Annotation Blog 3/28 and 4/5

Annotation: Essay 3 Research Articles

Argument and working thesis:

With all the solutions that are brought to our attention, individual communities can use a different solution that is beneficial for them. In Southern California, my hometown, Monrovia has been starting to conserve water in any ways possible. The city relays their message constantly through ads or through the police department that citizens need to do their part conserving water in their households. Whether it is turning off the water when showering, brushing their teeth, washing dishes to not water their grass or plants everyday. We have let our grass die because it is taking way too much water and around the area, people have changed their yards that are able to survive with the drought.

           

Source 1: Sustainable Drought Management Strategy

Annotation:

The article is about “Sustainable Drought Management Strategy”. The goal is to “Create public awareness about the causes and impacts and the vulnerability and mitigation strategies (such as water conservation and use restrictions—voluntary or mandatory)” (127). Programs should be set up that “Lead and coordinate development of a national drought management plan (DMP), ensure ample drought preparedness, and ensure early warnings are issued to the public before the onset and when drought ends” (126). Starting a nation wide program that can educate and work with drought affected communities can help find a way to conserve the water that we have now and try to find a sustainable route to create more water. During the drought, DTF ensures proper coordination among its committees/groups responsible for monitoring, risk as-assessment and relief response operations, mitigation, and DTF communicates with the political leaders on the status and performance of the mitigation operations. It is important that the roles and responsibilities of government representatives in DTF are clearly defined, and coordinated (Wilhite, 1991b; Fontane and Frevert, 1995)” (126).

Citation: Katyal, Ashok K., and Ioana G. Petrisor. "Innovative Sustainable Drought Management Strategy Incorporating Forensic Techniques And Policy Framework." Environmental Forensics 13.2 (2012): 122-139. Environment Complete. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Source 2: INTEGRATING WFA AND HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING FOR ASSESSING SUSTAINABILITY OF THE AGRICULTURE IN A COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM

Annotation:

In this article that I found in the SFSU online library articles is how the country can come up with an efficient system to help conserve water. Each group contributes to running this countrywide system or even working in the community. To begin with, you need a “drought management plan development” (5) which is the plan before you start doing anything. “A multidisciplinary drought task force (DTF) drawing its members from government agencies, academia, environmental and civic bodies/NGOs is appointed by the leader of the nation/state with responsibilities” (5). Those responsibilities vary from different positions, all doing their part in ensuring that the tasks are covered completely and efficient. There is also the “Risk assessment committee (RAC)” which is responsible for recommending mitigation strategies to the DTF that are cost effective, efficient, and water conserving, as well as technically feasible, socially and culturally equitable, and amenable” (6). There are also key points that the committee members that appointed should follow.

Citation: de VITO, Rossella, et al. "Integrating Wfa And Hydrological Modelling For Assessing Sustainability Of The Agriculture In A Complex Environmental System." Agriculture & Forestry / Poljoprivreda I Sumarstvo 61.4 (2015): 293-300. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Mar. 2016

Source 3: Development of a novel, robust, sustainable and low cost self-powered water pump for use in free flowing liquid streams

Annotation:

The design of the water pump depends on “local conditions such as geophysical features, available technology, traditions, culture, and available human and economic resources” (1). The cost also depends on those values but also how big you are trying to design it. This pump is known as the Filardo Pump and they provide us with a drawing that shows what it will look like, what is used and how it is assembled. There are “three flow depths” (4) that are used and they are: “H_0.300m,H_0.325mandH_0.370m” (4) each were tested to see which one would be more efficient for a certain area. They continually tested their prototype to find the most efficient way to use the water pump, different ideas, different sources that were used and various circumstances to see if it was reliable or not.

Citation: Muriel, D.F., et al. "Development Of A Novel, Robust, Sustainable And Low Cost Self-Powered Water Pump For Use In Free-Flowing Liquid Streams." Renewable Energy: An International Journal 91.(2016): 466-476. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.

Source 4: A fractional-factorial probabilistic-possibilistic optimization framework for planning water resources management systems with multi-level parametric interactions

Annotation:

“A multi-level factorial-vertex fuzzy-stochastic programming (MFFP) approach is developed for optimization of water resources systems under probabilistic and possibilistic uncertainties” (1). The TSP will begin by being separated into “first- stage and second- stage variables” (2). The first –stage is designated for random parameters and sorting with different scenarios and each with an already given probability. In the overall study system, “a limited amount of water is released from an un- regulated reservoir to three competing users in a dry season, including municipality, industry, and agriculture. The objective of this problem is to maximize the total net benefit through identifying optimized water allocation schemes” (4). Maximum and minimum amounts of water are provided that will test when there is a drought or when there are high amounts of water available in a certain region. With all the tests that are done, they concluded that “useful solutions were ob- tained for the optimal allocation of water resources under fuzziness and randomness” (9).

Citation: Wang, S., G.H. Huang, and Y. Zhou. "A Fractional-Factorial Probabilistic-Possibilistic Optimization Framework For Planning Water Resources Management Systems With Multi-Level Parametric Interactions." Journal Of Environmental Management 172.(2016): 97-106. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.

Annotation 5: Desalination and sustainability - An appraisal and current perspective

Annotation:

Desalination is an alternative way that people are able to access fresh water from salt water. “Desalination technologies require large quantities of high grade thermal energy and/or prime quality electricity for freshwater separation which results in release of waste heat, greenhouse gas emissions and concentrates (brine) into the environment” (2). Although this is an alternative process of producing fresh water, it comes with many negative affects to the environment. Desalination can be classified by “thermal (phase change) and membrane (non-phase change) processes” (2). Thermal phase is the process of an “evaporator and condenser to vaporize freshwater from the feed water (seawater or brackish water)…” (2) which begins the process of desalination. The process of desalination has many stages and there are different systems that are used as well. Water can be put into different systems to see which one is more efficient than the other. “Sustainability of desalination technologies can be assessed by four components which comprise environmental, economic, social and technological areas” (5).  

Citation: Gude, Veera Gnaneswar. "Desalination And Sustainability – An Appraisal And Current Perspective." Water Research 89.(2016): 87-106. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.