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C O N T E N T S - Physical Land Resources - Vrije Universiteit Brussel

C O N T E N T S - Physical Land Resources - Vrije Universiteit Brussel

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CONTENTS1. IUPWARE 2- General Information 2- Diplomas and Certificates offered 3- Courses 3- Admission Requirements 5- Management 82. PHYLARES 9- Objectives and contents of the programme 9- Selection of option and registration 10- Study programme 113. STUDENT THESES 13- IUPWARE MSc theses 13- PHYLARES MSc theses 30- PhD theses 374. RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION 435. COOPERATION PROGRAMS 61- International cooperation 61- European cooperation 666. SEMINARS AND VISITORS 677. PUBLICATIONS and PRESENTATIONS 708. MEMBERS OF THE LABORATORY 80WORLD DAY FOR WATER 81- 1 -


* Diplomas and Certificates offeredIUPWARE offers- Degree of Master in Water <strong>Resources</strong> Engineering to successful students after 2 yearof studies;- Certificate of Attendance to students who regularly attended classes but did notsucceed in the examination requirements for one of the above mentionedprogrammes;- Transcript of Academic Records is issued to all participants;- a PhD (doctoral) degree can be obtained by excellent performing students, holdersof an MSc/MEng degree, after 3 or 4 years of additional study and research and thepublic defense of a doctoral dissertation.* CoursesFirst year:Study curriculum for the 1 st year of the Master in Water <strong>Resources</strong> EngineeringSUBJECT Theory Practicals Assignments CreditsAdvanced mathematics for water engineering 30 30 30 6Statistics for water engineering 30 30 30 6Irrigation agronomy 30 30 30 6Aquatic ecology 30 30 30 6Hydraulics 30 30 30 6Surface hydrology 30 30 30 6Groundwater hydrology 30 30 30 6Water Quality Assessment, Monitoring and Treatment 30 30 30 6WORKSHOPSHydrological data processing and GIS 24 42 30 6Hydrological measurements and remote sensing 24 42 30 6Total 288 324 300 60- 3 -


Second year:Study curriculum for the 2 nd year of the Master in Water <strong>Resources</strong> EngineeringSUBJECT Theory Practicals Assignments CreditsCommon core:Systems approach to water management 24 24 30 5Social, political, institutional, economic and 24 24 30 5environmental aspectsThesis research 810 30Integrated projects (select 1 project):Integrated project: humid climate case study 18 36 30 5Integrated project: arid climate case study 18 36 30 5Subtotal 66 84 900 45SELECT THREE COURSESSurface water modelling 18 36 30 5Groundwater modelling 18 36 30 5River modelling 18 36 30 5Urban hydrology and hydraulics 18 36 30 5Soil water modelling 18 36 30 5Irrigation Design and Management 18 36 30 5Advanced aquatic ecology 18 36 30 5Subtotal for three courses 54 108 90 15TOTAL 120 192 990 60- 4 -


* Admission RequirementsThe 2-year master degree uses the same admission criteria as for the initial masterprogrammes organized by the Faculties of Bioscience Engineering and Engineering ofthe K.U.Leuven or the Faculty of Engineering of the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>. In practicethis means that students possessing a bachelor degree awarded by a universityrecognized by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in engineering (civilengineering, bioscience engineering, environmental engineering, or any otherequivalent engineering degree) and sciences (biology, geography, geology, etc.) canenroll in the 1st year of the master programme. Holders of a bachelor (BSc, BEng, orBTech) degree of minimum a 4 year non-European university programme can only beadmitted to the 1st year after positive evaluation of their application.Given that the language of instruction is English, applicants should have a goodcommand of spoken and written English (for non-native speakers an English languagecertificate is required, for the TOEFL written test the score has to be at least 550; thecomputer based test 213).Students possessing a master degree equivalent to the degrees awarded by theFaculties of Sciences, Bioscience Engineering and Engineering of the K.U.Leuven or theFaculty of Engineering of the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong> can apply to have an exemptionof up to 60 ECTS. Equivalent master degrees typically require a total duration of 5(European universities) to 6 years (universities in developing countries). Applicants withsuch a degree can apply for a direct entry into the 2nd year.All applications will be examined in detail on their eligibility. For every course andworkshop, clear prerequisites are required. This is done in the format of referring toone or more handbooks, study material on the web, or by taking (a) course(s) at theuniversity. Students who are weak in a particular subject will be requested to takeremediating courses. The universities also offer English crash courses.The deadline for the submission of applications is March 1 for non-European students,and June1 for European applicants.Schematic presentation of the entry possibilities:- 5 -


Summary table of the admission requirements for the 1 st year and2 nd year Master programme in Water <strong>Resources</strong> EngineeringSpecification of the admission requirementsWater <strong>Resources</strong> Engineering1st year2nd year* BSc/BEng degree of a 4 year university programme A(minimum grade: 2 nd class honours, upper division)* MSc/MEng degree of a recognised university programme B(minimum grade: honours degree)* Graduates from a 5 year university programme Bin agriculture or engineering* Graduates from a 4 year non-university programme Ain industrial engineeringNote: These admission requirements are eligibility requirements and do notguarantee automatic admission.All enquiries, including application forms, should be sent to:Mrs. Greta CampsIUPWARE - K.U.LeuvenKasteelpark Arenberg 203001 Leuven (Heverlee)BelgiumTel.: +32-16-32 17 44Fax: +32-16-32 19 56E-mail: greta.camps@biw.kuleuven.beE-mail: info@iupware.behttp://www.iupware.be- 6 -


or for enquiries and ERASMUS exchange students at VUB:Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering,<strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>Pleinlaan 21050 <strong>Brussel</strong>BelgiumTel.: +32-2-629 30 21Fax: +32-2-629 30 22E-mail: hydr@vub.ac.behttp://www.vub.ac.be/hydrNote:PhD-candidates can only be admitted at VUB when the MSc curriculumhas been successfully attended and the grade "good" (70%) has beenawarded.DETAILS, including theAPPLICATION FORMS,are available on INTERNEThttp://www.iupware.be- 7 -


* ManagementIUPWARE's management consists of: an advisory board with representatives of internationalorganisations; a steering committee with 4 members of each university; the programmecommittee with all teaching staff, 2 teaching assistants of each university and 2 students of eachstudy year.Present composition is as follows :STEERING COMMITTEEBatelaan O.(VUB, Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering)Bauwens W.(VUB, Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering)Berlamont J.(K.U.Leuven, Hydraulics Laboratory)De Meester L.(K.U.Leuven, Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and EvolutionaryBiology)De Smedt F.(VUB, Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering)Feyen J.(K.U.Leuven, Division Soil and Water Management)Raes D., chairman(K.U.Leuven, Division Soil and Water Management)Wastiels J.(VUB, Faculty of Engineering)Wyseure G.(K.U.Leuven, Division Soil and Water Management)LECTURERS AND ASSISTANTSK.U.Leuven: Berlamont, J., Bouteligier, R., Brendonck, L., De Meester, L., Diels, J., Feyen, J.,Geerts, S., Ibrahim, E., Monballiu, J., Portilla, J., Quevauviller, P., Raes, D., Rubarenzya, M.H.,Toorman, E., Smets, I., Vanderborght, J., Willems, P., Wyseure, G.VUB: Batelaan, O., Bauwens, W., Dams, J., De Smedt, F., Dujardin, J., Elisio, A., Elskens, M.,Getachew, A., Nossent, J., Palmans, T., Quevauviller, P., Verelst, H., Willems, P.BELGIAN VISITING PROFESSORSPeters, J.J. (VUB), Rammeloo, R., Tollens, E. (K.U.Leuven), Verhoeven, R. (UGent)FOREIGN VISITING PROFESSORSJolankai, G. (VITUKI), Labadie, J. (Colorado State Univ.) Verhaeghe R. (TUDELFT)STUDENT MEMBERS OF PROGRAMME COMMITTEERepresentatives 1 st year: Baynesagne, A.G. and Pacheco Molleda, P.L.Representatives 2 nd year: Kahunde, S. and Kamara, A.ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARIESCamps, G. (K.U.Leuven), De Coninck, H. (VUB)- 8 -


2. PHYLARESMaster in <strong>Physical</strong> <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong>* Objectives and contents of the programmeThe general objective of the Master of Science programme in "<strong>Physical</strong> <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong>"is to train experts who, in their future careers are expected to be able to answerquestions as:• what is (a) soil, and which factors and properties determine the soil suitability to beused for both agricultural and non-agricultural purposes and how is thisestablished;• how can the soil be improved to suit specific applications;• how to address problems of degradation and desertification;• how to manage the land and how to protect it;• what is the impact of the soil factor in the dynamics of natural eco systems and howcan this knowledge be applied in the area of nature conservation;• what does the soil teach us about current environmental issues;• how can the soil and water management be improved in the frame of sustainableagriculture;• how can we manage our scarce water supplies.There are two majors:• <strong>Physical</strong> <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> – Major Soil Science (UGent)• <strong>Physical</strong> <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> – Major <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> Engineering (VUB)The objective of the major "Soil Science" is to train researchers, policymakers andacademic staff who are specialists in compiling an inventory and putting forward adetailed character profile of the land potential, with a emphasis on soils, and in thestudy of the evolution of soils under natural and/or human-impacted conditions.Amongst other things, this fundamental knowledge is required to enable a morallyresponsible modification of existing technologies or the development of newtechnologies, geared to the singularity of specific development areas. In addition, thistraining programme is intended to cater to the necessary background expertise which isto enable graduates to contribute to the sustainable use and integrated management ofland and water and the optimisation of various forms of land use (and of their physical,ecological and social properties) with a view to long-term perspectives. In a concretesense, this explains the need for university-trained, poly-technical executives with duepeople management skills who are capable of plotting the land, using field survey, mapand laboratory data, including satellite and remote sensing information, and/or to make- 9 -


an assessment on the basis of these and other (ecological) data, as part of assignmentsor projects in connection with outlining land use, land development and land planning,measures for soil conservation, and such like.The major "<strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> Engineering" is designed to train scientific researchers andexecutive staff in non-agricultural applications of land, as geotechnical aspects(including the use of land as construction and foundation material and the stability oftaluses and excavations), the role of soil and groundwater in water resourcesmanagement and water supplies, and of land management in relation to otherenvironmental and land use aspects (including erosion, sediment transport, coastaldevelopment and coastal protection, etc.).* Selection of option and registrationThe post-graduate programme in <strong>Physical</strong> <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> is organised jointly by theUniversity of Gent and the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>, but the registration is in Gent,where all lectures and examinations of the first year will take place. For the second yearthe students remain in Gent for the option Soil Science or move to the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong><strong>Brussel</strong> for the option <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> Engineering.The Master of Science programme is open to holders of a degree in exact or appliedsciences equivalent to at least 3 years of University studies (e.g. BSc. in geology,geography, chemistry, botany, biology, agriculture, environmental sciences, civilengineering, etc.) with sufficient background in chemistry, physics, and mathematics.Holders of a specialized degree in physical land resources (e.g. Master of Science in SoilScience or Engineering Geology) can be admitted directly to the second year of theMaster of Science programme.ADDRESSES:<strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>Gent UniversityDepartment of Hydrology andInternational Centre forHydraulic Engineering<strong>Physical</strong> <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong>Pleinlaan 2Krijgslaan 281/S8/WE1B-1050 <strong>Brussel</strong>s, Belgium B-9000 Gent, BelgiumTel. +32-2-629.30.21 Tel. +32-9-264.46.18Fax +32-2-629.30.22 Fax +32-9-264.49.91E-mail: hydr@vub.ac.beE-mail: PLRprog.adm@rug.ac.behttp://phylares.vub.ac.behttp://www.plr.ugent.be/- 10 -


* Study programmeFirst YearA. Basic Coursestheory training creditsPedology 30 30 5Applied Statistics 30 30 5Meteorology and Climatology 30 30 5Soil Chemistry 30 30 5Soil Physics 30 30 5Soil Mineralogy 30 30 5<strong>Land</strong> Information Systems 30 30 5Soil Prospection and Classification 30 30 5Seminars 30 30 5B. Major Coursestheory training creditsOption 1: Soil ScienceGeomorphology 30 30 5Plant-Water Relations in theSoil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum 30 30 5Soil Genesis 30 30 5Option 2: <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> EngineeringGeomechanics 30 30 5Environmental Geology 30 30 5Applied Geophysics 30 30 5- 11 -


Second YearThe student has to follow 6 courses from one of the two option packages offered toobtain a total of 30 credits. The remaining 30 credits are allocated for the MScdissertation. All courses consist of 30h of theory, 30h of training and 5 credits.Option 1: Soil Science6 courses, of which 4 major and 2 selectiveMAJOR COURSESELECTIVE COURSES* Soil Fertility * Remote Sensing* Soil Degradation * Properties and Management of* <strong>Land</strong> Evaluation Soils in the Tropics* Soil-Water Management * Quality of Groundwater <strong>Resources</strong>* Irrigation and Drainage* Soil Erosion Processes and Control* one course can be selected from other MSc.programmesOption 2: <strong>Land</strong> <strong>Resources</strong> Engineering* Earth Observation Techniques* Soil Mechanics and Soil Stabilisation Techniques* Hydrogeology* Applied Geomorphology* Applied Geochemistry* Geological Aspects of Geotechnical Engineering- 12 -


3. STUDENT THESESIUPWARE MSc. ThesesAcademic Year 2006-2007* Theses promoted by VUBALI SAYED ALI MarwaThe Exploitation of Remote Sensing Products to Improve Water QualityMonitoring in the Nile DeltaPromotor: P. WillemsThe Nile River is considered as the major renewable freshwater supply for Egypt. TheRosetta branch is one of its two main tributaries, and it is the main source of water forthe northern part of Egypt. The branch is under the influence of three different sourcesof pollution which affect its water quality characteristics. The aim of this study is to use<strong>Land</strong>sat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imageries as an efficient way forestimating water quality parameters concentrations chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), TotalSuspended Sediments (TSS), and Temperature. Such data can be use to help inmonitoring water quality situation along the branch. Therefore, two <strong>Land</strong>sat (ETM+)images for the branch were collected in February and December, 2001. The imageswere processed using ENVI (Environment for Visualizing Images) program to derivewater quality parameters for the Rosetta Branch. 40 samples were taken along thebranch to study the trend of parameters concentrations. The results were comparedwith other correlated parameters gotten from MIKE-11 River Modeling software and 5monitoring points along the branch during February, 2001. Results show that using<strong>Land</strong>sat-7 images data could be efficient and affordable in economic point of view todetermine water quality parameters but in-situ data should be obtained and examinethe used algorithms to derive the most appropriate algorithm.- 13 -


ARNAUTU Calin IoanIntegration of Research and Technological Developments into EU Water PolicyDevelopment, Implementation and ReviewPromotor: P. QuevauvillerScience-policy integration is one of such complex challenges currently encounteringscientific and policy-making communities. It involves data sharing and knowledgeexchange among a lot of players and disciplines. More often than not, the poorcommunication and inefficient coordination mechanism result in research outputs thateither get ignored or hardly realized by policy-makers, and in policy research needspoorly communicated in a timely fashion to the scientific communities. This thesisdiscusses the integration of scientific and technological output into the policy-makingand WFD implementation process, with emphasis on water policies (WFD). It highlightsthe necessity and complexity of developing a knowledge-based approach, which wouldeventuate in an operational science-policy interface linked to WISE (Water InformationSystem for Europe), including the newly developed WISE-RTD web-portal.KANDORI CasperImpact of the Two-Directional Interaction of Sewer and River Systems on theFlood RiskPromotor: P. WillemsSewer networks and river systems are most often studied in a separate way. The mainreason is that different authorities are responsible for the water management of bothsystems. Sewer and river systems may, however, interact in two directions. The firstdirection is straight forward; sewer effluences and overflows have an impact on thereceiving river. In mathematical modeling applications, this influence can be describedin receiving rivers by using the output of the sewer as input for the river model. In theopposite direction, during storm conditions, the high river water level in the river mayavoid water to be discharged into the river. This will cause an increase in the flood riskof the sewer system. This influence was studied for Molenbeek River and Erpe-MereMunicipality combined sewer system in Belgium. Firstly, composite and short durationstorms simulations were performed using physically based hydrodynamic SOBEK modelfrom Delft Hydraulics, Netherlands. The simulation results of SOBEK were used to- 14 -


develop and calibrate simple reservoir model which enabled simulation of longhistorical time series (100 years in this case) for statistical analysis of the river-sewertwo directional interactions on floods. Statistical investigations of the differencesbetween the separate river system and sewer system and on the other hand, theintegrated system validated the presumption that the sewer-river two-directionalinteraction enhances both sewer and river flood risks and therefore recommended thatthis effect be taken into consideration during sewer and river infrastructures design.MAYANJA NYENJE PhilipEstimating the Effect of Climate Change on the Hydrology of River SsezibwaCatchment in UgandaPromotor: O. BatelaanOne of the potential consequences of climate change will be the alteration of regionalhydrological cycles which will affect nearly every aspect of human well-being. Africancountries are most vulnerable to these changes due to lack of institutional capacity andeconomic development. However, many climate change impact studies on hydrologicalregimes especially in Africa have relied on use of direct GCM outputs which are toocoarse and do not accurately predict local climate. The purpose of this study was toestimate the effect of downscaled climate change scenarios on the hydrology of RiverSsezibwa catchment in Uganda. The catchment is small covering only 175 km 2 . The firstpart of this study examined the current trends in climate in the study area. The basin’shydrology was then analyzed for climate change using both hypothetical anddownscaled climate change scenarios. Hypothetical scenarios were used to investigatethe sensitivity of the catchment to climate change. Climate change scenarios weredeveloped for three future periods 2020’s, 2050’s and 2080’s by statisticallydownscaling rainfall and potential evapotranspiration using GCM outputs taken fromthe Hadley climate model (HAdCM3) for the high (A2) and low (B2) IPCC SRES scenarios.The results were used as inputs to the WetSpa model which was used to simulate theresulting hydrological changes using the river runoff. The trend analysis resultsrevealed that climate change is really taking place in the study area especially from1990. The catchment was shown to be very sensitive to climate change probablybecause of its small size. The results show that precipitation in the study area willgenerally decrease while temperatures will increase reaching average daily values of33°C in the dry periods. Future hydrological simulations indicate that river flows willdecrease significantly especially in the dry periods between May–September while heavy- 15 -


floods are expected in the wet months between November and March. The river isexpected to run dry in the dry months especially in September. In the wet months, theriver flows may increase by 30–50% in the 2080’s. Since the downscaling process isassociated with much uncertainty, the results of this study should provide a basis forfurther research of especially the downscaling of precipitation data.NÈVE CatherineClimate Change Impacts on the Water Cycle and Possible Policy Responses in theContext of River Basin Management PlanningPromotor: P. QuevauvillerOver the past century temperature has increased in Europe faster than the globalaverage. The global average temperature projections based on different scenarios offuture greenhouse gas emissions indicates an increase of 1.4°-5.8°C over the nextcentury (IPCC, 2007). The projected change in climate will significantly impact thehydrological cycle. A warmer climate will enhance evaporation rates and the intensity ofwater cycling, and result in greater amount of moisture in the air. A higher occurrenceof extreme weather events is expected in the coming century and hydrologicalextremes could be more frequent and severe over most of Europe. The water quality isalso likely to be threatened by physico-chemical, biological and hydro-morphologicalalterations due to climate change. Moreover both the demographical and economicalgrowth for future will represent a supplementary pressure on the water resources.Research into climate change impacts on the water cycle improves the understandingand assessment of key drivers and their interactions. However a high level ofuncertainties is included on projections of climate change impacts on the availabilityand quality of waters. Furthermore scientific knowledge is fragmented and not readilyaccessible to decision-makers. This makes difficult to establish a long-term strategyand to identify appropriate adaption measures. The main EU water policy, the WaterFramework Directive (2000/60/EC, WFD), has a planning cycle reaching 10-30 years inthe future. Within this timescale, the projected climate change and its impact on thewater cycle and water resources are likely to lead to higher environmental, ecologicaland socio-economic pressures and related costs in Europe. The scale of climate changepredicted by general circulation modelling for Europe in the future could havesignificant impacts on the attainability of remediation targets for freshwaters currentlybeing set by environmental decision makers to meet WFD. The question has been raisedas to whether the present water policy framework covers issues of climate change, and- 16 -


if there are opportunities for developing adaptation measures to climate changepolicies within its framework. The aim of this thesis is precisely to determine thepossibilities of the management at river basin level to deal with climate change issues,illustrating conclusions will be provided with in a case study, the Dender river basin(Belgium). In the first place, the thesis presents the scientific background about climatechange consequences on the water cycle and the projections. The outcomes of aclimatic modelling for the Dender river catchment will be used as a base for thefollowing investigation. After a brief overview of the European water legislation, asensitivity and opportunity analysis will be carried out to determine the strength andweakness of the WFD to tackle climate change variations. Some adaptation strategiesfor policy planning will be proposed and illustrated for the ongoing procedure onto theDender river basin.NEYSKENS Isabelle and SMOLDERS SvenLinking of Hydraulic Models Through the OpenMIPromotor: P. WillemsThe water framework directive (2000) aims at integrated water management on a basinscale. In this study, integrated water management is investigated. The focus is set onthe interaction between the sewer system and the river system. In the past, thisinteraction is widely studied, in both one-directional and two-directional ways. TheOpenMI is a tool that provides the linking of hydraulic models in a two-directional way.The technical value as well as the methodological usefulness is understood through thisresearch. Hydraulic models made in the InfoWorks CS and RS software are linked witheach other. To understand the effect of using the OpenMI on the produced data, smalland simple cases were used to test what happened with the data results. It wasconcluded that the choice of the simulation timestep as well as the source of the triggerare very important for the preciseness of the produced data. The second objectivecontributed to the usefulness of the OpenMI tool on more complex hydraulic models. Itappeared that long term simulations done for two-directional linked models with theOpenMI may not (yet) be realistic (with the present generation of computers) in thesense of data storage and the simulation time.- 17 -


NGOC MAI KimEstuarine Energy EvaluationPromotor: F. De SmedtEstuaries are complex environments where there are strong coupling and feedbackbetween the physics, sediments, chemistry and biology. Estuarine energy is recognizedas the driving forces. The understanding of energy in an estuary can explain manyphenomena in the estuary. This study is one of the initial steps in quantitative approachfor estuarine energy evaluation. With the available knowledge and research data,estuarine energy in the Scheldt estuary is quantified and evaluated. Estuarine energyflux, distribution pattern and the evolution of tide and river energy is examined. Theeffect of some important factors, such as wet section area and change of tidal range, onthe estuarine energy is also studied. The results show that tide energy is dominant inthe middle part estuarine. The maximum total energy flux and tide energy flux coincideat km 89 with the values of 6.82⋅10 4 J/m 2 s and 5.65⋅10 4 J/m 2 s, respectively. Theamplification of tidal energy under the influence of convergence is from km 80 to 100.Balance point occurs at 131 km from the mouth. The existence of energy maximum inthe mixed energy section and the landward shift of the balance point show that thetidal energy penetrates further landward in this man-modified estuary. The result ofthis study can be useful for the further understanding the estuarine energy distributionin general and to the development of a hydrologic model to assess how estuarineenergy governs the distribution and behaviours of sediments.NSAMI REMY AbbaRiver Basement Management Guidelines for Water Management in the Lake ChadBasinPromotor: P. QuevauvillerLake Chad is a vitally important wetland in the semi-arid Sahel corridor. It provides thebasis of may thousands of livelyhoods which depend on its seasonal fluctuations toremew fish stocks, farmland and rangeland. However, since the prevalence of endemicand persistent drought in the Sahel in late 60’s followed by those in the 70’s and 80’s,the whole region was devastated and the existence of the lake itself was threathened. Inthis light, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) was created by the Fort Lamy (nowN’Djamena) convention signed on 22 may, 1964, by the Heads of state of the four- 18 -


countries which share the Lake Chad, namely Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad in lineto remedy the situation. In 1974, Member States approved a Master plan for theDevelopment and Environmentally Sound Management of the Natural <strong>Resources</strong> of theLake Chad Conventional Basin. A Strategic Action Plan (SAP) with a long-term vision (20years) for the Lake Chad Basin, prepared with funding from the Global EnvironmentalFacility (GEF), was discussed and adopted by the Member States in 1998. Lake Chad is aTransboundary water body. Management of transboundary waters is a complex issue,which has to overcome many challenges in order to achieve its environmentalobjectives. The new European water policy, the Water Framework Directive (WFD)2000/60/EC, which is based on a river basin approach, addresses the issue oftransboundary cooperation, not only across the European Union (EU) member stateborders, but also beyond them. The management of water resources in the Lake Chadbasin has become a great source of concern. The prevalence of poverty in the regionrequires special attention to water distribution. Furthermore, the shortage of water andits many competing issues increasingly lead to conflicts between different stakeholders.The new WFD is the major piece of European Union (EU) legislation with environment atits core; it will guide the efforts for attaining a sustainable aquatic environment in theyears to come. In the WFD one can see elements from all the different forces thatguided the reform of EU water policy: rnvironmental protection, deregulation andsubsidiarity are all reflected in the WFD which in my view is a very strong guidancedocument for the LCBC to revisit their objectives (vision 2025). The study in depthexisting European river basin management framework and guidelines are carried outand it was examined how these may be adapted to the Lake Chad region. However, theproposed methodology from the WFD 2000/60/EC should be tailored to the specificcircumstances of the region taking into consideration their economic power.PALMANS TimEstimating Evapotranspiration with the SEBAL Model for the Doode BemdeWetland in Belgium: an Application of AHS Sensor DataPromotor: O. BatelaanPreserving and sustaining the quality of our living environment is becoming a more andmore important topic in today’s society. Therefore the ability to monitor ourenvironment is of great importance and deserves an appropriate amount of attention.One of the most important elements in our environment is its hydrological component.A very important variable determining the characteristics of this hydrological- 19 -


component is the evapotranspiration of the land surface. For the estimation of remotelysensed evapotranspiration, the most popular approach is to use surface temperatureand vegetation indices at small scale and low resolution satellite imagery to estimateregional fluxes. New developments in thermal and hyperspectral airborne imagery (theAHS scanner) allow deriving hydrological relevant observations at a resolution of 1-10m. In this research it is proposed to estimate the energy and water fluxes at the surfaceon basis of this thermal and hyperspectral imagery on a scale, which allowsdiscriminating local wetness and vegetation heterogeneity in relation to differences insoil and vegetation condition. The evapotranspiration in the study area is simulatedwith the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for <strong>Land</strong> (SEBAL). The daily totalevapotranspiration is calculated for the complete study area, but most of the attentionis spend on the wetland part of the region and its grasslands, for which detailed soilmoisture conditions have been measured and for which vegetation plots weredocumented. The estimated evapotranspiration values can be related to otherhydrological and vegetation conditions, resulting in an increased understanding of theecohydrological functioning of the study area.PARIDAENS Kobe and VANDENBROUCKE TomHydrological Evaluation of Geographically Isolated Wetlands: A South AfricanCase StudyPromotors: O. Batelaan & N. VerhoestSustainability is a key issue to consider in the management of vulnerable isolatedwetlands. Hydrological assessment of these wetlands provides managers and decisionmakers with an informative tool for further sustainable action. Based on a generalwater- and mass balance approach, a simple easily applicable concept was set up thatcan be used for the hydrological evaluation of geographically isolated wetlands.Through application to a case study, the Groenvlei wetland in South Africa, the conceptwas evaluated in terms of results, data requirements and appropriateness for use withdifferent types of field measurements and other data analysis results. Applying thewater- and mass balances and adding the results of the field measurements andhydrochemistry allowed identifying the main sources and losses of water for thewetland, being precipitation and groundwater inflow and evaporation respectively.Average in- and outflow could be estimated at 1.21 and 0.22 mm/day. Groundwaterflow directions in the vicinity of the wetland were determined and the wetland wasclassified as a through-flow wetland. Although the exact origin of the groundwater- 20 -


inflow could not be determined, it was established that at least part of the water comesfrom outside the wetland’s watershed. Probably the unconsolidated tertiary andquaternary dune formations supply the groundwater. Uncertainty exists about the roleof the regional groundwater component. The water- and mass balance results wereunsatisfactory over short time periods and gave better results with over a long timeperiod (10-25yr). The concept was found to be mostly complementary with the use offield measurements and hydrochemistry, which supplied additional information wherethe water- and mass balance approach was lacking: seasonal variations, inflowdirections and origin of the groundwater. With regard to data requirements, the casestudy results stressed the importance of accurate time series for water level andclimatic data and the effect of different methods for estimating of evaporation whenusing water balance calculations.PEREZ EULATE Carlos AndresAssessment of a Boussinesq-Based Metahillslope Model for Temporally VariableRecharge on a Mountainous CatchmentPromotor: O. BatelaanLimited and low quality hydrogeological data often limit research on the hillslopehydrology field. This is particularly true in developing countries where obtaining data ofhydraulic parameters such as hydraulic conductivity is rather expensive. In that scope,analytical approximations based on a linearized Boussinesq equation which describethe recession flow from hillslopes become rather a quite optimal cost-effect option.Furthermore, analytical approximations which include temporally variable rechargerates, since their approach is more realistic, turn out to be an even better alternative. Inthe present research a Boussinesq-based metahillslope model for temporally variablerecharge (Pauwels et al., 2002), is assessed in two ways, first based on simplegeometrynumerical models (e.g. MODFLOW) and second through an application in amountainous basin in Bolivia with limited hydrological and hydrogeological data. In theprocess, Brutsaert and Nieber [1977] hydraulic parameters estimation methodology isalso applied. For a horizontal aquifer under recession, the analytical approximation wasfound to be valid respect to the numerical model results for clay, silt and fine sand, butunder recharge just for clay and silt. The performance of the analytical approximation,for both recession and recharge, improves when increasing the aquifer slope up to 5%where the analytical approximation seems to be valid for all the material considered.The metahillslope model was applied to the TQA-2 sub-basin. Results suggest that the- 21 -


analytical approximation is able to reasonable simulate base flow at a basin scale in amountainous catchment with relative simple formulations.RAY POUDEL DharmaSetting of Qualitative and Quantitative Objectives for Groundwater in theContext of Bagmati River Basin Management PlanningPromotor: P. QuevauvillerThe Bagmati river is a second class river in Nepal and originates from middle mountainrange (Mahabharat Range); and the basin has covered around 3500 km 2 . The upperBagmati river basin covers Kathmandu valley, where the groundwater situation is highlydeteriorated due anthropogenic activities. The increasing population, direct disposal ofuntreated sewerage into the river, uncotrolled sand mining, improper solid wastedisposal, rapid construction of buildings, uncontrolled squatters settlement etc. arehelping to deteriorate the water quality of Bagmati river and groundwater of theadjacent area as well. Since the Bagmati river passes through Kathmandu valley,deterioration of the groundwater has found mainly in the area; and it has an implicationon the sustainable use of whole river basin. Level of some substances have been foundhigher than WHO standard and this is the cause of domestic, industrial and agriculturalpollutants. The quantitative pressure on groundwater is high enough, as the totalextracted rate is visibly higher than the total sustainable withdrawal rate. Therefore, thegroundwater level of the adjacent area h has been decreased 15-20 meters since 1980.EU has developed WFD and GWD for systematic management of river basin with the aimof promoting sustainable use of water by reducing or eliminating pollutants for thelong-term protection and enhancement of the aquatic environment. So far, no wellorganized River Basin Management Plan has been implemented for the Bagmati riverbasin, as no regulatory framework is existent. In this context, from the reference of EUWFD and GWD, a kind of framework can be proposed for the local and unique situationof Bagmati river basin. From the reference of EU WFD, the objectives for the BagmatiRiver Basin Management Planning could be set to achieve to prevent furtherdeterioration and protect water quality of groundwater; and prevent/limit of pollutantsinput in groundwater for sustainable water use. The expanded time frame and lessstringent objectives can be applied (exemption can be proposed) to achieve theimprovement of status of groundwater for the unique and local situation of Bagmatiriver basin, when the given time frame of achieving objectives may not be possible bythe reasons of technical feasibility and natural conditions do not allow timely- 22 -


improvement in the status of the body of water. Hence, from the reference of EU WFD, aclear stepwise approach has been proposed in this thesis report for Bagmati River BasinManagement Planning with more stakeholders’ participation. Finally, it can be expectedthat the approach as per the local situation, could be able to ensure sustainable riverbasin management by achieving the qualitative and quantitative objectives of BagmatiRiver Basin Management Planning in the context of groundwater.SENGENDO Godfrey IsaacIntegrated River Modelling for the River Dender in Flanders, BelgiumPromotor: P. WillemsFrom ages past, man has always sought to settle in river basins with a notion that theirresources would inexhaustibly support different human activities such as agriculture,transportation, water supply, etc. Over time, however, with man’s increased exertion onthese resources due to rapidly increasing populations, urbanisation, various rivermodifications, escalating pollution of freshwaters, coupled with the imminent climatechange and variability, the sustainability and continued usefulness of these waterresources and freshwater ecosystems pose major challenges. It is therefore imperativeto properly identify and study the different interactions and interdependencies of thenatural components of river systems, along with their response to anthropogenic orhuman influences, in order to sustainably maximise the beneficial uses of theseresources whilst maintaining or enhancing their ecohydrological functionality andquality. This forms the basis of integrated river basin management. In light of the aboveholistic approach, this research set out to develop an integrated river model to simulatethe flow and water quality of the Dender river and its main tributaries of Mark,Molenbeek and Bellebeek, while taking into account the different sources of water andpollution such as natural runoff, effluent from wastewater treatment plants, untreateddomestic pollution, industrial and diffuse agricultural pollution, in order to study theirimpacts on the river. The model was developed using the MIKE 11 river modellingsoftware of DHI Water & Environment. An existing detailed hydrodynamic model wasmodified, calibrated and validated using water levels upstream and downstream of the8 hydraulic structures along the main Dender river, and by evaluating its performancewith regard to discharge simulation at 2 limnigraphic stations upstream anddownstream of the river. The water quality model was calibrated by comparison withimmission measurements of dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrate-- 23 -


nitrogen, ammonium-nitrogen and temperature, and by also comparing it to theFlemish water quality immission standards.SHRESTHA Indu MohanGroundwater Modelling of Maaswinkel Natural Reserve Area, BelgiumPromotor: F. De SmedtMaaswinkel Natural Reserve Area lies in the basin of the Meuze river in Belgium. Itconstitutes of ecologically valuable area with a complicated ecosystem. There is concernabout the influence of the Meuse river and its impact on the natural reserve. The waterlevel in the ponds situated in the natural reserve is strongly dependent on the Meuseriver and shows fluctuation of several meters during the year. The water levelfluctuation has been considered as major factor contributing to loss of biodiversity inecosystem. The research aims to study the relationship between the Meuse river waterlevel and the water level in the ponds by surface water – groundwater interaction. Forthe simulation of the groundwater system, steady state and transient state models havebeen developed by using Visual MODFLOW. The spatially distributed groundwaterrecharge input for groundwater flow simulation has been computed by the use ofWetSpass. Furthermore, MODPATH has been used to compute the three dimensionalpathlines and position of particles at specified points in time. The diffusion of waterfrom the Meuse river towards the natural reserve area has been simulated by MT3DMS.Groundwater modelling result shows that the general groundwater flow direction isfrom general head boundary towards the Meuse river as most of basin area lies outsidethe study area which is contributing 53.8% of groundwater flow towards the ponds andthe Meuse river throughout the year except during flood. During the peak floods, thewater level fluctuation on the ponds is mainly due to the Meuse river that contributes54.8% of groundwater flow towards the ponds. Finally, the impacts of groundwater levelin the natural reserve area have been analyzed in order to maintain its biodiversityconsidering different scenarios of nature and water resources management.- 24 -


SILVA JORDÁN Luis FernandoEvaluation of Climate Indexes under Climate Change Scenarios in the SouthernHighland of BoliviaPromotor: O. BatelaanThis thesis arises from the necessity of predicting future climatic events, especiallythose for the agricultural zones of Bolivia, specifically the Enrique Baldivieso province inthe department of Potosi, zone of study for the present investigation.The rate of climate change expected for the following 100 years does not haveprecedents comparatively with the last 160.000 years. Certainly climate change wasoccurring in geological time, but clearly by natural causes; by the human influence andstarting with the boom of the industry in the 18 th century also began the dramaticconsequences of the global warming. According to works with climate scenarios carriedout by the National Program of Climatic Changes in Bolivia, this research uses thefollowing scenarios: IS92a baseline, IS92c optimistic and the IS92e pessimistic scenario.The work was calibrated in agreement to SCENGEN with a spatial resolution of 5° ofLatitude and 5° Longitude. The models of General Circulation (GCM) utilized in thisthesis are: HADCM2, UKHI and GISSEQ the best model that adjusts Bolivian dataaccording to studies carried out in Bolivia. The last one is the base model for studies ofclimatic indices of the year 2100 in this thesis. With the objective to calculate thevariation of bio-climatic indexes both for baseline scenario (2006) and for the scenarioof design (2100), it was taken into account climatic indices like: wind, precipitation,temperature, evapotranspiration, etc., based on records data in 5 climate stations of theNational Service of Hydrology and Meteorology SENHAMI, these stations aresurrounding the zone of the project. The registers in some stations were not sufficientin order to do a precise evaluation of indexes; hence a homogeneous behavior in thezone is assumed, especially referred for the indices of wind, evaporation, cloudinessand sun hours recorded in Uyuni station. These data were evaluated with WetSpassprogram in order to obtain the water balance of the zone, for the baseline scenario(2006 with historic data 1974–2006) and for the climate change scenarios IS92a, IS92band IS92e (for the years 2050 and 2100). These results are the base for the calculationof the bio-climatic indexes. The final results and conclusions of the thesis show acomparison between the climate scenarios and the effects in ecological systems that arerepresented by the bio-climatic indexes.- 25 -


TESFAGIORGIS Kibrewossen BirhanuGroundwater Modelling of the Geba Basin, North EthiopiaPromotor: F. De SmedtIn this study paper the application of modelling was employed to assess the potentialand movement of groundwater in the Geba basin, Northern Ethiopia. WetSpass, a GISphysically based distributed hydrologic model which takes into account the variation ofsoil, land-use and climate of the basin scenario was applied independently to assessthe hydrological parameter recharge. Other basin input parameters such astransmissivity, topography, geology and observation points were derived fromcombination of GIS and field survey. ArcView and SURFER were the tools used toprepare the input grid data. The model MODFLOW in PMWIN environment was used tosimulate the movement and distribution of groundwater of the modelled area. Due tolack of detailed geologic depositions information in the area, the model was simplifiedand conceptualized with a 100m thick single layered type-0 aquifer. The Drain packagein MODFLOW was used to incorporate the interaction between the streams and theaquifer. The package identified the discharging zones of the area under the assumptionof drain elevation is 2m below the ground surface. A drain conductance of 200m 2 /d hasalso been estimated. The drain output predicted rivers and streams as the dischargingzones of the area. For calibration and simulation 335 observation points wereconsidered. Transmissivity was the only parameter considered as uncertain. PEST,parameter estimation tool in PMWIN was used in addition to manually manipulating trialvalues for calibration. The calibration result showed small values of transmissivities formost of the geological formations. This is because of smaller depths of observationpoints from the surface. Generally speaking the groundwater level of the area variesfrom 960m near to the outlet of the Geba basin to a maximum of 3000m at thenorthern extreme. It follows the general topography of the area.YU GengxingRiver Basin Management Guidelines for Water Management in Songhua RiverBasin, ChinaPromotor: P. QuevauvillerWater is not only the key element of natural resources and environment, but also the- 26 -


asic condition of the human beings relying on existence and development. Althoughstrengthening Water management is a global consensus, water management conflictsthat confront the researchers, policy makers, and engineers could not be effectivelysolved without a harmonized approach. Integrated Water <strong>Resources</strong> Management is anappropriate principle to address that issue. The European Union launched the WaterFramework Directive (2000/60/EC) that creates a legal obligation for the member statesto achieve a “good water status” for all waters by 2015. River basin managementprinciples developed under the WFD are gaining popularity in China to effectivelymanage increasingly vulnerable water resources. Despite being gradually implementedin Europe, the international existing guidelines are unlikely directly adaptable in China.This thesis aims to study in depth European river basin management guidelines andexperiences, analyzing the current situation in Songhua River Basin, and evaluating theapplicability of adapted guidelines. The Songhua River Basin, like other river basins inChina, is facing aggravated water pollution, and development and management issues.In dealing with these issues, and in line with the evolution of modern concepts of riverbasin management, the Water Law of People’s Republic of China (2002) for the firsttime defines river basin management institutions and functions, the legal status of riverbasin management organizations in China, and strengthens the administrative rights ofriver basin management organizations. Although it is a good beginning, it is far fromperfect. In this report, current water resources development and management inSonghua River Basin are presented. Strategies on water resources management havebeen put forward: Water resources should be managed within a sustainabledevelopment framework; integrated management should consider river basin as a basicunit; wide and effective public participation should be established; efforts should bemade to build a water-saving society. Water management in Songhua River Basin shallbe enhanced through technological advancements and knowledge innovation.Sustainable development of water resources shall be achieved by way of scientificmanagement, which would contribute to improving water conservation, protection andallocation.- 27 -


* Theses promoted by KULDHIRAY K. C.An Experimental and Modelling Study of Thixotropic Behaviour of Fluid MudPromotor: E. ToormanHENNEBERT Denis and MOERENHOUT TimConflict Between Water Demand and Supply in the Tadla Irrigation Scheme (Morocco):Actual Situation and Future TrendsPromotor: D. RaesMBOH CHO MiltinFate of Antibiotics in the Soil: Adsorption/Desorption and Transformation Studies ofSulfadiazine in Two SoilsPromotor: J. VanderborghtSHRESTHA NirmanSimulation of Water Stress and Yield of Sugar Beets with the BUDGET ModelPromotor: D. RaesTHARMALINGAM SrivarathasaranInfluence of Waste Water on the Transport and Transformation in Irrigated Soils: aColumn ApproachPromotor: G. WyseureULSIDO Mihret DanatoDesign, Construction, and Evaluation of Passive Capillary Wick Samplers for VadoseZone Water SamplingPromotor: J. Diels- 28 -


Development Cooperation Prize 2006 for IUPWARE StudentVu Thi Minh NGUYET Wins 2006 Development Co-Operation Prize.Yearly the Belgian Development Cooperation awards a prize to students and youngscientists, based on a scientific work of high relevance for development. In 2006 14students and 6 researchers received the prize (EURO 1.250 for students and EURO2.500 for young researchers), Vu Thi Minh Nguyet (°1972 Vietnam,nguyetvuminh@vnn.vn) was one of the researchers receiving the prize on basis of herPhD work. All the details on the prize can be found athttp://www.devcoprize.africamuseum.be/. Vu Thi Minh Nguyet's education consisted ofa Bachelor in Geology, Hanoi University, Vietnam, 1994; Master’s in Water Management,K.U.Leuven and <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>, Belgium, 2000; and Ph.D. in EngineeringSciences, <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>, Belgium, 2006. The prize was awarded in an officialceremony in the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium on the 6th ofJune 2007.Vu Thi Minh Nguyet during the Development Cooperation Prize ceremony on the 14 th of June 2007, left onthe picture Prof. O. Batelaan, right Dr. M. Dusar (Geological Survey of Belgium).- 29 -


PHYLARES MSc. ThesesAcademic Year 2006-2007ADHIKARI SurendraNumerical Modelling of Historical Front Variations and the 21 st CenturyEvolution of Glacier AX010, Nepal HimalayaPromotor: P. HuybrechtsDue to the lack of baseline data, model-based studies of glacier systems in the NepalHimalayas are very limited. Here a numerical ice flow model has been developed forGlacier AX010 in order to study its relation with climate for investigating the possiblecauses that might explain the general retreat of the glacier since the end of the LittleIce Age. A basic sensitivity experiment has first been conducted in order to investigatethe length response time of the glacier. An attempt is then made to simulate thehistorical front variations. These simulations reveal that the glacier history can be solelyexplained by the temperature anomaly, but not by the precipitation anomaly. The verygood agreement between the observed and the simulated front positions as solelydefined by the temperature forcing has permitted us to project the future behaviour ofthe glacier under various 21st century climate scenarios. Under a no-change scenario,the glacier will retreat ~600 m by 2100 AD; whereas the glacier is projected to vanishcompletely within this century for all trends with a temperature rise. For a constantprecipitation, the model predicts that the glacier will not exist anymore after 2083,2056 and 2049 AD if the temperature will linearly rise to +3°C, +4.5°C and +6°C by2100 AD. For a range of precipitation change (-30% to +30%), the glacier will meltentirely within the range of 18, 6 and 2 years for the temperature rise of +3°C, +4.5°Cand +6°C, respectively. This means that the role of the precipitation becomes minimalfor the higher trends of temperature rise.ESAIFAN MuayadStabilization of Jordanian Soils for Water Harvesting PurposesPromotor: J. WastielsMineral polymerization technique is a new method used to stabilize the soil for- 30 -


construction and industrial purposes. In this research work the stabilized soil thatproduced by this technique have found to be a good candidate for replacing cement tobuild up an in-situ water harvesting system or to use the soil itself as a catchmentsurface at the southern Jordan desert. Hence the results of this research work haveshown low open porosity, low water absorption, and high dry and wet compressivestrength values for the mineral polymer produced. For the mineralogical, chemical andgeotechnical evaluation study, two soil samples were brought from southern Jordandesert (HS-1 and HS-2). The analyses showed abundance with the kaolinite mineral as61.8% and 58.9% for HS-1 and HS-2 samples, respectively. A maximum dry strength of36.04 MPa, wet strength of 17.55 MPa, water absorption of 7% and open porosity of15% were achieved after optimizing the mixing water content as 22%, soil to sand ratioas 100:200, sodium hydroxide content as 22%, filling material with M2 and M31 sandmixture as 20%:80%, and 24 hours curing period at 80°C.GONZALEZ-QUIJANO ManuelGroundwater modelling of the Tsinkanet Catchment: a MODFLOW Approach toEvaluate the Impact of Small Reservoirs on Groundwater RechargePromotor: F. De SmedtThe construction of small micro-dams has been stopped in northern Ethiopia becausesuch reservoirs were not holding enough surface water for irrigation purposes. Themain problem of such dams is leakage and/or seepage which in turn may be regardedas something beneficial for groundwater abstraction. Thus, the aim of this thesis is tomake a groundwater model in order to calculate with the help of zone budget thegroundwater recharge due to the reservoir. The low values obtained are due to the rainyseason where the observation heads for the calibration process were. It is expected toobtain higher values if a new model is calibrated for the longer dry season.- 31 -


LE HOANG NguyenThe Initial UNESCO’s National Geo-Park Criteria in Caobang Province, North-East of VietnamPromotor: O. BatelaanThe record of the history of our planet lies in its landscapes and in the rock beneath ourfeet. Only here, can we trace the cycles of change and renewal that have shaped theEarth in the past, and which will continue to do so in the future. In the poorest regionsof North Vietnam karst occurs abundant. Here a pro geo-tourism, geo-heritage, biodiversitypolicy, taking into account the diversified ethnic cultural and landscape withina rapid economically developing Vietnam, would offer a sustainable development. Thiswork aims to prepare a data base sources and apply integrated methods combining theinformation obtained by geological map, geomorphologic map, land use map, <strong>Land</strong>satTM, aerial photo and digital elevation model (DEM) in a GIS environment for betterunderstanding the overall characteristics of geomorphology, geology in Cao Bangprovince. The relationship between geomorphology and geology distribution, especiallyin a high mountainous region as Cao Bang may be a starting point for seeking Geoparkcriteria. It is concluded that the geomorphology of limestone massifs, whichunderwent a weak lift is of significant importance and should be further studies withinthe Geopark concept.LE VINH BuiRegional Slope Instability Zonation Using Different GIS TechniquesPromotor: F. De Smedt<strong>Physical</strong>ly based slope stability model was applied by combining several parameters including soil andland-use to calculate the factor of safety for three steady state conditions, i.e. completely dry, half saturated,and completely saturated. The results of safety factor calculated for these three steady state scenarios werethen combined to develop the final safety factor map consisting of six stability classes. In CF model, CFvalues were calculated for each category of the affecting factors. The results of the factor maps werecalculated for direct assessment and integration rule. In probability model, relations between the affectingfactors with the landslide map were established. The landslide susceptibility map was made applying thelandslide susceptibility index (LSI).- 32 -


QUDAIH AhmedEstimation of Evapotranspiration on Basis of an ASTER Image of the NorthernPart of BelgiumPromotor: O. BatelaanThis study describes the use of the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for <strong>Land</strong>abbreviated SEBAL. The SEBAL algorithm enables the estimation of pixel scaleevapotranspiration fluxes using information collected by satellite sensors incombination with ground-based measurements of wind speed, humidity, solar radiationand air temperature. In this thesis a case study for the Northern part of Belgium iselaborated. Until now mostly low resolution satellite information is used forevapotranspiration fluxes estimation, however fluxes estimated from medium or highresolution satellite images contain more information, especially with regard to thespatial distribution, which would for example be useful for hydrological modeling. Inthis thesis an ASTER image was selected for the ET estimation because of the relativelyhigh spatial and spectral resolution, the low image cost and its ability for emissivity andland surface temperature separation. The image was taken on 30.3.2004 at 10.30 AM.In the recent past different methods are developed to estimate evapotranspirationbased on remote sensing observations. In this thesis research it was chosen to use theSEBAL method developed by Bastiaansen (1989). The major advantage of this method isthe low data requirement; moreover the SEBAL method has proven its ability forrelatively accurate evapotranspiration estimation in several studies. Data preparation inthis study is done with both ILWIS 3.3 and IDRISI 3.2 software. In the processing theSEBAL algorithm, many parameters were derived, such as NDVI, SAVI and LAI, netradiation, soil heat flux, sensible heat flux, latent heat flux etc. Eventually the total dailyevapotranspiration for the day the image was taken is estimated with the SEBALalgorithms. In this study, the values for the total daily evapotranspiration range from 1to 2.5 mm/day. Lowest values were observed for man-made areas and highest valuesfor open water bodies and high dense of vegetation.- 33 -


SHAHEEN SamiNitrate Pollution and Groundwater Modelling of Wastewater Plant in Rafah Area,Gaza Strip, PalestinePromotor: F. De SmedtGroundwater is the sole source of drinking water in the Gaza strip. Nitrate pollution togroundwater has become a progressively serious problem to the whole life system inthe area. Gaza Strip is facing a series of wastewater and sanitation-related problems:large-scale discharge of untreated wastewater, leaking of collected wastewater fromsewer systems and cesspits, water treatment plants that do not function or functiononly poorly and uncontrolled reuse of untreated wastewater by the irrigation sector.This is causing many diseases related to contaminated drinking water. Rafah areaconstitutes the southern part of Gaza strip, and considered as the most area affected bythe nitrate pollution. The source is mainly the waste water plant site which was builtmore than 20 years ago. Nitrate concentration in the groundwater in Rafah area rangefrom 32-200 ppm as NO-3 component. The results show that simulation using VisualModflow model, and MT3D transport model approach in Rafah groundwater aquiferscan improve planning and management policies and can give better decision for aquiferutilization, and treatment of nitrate pollution upon an appropriate prediction.THI THUY NguyenApplication of Stable Isotope Geochemistry in the Study of the Evolution ofPaleoclimate and Environment, Case Study in Son La, VietnamPromotors: E. Keppens & S. VerheydenSpeleothems are now regarded as important archives of paleoclimate and environment.The calcite stalagmite was taken from the Ta Chinh cave, Son La, Vietnam. This regionis one of the famous karstic areas in Vietnam. The stable isotope composition in thespeleothem provided signals of changing climate and environment during theInterglacial and the Glacial periods. The absolute age dating revealed discontinuousgrowing of the stalagmite during three periods: from 132 to 130ka BP, from 109 to 108ka BP and from 39 to 35ka BP. There were at least 2 hiatuses during the deposition ofstalagmites. Generally, the growth rate of the stalagmite was faster in warm climatecondition (the Interglacial period) than in the cold one (the Glacial period). In other- 34 -


words, it was controlled by climate conditions such as temperature, soil activity andmeteoric precipitation. The carbon isotopic composition changed in the two periods ofthe stalagmite deposition as a result of changes in the amount of vegetation above thecave, which is thought to consist exclusively of C3-plants. On the other hand the δ18Ovalues of both Interglacial and Glacial periods could not be explained because of ourlack of knowledge of the cave hydrology and the δ18O of meteoric waters. In addition,the difference in δ18O between the Interglacial period and the Glacial period cannotexplained by any possible combination of acceptable temperature difference, change inamount of precipitation and ice effect. Changes in the monsoonal system may haveplayed a role.TORREGROSA MORALES HiginiaStable Isotopic and Geochemical Analyses of Meteoric, Surface and Cave Watersin Hydrological and Environmental Study of the Han-Sur-Lesse Cave, BelgiumPromotors: E. Keppens & S. VerheydenIn this short-term study we investigated the isotopic (δ18O and δ13CDIC) andhydrochemical characteristics of different waters in the Han-sur-Lesse karstic area(southern Belgium): meteoric waters, surface waters of the Lesse River which travelsunderground across this karstic environment, dripping seepage water and a smallunderground lake. The purpose was to define possible relations between theconsidered hydrological compartments. In addition, based on the analysis of NO - 3 andPO 43−, and of a series of metals and sulfur, we intended to evaluate possibleanthropogenic contamination of the karstic waters.ZULU JosephHydrogeological Characterization of the Well-Field at Wangwa Farms, Chisamba,ZambiaPromotor: F. De SmedtHydrogeological characterization involves the use of different techniques to determineaquifer characteristics. Pumping tests have proved to be one of the most effective andfrequently used methods of obtaining estimates of reliable values for the hydraulic- 35 -


characteristics of the geological formations which host groundwater. Aquifer testing ateach borehole consists of two phases: (a) a step drawdown test, followed by (b) aconstant discharge test. The step drawdown test is conducted to evaluate the efficiencyof the constructed well, and how it performs under different pumping regimes.Compaction of aquifer material by the drilling process, plugging of the walls of theborehole by drilling mud, incorrectly sized and placement of filter material, incorrectscreen type or width all contribute in lowering the water level in the well. Each of thesefactors has a negative impact, increasing the rate of lowering of the water level, whencompared to the expected drawdown in the water level based on theoretical grounds.The constant discharge test, which usually normally lasts 24 hours is conducted tomeasure how the well will perform under likely operational conditions and to make adetermination of aquifer characteristics. This allows some indication as to the longtermimpact on the aquifer and its performance on the operation of the well. Analysisof data is thus normally done using the Jacob straight-line method, assuming therequired assumptions are met. In this research, Characterization of the Well-Field atWangwa farms, Chisamba area, Zambia is done by interpretation and analysis of datafrom thirty three (33) single-well pumping tests, and by using geostatistics tocharacterize the spatial distribution of transmissivity. VarioWin and GSLIB for Windows,geostatistical software is used to interpolate the calculated transmissivity at Wangwafarms. Hydraulic step tests indicates that, most of the wells tested are affected by thewell losses (12 Wells with less than 30% efficiency), while at 7 wells the aquifer is thedominant factor with well efficiency of more than 50%, 8 wells are affected by both thewell losses and aquifer losses factors. The limited data at the remaining 5 wellsprecludes a determination, and the cause is mainly due to non stabilization of the stepsduring pumping. The results of the tests indicates that the aquifer is confined andfractured (double-porosity), and the spatial structure from geostatistical interpolationreveals that high transmissive area are associated with structural lineaments andcontacts of geological formations.- 36 -


PhD. Theses 2007LE QUOC HungIntegrated Analysis of Sub-Tropical Mountain Karst Geohydrology in NWVietnam by Field and Multisource Remotely Sensed DataPromotor: F. De SmedtRemotely sensed data has become an important source for geoscientists to understandthe earth. With the rapidly growing availability of remotely sensed data and fieldsurveys, there is an urgent demand to interpret and analyze these data. Remote sensingis a promising technology to support geohydrological studies, mainly because of thepotential to observe areas and entire river basins rather than single points. With thesuccesful development of computer science, geographic information systems (GIS) andimage processing systems, it has become feasible to digitally interpret multiple types ofremotely sensed and thematic map data. In spite of this promise, the application ofremote sensing in geohydrological studies has been slow, especially in developingcountries. This work aims to develop and apply integrated methods combining theinformation obtained by geohydrological field mapping and those obtained byanalyzing multi-source remotely sensed data in a GIS environment for betterunderstanding the geohydrological characteristics of the sub-tropical vegetated karstregion in Vietnam. The study focuses on two important mountainous areas: Suoimuoicatchment and Tamduong valley. Remote sensing analyses are applied, which includelineament analysis and its application for fractured zone studies, fusion method andgeological mapping.An effective approach for the delineation of fracture zones is based on lineamentindices extracted from satellite imagery. The complete procedure of lineament analysisconsists of four steps: (1) extraction, (2) correction, (3) indices and lineament indicesdensities, (4) fractured zone definition. The accuracy of extracted lineaments dependsstrongly on the spatial resolution of the imagery. The most suitable band for lineamentextraction in the Suoimuoi catchment is the NIR band. It is tested and shown here thatextracted lineaments from the NIR ASTER imagery are considerably less noisy and showa higher accuracy than lineaments extracted from other imagery. Three lineamentindices are defined as: (1) lineament frequency, (2) length, and (3) intersection. Therelationship between fractured rock and groundwater is investigated. However, a highlevel of fractured rock does not guarantee the presence of groundwater in the Suoimuoi- 37 -


area. Therefore, additional information from karst depression analysis is needed and itis concluded that there is a high potential for groundwater in the highly fracturedzones, which are close to karstic depressions or rivers. The general direction ofgroundwater flow can be predicted by the direction of the faults system anddepressions in the Suoimuoi catchment where regional tectonic structures control karstgroundwater flow. The ASTER image is used, after enhancement, to digitally extractlineaments. Based on indices of lineament densities, a fractured zone is defined inwhich cave development is expected. Areas with karstic depressions are extracted bycombining the result of DEM analysis and ASTER image ratio ¾. The methodology set upfor cave analysis in the sub-tropical karst of the Suoimuoi catchment, proves to be apromising method for predicting groundwater flow.The integration of <strong>Land</strong>sat ETM+ images with high resolution PAN and aerial photosprovide complementary information with respect to the discrimination of majorgeological features and allows lineament extraction in detail. With the high-resolutionimages, manmade and natural features are easy to recognize, especially in combinationwith areal photos. The Intensity-Hue-Saturation (HIS), Principal Component Analysis(PCA) and a Wavelet-based method are used for image fusion. Quantitative metrics forevaluating the quality of fused images are carried out. It is found that HIS is the mostoptimal method for image fusion in the Tamduong area, because it has a high potentialfor visual interpretation. A combination of remotely sensed data and fieldwork is usedfor geological mapping. The research methodology is applied to explore the subtropicalvegetated karst area of Tamduong. Based on the remote sensing analysis andfieldwork, a geological map is established. Fractured rock zones are mapped with thehelp of lineament indices densities. This research clearly shows that the study area ischaracterized by strong tectonic activity and faulted zones, whereby the geo-structureis controlled by NW-SE folding and fracture systems.This work not only gives details and insight in the understanding of karstgeohydrological characteristics of Suoimuoi and Tamduong, but also provides methodsof integrating remotely sensed data for geohydrological studies. The methods appliedin this thesis prove to be very useful for geohydrological studies in vegetatedmountainous sub-tropical karst areas of developing countries, like Vietnam.- 38 -


RWETABULA JustusModelling the Fate and Transport of Organic Micro-Pollutants and Phosphates inthe Simiyu River and Speke Gulf (Lake Victoria), TanzaniaPromotor: F. De SmedtLake Victoria is the largest freshwater lake in Africa, and one of the major sub-basinswithin the Nile basin sharing its resources with Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The waterquality of Lake Victoria has been deteriorating due to point and non-point pollutionsources from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities. Pollution from agriculturalactivities is mainly fertilizers and pesticides. The main processes affecting the fate ofpollutants in runoff are water discharge, erosion and sediment transport, and chemical,biological and biochemical interactions within the soil-plant-water system. To avoidenvironmental problems, the riparian countries established the Lake VictoriaEnvironmental Management Project (LVEMP), which became operational in 1997, aimingat the rehabilitation of the degraded lake ecosystem. In Tanzania there are many riverspolluting Lake Victoria. The Simiyu catchment, located in the southeast of Lake Victoria,is considered to be one of the main contributors to the deterioration of Lake Victoria,because it is relatively large (10,800 km2), with many agricultural activities, usingagrochemicals and generating high yields of sediments. The catchment is generally flat,dominated by wasteland, bushland, grassland and cultivated landuse types, and sandyloam soil type. The main objective of this Ph.D. thesis is to develop and apply aphysically-based, distributed watershed model for prediction of river discharge/runoffand contaminant (phosphorous and pesticides) transport in the Simiyu catchment,Tanzania.To carry out this study, it was necessary to obtain baseline data investigating to whatextent the Simiyu river contaminants are entering Lake Victoria. Field measurementcampaigns were carried out between 2001 and 2004 in the Simiyu catchment and Spekegulf (Lake Victoria). Respectively twelve and eight monitoring stations were establishedin the Simiyu river and Speke gulf. Activities involved, measurements of discharge in theSimiyu river and of currents in the Speke gulf, water and sediment sampling in theSimiyu river and Speke gulf, and analysis of water quality parameters. In addition,meteorological data was collected, and DEM, landuse and soil maps were developedfrom satellite images, field investigation and information from literature. These datatogether with the field work were used for model calibration. The average discharge inthe Simiyu river is about 30 m3/s during the rainy season. Five samplings were carriedout in the Simiyu river and Speke gulf. In the water samples observed total phosphorous- 39 -


concentrations were on average about 1000 mg/m3 in the Simiyu river, and about 770mg/m3 in the Speke gulf. In the Simiyu river total pesticide concentrations were inorder of 10000 µg/m3 for DDT, HCH, and Endosulfan, and in the Speke gulf 1000µg/m3 for DDT, and 10000 µg/m3 for HCH and Endosulfan.A grid-based distributed hydrologic model WetSpa, is applied to fulfil the proposedobjectives. The model combines topography, landuse and soil maps in raster format,and meteorological data, and predicts discharge and contaminant hydrographs andspatial distribution of hydrologic characteristics in the catchment. Contaminant loadingis estimated as a function of the runoff and contaminant release rates for differentlanduse types. A diffusive approximation method is used to trace runoff andcontaminant transport to the basin outlet. The model is evaluated based on three yeardata (2001-2004) of daily river discharge and measured contaminant concentrationsand loads at the catchment outlet of Simiyu river. The estimated annual flow and totalphosphorous load are about 500x106 m3 and 709x103 kg. The estimated annual totalpesticide load is 3600 kg, mainly dominated by HCH, Endosulfan and DDT.TUCCU WOLDEAMLAK SolomonSpatio-temporal Impacts of Climate and <strong>Land</strong>-use Changes on the Groundwaterand Surface Water <strong>Resources</strong> of a Lowland CatchmentPromotor: F. De SmedtThe Kleine Nete is one of several catchments in Belgium that is used as a source offresh water, and contains a number of ecological important areas, which are frequentlyflooded. The average slope of the catchment is very small resulting in low flow velocity.The distributed hydrological models, WetSpa, WetSpass and MODFLOW, are used forsimulating the hydrological behaviour of the catchment. Peak discharges are simulatedwith a Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 84% and 81% respectively for calibration andverification periods. Antecedent soil moisture conditions play a major role in theproduction of peak discharges during the winter periods, which are characterized bylow intensity rainfall but of long duration. Peak discharges in the summer are mostlylimited to high intensity rainfall regardless of the antecedent soil moisture conditions.In general, runoff generated in the summer is low compared to the winter due to acombination of several factors like dry soil, high evapotranspiration, and highinterception and depression storage losses. Recharge to the aquifer, estimated byWetSpass and WetSpa models, accounts for 36% of the annual precipitation and occurs- 40 -


predominantly during the winter. The discharge areas occupy about 10% of thecatchment and the average discharge flux is 314 mm y -1. A small percentage of inflowto the aquifer comes from canals and lakes. The sandy nature of the aquifer allowsdistinct groundwater head fluctuations between summer and winter, which implies thatchanges in climatic conditions that alter precipitation and potential evapotranspiration,could easily affect the groundwater balance and interaction with surface water.Recent increase in flood frequency in the catchment is partly attributed to land-usechanges. The CLUE-S model is used to derive future annual land-use changes in thecatchment. Four land-use scenarios based on the SRES emission are considered.Comparison of the model calculated suitability and the current state of the land-usetype shows satisfactory agreement, while all future land-use scenarios depict a largeincrease of urbanization and decrease a of agricultural land-use types. Winter andsummer river discharge, peak discharges and flood frequencies increase, while thegroundwater shows a decline in head throughout the seasons. Under extreme scenariosthe annual flood frequency in 2020 increased by 85%. The effect on groundwater on theoverall catchment is very small; however, the local groundwater head decline couldreach up to 1.15 m. Like the land-use changes, part of the change in water balance inthe catchment is attributed to climate change. Analysis of long term weather recordsindicates that annual mean temperatures increased by about 1°C since the 1950s andare expected to rise by about 3.3°C by the end of the 21st century. The SeasonalKendall trend test shows a significant annual increase in precipitation, PET andtemperature at 5 and 10% levels. The current trends indicate 13 mm increase perdecade in PET, while the precipitation increase ranges from 19 to 53 mm per decade. Asensitivity study of climate change on the hydrology of the catchment is modelled usingwet (greenhouse), cold or NATCC (North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation Change) anddry climate scenarios. Low, central and high estimates of temperature changes areadopted for the wet scenarios. Seasonal and annual water balance componentsincluding groundwater recharge are simulated using the WetSpass model, while annualgroundwater heads and discharge are simulated with a steady-state MODFLOWgroundwater model. WetSpass results for the wet scenarios show that winters will bemore wet and summers more dry compared to the present situation. MODFLOW resultsfor the wet high scenario show that groundwater levels will increase by as much as 1 m,which could affect the distribution and characteristics of the wetlands. Results obtainedfor cold scenarios depict drier winters and wetter summers relative to the present. Thedry scenarios predict dry conditions for the whole year, with no recharge in thesummer. Average annual groundwater levels drop by half a meter, with maximum 1.5 min the eastern part of the Campine Plateau, which could endanger aquatic ecosystems.- 41 -


Transient simulations, which encompass both the greenhouse and dry scenarios areconducted in order to assess the future hydrology of the catchment. Futureprecipitation predicted by downscaling from the A2 emission of the HadCM3’s GCMshow a monthly uncertainty range that reaches up to 17%. The predicted precipitationshow similar but more mild monthly changes as present, ranging from 50% increase inMarch to 25% decrease in August. This leads to a 13% increase and 6% decrease in riverdischarge respectively for March and August. However, the groundwater head does notdepict high fluctuation between summer and winter as observed for the river discharge,owing to the aquifer storage characteristics. The groundwater head increased by about25 cm in the winter, while in the summer it remained at the same level as the presentcondition. The overall effects of climate change are expected to result in more floods inthe winter, and the ‘wetness’ and ‘dryness’ is likely to have more effect on the diversityand distribution of aquatic plants and animals.- 42 -


4. RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT and DISSEMINATIONApplication of Multicriteria Decision Making to SewerRehabilitation Projects PrioritizationSewers need to be rehabilitated to keep their integrity – structural, hydraulic andenvironmental – at par with standards. Historically, the budgets for sewer systemsrehabilitation are scarce and too limited to address the requirements. Thus, utilitymanagers need to prioritize sewer rehabilitation projects. However, the decision on whichsewer rehabilitation project to prioritize is far from being straightforward due toconflicting interest and priorities from different stakeholders – administrators, politicians,engineers, society, etc. Rehabilitation programmes of sewer systems need to considerseveral perspectives. In cases like this, multi-criteria decision methods offer an ablesupport to utility managers in forming sound decisions. In setting a priority list for sewerrehabilitation, the utility manager needs to have complete and reliable information of thesystem’s current state, clear objectives and a clear procedure for decision making. Thisresearch focuses on the latter concern by establishing a formalized method for decisionmaking. The objective is to develop a multi-criteria decision support tool as an aid to thedecision making process in the prioritization of sewer pipes rehabilitation projects for the<strong>Brussel</strong>s (Belgium) region. This research is currently on the data gathering stage.E.V. Ana, Jr., W. Bauwens and VivaquaApplication of the WetSpa model to the DistributedHydrologic Model Intercomparison Project (DMIP)The department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering is participating in the secondphase of the Distributed Model Intercomparison Project (DMIP II) of the Hydrology Lab ofthe National Weather Service, Office of Hydrologic Development (NWS-OHD), USA.This project intends to evaluate the capabilities of existing distributed hydrologicmodels forced with operational quality radar-based precipitation data. In this PhDresearch, the WetSpa model is applied to simulate runoff in five USA watersheds ofthe DMIP project. The model implementation is based on 30 m spatial resolution andone-hour time step. Rainfall inputs are derived from NEXRAD (radar). The distributedmodel parameters are based on an extensive database of watershed characteristicsavailable for the region, including digital maps of DEM, soil type, and land use. The model- 43 -


is calibrated and validated on part of the river flow records for each basin and applied tothe smaller interior watersheds not used in calibration to assess the model performancein ungaged basins. The model performance is assessed by calculating the Nash-Sutcliffeefficiency (NS), where a value of 1 represents a perfect fit. The statistics improvesignificantly with calibration of the global model parameters but even for uncalibratedsimulations, the physically-based WetSpa model reproduces flow rates of acceptableaccuracy for most cases. The statistics show that NS is 0.75 for the Elk River near Tiff City,and 0.83 for the Illinois River near Watts for the calibration periods. With the exception ofBlue River basin, the overall statistics during the validation period remain good (NS variesfrom 0.67 to 0.82), indicating that the model is able to simulate the relevant hydrologicprocesses in the basins accurately. A potential future research for WetSpa development isto validate the model in watersheds where snow accumulation and ablation is significant(e.g. DMIP II California Sierra Nevada watersheds).A. Safari and F. De SmedtAssessing the impacts of environmental change on thehydrology of the Nzoia catchment, in the Lake Victoria BasinThis study has analyzed the historical climatic and land cover changes that have takenplace in the Nzoia River catchment in Kenya and the effect these have had on thehydrology of the catchment. It has also made use of land cover and climate changescenarios for the future to determine the potential effects these would have on thecatchment. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to investigate theimpact of land cover and climatic change on streamflow of the study area. The model wasset up using readily available spatial and temporal data, and calibrated against measureddaily discharge. The land cover changes within the watershed were examined throughclassification of satellite images and the land cover change scenarios were generated by aland cover change model. Climate change scenarios were obtained from generalcirculation models (GCMs). To this purpose, rainfall and temperature scenarios based onthe GCMs CCSR, CSIRO, ECHAM4, GFDL and HADCM3 were superimposed on a calibratedSWAT model.Trend analysis of rainfall shows that, on average, the annual rainfall has increased byabout 2.3 mm/year between 1962 and 2001. Out of a total of 14 stations, four haveshown significant trends at 0.1% significance level. An important observation is that outof 10 rainfall stations that show an increasing trend, eight are found in the highlandareas. The lower catchment receives much less rainfall and some stations exhibitdecreasing rainfall trends. The variation of trends on a monthly basis, show that the- 44 -


months May to September and December have shown decreasing amounts although notstatistically significant. Temperature shows increasing trends with higher increases in thelowlands (0.79oC) than in the highlands (0.21oC).<strong>Land</strong> cover change analysis has shown that the agricultural area has increased from about39.6 to 64.3% between 1973 and 2001, while forest area has decreased from 12.3 to7.0%. Generally, runoff was highest from agricultural lands, followed by shrubland,grasslands and forest. The study shows that without climate change, land cover changeswould account for a difference in runoff of about 55-68%. The commonly used climatechange, socio-economic, and emission scenarios A2 and B2 indicate increased amountsof annual rainfall with variations on a monthly basis. All - but one - GCMs showconsistency in the monthly rainfall amounts, indicating that the seasonal rainfall patternwill be maintained, but with higher amounts in the 2050s than in the 2020s. The monthlychanges in rainfall range from -16 to +49%. Temperature will increase in this region, withthe 2050s experiencing much higher increases than the 2020s with a monthlytemperature change range of 0-1.7oC. The highest increase in annual runoff is given byECHAM4 model, while HADCM3 model gives the least increase with monthly peak runoffin the months of April, May and November. The range of change in mean annual rainfallwas 2.4-23.2% while that of streamflow was 50-570%. Monthly changes are much morevariable and it follows that these figures would be much larger for monthly changes. Theanalysis has revealed important linear relationships between rainfall and runoff for certainmonths that could be extrapolated to estimate amounts of streamflow under variousscenarios of change in rainfall. Streamflow response was not sensitive to changes intemperature for the scenarios considered and no significant relationships were derived.While land cover changes accounted for a difference in runoff of about 55-68%, change inclimate without land cover change accounted for a difference of 30-41%. This shows thatchange in land cover changes have resulted in greater runoff changes than climate.According to the climate change scenarios, with all the other variables held constant e.g.land cover, population growth etc., a significant increase in streamflow may be expectedin the coming decades as a consequence of increased rainfall amounts. Thus to mitigatepossible frequent flooding which has been a major problem in this region, there is needto reverse trends in land degradation. In addition, water harvesting of excess water couldalleviate drought problems that may be experienced with a changing climate.F. Githui- 45 -


Climate Change Induced Tidal Flat Morphological Change andBiological AdaptationCoastal intertidal flats are situated at the boundary zone between ocean and land, and aresites of intense biological activity that is vital to the trophic levels of the estuarineecosystem. The tidal flats along the Scheldt Estuary have their particular social-economicimportance and interests to the regional coastal zone development and management.However, little is known about the susceptibility of these tidal flats to climate change, norabout the consequences of such to biological communities that are accommodated onand adapted to this zone. Reliable predictions of the physico-biological implications arerequired for environment management in order to sustain the ecological health of a tidalflat under changing climatic, sea level and anthropogenic pressures. This research is tounderstand and to project what physical related biological feedbacks and implicationsrespond to spatial and temporal changes with the anticipated climate change. It focuseson relations between physical and biological processes at the surface sediments on tidalflats with emphasis on effects of biofilm on biodeposition, sediment resuspension, andsediment stabilization. The research will provide more complete knowledge of whatphysical stress may exert an impact on modifications of biota activities. And from anecological viewpoint, in order to construct a better condition for their survival, thebiological communities may significantly contribute to the stability of intertidal structure.M. ChenComparison of Two Mathematical Models For 3DGroundwater Flow: Block-centered Heads and Edge-basedStream FunctionsTraditionally, groundwater flow models, as well as oil reservoir models, are based on theblock centered finite difference method. Well known models based on this approach areMODFLOW (groundwater) and ECLIPSE (oil and gas). Such models are well provenand robust; their underlying principles are well understood by hydrologists and petroleumreservoir engineers. Nevertheless, the desire to improve the block centered finitedifference paradigm has always been alive, for instance to be able to apply deformed gridblocks, or to model anisotropy that is not aligned along the coordinate axes. This paperintroduces the edge based stream function as a potential alternative to the paradigmaticmodel, not only to mitigate the above mentioned limitations, but especially for its- 46 -


promises to inverse modeling. Computer programs have been developed for the discreteanalog equations of the stream function method and the conventional method. The twomethods are tested by using synthetic forward modeling problems of uniform and radialflow. The theoretical formulation and the numerical results show that the two methodsare algebraically equivalent and yield the same flux output. However, for rectangular gridblocks and anisotropy aligned along the coordinate axes, the block centered method isshown to be computationally more efficient than the edge based stream function method.The major advantage of the stream function method is that it is linear in the resistivitiesand that any arbitrary specification of stream functions yields a solution that satisfies themass balance, proving it an ideal candidate for direct inverse modeling.TNO, The Netherlands is financially supporting the development of software for thismethodology. Getachew Adem implemented the developed software at TNO andpresented a seminar at TNO on the 12 th of July 2007.G. Adem, W. Zijl, O. Batelaan and F. De SmedtDevelopment and Application of WetSpa ModelThis PhD research investigates the application of the GIS-based distributed hydrologicalmodel WetSpa. The first part of the study concerns simulation of hydrologic processesincluding snowmelt. A snowmelt module using a physically based energy balanceapproach was included in the model, and applied and verified on the Hornad watershed,upstream of Margecany, with 10 years of observed daily rainfall and air temperature, andestimated daily potential evaporation. Daily discharge data of the gauging station atMargecany was used for model calibration and verification. The model performanceproves to be rather accurate in predicting snow accumulation and snowmelt floods,although the parameters of the snow simulation module are preset and not adjusted bymodel calibration. This application demonstrates that accurate snowmelt prediction basedon a physically energy budget approach is possible with controlling parameters that donot need any calibration. Next, the module for snowmelt will be verified for the Latyandam watershed in Iran. A second part of the PhD research intends to extend the WetSpamodel with an erosion and sediment transport module. Erosion can be modelled using adynamic and distributed simulation of erosion processes with explicit simulation of soildetachment by raindrop impact and overland flow. Soil detachment by raindrop impactwill be modelled based on relationships between detachment and the kinetic energy ofrainfall. Transport of particles with overland flow can be approximated using a dispersionadvection approach and first-order kinetics for settlement. Also the detachment of soilparticles by overland flow will be modelled by simulating the shear stresses that can- 47 -


eak the inter particle bonds. Finally, total soil loss can be computed as the sedimentdischarge, defined as the product of the rate of runoff and the sediment concentration inthe flow, to give a volume (or mass) of sediment passing a given point at a given time.H. Zeinivand and F. De SmedtDevelopment and integration of a physically baseddistributed hydrologic and hydraulic model for real-timeflood prediction in the Huong river basin, Vietnam.The Huong river basin is located in Central Vietnam and covers an area of 2960 km2. Thebasin is often affected by large floods and inundations causing considerable damages topeople and infrastructure. Due to the complexity of the hydrological processes and thebasin characteristics, the physically based distributed hydrologic model (WetSpa) isintegrated with the one dimension hydraulic model (HECRAS). WetSpa is used to simulateand predict floods in three sub-catchments, Huu Trach, Ta Trach and Bo in the upstreampart of the Huong river basin, as input to the hydraulic model. The WetSpa model usesGIS-maps (DEM, soil, land use) and time series of precipitation and other meteorologicaldata to simulate runoff. Simulation results from the model are compared to observedstream flow data in the three subcatchments for the calibration periods (flood seasons2001-2005). After calibration a good agreement between calculated and simulatedhydrographs is obtained with Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients between 0,64 to 0,82. For theverification periods (flood seasons 2006-2007), the model also predicts the hydrographswith high accuracy with Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients from 0,62 to 0,78. These results forcalibration and verification indicate that the model can represent both low-flow and highflowrunoff in the subcatchments. The hydraulic model HECRAS is applied to simulate theflow and water profiles in the downstream Huong river system, which is also affected bythe tide. More than 120 cross sections are used to develop the model. The simulationdischarges from the three upstream subcatchments calculated by the WetSpa model areused as upstream boundary conditions, while measured tidal data is used as downstreamboundary condition for the hydraulic simulations. Data for calibration and verification ofthe HECRAS model are observed stage hydrographs at Kim Long and Phu Oc stations. Thesimulation results show that the calculated hydrographs are generally in good agreementwith the observations. The peak flood levels at Phu Oc and Kim Long are well simulatedwith a maximum error of 0.55 m. Future work in this PhD research will concentrate oneffects of climate change in the study area using the calibrated distributed hydrologichydraulicmodelling approach and statistical downscaling of climate scenarios.Dang Thanh Mai and F. De Smedt- 48 -


Development of a numerical simulator for the integratedmodelling of surface water, considering water qualityprocessesThe research focuses on the improvement and development of SWAT. This will be done bymeans of applications on some river catchments, like the catchment of the river Nete inBelgium. SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) is a hydrological model developed by theUSDA (US Department of Agriculture) that can be used both for the study of waterquantity and water quality. It is a physically based, semi-distributed model that uses GISmaps(DEM, soil, land use), precipitation and other meteorologic data as input data andwhere the modelled flows and the values of dissolved oxygen are some of the outputresults. A first topic that was taken into consideration are the restrictions of a semidistributedmodel. By using HRU’s (Hydrological Response Units), where the exact locationof a grid cell in a subcatchment is not considered in the computations, a part of theinformation is lost even before the modeling starts. With distributed models, like forexample WETSPA, this problem does not arise and therefore, it could be advantageous tocombine SWAT with a distributed model, in order to maintain the physical background. Atthe same time, one has to ensure, however, that the time needed for the calculations inthe distributed version does not escalate, as in that case an important advantage of thesemi-distributed model would get lost. In order to shed some light on the problem, acomparison of a distributed model (WETSPA) and a semi-distributed model (SWAT) wasmade for a watershed in Flanders, i.e. the watershed of the river Grote Laak. Furtherresearch should be done on sensitivity analysis, calibration and uncertainty analysis aswell. The latest versions of SWAT contain a procedure for automatic sensitivity analysisand calibration of the models. These procedures however need further development andthe uncertainty on the final output should be taken into account.J. Nossent and W. BauwensEnvironmental <strong>Resources</strong> Sustainability Indicators: AnIntegrated Assessment Model for TanzaniaThe objective of this study is to investigate and establish the quantitative indicators forsustainable environmental resources supporting various livelihoods activities in Tanzania.Information about sustainability indicators for environmental resources and livelihoods isnecessary for effective management and planning of the resources for sustainable- 49 -


development. Achieving a healthy, sustainable environment first requires understandingthe drivers of environmental changes, assessing the state of the environment andidentifying people’s dependence on it and identifying the obstacles to amelioratingenvironmental degradation. This thesis attempts to develop the integrated assessmentmodel for sustainability indicators to be used as decision support system andcommunication tool to policy makers, managers and public for effective use andconservation of natural resources and as an essential to achieve the MDGs and PovertyEradication policies goals in the country. The following are the specific objectives of thestudy:- Analysis of the state of the environmental resources and livelihoodso Livelihood analysiso Water resourceso Forest resources- Development of environmental resource sustainability indicators- Analysis and selection of the sustainability indicators.A. S. HepelwaFRACWECO project - Flux-based Risk Assessment of theImpact of Contaminants on Water <strong>Resources</strong> and EcosytemsThis new 4-year project is funded by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO)and is one of the research projects under the Science for a Sustainable Development (SSD)programme. The FRACWECO project aims to determine impacts and risks of contaminantson water resources and ecosystems by way of a flux-based approach. In the project thereis a partnership between different universities and research centres: the DepartementArGEnCo/Hydrogéologie et géologie de l’environnement, Université de Liège (Prof. A.Dassargues, Dr. S. Brouyère, M. Haberman, J. Batlle, D. Caterina) are coordinating theproject, other participating groups are Département des sciences et gestion del'environnement / Ecologie animale et écotoxicologie, Université de Liège (Prof. J.-P.Thomé, Dr. V. Debacker, S. Crevecoeur, D. Leroy), Vlaamse Instelling voor TechnologischOnderzoek (Dr. L. Diels, Dr. L. De Jonghe, S. Manshoven), BRGM (C. Herivaux), Departmentof Geography, <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong> (Prof. F. Canters) and Depatment of Hydrologyand Hydraulic Engineering, <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong> (Prof. O. Batelaan, Juliette Dujardin).The objective of the task of the VUB is to describe the state, i.e. the dynamics of the‘water-soil-subsoil-sediment’ system and in particular to illustrate water budgeting andmodelling, with the aim to obtain an accurate evaluation of water and contaminant massbalanceand fluxes at catchment scale for further downscaling at the level of the- 50 -


contaminated site. This involves the use of remote sensing of land cover with respect tohigh-resolution surface water budgeting, in particular groundwater recharge modelling,run-off routing, and uncertainty assessment.J. Dujardin and O. BatelaanHydraulic modelling of the Tra Khuc - Song Ve - Tra Cauflood plain in Quang Ngai province, VietnamThe central region of Viet Nam is subjected to typhoons and tropical rain depressionseach year particularly during the seasonal monsoon from mid September to midDecember when over 70% of the total annual rainfall occurs. In Quang Ngai Province thereare three main rivers of concern, namely Tra Khuc, Song Ve, and Tra Cau. The regionaltopography features an extensive mountainous area in the west dropping rapidly to alow-lying, relatively narrow depositional coastal plain. Flooding often occurs whenwatercourses breakout out from their normal confines and spread out overland resultingin inundation of normally dry land. This flooding causes severe problems when affectingcommunity assets such as crops, roads and dwellings, causing lots of damages withresulting economic loss and, in more severe circumstances, injury and loss of life. Toinvestigate the hydraulics of the floodplains, a two-dimensional hydraulic model isdeveloped for the study area. The model is based on surveyed ground level data for thefloodplain areas and is developed to simulate the patterns of river breakout and overlandflooding so that the flood behaviour can be better understood and modelled formitigation and impact testing. The data of the December 1999 flood event is used forcalibration the model. Analysis of flooding is performed using the 2D modelling softwareMike 21. Surveyed floodplain topographic data is used to construct a DEM grid (50 m x 50m grid cell) of the floodplains, including special features having significant hydrauliceffects such as road and canal embankments, culverts and bridges. River geometry wassurveyed separately for inclusion in the DEM grid in addition to the general floodplaintopographic data. A Manning roughness coefficient grid was constructed using theavailable land use data. Several land use types were identified in the floodplain, as ricefields, aquaculture, urban areas, other cultivated areas, and forests. Each type of land usewas assigned an initial Mannings roughness coefficient in accordance with publishedguidelines and field observations. Features such as culverts, roads and water ways werealso assigned Manning roughness coefficients in accordance with published guidelines.Manning roughness was also adjusted as part of the calibration process. Future work willdeal with potential impacts of some development scenarios in the Tra Khuc floodplain.N. H. Phuong and F. De Smedt- 51 -


Measuring and Modelling the Impact of Urban Dynamics onHydrologyThe department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering is participating in the MAMUDproject. MAMUD is an acronym for Measuring and Modelling Urban Dynamics: Impact onQuality of Life and Hydrology. The MAMUD project is funded by the Belgian Science PolicyOffice in the framework of the STEREO II programme. This research project is acooperation between three Belgian universities: University of Ghent (Department ofGeography), Université de Liege (Unité de Géomatique) and the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>(Department of Geography and Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering),further partners are the Flemish institute for technological research (Centre for IntegratedEnvironmental Studies) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Union (<strong>Land</strong>Management and Natural Hazards Unit). Prof. F. Canters of the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>,Department of Geography is the promoter of the project. The MAMUD project covers afour year period (2007-2011). Its major goal is to investigate how earth observation cancontribute to a better monitoring, modelling and understanding of urban dynamics, andits impacts on the urban and suburban environment. Our contribution to the project willfocus on the impact of the urban growth on the runoff. To this end, detailed informationon urban land cover, obtained from time series of remotely sensed data, as well as futureland-use patterns, linked to alternative planning scenarios, will be used as input forspatially distributed runoff modelling. The rainfall-runoff WetSpa model will therefore beadapted in this research to make optimal use of the remotely sensed land-coverinformation. A case study is being developed for the River Tolka, situated in Ireland nearthe city of Dublin. Rapid urban growth in the Tolka basin has been the cause of recentflooding events of the River Tolka, causing immense damages in some highly populatedarea of the Dublin region. Calibration of the WetSpa model will be based on a dataassimilation approach, making optimal use of information with respect to land cover andevapotranspiration, obtained from the available time series of remotely sensed data,including the in this project established time-series of maps of sub-pixel imperviousness.<strong>Land</strong>-use prediction methodologies will be developed by partners in the MAMUD projectand tested on the Greater Dublin area. Based on the outcome of these land-usesimulations, the future risk of flooding under extreme rainfall conditions, for differentdevelopments scenarios, will be assessed using an adapted version of the WetSpa model.J. Dams and O. Batelaan- 52 -


Modelling the Impact of Climate and <strong>Land</strong>–use/-coverChanges on Lake Awassa in EthiopiaThe research focuses on understanding and quantifying the impact of climate and landuse/-coverchanges on Lake Awassa which experiences a continuous level rise andconsequently area expansion causing damage to the environment and socio-economicactivities of the surrounding area. Spatially distributed hydrological models and GIS areemployed to investigate the causes for the observed lake level changes with respect to thewatershed dynamics to predict the future patterns and trends with a view to suggestintervention strategies and bring sustainable environment and development in thewatershed. To understand the hydrological processes of the lake and its watershed,identifying the hydrological water balance components and their role in the hydrologicalprocesses are prerequisite. A spatially distributed hydrological water balance model,WetSpass, is used to determine the long-term average actual evapotranspiration, surfacerunoff and groundwater recharge depending on the land cover, soil texture, topographyand hydrometrological parameters of the watershed. Accordingly, the model estimatesthe mean annual actual evapotranspiration (877 mm), surface runoff (119 mm) andgroundwater recharge (68 mm) accounting for 85%, 11% and 6% of the mean annualprecipitation (1027 mm) respectively. The result shows that the majority of theprecipitation returns back to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration while the meanannual volumes of surface runoff and groundwater recharge draining to the lake are150.5*106 m3 and 87.1*106 m3 respectively which causes the level rise and areaexpansion. Further investigation and analysis will be carried out to understand the lakeand watershed dynamics in order to develop appropriate remediation strategies.A.M. Hydebo and F. De SmedtMulti-Objective Calibration of a Distributed HydrologicalModel (WetSpa) Using a Fuzzy Adaptive Genetic AlgorithmThis PhD research deals with multi objective calibration of rainfall-runoff models (asWetspa) using genetic search algorithms. Automatic multi-objective calibrationmethodologies have distinctive advantages over single-objective methods, becausedifferent goals can be incorporated in the optimisation of the model. Recently, multiobjectiveevolutionary algorithms have become popular for solving complex optimizationproblems, also for rainfall-runoff modelling. In this study a modified form of the geneticalgorithm “Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II)” is applied to calibrate- 53 -


the WetSpa model. The modifications involve some innovations to make the algorithmmore dynamic in order to improve its performance and convergence. First results showthat the calibrated model performs better than when the model parameters are optimisedwith PEST. Future work will focus on parameter and model uncertainty using fuzzy logic.M. Shafiei and F. De SmedtRemote Sensing of Sediment in Suspension in the ScheldtEstuaryThe hydrological component is a critical part of our living environment. Thereforehydrological components in our landscape are being monitored on a wide range of scales.The standard measuring techniques for sediment in suspension involves taking in situsamples that have to be analyzed in the laboratory. Remote sensing offers the possibilityto carry out these measurements in a way that is less time and cost consuming,producing measurements that cover the entire water body. Remote sensing of sediment insuspension is a relatively new measuring method; a lot of research still has to be carriedout to discover the possibilities with remote sensing data. The purpose of this project isto determine the water quality of the Scheldt estuary, more specifically the concentrationof sediment in suspension, using space born remote sensors. Specific research goals ofthe project are:1. The development of a standard method to determine sediment in suspension in theScheldt estuary using spectral data.2. Applying this method to medium resolution remote sensing data en evaluate theresults.3. The further development of the calibration and integration possibilities that remotesensing data can offer concerning sediment in suspension in the Scheldt estuary.4. Exploring the extra possibilities that hyperspectral sensors offer for this field ofresearch.During simultaneously planned field en remote sensing campaigns on different times inthe year, the needed spectral and meteorological data will be provided to process andanalyze the remote sensing images of the study area. In a preliminary study it will have tobe determined which sensors should best be used for applications on the Scheldt. Theresults of this study will provide a good insight in the physical aspects of remote sensingand in the complex dynamics of erosion, transport en sedimentation processes in theScheldt estuary. For this project, there will be cooperation with the FWO-project from Dr.Chen about the settling velocity of sediment in suspension in the Scheldt estuary (see- 54 -


elsewhere in this activity report). Also, there will be cooperation with VITO, morespecifically with projects that deal with hyperspectral remote sensing of the Scheldt.T. Palmans and O. BatelaanSewer Deterioration ModellingThis research study focuses on finding the most suitable sewer deterioration model aspart of the larger effort to improve the sewer asset management procedure Hydroplan. Adeterioration prediction model is considered a crucial component in the success of sewerasset management systems as this model provides the possibility of predicting thestructure’s future performance and deterioration. This type of information is helpful inoptimizing management related activities, such as CCTV inspections, repair andrehabilitation programs. The process of sewer deterioration is considered complicated, asit is affected by an extensive number of factors. Part of this research is the determinationof the important factors that primarily affects sewer deterioration behaviour. The bulk ofthe research is centred on the application and comparison of the different probabilisticsewer deterioration models. The aim of which is to identify the best deterioration model.The models are tested using routinely collected sewer condition data by municipalutilities. Some preliminary result of the research was presented during the 2nd LeadingEdge Conference on Strategic Asset Management, on 17-19 October 2007, in Lisbon(Portugal).E.V. Ana, Jr., W. Bauwens, and AquafinTraceability of Environmental Chemical Analyses: Can TheoryMatch Practice?According to the ISO definition, the traceability concept basically implies thatmeasurement data are linked to stated references through an unbroken chain ofcomparisons, all with stated uncertainties. This concept may be quite clear in theory, butwe may wonder how it may be applicable to complex chemical measurements such asenvironmental chemical analyses in practice. This paper discusses this issue, giving someexamples of drawbacks that are being faced in different environmental sectors (water,sediment, soil, biota and particulate atmospheric samples).P. Quevauviller- 55 -


Suspended Solids and Sediments in the Scheldt Estuary –Environmental Impact of the SigamaplanThis project is under the framework of “Onderzoek Milieu Effecten van het Sigmaplan(OMES)”. OMES entails a multidisciplinary study of the environmental consequences ofhuman interference in the Scheldt Estuary (Belgium). More specifically attention is given toeffects of the Sigmaplan, dredging activities and harbour extension in the Zeeschelde, onhabitats and pollutions. The complete research project consists of eight (8) major aspectsrelating to the monthly monitoring of the physical, chemical and biological parameters ofthe pelagic, intertidal and subtidal areas as well as of the lateral load of the Zeescheldeand its tributaries. The obtained database aims to develop an ecological model and to putthe model into practice. This multidisciplinary research project is carried out by partnersfrom <strong>Universiteit</strong> Antwerpen, <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>, <strong>Universiteit</strong> Gent, Université Librede Bruxelles and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse. Our research task mainly deals withthe physical and sedimentological study of the Scheldt Estuary including water flowcharacteristics, suspended solid concentrations and loads, the physical properties of thesuspended solid, as well as the sediment accumulation rates on marshes.M. Chen, S. Wartel, and F. De SmedtA Fundamental Study on Exchange Processes in RiverEcosystemsThis FWO (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- Vlaanderen) financed project whichstarted in 2004 and officially finished end of 2007. FWO granted the continuation of theproject until 2009. It is a fundamental research project, which is performed on amultidisciplinary basis and includes scientists from HYDR-VUB, Hydraulics Laboratory ofthe University of Ghent and the Department of Biology, Ecosystem Management ResearchGroup (ECOBE) of the University of Antwerp. The latter is promoter of the project. Themain aim of the research project is to investigate how the diverse physical and biologicalprocesses and their interactions determine the exchange of water, dissolved compoundsand particulate matter in margins and inundation areas of water courses. These twotransition systems are of high importance for the ecological functioning of river basins.The VUB-team investigates the interaction of the groundwater with the ecosystem, moreparticularly the exchange of water between the water course or inundation areas with thehyporheic zone. The introduction of innovative, but cost effective field investigationmethods as nested piezometers placed in the riverbed and equipped with data loggers,- 56 -


the ‘Temperature stick’ and seepage meters lead to a better perception of the diversephysical and biological processes and their temporal and spatial distribution on a localscale. Several of these processes like physical transport and chemical reactions of solutesoccur simultaneously, thus the investigations should finally lead to the calculation ofmass balances of the exchange terms between the different parts of the system. During2007 the project focused less on field data sampling and more on the integration ofdifferent models developed by the project partners as well as on different simulations.The field work performed by the VUB focused on gathering continuous data sets ofsurface water and groundwater temperatures and heads. Similar measurements have beenperformed at the Poederlee site of the Aa River in Flanders and then in June and autumnalso around Rogozynek in the upper basin of the Biebrza River in Poland. The Biebrza waschosen to serve a as second study case to validate the models and results. Thecontinuous survey of this data can give overview over the magnitude and the variation ofvertical groundwater flow in the hyporheic zone of the rivers. For the modeling thecoupling of the different ecological, ground- and surface water processes which havedifferent spatial and temporal dimensions, is the main challenge. GIS is used for datamanagement, while FEMME (Soetaert et al., 2002) became a platform for the integration ofthe different models. This platform allows a 1D-transient state simulation of several ofthe mentioned processes in the river simultaneously. Beside the validation of the modelswith datasets from the Biebrza, the coupling of the surface water model with groundwaterflow formulations is a further research point for the coming year.C. Anibas participated in the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union inVienna, Austria, from 15.04.2007- 20.04.2007 and at the conference of the InternationalUnion of Geodesy and Geophysics in Perugia, Italy from 02.07.2007- 13.07.2007.C. Anibas, O. Batelaan and F. De SmedtBiebrza Wetland ResearchThe Biebrza River is located within the Biebrza National Park and is according to theRAMSAR Convention list one of the most important wetlands even on a worldwide scale.Situated in the north-eastern part of Poland, around 200 km from Warsaw, the parkcovers about 60.000 ha including the 156km long stretch of the Biebrza River. Thecatchment of the Biebrza River is divided into three geomorphologic units (Okruszko et al.1990): the Upper Biebrza, the Middle and the Lower Biebrza basin. The unique ecologicalvalue of the wetlands abundant in the Biebrza national park is, especially for Europeancircumstances, the result of the extensive usage of the area in the last decades comparedto other areas with similar character. Large peat deposits and several yearly flood events- 57 -


occurring along large parts of the river stretch elaborate the importance of this nationalpark. The value of the wetlands is threatened due to changing water management andagricultural practices. Pastures in the floodplain, for a long time quasi stable ecosystemsbecause of traditional management practices show now degradation processes as thepeat lands are not accessible by modern agricultural machinery. On the other sideeutrophication is increasing due to agricultural and other human induced activitiesoutside of the river plain.Since several years a team of scientists from the University of Antwerp, the University ofGhent, the Agricultural University of Warsaw (SGGW) and the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>perform joint field campaigns to collect data sets of the Biebrza River, which includesdischarge measurements at different locations, topographic measurements of thefloodplain by differential GPS, examination of plant and macro- invertebrate communitiesin the river and on the flood plains as well as several ground and surface water qualityparameters. The VUB team, Okke Batelaan, Jef Dams and Christian Anibas, stayed inPoland from 18 till 23 June 2007 to take part in this campaign. The main task was toinstall a network of piezometer nests along the Upper catchment of the Biebrza Riverbetween Rogozyn Stary and Rogozynek. In these piezometers pressure heads andtemperatures of the surface and groundwater are continuously measured withdataloggers. Dataloggers have been installed also in wells and the floodplain to providesimilar information adjacent to the river. The piezometers are also used for examining thehydraulic conductivity by performing slug tests. The so-called ‘temperature stick’ wasused to measure temperature profiles of the river bottom along the river in between thepiezometer locations. Both the information of the dataloggers and the T-stick can beused to derive a transient longitudinal vertical groundwater flux along the examinedsection. Christian Anibas stayed in Poland between 09 September and 11 December 2007on behalf of a grant of the Flemish authorities. Host was the Agricultural University ofWarsaw, sub-department of Hydrology and Water resources, where he, under promotionof Dr. Jaroslaw Chormanski, worked on heat transport modeling of the Upper Biebrzacatchment. Management of the piezometers and dataloggers placed in the Biebrza Riverearlier that year was performed as well as five measurement campaigns betweenSeptember and December to support the heat transport modeling.C. Anibas and O. BatelaanGroundwater Modelling SupportGroundwater modeling often needs specialized knowledge and experience. TheDepartment of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering has a long tradition in teaching,- 58 -


executing projects and advice in the field of groundwater modeling. In 2007 advice andsupport was provided for several projects in support of the consulting companies AGT,Grontmij Vlaanderen NV and Arcadis Aeolus bvba.O. BatelaanPoverty reduction through research-based sustainabledevelopment in mountainous karst areas in North VietnamThis new VLIR Own Initiative project originates in a co-operation between the Belgian andVietnamese partners in two former VLIR Own Initiative projects. Both projects contributedto capacity building in the natural and the social sciences relevant to sustainabledevelopment of the poorest karst (limestone) regions. However, the outcomes of theseprojects and the conclusions of an international Transkarst (2004) conference pointedclearly (1) to the necessity of a systematic organisation, intensive strengthening andconcrete institutionalisation of transdisciplinary research emphasizing inclusion of socialsciences, (2) to the need of strengthening educational and training capacity (elaboratingeducation and training programmes at these institutes for own staff and students, butalso for professionals and staff of government agencies, local NGO’s, etc.) and (3) to theneed of strengthening the capacity of the staff of the institutes for research-basedextension and for the elaboration of research-based local development projects involvinglocal policy makers and development agencies. These needs constitute the main focus ofthe proposed project, which creates the methodology and builds the foundation for theimplementation of a geopark. A UNESCO Geopark is defined as “a territory with welldefinedlimits that has a large enough surface area for it to serve local economicdevelopment. The Geopark would comprise a number of geological heritage sites ofspecial scientific importance, rarity or beauty, and may not be solely of geologicalsignificance but also of archaeological, ecological, historical or cultural value. The siteswould be linked to one another and safeguarded in a formally managed park-typesituation. The Geopark would be run by a designated authority which would adopt its ownterritorial policy for sustainable regional socio-economic development. This would have adirect impact on the areas involved by improving human living conditions and the ruralenvironment, strengthening the identification of the population with their area andtriggering cultural renaissance.” Promoter of the project is Prof. J. Masschelein,K.U.Leuven, other partners are Prof. Rudy Swennen and Prof. D. Wildemeersch of theK.U.Leuven, Prof. F. De Smedt and Prof. O. Batelaan of the VUB, Prof. R. Renard of the UA,Dr. M. Dusar of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences – Geological Survey ofBelgium. Local Vietnamse promoter is Dr. Tran Tan Van of the Research Institute on- 59 -


Geology and Mineral <strong>Resources</strong> (RIGMR), Ministry of Natural <strong>Resources</strong> and Environment;Center for Karst, Geoheritage and Geotourism. Second Vietnamse partner is the Instituteof Anthropology (IA), Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences; local promoter Prof. Dr.Pham Quang Hoan.O. BatelaanDevelopment to Support Decision making in watermanagement in the Mekong delta (AquaSID)The Aquaculture Sustainability Index Development to Support Decision making watermanagement in the Mekong Delta (AquaSID) project aims at providing the end-user inVietnam with a new decision support tool to manage their environment particularly interms of freshwater fish farming development and monitoring with a particular focus onwater resources inventory and loading capacity of the rivers in Mekong delta. TheVietnamese-Belgian Bilateral project started in 2007 and will run for two year; it isfinanced by the Belgian Science Policy Office. Promoter of the project is SPACEBEL S.A.,Hoeilaart (F. Lupo), Ghent University (Prof. V. Pauwels), VUB (Prof. O. Batelaan), AquapôleLiege, the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters & Producers (VASEP) and theVietnam Institute for Fisheries Economics and Planning (VIVEP). Dr. Nguyen Hoai Nam(VASEP) and Mrs. Phan Thi Ngoc Diep (VIVEP) visited Belgium from 1-8 December for atraining in GIS and hydrological modeling at Ghent University and the VUB.O. Batelaan and T. Palmans- 60 -


5. COOPERATION PROGRAMMES* International CooperationIUPWARE supports UNESCO projectsIn the framework of the Fund-in-trust agreement between the Flemish Government andUNESCO, W. Bauwens continued to support the projects• FRIEND Nile• Capacity building and training in environmental planning and management inPalestineTechnical support for the research on the optimisation of thedredging activities on the river ScheldtThe Hydraulic Research Laboratory of the Flemish Community has been developing 2Dnumerical models for the simulation of the flow and the sediment transport in the riverScheldt.The research aims at the improvement of these models, using terrain data, in view of theiruse for analysing the impact of alternative dredging scenario’s. The research also includesresearch on physical scale models.W. Bauwens, J.J. Peters and S. IdesFunding: AWZ – Afdeling Waterbouwkundig Laboratorium en Hydrologisch Onderzoek(16EB/03/10)- 61 -


Technical support for the modelling tools of the HydraulicResearch Laboratory of the Flemish CommunityThe laboratory supports the Hydrologic Information Centre of the Ministry of the FlemishCommunity for the exploitation of its modelling tools.The support includes• The updating and improvement (sensitivity analysis, calibration) of the availablemodels• The use of models for scenario analysis• The development of a version and scenario management systemW. Bauwens, B. Pannemans and L. CoenFunding: AWZ – Afdeling Waterbouwkundig Laboratorium en Hydrologisch OnderzoekFlash floods in Egypt: protection and management(Flash Flood Manager – FlaFloM)EU LIFE Third Countries Fund Project (LIFE06/TCY/ET/00232)An overall aim of this project is to achieve sustainable management of water resources inthe study area. This includes protection against flash floods and consequent wise use offloodwater. Ironically, in Sinai peninsula of Egypt that suffers from severe watershortages, flash floods are responsible for the loss of life, a severe blow to regionaldevelopment and the main source of erosion and accidental pollution. The main objectiveof the project is to develop and implement an integrated flash flood management plan forWadi Watier (South Sinai). This consists of an innovative early warning system, namedFlash Flood Manager (FlaFloM) together with integrated management plans based onstakeholder participation. In the pilot area, flash floods are characterized by an enormousflow which carries large amounts of sediments and debris to the tourist hub and harbourof Nuweiba, located in the Delta of Wadi Watier. This project will serve tourism, Bedouinand trade on a sustainable basis.The role of the VUB in this project mainly consists of the development of the Rainfallrunoffforecast model for FlaFloM.Partners: WRRI, Egypt (co-ordinator), Soresma n.v., VUB (W. Bauwens & AhmedAbdelkhalek).- 62 -


Institutional University Cooperation program with MekelleUniversity, EthiopiaThe Institutional University Cooperation program with Mekelle University (IUC-MU),Ethiopia, sponsored by the VLIR, started in September 2003 has been extended by 5 moreyears until 2012. There are several projects in which professors of IUPWARE are involved.Project 7 “Geo-hydrology” deals with water resources assessment and management in theGeba catchment. The main goal is water resources assessment and hydrogeological datacollection in the catchment for sustainable and economical development of waterresources. The ultimate target is to set up a database in GIS form of water relatedinformation, which will form a basis for future sustainable water use planning and impactanalyses of water management strategies. Also assessment of water quantity and qualitywill is conducted in some selected areas for impact analysis. The project also includeslocal capacity building, in particular acquiring expertise needed for research in surfaceand subsurface water use and harvesting techniques, groundwater and surface watermodeling, and application of remote sensing and GIS technologies in water resourcesassessment and management. The local team consists of staff of the departments ofApplied Geology and Civil engineering of Mekelle University, with Mr. TesfamichaelYohannes as present local leader. The Flemish team consists of:• Prof. F. De Smedt (team leader) and Prof. O. Batelaan, Department of Hydrology andHydraulic Engineering, <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>• Dr. J. Moeyersons, Dr. J. Lavreau, and Dr. Max Fernandez, Royal Museum for CentralAfrica• Prof. K. Walraevens, Laboratory of Applied Geology and Hydrogeology, <strong>Universiteit</strong>Gent• Prof. R. Swennen, Section Geology, Katholieke <strong>Universiteit</strong> LeuvenActivities of the past year included:• Geological and hydrogeological mapping by the local staff in Mekelle.• Continuation of the PhD research by Tesfamichael Yohannes at Mekelle University; hestayed at the department from 1 February to 30 November 2007.• Finalization of the MSc IUPWARE studies and thesis of Kibrewossen BirhanuTesfagiorgis, who graduated in September 2007.• Finalization of the MSc Pylares thesis of Manuel Gonsalez Quijano (graduated in July2007) on the groundwater modeling of Tsinkanet.• Training by Mesay Daniel Tulu in GIS and remote sensing at the Department ofHydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, VUB, 1 to 28 February 2007.• Mission to Mekelle by Prof. F. De Smedt to assess the Hydrogeology project and- 63 -


progress of the PhD research of Tesfamichael Yohannes, 29 February – 5 March 2007.• Tesfahunegn Aberea Gebreslassie started in the second year of the MSc. <strong>Physical</strong> <strong>Land</strong><strong>Resources</strong>, option Engineering Geology, in November 2007.A Practical Guide (including a CD) for Tracing Experiments inKarst Areas in VietnamIn Vietnam, karst areas cover approximately 60,000 km2 and are mainly located in theNW part. The karst aspect of this region plays an important role in the socio-economicaldevelopment. In many karst areas, the landform and groundwater is under high pressurein response to urbanization, economical development and increase of population. Karstlandscapes and aquifers are extremely vulnerable. Hence, a comprehensive understandingof the hydrogeological system and groundwater protection in karst areas is necessary.However, the existing knowledge on karst hydrogeology is too general and descriptive.The application of particularly quantitative methods in karst study is still limited.Tracing tests are a primary tool for the karst hydrogeologists. The technique is often usedin karst studies to determine an underground water flow path, travel times, catchmentboundaries and recharge areas. Tracer tests have also been applied to definecontamination problems and to assess the vulnerability, and determination of protectionzones in karst areas. Although many authors have referred to the use of the tracertechniques in karst studies around the world, tracer tests are still a novel investigation inkarst research in Vietnam.This VLIR south initiative project will introduce the general information about tracingtechnique and their application in hydrogeology with particular emphasize on karstresearch. The main techniques for various steps of tracer experiments in practicalconditions of Vietnam will be described in detail. The expected outcomes are practicalguidelines (in Vietnamese) for tracing experiments in karst areas, and improving theinterest of all those who are involved in karst investigations. The local promoter of thisproject is Dr. Vu Thi Minh Nguyet, Senior researcher of the Karst Research Centre,Research Institute of Geology and Mineral <strong>Resources</strong>, Vietnam.O. Batelaan and F. De Smedt- 64 -


HYDR supports VLIR INTERUNIVERSITY COOPERATION projectwith University of Western Cape, South Africa.Cooperation with South-Africa – IUS Western CapeThe VLIR sponsored Interuniversity Cooperation (IUS) project with the University ofWestern Cape (UWC) is an umbrella project consisting of several sub-projects. Thedepartment is partner in the research cooperation ‘Sustainable utilization of subterraneanwater resources for improvement of quality of life’, coordinated by the IUPWARE lecturerProf. L. Brendonck (K.U.Leuven). Objective of this project is to increase the critical mass tointegrate research on subterranean water and surface ecosystems in order to facilitate theimplementation of the Resource Directed Measures (RDM) of the national water act (1998)in the Table Mountain Group (TMG) area and enhance education in water andenvironmental sciences. Also with UWC a Fund for Scientific Research project is runningon ‘impact of hydrology on diversity of aquatic organisms in temporary wetlands in theCape Region, South Africa’. Promotor is Prof. L. Brendonck and partners are Prof. N.E.C.Verhoest (U. Ghent), Prof. P. Meire (U. Antwerp) and the HYDR department.Jaco Nel from UWC stayed at the Department from 3-20 December 2007 for researchcooperation.O. BatelaanMaster of Science Course in Applied EnvironmentalGeosciences and Water <strong>Resources</strong> Management (MEGWRM)MEGWRM is a 3 year TEMPUS Joint European Project (CD_JEP-32005-2004) which startedon 1/09/2005 and will end on 31/08/2008. The grantholder is Prof. Peter Wycisk, Deanof the Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg,Germany, and the Project Coordinator is Prof. Esmat Keheila of the Faculty of Science,Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. The objective of the project is to establish a new MScprogramme compatible to EU standards in “Applied Environmental Geosciences and Water<strong>Resources</strong> Management” at the Geology Department of the Assiut University by October2008. The role and responsibilities of the Department of Hydrology and HydraulicEngineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences of the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong> (VUB) in theproject are:1) To support the Geology Department of the Assiut University, Egypt, for postgraduatecurriculum development by introduction of new high quality applied environmental- 65 -


geosciences and water resources management computer based courses in line with EUstandards (credits, ECTS).2) Sharing in design and preparation of environmental geosciences and water resourcesmanagement courses, related to hydrology, hydrogeology, groundwater modelling,surface water modelling, water treatment, water management and engineeringgeology.3) Providing training for skills improvement of Egyptian teaching and assistant staff, andtraining of graduate students through:• workshops carried out by the Belgium staff members in Assiut, and• organising retraining short courses for Egyptian staff members in Belgium.4) Sharing in the activities of intercultural communications.5) Sharing in the management tasks of the project activities.* European CooperationSOCRATES/ERASMUS for higher educationStudent and staff mobility is governed by the Institutional Contract-scheme of theSOCRATES / ERASMUS Programme, which the European Commission signs witheach university. The International Relations office of the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>has its website at:http://www.vub.ac.be/english/intstuex.htmlwhere details and forms for applications can be found.* STUDENT MOBILITYThe following ERASMUS-students studied with IUPWARE in the academic year 2006-2007:Aurimas Bieliausus - University of Agriculture, LithuaniaValerio Basso - Universita Degli Studi di Genova, ItalyLuca Marini - Universita Degli Studi di Genova, Italy- 66 -


University of Bayreuth, GERMANYO. Batelaan and C. Anibas visited the University of Bayreuth, Lehrstuhl fürHydrologie, at the 4-5 July 2008. Host was Dr. Jan Fleckenstein, lecturer inhydrology. Recent developments and results were discussed on local scalegroundwater-surface water interaction with quasi-steady state heat transportmodeling of the hyporheic zone. Newly developed field instrumentation waspresented and tested. Collaboration was set up for the exchange of field data andheat transport modeling using FEMME and VS2DH. C. Anibas presented his work atthe ‘Geoökologisches Kolloquium’, 5-7-2007.6. SEMINARS AND VISITORSProf. Dr. Ahmed Kotb of the Faculty of Science, Al Azhar University, Egypt, stayed at thedepartment for a 6 months research mission from August 2006 to February 2007,provided by a fellowship funded from the Mission Department, Egyptian Government.Prof. Dr. Ahmed Kotb is an alumnus of the VUB Hydrology post graduate program 1986-87. He returned home on 23 February 2007 and is at present involved in several projectproposals with the department and the VUB for student and staff exchange.Dr. Jaroslaw Chormanski of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, presented Friday 12-1-2007 a seminar on 'Flooding and inundation monitoring in the Lower Biebrza Basin,Poland' to members of the Department, during a stay 10-17 January at the VUB.Further he stayed in <strong>Brussel</strong>s using ERASMUS exchanges from 23-27 April and 28 Octobertill 4 November. In both cases he was teaching GPS techniques to the Civil Engineeringstudents, also exercises in topographic field measurements using GPS and total stationwere guided and supported with his equipment.Prof. Theo Scheepers of Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape,South Africa, stayed within the framework of the IUS-cooperation with his university from26/2 till 4/3 at the department. He presented in Leuven on Wednesday 28 February 2007for IUPWARE students and other interested a seminar on “Fluvial Action in a Hyper-AridEnvironment: The Case of the Uniab River, Skeleton Coast, Namibia”- 67 -


Dr. Jim Butler 2007 Darcy lecturer and senior scientistof the Geohydrology Section, Kansas Geological Surveyand University of Kansas, USA visited <strong>Brussel</strong>s from28-31 May within his by the American Ground WaterAssociation sponsored lecture series. On 31 May hepresented a seminar on ‘Getting the InformationGround Water Modelers Need: A Report from the Field’.Prof. Dr. em. Menahem Rebhun of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering,Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, visited the department from 3 to10 June 2007 and from 23 August to 4 September 2007, as jury member for the PhDdefence of Justus Rwetabula.Prof. Abdolreza Bahremand (PhD 2006 VUB), from the Department of WatershedManagement, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural resources, Gorgan,Iran, visited the department on 16 July 2007.Prof. Dr. Esmat Keheila of the Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt, visitedthe department from 16 to 23 February 2007 to discuss the progress of the MEGWRMTEMPUS project. He visited the department again together with his colleague Dr.Mohammed El Sayed El Darder from the Hydrology and Drainage Department, Faculty ofEngineering, from 19 August to 6 September 2007.Three Egyptian visitors Dr. Ahmed Abdel-Halim Ahmed Mohamed, Dr. Hassan SayedHassan Abbas and Dr. Ayman Abdel-Hameed Ahmed from the Geology Department,Faculty of Science, University of Assiut, related to the MEGWRM TEMPUS project, stayed atthe department in August 2007 for one month training on remote sensing andgeographic information systems with applications in land and water resourcesmanagement.Mrs. Fatma Karaouli, of the Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie, Tunis, Tunisia,stayed at the department for a short training from 13 August to 10 September 2007. Thetraining was conducted as part of the INCO-MPC ELMAA project “Integrated watermanagement of Mediterranean phosphate mining and local agricultural systems”. Thetraining program consisted of preparation of GIS data for the phosphate mining areas inTunisia and application of the WetSpass model to estimate spatially distributed runoff,evapotranspiration, and recharge in function of land cover, soil type and topography.- 68 -


Mr. Adnew Mamo, of the Soil and Water Engineering and Management Department,Faculty of Technology, University of Hawassa, Ethiopia, started a six month trainingprogram at the department on 24 September 2007. The training consists of GIS & remotesensing in water resources engineering, surface water modeling, groundwater modelingand hydraulic modeling.Mrs. Rosa Troncosa, is employed by the Geological and Mining Survey of Chile(SERNAGEOMIN), as a geologist and working in hydrogeology projects, at a basin scale, inhumid and arid climates. The purpose of her visit was to exchange ideas onecohydrology, groundwater flow and modelling and to give the opportunity to be trainedin new techniques and developments in the field of hydrogeology. Mrs. Rosa TroncosoVásquez stayed in the department from of 27/9-26/10 as part of a Training Program ofthe Geological and Mining Survey of Chile with the economic support of the InternationalCooperation Agency of Chile.Dr. Anna Trykozko of the Interdisciplinary Centre of Mathematical and ComputationalModelling (ICM) of the University of Warsaw visited the department 12 th and 13 th ofDecember. On the 12 th she as well as Drs. Geert Brouwer of TNO, Wouter Zijl (Z-Consult)and Getachew Adem (VUB) presented seminars and discussed research concerning theedge-based stream functions and the double constraint method for groundwatermodeling.- 69 -


7. PUBLICATIONS and PRESENTATIONSFor the full list of the publications of the Department, surf to:http://www.vub.ac.be/hydr/P U B L I C A T I O N S2006Chen, M.S., S. Wartel, L. Lavkulich, W. Baeyens, L. Goeyens and N. Brion. 2006. Organicmatter and dissolved inorganic nitrogen distributions in estuarine muddy deposits.Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management, 10: 69-85.Wartel, S., M.S. Chen, G.T.M. Van Eck and D.C. Van Maldegem. 2006. Influence of harbourconstruction on mud accumulation in the Scheldt estuary. Aquatic Ecosystem Health andManagement, 10: 107-115.2007Ana, E. and W. Bauwens, 2007. Sewer Network Asset Management Decision-SupportTools: A Review. In Abstracts of Accepted Papers, International Symposium on NewDirections in Urban Water Management, 12-14 September 2007, UNESCO, Paris, France.Ana, E., Bauwens, W., Pessemier, M., Thoeye, C. and G. De Gueldre, 2007. SewerDeterioration Modelling in Hydroplan. In Reports and Abstracts Book, 2nd Leading EdgeConference on Strategic Asset Management, 17-19 October 2007, Lisbon, Portugal.Anibas, C., Batelaan, O., Buis, K., Verhoeven, R. and P. Meire, 2007. Kwantificering vangrondwater-oppervlakte water interactie: analyse van temperatuur gradiënten in derivierbedding van de Aa. Water 31: 17-21.Anibas, C., Bal, K., Banasiak, R., Batelaan, O., Buis, K., De Doncker, L., DeSmet, N., Gerard,M., Meire, P., Troch, P., Van Belleghem, S. And R. Verhoeven, 2007. Determination ofgroundwater fluxes via sensing and simulation of hydraulic head and streambedtemperatures in lowland rivers. IUGG 2007 Perugia, Italy; XXIV International Union of- 70 -


Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly.Anibas, C., Batelaan, O., Buis, K. and A. Getachew, 2007. Determination of groundwaterfluxes via temperature sensing of streambed temperatures in the Aa River, Belgium.Abstract for Geoökologisches Kolloquium; Sommersemester 2007, Universität Bayreuth,Germany.Anibas, C., Batelaan, O., Buis, K., Bal, K., Banasiak, R., De Doncker, L., Troch, P., De Smet,N., Gerard, M., Van Belleghem, S., Verhoeven, R. And P. Meire, 2007. Quantification of thegroundwater-surface water interaction by analyzing temperature gradients in thestreambed of the Aa river, Belgium. Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 9, 03114,European Geophysical Union.Bahremand, A. and F. De Smedt, 2007. Distributed hydrological modeling and sensitivityanalysis in Torysa watershed, Slovakia. Water <strong>Resources</strong> Management Journal. (IF 2006:0.614) doi:10.1007/s11269-007-9168-xBahremand, A., De Smedt, F., Corluy, J., Liu, Y.B., Poórová, J., Velcická, L. and E. Kuniková,2007. WetSpa model application for assessing reforestation impacts on floods by inMargecany-Hornad watershed, Slovakia. Water <strong>Resources</strong> Management 21: 1376-1391(IF2006: 0.614) doi:10.1007/s11269-006-9089-0Bahremand, A. and F. De Smedt, 2007. Parameter Sensitivity, Uncertainty and PredictiveAnalysis of a Distributed Hydrological Model. International Conference on ApproximationMethods and Numerical Modelling in Environment and Natural <strong>Resources</strong>, Granada(Spain), July 11-13, 2007, 4 pp.Batelaan, O., 2007, Remote sensing studies of karst terrain in VietNam, in: Meijerink, A.M.J., Bannert, D., Batelaan, O., Lubczynski,M.W. and T. Pointet, 2007, Remote sensing applications togroundwater, IHP-VI series on groundwater 16, 311 p.,SC.2007/WS/43; IHP/2007/GW/16.The complete book ‘Remote sensing applications to groundwater’can be downloaded for free from UNESCO’s website:http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001563/156300e.pdfBatelaan, O. en F. De Smedt, 2007. De grondwatervoeding in Vlaanderen. Water 28:64-71.- 71 -


Batelaan, O. and F. De Smedt, 2007. GIS-based recharge estimation by coupling surfacesubsurfacewater balances. Journal of Hydrology, 337(3-4), 337-355. (IF 2006: 1.745)doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.02.001Batelaan, O., Chormanski, J., Van de Voorde, T. and Canters, F., 2007, Improveddistributed runoff modelling of urbanised catchments by integration of multi-resolutionremote sensing, Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2007. IGARSS 2007. IEEEInternational, pp. 5021-5024, 23-28 July 2007. See: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Batelaan, O., Chormanski, J., Van de Voorde, T. and F. Canters, 2007. Improveddistributed runoff modelling of urbanised catchments by integration of multi-resolutionremote sensing, International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS07,Barcelona, 23-27 July, 2007.Batelaan, O. and J.P.M. Witte, 2007. Ecohydrology, phreatophytes and groundwaterdependent ecosystems. Abstract in Proceedings of XXXV IAH Congress Groundwater andecosystems, Lisbon, Portugal, Ribeiro, L., Chambel, A. and Condesso de Melo, M.T. (Eds.),p. 12.Buis, K., Anibas, C., Bal, K., Banasiak, R., DeDoncker, L., De Smet, N., Gerard, M., vanBelleghem, S., Batelaan, O., Troch, P., Verhoeven, R. and P. Meire, 2007. Fundamentelestudie van uitwisselingsprocessen in rivierecosystemen - Geïntegreerde modelontwikkeling,Water 32: 51-54.Canters, F., Van de Voorde, T., Batelaan, O., Dams, J., Cornet, Y., Binard, M., Goossens, R.,Devriendt, D., Tack, F., Engelen, G., Lavalle, C. and Barredo, J., 2007, Measuring andmodeling urban dynamics: Impact on quality of life and hydrology, Geoscience andRemote Sensing Symposium, 2007. IGARSS 2007. IEEE International, pp. 1994-1997, 23-28 July 2007. See: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Chormanski, J., Batelaan, O., De Smedt, F., Van de Voorde, T. and F. Canters, 2007.Application of a distributed GIS model for studying surface runoff processes in an urbanwetland. In: Kotowski, W., Maltby, E., Mirosław–Świątek, D., Okruszko, T. and Szatyłowicz,J. (eds), Wetlands: modelling, monitoring, management. Taylor & Francis, A.A. BalkemaPublisher, The Netherlands: 189-196.- 72 -


De Becker, P., Denys, L., Paquet, J. and O. Batelaan, 2007. Ecohydrologische studie LIFEZuiderkempen (Hulshout, Herselt en Aarschot) in het kader van het LIFE natuurproject“Herstel van basenrijke moeras- en heide-ecosystemen” in de Zuiderkempen.Eindrapport, Opdrachtgever: Natuurpunt Beheer vzw, Uitvoering: Instituut voor NatuurenBosonderzoek, rapport INBO. R.2006.41, 103 pag.De Roeck, E., Miya, M., Verhoest, N., Batelaan, O. And L. Brendonck, 2007. IntegratingRemote Sensing and Wetland Ecology: a Case Study on South African Wetlands.International Workshop on the Analysis of Multi-temporal Remote Sensing Images,MultiTemp 2007, 18-20 July 2007, pp.1-5. See: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/De Smedt, F., 2007. Analytical solution and analysis of solute transport in rivers affectedby diffusive transfer in the hyporheic zone. Journal of Hydrology 339: 29-38. (IF 2006:1.745) doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.02.002De Smedt, F., W. Brevis, and P. Debels, 2007. Reply to comment: “Analytical solution forsolute transport resulting from instantaneous injection in streams with transient storage”by F. De Smedt, W. Brevis, and P. Debels, 2005. Journal of Hydrology 315, 25-39. Journalof Hydrology, 149-151. (IF 2006: 1.745) doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.02.013El Idrysy, E. H. and F. De Smedt, 2007. A comparative study of hydraulic conductivityestimations using geostatistics. Hydrogeology journal 15(3):471-482. (IF 2006: 1.039)doi:10.1007/s10040-007-0166-0Githui, F. W., Bauwens W. and F. Mutua, 2007. Assessment of impacts of climate changeon runoff: River Nzoia catchment, Kenya. The 4 th International SWAT Conference,UNESCO-IHE Delft, The Netherlands, 4-6 July.Githui, F.W., Bauwens, W and F. Mutua, 2007. Estimating the impacts of land cover changeon runoff using SWAT: Case study- Nzoia catchment, Kenya (Submitted to HydrologicalSciences Journal).Githui, F. W., Gitau, W., Mutua, F. and W. Bauwens, 2007. Climate change impact on SWATsimulated streamflow in Western Kenya (submitted to International Journal of Climate).Nel, J.M., Xu, Y., Pienaar, H., Batelaan, O. and L. Brendonck, 2007. Feasibility andimplementation of groundwater protection zoning in Africa. Proceedings of theGroundwater Conference, Bloemfontein, South Africa, 18-20 October, 12 p.- 73 -


Nel, J.M., Xu, Y. and O. Batelaan, 2007. Implementation of an aquifer protection zoningpolicy in South Africa. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on DiffusePollution, Sao Paulo, 26-31 August, 16 p.Nossent, J. and W. Bauwens. 2007. Comparing SWAT and WETSPA on the river Grote Laak,Belgium, Proceedings of the 4 th international SWAT Conference 2007.Nurmohamed, R., S. Naipal and F. De Smedt, 2007. Modeling hydrological response of theUpper Suriname river basin to climate change. Journal of Spatial Hydrology 7(1): 1-22.http://www.spatialhydrology.com/journal/Vol7No1Spring2007.htmNyenje, P.M. and O. Batelaan, 2007. Estimating the effect of climate change on thehydrology of Ssezibwa catchment, Uganda. Paper in Mwakali, J.A., Nawangwe, B. andTickodri-Togboa, S.S. (Eds), Proceedings of the Conference on Collaborative Research forTechnological Development, 17-18 December, Kampala, Uganda.Okruszko, T., Wassen, M., Batelaan, O., Chormański, J. and J. Szatyłowicz, 2007.Capturing changes in riparian wetlands. Biebrza Wetlands case study. Abstract forInternational Association for <strong>Land</strong>scape Ecology (IALE) World Congress 2007, 25 years<strong>Land</strong>scape Ecology: Scientific Principles in Practice, 8-12 July, Wageningen, TheNetherlands.Quevauviller, P., 2006. Métrologie en chimie de l’environnement, seconde édition,Tec&Doc – Lavoisier, Paris, 277 p.Verbeiren, B., O. Batelaan and F. De Smedt, 2007. Hydrologische modellering als basisvoor het bepalen van potenties voor vegetatie en natuur in het kader vanEcosysteemvisies in Vlaanderen. Water 31: 56-59.Woldeamlak, S.T., O. Batelaan and F. De Smedt, 2007. Effects of climate change on thegroundwater system in the Grote-Nete Catchment, Belgium. Hydrogeology Journal 15:891-901. (IF 2006: 1.039) doi:10.1007/s10040-006-0145-xZeinivand H. and F. De Smedt, 2007. Simulation of runoff due to snowmelt by couplingof energy balance and WetSpa model, Congres watersysteemkennis, Studiedag “Modellenvoor Integraal Waterbeheer in Vlaanderen” – Programma Donderdag 3 mei, <strong>Vrije</strong><strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>s.- 74 -


Zeinivand H. and F. De Smedt, 2007. Simulation of snowmelt on regional scale with adistributed hydrological model using an energy balance approach. Submitted to the JHydrological Sciences for publication.Zeinivand, H., De Smedt, F. and A. Bahremand, 2007. Simulation of Basin Runoff due toRainfall and Snowmelt. In Oxley, L. and Kulasiri, D. (eds) MODSIM 2007 InternationalCongress on Modelling and Simulation. Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia andNew Zealand, December 2007, pp. 1796-1802. ISBN : 978-0-9758400-4-7.P R E S E N T A T I O N S2006J. Nossent participated in the General Assembly of the European Goesciences Union inVienna, Austria, from April 2 nd to 7 th 2006.J. Nossent attended the IAHS mini-syposium “Current Challenges and Future ofHydrology; Launching of the Report of IAHS Working Group Hydrology 2020, Hydrology2020: An Integrating Science to Meet Water Challenges” on June 28 th 2006 in Delft, TheNetherlands.J. Nossent attended European Summer School on Soil and Water Assessment Tool 2006,from September 25 th to 29 th 2006 in Delft, The Netherlands.J. Nossent attended “Vlaamse innovaties in watersysteemkennis: oppervlaktewaterkwantiteit”,1st thematic study day preceding the conference “Watersysteemkennis” onOctober 12 th 2006 at KU Leuven, Belgium.2007C. Anibas presented ‘Quantification of the groundwater-surface water interaction byanalysing temperature gradients in the streambed of the Aa river, Belgium’ at the EGUGeneral Assembly, Vienna, Austria; 15-20 April 2007.- 75 -


C. Anibas presented ‘Determination of Groundwater Fluxes via Sensing and Simulation ofHydraulic Head and Streambed Temperatures in Lowland Rivers’ at the IUGG Conferencein Perugia, Italy, 02-13 July 2007.C. Anibas presented ‘Determination of groundwater fluxes via temperature sensing ofstreambed temperatures in the Aa River, Belgium’ at the ‘Geoökologisches Kolloquium’ atUniversity of Bayreuth, Germany, 5 July 2007.O. Batelaan presented ‘De grondwatervoeding van Vlaanderen’. CongresWatersysteemkennis, Studiedag ‘Recente ontwikkelingen in het grondwateronderzoek inVlaanderen’, U.Gent, 8 Februari 2007.O. Batelaan presented ‘Ontwikkeling van een geïntegreerd grondwater-oppervlaktewaterinteractiemodel op basis van temperatuurprofielen in de rivierbodem’. CongresWatersysteemkennis, Studiedag ‘De interactie tussen bodem, grondwater en ecosysteem’,K.U.Leuven, 26 April 2007.O. Batelaan presented ‘Improved distributed runoff modelling of urbanised catchments byintegration of multi-resolution remote sensing’, International Geoscience and RemoteSensing Symposium, IGARSS07, Barcelona, 27 July, 2007.O. Batelaan presented ‘Imaging spectroscopy for ecohydrological characterization ofvegetation, soil moisture and evapotranspiration of a floodplain mire’, InternationalGeoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS07, Barcelona, 27 July, 2007.O. Batelaan presented a Keynote lecture ‘Ecohydrology, phreatophytes and groundwaterdependent ecosystems’, XXXV International Association of Hydrogeologists CongressGroundwater and ecosystems, Lisbon, Portugal, 17-21 September, 2007.J. Nossent attended “Modellen voor integraal waterbeheer in Vlaanderen” 8th thematicstudy day preceding the conference “Watersysteemkennis” on May 3 rd 2007 at <strong>Vrije</strong><strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>, Belgium.J. Nossent participated on “6 de waterforum: Informatie voor Watersysteemkennis” onOctober 4th 2007 at <strong>Universiteit</strong> Antwerpen, Belgium.- 76 -


J. Nossent attended the conference “Watersysteemkennis” on December 6 th and 7th 2007at <strong>Universiteit</strong> Antwerpen, Belgium.J Nossent participated in the “4 th International SWAT Conference” from July 4 th to 6 th 2007in Delft, The NetherlandsWillems, P., Niets is zeker! Hoe omgaan met onzekerheden in modellen, lezing op het CIWcongres Watersysteemkennis, Antwerpen, 6-7 december 2007.On Thursday May 3 rd the study day ‘Models forintegrated water management in Flanders’ wasorganized at the <strong>Vrije</strong> <strong>Universiteit</strong> <strong>Brussel</strong>, Prof.De Smedt was coordinator for the day. Thestudy day was the 8 th in a series of nine days in2006 and 2007, which were organized as anintroduction to a final two-day conference on‘Water System Knowledge’ at the University ofAntwerp, 6-7 December 2007. Prof. P. Meirewas conference chairman and promoter of theseries of study days. This conference tookplace almost 25 years after the conference‘Water voor Groen’ (1984), which was chairedat the time by em. Prof. Van der Beken.On May 3 rd 15 presentations were given onmodels for flood simulation; calibration anduncertainty analysis; coupling of models forwater quantity and quality; and ecohydrologicalmodeling. W. Bauwens gave a presentation on’Waterkwaliteitssimulaties met SWAT in rivierbekkensin Vlaanderen. Mogelijkheden en beperkingen’and O. Batelaan presented ‘Hyperspectraleaardobservatie van vegetatie,bodemvocht en verdamping voor ecohydrologischekarakterisatie’.- 77 -


LIST OF PUBLICATIONS IN THE SERIES"VUB-HYDROLOGY"Nr. 33 CONCEPTUAL RAINFALL - RUNOFF MODELS FOR DIFFERENT TIME STEPSby F. Moreda, 229 pp. (1999) Price: 13.6 EuroNr. 34 WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF RIVER BASINS AND EVALUATION OF THEIMPACT OF COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS USING AN INTEGRATEDMODELLING APPROACHby C. Fronteau, 252 pp. + annexes. (1999) Price: 14.9 EuroNr. 35 A METHODOLOGY FOR AN ADAPTIVE REAL TIME CONTROL FOR FLOODMITIGATION BASED ON SOFT COMPUTING TECHNIQUESby A. Debebe, 228 pp. (1999) Price: 13.6 EuroNr. 36 MODELLING THREE DIMENSIONAL GROUNDWATER FLOW AND TRANSPORT BYHEXAHEDRAL FINITE ELEMENTSby M. A. Sbai, 211 pp. (1999) Price: 13.6 EuroNr. 37 BAYESIAN INTERPRETATION OF THE FERMENTATION TUBE TESTSby M. Nawalany, 122 pp (2000) Price: 16.1 EuroNr. 38 SENSITIVITY OF A CONTINUOUS WATER-QUALITY SIMULATION MODEL TOUNCERTAIN MODEL-INPUT PARAMETERSby G. Manache, 204 pp. (2001) Price: 13.6 EuroNr. 39 STOCHASTIC DELINEATION OF WELL CAPTURE ZONESby L. Feyen, 234 pp. (2002) Price: 14 EuroNr. 40 DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS INTEGRATED WATER QUALITY MODELLING FORRIVER BASINSby A. Van Griensven, 236 pp. (2002) Price: 14 EuroNr. 41 MODELLING THE EFFECT OF CLIMATE AND LAND-USE CHANGES ON THEHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES: An integrated GIS and distributed modellingapproachby S. Gebremeskel Guangul, 259 pp. (2003) Price: 18 EuroNr. 42 HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE TRIFA AQUIFER, BASED ON AMULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH USING GEOSTATISTICS, GIS, ANDNUMERICAL MODELLINGby El Houcyne El Idrysy, 204 pp. + annexes (2003) Price: 18 EuroNr. 43 CHARACTERIZATION OF A KARSTIC SYSTEM BY AN INTEGRATIVE AND MULTI-APPROACH STUDYA case study of Suoi Muoi and Nam La catchments in Northwest Vietnamby Vu Thanh Tam, 152 pp. (2003) Price: 16 Euro- 78 -


Nr. 44 HYDRODYNAMIC MODELLING OF A MANGROVE-FRINGED ESTUARY,MTWAPA CREEK, KENYAby Charles Magori, 191 pp. (2004) Price: 22 EuroNr. 45 HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY AND ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE MODELING OF THEGAZA COASTAL AQUIFER USING GIS AND MODFLOWby Adnan M. Aish, 196 pp. (2004) Price: 23 EuroNr. 46 GIS-BASED HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING AND WATERSHED ANALYSISBy Yongbo Liu, 315 pp. (2004) Price: 20 EuroNr. 47 PHREATOLOGY. CHARACTERIZING GROUNDWATER RECHARGE ANDDISCHARGE USING REMOTE SENSING, GIS, ECOLOGY, HYDROCHEMISTRYAND GROUNDWATER MODELLINGBy Okke Batelaan, 309 pp. (2006) Price: (out of print)Nr. 48 HYDROGEOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND GROUNDWATER PROTECTIONOF TROPICAL MOUNTAINOUS KARST AREAS IN NW VIETNAMBy Vu Thi Minh Nguyet, 132 pp. (2006) Price: 16 EuroNr. 49 SIMULATING THE EFFECTS OF REFORESTATION ON FLOODS USING SPATIALLYDISTRIBUTED HYDROLOGIC MODELING AND GISBy Abdolreza Bahremand, 150 pp. (2006) Price: 18 EuroNr. 50 INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF SUB-TROPICAL MOUNTAIN KARSTGEOHYDROLOGY IN NW VIETNAM BY FIELD AND MULTISOURCE REMOTELYSENSED DATABy Le Quoc Hung, 198 pp. (2007)Nr. 51 SPATIO-TEMPORAL IMPACTS OF CLIMATE AND LAND-USE CHANGES ON THEGROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER RESOURCES OF A LOWLANDCATCHMENTBy Solomon Tuccu Woldeamlak, 259 pp. (2007)Nr. 52 MODELLING THE FATE AND TRANSPORT OF ORGANIC MICRO-POLLUTANTSAND PHOSPHATES IN THE SIMIYU RIVER AND SPEKE GULF (LAKE VICTORIA),TANZANIABy Justus Rwetabula, 308 pp. (2007)cDienst Uitgaven VUBWettelijk Depot 1885To be ordered at Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, VUB, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 <strong>Brussel</strong>s. fax+32-2-6293022, e-mail: hydr@vub.ac.beYour order will be followed by an invoice which must be paid prior to the dispatching of the publication.- 79 -


8. MEMBERS OF THE LABORATORY ON 31.12.2007Academic StaffProfessors: O. Batelaan, W. Bauwens, M. Chen, F. De Smedt, S. Wartel, P.Quevauvillier, P. WillemsScientific Staff and PhD StudentsA. Abdelkhalek, G. Adem, E. Ana, C. Anibas, J. Dams, M. Dang Thanh, J. Dujardin,R. Gamie, F. Githui, A. Hepelwa, S. Ides, N. T. Long, A. Madebo, S. Michielsen, J.Nossent, N. H. Phuong, T. Palmans, Y. Plancke, A. Safari, M. Shafiei, T. Tewolde, B.Verbeiren, J. Vercruysse, H. ZeinivandAdministrative and Technical StaffA. Cosemans, H. De Coninck, A. Vanaeken, E. Van den Storme- 80 -


WORLD DAY FOR WATER22 March 2008SanitationThe UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (http://www.unisdr.org/)and the World Meteorological Organization (http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html) have beencharged with coordinating events on the day.Origin and purpose of World Day for WaterBackgroundThe United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 of 22 February 1993 bywhich 22 March of each year would be declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environmentand Development contained in chapter 18 (Fresh Water <strong>Resources</strong>) of Agenda 21.States were invited to devote the Day, as appropriate in the national context, to concrete activitiessuch as the promotion of public awareness through the publication and diffusion of documentariesand the organization of conferences, round tables, seminars and expositions related to theconservation and development of water resources and the implementation of therecommendations of Agenda 21.ObjectivesWorld Day for Water is pivotal in focusing attention on the need, amongst others, to:* address the problems relating to drinking water supply* increase awareness about the importance of conservation, preservation, and the protectionof water resources and drinking water supply* increase governments, international agencies, non-governmental organizations, andprivate sector participation and cooperation in organization of WWD celebrations* increase participation and cooperation from government, international agencies, nongovernmentalorganizations and private sector practices in the organization of WWDcelebrationStrategiesThe following are suggested actions and activities that can be carried out at country level todevelop awareness campaigns in countries by government and their partners. The partnership- 81 -


etween governments, private sector, NGOs and professional organizations can be enhancedthrough participation and collaboration in these events:* Promote mass media educational programmes* Focus on school children and youth* Promote community and self-help programmes* Increase public and private sector support, through collaboration and participation in thecelebrations* Increase awareness of decision makersPotential ActionsThe potential actions that can be carried out by related water organizations can be described asfollows:* Organization of an ‘Open Day’ during which institutions and the private sector dealing withwater issues are open to the public so all stakeholders are able to visit water supplyinstallations, treatment plants, irrigation installations etc.* Articles detailing water issues in local newspapers, newsletters and other (governmental)periodicals* Newspaper supplements on water resources* TV feature programmes on water resources* TV interviews of senior water spokespersons* School competitions* Distribution of brochures and posters to secondary schools* Water quizzes on radio programmes* Photo exhibits* Water seminars and symposia* Water cleaning or saving campaignsThe celebrationsThe themes of previous World Day for Water celebrations are:2007: Coping with water scarcity2006: Water and culture2005: Water for life2004: Water and disasters2003: Water for future2002: Water for Development2001: Water and Health2000: Water for the 21st century1999: Everyone Lives Downstream1998: Groundwater - the Invisible Resource1997: The World’s Water: Is There Enough?1996: Water for Thirsty Cities1995: Women and Water1994: Caring for our water resources is everyone’s business- 82 -


More can be read at: http://www.unesco.org/water/water_celebrations/WATER FOR LIFE:UN proclaims international water decade 2005-2015At its 58th session, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a draft resolutionproclaiming the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action, "Waterfor Life", starting on World Water Day, 22 Mar 2005. The goal of the Decade is "a greaterfocus on water-related issues, with emphasis on women as managers of water [.] to helpto achieve internationally agreed water-related goals", i.e.: to halve by 2015 theproportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water and who donot have access to basic sanitation. Coordination of activities for the Decade will be in thehands of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (since 1 Sep2003, José Antonio Ocampo of Colombia). More than 20 years ago, the UN declared1981-1990 as the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. The aimthen was to provide safe drinking water and adequate sanitation systems for all people by1991.Web address: United Nations General Assembly 58th Session, http://www.un.org/ga/58/;Water resources in the United Nations system,http://www.un.org/partners/civil_society/m-water.shtmlSee also UN General Assembly document A/58/485, 15 Dec 2003,http://ods-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N03/657/51/PDF/N0365751.pdf?OpenElementContact: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, mailto:esa@un.org;(UN, 23 Dec 2003, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/ga10224.doc.htm;UN, 9 Dec 2003, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/gaef3068.doc.htm)- 83 -


notes- 84 -

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