Optimal Water Resources Management: Case of Lower Litani River, Lebanon

Abstract

The pressures of human population and patterns of development frequently jeopardize the integrity of river systems worldwide. An integrated approach to water resources management is essential, particularly in developing countries. This study presents the results of the water resources optimization conducted for the Lower Litani River Basin in Lebanon. The overall aim of the project is to develop, test, and critically evaluate an innovative approach to water resources management in the Mediterranean region. The method explores the ways in which multiple environmental, economic, and social benefits can be achieved through integrated management of water resources. The Water Resources Model was utilized to assess the efficiency of the baseline model scenario and for the optimization process of the different scenarios of the Litani Lower Basin. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis was applied in order to derive the objectives and constraints. Results revealed that the potential retained scenarios aim at decreasing water consumption and demand, losses, and return flow. These scenarios mainly include the shift to drip irrigation, awareness campaigns, and losses control in domestic supply pipes. Other retained scenarios having a higher shortfall rely on the use of the Channel concrete lining to decrease losses and return flow, in addition to the awareness campaigns in both domestic and irrigation sectors, and less consumptive/more efficient irrigation methods such as sprinkler and drip irrigation

First assessment of the ecological status of Karaoun reservoir, Lebanon

“…The Litani River, Lebanon's longest and largest perennial river, with a length of 170 km, flows between the Mount Lebanon mountains in the west, and the Anti‐Lebanon mountains in the east (Doummar et al . ). It originates from Olleiq Village (altitude 1800 m), dropping a total of 1000 m down to the Karaoun Dam.…”

Catchment Residents-Based SWOT Analysis of a Reservoir Ecosystem for Sustainable Water Management: A Case Study From the Region of Alentejo, Portugal

“…Furthermore, most of the previous applications of the SWOT analysis framework (e.g., Sin et al 2005;Diamantopoulou and Voudouris 2008;Doummar et al 2009) for managing water resources were based on problems, pressures, and impacts, determined solely by experts/researchers. In contrast, this paper build on a consultation-based SWOT analysis to describe the development and application of a technique to scope the issues regarding water resources (and/or freshwater ecosystems) as perceived by local populations, which may also be integrated into experts/researchers analysis.…”

“…In particular, it is an approach which might be profi tably used in the management of freshwater resources at a time when the human impacts on them are unprecedented (Moss 1992). The SWOT analysis has been applied in the optimization of water resource management (Doummar et al 2009), in modeling activated sludge systems (Sin et al 2005), to characterize a drainage basin (Petříková 2003), and to appraise groundwater resources sustainability (Diamantopoulou and Voudouris 2008).…”

Operations research/management science in the Arab world: historical development

“…In addition, the cost provided by HGA was always similar to or less than the cost of the Solver solution. Doummar et al (2009) presented the results of the water resources optimization conducted for the lower Litani River Basin in Lebanon. Zaibet and Dharmapala (1999) analyzed horticultural growers' technical efficiency for a sample of farmers in the Batinah region of Oman using the stochastic production frontier and the DEA methods.…”