GIS in Water Management

Water is an essential resource for sustaining life and the economy, but water resources are scarce. Virtually all human uses of water require freshwater. However, of all water on Earth, 96.7% is saltwater, while over two thirds of freshwater is frozen in the glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland. Thus, we are left with only 0.9% of the globe's water for our use. This fact, combined with the needs of the growing population, obliges efficient management of water resources. Well-organized water management systems may help people use the limited water resources wisely. Applying geographic information systems (GIS) in water management greatly improves its effectiveness. To facilitate water management, many [Page 1317]hydrologically oriented pieces of software have been developed. Together with an abundance of spatial data generated ...