IMPROVING INTEGRATION OF DAMS INTO WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN ARID ZONES

Improving integration of dams into water resource management in arid zones. In most countries with arid and semi-arid zones, reservoirs-dams were in the twentieth century and are still at present the greatest tools for irregular surface water control, which represents the main manageable water resource. However negative impacts sometimes result from the construction of these, such as a decrease in alluvial aquifer recharge by flooding. Planning and assessment of projects often neglect these effects which reduce the actual advantage of construction (for example in the Maghreb). Moreover, evaporation (often over 1 m/year) lowers the efficiency of reservoir-dams and silting often induces annual losses of more than 1% of storage capacity. Also, the potential sites of feasible dams are limited and become exhausted. Integrated water resource management should take into account surface water/ groundwater interdependence, especially in arid and semi-arid zones. It must unite the management of two types of reservoir: dams and aquifers, and fit the structure and management of dams (open outlets, flood-control) to groundwater conservation and accretion, and also reduce evaporation losses and silting.

IMPROVING INTEGRATION OF DAMS INTO WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN ARID ZONES Keywords:

aridity , reservoir-dam , flood , aquifer , integrated water resources management