The Groundwater Project

Conjunctive Water Management

Book Cover Conjunctive Water Management
Publication year: 2025
Number of pages: 149

ISBN: 978-1-77470-116-4
https://doi.org/10.62592/XGBG1126

Citation: Evans, R. S., & Hanson, R. T. (2025). Conjunctive water management. The Groundwater Project. https://doi.org/10.62592/XGBG1126.

Released: 3 September 2025

Released: 3 September 2025

Description

The sustainability of water resources for water and food security largely depends on the successful adoption of conjunctive water management (CWM) strategies; it is  also inherently tied to supply-and-demand management and the related external drivers of population, land development, and climate. Thus, water resource sustainability requires a holistic union of technical analysis, monitoring, and governance that is funded and maintained by all users of the resources. Accordingly, the collective management via CWM of surface water, groundwater, precipitation, and recycled, imported, and reused water will require changes in governance.

The authors explore these requirements and present examples to illustrate how—through analysis and governance—these principles are put into action. The authors stress that monitoring and analysis are essential, yet insufficient, for the sustainability of water resources. They posit linkages to governance and funding are necessary to facilitate and maintain a sustainability framework and the mechanisms required for adapting and mitigating a sustainability strategy that uses CWM as one of its components.

Interview with the Authors

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Contents

CONJUNCTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT

1 WHAT IS CONJUNCTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT?

2 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF CONJUNCTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT

3 TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER

4 INFORMAL AND FORMAL SYSTEMS

5 HIGHLY VERSUS POORLY CONNECTED SYSTEMS

6 BENEFITS OF CWM

7 ROLE OF MANAGED AQUIFER RECHARGE

8 ANALYSIS AND MODELING APPROACHES FOR CWM

8.1 Integrated Surface Water and Groundwater Models

8.2 Analytical and Field Methods

8.3 Numerical Models

8.4 Economic Optimization Models

9 INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES FOR EFFECTIVE CWM

10 CWM DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS

10.1 Governance Approaches

10.1.1 Institutional Strengthening
10.1.2 Policy and Legislation
10.1.3 Planning
10.1.4 Market and Pricing Approaches
10.1.5 Actual Implementation
10.1.6 Building Knowledge and Communication

10.2 Use of Financial and Market-Based Instruments to Develop Planned CWM

11 CWM WRAP-UP

12 EXERCISES

12.1 Conceptual Exercises

12.2 Follow-Up Conceptual Questions

12.3 Technical Questions

12.4 Modeling Analysis Exercises

13 REFERENCES

14 BOXES

Boxes Part A – Management Focused CWM Examples

Box 1 – Uttar Pradesh, India
Box 2 – Mendoza, Argentina
Box 3 – Queensland, Australia
Box 4 – Indus Basin, Pakistan
Box 5 – Other CWM Examples

Boxes Part B – Modeling Focused CWM Examples

Box 6 – Central Valley, California, USA
Box 7 – Lower Rio Grande, New Mexico, Texas, USA, and Conejos Medanos, Chihuahua, Mexico
Box 8 – Pajaro Valley, Conjunctive-Use Modeling
Box 9 – Other Modeling Examples

15 EXERCISE SOLUTIONS

15.1 Conceptual Exercise Solutions

15.2 Answers to Follow-Up Conceptual Questions

15.3 Answers to Technical Questions

16 ABBREVIATIONS / ACRONYMS

17 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Exercise Manual in Supplemental Zip File

CWM Example-Model Scenario Exercises with MF-OWHM

1 INTRODUCTION

2 MODEL EXERCISE FOLDER STRUCTURE AND FILES

3 OVERALL EXAMPLE MODEL SETUP

3.1 Model Structure

3.2 Simulation Period

3.3 Initial Conditions

3.4 Boundary Conditions

4 WATER BUDGETS FOR THE BASELINE SCENARIO

5 SUMMARIZED COMPARISON OF THE MODEL EXERCISE SCENARIOS

6 RERUNNING THE MODELS FOR SCENARIOS

7 POSTPROCESSORS FOR IHM ANALYSIS

8 OBSERVATIONS FOR ANALYZING AND CALIBRATING IHM MODELS

9 BASELINE SCENARIO

10 EXERCISE 1 – ADDITION OF AN URBAN WELL

10.1 Input

10.1.1 Optional: Building of an MNW2 File to Include the Urban Well

10.2 Output

10.2.1 How to Build Analysis Components from Postprocessing Outputs
10.2.2 Examining the Analysis Results

10.3 Exercise 1 Questions and Answers

11 EXERCISE 2 – CHANGED CROP TYPE

11.1 Input

11.1.1 Optional: Building Input Files for Alternate Crop Types

11.2 Exercise 2 Questions and Answers

12 EXERCISE 3 – ADDITION OF SALINITY FLUSHING

12.1 Input

12.1.1 Optional: Building of an FMP File to Include Salinity Flushing

12.2 Exercise 3 Questions and Answers

13 EXERCISE 4 – ADJUSTMENT OF WATER DEMAND TO EQUAL SUPPLY FOR SUSTAINABILITY

13.1 Input

13.1.1 Optional: Building of an FMP File to Reduce Supply by Limiting Pumping

13.2 Exercise 4 Questions and Answers

14 EXERCISE 5 – CHANGED WATER SUPPLY AND DEMAND DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

14.1 Input – Optional: Building of FMP Files to Change Precipitation and Evapotranspiration

14.2 Exercise 5 Questions and Answers

15 EXERCISE 6 – ADJUSTMENT OF SURFACE-WATER OPERATIONS

15.1 Input – Optional: Post-Processing of SWO Results

15.2 Output Evaluation

15.3 Exercise 6 Questions and Answers

16 REFERENCES

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