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Alberto Montanari Hydrology and

Water
University of Bologna

Resources
Management
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 Learning Objectives

Water Resources Management is about solving problems

to secure water for people, based on a sound scientific
understanding of hydrologic and hydraulic processes.
This includes protection from excess water and from
water shortage, as well as providing sufficient water for a
sustainable environment.
At the end of this class you will:
• be aware of water resources issues at local (state),
national and global scale,
• be able to qualitatively and quantitatively describe the
main processes in the hydrologic cycle, and
• be able to provide solutions for typical water resources
problems found in practice.

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 Program

• Introduction: definitions, quantification of the water cycle,

practical problems.
• Illustration of a case study: the Emilia-Romagna region,
Italy.
• Assessment of water resources availability: rainfall-runoff
modelling.
• Assessment of water resources availability: generation of
synthetic hydrological variables.
• Water resources management: decision theory and
decision under uncertainty.
• Water resources management: the impact of climate
change.

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 Some informations about myself

I usually prefer not to indicate fixed receiving hours. I am

usually working in my office and therefore I am willing to
receive students any time. Appointments can be fixed by
email.

Email: alberto.montanari@unibo.it
Phone: +39 051 2093356 (93356 from internal phones)
Web: www.albertomontanari.it

Details on the final examination

Details on final year projects

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 Suggested text book
This textbook covers the first part of the course,
which provides and introduction to hydrology.

Additional textbooks and notes will be suggested

during the following classes.

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 What is Water Resources Engr./Manag.?

6 Figure 1.1.1 (p. 1)

Ingredients of water resources management (from Mays, 1996).
 What is Hydrology (1)?
From Wikipedia:
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water
throughout the Earth, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and
environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist,
working within the fields of either earth or environmental science, physical
geography, geology or civil and environmental engineering.

Domains of hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface hydrology, hydrogeology,

drainage basin management and water quality, where water plays the central role.
Oceanography and meteorology are not included because water is only one of
many important aspects.

Hydrological research can inform environmental engineering, policy and planning.

Water covers 70% of

the Earth's surface
(from Wikipedia)

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 What hydrologists do?
From Usgs.gov:
The hydrologist studies the fundamental transport processes to be able to describe the
quantity and quality of water as it moves through the cycle (evaporation, precipitation,
streamflow, infiltration, ground water flow, and other components). The engineering
hydrologist, or water resources engineer, is involved in the planning, analysis, design,
construction and operation of projects for the control, utilization, and management of water
resources. Water resources problems are also the concern of
meteorologists, oceanographers, geologists, chemists, physicists, biologists, economists,
political scientists, specialists in applied mathematics and computer science, and engineers in
several fields.

Hydrologists apply scientific knowledge and mathematical principles to solve water-related

problems in society: problems of quantity, quality and availability. They may be concerned with
finding water supplies for cities or irrigated farms, or controlling river flooding or soil erosion.
Or, they may work in environmental protection: preventing or cleaning up pollution or locating
sites for safe disposal of hazardous wastes. Persons trained in hydrology may have a wide
variety of job titles. Scientists and engineers in hydrology may be involved in both field
investigations and office work. In the field, they may collect basic data, oversee testing of
water quality, direct field crews and work with equipment. Many jobs require travel, some
abroad. A hydrologist may spend considerable time doing field work in remote and rugged
terrain. In the office, hydrologists do many things such as interpreting hydrologic data and
performing analyses for determining possible water supplies.
The work of hydrologists is as varied as the uses of water and may range from planning
multimillion dollar interstate water projects to advising homeowners on drainage problems.
 Ancient
Hydrologic
Hydrology has been a History
subject of investigation and
engineering for millennia.

Nile River
For example, about 4000
B.C. the Nile was dammed

The longest
to improve agricultural
productivity of previously

river in the
barren lands. Mesopotamian
towns were protected from

world
flooding with high earthen
walls. Aqueducts were built

(6650 km)
by the Greeks and Ancient
Romans, while the History
of China shows they built
irrigation and flood control
works. The ancient
Sinhalese used hydrology to
build complex irrigation
Works in Sri Lanka, also
known for invention of the
Valve Pit which allowed
construction of large
reservoirs, anicuts and
canals9 which still function. Loucks and van
Beek, 2006
 Ancient Hydrologic History
There were many Nilometers in
Egypt, but the most important
ones were at Elephantine Island.
The Nilometer was important as it
measured the rise of the
floodwaters of the Nile. If the Nile
did not rise enough, the land
would experience famine
conditions. If the Nile rose too
high, it would flood and destroy
the villages. Every temple in
Egypt had a Nilometer because it
was a symbol of life.

http://www.bibleplaces.com/aswan.htm

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 Ancient Hydrologic History

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NILOMETER READING IN ELLS

Disaster
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WATER
Abundance

1 ELL = 1.1m
16 SECURITY
Security
Happiness
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Suffering
Hunger
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But hydrology is a
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young science….

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[After Eagleson et al., 1991, p.20]
 Major Reservoirs of Water

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[does not add to 100% due to rounding, numbers differ slightly depending on study used]
 Water Cycle

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 Water Cycle

14 From Chow et al., Applied Hydrology, page 6

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Oki, T. and Kanae, S. 2006. Global hydrological cycles and world water resources. Science, 313, 1068-1072.
Temporal evolution of natural catastrophes from 1980 to 2012

Source: MunichRE, NatCatSERVICE

Floods are the first cause of fatalities and economic losses among natural disasters worldwide
 Floods

Damage survey in St. Genevieve, Missouri,

during the 1993 Midwest floods [courtesy of FEMA].

Floods cause extensive damage: “during 1991-1995,

flood related damage totaled more than US$200 billion
(not inflation adjusted) globally, representing close to
40% of all economic damage attributed to natural
disasters in the period -- (Pielke Jr. and Downton,
2000, citing IFRCRCS, 1997). In the United States,
annual flood damage runs in the billions of dollars
(Pielke Jr. and Downton, 2000). Improved prediction of
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floods could reduce these costs substantially, in
addition to reducing flood-induced loss of life.
 Droughts

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 Water Availability is Decreasing

Water availability is decreasing for:

• Climate change (need to be very careful);
• Overexploitation;
• Pollution

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 Water Availability is Decreasing

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 Water Availability is Decreasing

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By the year 2025 nearly 2
billion people will live in
regions or countries with
absolute water scarcity,
The Future?
even allowing for high World
Year Population
levels of irrigation (billions)
efficiency. 2010 6.8

2020 7.6

2030 8.2

2040 8.7

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources
 Oki, T. and Kanae, S. 2006. Global hydrological cycles and world water resources. Science, 313, 1068-1072.

(Rws > 0.4) = Water Stress

Water Scarcity Index Rws
Total Water Withdrawal – Desalinated Water
Rws =
Renewable Freshwater Resources

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Rws
 Typical Domestic Water Use

• 100-600L/person/day (high-income countries)

• 50-100L/person/day (low-income)
• 10-40L/person/day (water scarce)

• Differences in
domestic freshwater
use:
– Piped distribution or
carried number/type
of appliances and
sanitation
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 Human Usage

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 Water Stress

• Based on human consumption and linked to

population growth
• Domestic requirement:
– 100L/person/day = 40m3/person/year
– 600L/person/day = 240m3/person/year
• Associated agricultural, industrial & energy
need:
– 20 x 40m3/person/year = 800m3/person/year
• Total need:
– 840m3/person/year
– 1040m3/person/year

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 Water Stress [m3/person/year]

• Water scarcity: <1000 m3 /person/year

– chronic and widespread freshwater problems
• Water stress: <1700 m3 /person/year
– intermittent, localised shortages of freshwater
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• Relative sufficiency: >1700 m3 /person/year
 The Lake Aral disaster

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 The Lake Aral disaster

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 The Lake Aral disaster

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 The Dublin Principles of 1992 as Guiding
Principles for Water Management:

In commending this Dublin Statement to the world leaders assembled at the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, the Conference participants urge all governments to study
31 carefully the specific activities and means of implementation recommended in the Conference Report, and to translate
those recommendations into urgent action programmes for water and sustainable development.
 What is the role of hydrology for water
resources management?

• Estimation of water resources availability

• Estimation and reduction of hydrological risks
• Development of hydrological scenarios
• Ensure proper information to decision makers

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