Water Management

Course manual 2023/2024

Course content

Freshwater is one of the most important resources for mankind, and the amount of fresh water on Earth is limited. Furthermore  water is not equally distributed both in time and space. Consequently, some places have too much water, while others have too little water. Water on Earth is also heavily impacted by anthropogenic activity, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Humans have altered global hydrology, through many local and regional, small and large interventions, such as the construction of dams, the change of river flows, water transfers, groundwater use and irrigation. Managing chemical pollution, e.g. via the treatment of wastewater, is often necessary to preserve essential resources. This course will focus on aspects of water management in both humid and dryland regions, hence in areas with excess water and in areas with water shortages. You will work on examples involving practical cases directly related to water management issues from the Netherlands, Europe and other parts of the world. 

The course is structured in three parts. Parts one and two will be assessed in the exam.

Part 1: Human-water interactions

Human alterations of hydrology: local and global perspectives. Humans have significantly altered hydrology: locally through the construction of infrastructure and extraction of water resources. These alterations have accumulated and multiplied at the global scale. We will learn about how water is managed - both in terms of quantity and quality - and the impacts this has at local and global scales.

At the end of part 1 there will be an excursion on the topic of urban water supply & sanitation.

Part 2: Hydrological processes

Climate change and desertification. Desertification is advancing in Spain. Rainfall and evaporation dynamics are used to evaluate the water balance for various land use strategies.

Part 3: Model application. This will be assessed in the form of a group report and presentation:

Global change and catchment hydrology. A catchment model of the Rhine basin is used to discuss the potential risks of floods associated with climate change. Students use this model to evaluate their own management solution.

Study materials

Literature

• J. Holden: Water Resources - An Integrated Approach; We will read several of the books chapter (same book as for Challenges for the Blue Planet).

   

  Additional reading materials will be provided through Canvas.

Practical training material

• will be provided during the course

Software

• R

  Aquacrop

Objectives

• Has obtained knowledge of hydrology, water resources and the hydrological cycle and components, including the behaviour of water in the soil.
• Understands the physical principles behind hydrological processes and the function of these processes in landscapes.
• Understands how these processes can be applied in water management applications in a societal context.
• Is able to apply the principles of water resources in selected case studies.
• Understands the main emission sources of pollutants to surface waters.
• Is able to apply conceptual and computer models to  study examples in water management and hydrological response at various environmental conditions and scales (soil, landscape and large catchment).
• Understands the extent of human alterations to local and global hydrology, how the human impact on water systems has evolved throughout history and what the consequences are today.
• Is familiar with the basics of urban water management systems
• Is able to analyse the consequences of climate change and human interventions into hydrology.
• Understands the health consequences emerging from water and from water mis-management.

Teaching methods

• Computer lab session/practical training
• Presentation/symposium
• Fieldwork/excursion
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
• Supervision/feedback meeting
• Seminar
• Lecture

10 lectures of 2-4 hours  each
8 (computer)practicals of 2 hours
Participation in lectures and practicals is mandatory.
Independent preparation of assignments

Learning activities

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):

• Participation in fieldwork is compulsory and cannot be replaced by assignments or other courses.
• In case of practical sessions, the student is obliged to attend at least of 90% of the sessions and to prepare himself adequately, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. In case the student attends less than 90%, the practical sessions should be redone entirely.
• In case of tutorials/seminars with assignments, the student is obliged to attend at least 7 out of 8 seminars and to prepare thoroughly for these meetings, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. If the course has more than 8 seminars, the student can miss up to 1 extra meeting for every (part of) 8 tutorials/seminars. If the students attends less than the mandatory tutorials/seminars, the course cannot be completed.

Additional requirements for this course:

All sessions of this course are mandatory.  

If you miss more than 1  class unexcused* (for each of part 1 or 2) you will fail for that part.

The exam and presentation are also mandatory. If you miss these then you will fail for that part.

For the second part the assignments is done in small groups of 3 persons. Each group should contain (at least) two students who did the BSc course Programming in R, and one who did not this course.

*If you cannot join a session of this course, you must email the coordinator BEFORE the beginning of the class. Excuses received after the class count as 'missed unexcused'.

Assessment

Assessment diagram

Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years

If you did not pass last year's course, you can retake the exam. If you passed last year's part 3 (computer practical), but failed the exam, you can take the exam at the end of part 2 this year. Alternatively (e.g., if you cannot make it to the exam at the end of part 2, or if you failed both parts), you can take this year's retake exam, which will cover this year's material of part 1 and 2 (lectures/seminars and computer practicals).

If your mark for Part 3 (Report and Presentation) was higher than 5.0 in the previous year, this mark can be used for the final grading. Part 1 and 2 have to be followed again, and completed in such a way that the final mark based on the new partial mark of Part 1 and 2 and the old mark of part 3 add up to at least a 5.5.

Assignments

There will be reading assignments in preparation of the classes, and exercises to be completed during and/or after the class (assessed).

Feedback will be given orally, in the form of in-class discussion and questions & answers. 

The assignment of part 3 will be described in a separate document, published on Canvas.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Additional information

Knowledge of R is strongly recommended, e.g. obtained from the course Programming in R.

If you don't have knowledge of R, completion of the R primer, available on Canvas, should be completed

R should be installed and running on your computer prior to the start of the course

• Downloading Software: you can download software from datanose.nl/byod.
• Support for software installation and other Bring Your Own Device questions
  • Contac: laptops-fnwi@uva.nl
  • Software support: Tuesday and Thursday from 12.00 – 13.00 hrs at B1.16 (right from the library desk)
  • Borrow a laptop: FNWI students can rent a laptop at the library desk for €5,- per day. The laptops include MS Office and Adobe Acrobat and can be rented between 9.00 and 20.00 hrs. You are allowed to install your own software on the device. The laptop comes with a laptop bag, charger, mouse, lock and HMDI-cable. Documents and software are deleted after return.
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It is important that everyone feels safe at the UvA and Future Planet Studies. We are committed to provide social safety and we offer various forms of support for people experiencing inappropriate or unsafe situations. Consult the UvA website or Future Planet Studies Canvas page for more information and contact info.

Last year's student feedback

In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.

Contact information

Coordinator

• Elisabeth Krueger

Staff

• dr. L.H. Cammeraat
• Edith Eder
• Kavel Oztürk
• Lieke Mulder