IGU Commission for Water Sustainability
C08.34
Annual Report 2009
Chair: Professor J.A.A. Jones, UK.
Vice-chair: Professor Kazuki Mori, Japan.
1. Meetings
The Commission held its conference in TurinUniversity from 26th July to the 1st August 2009. The meeting was officially designated as a contribution to the UN International Year of Planet Earth Conference at University of Turin.Professor Claudio Cassardo of the Department of General Physics at TurinUniversity organised a thoroughly professional and engaging meeting that included participation from international scientific bodies, including the World Water Assessment Programme, engineers and environmental and charitable agencies, like HydroAid, as well as academics from a wide range of disciplines, including law.
The conference was sponsored by the Piedmont Region Environmental Protection Agency, the River Po Regional Water Company, and a number of regional councils from the Province to the City of Turin. The Rectors of the University of Turin and the Technical University of Turin spoke at the opening ceremony. Over 60 delegates attended the meeting from around the world, including Japan, USA, Argentina, China, Armenia, South Africa, Tunisia, Italy and Belgium. Two field trips were organised with the assistance of the International Research Centre atthe Società Metropolitana Acque Torino (SMAT). The SMAT Research Centre is producing purified water for space travel. In order to minimize processing costs, SMAT selected well water and spring water from sources near Turin that most closely meet the chemical, bacteriological and physical standards specified by Russia and America prior to treatment, and eschewed taking water from the River Po, which is normally used for the normal public water supply. The process is complicated by having to meet different water standards for the Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts. The water was launched with the ATV module Jules Verne to supply the International Space Station in March 2008. The second fieldtrip visited the Pont Ventoux-Susa hydropower scheme. This is an interesting hybrid scheme which generates electricity using a mix of natural gravity feed and pump storage. At nighttime, when electricity is cheaper and demand is lower, water is pumped from the DoraRiver below the turbines back up to the Val Clarea reservoir, whence it is released in daytime when demand returns. On average about a third of the flow is reused in this way. A fish ladder allows migratory fish to reach the natural river above the system intake.
A selection of papers will be published in a new international online scientific journal, Water, edited by Professor Claudio Cassardo, Department of General Physics at TurinUniversity, and the Commission chairman.
2. Scientific collaborations
2.1 The UN International Year of Planet Earth
Work continues with the compilation of the Groundwater volume for the Springer Legacy Series commemorating the IYPE. Only one or two chapters are now awaited. The Commission’s conference in Turin was also designated as a contribution, as too is our forthcoming book on Water Sustainability.
2.2 NATO
The results of our NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Natural Disasters and Water Security, held in Armenia, were edited and published in the book Threats to Global Water Security(see section 3). This concludes our work with the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme.
One interesting but also one of the more controversial recommendations of the Working Group on the Threat from Armed Conflict and Terrorism (S. Arlosoroff and J.A.A. Jones), published in the book, is that the armed forces should be formally involved in restoring safe water and sanitation at the very early stages when it is too dangerous for aid workers to enter the field of combat. The idea was taken up by the future UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, in March 2010 prior to the General Election. His remarks elicited immediate condemnation from the charities. Save the Children maintained that the military should not do humanitarian work because it blurs the distinction between the combatants and civilians and so puts civilian aid workers at risk. However, the Department for International Development (DFID) supported the idea, saying that military and civil organizations need to be combined as security is a huge problem for aid organizations.
The Working Group proposed the creation of special sections of the military or under military control that are more specialized in water and sanitation provision and restoration than the current military engineers, and noted that NGOs have a multitude of other aims and interests and are funded on a non-professional and potentially less reliable basis, mainly by donations. The hope was also expressed that in the long-term the UN might develop a formal and specific set of international rules concerning responsibilities for the protection and restoration of water supplies and sanitation during armed conflicts.
3. Publications
The main event of the year was the publication of Threats to Global Water Security in the NATO Science for Peace and Security Series – C, Environmental Security, comprising 400 pages, in hard back, paperback and as an eBook. The Contents are attached in the following pages.
Editing is also well advanced with a Special Issue of the new online international journal Water, based on a selection of the best papers presented at the Turin conference. This will be online in 2010. Somewhat less success has met the special issue we have edited for GeoJournal. This was planned to cover the Asia-Pacific region and to complete a trilogy of issues previously covering Africa (2004) andSouth America (2008).Unfortunately, the commissioning editor, Professor Max Barlow of ConcordiaUniversity, Montreal, had retired by the time we submitted the issue and the new editor appears to be steering the journal more towards human geography. He rejected our submission rather oddly by simply not replying to emails. We are still seeking a publisher.
Work on the water atlas is now very well advanced and it is due for publication by Hodder in 2010 under the new title Water Security – a global perspective. The IYPE Groundwater volume is also due for publication in 2010.
3.1 Books and Special Issues of international journals
Jones, J.A.A., T.G. Vardanian and C. Hakopian (eds) 2009: Threats to global water security. NATO Science for Peace and Security – C: Environmental Security, Springer, Dordrecht, 400pp. ISBN 978-90-481-2343-8 (pb), ISBN 978-90-481-2336-0 (hb), ISBN 978-90-481-2344-5 (ebook); Library of Congress Control Number 2009927446.
Jones,J.A.A. (Ed.), in prep: Sustaining groundwater resources. Springer Legacy Series, Dordrecht.
Jones, J.A.A. in press: Water Sustainability – a global perspective. Hodder.
Cassardo, C. and J.A.A. Jones (eds), in press: Managing Water in a Changing World: Selected Papers from the 7th Conference of the Commission on Water Sustainability", Water, online special issue, ISSN 2073-4441,
Threats to Global Water Security
J. Anthony A. Jones, Trahel G. Vardanian and Christina Hakopian (eds)
Springer, Dordrecht, 400pp. ISBN 978-90-481-2336-0.
Preface
J.A.A. Jones
Section 1. Overview: the major issues
THREATS TO GLOBAL WATER SECURITY: POPULATION GROWTH, TERRORISM, CLIMATE CHANGE, OR COMMERCIALISATION?
J. Anthony A. Jones
LESS IS MORE: APPROACHING WATER SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY FROM THE DEMAND SIDE
David Brooks and Jamie Linton
Water security of nations: how international trade affects national water security and dependency
Arjen Y. Hoekstra
REDUCING THE RISK: DROUGHT MITIGATION AND THE ECONOMY OF IRRIGATION
S. Szalai and l. Cselőtei
WORKING GROUP I: RISK ASSESSMENT AND WATER GOVERNANCE
Chair and rapporteur: David Brooks
Section 2: Water quality and terrorism
Drinking water security in crisis situations from a medical perspective
Anca Elena Gurzau, Cristina Borzan, Ioana Rodica Lupsa, Luminita Otilia Sfetcu, Adrian Liviu Ivan and Sorin Gurzau
BIOSENSORS IN A SYSTEM OF INSTRUMENTAL TOOLS TO PREVENT EFFECTS OF BIOTERRORISM AND AUTOMOTIVE CONTROL OF WATER PROCESS PURIFICATION
Nickolaj F. Starodub
A HIGH SENSITIVITY NUCLEAR METHOD FOR REAL-TIME DETECTION OF ELEMENTS AND COMPOUNDS IN DRINKING WATER AND SOIL
Philipp Buckup
NATURAL DISASTERS AND SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE WATER POLLUTION RISK ASSESSMENT FOR SOME REGIONS OF GEORGIA
Teimuraz Davitashvili
STORM SURGES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST OF GULF OF RIGA: CASE STUDY OF THE LIELUPERIVER
T. Koltsova and J. Belakova
GROUND WATER VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE APARAN AQUIFER, REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA, AND ITS REPRESENTATION IN A 3-D MODEL
Artashes Aghinian
WASTEWATER MODELING TO REDUCE DISASTER RISK FROM GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION
N. Haruvy and S. Shalhevet
SURVIVAL IN GROUNDWATER AND FT-IR CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME PATHOGENIC AND INDICATOR BACTERIA
Z. Filip and K. Demnerova
WORKING GROUP II: THE THREAT FROM ARMED CONFLICT AND TERRORISM
Chairs and rapporteurs: Saul Arlosoroff and Tony Jones
Section 3: Managing extreme events and climate change
CLIMATE CHANGE, GLACIER RETREAT, AND WATER AVAILABILITY IN THE CAUCASUS REGION
M. Shahgedanova, W. Hagg, D. Hassell, C.R. Stokes and V. Popovnin
RISK MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION IN HIGHLY URBANIZED RIVER BASINS
S. Pagliara
SPATIAL DATA INTEGRATION FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES OF FLOOD MANAGEMENT
Gh. Stancalie, V. Craciunescu and A. Irimescu
THE USE OF REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES IN FLOOD MONITORING AND DAMAGE ASSESSMENT: A STUDY CASE IN ROMANIA
Anisoara Irimescu, Gheorghe Stancalie, Vasile Craciunescu, Cristian Flueraruand Elaine Anderson
FLOODING IN AFGHANISTAN: A CRISIS
Emlyn Hagen and John F. Teufert
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE FLOODS OF ROMANIA
Barbu Constantin-Horia, Spanu Simona, Petru Gabriela and Suciu Adrian
DEVELOPMENT OF DANGEROUS GEODYNAMIC PROCESSES IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND THE PROBLEM OF MITIGATING THEIR CONSEQUENCES
I.V.Bondyrev and E.D.Tsereteli
THREATS IN THE TIENSHAN-PAMIR REGION OF KYRGYZSTAN
Igor Hadjamberdiev, Vitalii Shablovsky and Vladislav Ponomarev
LONG-TERM PROGNOSIS OF HIGH FLOWS IN THE MOUNTAIN RIVERS OF GEORGIA
Tsisana Basilashvili
WATER DISASTERS IN THE TERRITORY OF ARMENIA
Trahel Vardanian
THE FLOODS ON THE RIVER DANUBE IN 2006: SOCIAL IMPACT AND REMEDIAL PROCESSES
Mihaela Lazarescu
THE ANALYSIS OF DANGEROUS HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES FOR THE TEREKRIVER BASIN
N.I. Alexeevskiy and N.L. Frolova
FLOODS AND THEIR RISK ASSESSMENT IN EAST SIBERIA
L.M. Korytny, N.V. Kichigina and V.A. Cherkashin
REMOVING CHLORINE-CONTAINING ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN THE ENVIRONMENT AFTER FLOODS
Gagik Torosyan and Siranush Harutyunyan
CALIBRATION OF AN ATMOSPHERIC/HYDROLOGICAL MODEL SYSTEM FOR FLOOD FORECASTING IN THE ODRA WATERSHED
H.-T. Mengelkamp
THE ROLE OF METEOROLOGICAL MODELS IN THE PREDICTION OF WEATHER HAZARDS – THE EUROPEAN APPROACH
C. Cassardo
EXTENDING THE DANUBE FLOOD FORECASTING SYSTEM WITH THE USE OF METEOROLOGICAL ENSEMBLES
András Csík and Gábor Bálint
WORKING GROUP III: THREATS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE - GLOBAL PROBLEMS IN A REGIONAL CONTEXT
Chair and rapporteur: Peter Robinson
Section 4: Protecting aquatic ecosystems
Assessment of Risks and Possible Ecological and Economic Damage from Large-Scale Natural and Man-Induced Catastrophes in EcologICALLY VULNERABLE Regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus
A.N. Valyaev, S.V. Kazakov,A.A. Shamaeva, O.V. Stepanets, H. D. Passell, V.P. Solodukhin, V.A. Petrov, G.M. Aleksanyan, D.I. Aitmatova, R.F. Mamedov, M.S. Chkhartishvili
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF INTENTIONAL OR ACCIDENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS TO WATER SECURITY IN the DANUBE Delta
Liviu–Daniel Galatchi
PREVENTING DISASTER ON FRENCH CREEK, ONE OF THE MOST BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE RIVERS IN NORTH AMERICA
James O. Palmer and Eric Pallant
APPRAISAL OF METHODOLOGY OF ECOLOGICAL RISKS ASSESSMENT ARISING FROM POLLUTION OF THE RIVERS OF THE UKRAINE
V.D. Romanenko, S.A. Afanasyev and A.I. Tsybulskiy
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND WATER SECURITY OF THE BTC PIPELINE IN ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREAS OF GEORGIA
Manana Devidze
Section 5: Infrastructure - technical innovations and failures
EFFECTS OF RESERVOIRS ON STREAMFLOW IN THE BOREAL REGION
Ming-Ko Woo and Robin Thorne
HYDROGEOLOGIAL FACTORS AND THE SAFE OPERATION OF HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES
Robert Minasyan and Samer Zeizafoun
EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF A WATER HAMMER ON THE FAILURE OF A CORRODED WATER PIPELINE
G. Pluvinage, C. Schmitt and E. Hadj Taeib
SEWER SYSTEM CONDITION, TYPE OF SEWERS AND THEIR IMPACTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Štefan Stanko and Ivana Mahríková
Section 6: Restoring the water resources of the Aral Sea basin
THE ARAL SEA: A MATTER OF MUTUAL TRUST
Yusup Kamalov
EXTREME AND AVERAGE GLACIER RUNOFF IN THE AMUDARYARIVER BASIN
V. Konovalov
FUTURE OF THE ARAL SEA AND THE ARAL SEACOAST
V.A. Dukhovny, A.I. Tuchin, A.G. Sorokin, I.Ruziev and G.V. Stulina
NATURAL DISASTER: PREVENTION OF DRINKING WATER SCARCITY
Rashid A. Khaydarov, Renat R. Khaydarov and S.Y. Cho
ESTIMATION OF ECOLOGICAL RISK OF TRANSBOUNDARY POLLUTION OF THE AMURIVER
L. Kondratjeva and N. Fhisher
On the development of A strategy for THE optimal use of the upstream water resources OF THE Amudarybasin in the national interests OF THE TajikRepublic
S. Navruzov
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR TRANSBOUNDARY WATER RESOURCES IN CENTRAL ASIA
I.Sh Normatovand G.N. Petrov