CIVWARE

Water Resources
Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

De La Salle University
1st Term 2020-2021
INTRODUCTION
Water Resources Engineering
◼ concerned with the protection, development, and
efficient management of water resources for beneficial
purposes.

◼ involves planning, design, and construction of projects

for supply of water for domestic, commercial, public, and
industrial purposes, flood protection, hydroelectric
power, control of rivers and water runoff, and
conservation of water resources, including prevention of
pollution.
(Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers, 2004)
◼ deals with water sources, collection, flow
control, transmission, storage, and
distribution
◼ For efficient management of these aspects,
water resource engineers require a knowledge
of fluid mechanics; hydraulics of pipes, culverts,
and open channels; hydrology; water demand,
quality requirements, and treatment; production
of water from wells, lakes, rivers, and seas;
transmission and distribution of water supplies;
design of reservoirs and dams; and production
of hydroelectric power
Fields of Water Resources Engineering

◼ Flood mitigation, land drainage, sewerage,

and highway culvert design are
applications of WRE to the control of water
so that it will not cause excessive damage
to property, inconvenience to the public, or
loss of life
◼ Water supply, irrigation, hydro-electric-
power development, and navigation
improvements are examples of the
utilization of water for beneficial purposes
◼ Pollution control or water quality
management
Fig. 1. Water resources engineering and management scope (Mays, 1996)
According to Global Water
Partnership
◼ Water is an essential natural resource that
shapes regional landscapes and is vital for
ecosystem functioning and human well-being.

◼ At the same time, water is a resource under

considerable pressure. Alterations in the
hydrologic regime due to global climatic,
demographic and economic changes have
serious consequences for people and the
environment.
◼ A water cycle under stress
 Human overuse of water resources, primarily for
agriculture, and diffuse contamination of freshwater
from urban regions and from agriculture are stressing
the water resources in the terrestrial water cycle.

 As a consequence, the ecological functions of water

bodies, soils and groundwater (e.g. filtration, natural
decomposition of pollutants, buffer capacity) in the
water cycle are hampered.
What constitutes water management?

◼ Functions of water resources management

are very complex tasks and may involve
many different activities conducted by
many different players.
◼ The following components constitute water
resources management (Adapted from
CapNet Training Manual: IWRM for RBO,
June 2008):
1. Water Allocation
◼ Allocating water to major water users and uses,
maintaining minimum levels for social and environmental
use while addressing equity and development needs of
society.
2. River basin planning
◼ Preparing and regularly updating the Basin Plan
incorporating stakeholder views on development and
management priorities for the basin.
3. Stakeholder participation
◼ Implementing stakeholder participation as a basis for
decision making that takes into account the best
interests of society and the environment in the
development and use of water resources in the basin.
4. Pollution control
◼ Managing pollution using polluter pays principles and
appropriate incentives to reduce most important pollution
problems and minimize environmental and social impact.
5. Monitoring
◼ Implementing effective monitoring systems that provide
essential management information and identifying and
responding to infringements of laws, regulations and
permits.
6. Economic and financial management
◼ Applying economic and financial tools for investment,
cost recovery and behavior change to support the goals
of equitable access and sustainable benefits to society
form water use.
7. Information management
◼ Providing essential data necessary to make informed
and transparent decisions and development and
sustainable management of water resources in the
basin.
What is Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM)?

◼ Integrated Water Resources Management

(IWRM) is a process which promotes the
coordinated development and
management of water, land and related
resources in order to maximize economic
and social welfare in an equitable manner
without compromising the sustainability of
vital ecosystems.
IWRM and its Relations to Sub-sectors
IWRM Principles
◼ IWRM strategies are based on the four
Dublin Principles presented at the World
Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

1. Water is finite and vulnerable resource

◼ Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential
to sustain life, development and the environment.
2. Participatory approach
◼ Water development and management should be based
on a participatory approach, involving users, planners
and policy-makers at all levels.

3. Role of women
◼ Women play a central part in the provision, management
and safeguarding of water.
4. Social and economic value of water
◼ Water is a public good and has a social and economic
value in all its competing uses.

5. Integrating three Es
◼ Integrated water resources management is based on the
equitable and efficient management and economic
sustainable use of water.
 Gender and IWRM
◼ Gender equity and women’s
empowerment in water
resources management is one
of the cornerstones of the
Dublin-Rio principles upon
which the GWP network is
founded, and is accepted as
one of the essential pillars to
poverty eradication and
sustainable development.
▪ The World Bank views gender equality as smart economics, in that failure to
empower half the world’s population leads to lower productivity, lower economic
growth, and weaker development outcomes.
The Dublin Principles led
to five key concepts:

1. Multiple uses. Water is a resource for

drinking and washing but is also necessary
for livelihoods.
2. Holistic management. Both the supply of
and the demand for water should be
considered when creating management
strategies.
3. Multiple perspectives. Water is an
economic, social and environmental good.
4. Participatory approach. Local
communities must help make decisions
about their resources.
5. Women involvement. The role of women
in collecting, distributing and managing
water must be recognized.
◼ The IWRM approach promotes more coordinated
development and management of land and water,
surface water and groundwater, the river basin and its
adjacent coastal and marine environment, and upstream
and downstream interests.

◼ It is also about reforming human systems to enable

people to obtain sustainable and equitable benefits from
those resources.
◼ For policy-making and planning, taking an
IWRM approach requires that:
 water development and management takes
into account the various uses of water and the
range of people’s water needs;
 stakeholders are given a voice in water
planning and management, with particular
attention to securing the involvement of
women and the poor;
 policies and priorities consider water resources
implications, including the two-way relationship
between macroeconomic policies and water
development, management, and use;
 water-related decisions made at local and basin
levels are along the lines of, or at least do not conflict
with, the achievement of broader national objectives;
and
 water planning and strategies are incorporated into
broader social, economic, and environmental goals.
IWRM Pillars
◼ An IWRM approach focuses on three basic pillars and
explicitly aims at avoiding a fragmented approach of
water resources management by considering the
following aspects:
1. an enabling environment of suitable policies, strategies and
legislation for sustainable water resources development and
management,
2. putting in place the institutional framework through which to put into
practice the policies, strategies and legislation, and
3. setting up the management instruments required by these institutions
to do their job.
IWRM Applications
IWRM application depends upon effective
and transparent governing institutions.
◼ Breaking sectoral lines
 Rigid functional divisions within governments as well as
international development agencies work against the types of
cross-cutting, holistic approaches to development planning and
resource management that IWRM requires.
 Building capacity for integrated programming, when ministries
are organized along sectoral lines and poverty reduction and
environmental protection/management plans are drawn up
separately, continues to be difficult.
◼ IWRM is a process
 IWRM should be viewed as a process rather a
one-shot approach -one that is long-term and
forward-moving but iterative rather than linear
in nature. As a process of change which
seeks to shift water development and
management systems from their currently
unsustainable forms, IWRM has no fixed
beginnings or endings.
◼ There is not one correct administrative
model.
◼ The art of IWRM lies in selecting, adjusting
and applying the right mix of these tools
for a given situation.
◼ Agreeing on milestones and time-frames
for completing the strategy is critical for
success.
◼ Implementation may take place on a step-by-step basis,
in terms of geographical scope and the sequence and
timing of reforms.
◼ Scope, timing, and content of measures can be adjusted
according to experience. This offers room for change,
improvement and process adjustment, provided that the
proper bases for sound decision making have been
established.
◼ In developing a strategy and framework for change, it is
important to recognize that the process of change is
unlikely to be rapid.
IWRM Components
◼ Managing water at the basin or watershed
 This includes integrating land and water,
upstream and downstream, groundwater,
surface water, and coastal resources.
◼ Optimizing supply
 This involves conducting assessments of
surface and groundwater supplies, analyzing
water balances, adopting wastewater reuse,
and evaluating the environmental impacts of
distribution and use options.
◼ Managing demand
 This includes adopting cost recovery policies,
utilizing water-efficient technologies, and
establishing decentralized water management
authorities.
◼ Providing equitable access
 This may include support for effective water
users’ associations, involvement of
marginalized groups, and consideration of
gender issues.
◼ Establishing policy
 Examples are implementation of the polluter-
pays principle, water quality norms and
standards, and market-based regulatory
mechanisms.
◼ Intersectoral approach
 Utilizing
an intersectoral approach to decision-
making, where authority for managing water
resources is employed responsibly and
stakeholders have a share in the process.
Table 1. Annual Runoff and Water Consumption by Continents and by Physiographic and economic Regions of the World
Fig. 2. Definition of water-use flows and losses (Solley et al, 1993)
Table 2. Major Purposes of Water Use
Think Beyond the Tap
◼ A video commentary series to help bridge science and
policy on water issues around the globe.
◼ Managing land and water resources better for
sustainable agriculture and food security.
◼ A video series to help share the knowledge on the
lessons learned around the globe.
◼ Presented by scientists and leaders from the Global
Water Partnership (GWP) and International Water
Management Institute (IWMI)
◼ “Water is Life” is a photo contest
organized by Global Water Partnership
Philippines in cooperation with GTZ and
NWRB. The film is a slideshow of the
finalists of 2009 Water is Life Photo
Contest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=is4eLPa
5IK4
◼ Partnering for Water
 GWP is campaigning for a water goal in the
UN post-2015 development agenda. In this
video the staff of the global GWP secretariat
in Stockholm, Sweden, explain why a water
goal is so important.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g
PhX5ku2n0U
◼ Water Cooperation for a Water Secure World
 Water Cooperation is at the heart of GWP’s mission
to support the sustainable development and
management of water resources at all levels. That
mission can only be achieved if a partnership of
government, civil society, and the private sector work
together to solve water challenges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LO1X
-bNW180
◼ Opportunities for integrated and water-wise
cities
 GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki delivered
a presentation as Invited Speaker at Technoport
Talks, inspiring presentations designed to show the
possibilities and disseminate knowledge on role of
technology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ycNt-
crI3UA
◼ Water security and climate change
 Video message from Dr Ania Grobicki,
Executive Secretary at the Global Water
Partnership at CLIMATE 2010 / KLIMA 2010,
The World's CO2-friendly Scientific On-line
Climate Conference "Climate Change and the
Sustainable Management of Water
Resources”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=H6IkN2Xt3iI
Reflection
◼ As future civil engineers, what do you think
will be your contribution in addressing
specific water resources problems of the
Philippines
◼ List down at least 3 problems and identify
possible intervention and mitigating
solutions