Algorithm for Assessing Irrigation Water Use Potential Pertaining Present Water Protection Measures at the Danube and Adriatic Sea River Basins
Rozalija CVEJIC, Jana MELJO, Marina PINTAR
Pages: 39-43
Summary
The approach for developing a sectoral water use demand plan for irrigation sector is represented in this paper. The aim of the research is to inform implementation of the measure DDU26 set out by the River basin management plan for the Danube and Adriatic Sea river basins. The latter is an umbrella operational plan set out to achieve good status of water bodies under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The aim of the measure DDU26 is to estimate (a) available stocks of surface water and groundwater and (b) existing and projected water use for the period until 2021. To achieve this all water use sectors (irrigation, domestic use, cooling in electricity production, process water in industry, tourism, etc.) need to establish their own water demand plans reflecting their sectoral development programmes.
Projections of future irrigation water use show the current water use for irrigation will increase. However no spatial reference on where this development will happen is defined thus the projection poorly informs the DDU26 implementation. To overpass the sectoral gap and inform spatially weighted irrigation development that relates to water source use potential pertaining current protection aspirations under the River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), we document the development of the irrigation water use potential algorithm (IWUP). IWUP is a decision tree that helps choose best suitable irrigation water source of several available. The water sources use suitability is ranked on a scale from highly suitable for use to least suitable for use. Use priority of water sources for irrigation decreases accordingly: surface water stream, reservoir, and groundwater. The IWUP incorporates the WFD relevant variables such as ecologically acceptable flow of surface water streams, quantitative groundwater body status, and multifunctional reservoir use.
Projections of future irrigation water use show the current water use for irrigation will increase. However no spatial reference on where this development will happen is defined thus the projection poorly informs the DDU26 implementation. To overpass the sectoral gap and inform spatially weighted irrigation development that relates to water source use potential pertaining current protection aspirations under the River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), we document the development of the irrigation water use potential algorithm (IWUP). IWUP is a decision tree that helps choose best suitable irrigation water source of several available. The water sources use suitability is ranked on a scale from highly suitable for use to least suitable for use. Use priority of water sources for irrigation decreases accordingly: surface water stream, reservoir, and groundwater. The IWUP incorporates the WFD relevant variables such as ecologically acceptable flow of surface water streams, quantitative groundwater body status, and multifunctional reservoir use.
Keywords
irrigation; water use; decision making
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