Water Resources Assessment

What is a water resource assessment?

 Water resources assessment is the process of
measuring, collecting and analyzing relevant
parameters on the quantity and quality of
water resources for the purposes of a better
development and management of water
resources.
 The international glossary of hydrology
defines the water resources assessment as
the “Determination of the sources, extent,
dependability and quality of water resources
for their utilization and control.” Water
resources are defined as the “water available,
or capable of being made available for use in
sufficient quantity and quality at a location
and over a period of time for an identifiable
demand”.
 Why Water Resources Assessment is Important?

World’s expanding population place an increasing demand of

water on drinking, food production, sanitation and other basic
social and economic needs.
But . . . . . Worlds resources is finite

Human activities is leading to Depletion of resources and

pollution is increasing at alarming rate.

Water related to natural hazards are the most destructive to

human life and property

Climate change , Global warming. . .

Aspects of WRA
Water
resource
development

Management

Planning
Water Resources Assessment
 Water resource assessment is a systematic study of
the status of water services and resources, and of
trends in accessibility and demand within a specific
domain of interest
 Applicable at any relevant level, e.g. Village,
catchment, sub catchment or municipality
 WRA is a tool to evaluate water resources in
relation to evaluate the dynamics of the water
resource in relation to human impacts or demand.
Water Resources Assessment
WRAs help you to clarify:

 Current status of water resources at different scales, including inter-

and intra-annual variability
 Current water use (including variability), and the resulting societal
and environmental trade-offs
 Scale related externalities, especially when patterns of water use are
considered over a range of temporal and spatial scales
 Social and institutional factors affecting access to water and their
reliability
 Opportunities for saving or making more productive, efficient and/or
equitable
 Efficacy and transparency of existing water-
related policies and decision making processes
 Conflicts between existing information sets, and the overall accuracy
of government (and other) statistics
Components of WRA
 SOURCE:UNESCO AND WMO (1997)
 Collection of hydrological data- the collection of historical data on water cycle
components at a number of points distributed over the assessment area such as
quantity and quality of surface and groundwater.
 Collection of physiographic data- obtaining data on the natural characteristics of

.the terrain that determine the areal and time variations of the water cycle
components, such as topography, soil ,surface and bed rock geology , land use and
land cover.
 Collection of data from basic and applied research- further research related to

water resources can be essential especially when some data is missing or the
available data is out of date. Furthermore, research may be needed in order to
develop the require technology used for the water resource assessment.
 Education and training- all the basic WRA activities require skilled man power and

this in turn require training and education of the man power need.
 Technique of areal assessment of water resources- technique of transforming data

into information and of relating the hydrological data to the physiographic data for the
purpose of obtaining information on the water resources characteristics at any point
of the assessment area
Content Example for a Water Resources
Assessment
Adapted from US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS 1999)
The following list is an example how the content of a water resources assessment could look like for your project area:
 
1. Introduction
 
2. Country Profile
 
Geography
Population and social impacts
Economy
Flood control
Legislative framework

 
3. Current Uses of Water Resources
 
Water supply
Domestic uses and needs
Industrial/commercial uses and needs
Agricultural uses and needs

Hydropower

Stream gauge network

Waterway transportation
4. Surface Water Resources
 
 Precipitation and climate

 Rivers and basins

 Lakes and swamps

 Deforestation effects

  

5. Ground Water Resources

 
 Aquifer definition and characteristics

 Hydrogeology

6. Water Quality
 
 Surface water

 Ground water

 Domestic waste disposal

Applicability
In order to improve your sanitation and water system
with the aim to make it more sustainable, it is of prime
importance to conduct a water resources assessment.
Especially when a comprehensive and large-scale change
in the water and sanitation system is envisaged, it is
crucial to know the various parameters related to water
quality and quantity in your area. If you want to save
water and therefore use water more efficiently in your
project area, it is important to know the various water
consumers and their actual water amount they use. Only
by with a sound understanding of the present situation
of water consumption in your project area, you can
decide where and how to save water.
 Advantages
 Conducting a water resources assessment
provides you with a comprehensive
understanding of the quality and quantity of
water resources in your area.
 Only by having a detailed understanding of

the water resources in your area, allows

large-scale change in your water system.
 Disadvantages
 Water Resource Assessment focuses predominantly
on water on a regional or national level and does
usually not consider the nutrient cycle and
sanitation.
 Conducting a water resources assessment requires

considerable time and resources.

 Requires the training and education of manpower in

order to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the

water resources in your area.
 Requires a network of experts who are able to

conduct, analyse and share the data needed for the

water resources assessment.