Integrated water management of water resources

lbres2204  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Integrated water management of water resources
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
30.0 h + 22.5 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Jonard François; Vanclooster Marnik (coordinator);
Language
French
Prerequisites
Probability and statistics
Basic modelling course. Basic computer programming course.

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.
Main themes
The main objective of the course is to train students in the understanding of the challenges and the use of advanced methodologies for integrated water resources management. 
The topics that are covered are :
 
- Concepts and challenges of integrated water resources management at different scales (local scale, watershed, country, region, international river basin, global).
- Strategic, political and institutional aspects of integrated management of water resources. Introduction in current water policies (eg water policy for sustainable development)
- Analytical tools for water management. Modelling of large water resources systems (watersheds, reservoirs, perimeter, groundwater body) including technical, economic and social aspects. Implementation. Planning, optimization and evaluation of large water systems. Information systems. Decision making and integrated management of water resources.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 a. Contribution de l'activité au référentiel AA (AA du programme)
M2.2 ; M2.3 ; M2.4 ; M2.5
b. Formulation spécifique pour cette activité des AA du programme (maximum 10)
After the course, students should be able:
-       to explain the concept of integrated water resources management (IWRM);
-       to explain the political, institutional , legal and policy issues associated with integrated water resources management;
-       to develop policies, strategies and programs for sustainable development of water resources;
-       to  illustrate the international cooperation programs in the field of IWRM  in international river basins (eg the Mekong, the Nile ... );
-       to model a hydro- system, while considering the random nature of the flow ;
-       to apply optimization methods ( dynamic programming, Lagrangian multipliers, linear programming, ... ) in simple IWRM planning problems;
-       to compare the performance of a hydro- system with multiple criteria and objectives formulated by different actors;
- to develop a methodology to implement policies, strategies and IWRM programs
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
Part I : Strategic, political and institutional issues of water management
- Status of freshwater resources at global and regional scale.
- Status of current practices and future needs for freshwater management at the global and regional scale.
- Status of water infrastructure and investment needs.
- Issues and challenges for the 21st century.
- Principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM )
- Institutional, political and legal aspects of water management.
- Development of strategies and programs for IWRM.
- International cooperation in water management. Examples of cooperation for the management of water resources: the Mekong and the Nile basin.

Part II : Tools for modeling and optimization
- Aspects of hydrosystem modeling.
- Economic engineering applied to water resources system analysis.
- Programming methods, planning and optimization. Lagrangian multipliers . Linear programming. Dynamic programming.
- Stochastic aspects . Uncertainty analysis and sensitivity analysis. Stochastic dynamic programming.
- Performance analysis. Multi-criteria analysis and integrated water resources.
Teaching methods
Class room lectures and exercises in computer room
 
Evaluation methods
Theory: Oral examination with written preparation.

Exercices: An assignment is transmitted to the students before the opening of the examination session. The student prepares a reply  to the question and defend in an oral examintion. This exercice is evaluated by the assistant of the course. 
Other information
This course can be given in English.
Online resources
Moodle
Bibliography
Les transparents des exposés magistraux sont disponibles sur Moodle.
L'ouvrage de référence est : D. Loucks and E. Van Beek: Water Resources System Planning and Management: An introduction to methods, models and applications. UNESCO, 2005.
Un manuel est disponible pour les travaux pratiques.
Faculty or entity
AGRO


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Civil Engineering

Master [120] in Agricultural Bioengineering

Master [120] in Environmental Bioengineering

Master [120] in Agriculture and Bio-industries