The Role of Dams in Development

Altinbilek, Doğan

doi:10.1080/07900620220121620

Cited by 63 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Large rivers cross the Middle East and bring life to these dry regions, where throughout human history reservoirs have served to ensure an adequate water supply by storing water in times of surplus and releasing it in times of scarcity (Altinbilek, 2002), providing a buffer to mitigate seasonal and interannual variability in precipitation. Regulation to ensure water supply and control floods may become even more critical in the future with projected increasing intensity of the hydrologic cycle (Easterling et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GRACE water storage estimates for the Middle East and other regions with significant reservoir and lake storage

Longuevergne

Wilson

Scanlon

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

125

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International audienceWhile GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites are increasingly being used to monitor total water storage (TWS) changes globally, the impact of spatial distribution of water storage within a basin is generally ignored but may be substantial. In many basins, water is often stored in reservoirs or lakes, flooded areas, small aquifer systems, and other localized regions with areas typically below GRACE resolution ( 200 000 km2). The objective of this study was to assess the impact of nonuniform water storage distribution on GRACE estimates of TWS changes as basin-wide averages, focusing on surface water reservoirs and using a priori information on reservoir storage from radar altimetry. Analysis included numerical experiments testing effects of location and areal extent of the localized mass (reservoirs) within a basin on basin-wide average water storage changes, and application to the lower Nile (Lake Nasser) and Tigris- Euphrates basins as examples. Numerical experiments show that by assuming uniform mass distribution, GRACE estimates may under- or overestimate basin-wide average water storage by up to a factor of 2, depending on reservoir location and areal extent. Although reservoirs generally cover less than 1% of the basin area, and their spatial extent may be unresolved by GRACE, reservoir storage may dominate water storage changes in some basins. For example, reservoir storage accounts for 95% of seasonal water storage changes in the lower Nile and 10% in the Tigris-Euphrates. Because reservoirs are used to mitigate droughts and buffer against climate extremes, their influence on interannual timescales can be large. For example, TWS decline during the 2007-2009 drought in the Tigris-Euphrates basin measured by GRACE was 93 km3. Actual reservoir storage from satellite altimetry was limited to 27 km3, but their apparent impact on GRACE reached 45 km3, i.e., 50% of GRACE trend. Therefore, the actual impact of reservoirs would have been greatly underestimated (27 km3) if reservoir storage changes were assumed uniform in the basin. Consequently, estimated groundwater contribution from GRACE would have been largely overestimated in this region if the actual distribution of water was not explicitly taken into account. Effects of point masses on GRACE estimates are not easily accounted for via simple multiplicative scaling, but in many cases independent information may be available to improve estimates. Accurate estimation of the reservoir contribution is critical, especially when separating estimating groundwater storage changes from GRACE total water storage (TWS) changes. Because the influence of spatially concentrated water storage - and more generally water distribution - is significant, GRACE estimates will be improved by combining independent water mass spatial distribution information with GRACE observations, even when reservoir storage is not the dominant mechanism. In this regard, data from the upcoming Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission should b...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GRACE water storage estimates for the Middle East and other regions with significant reservoir and lake storage

Longuevergne

Wilson

Scanlon

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

125

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Nevertheless, the issues concerning dam development impacts vary greatly according to the geographic and historical context, and these become more visible whether assessing the impacts of a large dam project in the western countries or in the developing world (Biswas & Tortajada, 2001). The USA alone, which has completed its main dam construction programme, produces six times more hydroelectric power than the whole of Africa, where most water sources remain unexplored (Altinbilek, 2002).…”

Section: Dams and Regional Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Impact of the Alqueva Dam on Regional Tourism Development

Dias-Sardinha

Ross

2014

Tourism Planning & Development

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The paper studies the impact of the Alqueva Multi-Purpose Dam on the Alentejo region (Portugal), focusing on tourism development. In 2002, the Alqueva dam originated the largest artificial lake in Europe and was widely believed to bring a great number of benefits for the region by creating conditions for intensive irrigated farming and enhancing a new tourism destination in interior Portugal. The aim of this study is to assess to what degree the latter has been achieved. Interviews were held with 35 local and regional stakeholders of the tourism and cultural heritage sectors to understand their perception regarding the changes that occurred in the regional tourism industry since the dam's construction. Findings show that, against initial expectations, the tourism industry is still largely underdeveloped, partly due to a lack of investment and an inadequate tourism planning model. Furthermore, conflicts were observed concerning the balance between the value of the traditional montado landscape for tourism and irrigated farming development.

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“…Enlarged dam systems and increased numbers of regulating and transfer structures are often key features of these expanded networks. In the last two decades, there have been several studies on the role and impacts of large dams (Altinbilek, 2002;Cariño & Colchester, 2010), leading Biswas and Tortajada (2001, p. 9) to argue that the main issue "is not whether large dams have an important role to play . .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Re-engineering closing watersheds: The negotiated expansion of a dam-based irrigation system in Bolivia

López

Vincent

Rap³

2014

International Journal of Water Resources Development

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The expansion of the Totora Khocha dam-based irrigation system in the Pucara watershed is a case of planned re-engineering of a closing watershed. This article shows how, when irrigation systems expand in space and across boundaries to capture new water, they also involve new claims by existing and emergent users. This results in complex processes of design, contestation and negotiated redesign, where irrigation projects are being produced by the negotiated construction of water networks. Therefore, the design process in a closing watershed is better approached as a dynamic and negotiated process of engineering than as a prescriptive mode of network building.

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The Role of Dams in Development

Cited by 63 publications

References 1 publication

GRACE water storage estimates for the Middle East and other regions with significant reservoir and lake storage

GRACE water storage estimates for the Middle East and other regions with significant reservoir and lake storage

Perceived Impact of the Alqueva Dam on Regional Tourism Development

Re-engineering closing watersheds: The negotiated expansion of a dam-based irrigation system in Bolivia

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