Risk Assessment of Water Resources

A special issue of Resources (ISSN 2079-9276).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2025 | Viewed by 5646

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Systems, Faculty of Civil, Environmental Engineering and Architecture, Rzeszow University of Technology, Al. Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland
Interests: water management; quality of water intended for consumption; index methods for drinking water quality assessment; matrix methods used to analyze and assess the risk of lack of water supply to water consumers; water supply under crisis conditions; failure risk analysis; the possibility of using IT tools in the engineering design process; risk maps in water engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Systems, Faculty of Civil, Environmental Engineering and Architecture, Rzeszow University of Technology, Al. Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland
Interests: risk analysis in water supply systems; safety of drinking water supplies; water safety plans; risk assessment of water intakes; risk maps; water supply in crisis situations; unconventional water supply methods; failure of the water supply network; water losses analysis; Bayesian networks; fuzzy set theory; gray systems theory
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Systems, Faculty of Civil, Environmental Engineering and Architecture, Rzeszow University of Technology, Al. Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland
Interests: safety of collective water supply systems; risk analysis of water intakes; diversification of water sources; allocation of water in water tanks; use of hydraulic models of water supply networks to analyze crisis situations; crisis water supply in the event of energy shortages
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the increase in population, urbanization, and economic development, the demand for fresh water in urban areas in Europe is increasing. At the same time, the availability of water for urban residents is also affected by climate change and the level of pollution. Freshwater resources are widely recognized as the main source of water intended for human consumption as well as being an essential element of any ecosystem. The sustainable development and skillful use of water resources has increasingly become a challenge for water companies in recent years due to the growing demand for water and the changing climate from year to year. According to the data of the European Environment Agency (EEA), about 248,000 million m3 of water is withdrawn in Europe to meet the needs of European economies, including those resulting from the right to water. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of European citizens live in urban areas and depend on access to clean water. About one-fifth of the total freshwater extracted in Europe is supplied to municipal water systems. Both developed and developing countries face the problem of an imbalance between the supply of and demand for water. According to the findings of the EEA, prolonged periods of low rainfall and drought, as well as the misuse of water resources, have placed the balance between water demand and water availability at a critical level in many European countries. In light of these considerations and the increasing pressure on water resources, measures should be taken to reduce the occurrence of water shortages, especially in the summer. These activities should focus primarily on water resource risk analyses, preventing the over-exploitation of water resources, and the rational use of water, which will directly contribute to minimizing the amount of water abstracted and its rational use. These activities should be undertaken primarily at the local as well as regional levels and should be tailored to the individual needs of individual regions. However, this requires more detailed hydro-meteorological monitoring and detailed research in areas, where water consumption is already high and water resources are low.

Dr. Izabela Piegdon
Dr. Dawid Szpak
Dr. Krzysztof Boryczko
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • risk analysis
  • risk assessment
  • water resources
  • water balance
  • climate change
  • water supply
  • safety
  • water management

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 5807 KiB  
Article
Proposition and Application of a Conceptual Model for Risk Management in Rural Areas: Rural Basic Sanitation Safety Plan (RBSSP)
by Rafaella Oliveira Baracho, Nolan Ribeiro Bezerra and Paulo Sérgio Scalize
Resources 2024, 13(7), 90; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13070090 - 27 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1321
Abstract
Safe access to drinking water and sanitation is a human right and a key goal of sustainable development, which must also be achieved in rural areas. This work proposes and simulates the application of a conceptual model for a basic sanitation safety plan [...] Read more.
Safe access to drinking water and sanitation is a human right and a key goal of sustainable development, which must also be achieved in rural areas. This work proposes and simulates the application of a conceptual model for a basic sanitation safety plan tailored for rural areas, called the Rural Basic Sanitation Safety Plan (RBSSP). The methodology includes technical and scientific review approaches, followed by consultation with specialists through the Delphi method and simulation in a case study. The RBSSP framework includes six fundamental principles, six steps, and twenty actions to be performed. In the case study, the final conceptual model application was simulated for a rural settlement scenario, which led to significant changes in the actions, subdivisions and phases. Key findings highlight that community participation, involvement and empowerment are the most relevant factors for successful implementation. The necessary tools for RBSSP preparation, such as risk assessment methodologies and management plans, must be applied considering the scenario. Finally, after simulating the conceptual model, we conclude that it is necessary to adapt actions and apply methods and techniques developed and appropriate for rural areas to develop an effective RBSSP for each specific scenario. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risk Assessment of Water Resources)
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18 pages, 3503 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Snowfall Conditions in Poland Based on the Snow Fraction Sensitivity Index
by Urszula Somorowska
Resources 2024, 13(5), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13050060 - 24 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2882
Abstract
This study focuses on temperature and snowfall conditions in Poland, both of which were analyzed from 1981 to 2020. A 40-year record of daily snow fraction time series values was reconstructed using a unique and global multi-source weighted-ensemble precipitation (MSWEP) product, which provided [...] Read more.
This study focuses on temperature and snowfall conditions in Poland, both of which were analyzed from 1981 to 2020. A 40-year record of daily snow fraction time series values was reconstructed using a unique and global multi-source weighted-ensemble precipitation (MSWEP) product, which provided a spatially and temporally consistent reference for the assessment of meteorological conditions. The average states and trends in snow fraction and temperature were analyzed across several years, focusing on the 6-month cold season (November–April). The impact of temperature on the snow fraction pattern was assessed by introducing a snow fraction sensitivity index. To predict short-term changes in snow conditions, a proxy model was established; it incorporated historical trends in the snow fraction as well as its mean state. This study provides clear evidence that the snow fraction is principally controlled by increases in temperature. A warming climate will thus cause a decline in the snow fraction, as we observed in vast lowland areas. Given the ongoing global warming, by the 2050s, snow-dominated areas may go from covering 86% to only 30% of the country’s surface; they will be converted into transient rain–snow areas. Our results demonstrate that a decline in snow water resources has already occurred, and these resources are expected to diminish further in the near future. New insights into the sensitivity of the snow fraction to climate warming will expand our collective knowledge of the magnitude and spatial extent of snow degradation. Such widespread changes have implications for the timing and availability of soil and groundwater resources as well as the timing and likelihood of floods and droughts. Thus, these findings will provide valuable information that can inform environmental managers of the importance of changing snowfall conditions, guiding them to include this aspect in future climate adaptation strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risk Assessment of Water Resources)
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