Analysis of Hydrometeorological Characteristics and Water Demand in Semi-Arid Mediterranean Catchments under Water Deficit Conditions

Abstract

Drought is one of the most complex and poorly understood catastrophes on the planet. Between the Greek mainland and Turkey, there is an area of Greece known as the South Aegean Islands, that experiences water supply issues. As a result, there are issues related to the socioeconomic growth of some of these islands, and the need for water transportation by water vessels. Water transportation by ships to the Cyclades and Dodecanese areas from the mainland or other adjacent islands to satisfy urgent demands, on the other hand, is exceptionally expensive. The situation deteriorates during the summer, when drinking water needs can reach five times the norm, due to the heavy tourist season. Given these conditions, the aim of this research is to estimate hydrometeorological conditions, calculate the water balance, and determine water needs in three southern Aegean islands (Mykonos, Naxos, and Kos), where there is a water shortage, particularly during the summer months when tourism activity is at its peak. The modified Thornthwaite–Mather monthly hydrological balance model was applied to determine the water balance. Various water use datasets (drinking water, irrigation, water transportation) were employed to quantify the water demands in the three islands. According to the results, the available water (runoff + infiltration) seems to be more than sufficient to meet the needs of the islands of Naxos and Kos, since it far exceeds the increased needs of the islands. Yet, it appears that in Mykonos, where the water resources have been nearly entirely utilized, the available water, is just enough to meet the water needs. It is evident that all three islands present significant sources of available water, which could meet the growing needs of the residents. However, the absence of the necessary water exploitation projects, mainly concerning the surface runoff, has contributed to the intense water supply problems of the islands. The importance of the water harvesting projects becomes even more urgent under the conditions of climate change, with the decrease in annual rainfall likely to be a highly possible scenario, especially in arid and semi-arid regions.

Analysis of Changes in Water Flow after Passing through the Planned Dam Reservoir Using a Mixture Distribution in the Face of Climate Change: A Case Study of the Nysa Kłodzka River, Poland

“…Extreme weather events, such as very heavy rainfall, lead to an increased occurrence of flooding [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Previous research (using data predicted from climate models) indicates that the observed changes in floods and hydrological droughts were broadly consistent with climate change scenarios.…”

Extreme Runoff Estimation for Ungauged Watersheds Using a New Multisite Multivariate Stochastic Model MASVC

“…The Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method is applied to estimate runoff from small-to-medium-sized watersheds. The SCS-CN method was established in 1954 by the USDA SCS and since then has been widely used [52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] in GIS [60] for tropical catchment [61]. This method is presented in Equations ( 11)-( 14):…”

Spatiotemporal Drought Assessment Based on Gridded Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) in Vulnerable Agroecosystems

“…Previous studies in the region of Thessaly investigated the impact of drought to assess stress on crop yields and to evaluate the effectiveness of drought on crop yield assessment [53,54]. Other studies have used the SPI and other drought indices to investigate the frequency and severity of drought events, as well as to identify the most vulnerable regions to drought, especially in Greece [5,[55][56][57][58]. More recently, Anagnostopoulou [58], Paparizos et al [59], Georgoulias et al [60], and Politi et al [61] have attempted a future projection using the SPI under different climate conditions, whereas Kourgialas [62] used the SPI for the study of hydrological extremes in the region.…”