Your search found 8 records
1 Abou-Shady, A.; El-Araby, H. 2021. Electro-agric, a novel environmental engineering perspective to overcome the global water crisis via marginal water reuse. Natural Hazards Research, 25p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nhres.2021.10.004]
Water scarcity ; Water reuse ; Environmental engineering ; Semiarid zones ; Deserts ; Water supply ; Soil reclamation ; Organic matter ; Plant growth ; Fertilizers ; Wastewater treatment ; Technology ; Desalination ; Seawater ; Coastal aquifers ; Sewage sludge ; Drinking water ; Economic evaluation ; Electrodialysis / Middle East / North Africa / Egypt
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050687)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666592121000354/pdfft?md5=496122e99943c12c239fc5461feff90b&pid=1-s2.0-S2666592121000354-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050687.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050687.pdf
(5.60 MB) (5.60 MB)
Water crises in arid and semi-arid regions, particularly in desert areas, are considered a challenge owing to the fact that no functioning solutions have been introduced throughout history to change the whole map from yellow to green. Current desert regions are still deserts from millions of years ago, and all scenarios that have been introduced to occupy desert regions accounts for 1%–2% of the total area. Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries that are located in such arid and semi-arid zones are disadvantaged by limited water supply because of high temperature, low precipitation, and limited water resources. We have found that, there is no consortium between different fields of interest in the hopes of eventually overcoming the global water crisis. This is practically the case when it comes to using desalination and wastewater treatment technologies and their application for agriculture. Water crises should not only be solved using desalination and wastewater treatment, but other items should be also taken into consideration such as soil, plant, and organic matter use, among others. In the present perspective, we are developing novel solutions to overcome the global water crisis via nonconventional water reuse with minimum constrains to ecosystems using the principles of the Sophisticated Desert Development Project (SDDP) or “Electro-agric technology”. Electro-agric is technique that uses electrical fields throughout agricultural practices. Electro-agric technology comprises five main sections, including water, soil, organic matter, and plants, among others, that may be achieved via the establishment of a consortium between different major establishments like the Faculties of Engineering, Agriculture, and Science. Traditional approaches for cultivating land in arid and semi-arid regions are inappropriate and electro-agric technologies may be considered as the only alternative solution for regions that are located between the latitudes 35°N to 35°S in which the arid and semi-arid weather prevails and in which in seven of the world's major deserts are located. We believe that the map of MENA countries produced will transform from yellow to green, indicating reclamation of this resource; however this can only be accomplished if we comply with electro-agric technologies. Moreover, national incomes will be increased, and new communities will be stabilized.
2 UNESCO; UNESCO International Centre for Water Security and Sustainable Management (i-WSSM). 2021. The Role of sound groundwater resources management and governance to achieve water security. Paris, France: UNESCO; Daejeon, Republic of Korea: UNESCO International Centre for Water Security and Sustainable Management (i-WSSM). 280p. (Global Water Security Issues Series 3)
Groundwater management ; Water security ; Policy making ; Drinking water ; International waters ; Aquifers ; Stakeholders ; Seawater ; Climate change ; Freshwater ; Conflicts ; Sustainable development ; Groundwater recharge ; Water supply ; Uncertainty ; Salinity ; Water quality ; Surface water ; Decision making ; Water use ; Water rights ; Water policies ; Case studies / Spain / Chile / China / Sri Lanka / Central America / Southern Africa / Zimbabwe / Zambia / Namibia / Castilla / Leon / Copiapo / Murray-Darling Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050651)
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379093/PDF/379093eng.pdf.multi
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050651.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050651.pdf
(4.51 MB) (4.51 MB)
3 Ez-zaouy, Y.; Bouchaou, L.; Saad, A.; Hssaisoune, M.; Brouziyne, Youssef; Dhiba, D.; Chehbouni, A. 2022. Groundwater resources in Moroccan coastal aquifers: insights of salinization impact on agriculture. Environmental Sciences Proceedings, 16(1):48. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022016048]
Groundwater ; Water resources ; Coastal aquifers ; Salinization ; Agriculture ; Seawater ; Saltwater intrusion ; Irrigation water ; Water pollution ; Physicochemical properties ; Parameters / Morocco
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051245)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4931/16/1/48/pdf?version=1655370566
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051245.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051245.pdf
(0.46 MB) (468 KB)
Across several coastal areas in Morocco, groundwater is the strategic source of irrigation. In this work, a database of thirteen Moroccan coastal aquifers was used to assess groundwater for agriculture purposes, as well as to highlight the process responsible of the degradation of groundwater resource quality in Moroccan coastal areas. According to electrical conductivity parameter, the results show that 92% of the collected samples were not suitable for irrigation uses. This situation is due to seawater intrusion and water–rock interaction processes, in addition to intensive agriculture activities and the introduction of domestic and industrial wastewater without any treatment. In order to control the impact of groundwater salinity on agriculture, management plans are proposed.
4 Solangi, G. S.; Siyal, A. A.; Siyal, Z.-u.-A.; Siyal, P.; Panhwar, S.; Keerio, H. A.; Bhatti, N. B. 2022. Social and ecological climate change vulnerability assessment in the Indus Delta, Pakistan. Water Practice and Technology, 17(8):1666-1678. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2022.087]
Climate change ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Ecological factors ; Vulnerability ; Assessment ; Deltas ; Coastal areas ; Local communities ; Livelihoods ; Seawater ; Saltwater intrusion ; Water quality ; Drinking water ; Vegetation ; Mangroves ; Soil salinity ; Farmland / Pakistan / Indus Delta / Sindh / Badin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051276)
https://iwaponline.com/wpt/article-pdf/17/8/1666/1092887/wpt0171666.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051276.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051276.pdf
(0.52 MB) (536 KB)
Due to seawater intrusion into the Indus delta, Pakistan under changing climate scenarios, the local communities of the delta are under threat of land and livelihood. The present study was initiated to analyze community perceptions about the social and ecological climate change vulnerability in the Indus delta, Pakistan. About 500 permanent residents of the delta were interviewed using a well-structured questionnaire. The IBM SPSS software was used to analyze the data based on the Pearson chi-square, Goodman, Kruskal's analyses, and Foster Greer Thorbeck (FGT) techniques. Analysis of the data revealed that the people in the delta had poor infrastructure and living standards, and limited social activities. Most of the people were illiterate, and the average family size was 11. On average, 4.7 members lived in a single room, and most of the houses were made of wood. Based on FGT techniques, about 88.4% of the population were living below the poverty line. The statistical analysis identified seawater intrusion and climate change as the most significant parameters affecting soil fertility, water quality, vegetation, mangroves, and livelihood. A large portion of the respondents strongly demanded the ensured freshwater flow to save the ecosystem, water resources, and the livelihood of the delta communities.
5 Ali, M.; Hong, P.-Y.; Mishra, H.; Vrouwenvelder, J.; Saikaly, P. E. 2022. Adopting the circular model: opportunities and challenges of transforming wastewater treatment plants into resource recovery factories in Saudi Arabia. Water Reuse, 12(3):346-365. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wrd.2022.038]
Circular economy ; Models ; Resource recovery ; Wastewater treatment plants ; Water reuse ; Freshwater ; Municipal wastewater ; Water resources ; Water scarcity ; Water demand ; Technology ; Sludge ; Seawater ; Bioplastics ; Cellulose ; Ammonium ; Phosphates ; Infrastructure / Saudi Arabia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051475)
https://iwaponline.com/jwrd/article-pdf/12/3/346/1113980/jwrd0120346.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051475.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051475.pdf
(1.28 MB) (1.28 MB)
With the ever-growing population, water, energy, and resources need to be used carefully, reused, and renewed. There is an increasing global interest in resource recovery from ‘waste’, which is driven by sustainability and environmental concerns and motivated by the potential for economic benefits. A new era in waste (water) management is being realized where wastewater treatment is becoming part of the circular economy by integrating the production of reusable water with energy and resource recovery. In this new perspective, wastewater is no longer seen as a waste to be treated with energy expenditure but rather as a valuable source of freshwater, energy, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous), and materials (e.g., bioplastics, cellulose fibres, and alginate). In this review paper, the conversion of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) into resource recovery factories (RRFs) is presented as one of the ways forward to achieve a circular economy in the water sector for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The advanced technologies, some highlighted in the article, can be installed, integrated, or retrofitted into existing WWTPs to create RRFs enabling the recovery of freshwater, cellulose, alginate-like exopolymers (bio-ALE), and biogas from municipal wastewater achieving climate neutrality, decarbonization, and production of new and promising resources. The article highlights the need for modular, adaptive, and/or decentralized approaches using sustainable technologies such as aerobic granular sludge (AGS)-gravity-driven membrane (AGS-GDM), anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactor (AnEMBR), and anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) for conducive localized water reuse. The increase in reuse will reduce the pressure on non-renewable water resources and decrease dependency on the energy-intensive desalination process. This article also outlines the water challenges that are arising in KSA and what are the major water research programmes/themes undertaken to address these major challenges.
6 Shalby, A.; Emara, S. R.; Metwally, M. I.; Armanuos, A. M.; El-Agha, D. E.; Negm, A. M.; Gado, T. A. 2023. Satellite-based estimates of groundwater storage depletion over Egypt. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195(5):594. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11171-3]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051869)
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10661-023-11171-3.pdf?pdf=button
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051869.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051869.pdf
(5.76 MB) (5.76 MB)
An arid climate accompanied by a freshwater shortage plagued Egypt. It has resorted to groundwater reserves to meet the increasing water demands. Fossil aquifers were lately adopted as the sole water source to provide the irrigation water requirements of the ongoing reclamation activities in barren areas. Yet, the scarcity of measurements regarding the changes in the aquifers’ storage poses a great challenge to such sustainable resource management. In this context, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission enables a novel consistent approach to deriving aquifers’ storage changes. In this study, the GRACE monthly solutions during the period 2003–2021 were utilized to estimate alterations in terrestrial water storage (TWS) throughout Egypt. Changes in groundwater storage (GWS) were inferred by subtracting soil water content, derived from the GLDAS-NOAH hydrological model, from the retrieved TWS. The secular trends in TWS and GWS were obtained using the linear least square method, while the non-parametric technique (Mann–Kendall’s tau) was applied to check the trend significance. The derived changes in GWS showed that all aquifers are undergoing a significant loss rate in their storage. The average depletion rate over the Sinai Peninsula was estimated at 0.64 ± 0.03 cm/year, while the depletion rate over the Nile delta aquifer was 0.32 ± 0.03 cm/year. During the investigated period (2003–2021), the extracted groundwater quantity from the Nubian aquifer in the Western Desert is estimated at nearly 7.25 km3. The storage loss from the Moghra aquifer has significantly increased from 32 Mm3/year (2003–2009) to 262 Mm3/year (2015–2021). This reflects the aquifer exposure for extensive water pumping to irrigate newly cultivated lands. The derived findings on the aquifers’ storage losses provide a vital source of information for the decision-makers to be employed for short- and long-term groundwater management.
7 Zolghadr-Asli, B.; McIntyre, N.; Djordjevic, S.; Farmani, R.; Pagliero, L. 2023. The sustainability of desalination as a remedy to the water crisis in the agriculture sector: an analysis from the climate-water-energy-food nexus perspective. Agricultural Water Management, 286:108407. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108407]
Climate change ; Food production ; energy consumption ; Renewable energy ; Energy resources ; Water supply ; Water resources ; Nexus approaches ; Sustainability ; Irrigation water ; Semiarid zones ; Seawater ; Decision making ; Environmental impact ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Water demand ; Water management / Spain / Israel
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052072)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837742300272X/pdfft?md5=c69eadbb5736a7710d77ce6c659f423a&pid=1-s2.0-S037837742300272X-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052072.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052072.pdf
(1.80 MB) (1.80 MB)
Over the years, desalination has become integral to water resources management, primarily in coastal semi-arid to arid regions. While desalinated seawater has mainly been supplied to municipal and high-revenue industries, the agriculture sector faces increasing irrigation demands, making it a potential user. This review assesses the sustainability of using desalinated seawater for irrigation, shedding light on its limitations and potential. Using desalinated water for irrigation presents challenges, including its high energy consumption, potential contribution to climate change, and agronomy-related concerns. However, evidence suggests that these challenges can be addressed effectively through tailor-fitted strategies. That said, conventional binary decision-making paradigms that label practices as good or bad and focus on a singular, isolated aspect are insufficient for evaluating the sustainability of desalination due to the complex and interconnected nature of the issues involved. To overcome this, the climate-water-energy-food (CWEF) nexus concept is proposed as a comprehensive framework for sustainability assessment. Adopting the CWEF nexus approach allows for a better understanding of the potential challenges associated with using desalinated water for irrigation, encompassing social, economic and environmental concerns. To ensure effective management of these challenges, it is crucial to tailor desalination projects to specific regional conditions and employ either prophylactic or corrective strategies. By embracing the CWEF nexus approach, informed decisions can be made regarding the future utilization of desalinated water for irrigation, contributing to broader sustainability goals.
8 Lohrmann, A.; Farfan, J.; Lohrmann, C.; Kolbel, J. F.; Pettersson, F. 2023. Troubled waters: estimating the role of the power sector in future water scarcity crises. Energy, 282:128820. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2023.128820]
Water scarcity ; Power plants ; Water use ; Cooling ; Technology ; Machine learning ; Climate change ; Freshwater ; Water demand ; Energy generation ; Drought stress ; Water footprint ; Seawater ; Water resources
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052145)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544223022144/pdfft?md5=ffca83bc8cc43b576509f53e13a8fea1&pid=1-s2.0-S0360544223022144-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052145.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052145.pdf
(5.98 MB) (5.98 MB)
One of the effects of climate change is on freshwater availability. The widespread drought in the summer of 2022 impeded access to freshwater, putting into question the reliability of the current and future energy generation and evoking concerns of competition of different industries for water. In response to climate change, energy transition scenarios represent pathways to a more sustainable energy system, but often overlook the water footprint of the energy sector. Therefore, this study uses machine learning for the identification of thermal power plants’ cooling systems to estimate the water footprint of the current and future energy system using six energy transition scenarios. It is built on published data on thermal power plants announced globally, with a total capacity of 3277 GW, which are planned to be installed between 2020 and 2050. The results demonstrate that the water consumption of the global power sector may increase by up to 50% until 2050, compared to the 2020 level. The findings also emphasize that every new thermal power plant installed in the future will be associated with a higher average water demand per unit of generated electricity. Hence, the rising stress on water systems becomes another argument supporting the transition towards renewables.
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