The course will introduce the problems associated with different uses of water resources and the quantitative methods to address them. The availability of water resources will be faced with modelling tools, the competition among uses, including civil, agricultural, energetic and ecosystem demand will be addressed, while also considering the challenges posed by climate change. The course will take a practical/quantitative approach, with presentations of real case studies and overviews on global-scale problems and solutions, including the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus approach and a hint of economics.

Students will acquire knowledge about the physical process governing the water availability, the climate system and scenarios, the anthropic pressure on water resources and the elements of water stress and scarcity. The students will learn to i) model the water balance at the point and catchment scale, ii) assess water demands and irrigation requirements, iii) use climate change scenarios to estimate future water availability and use. Students will also understand the principles of integrated water resources management and the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus.

The course requires a basic knowledge of hydrological processes and hydraulics. Knowledge of GIS tools and principles of hydraulic design/construction is an asset, as well as a fluent spoken and written English.

The course will present the following topics: - Water resources introduction (3h): definition, sources, uses, basics review. - Water availability assessment (18h): water balance at the catchment scale, the role of soil and vegetation, hydrological regimes, seasonality and storages; Water Framework directive, environmental flows; hydrological modelling and softwares. - Water demand (9h): civil, industrial and agricultural water use, soil water balance and evapotranspiration, exploitation indexes, natural and anthropic water stress, droughts. - Climate change (10h): introduction to climate, energy balance, greenhouse gases, climate forcings; climate change, impacts on the water cycle; models, scenarios and datasets. - Water scarcity & management (10h): management of common resources, competitive water use, integrated water resources management, catchment scale management, upstream-downstream conflicts, management examples and complexity. - Global water resources and economics (10h): water-food-energy nexus, water footprint, virtual water trade, water globalization, water crises, water stewardship; economic value of water, trans-boundary waters, finance of water.

The course is organized in lectures and exercise classes. Lectures are devoted to the presentation of course topics and case studies. Exercise classes are devoted to practical applications and are based on the use of laptop computers. During the course, students will develop a project (in groups) that will be summarized in a report.

Course slides and reading materials will be distributed during the course.

Slides; Dispense;

Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula); Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

Exam: Written test; Group project;

... The evaluation is based on the project developed during the course (relative weight: 25% of final mark), and on the final exam (relative weight: 75% of final mark). The project report is handed in before the exam and discussed with the lecturers; the report is evaluated considering the correctness, completeness, and presentation of the results (maximum mark: 30/30). The final exam includes open questions and short exercises about the theoretical and the applicative part of the course program and will take a maximum of 2 hours. The exam mark will consider the completeness, maturity, and clarity of answers provided and the maximum mark will be 30L/30.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.