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Södra Gotland (Storsudret) är ett av de mest utsatta områdena i Sverige när det kommer till torka under somrarna. Trots stora mängder nederbörd har jordbrukare problem med bevattning då öns geologi påverkar lagringen av vatten i form av grundvatten negativt. Vilket beror på att berggrunden består främst av kalk, märgel och märgelsten. Dålig tillgång till vatten kombinerat med långa och varma somrar har medfört att skörden minskat markant under de senaste åren. Bevattningstekniker som används i dagsläget är inte bra på att utnyttja vatten på ett hållbart och effektivt sätt. Dessutom har kostnaderna ökat för många jordbrukare på Gotland med avseende på de ökande elpriserna. Bevattning kräver el och vissa bönder har exempelvis inte tillgång till el vid sina åkrar och måste därmed dra el vilket ökar kostnaderna markant. Behovet av mer resurseffektiva och hållbara bevattningstekniker är stort och något som behöver undersökas mer djupgående. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka ifall ett automatiserat bevattningssystem som drivs av solenergi faktiskt är möjligt att implementera. Detta utifrån olika kriterier såsom kostnad, energianvändning, skördemängd, klimatpåverkan och vattenanvändning. Därefter jämföra mot ett mer konventionellt system som används i dagsläget och därmed undersöka vilka skillnader det finns. Det var två system som valdes i studien. System 1 var ett potentiellt automatiserad rampbevattningssystem och system 2 ett konventionellt rampbevattningssystem. Båda systemen sattes in i verklighetsbaserade scenario (en åker i södra Gotland) för att få en mer realistisk överblick. Därefter användes en multikriterieanalys för att jämföra båda systemen mot varandra utifrån valda kriterier. Sist av allt användes en SWOT-analys för att sammanknyta all resultat som togs fram i studien. Resultatet visade att det är i teorin möjligt att bygga ett helt automatiserat bevattningssystem so, The southern part of Gotland (Storsudret) is one of the most exposed areas in Sweden when it comes to drought during the summers. Despite large amounts of rainfall, farmers have problems with irrigation as the island’s geology negatively affects the storage of water in the form of groundwater. Poor access to water combined with long and hot summers has meant that the harvest has decreased significantly in recent years. Irrigation techniques used today are not good at using water sustainably and efficiently. In addition, costs have increased for many farmers in Gotland concerning the increasing electricity prices. Irrigation requires electricity and some farmers, for example, do not have access to electricity in their fields and thus have to get electricity, which increases costs significantly. The need for more resource-efficient and sustainable irrigation techniques is great and something that needs to be investigated in more depth. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an automated irrigation system powered by solar energy is realistically possible to implement. This was based on various criteria such as cost, energy requirements, yield, etc., and then compare against a more conventional system that is currently used and thus examines what differences there are. Two systems were chosen in the study. System one was a potentially automated irrigation system and system two was a conventional ramp irrigation system. Both systems were put into a reality-based scenarios (a field in southern Gotland) to get a more realistic overview. Multi-criteria analysis was then used to compare both systems against each other based on selected criterias. Afterward, a SWOT analysis was also carried out to summarize all the results that were produced in the study. The result showed that it is theoretically possible to build a fully automated irrigation system powered by solar energy and that there are both positive and negative parts to the system com- pared to convent

Variable frequent drought periods in Vojvodina region (the southeastern part of the Pannonian Plain, Serbia), severely limit maize (Zea mays L.) production under rainfed conditions. A four-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of sprinkler deficit irrigation and plant density on yield and water use efficiency of maize grown on silty clay loam soil under temperate continental climate. The experiment included fully irrigated crop (I1), three deficit irrigation treatments (I2, I3 and I4 corresponding to 80, 50 and 40 % of crop evapontranspiration, respectively) and non-irrigated treatment (I0), and three plant densities (LPD: 54,900 plants ha–1 ; MPD: 64,900 plants ha–1 ; HPD: 75,200 plants ha–1 ) in four replicates. The results showed that grain yield, CWP (crop water productivity) and IWP (irrigation water productivity) varied significantly with irrigation amounts, plant densities and seasons. The irrigation rates and plant density interact significantly. MPD and HPD differed significantly from LPD in almost all seasons. With increasing irrigation and plant density, yield and CWP showed an increasing trend. The relative values of IWP increased with the rise of plant density and decreased with the amount of irrigation. The highest four-year average yield (15.03 t ha–1 ) was obtained in the I1-HPD treatment, while the lowest (9.30 t ha–1 ) was obtained in the I0-HPD treatment. The highest average values of CWP and IWP were recorded at I3-HPD or/and I2-HPD. The lowest CWP and IWP values were determined for I4- HPD and I4-MPD, respectively. In the pedo-climatic conditions of Vojvodina and similar regions, we recommend growing maize under the I1-HPDtreatment to achieve high yields. Under the water shortage conditions, the application of I2-HPD treatment is a favorable strategy saving 37 % of irrigation water, while reducing maize grain yield by ~10 %.

This study investigated the feasibility of a high-loading process with less water consumption for the valorization of wet biomass waste through hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) with and without N2 pressurization from the views of water saving, carbon utilization, and energy recovery. The results revealed that reducing the liquid-to-solid ratio from 10 to 2.5 significantly improved carbon storage in hydrochar due to preferential carbon sequestration as the solid phase (59.9%) instead of being lost in the liquid phase (∼10%). The pressurized HTC process resulted in a higher stability hydrochar through the devolatilization of secondary char that was less stable, yet resulted in ∼10% 15% more carbon transformation to the gas phase. A cost-benefit analysis further demonstrated the potential of the high-loading HTC process for enhancing energy recovery while minimizing energy consumption during hydrochar production from high-moisture yard waste. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

In this paper, we investigate China’s vigorously promoted high-efficiency irrigation policies for farmland water conservation, deploying a governmentality framework. The paper explains how the modernist irrigation policies follow global discourses but seek to imbue these with new ambition and the meaning of ecological civilization. At the same time, the government aims to mold water users’ subjectivity in accordance with its development strategies. Following a local village case study, the paper further elucidates how, amidst the decline of commons’ local governance and water user responses, the state’s high-efficiency irrigation water governmentality project is adapted and negotiated. Local government bureaucracy actors and ordinary villagers challenge irrigation policies through local noncongruent institutions. Thereby, villagers’ pragmatic, non-aligned irrigation technologies and actions contradict state-assumed collective collaboration and government-aligned smooth operation.

Este proyecto para el sistema de acueducto de Buenaventura abarcó todos los componentes del sistema, por considerar que en cada uno de ellos hay oportunidades importantes de reducción del agua que se pierde en el sistema, o cuyo uso no es eficiente. Las acciones se circunscribieron a aquellas áreas abastecidas por el sistema, o sea el perímetro urbano y los corregimientos de Córdoba, San Cipriano, Citronela y La Gloria. Este programa se enfocó a optimizar, el recurso hídrico y hacer un uso sostenible del mismo, mediante la identificación y caracterización de aquellos eventos que por su naturaleza producen efectos negativos sobre el medio y por tanto establecer medidas de control y mitigación adecuadas., This project for the Buenaventura aqueduct system covered all the components of the system, considering that in each one of them there are important opportunities to reduce the water that is lost in the system, or whose use is not efficient. The actions were limited to those areas supplied by the system, that is, the urban perimeter and the corregimientos of Córdoba, San Cipriano, Citronela and La Gloria. This program focused on optimizing water resources and making sustainable use of them, through the identification and characterization of those events that by their nature produce negative effects on the environment and therefore establish adequate control and mitigation measures.

Dataset for paper "Practical Performance and User Experience of Novel DUAL-Flush Vacuum Toilets" https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162228 Water 2021, 13(16), 2228

Late spring strawberry production is challenged by high solar radiation and temperature. This study aimed to test the efficacy of different treatments in reducing strawberry water consumption and improving its fruit quality. The pot experiment focused on rhizosphere treatment, plants were subject to three irrigation regimes: full irrigation (FI), partial rhizosphere drying (PRD), and deficit irrigation (DI); coupled with two root volumes: large (L) and small (S). The field experiment focused on transpiration control, including three different leaf sprays: kaolin (KA), sodium silicate (SI), and salicylic acid (SA); aligned with two leaf removal methods: evenly remove (JY) and traditional remove (Tr). The results showed that irrigation reduction and root confinement respectively increased leaf abscisic acid (ABA) concentration by 19.5% and 25.6%, with a minor increase in leaf calcium concentration. Irrigation reduction and root confinement reduced stomatal conductance by 22.1% and 12.3% and reduced specific leaf area (SLA) by 15.6% and 11.4%, respectively, compared to the control. In relation to the non-spray treatment, SI and KA led to the reduction of stomatal conductance and leaf calcium concentration, but only SI reduces SLA by 14.5%. Among these treatments, irrigation reduction and root confinement reduced stomatal conductance through the elevation of leaf ABA, calcium concentration, and leaf thickness, while silicate leaf spray suppressed the transpiration by thickening the leaf. In addition, the plant’s response to root confinement depended on water supply, under FI, leaf calcium concentration decreased with stomatal conductance under smaller root volume, otherwise, it increased under root confinement. It was concluded that irrigation reduction, root confinement, and silicate spray could reduce water consumption, and improve strawberry plants' thermotolerance and drought resistance as well as adaptability to the high light environment.

Production of vegetables for fresh consumption in arid regions is usually done in greenhouses fitted with evaporative cooling, which does strain the scarce water resource in those areas so much that [lack of] water frequently becomes the limiting factor. Greenhouses fit with sufficient mechanical cooling capacity (closed/semi-closed greenhouses) not only dispose of the need for evaporative cooling, but also allow for recovery of the water transpired by the crop as condense on the mechanical cooling and dehumidification system. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the trade-off between resources (water and electricity) within a closed greenhouse and evaluate its potential as the ultimate water saving production system. After a series of 8 closed-greenhouse trials in a desert environment, in Riyadh (KSA), benchmark numbers on water and energy use of such a system were established. Thanks to the recollection of more than 80% of the water supplied to the crop, production of 1 kg of fresh tomatoes was achieved at the expense of 4.2 L of water, which is 10 times lower that the lowest reported in evaporatively cooled greenhouses and 40 times lower than commercial practice in similar weather conditions. On the other hand, the required electricity use was about 8 kWh per kg of fresh produced tomatoes. From energy point of view it is shown that using desalinated water for evaporative cooling reduces the electricity consumption of fresh tomato production to about 1 kWh.kg−1. From economic point of view a closed greenhouse might only result in lower variable costs when 10 liters of desalinated water costs more than 1.75 kWh of electricity.

Ultrasonic cleaning is a developed and widespread technology used in the cleaning industry. The key to its success over other cleaning methods lies in its capacity to penetrate seemingly inaccessible, hard-to-reach corners, cleaning them successfully. However, its major drawback is the need to immerse the product into a tank, making it impossible to work with large or anchored elements. With the aim of revealing the scope of the technology, this paper will attempt to describe a more innovative approach to cleaning large area surfaces (walls, floors, façades, etc.) which involves applying ultrasonic cavitation onto a thin film of water, which is then deposited onto a dirty surface. Ultrasonic cleaning is an example of the proliferation of green technology, requiring 15 times less water and 115 times less power than conventional high-pressurized waterjet cleaning mechanisms. This paper will account for the physical phenomena that govern this new cleaning mechanism and the competition it poses towards more conventional pressurized waterjet technology. Being easy to use as a measure of success, specular surface cleaning has been selected to measure the degree of cleanliness (reflectance) as a function of the process’s parameters. A design of experiments has been developed in line with the main process parameters: amplitude, gap, and sweeping speed. Regression models have also been used to interpret the results for different degrees of soiling. The work concludes with the finding that the proposed new cleaning technology and process can reach up to 98% total cleanliness, without the use of any chemical product and with very low water and power consumption.

This article scientifically substantiates the influence of water-saving irrigation technologies on the growth and development of soybeans grown on irrigated lands in the Bukhara region.

Downstream reuse of previously withdrawn water resources is a common phenomenon across river basins worldwide, particularly those with (semi-)arid climate conditions and intensive water resources development. Water reuse often occurs unplanned, remains undetected, and as a result is insufficiently considered in water saving attempts, water allocation strategies, and water rights and pricing systems. This has led to a long list of ineffective and counter-productive introductions of Water Saving Technologies and Practices (WSTPs), with significant economic, social, and environmental consequences. Awareness of indirect water reuse has increased in recent years, both in integrated river basin management as well as in the irrigation sector, which has traditionally been focused on enhancing irrigation efficiencies. However, accounting for water reuse in decision-making has remained limited due to problematic terminology, scarcity of data, and a general lack of methods and tools for explicit assessment of water reuse across hydrological systems. This research aims to address these problems by developing a coherent set of methods for spatiotemporal evaluation of water reuse. This dissertation presents and demonstrates an appropriate framework of concepts and indicators, as well as a number of complementary procedures for quantifying these indicators based on innovative data sources and newly developed algorithms., Water Resources

Cleaner Production (CP) has been studied mainly in the productive sector, ignoring that in drinking water treatment plants (DWTP) a better environmental performance can be achieved. The objective of this study was to evaluate the processes in a DWTP in order to improve production, reduce environmental impact and generate economic savings, for which a cleaner production plan was implementing. The methodology recommended by UNIDO was used. Three CP opportunities were evaluated and identified. After, each CP opportunity, a technical, environmental and economic feasibility analysis was carried out. The results indicated that by implementing the first opportunity of CP (Good housekeeping), it will save water by reducing the number of filter washes by 29400 m3/year, without any investment, so the gains will be immediate. With the second chance of CP, a water-saving of 23256 m3/year will be achieved by recirculating the water from the filters to the decanters. The investment is small, and the recovery period will be 2.4 months. The third CP option, which is based on the coagulant change, would have an annual financial savings of 5361.12 USD, with an immediate payback period. The results showed that the CP applications proposed in this study can significantly reduce water consumption in a WDTP, being able to be implemented in the short and medium-term, without large investments, allowing to address water scarcity today and in the future.

Vacuum toilets have gained increasing attention in circular urban development projects, because of their marked water saving qualities compared to conventional flush toilets and the increased resource recovery potential for energy in the form of biogas and phosphorous as, e.g., struvite from the resulting concentrated wastewater. A further reduction of the flushing volume of vacuum toilets would also bring nitrogen recovery options in reach. In the framework of the EU Horizon 2020 project Run4Life, a novel dual-flush vacuum toilet was developed and tested at two sites and combined with an analysis of the flushing patterns and a qualitative user survey. The results show that a 25–50% lower flushing water consumption and accordingly 1.5–2 times higher nutrient concentrations are achievable with this novel type of vacuum toilet. The usage frequency of the dual flush feature was higher in residential homes than in an office building, which also had urinals installed at the men toilets. A notable fraction of toilet visits in which the toilet was flushed twice as well as user feedback on dissatisfactory cleaning effects suggest that the applied reduction in water use is most likely the upper limit of what can be achieved in this type of toilet.

Production of vegetables for fresh consumption in arid regions usually takes place in greenhouses with evaporative cooling during the warm months of the year. In this period, water use for cooling easily exceeds irrigation water use. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how far water use for evaporative cooling can be lowered by adapting design elements of the greenhouse and the evaporative cooling system. In a greenhouse trial in a desert environment, in Riyadh (KSA), two different greenhouses: one traditional and one modified, both equipped with a pad and fan system, have been compared in terms of productivity and water use with main focus on water use for cooling. The modified greenhouse design resulted in about 14% higher fresh weight production and more than 40% water saving was achieved on evaporative cooling. The climate and water use data recorded during the trial were used to validate a greenhouse climate simulation model including pad and fan cooling. Then, we used the validated model in a scenario study and we quantified the effect of each one of three design elements on use of cooling water. It was shown that the extracted air temperature has a major influence on water use for cooling. Increasing the extracted air temperature with 4 K resulted in about 27% saving in water use for cooling. The latter was done by repositioning of the exhaust fans in order to take advantage of the vertical air temperature gradient in the greenhouse. Additionally, a 5% higher cooling efficiency of the pad wall could yield an extra 12% water saving for evaporative cooling. Finally, the greenhouse cover-to-ground area ratio was also found to affect the water use for cooling. In summary, we have shown that there is much scope for saving on water use for evaporative cooling by improving design of greenhouses and of the cooling system, and that a good greenhouse climate model can be a useful tool in this process. The findings of the current research provide clear guideline

[ES] La Comunidad de Regantes de Pulpí consta de 8.380 hectáreas de riego, dedicadas al cultivo de gran variedad de frutas y hortalizas. Durante los últimos años, ha tenido que lidiar con períodos de sequía debido a la escasez de precipitaciones en la zona y a la falta de infraestructuras con las que garantizar el suministro del recurso hídrico. Como consecuencia de ello, se han tenido que implementar medidas restrictivas del uso del agua, lo que conlleva a una reducción de rendimientos en los cultivos y de su calidad. Ante esta problemática, en este Trabajo Fin de Máster, se van a evaluar diferentes alternativas para mejorar la garantía de suministro de agua a los regantes mediante tres ámbitos de actuación: alternativas en la entrada de suministro (maximizar las fuentes), alternativas en la demanda del recurso (reducir el consumo) y, por último, mejorar la gestión de suministro interna de la Comunidad de Regantes de Pulpí. Para su realización se parte de los datos facilitados por la CC.RR., así como de cartografía y archivos pertenecientes a las entradas de agua. En la primera etapa, se estudiarán las fuentes de esta Comunidad, se realizará una caracterización de los cultivos pertenecientes al sector Entresierras y se evaluarán las salidas de recurso hídrico. Una vez recogida esta información, se procederá al análisis del déficit que se produce entre aportes recibidos y demanda de los cultivos y se evaluarán las alternativas a tratar. En el primer grupo de alternativas se estudiarán las fuentes de aporte, en el segundo grupo se propondrán técnicas de cultivo para obtener un ahorro de agua y la sustitución de un porcentaje de cultivos que requieren más aporte hídrico por otros que requieran un menor aporte y en el tercer grupo de alternativas se analizará cómo paliar las diferencias entre entradas y salidas del volumen de agua y se dimensionará un nuevo embalse para ampliar su capacidad. Todas estas alternativas se cuantificarán para ofrecer un coste aproximado de, [EN] The Pulpí Irrigation Community consists of 8.380 hectares of irrigated land, dedicated to the cultivation of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. In recent years, it has had to deal with periods of drought due to the scarcity of rainfall in the area and the lack of infrastructure with which to guarantee the supply of water resources. As a result, measures restricting water use have had to be implemented, leading to a reduction in crop yields and quality. In view of this problem, in this Master¿s Thesis, different alternatives will be evaluated to improve the guarantee of water supply to irrigators through three areas of action: alternatives in the supply input (maximising sources), alternatives in the demand for the resource (reducing consumption) and finally, improving the internal supply management of the Pulpí Irrigation Community. The project is based on data provided by the Community, as well as on maps and files belonging to the water supply. In the first stage, the sources of this Community will be studied, a characterization of the crops belonging to the Entresierras sector will be carried out and the outlets of water resources will be evaluated. Once this information has been collected, the deficit between the inputs received and the demand for the crops will be analysed and the alternatives to be treated will be evaluated. In the first group of alternatives, the sources of supply will be studied, in the second group, cultivation techniques will be proposed to obtain water savings and the replacement of a percentage of crops that require more water supply by others that require less, and in the third group of alternatives, how to alleviate the differences between water volume inputs and outputs will be analyzed and a new reservoir will be sized to increase its capacity. All these alternatives will be quantified to provide an approximate cost of each one of them to Irrigation Community.

Water managers around the world face the increasingly challenging task to evaluate the impacts of technological measures and policy mechanisms from the local to the river basin scale. A toolset providing quantitative, actionable information on dependencies and trade-offs between upstream and downstream water users is currently lacking. Yet, any intervention needs to be assessed in terms of consequences for downstream water users. This study evaluates the potential of a tracer-like approach, implemented in the water allocation software WEAP, to quantitatively track return flows and their downstream reuse in the river basin context. The WEAP-Virtual Tracer (WEAP-VT) approach was successfully applied to one of Europe's driest river basins, the Segura River Basin in Spain. For each water demand site, the different original sources of water supply, dependency on upstream return flows, and downstream reuse of its return flow were assessed. Based on these results, agricultural, urban, and environmental water users were evaluated in terms of their suitability for water saving measures and their vulnerability to the reduction in upstream return flows. A scenario analysis simulating the improvement of local efficiency improvements shows that specific irrigation schemes and ecosystems become deprived of water. Hence, efficiency improvement in water-scarce basins should be considered with caution. The demonstrated ability to quantify key water reuse indicators for individual water users and at different aggregation levels makes WEAP-VT a valuable tool to support water resource management decisions., Water Resources

Tailings storage facilities (TSFs) are among the largest geotechnical structures in the world and operate for adequate and safe storage of tailings during and after mining activities. Ensuring the stability of these enormous structures has been a long-standing environmental liability for mining-related communities; the failures of TSFs can not only undermines the sustainable development of a mine, but also can cause irreparable hazards and damage to those communities and environments. This document presents research regarding three main topics related to TSFs water management. The first topic is development of site-specific guidelines for safe TSF water management. In this regard, the study focuses on determining the optimal beach distance from the decant pond to the crest, which can be a practical and easy monitoring criterion for securing TSF stability. 2D stress-seepage coupled analyses were conducted to evaluate geotechnical stability; additionally, water increments that increase due to unexpected weather conditions (heavy rainfall and strong wind) were considered for the optimal beach distance. The results of this research can be useful in developing a TSF risk level guideline of the testing site. The second topic is investigation of the potential of an environmentally-friendly polymer as a new drag reduction agent (DRA) to reduce frictional pressure loss and also to conserve water. Lab-scale pipe loop tests examined the effect of the polymer on the pressure loss of the tailings slurry in pipe flows. The experiment results confirmed the potential for using the polymer as a new DRA. Findings showed that pressure loss decreased with increasing polymer percentages up to 4%, but increased above concentrations of 4%. 3D numerical models of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were developed and validated based on the pipe loop test results. The model provided the potential amount of water and transportation energy saving with minimal changes of pressure lo

The irrigation requirements for coconut in Kerala are general in nature. This study determined the irrigation requirements for coconut, using CROPWAT based on agro-ecological zones (AEZs) for proposing the recommendations. The irrigation recommendations are generated based on the climatic, soil, and crop characteristics. The results showed that the irrigation requirements varied with the locations. Overall, for the state of Kerala, the irrigation requirements varied from 350 to 900 L of water per coconut palm, with the irrigation intervals ranging from three to nine days based on the AEZs. Moreover, this study also confirmed the variation of the water requirements observed within the districts. The quantity of water required per palm varied between 115 to 200 liters per day (LPD) per palm, which is lower than the existing recommendations of 175 to 300 LPD per palm. The proposed irrigation requirements appraised with the presently followed recommendations of the Kerala state, and its advantages discussed for improving the crop and water productivity. In nutshell, if the current recommendation is adopted, 30% of the water used for irrigation can be saved, as well as leading to an improvement in crop production., Validerad;2019;Nivå 2;2019-09-23 (johcin)

Sustainability is a feature that most companies adopt in order to improve their profits, even when their activity is not sustainable or the definition in their sector is not clear. This concept actually relates to the management of natural resources. Agriculture, and particularly irrigation scheduling, is strongly linked to a sustainable management; however, it is not clear what defines a sustainable management. Several efforts have been made to improve the conservation of water resources, but most of them have not involved growers at the orchard level; and consequently, they have lost their opportunity to create a real improvement in terms of sustainability. The aim of this work was to design a “hydroSOStainable index” (or “hydroSOS index”) that evaluates different aspects at orchard level to improve the sustainability of the water resources. The hydroSOS index considers 16 indicators grouped in 4 areas: (i) hydraulic indicators, (ii) horticultural indicators not related to irrigation scheduling, (iii) horticultural indicators related to the moment when deficit irrigation is applied (when?), and (iv) horticultural indicators related to the way deficit irrigation is applied (how?). Each indicator provides different marks or scores, and their sum allows classifying orchard management into four labels. The weight of each indicator and each group is not in itself enough to obtain a maximum label. Groups allow to easily identify the main limitations for the orchard to achieve a sustainable irrigation management. This index was used to evaluate water management of two cases of study

It has been shown that raising awareness influences strongly the responsible use of water. However, awareness campaigns have a short-lasting effect and it has been noted that environmentally-friendly intentions are not always accompanied by positive behaviors. This work aims to influence the consumer’s attitudes, so that to induce a positive behavior of responsible consumption. This effort requires taking into consideration the discount based on the delay, i.e., to what extent a future consequence is deemed in the present as devaluated due to the distance in the time. Using studies dealing with the attitudes before the water saving and its influence on the consumption and, on the other hand, the effect of such influence on the delay-based discount regarding the people’s behavior when facing other problems, this work proposes an awareness campaign for saving water at home, in order to influence on the delay-based discount., Se ha demostrado que un aumento de la concienciación influye sobre el uso responsable del agua, sin embargo, las campañas de concienciación tienen un efecto de limitada duración en el tiempo y se observa que buenas actitudes hacia el medio ambiente no siempre acompañan una conducta positiva. En este trabajo se propone influir en las actitudes del consumidor, de manera que tenga una influencia positiva en un consumo responsable; para ello, se tendrá en cuenta el descuento de la demora, que sería el grado en que una consecuencia futura se valora en el presente de forma devaluada por su lejanía en el tiempo. Basándonos, por un lado, en estudios sobre las actitudes hacia el ahorro de agua y su influencia en el consumo, y por otro lado, en el efecto que ha tenido la influencia en el descuento de la demora sobre el comportamiento de las personas en otras conductas problemáticas. Se propone una campaña de concienciación de ahorro de agua en el hogar, influyendo sobre el descuento de la demora.

Sustainability is a feature that most companies adopt in order to improve their profits, even when their activity is not sustainable or the definition in their sector is not clear. This concept actually relates to the management of natural resources. Agriculture, and particularly irrigation scheduling, is strongly linked to a sustainable management; however, it is not clear what defines a sustainable management. Several efforts have been made to improve the conservation of water resources, but most of them have not involved growers at the orchard level; and consequently, they have lost their opportunity to create a real improvement in terms of sustainability. The aim of this work was to design a “hydroSOStainable index” (or “hydroSOS index”) that evaluates different aspects at orchard level to improve the sustainability of the water resources. The hydroSOS index considers 16 indicators grouped in 4 areas: (i) hydraulic indicators, (ii) horticultural indicators not related to irrigation scheduling, (iii) horticultural indicators related to the moment when deficit irrigation is applied (when?), and (iv) horticultural indicators related to the way deficit irrigation is applied (how?). Each indicator provides different marks or scores, and their sum allows classifying orchard management into four labels. The weight of each indicator and each group is not in itself enough to obtain a maximum label. Groups allow to easily identify the main limitations for the orchard to achieve a sustainable irrigation management. This index was used to evaluate water management of two cases of study. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

Intensively cultivated rice-wheat cropping sequence of Punjab, India responsible for many sustainability issues viz. declining underground water, declining soil health, arising micro-nutrient deficiencies etc. Around 1.3 M ha-m additional withdrawal of water from the ground is being taken place annually in Punjab and mainly it is used for the rice crop which is not a traditional crop of the region. Puddling, seepage and percolation losses are the main sources of water loss from the rice based cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic plains (IGPs) and many Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs) have been recommended for water saving. The real water saving techniques are those which hinder the water from going into those sinks from where it cannot be reused (Evaporation, E) and diverted greater fraction of water of ET toward transpiration (T) which is desired as greater transpiration, greater the inflow of water and nutrients andwhich ultimately increase the grain yield with the lesser consumption of irrigation water as interval in between two irrigation increases, which further increase the water productivity. Among different RCTs, short duration crop varieties and delaying transplanting time are the real water saving techniques for the regions where water table is already declining down, however other RCTs may be suitable for the regions facing water logging problems as these cut down the drainage losses and these energy saving rather than water saving techniques.

[ES] La programación del riego es una herramienta esencial para la gestión eficiente de la irrigación y el ahorro del agua. Tradicionalmente, la programación del riego semanal se realiza siguiendo la metodología FAO-56, que utiliza las variables microclimáticas de la zona y los datos climáticos de la semana anterior. Esta metodología es muy exigente en cálculos y se alimenta de información climática, siendo necesaria la presencia de una estación agroclimática en las proximidades de la zona de aplicación. Además, esta metodología es muy dependiente del coeficiente de cultivo, el cual se determina de manera empírica para cada cultivo y cada zona de aplicación con cierto grado de error. Cuando se introduce un cultivo novedoso en una zona en que tradicionalmente no se cultivaba, como el caso del caqui “Rojo brillante” en la Ribera Baja del Júcar (Comunidad Valenciana), son necesarios ensayos de varios años para ajustar adecuadamente los parámetros que permiten determinar las dosis de riego con precisión. Actualmente se están generalizando soluciones tecnológicas de medición de la humedad del suelo que facilitan la adopción de decisiones en la programación del riego que permiten optimizar el uso del agua de riego. Estas tecnologías presentan la ventaja de medir la humedad del suelo de forma continua y permitir la programación del riego mediante la visualización directa de la dinámica del agua en el mismo. En el presente estudio, se ha realizado la instalación de dos tipos de sondas de humedad FDR, en un campo de caqui “Rojo brillante” en la finca experimental Sinyent de la asociación de productores AVA-ASAJA, en Polinyà del Xúquer (Ribera Baja del Júcar, Valencia). Se han instalado sondas capacitivas EnviroScan® de la marca australiana Sentek® y sondas 10HS de la marca comercial Decagon Devices®. Tras 5 meses de estudio (de junio a octubre), se ha realizado una comparación de la programación del riego semanal a partir de la información de la semana anterior utilizando lo, [EN] Nowadays, irrigation scheduling is a key tool for efficient irrigation management and water saving. Traditionally, irrigation scheduling is carried out following the FAO-56 methodology that uses the microclimatic variables of the area and the previous week’s climate data. This method requires many calculations and a vast collection of climatic data. Therefore, the presence of an agro-weather station nearby the area of application is essential. Besides, this methodology depends a lot on the accuracy of the crop coefficient that is established in an empirical way for each crop and area of application with a certain degree of error. When a new culture is introduced in an area in which it is not traditionally cultivated — as seen in the case of the persimmon “Rojo brillante” in Ribera del Júcar (Valencia) — several years of experimental trials are required in order to properly adjust the parameters that allow determining the accurate dose of irrigation. Currently, the generalization of the use of new technological solutions for soil moisture measurement helps the decision-making in the irrigation scheduling and allows the optimization of the use of water. These technologies have the advantage of measuring directly the soil moisture continuously and allowing the visualization of the dynamics of water in the soil in real time. In the present study, two different types of soil moisture capacitive probes (FDR) were installed in a crop of persimmon “Rojo brillante” in the association of producers AVA-ASAJA’s experimental farm Sinyent, in Polinyà del Xúquer (Ribera Baja del Júcar, Valencia). The equipment used are the probe EnviroScan® from Sentek® (Australia) and the probe 10HS from Decagon Devices®. After 5 months of study (from June to October), a comparison of the weekly irrigation scheduling based on each method (climatical information, EnviroScan® probe and 10HS probe) was made. The use of the soil moisture probe has allowed to schedule and manage the irrigation mo

Soil water deficit has an adverse effect on crop productivity and is one of the main limiting factors of global food security. Field experiments were conducted in Vojvodina, Serbia, to expand and improve knowledge about the effects of different levels of irrigation on maize grain yield and quality. The studied irrigation treatments were: full irrigation (I-100), 75% (I-75) and 50% (I-50) of I-100, and no irrigation (I-0)-rainfed. The irrigation level affects maize grain yield; protein, starch, and oil content; and mineral composition. The results show that that yield decreases with increasing water deficit in three study years. On average, full irrigation results in the highest oil content and rainfed conditions in the lowest. The starch content increases and the oil content decreases with decreasing irrigation. Irrigation significantly increases the concentrations of K, Mg, Fe, Mn, and Zn, and reduces the Ca concentration compared to the rainfed treatment. A 25% water deficit (I-75) has a positive effect on certain maize grain nutrients and the yield is significantly reduced. The highest grain yield and oil content are achievable with full irrigation. For good nutrientional quality of maize, treatment I-75 can be proposed under similar soil and climate conditions.

Addressing water scarcity in dryland areas requires identification of promising water-saving practices. This paper reviews the effect of land management and water use practices on Water Productivity (WP) in Uzbekistan and makes an inventory of strengths and constraints. Peer-reviewed articles were screened for various local practices including furrow, deficit and drip irrigation. The performance of practices was analysed using the WP concept, defined as ratio of crop yield per unit of water consumed (irrigation water supply and evapotranspiration). Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of selected practices were studied by conducting semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders in Tashkent province. This scoping process showed that overall drip irrigationhas the highest potential to improve WP in comparison with deficit and furrow irrigation, with a WP supply and WP evapotranspiration for cotton of 1.44 and 1.70 kg m−3, respectively. An excess use of irrigation water is not necessarily leading to increased cotton yield. There is an opportunity to decrease the gap between low and high values of WP, which vary from 0.12–1.44 kg m−3 for cotton. Low water use efficiency rates of furrow irrigation are one of the key-issues to resolve for improved water management. The return on investment of drip irrigation is viable for private farms growing fruit and vegetables, which is mainly due to government support through export trade agreements and favorable policy incentives. WP values of deficit irrigation within 0–25% water stress shows that its water saving potential is high, but with certain yield reduction. The high risk of crop yield reduction is a trade-off between yield and adopting deficit irrigation. To conclude, the large gap between low and high WP values can be minimized with economically affordable technology. Beyond the technical improvements of each water-saving practice, it is also crucial to better design the system of policy incentives

Energy and water issues are interrelated and have significant impacts on the economy. The amount and intensity of energy and water consumption must be controlled, which was clearly stated in the "11th Five-Year" Plan and "12th Five-Year" Plan. The energy-water nexus is a useful approach to integrate economic sectors. Energy production consumes large inputs of energy and water, while producing most of the energy required by other sectors. This synergy between energy conservation and water saving in energy sectors is intricate. This study assesses the synergistic effect between energy conservation and water saving that has been achieved by energy sectors in China during the 2007-2012 period. The research results suggest that energy sectors have completely achieved 12.40 x 10(8) m(3) water saving through energy conservation and 1.12 x 10(6) tce energy conservation through water saving. Coal, oil and gas production mainly consumed water in indirect ways, while electricity generation primarily consumed water in a direct way. The synergistic energy conservation of the electric power sector was significant and was much larger than that of the coal production sector as well as oil and gas production sector. Prominent water saving can be obtained through improved energy conservation in China's energy sectors.

[EN] This work focuses on the transformation occurred with the shift from surface to drip irrigation, looking at three collective irrigation systems in Valencia (Spain). The extension of drip irrigation over areas previously irrigated by systems of gravity channels entails a process of change and transformation ofinstitutions and organizations managing irrigation. We analyze the main management changes occurred and how farmers adapt to the new technology. In order to assess these changes, interviews were conducted with farmers and managers of Water User Associations. Drip irrigation implementation policies result in unforeseen consequences, paradoxes and challenges for collective drip irrigation management. In the three cases, drip irrigation and automation has contributed to the centralization of decision-making. Besides, farmers and managers have also developed irrigation and fertigation strategies to adapt to the new technology. When some ofthese new operating procedures are applied, farmers obtain results closer to their own goals, but not necessarily linked to the virtues frequently attributed to drip systems.

The present Mater Thesis is expected to illustrate the increasing necessity for the improvement of the energy efficiency in pressurized water transport networks. For such purpose, different analyses of the water network are needed in order to understand it and recognize its weaknesses and strengths. With that purpose, the project will show a methodology devoted to the energy analysis in pressurized water networks, where the different technical aspects that have a direct or indirect influence over the energy efficiency will be examined. With regards to the methodology, it has been developed in Aguas de Valencia group in agreement with the UPV, whose aim is to be able to implement the procedures in the daily operation of the company. Furthermore, the project will be developed with the use of two potable network case studies: Teruel and Sagunto. The different characteristics and layouts of these water supply networks will allow an analysis from different perspectives so that the methodology can be validated from a practical point of view and from different sources of information. The work will start with the analysis of the water networks through the use of different software and tools such as Epanet or ITAEnergy, that will ease the assessment process of the networks. The outcomes of project will provide various energy saving measures that will result in the improvement of the energy efficiency of the system, with the aim of being able to apply the procedures herein described in all kind of pressurized water networks, El presente Trabajo Final de Máster pretende ilustrar la creciente necesidad en la actualidad de la mejora de la eficiencia energética en sistemas de transporte de agua a presión. Para ello es necesario tanto el estudio de la red en cuestión como la comprensión de ésta en profundidad. Con tal fin, el trabajo mostrará una metodología de análisis energético de redes de agua a presión en la que se podrán examinar los diferentes aspectos técnicos que tienen una repercusión directa o indirecta en la eficiencia energética. Se trata de una metodología reciente desarrollada por Aguas de Valencia en colaboración con la UPV cuya meta es ser implantada en la operación diaria de la compañía. Además, se ilustrará el proceso con la ayuda de dos casos prácticos de redes de agua: Teruel y Sagunto. Se trata de abastecimientos con diferentes características y configuraciones que permitirán el análisis desde diferentes enfoques y que darán validez a la metodología desde un punto de vista práctico. El trabajo comenzará con un análisis de las redes de agua a través de herramientas informáticas como Epanet o ITAEnergy entre otras, que facilitarán el proceso de evaluación de las redes. Los resultados del trabajo proporcionarán medidas de ahorro que supondrán una mejora en la eficiencia energética del sistema con la meta de poder utilizar los procedimientos aquí descritos en todo tipo de abastecimiento de agua presión., El present Treball de Final de Màster pretén il·lustrar la creixent necessitat en l'actualitat de la millora de l'eficiència energètica en sistemes d'aigua a pressió. Per aconseguir-ho es necessari tant l'estudi de la xarxa en qüestió com la comprensió d'esta en profunditat. Amb esta finalitat, el treball mostrarà una metodologia d'anàlisi energètic de xarxes d'aigua a pressió on es podran examinar els diferents aspectes tècnics que tenen repercussió directa o indirecta en l'eficiència energètica. Es tracta d'una metodologia recent desenvolupada per Aguas de Valencia en col·laboració amb la UPV, la meta de la qual es ser implantada en l'operació diària de la companyia. A més, s'il·lustrarà el procés amb l'ajuda de dos casos pràctics de xarxes d'aigua: Teruel i Sagunt. Es tracta d'abastiments amb diferents característiques i configuracions que permetran l'anàlisi des de diferents enfocaments i que donaran validesa a la metodologia des d'un punt de vista pràctic. El treball començarà amb l'anàlisi de les xarxes d'aigua utilitzant ferramentes informàtiques com Epanet o ITAEnergy entre altres, que facilitaran el procés d'avaluació de les xarxes. Els resultats del treball proporcionaran mesures d'estalvi que suposaran una millora en l'eficiència energètica del sistema amb la finalitat de poder utilitzar els procediments ací descrits en tot tipus d'abastiments d'aigua a pressió.

Drip irrigation is widely promoted in Spain to increase agricultural production and to save water. In the Cànyoles watershed, Valencia, we analysed the consequences of change from surface irrigation to drip irrigation over the past 25 years. There were a number of transformations resulting from, or accelerated by, this change including the 1) intensification of well construction causing a redistribution in access to groundwater, water shortages and a lowering of the groundwater table; 2) expansion of irrigation into former rain-dependent uphill areas resulting in increased water use; 3) shift to higher- value monoculture fruit crops, but with associated higher crop water requirements; 4) increased electrical energy consumption and higher costs due to groundwater pumping; and 5) loss of cultural heritage as wells have replaced traditional surface irrigation infrastructure that originated in the Middle Ages. Consequently, the authors argue that transitioning from surface irrigation to drip irrigation should critically look beyond the obvious short-term benefits that are intended by the introduction of the technology, and consider possible unforeseen side effects, that may have serious long-term impacts on the environment and the community

Drip irrigation is widely promoted in Spain to increase agricultural production and to save water. In the Cànyoles watershed, Valencia, we analysed the consequences of change from surface irrigation to drip irrigation over the past 25 years. There were a number of transformations resulting from, or accelerated by, this change including the 1) intensification of well construction causing a redistribution in access to groundwater, water shortages and a lowering of the groundwater table; 2) expansion of irrigation into former rain-dependent uphill areas resulting in increased water use; 3) shift to higher- value monoculture fruit crops, but with associated higher crop water requirements; 4) increased electrical energy consumption and higher costs due to groundwater pumping; and 5) loss of cultural heritage as wells have replaced traditional surface irrigation infrastructure that originated in the Middle Ages. Consequently, the authors argue that transitioning from surface irrigation to drip irrigation should critically look beyond the obvious short-term benefits that are intended by the introduction of the technology, and consider possible unforeseen side effects, that may have serious long-term impacts on the environment and the community.

[EN] SUMMARY It is a fact that in our environment there is a water shortage that affects the agricultural and urban freshwater consumption. The environmental conditions of climate change will aggravate the situation in the coming years. The efficient management of water resources is, and will be, an important issue for society that must be addressed from a social and technological point of view. Although nonfarm consumption represents only 30% of the total demand for freshwater, the urban water use is the more worrying because it directly affects the lives of people. A shortage of water resources is answered from two points of view. On the one hand, increasing supply through an increase in water uptakes, transfers from surplus basins, or desalination. On the other hand the reduction of demand, or efficient demand management. It is from this approach where this research takes place. The aim of the thesis is to develop a methodology to select the most appropriate water saving system to equip a building. The selection process arises from two approaches, each corresponding to a different use of the building. For buildings intended to develop a productive activity a cost-benefit selection method is used. For other buildings, a multicriteria selection method is used. For this last situation, application of analytic hierarchy process to selection of water saving systems is chosen. For the implementation of the multicriteria selection method, a series of selection criteria have to be defined and considered: water conservation, energy conservation, social and environmental impact, design, and economic viability. Each device or water saving system should be characterized on the basis of each of these criteria. In the thesis has been developed the way to characterize the "water efficient systems" for every of the selection criteria defined. As part of the characterization process, it is necessary to know drinking water demand patterns produced in the building. To do this, a wa, [ES] RESUMEN Es una realidad que en nuestro entorno existe un déficit hídrico que afecta tanto al consumo agrícola de agua dulce como al consumo urbano de agua potable. Las condiciones ambientales de cambio climático agravarán la situación en los próximos años. La gestión eficiente de los recursos hídricos es, y será, un tema importante para la sociedad que debe ser abordado desde un punto de vista social y tecnológico. Aunque el consumo no agrícola supone sólo una 30% de la demanda total de agua dulce, es el uso urbano del agua, que consume la mayor parte de ese porcentaje, el más preocupante por cuanto afecta directamente a las condiciones de vida de las personas. A la escasez de recursos hídricos se responde desde dos perspectivas. Por un lado el aumento de la oferta, a través de un aumento de las captaciones, trasvases desde cuencas excedentarias, o desalación. Por otro lado la reducción o gestión eficiente de la demanda. Es desde este enfoque desde donde se desarrolla este trabajo de investigación. El objetivo de la tesis doctoral es desarrollar una metodología para la selección de los sistemas de ahorro de agua potable más adecuados para equipar en un edificio. El proceso de selección se plantea desde dos aproximaciones, correspondiendo cada uno de ellos a un uso diferente del edificio. Para los edificios destinados a desarrollarse una actividad productiva se utiliza un método de selección coste-beneficio. Para el resto de edificios se utiliza un método de selección multicriterio. Para esta situación se ha optado por aplicar el método del proceso analítico jerárquico a la selección de sistemas de ahorro de agua. Para la aplicación de la selección multicriterio, se han definido una serie de criterios a tener en cuenta: ahorro de agua, ahorro de energía, impacto socio-ambiental, diseño, y viabilidad económica. Cada dispositivo o sistema de ahorro de agua debe ser caracterizado en base a cada uno de estos criterios. En la tesis se ha desarrollado la forma de cara, [CA] RESUM És una realitat que en el nostre entorn hi ha un dèficit hídric que afecta tant el consum agrícola d'aigua dolça com al consum urbà d'aigua potable. Les condicions ambientals de canvi climàtic agreujaran la situació en els pròxims anys. La gestió eficient dels recursos hídrics és, i serà, un tema important per a la societat que ha de ser abordat des d'un punt de vista social i tecnològic. Encara que el consum no agrícola suposa només una 30% de la demanda total d'aigua dolça, és l'ús urbà de l'aigua, que consumix la major part d'eixe percentatge, el més preocupant ja que afecta directament les condicions de vida de les persones. A l'escassetat de recursos hídrics es respon des de dos perspectives. Per un costat l'augment de l'oferta, a través d'un augment de les captacions, transvasaments des de conques excedentàries, o dessalatge. Per un altre costat la reducció o gestió eficient de la demanda. És des d'este enfocament des d'on es desenrotlla este treball d'investigació L'objectiu de la tesi doctoral és desenrotllar una metodologia per a la selecció dels sistemes d'estalvi d'aigua potable més adequats per a equipar en un edifici. El procés de selecció es planteja des de dos aproximacions, corresponent cada un d'ells a un ús diferent de l'edifici. Per als edificis destinats a desenrotllar-se una activitat productiva s'utilitza un mètode de selecció cost-benefici. Per a la resta d'edificis s'utilitza un mètode de selecció multicriterio. Per a esta situació s'ha optat per aplicar el mètode del procés analític jeràrquic a la selecció de sistemes d'estalvi d'aigua. Per a l'aplicació de la selecció multicriterio, s'han definit una sèrie de criteris a tindre en compte: estalvi d'aigua, estalvi d'energia, impacte socioambiental, disseny, i viabilitat econòmica. Cada dispositiu o sistema d'estalvi d'aigua ha de ser caracteritzat basant-se en cada un d'estos criteris. En la tesi s'ha desenrotllat la forma de caracteritzar els denominats "sistemes de hidroeficienci

The paper presents the Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) approach for water networks developed within the Waternomics project. In particular, the FDD system developed is based on the hydraulic modeling of the water network (done using the EPANET software) that is used to the train a Anomaly Detection With fast Incremental ClustEring (ADWICE) algorithm which in turns is applied to real time data of water flow and pressure monitored in the network to infer performance and detect leaks and operation anomalies. The developed FDD system is particularly useful when more than one parameter needs to be considered at the same time to determine if an anomaly or fault is in place in a complex water network. For a first evaluation, simulated training scenarios have been developed and tested for Linate airport (Milan - Italy) water network and the results are presented in this paper. WATERNOMICS is an EU FP7 research project and the key problem addressed is the lack of water information, management and decision support tools that present meaningful and personalized information about usage, price, and availability of water in an intuitive and interactive way to end users. On average water networks in EU have leakages and inefficiencies that results in 20-30% water losses. As such, new technologies and leakages detection methods are needed to solve this issue, to make the EU more sustainable and in this context the FDD method presented can be helpful.

Introduction In navigation locks levelling is executed under free flow. The net flow from the upper section into the lower section of the waterway is considered as a water loss. An innovative water saving concept is an IRS Lock. IRS stands for inflatable rubber structure. The concept consists of an air filled IRS applied in a lock chamber. In this way part of the water loss is substituted by an ‘air loss’. It was not clear whether or not the IRS Lock concept is a feasible water saving solution. IRSs are formed by a rubber sheet connected to a foundation. The sheet is so flexible that it is considered to have no bending stiffness. The shape of the IRS results from the loads acting on the sheet. During the use of an IRS, four phases are distinguished; the inflation, the inflated, the deflation and the deflated phase. In each phase, the internal pressure is different and thus a different shape results. In case of the IRS Lock, the IRS is completely submerged and the hydrostatic load is the main load. Also loads occur by flows from lock operations and vessel movements. The different phases of use, shapes and the new application area make the design of the IRS Lock a complex process. Design A first design of the IRS Lock has been developed. The Eastern Lock, located in the Terneuzen Lock complex, was used as an environment for the design. In the design the sheet of the IRS is connected to the lock chamber walls. In navigation locks a minimum keel clearance is required between the vessel and the lock chamber bottom. The IRS is located above the bottom of the lock chamber. The water level in the lock chamber, and therefore also the available depth and keel clearance, varies by the tide. The first design of the IRS is optimized in such a way that the design results in a large water saving while maintaining the minimum required keel clearance. The designed IRS has a crest height of 2,5 meter and still allows the draught of the design vessel. In total three IRSs are applied i, Hydraulic Engineering, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Changes in land use and water use can greatly impact the cycling of water and water-borne substances. Increased redistribution of river water to irrigated fields can cause enhanced evapotranspiration and decreased river discharge. Additionally, the water quality can be affected by the external input of fertilisers and pesticides, and by changed pollutant transport pathways in expansive irrigation canal systems. This thesis examines basin-scale changes in water use, river discharge, water quality and nitrogen (N) loading under conditions of intensified irrigated agriculture, using the Aral Sea drainage basin (ASDB) with its two large rivers Syr Darya and Amu Darya in Central Asia as study area. Results show that more efficient irrigation techniques could reduce outtake of river water to the cotton fields in the ASDB by about 10 km3/year, while the corresponding river water saving at the outlet would be 60% lower. The result illustrates the importance of accounting for return flows of irrigation water in basin-scale water saving assessments. Moreover, a decrease in riverine N concentrations at the outlet of the Amu Darya River Basin (ADRB) was observed during a 40-year period of increasing N fertiliser input. The decrease was identified to be primarily caused by increased recirculation of river water in the irrigation system, leading to increased flow-path lengths and enhanced N attenuation. Decreasing N loads were shown to be primarily related to reduced discharge. N export from the basin may further decrease due to projected discharge reductions related to climate change. Furthermore, nutrients and metals were occasionally found at concentrations above drinking water guideline values in surface waters in the ADRB. However, metal concentrations in groundwater in the lower ADRB were subject to orders of magnitude higher health hazards. Projected decrease in downstream surface water availability would thus imply decreased access to water suitable for drinking., At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Submitted. Paper 5: Manuscript.

BACKGROUND The effect of a water-saving irrigation regime on yield, chemical composition, rumen in situ dry matter disappearance (DMD) and neutral detergent fiber disappearance (NDFD), along with 7 h in vitro starch degradability (7 h IVSD), in maize hybrids selected for whole-plant silage making was investigated. A plot experiment was conducted in a continental climate location and four commercial maize hybrids (FAO class 700) were used in a completely randomized design with a factorial arrangement of irrigation treatments (fully irrigated (FI) and water-saving regime (WS)) and four replicates/treatment. The total amount of irrigation water was 494 mm in FI plots and 367 mm in WS plots, the latter achieved by skipping irrigations at vegetative growth stage, silking and blistering. RESULTS Whole-plant yield, chemical composition, DMD, NDFD and 7 h IVSD slightly differed among hybrids and were not influenced by irrigation treatments. Plant dry matter content was lower in FI than WS plots (320 vs. 341 g kg−1, respectively; P < 0.05). Differences among hybrids were recorded for starch and acid detergent fiber contents (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The lack of differences on yield and nutritive value in tested maize hybrids grown under different water supply suggests the water-saving regime could be suitable for an optimal use of available water in maize management. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry

[ENG]Agricultural water reservoirs (AWRs) are commonly used to guarantee water supply throughout the whole irrigation season in arid and semiarid areas. An important fraction of the total stored water is lost through evaporation, substantially decreasing overall irrigation efficiency. In this study, the effects of suspended shade cloth covers (SSCCs) on reducing evaporation and on the quality of the stored water have been experimentally assessed. To this aim, an AWR located in south-eastern Spain was monitored during two consecutive years. During the first year, the AWR remained uncovered, while during the second year it was covered with a black polyethylene SSCC. The evaporation rate, the water temperature profile and the driving meteorological variables determining evaporation were measured to assess the technical viability of the cover. Evaporation measurements for covered conditions were compared with estimations obtained from an openwater evaporation model which was validated during the first year of experimentation. A reduction close to 85% in the evaporation rate was found. To assess the effects on water quality, water samples and measurements with a multiparametric instrument were monthly collected during the two-year experimental period. Electrical conductivity, chlorophyll concentration and turbidity were measured using this equipment. Results indicate that the reduction in solar radiation (1% transmission through the cover) dramatically reduced the photosynthetic activity; hence algal bloom was highly limited. Finally, the main benefits and costs associated with the cover installation were identified in order to analyse economic viability under different scenarios representative of the current irrigated farming situation in south-eastern Spain.[ESP] En las regiones áridas y semiáridas, las balsas son una instalación común para garantizar el suministro de agua para riego. Las balsas experimentan importantes pérdidas de agua por evaporación que afectan a la

Plant age and size, seasonal growth patters and crop load, among other factors, have been reported to decrease the usefulness of trunk diameter variation (TDV) derived indices as water stress indicators in olive trees. Our hypothesis, however, is that indices derived from TDV records in old, big olive trees are sensitive enough to detect levels of water stress in trees of orchards under deficit irrigation that, although severe, are below the threshold for fruit shrivelling. This is of importance for the production of good quality oils, since fruit shrivelling may affect oil quality. The aim of this work was to assess different TDVderived indices as water stress indicators in 40-year-old ‘Manzanilla’ olive trees with heavy crop load. We derived the maximum daily shrinkage (MDS), daily growth (DG) and daily recovery (DR) from TDV records taken during the 2008 dry season both in well-irrigated FAO trees and in deficit-irrigated RI trees. Measurements of volumetric soil water content ( v), leaf water potential ( l), stomatal conductance (gs), net CO2 assimilation rate (A), water and oil accumulation in the fruits and yield parameters were made for both treatments. The trunks did not grow during the experimental season, either in the FAO or RI trees, likely because of the heavy crop load. Therefore, DG was useless as water stress indicator. For MDS and DR, which were responsive to the increase of the trees’ water stress, we calculated the variability, quantified by the coefficient of variation (CV), the signal intensity (SI) and the sensitivity (SI/CV) values. In addition, we derived reference equations for irrigation scheduling from the relationships between MDS values in the FAO trees and main meteorological variables. Values both of SI-MDS and SI-DR were steady until September 9, despite of increasing differences in v between treatments from early in the dry season. The l vs v values showed an outstanding capacity of the RI trees to take up water from the drying soil

This paper presents an agent-based model of the diffusion of water-saving innovations. The empirical foundation of this model is a study, which was carried out for that specific purpose. As an example case, the diffusion of three water-related innovations in Southern Germany was chosen. The model represents a real geographic area and simulates the diffusion of showerheads, toilet flushes, and rain-harvesting systems. Agents are households of certain lifestyles, as represented by the Sinus-Milieus® from commercial marketing. Agents use two different kinds of decision rules to decide upon adoption or rejection of the modeled innovations: A cognitively demanding deliberate decision rule and a very simple decision heuristic. Thus, the model integrates concepts of bounded rationality. The overall framework for decision-making is the Theory of Planned Behavior, which has been elaborated using innovation characteristics from diffusion research. The model was calibrated with empirical data stemming from a questionnaire survey and validated against independent data. Scenarios for the nearer future show that water-saving innovations will diffuse even without further promotion, and different promotion strategies that relate specifically to both innovations and lifestyles can be pointed out.

In recent years, our life-styles based on the large-scale production and consumption exacerbated global warming and other environmental problems. The fluctuations of precipitation in each area of the world are becoming largely because of the impact of climate change. In the future, a large volume of water is needed for the maintenance of our quality of life in many modern cities. Therefore, it is very important to conserve water based on the efficient use of water resources by the reuses of water, the uses of rain water, and people's behavior of saving water, etc. On thinking about the saving water and efficient use of water resources at home, people need the accurate knowledge about the performance and function of recent sanitary system. Also, people need the accurate estimation of the water consumption in each use. Therefore, in this paper, the recent sanitary fixtures and water usage are described in each use, kitchen, bathroom, washing and wash basin, and toilet. According to the calculation technique of water demands that has been developed by us, the water consumption of the conventional sanitary fixtures was compared with the water consumption of the saving water sanitary fixtures. It was clarified the possibility of water conservation when the sanitary fixtures of saving water type were applied for the toilet and washing machine.

Two different soil tillage practices (perforated topsoil and mini-catchments) were compared with no tillage (control) in an assay to reduce runoff, promote infiltration and take advantage of rainfall in a drip irrigated, hillside apricot orchard under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions. In addition, the efficiency of water harvesting was quantified for the purpose of saving irrigation water. To predict runoff generation in the three treatments, the best fit was obtained with a two-parameter exponential model, which included the product of rainfall amount and rainfall intensity as independent variable. The model explains, on average, 92% of runoff generation for three soil tillage treatments. The antecedent soil moisture content may account for part of the unexplained runoff generation. More than 30% of the rainfall was lost by runoff in the control treatment, underlining the potential risk of sloping plantations for water and soil conservation. Both soil tillage treatments (mini-catchments and perforated topsoil) decreased the runoff by an 80% compared to the control treatment. During the experimental period, the mini-catchment treatment collected 86% and the perforated topsoil 57% more than the control, providing mean irrigation water saving of about 11 and 9%, respectively. Even these relatively modest figures are very valuable in South-east Spain which suffers from severe droughts

[ES] El objeto de la presente Tesis es proponer metodologías que permitan analizar la gestión y los efectos que, sobre la zona de estudio, tienen o pueden tener la aplicación de los fondos de la Política Agraria Común de la Unión Europea. Más concretamente, de los fondos de Desarrollo Rural destinados a modernización de regadíos o a Medidas de Acompañamiento, así como de los destinados a los pagos por superficie de las Organizaciones Comunes de Mercado más relevantes para la zona., [EN] The objective of this Thesis is to develop methodologies in arder to analyze the management and the current or potential effects, in the target area, of funds coming from the Common Agricultura! Policy (CAP) of the European Union. More specifically, Rural Development funds devoted to irrigation systems modernization or to Accompanying Measures, as well as other funds devoted to direct payments by crop area of the Common Market Organizations more relevant in the study zone.

In this work we tested the influence of different solutions of a hydrophobic polymer named Guilspare1, applied to the soil surface to reduce soil evaporation, on the soil water status, soil temperature, crop performance and weed emergence. Two tests were carried out on a farm of the Guadalquivir river valley, southwest Spain, one with a maize crop and the other with bare soil. In the test with maize, we evaluated the effect of applying a solution of 2% v/v of Guilspare1 in water, at the rate of 3 l m 2, on the crop performance and weed emergence. On both the treated and the untreated control plots, three rates of irrigation were applied, namely 100, 75 and 50% of the locally determined optimal irrigation depth to cover the crop needs for an optimum development and yield. For the case of 50% of the irrigation dose, the performance of the crop treated with the polymer (T50) was much better than that of the untreated control plot (C50). The crop height and green leaf area index for T50 were nearly as good as for the C100 control plants receiving 100% of the irrigation dose. The T50 crop was 73% of the yield of the treated and fully irrigated T100 crop, while the C50 yield was only 38% of the C100 yield. The treated crop reached the different phenological stages quicker than the untreated crop. The polymer was effective in reducing weed emergence. In the test with bare soil, 0.8% v/v of Guilspare1 in water, at the rate of 1 l m 2, kept levels of water content in the soil as high as other solutions with greater amounts both of polymer and water. The average soil water content during the irrigation period in this lower treatment was 34 and 53% higher at depths of 0.15 and 0.25 m, respectively, than in the untreated plots. No influence of the polymer on soil temperature was observed. Results from additional measurements on weed emergence and hydraulic conductivity of the soil surface showed that the polymer was still effective 7 months after application. In fact, the hydra

One of the most critical issues that the world faces as it enters the new millennium is the provision of a continued supply of fresh water – the source of all life. The depletion problem of this resource through uneducated use is world-wide as well as being specific to Australia. This study centres on this issue in the Australian context with particular reference to gardening practices in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland. The study examines methods by which fresh water can be saved through innovative garden design options. The cultural philosophies which underpin Brisbane’s suburban residential front gardens were investigated through an examination of literature, painting, and letters of the early settlement days in Australia and, in particular in Queensland. The findings were used to establish the theoretical framework for a qualitative study of seventy two Brisbane gardeners and their gardens. These gardens were selected from sites in a corridor of seven suburbs occupying a south-east segment of the city. The corridor included these components – an outward historical growth pattern, a range of socio-economic and cultural issues, varying soil types, topographical forms and a variety of residential forms and styles with a range of compass frontages. Each selected gardener was encouraged to ‘talk’ about the garden and its design and ‘making’ and the comments were analysed in the light of the author’s theoretical investigations. The results of this investigation provided an understanding of current gardening practices which also involve the use of 50-60 per cent of Brisbane’s domestic water on the garden. The findings suggest that Brisbane’s, and indeed, Australian gardens are based on philosophical notions that have Eurocentric foundations. Alternative and innovative water saving practices were explored and these techniques were modified to suit the design and construction of Brisbane gardens, whilst still satisfying the cultural values behind existing garden

Bakalárska práca sa zaoberá ekonomickými dôsledkami úspory vody, technickou realizáciou úsporných systémov a tvorbou edukatívneho modelu. Tiež je tu spomenutý dopad úspory vody na životné prostredie. Následne sú rozobrané teoretické východiská logického riadenia potrebné pre realizáciu modelu. Ďalšia kapitola popisuje časti prostredia LOGO! Soft Comfort použité pri vývoji programu. V závere je vypracovaný podrobný postup návrhu riadiaceho programu., This bachelor´s thesis deals with the economic consequences of water savings, technical implementation of the energy saving systems and production of an educative model. Accordingly, the impact of water saving on the environment is mentioned, too. Subsequently, the theoretical bases of a logical operating needed for a realization of the model are mentioned as well. The following chapter describes the parts of the environment LOGO! Soft Comfort that are used for the development of the program. In the final part, a detailed procedure of the design of the operating program is drawn up.

Bakalárska práca sa zaoberá ekonomickými dôsledkami úspory vody, technickou realizáciou úsporných systémov a tvorbou edukatívneho modelu. Tiež je tu spomenutý dopad úspory vody na životné prostredie. Následne sú rozobrané teoretické východiská logického riadenia potrebné pre realizáciu modelu. Ďalšia kapitola popisuje časti prostredia LOGO! Soft Comfort použité pri vývoji programu. V závere je vypracovaný podrobný postup návrhu riadiaceho programu., This bachelor´s thesis deals with the economic consequences of water savings, technical implementation of the energy saving systems and production of an educative model. Accordingly, the impact of water saving on the environment is mentioned, too. Subsequently, the theoretical bases of a logical operating needed for a realization of the model are mentioned as well. The following chapter describes the parts of the environment LOGO! Soft Comfort that are used for the development of the program. In the final part, a detailed procedure of the design of the operating program is drawn up.

Diplomová práce se zabývá úspornými zdravotně- technickými instalacemi. Je rozdělena na tři části: analýza zadání, aplikace tématu na budově a experiment. V první části jsou popsány možnosti úspory vody a energie v zdravotně-technických instalacích. Druhá část obsahuje porovnání několika variant úsporného řešení odběru vody a kanalizace v objektu hotelu. Jednotlivá technická řešení jsou porovnána z hlediska ekonomiky provozu, uživatelského komfortu, dopadu na životní prostředí. Část experiment zkoumá spotřebu vody při mytí rukou v závislosti: na tlaku ve vnitřním vodovodu a na typu směšovací baterie., The thesis deals with energy-saving plumbing systems. It is divided into three parts: task analysis, applications theme on the building and experiment. In the first part are described the possibilities of saving water and energy in the plumbing systems. The second part contains a comparison of some variants of saving solution water supply system and sanitary drainage system at the hotel. Part of the experiment investigates the water consumption for washing hands in addiction: the pressure in the water supply system and the type of mixing valves.

Diplomová práce se zabývá tématem zdravotně technické a plynovodní instalace v tělocvičně.V teoretické části je řešena úspora vody při použití úsporných armatur v budově. Následně je provedeno finanční zhodnocení. Dále se práce zaměřuje na možné varianty řešení zadané specializace. Zde jsou řešeny dva způsoby dimenzování a dva způsoby míchání teplé vody pro sprchování. Projektová část následně řeší zdravotně technické a plynovodní instalace v tělocvičně ve vybrané variantě., The thesis deals with the topic of the Sanitation installations and gas installations in a gym. The core element of the theoretical part is the water saving while using the economical fixture in the building. The following point is the financial estimation. The thesis also deals with various options of solving the scheduled specialisation. Here, the two ways of proportioning and two ways of mixing the hot water for taking a shower are described in detail. The project part is trying to solve the sanitary technical and gas pipeline in a gym in the chosen version.

Diplomová práce se zabývá úspornými zdravotně- technickými instalacemi. Je rozdělena na tři části: analýza zadání, aplikace tématu na budově a experiment. V první části jsou popsány možnosti úspory vody a energie v zdravotně-technických instalacích. Druhá část obsahuje porovnání několika variant úsporného řešení odběru vody a kanalizace v objektu hotelu. Jednotlivá technická řešení jsou porovnána z hlediska ekonomiky provozu, uživatelského komfortu, dopadu na životní prostředí. Část experiment zkoumá spotřebu vody při mytí rukou v závislosti: na tlaku ve vnitřním vodovodu a na typu směšovací baterie., The thesis deals with energy-saving plumbing systems. It is divided into three parts: task analysis, applications theme on the building and experiment. In the first part are described the possibilities of saving water and energy in the plumbing systems. The second part contains a comparison of some variants of saving solution water supply system and sanitary drainage system at the hotel. Part of the experiment investigates the water consumption for washing hands in addiction: the pressure in the water supply system and the type of mixing valves.