Smart Water management to improve water balance control and environment preservation in hydrographic basins

Summary

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Water is one of the most precious and essential resources for life. Despite being a renewable resource, its availability is increasingly limited due to the adverse effects of climate change and the level of contamination caused by man. The most important hydrological attribute for the socioeconomic development of a territory, country or region is the magnitude of its surface and underground water resources available in their basins. However, the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources in Cuba (INRH) has identified that the management of its water resources is not effective enough. The absence of updated hydrological models for the efficient management of the water balance has caused basins’ overexploitation. This has caused problems of soil degradation, salinity, affectation of forest cover and contamination of terrestrial waters. All these issues have led to deterioration of sanitation systems and environmental conditions in human settlements. 
The water balance of any region is a complex task when reliable measurements of precipitation, quality, flows and dams water level are not available. This project proposes the exploration and modelling of the water balance in the national priority basin “Sagua La Grande” as a case study for further generalization. Before modern man occupied its basin, the waters of the “Sagua la Grande” River were pure and crystalline. Today stretches of its course are true sewers, dirty and contaminated because of  poor treatment of waste from urban settlements, agro-industrial complexes and chemical and metallurgical industries. The development of modern water balance computational models and a case study that includes an automatic observation hydrometric network will allow to characterize the hydrological cycle and contribute to the sustainable management of water resources.

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