Climate Adaptation Needs to Reduce Water Scarcity Vulnerability in the Tagus River Basin
In southern Europe, climate change is expected to aggravate water scarcity conditions and challenge current water management practices. The present paper evaluates the impacts of climate change in the highly regulated Tagus River basin and assesses various adaptation options, quantifying the effort...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/16/2527 |
| _version_ | 1797407352442322944 |
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| author | Melissa Nogueira Sondermann Rodrigo Proença de Oliveira |
| author_facet | Melissa Nogueira Sondermann Rodrigo Proença de Oliveira |
| author_sort | Melissa Nogueira Sondermann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In southern Europe, climate change is expected to aggravate water scarcity conditions and challenge current water management practices. The present paper evaluates the impacts of climate change in the highly regulated Tagus River basin and assesses various adaptation options, quantifying the effort needed to maintain the ability to sustain current water uses. A water management and allocation model covering surface and groundwater resources is used to evaluate available and renewable water resources for different climate scenarios. Additionally, the Water Exploitation Index Plus (WEI+) and water supply reliability criteria are used to quantify water scarcity and the ability to satisfy water demands, respectively. The results show that climate change will significantly change the stream flow regime and reduce water availability in the Tagus River basin, but the existing reservoir infrastructure will alleviate some of these impacts, especially in the dry half-year. Until the end of the century, water scarcity levels, measured by annual WEI+, are expected to increase in the Tagus River basin from 0.46 to 0.52 or 0.62, respectively under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 4.5 or RCP 8.5). The benefits of streamflow regulation vary with the hydrological regimen, the current degree of water use and the role of groundwater resources to meet demand. The benefits of streamflow regulation are also dependent on the environmental flow requirements that will be adopted in the future. A reduction of water consumption for irrigation by 25% to 40% will significantly improve the Tagus River system performance and maintain the current scarcity situation in the future, under the expected scenarios of climate change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:40:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1fb412b4f8874b7d85bb327ea299d108 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:40:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-1fb412b4f8874b7d85bb327ea299d1082023-12-03T14:41:00ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-08-011416252710.3390/w14162527Climate Adaptation Needs to Reduce Water Scarcity Vulnerability in the Tagus River BasinMelissa Nogueira Sondermann0Rodrigo Proença de Oliveira1Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, PortugalCivil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, PortugalIn southern Europe, climate change is expected to aggravate water scarcity conditions and challenge current water management practices. The present paper evaluates the impacts of climate change in the highly regulated Tagus River basin and assesses various adaptation options, quantifying the effort needed to maintain the ability to sustain current water uses. A water management and allocation model covering surface and groundwater resources is used to evaluate available and renewable water resources for different climate scenarios. Additionally, the Water Exploitation Index Plus (WEI+) and water supply reliability criteria are used to quantify water scarcity and the ability to satisfy water demands, respectively. The results show that climate change will significantly change the stream flow regime and reduce water availability in the Tagus River basin, but the existing reservoir infrastructure will alleviate some of these impacts, especially in the dry half-year. Until the end of the century, water scarcity levels, measured by annual WEI+, are expected to increase in the Tagus River basin from 0.46 to 0.52 or 0.62, respectively under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 4.5 or RCP 8.5). The benefits of streamflow regulation vary with the hydrological regimen, the current degree of water use and the role of groundwater resources to meet demand. The benefits of streamflow regulation are also dependent on the environmental flow requirements that will be adopted in the future. A reduction of water consumption for irrigation by 25% to 40% will significantly improve the Tagus River system performance and maintain the current scarcity situation in the future, under the expected scenarios of climate change.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/16/2527climate changeadaptation measureswater availabilitywater demand reductiontransboundary river basin |
| spellingShingle | Melissa Nogueira Sondermann Rodrigo Proença de Oliveira Climate Adaptation Needs to Reduce Water Scarcity Vulnerability in the Tagus River Basin Water climate change adaptation measures water availability water demand reduction transboundary river basin |
| title | Climate Adaptation Needs to Reduce Water Scarcity Vulnerability in the Tagus River Basin |
| title_full | Climate Adaptation Needs to Reduce Water Scarcity Vulnerability in the Tagus River Basin |
| title_fullStr | Climate Adaptation Needs to Reduce Water Scarcity Vulnerability in the Tagus River Basin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate Adaptation Needs to Reduce Water Scarcity Vulnerability in the Tagus River Basin |
| title_short | Climate Adaptation Needs to Reduce Water Scarcity Vulnerability in the Tagus River Basin |
| title_sort | climate adaptation needs to reduce water scarcity vulnerability in the tagus river basin |
| topic | climate change adaptation measures water availability water demand reduction transboundary river basin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/16/2527 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT melissanogueirasondermann climateadaptationneedstoreducewaterscarcityvulnerabilityinthetagusriverbasin AT rodrigoproencadeoliveira climateadaptationneedstoreducewaterscarcityvulnerabilityinthetagusriverbasin |