Andersson, J.C.M., B. Arheimer, and N. Hjerdt. (2016). Combine and Share Essential Knowledge for Sustainable Water Management. Solutions 7(3): 30–32. https://thesolutionsjournal.com/article/combine-and-share-essential-knowledge-for-sustainable-water-management/
Perspectives Combine and Share Essential Knowledge for Sustainable Water Management by Jafet C.M. Andersson, Berit Arheimer, and Niclas Hjerdt
Seasonal distribution 16000
Q (m3/s)
With dams Naturalized
12000 8000 4000 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 1 Adapted from Arheimer & Lindström2
Figure 1. The 5,300 largest dams in Sweden (left), and the impact of flow regulations on the seasonal distribution of runoff from Sweden to the surrounding seas (right).
H
ow can we better comprehend and respond to sustainability challenges in the water domain? Operational water analysts around the world face this question every day. In Sweden, a key sustainability challenge for national water managers is to improve ecosystem health. The aim is for all water bodies to obtain “good status” as stipulated by the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive regarding their capacity to support natural life, biodiversity, and legitimate water uses.1
The most prevalent problem for Swedish inland waters is physical alteration of the natural flow regime as a consequence of drainage, dredging, regulation, and thousands of dams (Figure 1). On average, 19 percent of the total runoff from the land surface to the sea is redistributed due to these extensive physical alterations.3 Other major problems include eutrophication (overabundance of nutrients leading to algal blooms, see Figure 2) and invasive species (e.g. the Zebra mussel that came to Sweden in the 1920s through international shipping).
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To identify knowledge gaps and information needed to better respond to these challenges, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) has held regular meetings with key regional water managers across the country since 2011. The meetings have gradually become more frequent (currently held once every month) and more operative (i.e. focusing on the concrete needs of practitioners). As a general response to water managers’ needs, SMHI developed a high-resolution numeric model simulating water and nutrient cycles across Sweden.4