together with rainfall estimates in order to understand the storms?? development and electrification processes. In addition, these case studies were simulated using mesoscale meteorological models to better understand the local and synoptic conditions leading to such intense and damaging storms. As part of this project, tools for short-term predictions (nowcasts) of intense convection across the Mediterranean and Europe, and long-term forecasts (a few days) of the likelihood of intense convection, were developed and employed. The project also focused on educational outreach through a special Web site http://flashproject.org supplying real-time lightning observations, real-time experimental nowcasts, medium-range weather forecasts and educational materials. While flash floods and intense thunderstorms cannot be prevented, long-range regional lightning networks can supply valuable data, in real time, for warning the public, end-users and stakeholders of imminent intense rainfall and possible flash floods.     

A perfect prognosis approach for daily precipitation series in consideration of space–time correlation structure

Downscaling techniques are the required tools to link the global climate model outputs provided at a coarse grid resolution to finer scale surface variables appropriate for climate change impact studies. Besides the at-site temporal persistence, the downscaled variables have to satisfy the spatial dependence naturally observed between the climate variables at different locations. Furthermore, the precipitation spatial intermittency should be fulfilled. Because of the complexity in describing these properties, they are often ignored, which can affect the effectiveness of the hydrologic process modeling. This study is a continuation of the work by Khalili and Nguyen (Clim Dyn 49(7–8):2261–2278.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-016-3443-6, 2017) regarding the multi-site statistical downscaling of daily precipitation series. Different approach of multi-site statistical downscaling based on the concept of the spatial autocorrelation is presented in this paper. This approach has proven to give effective results for multi-site multivariate statistical downscaling of daily extreme temperature time series (Khalili et al. in Int J Climatol 33:15–32.  https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3402, 2013). However, more challenges are presented by the precipitation variable because of the high spatio-temporal variability and intermittency. The proposed approach consists of logistic and multiple regression models, linking the global climate predictors to the precipitation occurrences and amounts respectively, and using the spatial autocorrelation concept to reproduce the spatial dependence observed between the precipitation series at different sites. An empirical technique has also been involved in this approach in order to fulfill the precipitation intermittency property. The proposed approach was performed using observed daily precipitation data from ten weather stations located in the southwest region of Quebec and southeast region of Ontario in Canada, and climate predictors from the NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Centre for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis dataset. The results have proven the ability of the proposed approach to adequately reproduce the observed precipitation occurrence and amount characteristics, temporal and spatial dependence, spatial intermittency and temporal variability.     

Cost-efficient management of coastal aquifers via recharge with treated wastewater and desalination of brackish groundwater: general framework

Abstract

Semi-arid coastal zones often suffer water-stress, as water demand is high and markedly seasonal, due to agriculture and tourism. Driven by scarcity of surface water, the communities in semi-arid coastal regions turn to aquifers as prime water source; but intensive exploitation of coastal aquifers causes seawater intrusion, which degrades the quality of groundwater. The cost-efficient and sustainable development of coastal aquifers can be achieved through a holistic management scheme which combines two non-traditional water sources: (a) saltwater, to be treated to the desired quality, and (b) wastewater, to be re-claimed to augment aquifer recharge for control of seawater intrusion, and also to meet certain demands. This management scheme is based on the idea that it is cost-advantageous to: (i) desalt brackish groundwater, instead of seawater, as the former requires far less energy, and (ii) to re‐use wastewater at only the differential cost to any treatment already practiced. In this paper, we present the general framework of the proposed management scheme, and a decision aid tool (DAT) which has been developed to assist decision makers to explore the scheme's decision space. The DAT uses cost as optimization criterion to screen various management scenarios, via modelling of the dynamic natural-engineered system behaviour, and identifies those cost-efficient ones that meet the water demand and achieve aquifer protection.

Citation Koussis, A. D., Georgopoulou, E., Kotronarou, A., Lalas, D. P., Restrepo, P., Destouni, G., Prieto, C., Rodriguez, J. J., Rodriguez-Mirasol, J., Cordero, T. & Gomez-Gotor, A. (2010 Koussis, A. D., Georgopoulou, E., Kotronarou, A., Mazi, K., Restrepo, P., Destouni, G., Prieto, C., Rodriguez, J. J., Rodriguez-Mirasol, J., Cordero, T., Schwartz, J., Ioannou, C., Georgiou, A. and Zacharias, I. 2010. Cost-efficient management of coastal aquifers in water-stressed regions via recharge with treated wastewater and desalination of brackish groundwater: application to the Akrotiri basin and aquifer, Cyprus. Hydrol. Sci. J, 55(7): 1234–1245. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Cost-efficient management of coastal aquifers via recharge with treated wastewater and desalination of brackish groundwater: general framework. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(7),1217–1233.