This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This revised, updated textbook presents a systems approach to the planning, management, and operation of water resources infrastructure in the environment. Previously published in 2005 by UNESCO and Deltares (Delft Hydraulics at the time), this new edition, written again with contributions from Jery R. Stedinger, Jozef P. M. Dijkman, and Monique T. Villars, is aimed equally at students and professionals. It introduces readers to the concept of viewing issues involving water resources as a system of multiple interacting components and scales. It offers guidelines for initiating and carrying out water resource system planning and management projects. It introduces alternative optimization, simulation, and statistical methods useful for project identification, design, siting, operation and evaluation and for studying post-planning issues. The authors cover both basin-wide and urban water issues and present ways of identifying and evaluating alternatives for addressing multiple-purpose and multi-objective water quantity and quality management challenges. Reinforced with cases studies, exercises, and media supplements throughout, the text is ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in water resource planning and management as well as for practicing planners and engineers in the field.

This book is divided into four parts. The first part, Preliminaries, begins by introducing the basic theme of the book. It provides an overview of the current status of water resources utilization, the likely scenario of future demands, and advantages and disadvantages of systems techniques. An understanding of how the hydrological data are measured and processed is important before undertaking any analysis. The discussion is extended to emerging techniques, such as Remote Sensing, GIS, Artificial Neural Networks, and Expert Systems. The statistical tools for data analysis including commonly used probability distributions, parameter estimation, regression and correlation, frequency analysis, and time-series analysis are discussed in a separate chapter. Part 2 Decision Making, is a bouquet of techniques organized in 4 chapters. After discussing optimization and simulation, the techniques of economic analysis are covered. Recently, environmental and social aspects, and rehabilitation and resettlement of project-affected people have come to occupy a central stage in water resources management and any good book is incomplete unless these topics are adequately covered. The concept of rational decision making along with risk, reliability, and uncertainty aspects form subject matter of a chapter. With these analytical tools, the practitioner is well equipped to take a rational decision for water resources utilization. Part 3 deals with Water Resources Planning and Development. This part discusses the concepts of planning, the planning process, integrated planning, public involvement, and reservoir sizing.The last part focuses on Systems Operation and Management. After a resource is developed, it is essential to manage it in the best possible way. Many dams around the world are losing some storage capacity every year due to sedimentation and therefore, the assessment and management of reservoir sedimentation is described in details. No analysis of water resources systems is complete without consideration of water quality. A river basin is the natural unit in which water occurs. The final chapter discusses various issues related to holistic management of a river basin.

This book describes concepts and tools needed for water resources management, including methods for modeling, simulation, optimization, big data analysis, data mining, remote sensing, geographical information system, game theory, conflict resolution, System dynamics, agent-based models, multiobjective, multicriteria, and multiattribute decision making and risk and uncertainty analysis, for better and sustainable management of water resources and consumption, thus mitigating the present and future global water shortage crisis. It presents the applications of these tools through case studies which demonstrate its benefits of proper management of water resources systems. This book acts as a reference for students, professors, industrial practitioners, and stakeholders in the field of water resources and hydrology.

This book discusses different aspects of water resources, ranging from hydrology and modeling to management and policy responses. Climate changes and the uncertainty of future hydrological regimes make sustainable water resources management a difficult task, requiring a set of approaches that address climate variability and change. The book focuses on three main themes: hydrological changes, adaptive decision-making for water resources, and institutional analysis and risk management. It discusses the applications and limitations of climate change models and scenarios related to precipitation projection, which predicts to the future availability of water. It also offers interesting examples from around the globe to describe the policy options for dealing with climate change. Addressing emerging issues that need to be resolved and techniques that can be applied for sustainable climate-change-sensitive water resources protection and management, this practical, state-of-the-art reference book is a valuable resource for researchers, students and professionals interested in sustainable water resources management in a changing climate.

Now in an extensively updated fourth edition, this essential text offers a comprehensive survey of all aspects of water resources planning and management. Utilizing an integrated water resources management (IWRM) framework, the authors show how this approach can clarify and help resolve resource management problems in ways that take into account complicated and interconnected social, economic, and environmental needs. Spanning the full planning process, the book considers legal and administrative issues; economic and forecasting factors; water quality, quantity, supply, use and demand; and model applications. The authors’ goal throughout is to provide a practical foundation for improving ecological and human environmental systems for practitioners and students alike.

Decision-Making in Water Resource Policy and Management: An Australian Perspective presents the latest information in developing new decision-making processes. Topics covered include key aspects of water resources planning, recent water resource policy changes in irrigation, urban, and environmental considerations, the evolution of a water market, a number of case studies that provide real examples of improved decision-making, transfer of the Australian experience overseas, and challenges for the future. Many countries are experiencing major water scarcity problems which will likely intensify with the continued impacts of climate change. In response to this challenge, there is increased worldwide focus on the development of more sustainable and integrated water resource policies. The Australian experience over the past three decades has led to major improvements in the decision-making processes in water resources policy and management, particularly in response to drought and climate change, providing a great model on which other nations can use and adapt. This information is essential to early to mid-career practitioners engaged in policy, planning and operational roles in all fields of water resource policy and management, and catchment management. - Summarizes key results from three decades of changes in Australian water resource policy - Illustrates how Australian knowledge is being used in other countries and how this might be expanded - Provides international practitioners with real examples of where and how the Australian knowledge is assisting in other situations

Sustainable Water Resources Management presents the most current thinking on the environmental, social, and political dimensions of sustainably managing the water supply at local, regional, or basin levels.