Responses to water scarcity are varied. They include measures to increase supply, manage demand or allocate water differently.
In practice many responses seek to integrate supply orientated and demand orientated measures. A report by the School of Oriental and African Studies discusses that these measures are region specific, and related to the adaptive capacity of that region. With increasing demand, regions go through supply, demand and adaptive phases . At the “supply phase” responses to water scarcity are about getting more water; in the demand phase it becomes about using water more efficiently; and in the adaptive phase attitudes to water scarcity change and regions need to look at trade-offs between different water uses.
This is a simplified view and in practice at all stages a mixture of supply measures and demand measures is usually needed – the so called “twin track” approach.
Increasing supply through new water resources infrastructure has a number of options: additional storage, often behind newly constructed or enlarged dams, groundwater development, transfer pipelines and diversions, pumping stations.
Natural storage will begin to reduce as glaciers begin to melt due to climate change and additional storage will be required in many areas: the countries supplied by the Himalayan glaciers: China, India and Pakistan, for example.
Additional storage reservoirs will be needed to maintain the reliability of flows throughout the year. Many developed countries have very substantial amounts of storage: Australia and USA, for example, have over 5,000 m3/year/head; whereas in developing countries the amount of storage is often very substantially less: only 200m3/year/head in India, for example.
Halcrow has wide experience in all aspects of water resources infrastructure development including:
Dams
Halcrow has a long history of dam-building for water supply, irrigation and groundwater recharge. Halcrow provides expert dam engineering services to a wide range of clients across the world, covering both the public and private sectors. We have completed dam engineering services in more than thirty countries over the last ten years covering:
- masterplans and feasibility studies
- detailed dam design and construction supervision
- finite element thermal and structural analysis
- flood and seismic safety assessments
- hydraulic structures and model testing
- dam safety inspections and due diligence studies
- quantitative risk analysis
- dambreak analysis and emergency planning
- dam remedial works
- dam instrumentation and monitoring reviews
Major pipelines and transfers
Halcrow has planned, studied, designed and supervised the construction of large diameter pipelines for raw water, treated water, waste water and petrochemicals in many countries of the world
and under many varied conditions and often over long distances. Halcrow’s experience extends from aqueducts, to rising mains, conveyors, siphons, tunnels, and marine outfalls.
We have proven capabilities in all aspects of pipeline engineering and experience in the development of diversity of sites and the construction of pipelines worldwide in a range of applications for the water sector including:
- gravity and pumped systems
- above and below ground installations
- submarine pipelines and installations
- trenched, trenchless and tunnelled pipe
- water pipeline materials Selection
- water pipeline appurtenances and details
- water pipeline structural and bedding design
Experience extends to dealing with a wide range of pipeline materials, including steel (carbon and stainless), ductile iron, glass reinforced plastic (GRP), reinforced concrete, pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipes (PCCP), and plastics (PVC, PE and plastic alloys). Examples range from the 110km 0.8-1.4m diameter ductile iron pipeline of the Cyprus Southern Conveyor, to the 5.1m diameter concrete/tunnel of the El Salaam siphon in Egypt. Major canal conveyance projects include the rehabilitation of the 235 km PAT Feeder Canal in Pakistan.
Pumping Stations
Halcrow has considerable experience in the planning, design and construction supervision of pumping systems and installations for raw water abstraction, pumping at treatment works and treated water conveyance both in the UK and overseas. Halcrow has been involved with both the development of major new pumping systems, and has also undertaken condition assessments and upgrading of installations to ensure that they provide reliable service in the future. Halcrow is well versed in the following applications:
- groundwater abstraction
- boreholes - well fields
- surface water abstraction
- pumping at treatment works
- booster stations
- network booster stations
- high and low lift installations
- surge suppression
Halcrow have proven capabilities in all aspects of pumping system engineering and has experience in the development of diversity of sites and the construction of systems worldwide in a range of applications for the water sector. Experience and expertise includes:
- mechanical & electrical services
- control system development & design
- hydraulic analysis & design
- transient analysis
Station design is usually led by Mechanical, electrical and hydraulic considerations. Halcrow’s additional expertise includes:
- civil engineering and structural design
- architectural design
- SCADA, ICA, PCCS
- environmental investigations
- hydrogeology & Hydrology
- geotechnical investigations
- planning and property liaison
- site development
Groundwater
Understanding any groundwater regime is essential if the resource is to be properly developed and managed for water supply. The protection of groundwater resources from reductions in quantity or deterioration in quality is particularly important in many projects in order to ensure the long-term viability of groundwater resources. Halcrow's hydrogeological team of specialists provides world-class advice to clients both in the UK and abroad in the all of these key areas.
The team has carried out groundwater resource projects around the world and contains experts in the fields of hydrogeology, geotechnical engineering, chemistry and environmental science. In addition to our in-house staff, we have close contact with other internationally renowned specialists, universities and research institutions so that we can address the diverse technical issues associated with the development of groundwater resources.
Our hydrogeological skills cover the following areas:
- contaminated land/groundwater modelling and assessment
- groundwater resources assessment
- groundwater exploitation and development
- groundwater resources management
- groundwater protection and vulnerability assessment
- regional groundwater modelling
- environmental impact assessment and environmental statements (water quality and drainage)