Argonne Integrated Water Resource Management (AIWRM)

Water shortages, unreliable water supplies, and poor water quality have in recent years been considered as major obstacles to sustainable development and poverty alleviation that require urgent attention.

Over 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. In such areas, water shortages are increasingly limiting development options.
Up to 14.6 million children die yearly because of water shortages or exposure to water-related diseases.
It is predicted that by 2025, about half of the world’s population – some 3.5 billion people – will live in areas facing serious water shortages.

ACTIVELY COMMITTED
Experts at Argonne National Laboratory are taking a leading role in addressing these pressing global challenges.

Introducing AIWRM

Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), as a premier US Department of Energy (DOE) science and engineering national lab, is taking a leading role in helping developing countries develop their own individually tailored Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) plans. Argonne has active water-related projects that include river basin management, groundwater management, desalination, energy planning (including cogeneration of water and power), detailed hydropower evaluation, water policy and regulation, and computer modeling. Argonne is home to a well recognized international training center for transferring knowledge and capabilities to regions or countries in need.

Sample Projects & Studies

Hydrological and Water Quality Models and Basin Management Strategies for the Nakdong River Basin

Argonne, together with several universities in Korea, participated in a study to develop management strategies for the Nakdong River Basin, the second largest river basin in the Republic of Korea. The study was initiated in 1997 by the Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (RIST) in Pohang, Korea. Argonne's role was to develop and apply a modeling framework to evaluate management strategies. Argonne reviewed data provided by RIST and developed a model to evaluate three scenarios for future basin management for the years 2001, 2006, and 2011.

Nakdong River Basin, Korea

Visualizing Complex Watershed Interactions

Current laws and regulations require state and federal organizations to address environmental assessment and management issues at the watershed scale. New federal initiatives, such as those defined under the Clean Water Action Plan, indicate that integrated watershed studies, including restoration assessments, will become even more prevalent over the next five years. EAD is applying its experience and expertise to develop and use models, data, and other tools to help scientific teams, decision makers, and the public visualize complex watershed interactions.

Role and Value of Hydropower Plants in Southeast Europe’s Regional Electricity Market

Identification of Renewable Water Resources and Optimization of Water Usage Management in an Arid Region with an Integrated Approach

Characterizing and Modeling the Impacted Upper Silver Creek Hydrologic System, Utah, Using a Watershed-Based, Integrated Approach

Want to know more about these Project & Studies?
Read the AIWRM Paper ( PDF, 2.7MB)

Related Resources

Purdue University Calumet Water Institute (PWI)

AIWRM Capabilities

General water modeling and data analysis

Groundwater and surface water modeling for site disposal activities.
Analyses of flow patterns, behavior, and quality for water basins, including dams.
Satellite, remote sensing, and isotopic techniques for watershed analyses.
Numerical modeling and simulation of groundwater systems.
Groundwater and aquifer assessment and development using unique well drilling methods.

Capacity building in water desalination and wastewater treatment and reclamation

Planning, design of, and training in water desalination and wastewater treatment and recycling.
Unique software tools for economic analyses of cogeneration plants (desalination and power).
Energy calculations and assessment for coupled energy/water systems.
Integrated water resource management planning and education.

Energy planning and analysis

Market supply and demand analyses using Argonne computer models and tools.
Energy and power technology assessment and implementation.
Energy for water assessment and planning.
Modeling interdependent relationships between water and energy.

Water resource management regulatory and policy issues

National and region-specific policy making.
Environmental considerations.

Want to know more?

Find out more about our Mission and Capabilities in the paper on AIWRM.
AIWRM Paper ( PDF, 2.7MB)

Contact AIWRM

Feel free to contact us about our activities and this web site. See our Contact page for all information on how to get in touch with AIWRM.

Dr. Ron S. Faibish
Chair, AIWRM Group
Argonne National Laboratory
9700 S. Cass Ave
Argonne, IL 60439
T: (630) 252-8355;
F: (630) 252-4500

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