16,774 research outputs found
The Hydrosocial Cycle: Understanding Water as a Socionatural Production
No full textThe lack of attention to the social, political, economic and cultural dimensions of water conflicts and water policies has led to the production of the hydrosocial cycle framework since the beginning of the new century. This concept understands water as a socionatural hybrid formed as a result of the interrelationships between water flows and social, economic, political and cultural processes. Linton and Budds (2014) define the hydrosocial cycle as a socionatural process by which water and society influence and transform each other along different spatial and temporal scales. As a result, water cannot be managed solely from technical and quantitative perspectives, since the environmental problems surrounding this resource are fundamentally social and political issues. Understanding water beyond its biophysical characteristics, such as its chemical composition (H₂O), quality and quantity, implies becoming aware of how its circulation is influenced by society through hydraulic infrastructures, legislation, cultural practices and symbolic meanings. The aim of this concept is to try to overcome dualistic visions that separate water and society through a relational-dialectic approach that allows identifying how water, at the same time as it is produced by society, reconfigures social relations and highlights power relationships involved in this process . In this way, it can be identified how the distribution and control of water resources in local contexts are influenced by processes of capital accumulation and unequal power relations produced at different scales. Therefore, the hydrosocial cycle analysis provides a better understanding of how water flows shape and are shaped by institutions, practices and human discourses that determine, in turn, ways of control, management and decision making.Depto. de GeografíaFac. de Geografía e HistoriaTRUEpu
Replenish: the virtuous cycle of water and prosperity (Book review)
No full textSandra Postel is the author of four books on fresh water – its amazing properties, global distribution patterns, human uses, ecological values, and water management practices. Her first, the Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity (1992), was followed by Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? (1999), Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature (with Brian Richter, 2003) and now Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity (2017). She has also published numerous papers on these themes, modestly listing eight titles in the Replenish reference list, all with intriguing titles and powerful messages.Full Tex
Understanding non-registration in domestic water meters: Implications for meter replacement strategies
No full textUnderstanding elements of non-revenue water (NRW) has become more critical in an era where urban water has a rapidly increasing value. Meter under- and over-registration of flows has received considerable research attention over the years, but there has been limited focus on non-registration, particularly for domestic water meters over their life cycle. This paper presents empirical estimates on non-registration for typically installed domestic water meters and emphasises that both under- and non-registration should be considered for any meter replacement assessments and associated policies. Economic modelling showed that domestic water meters should be replaced at lower throughput volumes when considering both of these meter inaccuracy categories. The key value of the paper is that it provides a methodology for determining nonregistration for a fleet of domestic meters.Full Tex
Australian water markets: trends and drivers 2007-08 to 2011-12
Get PDFThis report is the third annual companion to the Australian water markets report series.The Australian water markets reports provide information that summarises activity in Australian water markets. It includes information on water market structures. The trends and drivers report: provides an overview of the geographical location of markets and trading mechanismsanalyses trends in volumes and prices of entitlement and allocation trades, with national, southern Murray–Darling Basin (MDB), northern MDB, and outside-MDB analysesanalyses the key market drivers (why is water being traded).Findings The 2011–12 year was the second consecutive above-average rainfall year, following a series of below-average rainfall years from 2001 to 2010. By comparing water market outcomes during wetter and drier periods, the report provides strong evidence that markets are being used by participants as an important business tool for responding to varying seasonal conditions. Improved water storage levels and water availability in the southern MDB in 2011–12 resulted in an increased volume of entitlement trade, while prices declined. The Australian Government continued to be a major participant in the market in the southern MDB as part of its buyback program. Allocation trade has continued to grow every year since 2007–08. Some of the drivers of this increase have however changed over that period of time. Outside the MDB, recent flooding in Queensland and continued low rainfall in Western Australia have been reflected in the levels of trade. Trading in Tasmania is expanding with new irrigation regions being developed. Outcomes in the water market are assessed mainly with reference to prices and volumes traded. Water markets are complex, with many interlinking drivers, however the main driver of water trading activity in the MDB continued to be the positive seasonal and weather conditions. Other drivers of water trade include regulatory and legislative conditions, agricultural market factors and environmental protection initiatives
Water use and the water cycle
No full textWater is arguably the most important physical resource as it is the one that is essential to human survival. Understanding the global water cycle and how we use water is essential to planning a sustainable source of water for the future.
Understanding non-registration in domestic water meters: Implications for meter replacement strategies
No full textUnderstanding elements of non-revenue water (NRW) has become more critical in an era where urban water has a rapidly increasing value. Meter under- and over-registration of flows has received considerable research attention over the years, but there has been limited focus on non-registration, particularly for domestic water meters over their life cycle. This paper presents empirical estimates on non-registration for typically installed domestic water meters and emphasises that both under- and non-registration should be considered for any meter replacement assessments and associated policies. Economic modelling showed that domestic water meters should be replaced at lower throughput volumes when considering both of these meter inaccuracy categories. The key value of the paper is that it provides a methodology for determining nonregistration for a fleet of domestic meters.Full Tex
Homogenization of the terrestrial water cycle
No full textLand-use and land-cover changes are accelerating. Such changes can homogenize the water cycle and undermine planetary resilience. Policymakers and practitioners must consider water–vegetation interactions in their land-management decisions.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Water Resource
Water cycle and people: water for feeding humanity
Get PDFThe distinction of ‘blue’ (liquid) and ‘green’ (vapour) water flow is introduced to make possible an assessment of water flows to be appropriated for future food production. The author offers a ‘backcasting approach’ in assessing the consumptive water requirements for feeding humanity by 2050 and from where the needed water may be provided (irrigation, crop-per-drop improvements and horizontal expansion into grasslands and forests). She concludes that food security will demand a major shift in thinking.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,
Esa's STSE water cycle multimission observation strategy, WACMOS, project
No full textObserving and monitoring the different components of the global water cycle and their dynamics are essential to understand the climate of the Earth, forecast our weather, predict natural disasters like floods and droughts, and improve water management for human use. Earth Observation (EO) Technology is a unique tool to provide a global understanding of many of the variables governing the water cycle and monitor their evolution over time from global to basin scales. In this context, in 2009, ESA, in collaboration with the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment of the World Climate Research Program, launched the WACMOS project (Water Cycle Multi-Mission Observation Strategy) to support the development of novel techniques to study the water cycle with satellites
Computational Model of Water Distribution Network Life Cycle Deterioration
No full textWater distribution networks (WDNs) have a long life cycle, and understanding how infrastructure deteriorates over time can contribute to its efficient management. In this paper, a computational model is developed to simulate the deterioration of a WDN over its life cycle and analyze how its operation is affected, both hydraulically and economically. For this, four parameters are considered, changing over a 20-year life cycle: (1) an increase in water consumption due to population growth, modeled using statistical growth rates; (2) the deterioration of pipes, which increases according to a constant growth rate of internal roughness; (3) a change in leakage in the network, calculated based on population size, network length, and operating pressure; and (4) the deterioration of pumps, estimated according to their mechanical aging. The results point to maintenance services being essential for the efficient operation of WDNs, with leaks having the greatest impact on operating costs
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