UFZ Integrated Project (IP) Water Scarcity The UFZ Integrated Project: Water Scarcity – An example of an interdisciplinary research approach

Ralf Merz Department Catchment Hydrology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ WRHC 2015 OS workshop: Water scarcity in Middle East North Africa – challenges and opportunities for water science cooperation

Water Scarcity: A global challenge

• Water scarcity affects one in three people on every continent of the globe,

Some facts and figures • 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water • 2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation (2002, UNICEF/WHO JMP 2004) • 1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases. • 3 900 children die every day from water borne diseases (WHO 2004) • Over 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries mostly without adequate legal or institutional arrangements. WitH2Out!

Water Scarcity: A global challenge

• Water scarcity affects one in three people on every continent of the globe, • …, getting worse in future

• MENA is a hot spot region 100

Growth rate (%)

80

60

40

20 100

0 Cy pr us

ba ni a

90 80 70 Growth rate (%)

80 Growth rate (%)

G re ec e

Cr oa t ia

Al

ly Ita

ov en ia Sl

100

-20

Fr an ce

Sp ai n

90

60

70 60 50 40 30 20

50

10

40

0

30

Pal. Auth.

20

Israel

Lebanon

Jordan

Syria

Turkey

Saudi Arabia

10 0 Morocco

Algeria

Tunisia

Libya

Egypt

Population growth (incl. migration)  tripling in food demand by 2050 ! Growth of urban and industrial areas

Temperature: + 2°C, Precipitation: - 20% since 1970 (PlanBleu, 2009) Decrease in available water resources: upto 50 % by 2100 (EC, 2007)

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Integrated project (IP) Water Scarcity

1 of 3 UFZ water research themes in (2014-2018) 13 Departments, 62 FTE Scientists from natural sciences, engineering and social-sciences

Ongoing projects/activities

CATYHD (GLOBAQUA)

MET (MARSOL) UPOL (WATER Diplomacy) BOPHY

OEKON (WATER Jordan)

CATYHD (GLASCA) UBZ (Swings)

UBZ (NICE, SMART MOVE) CATYHD (DESERVE,TBMOd) ANA (PECtake)

GWS/CATYHD (RADAQUA)

GWS/CATYHD (SPACES)

CHS: Pan-EU mHM modelling

CATYHD/ENVINF (IWAS)

UBZ/HDG/CATYHD (TRC Oman)

WitH2Out!

How to secure water for living (today/in future) in the MENA region? Key research questions/ challenges: • Reliable assessment of available/future water resources (in space and time, quantity/quality) • Innovative water-saving and water-efficient technologies & infrastructures, novel ideas for agricultural practices • Flexible technologies & infrastructures for water wise sanitation, (re)use and storage concepts • Exploitation of unconvential water resources • Management & governance strategies, social and cultural framework • … WitH2Out!

Reliable assessment of available/future water resources ….. despite data scarcity Our approach: Problem-Oriented Measurements & Monitoring and complexityreduced transferrable models

Example: Dead Sea is dominated by unknown groundwater inflow Our Approach: Added Value by combination of complementary data Potential groundwater flow paths by remote sensing Discharge locations from thermal images

Validation with GW model Linking possible infiltration areas and discharge locations by hydro-chemical analyses, fingerprints , isotopes

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Flexible and resilient sanitation, waste water treatment and re-use clusters

Technologies for efficient & flexible wastewater treatment clusters (≤20,000 p.)

Implementation research and policy advice

Storage and reuse concepts

Monitoring the risks of closed water reuse cycle WitH2Out!

Waste Water Treatment Technologies Langenreichenbach, Germany

Low-tech

(mg/L as N)

Total Nitrogen Concentra on Concentration TN

80

15 systems Development of new system efficiency metrics

High-tech

Influent = 73 mg/L

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

unplanted

planted

Horzontal Flow (tradi onal design)

unplanted

planted

Ver cal Flow (tradi onal design)

Transfer to (semi-) arid regions

Water loss (L/g TN)

Less water efficient



unplanted

planted

Horiztonal Flow with Aera on

unplanted

planted

Ver cal Flow with Aera on

unplanted Reciproca ng



More water efficient

Energy demand (kWh/g TN)

Fuhais, Jordan Fuhais, Jordan

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Waste Water Treatment Infrastructures GIS-based decision tool

Treatment Scenario

Specific Cost (JOD/m3)

Current situation (tanker trucks)

2.33

Centralized treatment

1.32

Decentralized treatment

0.94

Decentralized treatment & reuse

0.89

Capacity development & institutional framework

Official Opening SMART WWTP Princess Rahmeh College March 2014

 UFZ member in the National Implementation Committee for Effective Decentralized Wastewater Management in Jordan (NICE)  Effective Decentralized Wastewater Management is now incorporated UFZ office in the into Jordanian Water Strategy  DWWM on project list of German- Jordanian Ministry of Water Jordanian Government Talks

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Functioning management framework 2 research directions: 1). Coupling of hydro(geo)logical models and socio-economic modules

Jordan Water Project (JWP): Role of the urban module in the overall model structure

crop yield

Population, GDP Land Use Module

urban growth

Crop Yield Module

Urban Module

infiltration crop choice, applied water, Non-Jordan irrigation technology Diversions

Agricultura l Module

allocations, rules, prices Water Urban Urban WaterResale Resale Utilities Utilities Water Water Prices Prices Water Schedules Urban Households Urban UrbanHouseholds Households

Institutional Module water levels

Water Demands

Extractions

Crop Prices

flows, levels

Surface Water Module

diversions

Precipitation

Making

Overall aim | Analyse the key determinants contributing to the transformation of water conflicts to cooperation over water

-> What are the legal aspects of successful cooperation over freshwater resources? Partners | The Hague Institute for Global Justice (lead); Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI); Uppsala University; UNESCO-IHE; IUCN; Middle East Desalination Research Center; UFZ

extractions extractions

Groundwater Module

Envir. Flows

2). Water Diplomacy: cooperation Work

recharge

Case studies | Lower Jordan (Israel, Jordan, Palestine) & Tigris-Euphrates (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran)

Non-Jordan Extractions

E.g. effect of informal tanker marker on water supply in Amman

WitH2Out!

How to secure water for living (today/in future) in the MENA region? Key research questions/ challenges: • Reliable assessment of available/future water resources (in space and time, quantity/quality) • Innovative water-saving and water-efficient technologies & infrastructures, novel ideas for agricultural practices • Flexible technologies & infrastructures for water wise sanitation, (re)use and storage concepts • Exploitation of unconvential water resources • Management & governance strategies, social and cultural framework • … WitH2Out!

How to secure water for living (today/in future) in the MENA region? Our experience: • Water Scarcity is a global challenge, a MENA is a hot spot region • To address to current challenges, we need a interdisciplinary approach. • For sustainable research and implementation we need a functioning cooperation with scientist, stake holders and decision makers in the MENA region and between science, technology and implementation. • From a German science perspective: We need longer–term perspectives to build networks within the MENA region.

We need joint activities, so let us discuss at WRHC! WitH2Out!

Thank you! WitH2Out!