International Journal of Water (12 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Evaluating uncertainty in nonlinear hydrological models using VIC-3D model on the Ume  
  by Saeed Khorram, Mahedeh Vahedi 
  Abstract: A considerable environmental and developmental challenge that the water resources management is now facing is the climate change for the evaluation of which a macro-scale model (physically based with high resolution) has been designed to be tested on the Ume
  Keywords: physically based macro-scale; simulation; variable infiltration capacity model; water resources management.
  
  
• Reaping socioeconomic blessings of flowing water: evidence from hydropower initiatives of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor  
  by Ejaz Gul 
  Abstract: More than 76% of the total budget of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is allocated to energy parks, which include both renewable and non-renewable energy initiatives. This paper elucidates the socioeconomic impacts of three hydropower projects envisaged under the umbrella of CPEC. The Suki Kinari, Karot and Kohala hydropower projects will generate 2690 megawatts of energy that will substantially reduce the existing gap between supply and demand of energy in Pakistan. Besides energy generation, the optimum utilisation of runoff water by these projects is expected to render other blessings for the surrounding inhabitants. This paper investigates how the construction of these hydropower projects will impact the life of the common people in terms of earnings, and how the socioeconomic status of the households will change. For this purpose, primary data on selected socioeconomic variables (SVs) was collected from respondents of the areas where these three projects are located. The same was analysed statistically to ascertain the existing trends before construction of these projects. Then changes in socioeconomic variables (SVs) after construction of these projects were calculated using Khewa’s model. To get representative equations for socioeconomic indexes of households before and after construction of these projects, digital analysis of data was carried out with the help of computer assisted quantitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). After this, socioeconomic indexes (SEIs) of households were calculated before and after construction of these hydropower projects using Newton-Leibniz Integration Process (NLIP). Results indicated that there is a substantial increase in the socioeconomic status of the households after construction of these hydropower projects.
  Keywords: water; hydro-power; energy; socioeconomic; index; households; CAQDAS; NLIP.
  
  
• 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 resource. The amount of water differs from country to country, where in many cases water shortages represent the main challenge of contemporary social, economic, and 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, and 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.
  
  
• 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 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 groundwater sources such as open wells and bore wells. The current work envisages to provide a low cost, long term, continuous measurement and data logging of groundwater level. In order to measure the groundwater recharge, a pipe of thinner diameter is immersed into the water body (well) with a 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 term storage. The data analysis of the stored data facilitates the water recharge capability of the well or bore well, thereby indirectly measuring the efficacy of the water-harvesting structures in the nearby areas.
  Keywords: digital pressure sensor; Raspberry Pi; level measurement; ground water recharge.
  
  
• Modelling and validation hysteresis in soil water retention curve using tomography of pore structure  
  by Ahmed Mady, Evgeny Shein 
  Abstract: The hysteresis phenomenon in the soil water retention curve (SWRC hysteresis) has a significant effect on soil water and solute flow in unsaturated porous media. The aim of this work was to estimate the wetting curve of the SWRC based on drying curve. Moreover, the reasons for hysteresis were studied using tomography of pore structure. SWRC hysteresis was measured using capillarimeters for drying and wetting curves under a low soil potential. The proposed model was presented to calculate wetting curve α_w=2.5 α_d based on the average ratio of the alpha of wetting curve (α_w) to the 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 observed that the proposed model can be used for estimation of the 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; soil water retention curve hysteresis; mathematical models; tomography of pore structure; wetting curve and drying curve.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Groundwater quality assessment and mapping using multivariate statistics and analytic hierarchy process in Bhubaneswar city, Odisha, India  
  by Madhumita Das, Ashok K. Nayak, Bishnupriya Das, O.P. Verma 
  Abstract: Groundwater, the major drinking water source in an urban area, is vulnerable to deteriorate by its quality due to population pressure and developmental activities. Assessment of and understanding the groundwater chemistry is therefore imperative. Using multivariate statistics and analytic hierarchy process, the groundwater quality of Bhubaneswar, an ever-growing city in eastern India is assessed and elaborated in this paper. Samples collected from the city were found to be dominated by Na-Cl-HCO₃, Na-Ca-Cl-HCO₃, Na-Cl and mixed hydrochemical facies through Piper trilinear diagram. Silicate weathering had come up as a dominant process for influencing ionic constituents in bore well (> 20 m depth), while anthropogenic intervention was responsible for excess nitrate, K, sulphate and chloride contents in dug well (≤ 3-10 m depth) water. Samples were classified to four clusters using hierarchical cluster analyses and cluster-wise discriminating variables were identified through discriminant function. The discriminating variables (turbidity, Fe, Mn, NO₃⁻, K and pH) which determine the drinkability of water were then ranked through analytic hierarchy process (AHP), A hierarchy was prepared and used to generate the vulnerability map distinguishing low to high quality groundwater endowed localities in the study area.
  Keywords: groundwater quality; hydrochemical facies; hierarchical cluster analyses; HCAs; discriminant functions; analytic hierarchy process; AHP; vulnerability map; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2017.10014772
   
  
• Spatio-temporal analysis of the Karun River water quality  
  by Mojtaba Moravej, Iman Karimirad, Kumars Ebrahimi 
  Abstract: The spatio-temporal variations of the water quality of the Karun River using national sanitation foundation water quality index (NSFWQI) are analysed in this paper using time series analysis and geographic information system (GIS). Monthly data including pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total solids (TS), PO₄³⁻, NO₃⁻, turbidity and fecal coliform are analysed for 2007-2012. Calculated NSFWQI time series during the study period shows that the water quality of the river lies in the medium class. The results of time series analysis show that periodicity and trend are not significant in the majority of stations. The spatial analysis results demonstrate that the water quality in Ahwaz urban area is slightly poorer than in the rest of the river. Overall, the spatio-temporal distribution of the NSFWQI values indicates that changes are negligible and show the balance between the pollutants input and self-purification capacity of the river.
  Keywords: augmented Dickey-Fuller test; ADF; ARMA model; geographic information system; GIS; Karun River; Mann-Kendall test; national sanitation foundation water quality index; NSFWQI; Şen's innovative trend analysis; spatio-temporal analysis; stationarity test; time series analysis; water quality index.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10014773
   
  
• A new equation to predict the total potential longshore sediment transport rate in the beach ocean area  
  by Saeed Khorram, Mahede Vahedi 
  Abstract: This paper proposes a novel predictive formula for the estimation of the total longshore sediment transport rate (TLSTR) using the incomplete selfsimilarity (ISS) and sediment transport physics principles with the assumption that sediments are mobilised by breaking waves. The key factor in this study is the use of dimensional analysis and self-similarity concepts based on a number of independent variables to develop an integrated classical formula for the noncohesive TLSTR in marine coastal regions. To assess the prediction capability of the proposed formula, high-quality sediment transport and hydrodynamics datasets were gathered and six well-known formulae were employed for both the field and laboratory test conditions. Results show that the novel formula agrees well with both the flume and field data and it is quite suitable both for practical applications in coastal regions and for the numerical modelling of sediment transport and nearshore variations.
  Keywords: dimensional analysis; longshore sediment transport; LST; incomplete self-similarity; ISS; combined wave-current; sediment transport.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10014774
   
  
• Application of global precipitation dataset for drought monitoring and forecasting over the Lake Urmia basin with the GA-SVR model  
  by Edris AhmadEbrahimpour, Babak Aminnejad, Keivan Khalili 
  Abstract: In the present study, the accuracy of the climate research unit (CRU) precipitation data was assessed as an alternative source instead of in situ data for monitoring the drought in the Lake Urmia Basin area during the period from 1984 to 2013. Later, a genetic algorithm-support vector regression (GA-SVR) model was utilised in order to forecast drought conditions up to four months ahead. The results demonstrated that the CRU data had acceptable accuracy in drought monitoring so that in at least 75% of the cases, there was no difference between the monitored drought classed through observed data and CRU data. In the forecasting section, the results showed two general patterns. The first pattern indicated a descending trend of forecast accuracy with an increase in the lead-times ahead of forecasts; the second pattern revealed the ascending trend of forecast accuracy, with an increase in the SPI scale.
  Keywords: climatic research unit; CRU; genetic algorithm; support vector regression; gridded precipitation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10014781
   
  
• Development of water information communication framework  
  by Zarina Othman, Azizah Ya'acob, Wan Nur'ashiqin Wan Mohamad, Rozmel Abdul Latiff 
  Abstract: Information is the first step to solutions towards awareness of the need for improved water management. Recognising the right information to be communicated well to the community and the public is invaluable to change behaviour and attitude for better and sustainable water quality and supply. The paper aims to develop a water communication framework that focuses on the prioritised information and the relevant communication methods that are needed to raise water information awareness among the community. The findings reveal the prioritised information that include the level of awareness, the water quality and quantity as well as the communication and information. Public television appears as one major source of information most preferred prior to internet sources. These findings had contributed to the development of the water communication framework which was adopted for a water carnival held to educate and promote water information awareness to the community.
  Keywords: water; information; communication; framework; channel; carnival; awareness; community.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2018.10014782