Evaluation of water resources management strategies to cover the shortage in future demands using the WEAP model in high Andean areas

Abstract

In this research, carried out in a high Andean area, a water evaluation and planning model (WEAP model) was used to analyze the variation in future water demands and their coverage for the years 2034 and 2049. This study was unique in the sense that the water resources of each of the districts that are located in the Blanco sub basin were considered separately, rather than analyzing the basin as a whole. The water saving potential, the coverage of the demands for normal periods and dry periods, in addition to the different structural and non-structural measures, were analyzed under different simulated scenarios. The results show that different demands will increase considerably in all districts, and that there will be a supply deficit after 2034 if there is no work on new water supplies. The decrease in water supply will occur in the months of June to August, due to the limited existence of water supplies. The installation of new reservoirs and conduction channels, in addition to the new technologies for water saving, can generate water saving potentials of 89% and 35% by 2034, respectively, while the adoption of both strategies can save 100%. Similar scenario occurs for the year 2049, the structural measures allow a saving of 50% and the non-structural measures allow a saving of 35%, while the use of both at the same time reaches 100%.