A network of consultants in: water resources, hydrology, hydraulics, hydrogeology and water quality

Water and the Environment

Good environmental management requires that all development be sustainable, i.e. meets the needs of the present without compromising future needs. This conflict between present and future needs impacts on surface and groundwater management. The balance of skills and experience within Water Resource Associates Ltd makes us uniquely qualified to execute projects where the need for sustainability is paramount.

People have always been drawn to water - it is after all a prerequisite for survival. Whilst the rivers, in many of our cities, or the ponds, in villages, now seem picturesque they were originally the vital source of water, for people and for their livestock. Later these same rivers were a source of energy and transport. But as industrial power developed, rivers and streams increasingly came to be used as open sewers - with devastating consequences. The influence of development affected water in many other ways: wetlands were drained for agricultural land, rivers were dredged or embanked to control flooding, dams were built which changed natural patterns of flow.

The impact of these changes became increasingly negative - both for humans and for wildlife. Superimposed on these direct effects is that of climate change which, as the picture of the drowned village of Epicuen in Argentina shows, is already happening.

Water Resource Associates has experience of many aspects of water and the environment in most of the world's climate zones. In the UK this includes studies of measures to counteract the effects of acid rain and of climate change. Overseas it includes studies of a polluted lagoon in Ghana and of plans to abstract water upstream of the Okavango delta in Botswana. We also have experience of many analysis tools to study the degree of impact. This includes a range of mathematical models which are recognised as national standards.

In analysing water and the environment Water Resource Associates has always taken a balanced approach and, regardless of the client, has always given an objective appraisal.

Experience as a company and directors

Botswana and Namibia
The river Okavango rises in the humid mountains of Angola and flows southwards into the Kalahari desert. There, at the southernmost limit of the great African rift valley, the water is held behind a small geological displacement a few metres high and spreads out to form the Okavango Delta - an area internationally famous for its wildlife.

Vigorous international opposition to proposals for water supply abstractions upstream of the Delta led to an independent review which concluded the proposals would have a negligible impact on the environment.

Nigeria
The Hadeija-Nguru basin in Northern Nigeria has a valuable wetland. WRA was called on to review a project, funded by IUCN, which looked at ways of conserving the wetland and providing benefit for local residents.

Ghana
The Korle lagoon receives most of the runoff from the city of Accra. The runoff is untreated and as a consequence the lagoon has suffered. WRA advised on the hydrology and feasibility of alternative methods of alleviating the problem.

Turkey
The Goksu delta on Turkey's Mediterranean coast receives drainage water from an irrigation system. This water has helped to create the lagoon but at the same time the excess nutrients carried by the water have led to eutrophication. WRA advised on the water balance and how the characteristics of the lagoon could be improved.

In addition the Principals have also worked in:

Oman
Review of all water resources surveys to define the scope for irrigation development including conservation projects and the use of spate flows in the wadi channels.

Thailand
Study of the impact of deforestation, changes in cropping pattern, and irrigation and hydropower development in NE Thailand on the hydrology of the Mekong.

Zimbabwe
Review of the hydrology of the Zambezi with emphasis on the apparent change in the regime of the Upper Zambezi to define the basis for further hydropower development at Kariba.

Iraq
The marshes of southern Iraq, at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, have for long provided the basis of a unique lifestyle in this otherwise arid region. Drainage works in recent years could be damaging, or even drying out, some of the marsh areas, and they are also affected significantly by upstream development.

An international study supported by the AMAR Appeal reviewed the impact of these developments. The operation of all storage, diversion and flood control works in the Tigris and Euphrates basins were modelled over the historical time series to predict the continual reduction in water supply to the marshes. The study concluded that present and planned works upstream of the delta are such that little could be left of the marshes after 10 to 15 years.

Romania
The Danube delta in Romania is important as a source of fish protein and for many bird species. Dredging work over the last few decades has enabled flows from the river to pass more quickly into the shallow lakes, bringing silt and pollutants such as phosphates.

A mathematical model of part of the delta was prepared as part of a strategic planning study, which proposed to reduce the spread of eutrophication by closing off some of the newly dredged channels encouraging flow through reed beds.

Turkey
Study of the environmental impact of sewerage schemes and tourism on Lake Köycegiz and Dalyan Beach in southern Turkey. Preliminary water balance studies showed that there is a net inflow from the sea each summer and that the ecology of the lake is finely balanced.