Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Water Resource Management
Who has rådighet? An agency-centred perspective on water conservation
Published: 2026-06-15
Subjects: Civil Engineering, Water Resource Management
Water conservation is usually catalogued by technology, efficient fixtures, leak control, reuse, metering, process integration. That framing hides a stubborn fact: realised savings consistently fall short of engineering potential and often fade with time. Rebound, poor maintenance and behavioural decay explain part of the gap, but not all. We argue that a large share is an agency mismatch: the [...]
High-resolution monthly sectoral water demands for the U.S. over 1980-2100
Published: 2026-06-11
Subjects: Civil Engineering, Hydrology, Water Resource Management
U.S. water demand varies sharply by sector and region as land use, population, weather patterns, and economic activity co-evolve. High-resolution water demand data are required to capture these dynamics and to support integrated energy-water-land modeling and local-to-regional water scarcity assessments. We present a gridded (1/8$^{\circ}$), monthly, multi-sector water demand dataset for the [...]
Simulations of Minnesota water budget components using the Soil-Water-Balance model, past (1981–2022) and future (2040–59 and 2080–99)
Published: 2026-06-08
Subjects: Climate, Hydrology, Water Resource Management
This study presents historical estimates and future projections of net infiltration (potential recharge), actual evapotranspiration (ET), surface runoff, and related water budget components across Minnesota using the USGS Soil Water Balance model, version 2 (SWB). The model was calibrated to streamflow and actual ET observations from 2000–2022, achieving an overall r² of 0.973 with a standard [...]
Comparing Process-Based and Machine Learning Models for Streamflow Prediction in the Kaligandaki River Basin, Nepal
Published: 2026-06-03
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
Reliable daily streamflow prediction is critical for hydropower operations, flood risk management, and irrigation planning in monsoon-dominated Himalayan river basins. While both process-based and machine learning (ML) approaches have been used for such tasks, systematic comparisons that decompose the sources of performance differences remain scarce. This study evaluates seven configurations: a [...]
Extreme changes in water level regenerate reed stands and a stable water regime leads to die-off: lessons from the analysis of 40-year satellite time series observations in a shallow lake ecosystem.
Published: 2026-05-30
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Hydrology, Natural Resources and Conservation, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Water Resource Management
Reed wetlands are key to the productivity of shallow lakes, and their condition is tightly governed by water level variability. Using long-term satellite observations, we provide the first analysis linking hydrology and reed vitality at Lake Neusiedl, a major climate sensitive wetland system in the Pannonian Basin. We assembled a 40-year record (1985–2025) of Landsat derived Enhanced Vegetation [...]
Local refinement of a national-scale groundwater model
Published: 2026-05-21
Subjects: Planetary Hydrology, Water Resource Management
This method article presents a local refinement framework for a national-scale, machine learning-based groundwater model that predicts typical summer and winter water table depth at 10 × 10 m resolution at national scale of Denmark. While the existing baseline model provides high-resolution national coverage and is suitable for screening purposes, its accuracy remains insufficient for local [...]
Drying summers threaten western North American river ecosystems and a keystone migratory fish
Published: 2026-05-14
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Hydrology, Water Resource Management
Climate change threatens river ecosystems by altering the seasonal streamflow patterns to which aquatic species have adapted, including keystone species like Chinook salmon in western North America. Chinook salmon display diverse life-history adaptations to local hydrologic regimes, contributing to their past resilience but leaving locally adapted populations vulnerable to changing conditions. [...]
Wet and Dry Hydrological Conditions Reduce Chlorophyll-a at River-Lake Interfaces
Published: 2026-05-09
Subjects: Climate, Environmental Monitoring, Fresh Water Studies, Longitudinal Data Analysis and Time Series, Water Resource Management
Hydrological variation is intensifying under climate change, yet its net effects on lake water quality remain uncertain. Wet and dry hydrological conditions are commonly assumed to exacerbate eutrophication by increasing nutrient inputs during wet conditions or concentrating nutrients during dry conditions. However, these events can also activate counteracting processes—such as dilution, or [...]
Remotely sensed evapotranspiration for corporate water stewardship: Opportunities and limitations in agricultural landscapes
Published: 2026-05-07
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Natural Resources and Conservation, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
Corporate water stewardship (CWS), in which companies engage in or incentivize actions to advance sustainable water resource management, can positively affect water resources, reduce water-related business risks, and support Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability reporting efforts. Agricultural landscapes affect diverse industries including finance, technology, fuel [...]
Continuous Water Surface Elevation Estimates Using Deep Learning with Legacy Altimetry and Surface Water and Ocean Topography Data
Published: 2026-04-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
We present the development of a high-temporal-resolution global dataset of daily river water surface elevation (WSE), spanning January 2008 through May 2025. By utilizing a deep learning framework to integrate legacy satellite altimetry and the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission data, we produced a continuous record covering 9,184 river reaches, 5,926 rivers, and 1,342 basins. The [...]
EXPLORATION OF WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DECISION SUPPORT POTENTIAL IN DATA SCARCE WATERSHEDS AND ASSOCIATED DATA POLICY NEEDS
Published: 2026-04-18
Subjects: Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering, Computational Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Hydrology, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Remote Sensing, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
Insufficient data access presents major challenges to scientific assessment of water resources, development of management plans, and attainment of water security. Hydrologic models are widely applied in the advisement of pollution, drought, and flood mitigation strategies; their accuracy relies on data used in setup and calibration. A case study of Sasumua River Watershed in Kenya illustrates [...]
Geostatistical Assessment of Shallow Groundwater Risk in Urban Coastal Virginia: A Case Study from Virginia Beach
Published: 2026-04-14
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Hydrology, Life Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Water Resource Management
Urban groundwater assessments in coastal cities often rely on public monitoring datasets that are spatially uneven and temporally discontinuous. This study evaluates shallow groundwater risk in Virginia Beach, Virginia, using 30 years of records (1991–2020) from 121 monitoring wells for groundwater levels and 55 wells with groundwater‑quality data for chloride (Cl), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn). [...]
Increasing Floods and Intensifying Droughts: The Future of Hydrological Extremes in a Warming Climate
Published: 2026-04-13
Subjects: Hydrology, Water Resource Management
Understanding how climate change alters the frequency and severity of hydrological extremes is critical for anticipating regional vulnerabilities and guiding adaptation. In this study, we analyze changes in the magnitude, intensity, and duration of extreme streamflow events, both floods and droughts, under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios using the FutureStreams dataset. This dataset, driven by [...]
Lowering barriers to probing high-frequency variations in river chemistry through a frugal machine learning-based framework
Published: 2026-04-11
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Environmental Monitoring, Hydrology, Water Resource Management
High-frequency river chemistry monitoring is crucial for capturing transient hydro-geochemical variations and ensuring water security, yet its implementation is limited by logistical and budgetary constraints. Here we present a machine learning-based framework that integrates continuous, low-cost physico-chemical proxies with sparse ‘anchoring’ solute measurements to reconstruct hourly-scale [...]
Simulation of Groundwater Flow To Evaluate Hydrogeologic Controls on a PFAS Plume, Coakley Landfill Superfund Site, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Published: 2026-04-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), have been detected at combined concentrations above 2,000 nanograms per liter (ng/L) at groundwater seep locations near the Coakley Landfill Superfund site, in North Hampton, New Hampshire. The landfill was active from 1972 to 1985. An impermeable cap was placed on the [...]