Water Resources Management 2007

Fourth International Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management

pcr2.jpg21 - 23 May 2007
Kos, Greece

 Overview

Water_Res07.jpgThe fourth International Conference on Water Resources Management took place recently on the Greek Island of Kos, organised by the Wessex Institute of Technology, represented by its Director, Professor Carlos A Brebbia, and with the collaboration of Professor Athanassios Kungolos from the University of Thessaly.

The meeting’s importance is highlighted by the fact that water is becoming an increasingly precious resource.  Issues of water quality, quantity, management and planning as well as other related topics were discussed during the meeting.

WIT organises several successful water related conferences held in many locations throughout the world.  Water Resources Management is one of the most important conferences in this series.

 

The first Conference in the Water Resources Management series was held in Halkidiki, also in Greece (2001), the second in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria (2003) and the third in the Algarve, Portugal, in 2005.  The meeting was opened by Professor Carlos Brebbia who thanked all the delegates for attending this important conference on the beautiful island of Kos.

 Conference Sessions

 The Conference sessions covered the following topics:

  • Audience_screen.jpgWater management and planning
  • Hydrological modelling
  • Waste water treatment and management
  • Groundwater flow problems and remediation
  • Water quality
  • Irrigation problems
  • Water markets and policies
  • Urban water management
  • Decision support systems
  • Pollution control

 Invited Presentations

 

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Prof. Maria Cunha
The following invited presentations were delivered during the Meeting:  

 

  • “Commercial Water Auditing in Stella”, by SJ Mecca, Providence College, USA
  • “The effect of flow regime and temperature on the wastewater purification efficiency of a pilot hybrid constructed wetland” by U Mander, University of Tartu, Estonia
  • “Hydrologic modelling support for sustainable water resources management” by RG Quimpo, University of Pennsylvania, USA
  • “Urban wastewater reuse: water treatment and effectiveness on antibiotic resistant bacteria abatement” by G del Re, University L’Aquila, Italy
  • “Advances in mathematical modelling in biofilm structures” by A Kungolos, University of Thessaly, Greece
  • “Entropy-based reliable design of water distribution networks” by MC Cunha, University of Coimbra, Portugal
  • “Multi objective approach for leakage reduction in water distribution systems” by R Magini, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Italy.

 International Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting

The Meeting of the International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC) took place during the Conference.  Several suggestions were received regarding new topics such as climatic change and its effect on water resources, health issues, politics and economics of water, water ecology and recovery of water bodies.  There were several suggestions for new members of the ISAC and several locations were considered for reconvening the meeting in 2009.

 Hromadka Prize

Two Hromadka prizes were awarded during the Meeting as well as an Eminent Scientist Medal. The prizes were instituted by Professor Ted Hromadka, a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute.  Ted has been associated with WIT since its beginning, and has contributed in many ways to its development.  His brief CV demonstrates the extent of his interests:  

Theodore Hromadka II: M.A., Ph.D., Engineering (Water Resources), University of California; B.A., M.A. and Ph.D., applied mathematics and computer modeling, California State University, and University of California; Ph.D., transport modeling methods, Wessex Institute of Technology.  Licensed Civil Engineer; Licensed Geoscientist; Certified Professional Hydrologist, and Certified Professional Hydrogeologist.  Surface and Ground Water expert; Principal Hydrologist, Hromadka & Associates; Professor Emeritus, California State University; Adjunct Professor, and member of the Board of Directors, Wessex Institute of Technology; Professor, United States Military Academy at West Point.  Dr. Hromadka has extensive scientific, engineering, and litigation support experience, serving as an expert witness in more than 200 cases.  His frequently referenced scientific contributions to the Hydrologic, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences have been published in peer-reviewed scientific literature including 20 books, and over 350 scientific papers and book chapters.  His professional engineering experience includes supervision and development of over 1000 engineering studies.  Engineering and scientific computer software developed by Dr. Hromadka is widely used throughout the engineering community.


Dr Hamed Assaf

 

The first Hromadka Medal was given to Professor Jorge de las Heras from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain for his paper at the Water Resources Management Conference, entitled “Spatial and temporal distribution of Nitrate contents in the Mancha Oriental Hydro-geological System, SE Spain:1998-2003”.

The other Hromadka Medal was awarded to Dr Hamed Assaf from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon for his presentation “Assessing Ground Water Quality conditions in the upper Litani River basin utilising geostatistical analysis tools”.

 Outstanding Presentations

The other outstanding papers from the Water Resources Management Conference were:  

  • “The cost of water and water markets in southern California, USA”, by Mr Greg Hamer of Geometrix Consultants, USA
  • “Considering salinity effects on crop yields in hydro-economic modelling, the case of a semi-arid river basic in Morocco”, by Dr Claudia Heidecke of University of Bonn, Germany
  • “Non-elastic matrix model to hydraulic networks calculation” by Dr Victor Diniz, University of Sao Paolo, Brazil
  • “Simulation at regional level of irrigated wheat and tomatoes in a Mediterranean environment”, by Dr Michele Rinaldi, Agricultural Research Council at ARGO, Italy
  • “Integration of water resources modelling approaches for varying levels of decision-making”, by Mr Stephen Mallory, Water for South Africa Ltd, South Africa
  • “Impact of climate change on the water resources of Auckland region of New Zealand – a case study”, by Mr Babar Mahmood, Unitech New Zealand
  • “Evaluation of the surface water quality in the Itapicuru River Basin – State of Bahia, Brazil”, by Dr Suely Mestrinho, Catholic University of Salvador, Brazil
  • “Mathematical model and technology to improve new resources of groundwater for irrigation” by Stefan Popescu, Technical University “Gh Asachi”, Romania.

 Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Prize for Water

 

Carlos_Hromdka_award_screen.jpg
Prof Carlos Brebbia
A special session was organised to launch the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water 2006-2008.  WIT, said Professor Brebbia, was honoured to be associated with such a prestigious award, administered by the Prince Sultan Research Centre for Environment, Water and Desert.  Its Director opened the session after being introduced by Professor Brebbia as follows:

His Excellency Dr Abdulmalek AL-ALSheikh, the General Secretary for the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, is Director of the Prince Sultan Research Center for Environment, Water & Desert at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.  He will spend considerable time this year travelling around the world to promote the Prize at major international events in the water sector and explaining the aims of this important award.

The current round of the Prize, which will be awarded in 2008, is the third in the series initiated with the patronage of HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz as a contribution by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the world and as an initiative that deals with the issue of water considered as one of the basic life elements in human existence.

The Prize is intended to reward the efforts undertaken by innovative scholars and scientists as well as related organizations in the realm of water resources worldwide.  It has been established to acknowledge the special achievements that have contributed to the development of scientific solutions to problems associated with the supply as well as the preservation of adequate and sustainable water resources, particularly in arid regions.

 

 

“Because of the urgent need for water”, explained the Prize General Secretary, Dr Abdulmalek AL-ALSheikh, “there has been a sense of urgency to contribute supportive methods to water researchers adopted at world scale”.

 

“We have combined the search for these methods with a sense of appreciation extended to concerned intellectual inventors, with the aim of providing them with a suitable, moral and financial atmosphere conducive to a free and vibrant spirit of contest.  Such an atmosphere should result in creative constructive outcomes capable of producing benevolence and prosperity to all peoples in the Kingdom, in the region, and in the whole world,” explained Dr Abdulmalek AL-ALSheikh.  

Dr Abdulmalek AL-ALSheikh

1. Surface Water:
             Topic: Sedimentation Control in Surface Water Systems.

2. Ground Water:
             Topic: Exploration and Assessment of Ground Water.  

3. Alternative (Non-Traditional) Water Resources:
             Topic: Innovative Methods and Systems in Desalination.  

4. Water Resources Management And Protection:
             Topic: Water Demand Management in Urban Areas.

The Prize for each of these categories will be around $150,000.  Winners will also receive a gold medallion, a trophy and a certificate which will be presented at a special award ceremony.

In addition, a new Creativity Prize will be awarded to any original work (research, innovation, techniques, etc) which is considered as a breakthrough in any water related field.  The work must be practically applicable, economically feasible and environmentally friendly.

Receipt of nominations for the current round of the Prize will close at the end of December 2007.

 Conference Dinner

 The Conference dinner took place in a Greek restaurant where music and dancing was arranged for the delegates.  The dancers performed a series of pieces from Kos as well as from other parts of Greece.  Most of the delegates were happy to participate in the dancing afterwards.  Professor Brebbia thanked them all for attending the function and offered them a piece of artistic pottery as a memoir of the occasion.

 Publicaton of Papers

The Proceedings of Water Resources Management IV, 720pp (ISBN: 1-84564-074-3) are available in hard back from WIT Press priced at £235/US$465/€352.5. Orders can be placed by telephone: +44 (0) 238 029 3223, fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853, e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or via the WIT Press web site at www.witpress.com

Papers from the conference will also be hosted online at the WIT eLibrary as volume 102 of WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (ISSN: 1743-3541). For more details visit the WIT eLibrary at www.witpress.com