**6. References**

64 Current Issues of Water Management

**rupture average Frossos WWTP efficiency:**

It should be noted that the results presented in this chapter are not exhaustive. All simulations are made available with the installation of ODeCav System and can be found on

The presented examples illustrate the potential of the developed system for management of

The developed operational modelling platform allows the simulation of an unlimited number of scenarios. Several scenarios were implemented in order to evaluate its

Main obtained results for the rivers within the basin reveal an almost uniform longitudinal profile for BOD concentration with a good agreement between observed and simulated results. The installed wastewater treatment capacity in the watershed (domestic and industrial wastewater) is reflected in the observed values leading to low concentrations of BOD. However, a quite different situation is observed for bacteriological indicators. In the lower part of the basin, concentrations results for all simulated scenarios are always lower than the observed ones even in the dry season. The reason for this fact can be the existence

The presented decision support tool for the river Cávado basin constitutes a robust and efficient technological platform to support water management at a river basin scale. Obtained results allow predicting that this new tool will be extremely effective and important to achieve the objectives of water management at river basin scale. In the next

Fig. 19. Concentrations results of BOD5 and FCB for the scenario 18 (rupture of Frossos

**Ponte Nova de Barcelos**

**Downstream Frossos WWTP** 

performance after a judicious effort for model calibration and validation.

of untreated discharges or the lack of disinfection in WWTP.

**BOD5 (mg/L)** 

**0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5**

**FCB (MPN/100 mL)** 

WWTP) at two different locations

water quality at river Cávado basin.

the web based platform.

**4. Conclusions** 


**4** 

**Assessing Environmental and** 

**in Arid and Semiarid Zones** 

*Programa de Agricultura en Zonas Áridas, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, S.C. (CIBNOR, S.C.). La Paz, Baja California Sur;* 

> *Facultad de Agricultura y Zootecnia (FAZ), Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango,*

> > *Gómez Palacio, Durango;*

*México* 

**Social Dimensions of Water Issues** 

Enrique Troyo-Diéguez1, Arturo Cruz-Falcón1, Alejandra Nieto-Garibay1,

*1*

*2*

All humans need basic things or products for their material and physical well-being: air, water, food, shelter and others, all over the World, but in arid zones the prevailing condition is water scarcity. Besides the huge necessity of water for human consumption, agriculture and livestock demand large volumes of water. But sustainability for these activities is a highly fragile and complicated concept, difficult to be reached. Biomass production of a cash crop grown under drought will be lower than that grown under optimal soil moisture conditions; therefore in practical terms, it is not possible to obtain immunity against the effects of drought. In arid and semiarid zones, the environmental and agricultural issues depend on the availability of water and on its use efficiency, which is affected by high temperatures and elevated evapotranspiration rates. As a production dedicated activity, agriculture has changed dramatically especially since the end of the World War II. Food and fiber productivity were improved due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization and government policies that favored maximizing production. These changes allowed fewer farmers with reduced labor demands to produce the majority of the food and fiber. But in this framework, one of the

The objectives of this paper are to present a review about a method to assess the environmental and social dimensions of water issues through sustainability indicators in arid and semiarid zones, and to discuss the challenges for sustainability in terrestrial and

**1. Introduction** 

highest costs is the water extraction.

agricultural ecosystems in a Mexican arid zone.

**Through Sustainability Indicators** 

Ignacio Orona-Castillo2 , Bernardo Murillo-Amador1, José Luis García-Hernández2 and Alfredo Ortega-Rubio1

