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Water
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Advances in Water Scarcity and Conservation
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Advances in Water Scarcity and Conservation

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Use and Scarcity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 30784

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Brian Richter

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sustainable Waters, Crozet, VA 22932, USA
Interests: water scarcity; water conservation; environmental flows; sustainable water management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The human and ecological risks associated with water scarcity are among humankind’s greatest concerns in the 21st century. Water scarcity as defined here emerges when human utilization of available water supplies is allowed to increase to a level at which freshwater-dependent native ecosystems become degraded, or long-running uses of water become unreliable due to increasing competition for limited supplies.

Authors are encouraged to tell the stories emerging from communities struggling with water shortages or overuse in specific river basins and aquifers and to document efforts to reduce or rebalance water use or restore ecological health. We hope each of these stories will illustrate a variety of strategies that can help move water management from scarcity toward sustainability, including legislation, regulation, policy initiatives, financial or other incentives and conservation programs implemented in both urban and rural agricultural settings.

This Special Issue is intended to be solution-oriented. Authors should provide adequate description of the underlying evolution or causes of water scarcity in the focal river basin or aquifer, but submissions must articulate efforts to address scarcity or restore ecosystems. Each contribution should describe the inter-relatedness and relative effectiveness of each strategy discussed, thereby providing readers a rich perspective on how multiple approaches have been integrated (or not).

Prof. Brian Richter
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water scarcity
  • water shortages
  • water conservation
  • freshwater ecosystem restoration
  • water budgets
  • water laws and policies

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1608 KiB  
Article
Hands across the Water: How the 57-Year Dispute over the Edwards Aquifer Began, Persisted, and Was Resolved
by Todd H. Votteler
Water 2023, 15(10), 1835; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101835 - 11 May 2023
Viewed by 1792
Abstract
The Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water for a region in South-Central Texas that includes San Antonio and irrigated agriculture to the west. The aquifer also contributes to surface water flow in the Guadalupe River through Comal and San Marcos Springs, [...] Read more.
The Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water for a region in South-Central Texas that includes San Antonio and irrigated agriculture to the west. The aquifer also contributes to surface water flow in the Guadalupe River through Comal and San Marcos Springs, which are home to endangered aquatic species. In 1956, during the multiyear Texas drought of record, Comal Springs ceased to flow initiating a multi-decadal transboundary water dispute over the aquifer. This dispute pitted urban, agricultural, and environmental interests and surface water right holders against one another. In 1993, a federal district court ruled that the Endangered Species Act required that adequate flows from the springs be ensured for the endangered species. The Texas Legislature responded to the court by establishing the Edwards Aquifer Authority to regulate groundwater withdrawals. In 2007, with a key deadline looming to create a species protection plan, the Texas Legislature intervened again and mandated that the rival regional water interests engage in a stakeholder process to develop the plan. That process, which was called the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program, resulted in a diverse group of parties with opposing interests collaborating to develop, approve, fund, and implement the landmark Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan, which is in its 10th year of implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Scarcity and Conservation)
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22 pages, 2461 KiB  
Article
Basin Management under Conditions of Scarcity: The Transformation of the Jordan River Basin from Regional Water Supplier to Regional Water Importer
by David Katz
Water 2022, 14(10), 1605; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14101605 - 17 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6369
Abstract
The Jordan River system is one of the most iconic and most contested river systems in the world. The once “mighty Jordan”, which has served as the primary source of water for populations in several countries, is currently a severely denuded river system, [...] Read more.
The Jordan River system is one of the most iconic and most contested river systems in the world. The once “mighty Jordan”, which has served as the primary source of water for populations in several countries, is currently a severely denuded river system, with only a fraction of its historic flow. Several initiatives, however, aim to restore some of the basin’s flows. This paper will provide a historical overview and analysis of the trajectory of the Jordan River system from being a primary supplier of water to a desiccated shadow of its former glory. It highlights the critical role international borders played in dividing control over the basin, resulting in different types and levels of water scarcity experienced by each of the basin’s riparians, each of whom has implemented different strategies to cope with such scarcity. The paper then presents several plans for large-scale interbasin transfers involving desalinated water initiated by basin riparians in attempts to deal with water scarcity and highlights how these planned initiatives are set to transform the basin from a regional supplier of water to a net importer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Scarcity and Conservation)
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16 pages, 2228 KiB  
Article
Mind the Gap! Reconciling Environmental Water Requirements with Scarcity in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia
by Matthew J. Colloff and Jamie Pittock
Water 2022, 14(2), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020208 - 11 Jan 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4403
Abstract
The Murray–Darling Basin Plan is a $AU 13 billion program to return water from irrigation use to the environment. Central to the success of the Plan, commenced in 2012, is the implementation of an Environmentally Sustainable Level of Take (ESLT) and a Sustainable [...] Read more.
The Murray–Darling Basin Plan is a $AU 13 billion program to return water from irrigation use to the environment. Central to the success of the Plan, commenced in 2012, is the implementation of an Environmentally Sustainable Level of Take (ESLT) and a Sustainable Diversion Limit (SDL) on the volume of water that can be taken for consumptive use. Under the enabling legislation, the Water Act (2007), the ESLT and SDL must be set by the “best available science.” In 2009, the volume of water to maintain wetlands and rivers of the Basin was estimated at 3000–7600 GL per year. Since then, there has been a steady step-down in this volume to 2075 GL year due to repeated policy adjustments, including “supply measures projects,” building of infrastructure to obtain the same environmental outcomes with less water. Since implementation of the Plan, return of water to the environment is falling far short of targets. The gap between the volume required to maintain wetlands and rivers and what is available is increasing with climate change and other risks, but the Plan makes no direct allowance for climate change. We present policy options that address the need to adapt to less water and re-frame the decision context from contestation between water for irrigation versus the environment. Options include best use of water for adaptation and structural adjustment packages for irrigation communities integrated with environmental triage of those wetlands likely to transition to dryland ecosystems under climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Scarcity and Conservation)
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16 pages, 1524 KiB  
Article
Green Light for Adaptive Policies on the Colorado River
by John Fleck and Anne Castle
Water 2022, 14(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14010002 - 21 Dec 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 10064
Abstract
The Colorado River is a critical source of water supply for 40 million people in nine states spanning two nations in western North America. Overallocated in the 20th century, its problems have been compounded by climate change in the 21st century. We review [...] Read more.
The Colorado River is a critical source of water supply for 40 million people in nine states spanning two nations in western North America. Overallocated in the 20th century, its problems have been compounded by climate change in the 21st century. We review the basin’s hydrologic and water management history in order to identify opportunities for adaptive governance to respond to the challenge of reduced system flows and distill the ingredients of past successes. While significant advances have been made in the first two decades of the 21st century, these past actions have not been sufficient to halt the declines in the basin’s reservoirs. We find that the mix of federal, state, and local responsibility creates challenges for adaptation but that progress can be made through a combination of detailed policy option development followed by quick action at hydrologically driven moments of opportunity. The role of directives and deadlines from federal authorities in facilitating difficult compromises is noted. The current state of dramatically decreased overall flows has opened a window of opportunity for the adoption of water management actions that move the river system toward sustainability. Specific measures, based on the existing institutional framework and on policy proposals that have circulated within the Colorado River community, are suggested. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Scarcity and Conservation)
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22 pages, 9543 KiB  
Article
Operationalizing Water Security Concept in Water Investment Planning: Case Study of São Francisco River Basin
by Alexandre Lima de F. Teixeira, Anik Bhaduri, Stuart E. Bunn and Sérgio R. Ayrimoraes
Water 2021, 13(24), 3658; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243658 - 20 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3121
Abstract
Despite advances in water resources management and planning, the São Francisco River Basin in Brazil has suffered from systematic drought problems in recent years, leading to severe human and environmental water security threats. This paper aims to track the water security for different [...] Read more.
Despite advances in water resources management and planning, the São Francisco River Basin in Brazil has suffered from systematic drought problems in recent years, leading to severe human and environmental water security threats. This paper aims to track the water security for different periods and its relations with the changes in physical and natural asset conditions. The paper explores how investment planning to mitigate the water security threats and explore opportunities to increase the value of investments. The paper finds that grey infrastructure has regulated threats from increasing in the downstream of the river basin, however, continuous increase in water security threats in the upstream of the basin threatens water security downstream. This is evident from the spatial connectivity and unidirection externalities. As the capacity to further increase in grey investment is reaching its limit in the downstream, the increases in green infrastructure investment upstream, especially in the Grande River basin, could be one the way to reduce the externalities and minimise the water security risks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Scarcity and Conservation)
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13 pages, 1148 KiB  
Article
Advancing Urban Water Security in the Indus Basin, Pakistan—Priority Actions for Karachi and Lahore
by Amy Syvrud, Huw Pohlner, Jehangir F. Punthakey, Melita Grant and Trudy Green
Water 2021, 13(23), 3399; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233399 - 02 Dec 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3828
Abstract
Despite growing recognition of solutions to water scarcity challenges, decision-makers across the world continue to face barriers to effective implementation of water planning, governance and management. This is evident in the cases of Lahore and Karachi in the Indus Basin in Pakistan and [...] Read more.
Despite growing recognition of solutions to water scarcity challenges, decision-makers across the world continue to face barriers to effective implementation of water planning, governance and management. This is evident in the cases of Lahore and Karachi in the Indus Basin in Pakistan and illustrated through the experiences of the provincial government departments and utilities. Water scarcity and associated challenges are continuing to impose significant costs on these cities, which continue to grow as water availability further declines, demand increases, water quality deteriorates, and infrastructure degrades. A team of Australian water experts was commissioned by the Australian Water Partnership to diagnose urban water challenges and identify priority actions for improved water security, in collaboration with Pakistani partners. This paper presents the outcomes of that work. This includes a synthesis of the published literature and data on the geographical, climatic, and water scarcity contexts of both Karachi and Lahore. It then identifies responses to water insecurity that have been considered or implemented in the past and the barriers that have inhibited the effectiveness of these efforts. Finally, it presents actions within five priority action areas that Pakistani stakeholders have identified as being most practical and impactful for improving water security outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Scarcity and Conservation)
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