International Journal of Water (14 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Evaluation of a pumping test with skin effect and wellbore storage on confined aquifer in the Bela Crkva, Serbia  
  by Jiri Holub, Pavel Pech, Michal Kuraz, Petr Maca, Daniel Kahuda 
  Abstract: Pumping test is a fundamental method to determinate aquifer hydraulic parameters, such as the transmissivity and the aquifer storage coefficient. These main indicators define the basic physical properties of the aquifer. For estimation of these parameters, a semi-logarithmic straight line method is commonly used, which is based on the assumptions of the Theis mathematical model. Nevertheless, there are other parameters corresponding to real conditions during the pumping test, such as the skin effect and the wellbore storage. Both can occur in a large-diameter pumping well. The skin effect and the wellbore storage are neglected in the Theis solution. The evaluation of pumping test data is usually carried out by estimation through curve matching a straight line to drawdown data plotted on a semi-log graph. These methods are derived from the Theis solution for the non-leaky confined aquifers where the skin effect and the wellbore storage is not included. However, neglecting the skin effect and the wellbore storage can lead to false analysis of the time-drawdown variation in the pumping well. In this paper we develop an evaluation method for the transmissivity, the aquifer storage coefficient, skin effect and wellbore storage from the pumping test data.
  Keywords: pumping test; skin effect; wellbore storage; pumping test analysis.
  
  
• Efficiency of the groundwater artificial recharge from dam water release in arid area  
  by Zouheira Ibn Ali, Asma Ahmed Gharbi, Amjad Kallel, Lamia Laajili Ghzelb, Moncef Zairi 
  Abstract: This paper describes a methodology to estimate the groundwater artificial recharge efficiency. The Water Table Fluctuation method (WTF), Stream-Flow estimation method (SF) and Hydrus-1D model are used to estimate the effective water quantity reaching the aquifer. The efficiency of the stream flooding on groundwater level trend was discussed based on groundwater table fluctuation. The comparison between the three methods is found to be valuable for determining the range of plausible recharge amounts and for highlighting the uncertainty of the estimates. The SF method yields the largest recharge estimate whereas the WTF method provides actual recharge reaching the aquifer. The SF method and the Hydrus-1D model show the best fit between estimated recharge volume and water volume released, with a coefficient-of-determination (R2) of 0.9 and 0.8, respectively. The combination of the SF with water-table fluctuations methods is recommended to increase the constancy of recharge estimates and preliminary assessment.
  Keywords: artificial recharge; assessment; stream infiltration; groundwater; water level.
  
  
• Soil moisture dynamics and response to rainfall under two typical vegetation covers based on HYDRUS-3D  
  by Jing Zhang, Zhan Liang 
  Abstract: In this study, based on the continuous measurement of soil water content and meteorological parameters, the HYDRUS-3D model was used to simulate the dynamic changes of soil moisture in different soil layers (1050 cm soil depth) under two typical vegetation covers [alluvial wetland forest (AWF) and ungrazed Bahia grassland (UBG)] in wet and dry seasons in the Alafia River Basin, Florida. Model performance was evaluated using several statistical criteria. Water balance and parameter sensitivity were analysed to indicate the adaptability of the model to the study area. Furthermore, soil moisture variation was assessed under different rainfall levels, and its relationships with vegetation type, root biomass, and soil physical characteristics were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed. Results showed that the correlation degree between the measured and simulated values of soil water content in the wet and dry period was higher in the AWF than in the UBG. The water reserves of the UBG were relatively stable. The most sensitive parameters of the model to simulate soil moisture were saturated water content and pore size index. There were significant differences in soil water variation between the two vegetation types. The effect of precipitation on soil moisture was higher under AWF than under UBG.
  Keywords: soil moisture dynamics; HYDRUS-3D; precipitation; water balance; sensitivity analysis; soil layer.
  
  
• Investigating the effect of climate change on inflow into Karun-4 dam based on IPCC's fourth and fifth reports  
  by Afshin Mansouri, Babak Aminnejad, Hassan Ahmadi 
  Abstract: In the present paper, fluctuations of inflow into Karun-4 dam under different climate change scenarios for the future period of 2021-2050 have been investigated. For this purpose, the outputs of HadCM3 model under the scenarios of B1 (optimistic) and A2 (pessimistic) were used for the IPCC fourth assessment report. Additionally, the outputs of the ensemble model under RCP 2.6 (optimistic) and RCP 8.5 (pessimistic) scenarios were used for the IPCC fifth assessment report. Furthermore, to estimate discharge in the future period, artificial neural network (ANN) was considered as a rainfall-runoff model. Results indicated that the average annual precipitation in the five study stations under B1 and RCP 2.6 scenarios increased by 15% and 5%, respectively, and showed a decrease equal to 8% and 6%, respectively, under A2 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. Moreover, the average annual temperature in all scenarios showed increases, which were at least 1.06 oC under B1 scenario and 1.89 oC under RCP 8.5 scenario. Examining the inflow into the Karun-4 dam showed that under both B1 and RCP 2.6 scenarios, the annual inflow would increase by 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively, and under the two scenarios A2 and RCP 8.5, the annual inflow would decrease by 10.4% and 9.8%, respectively.
  Keywords: HadCM3 model; ensemble model; optimistic scenarios; pessimistic scenarios.
  
  
• Hydrochemical characteristics of inland rivers in Khorasan Razavi Province, North-Eastern Iran  
  by Mojtaba Heydarizad 
  Abstract: This study is the first comprehensive hydrochemical investigation of 25 rivers in Khorasan Razavi, the second most populated province in Iran. Surface water provides the dominant part of agricultural water in this province. The results of this study demonstrated that rock weathering is the dominant factor controlling water quality in river samples. Stable isotopes (δ 18O and δ 2H) also demonstrated that river samples were mainly plotted below Mashahd Meteoric Water Line (MMWL), with negligible deviation due to low evaporation effect. However, dam reservoir samples showed notable deviation from MMWL due to huge surface evaporation. River water in all stations is considered appropriate for agricultural purposes based on Wilcox diagram, residual carbonate index and also potable usages (except for a few stations) according to World Health Organization protocols. The results of this study can be used by the scientists in Iran Ministry of Agriculture for the future agricultural management programs.
  Keywords: cluster analyses; hydro chemistry; Iran; Khorasan Razavi; rivers; stable isotopes.
  
  
• Rainfall and air temperature projections for Sharjah City, United Arab Emirates  
  by Abdullah Yilmaz, Ahmad Shabib 
  Abstract: Climate change has significant effects on hydrological cycles and water resources. Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located in one of the most water scarce regions of the world. Despite the importance of climate change projection and impact studies, those studies specifically for Sharjah City are rare. In this study, first, monthly rainfall and temperature projections were generated for near and far future. Then, trend analysis was conducted to detect trends in future rainfall and temperature projections for Sharjah City. Findings of this study showed that mean air temperature in Sharjah City is expected to rise up to 12-17% for near and far future respectively, whereas average annual rainfall is projected to decrease in the range of 1-53%. Trend analysis showed significant increasing air temperature trends and non-significant decreasing rainfall trends. This study will contribute to climate change impact and policy making studies in Sharjah City.
  Keywords: climate change; temperature; rainfall; projections; water; hydrological cycle; global climate models; coupled model intercomparison project phase 5; UAE; Sharjah.
  
  
• A hybrid approach for water resources management in Tunisia  
  by Mohamed Ali Elleuch, Lobna Elleuch, Ahmed Frikha 
  Abstract: Optimal water resources management is often related to the desirability of achieving equitable distribution of water among the users based on economic, social, availability, reliability and environmental procedures. In Tunisia, the main issues of water resources management are addressed with specific reference to the available water resources and water demand from domestic, agricultural, tourism, municipal and industry sectors. Usually, there is increasing competition for water among the various water use sectors in several regions of Tunisia. Water policy and legal frameworks are some of the feasible measures that provide opportunities to evolve a systematic approach to water resources management. For that, this paper describes the development of a hybrid approach for the evaluation and allocation of potential water resources management for many sectors according to several criteria. A hybrid approach between the reciprocal weights method (RR) based on the results of the Delphi method, the Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) and the Hurwicz Criterion Method (HCM) has been developed to evaluate and select the best water resources management for Sfax (Tunisia) based on sensitivity analysis.
  Keywords: water resources management; sensitivity analysis; water use sectors; Tunisia.
  
  
• Impacts of lands and land cover detection on climate variability of Gumara watershed, Ethiopia  
  by Afera Halefom, Asirat Teshome, Ermias Sisay 
  Abstract: This study uses a combination analysis of land use and land cover (LULC) impacts on climate variability which is conducted by using remote sensing data and weather data. The detection of LULC is examined using satellite images and climate variability using Mann-Kendall used to identify the trends of the temperature and rainfall data and give alarm how to handle LULC and climate variability. Four satellite images (Landsat 8 OLI, Landsat 7 ETH+, Landsat 5 &7 TM) were acquired and supervisory classification was used to categorise land cover types. The major categories used for the classification were built-up area, forest, waterbody, agriculture and grasslands. The LULC results tell that the built-up area development has changed substantially during the period from 1997 to 2017. Analysis of the temperature data from the period of 1997 to 2016, using the Mann-Kendalls tau and Sens slope estimator test of average annual maximum temperature and annual mean temperature, shows a significant positive trend and average annual minimum temperature shows decreasing trends. Trend analysis of rainfall conducted as shows positive trends in the bega season and decrement trends in annual rainfall, belg season rainfall and kiremt season rainfall. Percentage changes of average annual minimum temperature, average annual maximum temperature and average annual temperatures were observed as 0.4%, 2.4% and 2.6% respectively and percentage changes of average annual rainfall, bega season, belg season and kiremt seasons were -1.7%, 3.5%, 6.5% and -6.4% respectively. Hence, this percentage changes indicates how land use land cover change affects climate.
  Keywords: climate change; grassland; temperature; rainfall; Ethiopia; built-up area.
  
  
• Factors influencing farmers knowledge about sustainable groundwater management  
  by Azade Bakhshi, Lucio Cecchini, Bahman Khosravi Pour, Mansour Ghanian, Fabio Maria Santucci 
  Abstract: This paper analyses the influence of socioeconomic and structural factors on the knowledge about sustainable groundwater management (SGWM) among farmers in Iran. 189 wheat producers have been interviewed during summer 2017 in the South Khorasan province. The dependent variable (TK, Total Knowledge) has been constructed through the answers to 18 questions, defined as pk, partial knowledge. The model includes ten independent variables (age, education, income, knowledge about drought, relationship with the local advisory service, water rights, irrigation method, area with wheat, wheat total production, and fragmentation). There is a correlation, sometimes positive and sometimes negative, between all independent variables and SGWM. Participation in extension meetings, total wheat production, and family income show the strongest positive correlations. A multiple linear regression estimates the influence of the variables on the TK regarding SGWM; 45.0% of the TK variance is determined by the independent variables used in the model.
  Keywords: irrigation; drought; knowledge; advisory services; South Khorasan; Iran.
  
  
• Evaluating uncertainty in nonlinear hydrological models using VIC-3D model on the Umeå River basin  
  by Saeed Khorram, Mahede Vahedi 
  Abstract: A considerable environmental and developmental challenge the water resources management is now facing is the Saeed Khorram climate change for the evaluation of which a macro-scale model (physically-based with high-resolution) has been designed to be tested on the Umeå River basin, Sweden. The model helps a better understanding of the impacts of the local and global climate changes on the environment for those who are interested in studying such issues. Effort has been made in this paper to introduce the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) macro-scale hydrological model, how it is used in land environmental issues, and weather forecasting. To obtain the soil, vegetation, and forcing data required by the VIC-3L model, use was made of the information of seven meteorological stations and the regional regression method. The forcing data were from 1980-2010 and the data resolution for the basin was 1 × 1 km. The model was applied to the basin in question and the simulated runoff was routed to the above mentioned seven stations' outlets. A comparison of the observed stream-flow with those of the seven stations showed that the model could simulate acceptably.
  Keywords: physically-based macro-scale; simulate; VIC model; incertainty.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10016229
   
  
• Reaping socio-economic blessings of flowing water: evidence from hydropower initiatives of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor  
  by Ejaz Gul 
  Abstract: More than 76% of the total budget of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is allocated to renewable and non-renewable energy initiatives. This paper elucidates socioeconomic impacts of three hydropower projects of CPEC named as Suki Kinari, Karot and Kohala Hydropower Projects. Primary data on selected socioeconomic variables (SVs) was collected from respondents of the areas where these projects are located. Data was analysed statistically to ascertain existing trends before construction of these projects. Changes in socioeconomic variables (SVs) after construction of these projects were calculated using Khewa's Model. To get representative equations of trends, digital analysis of data was carried out using computer assisted quantitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). After this, socioeconomic indexes (SEIs) of households were calculated before and after construction of these projects using Newton-Leibniz Integration Process (NLIP). Results indicated that there is a substantial increase in socioeconomic status of the households after construction of these hydropower projects.
  Keywords: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor; CPEC; hydropower; energy; socio-economic; index; households; CAQDAS; Newton-Leibniz integration process; NLIP.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10016230
   
  
• Water treatment methods for the needs of spatial planning in Kosovo  
  by Ibrahim Ramadani, Dedë P. Nrecaj, Ferim Gashi 
  Abstract: In this paper, the hydrological potential and the challenges in the social, economic, ecological and management context will be addressed. In this case, the model of the Klina river basin in Kosovo has been selected, while the study is based on the quantity, ecological status of running waters, subterranean water and anthropogenic influences that endanger this irreplaceable and resourceful resource. The amount of water differs from country to country, where in many cases water shortages represent the main challenge of contemporary social, economic, ecological developments. Therefore, bad management of water resources presents barriers or obstacles to the development of settlements, industry and agriculture, while on the other hand, it also causes flooding, drought etc. Poor river management is accompanied by severe consequences, while lack of river care and poor management in many cases has caused the frequent flooding of agricultural land and endangering of settlements.
  Keywords: river basin; water resources; management; degradation; pollution; Kosovo.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10016231
   
  
• Continuous and remote monitoring of ground water level measurement in a well  
  by X. Anitha Mary, Lina Rose, K. Rajasekaran 
  Abstract: Water is a primary resource and plays a significant role in human existence. All living organisms need water for their survival. About 98% of the Earth's fresh water is groundwater. To avoid scarcity, proper rain water harvesting structures need to be built in rain fed areas. However, the effectiveness of such structures can be assessed only by measuring the water recharge rate of the ground water sources like open wells and bore wells. The current work envisages the provision of a low cost long-term, continuous measurement and data logging of ground water level. In order to measure the ground water recharge, a pipe of thinner diameter is immersed into the water body (well) with pressure sensor mounted at the top. The back pressure developed in the small tube is proportional to the height of the water column inside the tube. This is measured at regular intervals and a Raspberry Pi webserver is used as data logger for long time storage. The data analysis of the stored data facilitates the water recharge capability of the well or bore well thereby indirectly measures the efficacy of the water harvesting structures in the nearby areas.
  Keywords: digital pressure sensor; Raspberry Pi; level measurement; ground water recharge.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10016237
   
  
• Modelling and validation hysteresis in soil water retention curve using tomography of pore structure  
  by Ahmed Yehia Mady, Evgeny Shein 
  Abstract: Hysteresis in soil water retention curve (SWRC hysteresis) has a significant effect on soil water flow in unsaturated porous soils. The aims of the were to estimate wetting curve of the soil water retention curve based on drying curve and to study the reasons of hysteresis using tomography of pore structure. SWRC hysteresis was measured using capillarimeters for drying and wetting curves under a low soil potential. The proposed model α_w = 2.5, α_d was presented to calculate alpha of wetting curve (α_w) based on alpha of drying curve (α_d). The tomography method was used for describing the structure of porous space in the wetting and drying soils. Generally, the results of RMSE = 0.08 cm⁻¹, GMER = 0.87, and Williams-Kloot test indicated that the proposed model can be used for estimation wetting curve under a low soil potential. Tomography of pore structure is a new technique used for describing the occurrence of hysteresis in SWRC.
  Keywords: soil water retention curve; SWRC; soil water retention curve hysteresis; mathematical models; HYDRUS-1D; tomography of pore structure; wetting curve and drying curve.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10016241