Alberto Montanari

University of Bologna

Advanced
Hydrology and
Water
Resources
Management

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.

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

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.

What is Water Resources Engr./Manag.?

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)

What is Hydrology (2)?

From Usgs.gov:
Hydrology is the science that encompasses the occurrence, distribution, movement and
properties of the waters of the earth and their relationship with the environment within each
phase of the hydrologic cycle.
The water cycle, or hydrologic cycle, is a continuous process by which water is purified by
evaporation and transported from the earth's surface (including the oceans) to the atmosphere
and back to the land and oceans. All of the physical, chemical and biological processes
involving water as it travels its various paths in the atmosphere, over and beneath the earth's
surface and through growing plants, are of interest to those who study the hydrologic cycle.
There are many pathways the water may take in its continuous cycle of falling as rainfall or
snowfall and returning to the atmosphere. It may be captured for millions of years in polar ice
caps. It may flow to rivers and finally to the sea. It may soak into the soil to be evaporated
directly from the soil surface as it dries or be transpired by growing plants. It may percolate
through the soil to ground water reservoirs (aquifers) to be stored or it may flow to wells or
springs or back to streams by seepage. The water cycle may be short, or it may take millions
of years.
People tap the water cycle for their own uses. Water is diverted temporarily from one part of
the cycle by pumping it from the ground or drawing it from a river or lake. It is used for a
variety of activities such as households, businesses and industries; for irrigation of farms and
parklands; and for production of electric power. After use, water is returned to another part of
the cycle: perhaps discharged downstream or allowed to soak into the ground. Used water
normally is lower in quality, even after treatment, which often poses a problem for downstream
8
users.

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.

Hydrology has been a

subject of investigation and
engineering for millennia.
For example, about 4000
B.C. the Nile was dammed
to improve agricultural
productivity of previously
barren lands. Mesopotamian
towns were protected from
flooding with high earthen
walls. Aqueducts were built
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
canals10which still function.

Ancient
Hydrologic
History

Nile River
The longest
river in the
world
(6650 km)

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

But hydrology is a
young science.
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[After Eagleson et al., 1991, p.20]

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Disaster
WATER

1 ELL = 1.1m

NILOMETER READING IN ELLS

20

16

Abundance

Security
14

Happiness
Suffering

12
10

Hunger

SECURITY

Major Reservoirs of Water

13

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

Water Cycle

14

Water Cycle

15

From Chow et al., Applied Hydrology, page 6

16
Oki, T. and Kanae, S. 2006. Global hydrological cycles and world water resources. Science, 313, 1068-1072.

Floods

Damage survey in St. Genevieve, Missouri,

during the 1993 Midwest floods [courtesy of FEMA].

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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
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

21

By the year 2025 nearly 2

billion people will live in
regions or countries with
absolute water scarcity,
even allowing for high
levels of irrigation
efficiency.

The Future?

22

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources

Year

World
Population
(billions)

2010

6.8

2020

7.6

2030

8.2

2040

8.7

Oki, T. and Kanae, S. 2006. Global hydrological cycles and world water resources. Science, 313, 1068-1072.

(Rws > 0.4) = Water Stress

Rws =

Water Scarcity Index Rws

Total Water Withdrawal Desalinated Water

Renewable Freshwater Resources

23

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

30

The Dublin Principles of 1992 as Guiding

Principles for Water Management:

31

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
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.

Gender Issues: E.g. Ethiopia

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What is the role of hydrology for water

resources management?

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Estimation of water resources availability

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