Water Papers

183 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16997

Water Papers are produced by the Water Global Practice, taking up the work of the predecessor Water Unit, Transport, Water and ICT Department, Sustainable Development Vice Presidency.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 10 of 48

Water in Circular Economy and Resilience

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-09-15) Delgado, Anna ; Rodriguez, Diego J. ; Amadei, Carlo A. ; Makino, Midori

Rethinking urban water through the circular economy and resilience lenses offers an opportunity to transform the urban water sector and deliver water supply and sanitation services in a more sustainable, inclusive, efficient, and resilient way. Circular Economy principles have emerged as a response to the current unsustainable linear model of "take, make, consume, and waste." In a circular economy, the full value of water – as a service, an input to processes, a source of energy and a carrier of nutrients and other materials – is recognized and captured. This report presents the Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework together with global case studies that show the benefits of becoming circular and resilient. It describes the key actions needed to achieve three main outcomes: 1) deliver resilient and inclusive services, 2) design out waste and pollution, and 3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. The report sets out to demystify circular economy by showing that both high-income and low-income countries can benefit from it.
Joining Forces to Combat Protracted Crises: Humanitarian and Development Support for Water and Sanitation Providers in the Middle East and North Africa

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-02-05) World Bank ; ICRC ; UNICEF

Protracted crises in urban contexts of the Middle East and North Africa region present a growing challenge for water supply and sanitation (WSS) service providers and, in turn, the governments and international organizations that support them. The protracted nature of crisis in countries characterized by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) transcends conventional notions of (pre-, during, and post-) crisis management. This report examines five pernicious problems identified by WSS service providers operating in protracted crisis in the Middle East and North Africa region. The five problems are: (1) inadequately governed water resources management; (2) aggressive competition from alternative providers (tanker trucks), undermining network services; (3) paralysis of high-tech wastewater treatment plants; (4) escalating energy costs of off-grid generation; and (5) the cashflow crunch as service provider costs jump and revenues fall. The pernicious problems are shown to stem from precrisis vulnerabilities that have their origins in the rapid period of urbanization and infrastructure expansion across the Middle East and North Africa region. Humanitarian and development actors should strengthen their partnerships in both anticipating and responding to protracted crises. Strengthening humanitarian-development partnerships to support WSS service providers in these ways will address key aspects of precrisis resilience building and also of resilience (re)building in protracted crisis.
Remote Sensing of Water Quality in the Valle de Bravo Reservoir, Mexico

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10) World Bank

This case study assessed ongoing initiatives to address surface water pollution issues in Mexico, working in partnership with the Comision Nacional del Agua (CONAGUA), the national agency responsible for the administration of water resources and its management. Particular focus was placed on a pilot case study application of remote sensing techniques to detection of water-quality issues in the Valle de Bravo reservoir. This assessment will contribute to a better understanding of options for water-quality remote sensing capabilities and needs. It will assist in identifying appropriate remote sensing tools and devising an application strategy to support decision making regarding the targeting and monitoring of nutrient pollution prevention and mitigation measures.
Remote Sensing of Water Quality in Laguna del Sauce, Uruguay

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-05) World Bank

Laguna del Sauce is a water supply reservoir located in the Department of Maldonado (Uruguay), approximately 15 kilometers west of Punta del Este and 100 kilometers east of Montevideo. This case study assessed ongoing initiatives to address surface water pollution issues in Uruguay, working in partnership with a team of government agencies charged with water resource management. This assessment will contribute to better understanding of options for water-quality remote sensing capabilities and needs. It will also assist the government of Uruguay in identifying appropriate remote sensing tools and devising an application strategy to provide information needed to support decision making regarding the targeting and monitoring of nutrient pollution prevention and mitigation measures.
Water Scarcity in Morocco: Analysis of Key Water Challenges

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-01) Taheripour, Farzad ; Tyner, Wallace E. ; Haqiqi, Iman ; Sajedinia, Ehsanreza

Morocco is expected to be faced with a major water shortfall prompted by either expansion in demand for water or reduction in precipitation induced by climate change. This paper examines the economywide impacts of these factors for Morocco. It uses a computable general equilibrium model augmented with submodules that trace consumption of water by uses and land allocation across sectors including crops, livestock, and forestry. Results show that water scarcity and changes in crop yields induced by climate change could reduce the GDP of Morocco up to 6.7 billion US dollars per year at 2016 constant prices and eliminate many job opportunities, in particular in the rural areas of this country. Only a portion of these negative impacts can be removed with improvements in water use efficiency. The factors mentioned above will reduce productivity of Morocco’s cropland and have the potential to reduce irrigated areas. Due to these changes, production of crops and food products are expected to fall, with increases in crop prices by up to 14.3 percent, assuming other factors being equal. Investment in water use efficiency practices that save water, in particular in agricultural activities, and shifting toward more valuable and less water intensive crops can help to partially mitigate these adverse impacts.
Toward Managing Rural Drinking Water Quality in the State of Punjab, India

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-01) World Bank

Rural drinking water quality is an emergent issue in the State of Punjab. In response to health concerns related to children being exposed to metals in some regions, and reports of higher incidence of cancers in the state, the department of drinking water supply and sanitation conducted blanket testing of all its water supply sources. The objective of this study was to systematically examine the drinking water quality issue and provide practical guidance to the state on possible responses. The state’s commitment to addressing this issue is highlighted by its allocation of 59 million dollars for a component to improve water quality through the Punjab Rural Water and Sanitation Sector Improvement Project, financed by the World Bank. While the study seeks to provide an analytical basis for understanding the occurrence and impact of the contamination, practical actions have been explored and demonstrated to allow the state to begin actively managing the water quality issue. The study is designed around three key areas: understanding the problem; taking appropriate action; and institutional sensitization and action. This report is a first step toward understanding and managing water quality issues in the state. It provides an analytical basis for moving forward and has demonstrated approaches that have yielded valuable lessons for scale-up. The next steps are for the state to identify key actions and develop detailed action plans for implementation.
Determinants of Declining Water Quality

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-19) Ayana, Essayas

This is a background paper for "Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis." (Report No. 140973)This review examines determinants of poor water quality and natural and anthropomorphic factors determining water quality. It also discusses various water quality parameter measurement tools that can be applied in situ or remotely to assess water quality easily so measurements can be used to evaluate the economic impact of poor water quality. The correlation of water quality indicators to determinants (natural or anthropogenic) is also summarized based on the abundance of literature supporting the relationship. In doing so, this paper takes a thematic approach and applied the following search phrases to the literature review: "determinants of (parameter) in surface water," "drivers of (parameter) in surface water," and "remote sensing techniques to estimate (parameter)."
Watershed: A New Era of Water Governance in China - Thematic Report

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-01) World Bank

Each of the chapters presented in this report is based on a series of 15 thematic reports. They provided the basis for the joint identification of key priority reforms by the World Bank and China that were bought together and published in an accompanying Synthesis Report. Topics included: (1) overview of water governance in China; (2) evaluation of China’s water security status and issues; (3) advancing water quality markets in China; (4) macro-economic impacts of water scarcity and redlines in China; (5) re-examining the Three Red Lines Policy; (6) water rights verifications and transactions; (7) best practices in cost-benefit analysis for water investments; (8) water prices, taxes, and fees; (9) flood risk management and protection; (10) ecology compensation and governance; (11) legal reform for water governance; (12) China’s water management administrative system and its reform; (13) technical innovation and development of an information platform in China; (14) Public Private Partnerships and water governance in China; (15) summary and overall design of China’s water governance system. These discussions emphasized key issues for water governance in China, including the need for a stronger legislative foundation for water governance; enhanced basin-scale governance institutions; harmonization of existing policy tools, such as water permits and water rights; better information and data-sharing; and the need to promote ecosystem resilience. Based on these consultations and discussions, a final set of 15 key recommendations have been put forward. These recommendations form the core of the accompanying Synthesis Report. Each priority area is the subject of a separate chapter focusing on the rationale for each of the policy recommendations, drawing on research completed by each study team.
Better Data, Better Results: Remote Sensing as a Tool for Monitoring Water Quality in Lake Toba, Indonesia

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06-01) World Bank

Lake Toba is a unique natural asset of global significance with a rich cultural heritage located in the North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. Located 904 meters above sea level and with a maximum depth of more than 500 meters, this 87-kilometer-long lake provides a wide range of economic and environmental goods and services for more than half a million people and 400 villages in the seven districts covered by the lake's 3,658 square kilometer catchment. However, sustaining the long-term economic and environmental value of Lake Toba depends on addressing the deterioration of water quality. This technical guidance note reports on the potential benefits of using remote sensing as part of an integrated strategy to improve the monitoring and management of water quality in Lake Toba.
A Groundwater Modelling Investigation of Greywater Disposal: South Tarawa, Kiribati

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06-01) Jazayeri, Amir ; Solórzano-Rivas, S. Cristina ; Sinclair, Peter ; Antoniou, Andreas ; Irvine, Dylan J. ; Werner, Adrian D.

This report focused on a numerical modelling assessment of the possible effects of greywater reuse on the freshwater lenses in South Tarawa, Kiribati. Conceptual models and 2D cross-sectional numerical models of selected transects of Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu Islands were developed based on available field data. Simulations then were used to assess greywater transport and its effects on freshwater lenses in current situation and future scenarios. The modelling results show that adding the greywater discharge increases notably the freshwater thickness compared to the baseline scenario where greywater discharge is neglected. Eight scenarios were simulated to test the influence of rainfall dynamics and groundwater abstraction rates on the contribution of greywater disposal on freshwater lens thickness. The report then provides recommendations for future work to enhance the outcomes of future modelling efforts and the feasibility of indirect greywater reuse.