GROUNDWATER IN THE
IWRM APPROACH
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Learning Objectives
 To
understand IWRM concepts, key principles
drivers.
&
 To
learn about the special characteristics of
groundwater and its relationship to surface water.
 To
know some key challenges facing groundwater
management and the need for new approaches to
address them.
 To
emphasize the need
groundwater management
resource planning
of incorporating
into river-basin
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What is IWRM?
An
approach
that
promotes
coordinated
development & management of:

land and water

surface water and groundwater

river basins (and their adjacent environments)

upstream and downstream user-interests.
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What is IWRM? (contd.)
An approach:
 That
identifies the need to consider different
uses of water together – that different water
uses are interdependent.
What is IWRM? (contd.)
 In
IWRM, water allocations & management
decisions consider the effects of each use on
the others.
 IWRM’s
GOAL is sustainable development
&
management of water resources.
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Water Management Principles
The Dublin principles have been the basis for much
of the subsequent water sector reform.
Fresh water is a
Water development
Women play a
finite & vulnerable
and management central part in the
resource, essential should be based on
provision,
to sustain life,
a participatory
management and
development &
approach, involving
safeguarding of
the environment. users, planners and
water.
policymakers at all
levels.
Water has an
economic value in
all its competing
uses and should
be recognised as
an economic
good.
Essential elements of IWRM planning
1
General Framework
2
IWRM Change Areas (Content)
3
IWRM Planning Process
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General Framework
 is based on Dublin principles & three pillars
driving sustainability – Economic-efficiency,
Environmental-sustainability + social-Equity – and
3 change areas
E c o sys te m S u s ta in a b ility
E n a b lin g
E n v iro n m e n t
M
an
ag
em
en
t
In
s
u
tr
m
en
ts
A s se ssm e n t
In fo rm a tio n
A llo ca tio n to o ls
E c o n o m ic E ffic ie n c y
n
tI
M
r
st
e ny
P o lic
m
L e ggeis la tio n
a
aRn e g u la tio n
Financing &
Incentive
Structure
u
m
t
en
s
In
st
it
ut
io
na
lR
A q u ife r &
o
le
R iv e r B a s in
s
C e n tra l-L o ca l
P u b lic -p riv a te
S o cia l E q u ity 8
IWRM change Areas
THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
1 Policies – setting goals for water use, protection and conservation.
Which of these goals
2 Legislative framework – the rules to enforce to achieve will
policies
and
goals.to
be most
difficult
get agreement
in
3 Financing & incentive structures – allocating financial resources
to on
meet
your country?
water needs.
INSTITUTIONAL ROLES
How should major water
users be brought into the
4 Creating an organizational framework – forms and functions.
institutional framework for
5 Institutional capacity building – developing human resources.
water management
decisions?
MANAGEMENT INSTRUMENTS
6 Water resources assessment – understanding resources and needs.
7 Plans for IWRM – combining development options, resource use and
human interaction.
We already have many
management
8 Demand management – using water more efficiently.
instruments
that don’t
9 Social change instruments – encouraging a water-oriented
civil society.
work – why will it be
10 Conflict resolution – managing disputes, ensuring sharing
of water.
different
this time?
11 Regulatory instruments – allocation and water use limits.
12 Economic instruments – using value and prices for efficiency and equity.
13 Information management & exchange– improving knowledge for better
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water management.
Cycle for developing & adjusting an IWRM Plan
Initiation.
Government commitment.
Team formed
Vision/ policy
Commitment to
IWRM
Evaluation
Situation analysis
Assess progress,
Revise plan
Problems, IWRM
situation, Goals
identified
Work plan


Awareness raising
Stakeholder
participation
Implementation
Legal, institutional,
management actions.
Build capacity

Political commitment
IWRM plan
Strategy choice
Goals prioritised,
Strategy selected
Draft, Stakeholder &
political approval
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Question
what changes are necessary in infrastructure, servicedelivery systems, & governance to achieve some of
the IWRM targets?
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Groundwater Resources
 form
a considerable component of the total
global fresh water.
 represent 29.9% of Earth’s fresh water resources
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The special characteristics of groundwater

Is a vital to many nations

Some 2 billion people depend on it for their water
supply

provides low-cost, drought-reliable & high-quality
water supplies for both urban + rural populations
will be vital for achieving water MDGs

its replenishment is finite and limited to shallower
aquifers, and whose quality can be seriously
degraded by pollution.
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Difference of groundwater from surface water
 Groundwater
occurs in contrasting physical and
chemical environments although the water itself is
essentially part of the same overall cycle.
 Surface
water flows relatively rapidly in small
streams, which feed main rivers draining the
catchment area concerned.
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Difference of groundwater from surface water
(contd.)
 Groundwater moves through aquifers from areas of
recharge to areas of discharge, normally at slow
rates ranging from 1-m/year to 100s-m/day.
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Difference of groundwater from surface water
(contd.)

Tens/hundreds/thousands of years may elapse
between
recharge
and
discharge
to
a
spring/stream/sea. These slow flow rates and
long residence times are among numerous
distinctive features of groundwater systems.
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Relationship of groundwater to surface water
To diagnose relationship between surface water
& underlying aquifer, it is important to distinguish
between:
 rivers
that depend significantly on aquifer
discharge to sustain their dry-weather flow.
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Relationship of groundwater to surface water (contd.)
 streams
and rivers on which an aquifer is
dependent as a significant source of its overall
recharge.
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Groundwater Management
Managing groundwater resources primarily aims at
sustainable development of the resource through:
 Balancing
recharge
into
basin
storage
(groundwater resource) with discharges for
economic, environmental & human benefits.
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Artificial
Recharge
Natural
Recharge
(irrigation losses,
wastewater
returns)
(excess rainfall,
surface water
seepage)
Indirect
Recharge
aquitard leakage,
cross-formational
flow)
(
Aquifer Storage (groundwater resource)
SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT
Economic Benefits
Environmental Benefits
Water for
development
Water for
Environment
Groundwater
abstraction
Grdwater
discharge
(agriculture &
Industry)
(Springs, surface water,
wetlands, coastal zone)
Human Benefits
Water for
People
Grdwater supply
(drinking water &
Sanitation and
livelihood)
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modified from Hiscock, 2002.
Sustainable groundwater development
Groundwater Management (contd.)
Groundwater Management (contd.)
.....sustainable development of groundwater thru’:

Protection of groundwater from pollution

controlled pumping to prevent declining well
yield/quality

Transformation from vicious circle to virtuous
circle
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supply driven management.......
Groundwater Management (contd.)
Increasing demand + Contaminant
Load
Aquifer system/
groundwater
resources impacted
Quality and quantity
deteriorated
Unrestricted
Demand
+
Unregulated
Resources
Water & land-use
behaviour worsen
Dissatisfaction of
water-users
increases
Reliable supply reducing with increasing
cost
.....versus integrated groundwater management
Groundwater Management (contd.)
Management function/
instruments
Enabling
Environment
Acceptable demand + contaminant load
Aquifer
system/
grdwater
resources
protected
Quality &
quantity
stabilize
Resource
Evaluation
Policy
framework
Resource
Allocation
Regulatory
Framework
Hazard
Assessment
Definition of
Water Rights
Pollution
control
Stakeholder
Participation
Monitoring
Economic
Instruments
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Secure supply at reasonable cost
Water &
land use
efficient
Water-users
Satisfied
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Dimensions of groundwater management
Managing groundwater
dimensions, namely:
has
two
important
 Hydrologic
dimension – management of aquifer
resources, which is also referred to as supply-side
management
 Socio-economic
dimension – managing people
(water & land uses), which is also referred to as
demand-side management.
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Key groundwater Management Challenges
1. Supply management challenges
 aquifer
systems and their specific susceptibilities to
negative impacts under abstraction stress are not
addressed
 interactions
between groundwater and surface
water – abstraction effects on river baseflow and
wetland ecology – and recharge reduction effects
due to surface-water modification) remain
unaddressed.
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2. Demand management Challenges

social development goals – food production –
that influence groundwater use are NOT
effectively addressed because they do not
promote cross-sector coordination.

regulatory interventions – water rights/permits –
and economic tools – abstraction tariffs –are
NOT effectively enforced and lack high level of
user participation in their implementation.
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2. Demand management Challenges (contd.)
 There
is no balance between government’s
capacity to enforce regulatory provisions, and
user capacity to comply with the provisions.
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Areas where IWRM would assist in groundwater
management
By:

overcoming traditional institutional separation of
surface water from groundwater and resulting
fundamental communication barriers

replacing risk management decisions – to address
excessive abstraction and/or severe groundwater
pollution – thru’ integrated management approaches,
thereby
 sustainably
meeting increasing demand for water
for broad economic development and livelihoods.
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Key Conclusions
 groundwater
represents a considerable portion of
fresh water resources, whose management should
assume connectivity between surface water
 where physically connected, surface water and
groundwater should be managed as one resource.
 all main water stakeholders must be involved in the
development & management of groundwater
resources
 there is need for capacity building among water
resource authorities and water users as a key driver
to the implementation of groundwater management
measures
Exercise
 Divide into four groups.
 Using
Table 2 in the module, each group
should
define
recommendations
for
management of groundwater in different
hydrogeological settings.
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