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There has been renewed interest in the performance, functionality, and sustainability of traditional small-scale storage interventions (check dams, farm bunds and tanks) used within semi-arid regions for the improvement of local water security and landscape preservation. The Central Groundwater Board of India is encouraging the construction of such interventions for the alleviation of water scarcity and to improve groundwater recharge. It is important for water resource management to understand the hydrological effect of these interventions at the basin scale. The quantification of small-scale interventions in hydrological modelling is often neglected, especially in large-scale modelling activities, as data availability is low and their hydrological functioning is uncertain. A version of the Global Water Availability Assessment (GWAVA) water resources model was developed to assess the impact of interventions on the water balance of the Cauvery Basin and two smaller sub-catchments. Model results demonstrate that farm bunds appear to have a negligible effect on the average annual simulated streamflow at the outlets of the two sub-catchments and the basin, whereas tanks and check dams have a more significant and time varying effect. The open water surface of the interventions contributed to an increase in evaporation losses across the catchment. The change in simulated groundwater storage with the inclusion of interventions was not as significant as catchment-scale literature and field studies suggest. The model adaption used in this study provides a step-change in the conceptualisation and quantification of the consequences of small-scale storage interventions in large- or basin-scale hydrological models.
Robyn Horan; Pawan Wable; Veena Srinivasan; Helen Baron; Virginie Keller; Kaushal Garg; Nathan Rickards; Mike Simpson; Helen Houghton-Carr; H. Rees. Modelling Small-Scale Storage Interventions in Semi-Arid India at the Basin Scale. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6129 .
AMA StyleRobyn Horan, Pawan Wable, Veena Srinivasan, Helen Baron, Virginie Keller, Kaushal Garg, Nathan Rickards, Mike Simpson, Helen Houghton-Carr, H. Rees. Modelling Small-Scale Storage Interventions in Semi-Arid India at the Basin Scale. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (11):6129.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRobyn Horan; Pawan Wable; Veena Srinivasan; Helen Baron; Virginie Keller; Kaushal Garg; Nathan Rickards; Mike Simpson; Helen Houghton-Carr; H. Rees. 2021. "Modelling Small-Scale Storage Interventions in Semi-Arid India at the Basin Scale." Sustainability 13, no. 11: 6129.
Recently, there has been renewed interest in the performance and functionality of traditional small-scale storage interventions (check dams, farm bunds and tanks) used across India for the improvement of local water security. The Central Groundwater Board of India is encouraging the construction of such interventions for the alleviation of water scarcity. It is of critical importance to understand the hydrological effect of these interventions at basin scales to maximise their effectiveness. The quantification of small-scale interventions in hydrological modelling is often neglected, especially in large-scale modelling exercises. A bespoke version of the GWAVA model was developed to assess the impact of interventions on the water balance of the Cauvery Basin and two smaller sub-catchments. Model results demonstrate that farm bunds appear to have a negligible effect on the estimated average annual streamflow at the outlets of the two sub-catchments and the basin whereas tanks and check dams have a more significant effect. Interventions generally were found to increase evaporation losses across the catchment. The model adaption used in this study provides a step-change in the conceptualisation and quantification of the consequences of small-scale storage interventions in large- or basin-scale hydrological models.
Robyn Horan; Pawan S Wable; Veena Srinivasan; Helen Elizabeth Baron; Virginie Keller; Kaushal K K Garg; Nathan Rickards; Mike Simpson; Helen Houghton-Carr; Gwyn Rees. Modelling Small-scale Storage Interventions at the Basin Scale. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleRobyn Horan, Pawan S Wable, Veena Srinivasan, Helen Elizabeth Baron, Virginie Keller, Kaushal K K Garg, Nathan Rickards, Mike Simpson, Helen Houghton-Carr, Gwyn Rees. Modelling Small-scale Storage Interventions at the Basin Scale. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRobyn Horan; Pawan S Wable; Veena Srinivasan; Helen Elizabeth Baron; Virginie Keller; Kaushal K K Garg; Nathan Rickards; Mike Simpson; Helen Houghton-Carr; Gwyn Rees. 2021. "Modelling Small-scale Storage Interventions at the Basin Scale." , no. : 1.
This paper presents a comparison of the predictive capability of three hydrological models, and a mean ensemble of these models, in a heavily influenced catchment in Peninsular India: GWAVA (Global Water AVailability Assessment) model, SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) and VIC (Variable Infiltration Capacity) model. The performance of the three models and their ensemble were investigated in five sub-catchments in the upstream reaches of the Cauvery river catchment. Model performances for monthly streamflow simulations from 1983–2005 were analysed using Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, Kling-Gupta efficiency and percent bias. The predictive capability for each model was compared, and the ability to accurately represent key catchment hydrological processes is discussed. This highlighted the importance of an accurate spatial representation of precipitation for input into hydrological models, and that comprehensive reservoir functionality is paramount to obtaining good results in this region. The performance of the mean ensemble was analysed to determine whether the application of a multi-model ensemble approach can be useful in overcoming the uncertainties associated with individual models. It was demonstrated that the ensemble mean has a better predictive ability in catchments with reservoirs than the individual models, with Nash-Sutcliffe values between 0.49 and 0.92. Therefore, utilising multiple models could be a suitable methodology to offset uncertainty in input data and poor reservoir operation functionality within individual models.
Robyn Horan; R Gowri; Pawan Wable; Helen Baron; Virginie Keller; Kaushal Garg; Pradeep Mujumdar; Helen Houghton-Carr; Gwyn Rees. A Comparative Assessment of Hydrological Models in the Upper Cauvery Catchment. Water 2021, 13, 151 .
AMA StyleRobyn Horan, R Gowri, Pawan Wable, Helen Baron, Virginie Keller, Kaushal Garg, Pradeep Mujumdar, Helen Houghton-Carr, Gwyn Rees. A Comparative Assessment of Hydrological Models in the Upper Cauvery Catchment. Water. 2021; 13 (2):151.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRobyn Horan; R Gowri; Pawan Wable; Helen Baron; Virginie Keller; Kaushal Garg; Pradeep Mujumdar; Helen Houghton-Carr; Gwyn Rees. 2021. "A Comparative Assessment of Hydrological Models in the Upper Cauvery Catchment." Water 13, no. 2: 151.
Robyn HORANiD; Pawan S Wable; Veena Srinivasan; Helen Elizabeth BaroniD; Virginie Keller; Kaushal K K Garg; Nathan RickardsiD; Mike Simpson; Helen Houghton-CarriD; Gwyn ReesiD. Modelling Small-scale Storage Interventions at the Basin Scale. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleRobyn HORANiD, Pawan S Wable, Veena Srinivasan, Helen Elizabeth BaroniD, Virginie Keller, Kaushal K K Garg, Nathan RickardsiD, Mike Simpson, Helen Houghton-CarriD, Gwyn ReesiD. Modelling Small-scale Storage Interventions at the Basin Scale. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRobyn HORANiD; Pawan S Wable; Veena Srinivasan; Helen Elizabeth BaroniD; Virginie Keller; Kaushal K K Garg; Nathan RickardsiD; Mike Simpson; Helen Houghton-CarriD; Gwyn ReesiD. 2020. "Modelling Small-scale Storage Interventions at the Basin Scale." , no. : 1.
The Narmada river basin is a highly regulated catchment in central India, supporting a population of over 16 million people. In such extensively modified hydrological systems, the influence of anthropogenic alterations is often underrepresented or excluded entirely by large-scale hydrological models. The Global Water Availability Assessment (GWAVA) model is applied to the Upper Narmada, with all major dams, water abstractions and irrigation command areas included, which allows for the development of a holistic methodology for the assessment of water resources in the basin. The model is driven with 17 Global Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) ensemble to assess the impact of climate change on water resources in the basin for the period 2031–2060. The study finds that the hydrological regime within the basin is likely to intensify over the next half-century as a result of future climate change, causing long-term increases in monsoon season flow across the Upper Narmada. Climate is expected to have little impact on dry season flows, in comparison to water demand intensification over the same period, which may lead to increased water stress in parts of the basin.
Nathan Rickards; Thomas Thomas; Alexandra Kaelin; Helen Houghton-Carr; Sharad K. Jain; Prabhash K. Mishra; Manish K. Nema; Harry Dixon; Mohammed M. Rahman; Robyn Horan; Alan Jenkins; Gwyn Rees. Understanding Future Water Challenges in a Highly Regulated Indian River Basin—Modelling the Impact of Climate Change on the Hydrology of the Upper Narmada. Water 2020, 12, 1762 .
AMA StyleNathan Rickards, Thomas Thomas, Alexandra Kaelin, Helen Houghton-Carr, Sharad K. Jain, Prabhash K. Mishra, Manish K. Nema, Harry Dixon, Mohammed M. Rahman, Robyn Horan, Alan Jenkins, Gwyn Rees. Understanding Future Water Challenges in a Highly Regulated Indian River Basin—Modelling the Impact of Climate Change on the Hydrology of the Upper Narmada. Water. 2020; 12 (6):1762.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNathan Rickards; Thomas Thomas; Alexandra Kaelin; Helen Houghton-Carr; Sharad K. Jain; Prabhash K. Mishra; Manish K. Nema; Harry Dixon; Mohammed M. Rahman; Robyn Horan; Alan Jenkins; Gwyn Rees. 2020. "Understanding Future Water Challenges in a Highly Regulated Indian River Basin—Modelling the Impact of Climate Change on the Hydrology of the Upper Narmada." Water 12, no. 6: 1762.
Recently, there has been renewed interest in the utilisation of traditional small-scale storage interventions (check dams, field bunds and tanks) across India for the improvement of local water security. The Central Groundwater Board of India is encouraging the construction of interventions, such as check dams, field bunds and tanks, as the primary policy for the alleviation of water scarcity. It is of critical importance to understand the hydrological effect of these interventions at the small- and large-scale to maximise their impact and effectiveness. The quantification of small- scale interventions in hydrological modelling is often neglected, especially in large- scale modelling exercises. Although individually small, cumulatively these interventions may have a large effect on basin hydrology. A bespoke version of the Global Water AVailability Assessment (GWAVA) model was developed to incorporate the impact of interventions on the hydrology. Interventions were conceptualised within the model structure using local knowledge, observed data and adaptations of existing reservoir representations. The effect of interventions on the water balance of the Cauvery Basin (81 000 km2), Peninsula India, and various small sub-catchments (each approximately 3500 km2) was studied. To quantify the impact of small interventions, two model runs were generated. An initial simulation was performed including a representation of the check dams, field bunds and tanks thought to be within the catchments, and compared with a “reference” simulation where no interventions were included but instead were replaced by grassland. The percentage difference for each component of the water balance was determined as an indicator of the impact of the interventions. The inclusion of interventions increases the total annual evaporation across the basin and reduces the annual streamflow. Although the interventions are constructed to provide increased surface and groundwater storage within the agricultural and urban areas, the implementation resulted in a significant decrease in total annual water storage within the sub- catchments. The aquifer levels rise minimally in the eastern sub-catchments and exhibit no change in the western sub- catchments. The aquifer levels in the mid- basin remained unchanged with the implantation of interventions. Although the implementation of interventions are thought to increase the availability of groundwater at a local scale by upwards of two meters, the investigation using GWAVA suggest that aquifer levels are minimally affected. Based on the current understanding of interventions and the catchment hydrology, the wider effects of interventions on the water balance could be more detrimental to surface water security than anticipated and, thus, may not alleviate water poverty. The uncertainty related to the input data on interventions in the Cauvery may have affected the findings and thus further studies in regions with sufficient data availability and varying climate conditions may provide additional insight into the small- and large-scale effects of interventions.
Robyn Horan; Pawan Wable; Veena Srinivasan; Helen Baron; Virginie Keller; Gywn Rees; Helen Houghton- Carr; Pradeep Mujumdar. Representing Small- Scale Storage Interventions Across the Cauvery Catchment Using a Macro- Scale Gridded Water Resource Model and Quantifying Their Effect on Catchment Hydrology. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleRobyn Horan, Pawan Wable, Veena Srinivasan, Helen Baron, Virginie Keller, Gywn Rees, Helen Houghton- Carr, Pradeep Mujumdar. Representing Small- Scale Storage Interventions Across the Cauvery Catchment Using a Macro- Scale Gridded Water Resource Model and Quantifying Their Effect on Catchment Hydrology. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRobyn Horan; Pawan Wable; Veena Srinivasan; Helen Baron; Virginie Keller; Gywn Rees; Helen Houghton- Carr; Pradeep Mujumdar. 2020. "Representing Small- Scale Storage Interventions Across the Cauvery Catchment Using a Macro- Scale Gridded Water Resource Model and Quantifying Their Effect on Catchment Hydrology." , no. : 1.