Water security assessment using blue and green water footprint concepts

Abstract The quantitative assessment of water security using the concept of blue and green water footprints can improve water resources management at local to regional scale. We developed an integrated modeling framework by considering both climatic and anthropogenic factors to investigate spatio-temporal variability of blue and green water availability and to quantify the water security in a river basin. The proposed modeling framework can be useful for providing an overview of the water security within the watershed and to identify water stress (hot spots) regions within the river basin. We applied Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to quantify the availability of fresh water (blue water and green water) in Savannah River Basin (SRB), USA. The anthropogenic factors (e.g., water demand) and Environmental Flow Requirement (EFR) information are incorporated to quantify the water security in terms of scarcity and vulnerability indices. A higher amount of blue water was observed for counties located in the upper part of SRB and higher green water flow was observed for counties that has the presence of intensive agriculture and large water bodies (e.g., reservoir). A time lag exists between the maximum rainfall during June-September and the maximum blue water observed in December-March. The study also analyzed the monthly variation of blue and green water flow for counties located in SRB. We expect that the water security assessment can provide useful information for understanding the emerging hot spots within a river basin (eco-system) due to the abstraction of water for human activities, such as irrigation, industrial use, energy production and domestic use.

[1]  V. Singh,et al.  A review of drought concepts , 2010 .

[2]  J. Arnold,et al.  AUTOMATED METHODS FOR ESTIMATING BASEFLOW AND GROUND WATER RECHARGE FROM STREAMFLOW RECORDS 1 , 1999 .

[3]  K. Seto,et al.  The impact of urbanization on water vulnerability: A coupled human- environment system approach for Chennai, India , 2013 .

[4]  Hong Yang,et al.  Global consumptive water use for crop production: The importance of green water and virtual water , 2009 .

[5]  J. Rockström,et al.  The New Blue and Green Water Paradigm: Breaking New Ground for Water Resources Planning and Management , 2006 .

[6]  W. Lucht,et al.  Agricultural green and blue water consumption and its influence on the global water system , 2008 .

[7]  F. Kraxner,et al.  Assessment of spatial and temporal patterns of green and blue water flows under natural conditions in inland river basins in Northwest China , 2012 .

[8]  J. Nash,et al.  River flow forecasting through conceptual models part I — A discussion of principles☆ , 1970 .

[9]  Julia L. Fanning,et al.  Water Use in Georgia by County for 2005; and Water-Use Trends, 1980-2005 , 2009 .

[10]  V. Singh,et al.  Integrated drought causality, hazard, and vulnerability assessment for future socioeconomic scenarios: An information theory perspective , 2015 .

[11]  L. S. Pereira,et al.  Crop evapotranspiration : guidelines for computing crop water requirements , 1998 .

[12]  K. Abbaspour,et al.  Modelling blue and green water resources availability in Iran , 2009 .

[13]  Xing-wei Chen,et al.  Improved calibration scheme of SWAT by separating wet and dry seasons , 2015 .

[14]  Hoshin Vijai Gupta,et al.  A blue/green water‐based accounting framework for assessment of water security , 2013 .

[15]  J. Rockström,et al.  Building Water Resilience in the Face of Global Change: From a Blue-Only to a Green-Blue Water Approach to Land-Water Management , 2010 .

[16]  S. Evett,et al.  Validating the FAO AquaCrop Model for Irrigated and Water Deficient Field Maize , 2009 .

[17]  Bruno Marcos,et al.  Can we infer about ecosystem services from EIA and SEA practice? A framework for analysis and examples from Portugal , 2013 .

[18]  J. Padowski,et al.  Water availability and vulnerability of 225 large cities in the United States , 2012 .

[19]  A. Hoekstra,et al.  A global and high-resolution assessment of the green, blue and grey water footprint of wheat , 2010 .

[20]  Raghavan Srinivasan,et al.  Threshold Effects in HRU Definition ofthe Soil and Water Assessment Tool , 2015 .

[21]  D. Legates,et al.  Interannual and seasonal variability of modelled soil moisture in Oklahoma , 2003 .

[22]  A. Hoekstra,et al.  The water footprint of bioenergy , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[23]  Peter M. Allen,et al.  Automated Base Flow Separation and Recession Analysis Techniques , 1995 .

[24]  J. Rockström.  Green water security for the food makers of tomorrow: windows of opportunity in drought-prone savannahs. , 2001, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[25]  Nancy L. Barber,et al.  Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2000 , 2004 .

[26]  A. Hoekstra,et al.  A Global Assessment of the Water Footprint of Farm Animal Products , 2012, Ecosystems.

[27]  D. Or,et al.  Balancing water scarcity and quality for sustainable irrigated agriculture , 2015 .

[28]  K. Abbaspour,et al.  Estimation of freshwater availability in the West African sub-continent using the SWAT hydrologic model , 2008 .

[29]  Kimberly H. Shaffer.  Consumptive Water Use in the Great Lakes Basin , 2008 .

[30]  P. Sen.  Estimates of the Regression Coefficient Based on Kendall's Tau , 1968 .

[31]  Jeffrey G. Arnold,et al.  The Soil and Water Assessment Tool: Historical Development, Applications, and Future Research Directions , 2007 .

[32]  George H. Hargreaves,et al.  Agricultural Benefits for Senegal River Basin , 1985 .

[33]  K. Abbaspour.  Calibration of Hydrologic Models : When is a Model Calibrated ? , 2005 .

[34]  S. Kanae,et al.  Global Hydrological Cycles and World Water Resources , 2006, Science.

[35]  Assefa M. Melesse,et al.  SWAT model application and prediction uncertainty analysis in the Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia , 2009 .

[36]  K. Abbaspour,et al.  Modelling hydrology and water quality in the pre-alpine/alpine Thur watershed using SWAT , 2007 .

[37]  K. Abbaspour,et al.  A continental-scale hydrology and water quality model for Europe: Calibration and uncertainty of a high-resolution large-scale SWAT model , 2015 .

[38]  A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi,et al.  Analysis of best management practice effectiveness and spatiotemporal variability based on different targeting strategies , 2014 .

[39]  A. Hoekstra.  Virtual water trade : A quantification of virtual water flows between nations in relation to international crop trade , 2003 .

[40]  R. Tharme.  A global perspective on environmental flow assessment: emerging trends in the development and application of environmental flow methodologies for rivers , 2003 .

[41]  Robert R. Pierce,et al.  Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 1995 , 1998 .

[42]  J. Rockström,et al.  Future water availability for global food production: The potential of green water for increasing resilience to global change , 2009 .

[43]  K. Abbaspour,et al.  Modeling blue and green water availability in Africa , 2008 .

[44]  Brian Richter,et al.  A PRESUMPTIVE STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROTECTION , 2012 .

[45]  C. Vörösmarty,et al.  Global water resources: vulnerability from climate change and population growth. , 2000, Science.

[46]  P. McIntyre,et al.  Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity , 2010, Nature.

[47]  Jessica Jewell,et al.  The IEA Model of Short-Term Energy Security (MOSES): Primary Energy Sources and Secondary Fuels , 2011 .

[48]  John R. Williams,et al.  LARGE AREA HYDROLOGIC MODELING AND ASSESSMENT PART I: MODEL DEVELOPMENT 1 , 1998 .

[49]  K. Abbaspour,et al.  Simulating spatiotemporal variability of blue and green water resources availability with uncertainty analysis , 2015 .

[50]  Indrajeet Chaubey,et al.  Simulated watershed scale impacts of corn stover removal for biofuel on hydrology and water quality , 2012 .

[51]  P. Conrads,et al.  Decision Support System for Optimally Managing Water Resources to Meet Multiple Objectives in the Savannah River Basin , 2015 .

[52]  Arjen Ysbert Hoekstra,et al.  Reply to Ridoutt and Huang: From water footprint assessment to policy , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[53]  Brian Richter,et al.  Re‐thinking environmental flows: from allocations and reserves to sustainability boundaries , 2010 .

[54]  M. Aldaya,et al.  The Water Footprint Assessment Manual: Setting the Global Standard , 2011 .

[55]  A. Hoekstra,et al.  The water footprint of cotton consumption: An assessment of the impact of worldwide consumption of cotton products on the water resources in the cotton producing countries , 2006 .

[56]  Ge Sun,et al.  Impacts of Multiple Stresses on Water Demand and Supply Across the Southeastern United States 1 , 2008 .

[57]  A. Hoekstra,et al.  The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products , 2010 .

[58]  Adel Shirmohammadi,et al.  EVALUATION OF THE SWAT MODEL'S SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT COMPONENTS IN THE PIEDMONT PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGION OF MARYLAND , 2004 .