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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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WATER CONSERVATION, REUSE, AND RECYCLING

PROCEEDINGS OF AN IRANIAN-AMERICAN WORKSHOP

Committee on US–Iranian Workshop on Water Conservation and Recycling

In cooperation with the Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Office for Central Europe and Eurasia

Development, Security, and Cooperation

Policy and Global Affairs

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by the National Research Council and the W. Alton Jones Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number 0-309-09293-0 (Book)

International Standard Book Number 0-309-54502-1 (PDF)

One copy of this report per request is available from the Office for Central Europe and Eurasia, National Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001; (202) 334 2644; Fax, (202) 334 2614.

Additional copies of this report are available from the
National Academies Press,
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Copyright 2005 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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NRC COMMITTEE ON US–IRANIAN WORKSHOP ON WATER CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING*

Henry Vaux, Chair Associate Vice President and Professor

Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of California

James Crook Principal Water Reuse Technologist

Global Water Business group CH2M Hill

Rebecca Parkin Associate Research Professor

Department of Occupational and Environmental Health George Washington University

Staff

Glenn Schweitzer Project Director

National Research Council

Sara Gray Senior Program Associate

National Research Council

Christopher Holt Senior Program Assistant

National Research Council

Amy Moore Program Assistant

National Research Council

*  

Titles as of December 2003.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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Preface

In December 2002, a group of specialists on water resources from the United States and Iran met in Tunis, Tunisia, for an interacademy workshop on water resources management, conservation, and recycling. This was the fourth interacademy workshop on a variety of topics held in 2002, the first year of such workshops. Tunis was selected as the location for the workshop in order to simplify travel arrangements after political issues complicated the holding of the workshop in California. Also, the Tunisian experience in addressing water conservation issues was of interest to the participants from both the United States and Iran.

The National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering selected the American participants. The Iranian Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran selected the Iranian participants. Several Tunisian specialists also attended the workshop at the invitation of the National Academies. All attendees participated in their personal capacities, and the papers that were presented and the related comments represented their personal views.

This report includes the agenda for the workshop, all of the papers that were presented, and the list of site visits. In order to encourage open and candid discussion at the workshop, no record was kept of the comments during the discussion periods.

The American participants were from the arid and semi-arid portions of the western United States. Iran is predominantly an arid and semi-arid land. Thus the symposium participants had a common context of experience with water resources and interests in water management and sustainability. Indeed, surprising similarities between the water situation in Iran and that in the United States quickly became evident. The following points of similarity emerged:

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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  • Population pressures on water resources grew rapidly in the last half of the 20th century;

  • Rapidly urbanizing populations are changing the essentially agrarian nature of many areas;

  • Economic growth is placing new demands on available water supplies;

  • Agriculture is by far the largest user of available water;

  • The geographical distribution of water does not match the geographical distribution of population;

  • Use of ground water is increasing rapidly with an increasing ground water overdraft;

  • Storage and conveyance facilities have long been used to manage water scarcity;

  • The need for new management regimes in an era of intensifying scarcity is recognized;

  • The importance of stakeholder participation in fashioning solutions to water problems is acknowledged.

In addition to problems of water allocation, each country is confronted with problems of climatological extremes. Efforts to manage droughts and floods are similar in the two countries and have had similar results.

All of these similarities mirror in a general way the water problems found in arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world.

Although Iran and the United States have somewhat different histories in their efforts to cope with water scarcity, the efforts of both are instructive. Each country is at a different stage along a trajectory of efforts to solve water problems. Each country has had successes and each has had failures. The papers in this volume address experiences of each country and identify water management problems that must receive high priority in the future.

At the conclusion of the conference, participants discussed the most mutually pressing water problems. There was agreement on the four most critical problems:

  • Forecasting and managing droughts.

  • Developing technology for inexpensive recycling of urban wastewater without adverse impacts on public health.

  • Improving the economic efficiency in using water in agriculture.

  • Developing new and innovative institutional arrangements for managing water consistent with historical antecedents and traditions of each country.

Following the workshop, there has been correspondence between the participants concerning future opportunities for consultations and workshops.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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Acknowledgments

The specialists and officials that participated in this activity are identified in the appendixes. Their contributions are greatly appreciated. Mehdi N. Bahadori, Vice-President for Research of the Iranian Academy of Sciences, deserves particular recognition for his continuous efforts in ensuring that the activities would be professionally rewarding for water resource specialists.

We wish to extend special thanks to Ameur Horchani, Tunisian Secretary of Agriculture, and to Lotfi Ghedira, Director of the Bureau des Équilibres et de la Planification Hydrique of the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, for their special attention to the arrangement of site visits and participant visas.

Special appreciation is extended to the National Research Council and the W. Alton Jones Foundation which provided funding for this project.

This volume has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of selected papers: Richard Foltz, University of Florida; Charles Howard, Charles Howard and Associates; John Letey, University of California at Riverside; Miguel Marino, University of California at Davis; and Michael Stenstrom, University of California at Los Angeles.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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Although the reviewers listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the individual papers. Responsibility for the final content of the papers rests with the individual authors.

We wish to thank Aws Alouini, Lowell Lewis, Sara Gray, Christopher Holt, and Amy Moore for their assistance during the project.

—Henry Vaux

Chair, NRC Committee on US–Iranian Workshop on Water Conservation and Recycling

—Glenn E. Schweitzer

Director, Office for Central Europe and Eurasia, NRC

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recycling: Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11241.
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In December 2002, a group of specialists on water resources from the United States and Iran met in Tunis, Tunisia, for an interacademy workshop on water resources management, conservation, and recycling. This was the fourth interacademy workshop on a variety of topics held in 2002, the first year of such workshops. Tunis was selected as the location for the workshop because the Tunisian experience in addressing water conservation issues was of interest to the participants from both the United States and Iran. This report includes the agenda for the workshop, all of the papers that were presented, and the list of site visits.

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