Water Management

Water Management is the integrating concept for a number of water sub-sectors such as hydropower, water supply and sanitation, irrigation and drainage, and environment. An integrated water resources perspective ensures that social, economic, environmental and technical dimensions are taken into account in the management and development of water resources.

Viewed from above, our planet stands outs as a "blue marble" set against the vast blackness of outer space, with an abundance of water on its surface. Yet, only a small amount of this water is fresh and suitable for consumption by plants, animals and humans. Conscientious management of surface and ground water supply is a vital societal need. Surface water includes both flowing water in streams and rivers, and impounded water in natural lakes, polar ice caps, and human-made reservoirs. Ground water includes the large amounts of water stored beneath the Earth's surface in aquifers -- vitally important to the viability of agriculture and human habitation in drier climates. It is important to determine where supplies of fresh water are located, to quantify how much water is available, and to figure out how fast the water supply is increasing or decreasing. Increased demand threatens to deplete these precious water resources and accurate information on water availability (e.g., from surface reservoirs, snow pack, underground aquifers, etc.) is needed in order to meet the water resource needs of an ever-growing population and the preservation of the earth's ecology..

Not only must society concern itself with having water in sufficient quantity, but it also needs to ensure the quality of the available water. Potable water quality issues impact every region of the country and while pollution from point sources has been identified and is relatively well characterized, non-point-source pollution is a much more difficult problem. There are also issues of intermittent flow, and the relation to the variability in stream flow rates that are still not well understood. In addition, underground aquifers must be better characterized in terms of their location, recharge rate, and the potential for having contaminated surface water leech into these underground water reserves.