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Browsing Research Centres, Institutes, Projects and Units by Department "Water Resources Management group"

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    Groundwater use in the High Valley of Cochabamba, Bolivia
    (2014) Heijstek, Arthur; Duran, IA; Vos IJ
    In the area of Cliza, Cochabamba in Bolivia groundwater use trough wells is essential for crop production. However there is a concern that groundwater extractions at their current rate are not sustainable and therefore there is a need of information on demand and supply of water as a basis for sustainable groundwater management.This thesis presents a first inventory of groundwater use in Cliza concerning water quantity, water quality and users perspective. The water quantity is measured and the annual quantity discharging from different wells is calculated. Irrigation water quality is measured on pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and temperature. Drinking water quality is measured on pH, EC, turbidity and temperature. Besides this, interviews with users have been done concerning the very beginning and process of obtaining a well until their future perspective concerning groundwater use. The main findings concerning water quantity are that the average discharge per well is 8.1 l/s and the average annual discharge per well is around 140,000 m3. In terms of water quality, both irrigation water and drinking water score acceptable values on pH, EC and turbidity, however the temperature climate can enable high occurrence of coliform bacteria. Water users obtain their well with support from the local municipality and organize themselves through a Water Users Organization (WUO). In general, users have a positive perception on the quality of both drinking water and irrigation water. The perception on the quantity of drinking water is positive in general as well, however this is not the case concerning the quantity irrigation water. At last, a main finding is that the majority of the interviewed users want to have more water available in the future.