Addressing the water crisis through multiple socioeconomic and hydrological strategies

• Grant number: 24/23353-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo César Aoki Hirata
• Grantee: Vinicius Ferreira Boico
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IGC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/15434-0 - SACRE: integrated water solutions for resilient cities, AP.TEM

Abstract

The hydrological crisis is defined as the lack of sufficient quantity and quality of water to meet the needs of a specific region during a given time. It occurs when three phenomena coincide: (i) reduced water availability or physical scarcity; (ii) inadequate water supply infrastructure or economic scarcity; and (iii) poor water resource management or managerial scarcity. While physical scarcity is often associated with drought periods, it can also result from the depletion of fossil aquifers (non-renewable over periods exceeding 10,000 years), where continuous extraction leads to unsustainability due to aquifer depletion, high exploitation costs, or the inaccessibility of deep groundwater levels. In contrast, economic and managerial scarcities are directly linked to human actions. This postdoctoral research aims to explore the causes of the Bauru water crisis, propose strategic solutions for water resource management, and facilitate the development of a Decision Support System (DSS). The goal is to optimize the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources from public and private sources. The proposed strategies include management mechanisms such as economic instruments for compensation, incentives for efficient water use, and allocation strategies to enhance water distribution. Achieving these objectives necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the natural, built, and institutional hydraulic interactions within the urban and rural hydrological cycle. This research seeks to improve water security in Bauru by optimizing the various components of the natural and anthropogenically modified hydrological cycle. This project is integrative and will benefit from a detailed characterization of all hydrological and hydrogeological elements developed within the SACRE Project, with particular emphasis on Work Packages (WPs) 1, 4, and 5, while primarily embedded in WP5. The postdoctoral researcher will play a central role in integrating results across the WPs, facilitating collaboration among project researchers, and providing guidance to doctoral students.