Implementing uncertainty analysis in water resources assessment and planning
- Authors: Hughes, Denis A , Mohobane, T , Mallory, S
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/438281 , vital:73448 , ISBN 978-1-4312-0629-2 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2056-1-14.pdf
- Description: The main objective of the project was to contribute to the incorporation of uncer-tainty assessments in practical water resource decision-making in South Africa. There are three main components to this objective. The first is the quantification of realistic levels of uncertainty that are as low as possible given the available infor-mation (reducing uncertainty). The second is the availability of tools to implement uncertainty analysis across the broad spectrum of data analysis and modelling plat-forms that form part of practical water resources assessment (including hydrologi-cal and water resources yield models). The third relates to the issue of using uncer-tain information in the process of making decisions about the design, development or operation of water resources systems. The latter includes social, political and economic uncertainties as well as the hydrological uncertainties that are directly addressed in this report. None of these are independent and all are associated with the fundamental issue that all of the role players should understand the key con-cepts of uncertainty and that virtually all of the information we use to make deci-sions is uncertain. One of the major challenges in this project as well as the previous WRC-supported project on uncertainty methods, was the lack of understanding of some of the key issues, or a lack of appreciation of the importance of uncertainty in all water resources decision-making.
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- Date Issued: 2015
The use of Daphnia spp. and indigenous river invertebrates in whole effluent toxicity testing in the Vaal Catchment.
- Authors: Muller, Nikite W J , Palmer, Carolyn G
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/438048 , vital:73431 , ISBN 1 86845 855 5 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/815-1-02.pdf
- Description: Freshwater is vital to societal, and environmental, well-being and any changes in the distribution, abundance and quality of water resources and ecosystems are detrimental to this societal and environmental sus-tainability. Increasing socio-economic activities world-wide have been accompanied by increased pollution stress on the aquatic environment. The need for improved efficiency in water quality management is urgent and immediate and it is important that policy to manage freshwater sys-tems is underpinned by sound science. Strategies to manage receiving water quality have been implemented world-wide and include chemical monitoring, biological monitoring and toxicological assessments, all of which are supported by on-going research. Water quality management in South Africa has come a long way since 1919, when it was first promulgated (Union Health Act 36 of 1919; van der Merwe and Grobler, 1990) but only included sewage effluent. Later amendments broadened water quality management to include effluent discharge from industry, mining and storm-water runoff. However, despite these and uniform, and general, effluent standards (UES), as well as DWAFs recognition of the need for integrated water resource management, water quality in the resources continue to deteriorate (DWAF, 1995; Basson etal 1997).
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- Date Issued: 2002