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G5. MANAGEMENT OF WATER USE AND RE-USE
(KUL-code: IC01 (Th); IC02 (Pr))
Lecturer: FEYEN J.
ECTS-credit: 5 pts
Contact hours: 30 hrs. theory/30 hrs. practical
Prerequisites: -
Time and place: 1st semester, VUB
Course syllabus: Lecture notes
Evaluation: Quotation on exercise problems and oral exam
Comparable handbook: Gleick, P.H. (ed.), 1993. Water in crisis: a guide to the World’s fresh water resources.
Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security, Stockholm
Environment Institute, Oxford University Press, UK.
Mays, LW. (ed.), 1996. Water resources handbook, McGraw-Hill, NY, USA.
Stauffer, J., 1998. The water crisis: constructing solutions to freshwater pollution.
Earthscan Publications Ltd., London, UK.
Tanji, K.K. and B. Yaron (eds.), 1994. Management of water use in agriculture.
Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences 22, Springer Verlag Berlin, 320 p.
Thompson, S.A., 1999. Water use, management and planning in the United States.
Academic Press, NY, USA.
Winpenny, J., 1994. Managing water as an economic resource. Overseas Development
Institute, London, UK.
Additional information: In the practical sessions students are exposed to the use of simulation tools for
predicting the impact of fertilizers in agriculture (diffuse pollution) on the water quality
in rivers, and to use numerical models as instrument in decision making. Exam results
are based on the works submitted during the year and on the oral interview during the
exam. Students are allowed to consult study material during the exam.
Learning objectives:
The main objective is to familiarize students with the extent of the off- and instream water uses; the global
water questions and uncertainties in the 21 st century; the impact of agriculture, industry, domestic and urban
water use on the quantity and quality of groundwater and surface water; solutions to freshwater pollution; the
use of saline water for irrigation; the use of treated waste water for irrigation and other uses; demand
management, water pricing and reliability; and water-transfer systems. By the end of the course the students are
expected to have a global picture of the complexity of water demand and supply, to have been exposed to
different possible solutions, the management and planning of the earth’s water resources.
Course description:
The aim of the course is to inform the students of the increasing competition for water quantity as well as water
quality, and the need for more efficient use of water for human consumption, industry and agriculture. The
course contains the elements required to focus on water management from a wide range of perspectives and
present them in four sections: water resources and water quality (Part A), water suitability (part B), water
conservation and technology (part C), and re-use of treated waters (part D).
A) Water resources and quality
- global and continental water resources;
- domestic, industrial and agricultural uses of water;
- anticipated impacts on future water uses (competition for water quantity and quality between the
socio-economic sectors of the society; increasing of regulation on water use and quality); and
- strategies for the future (new water supplies, water conservation, better use of rainwater,
institutional and policy changes).
Advanced studies in Water Resources Engineering / 31