Water resources management and decision support tools

The aim of this research is to analyse and characterize water-related problems, at the same time exploring and developing models and decision support tools for sustainable water management.

Ongoing research projects

Hydropower and environmental flows – tools for decision support

Mitigation of Lake Victoria water quality problems

Earlier research projects and activities

Groundwater in peri-urban areas

Local participation in catchment based management

Adaption of road drainage structures to climate change

Hydrological modelling as a tool for water resources management

Information in support of water management in the North Baltic River Basin District, Sweden

Monitoring and evaluation of rural water supply in Uganda

Water supply in an urban area: A case study of Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Workshop: Making the ecosystem approach operational - Water governance in the Baltic Sea Region

Selected publications

2018			Dawson, L., Persson, K., Balfors, B., Mörtberg, U., Jarsjö, J., 2018. Impacts of the Water Framework Directive on learning and knowledge practices in a Swedish catchment . Journal of Environmental Management 223: 731-742.
2017			Karlsson, C.S.J., Kalantari, Z., Mörtberg, U., Olofsson, B., Lyon, S.W., 2017. Natural hazard susceptibility assessment for road planning using spatial multi-criteria analysis . Environmental Management 60: 823-851.
2017			Engström, E., Mörtberg, U., Karlström, A., and Mangold, M. 2017. Applying spatial regression to evaluate risk factors for microbiological contamination of urban groundwater sources in Juba, South Sudan . Hydrogeology Journal 25: 1077-1091.
2015			Engström, E. 2015. Predicting the transport of Escherichia coli to groundwater . TRITA-LWR PHD 2015:04, doctoral thesis in Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2015			Engstöm, E., Balfors, B., Mörtberg, U., Thunvik, R., Gaily, T. & Mangold, M. 2015. Prevalence of microbiological contaminants in groundwater sources and risk factor assessment in Juba, South Sudan . Science of the Total Environment 515-516: 181-187.
2015			Engström, E., Thunvik, R., Kulabako, R., Balfors, B., 2015. Water transport, retention, and survival of Escherichia coli in unsaturated porous media: A comprehensive review of processes, models, and factors . Critical reviews in environmental science and technology 45: 1-100.
2015			Franzén, F. 2015. From words to action: Lessons from active stakeholder participation in water management . TRITA-LWR PHD 2015:01, doctoral thesis in Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2015			Franzén, F., Hammer, M. & Balfors, B. 2015. Institutional development for stakeholder participation in local water management – An analysis of two Swedish catchments . Land Use Policy 43: 217-227.
2015			Tessema S.M., Setegn S.G. and Mörtberg U. 2015. Watershed modeling as a tool for sustainable water resources management: SWAT model application in the Awash River basin, Ethiopia . Chapter 30 in: Setegn, S.G. and Donoso, M.C. (eds.) Sustainability of Integrated Water Resources Management. Springer, Switzerland, pp 579-606.
2014			Jamali, I.A., Mörtberg, U., Olofsson, B. & Shafique, M. 2014. A spatial multi-criteria analysis approach for locating suitable sites for construction of subsurface dams in northern Pakistan . Water Resources Management 28: 5157-5174.
2014			Kalantari, Z. 2014. Road structures under climate and land use change: Bridging the gap between science and application. TRITA-LWR PHD 2014:01, doctoral thesis in Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2014			Karlsson, C.S.J., Jamali, I.A., Earon, R., Olofsson, B. & Mörtberg, U. 2014. Comparison of methods for predicting regolith thickness in previously glaciated terrain, Stockholm, Sweden . Geoderma 226-227: 116-129.
2014			Tessema, S.M., Lyon, S.W., Setegn, S.G., Mörtberg, U. 2014. Effects of different retention parameter estimation methods on the prediction of surface runoff using the SCS curve number method . Water Resources Management 28: 3241-3254.
2013			Coello-Balthasar, Z. & Balfors, B. 2013. Problems faced by a national water utility in an urban area, case study: Tegucigalpa, Honduras. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning 8: 508-522, DOI: 10.2495/SDP-V8-N4-508-522.
2013			Engström, E., Thunvik, R., Kulabako, R. & Balfors, B. 2013. Water transport, retention and survival of Escherichia coli in unsaturated porous media: a comprehensive review of processes, models and factors. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology DOI: 10.1080/10643389.2013.828363 .
2013			Jamali, I.A., Olofsson, B. & Mörtberg, U. 2013. Locating suitable sites for the construction of subsurface dams using GIS . Environmental Earth Sciences 70: 2511-2525.
2012			Bhattacharyaa, P., Sracek, O., Eldvall, B., Asklund, R., Barmen, G., Jacks, G., Koku, J., Gustafsson, J.-E., Singh, N., Brokking Balfors, B. 2012. Hydrogeochemical study on the contamination of water resources in a part of Tarkwa mining area, Western Ghana.J. Africam Earth Sciences 66-67, 72-84.
2012			Bhattacharyaa, P., Sracek, O., Eldvall, B., Asklund, R., Barmen, G., Jacks, G., Koku, J., Gustafsson, J.-E., Singh, N., Brokking Balfors, B. 2012. Hydrogeochemical study on the contamination of water resources in a part of Tarkwa mining area, Western Ghana. J. African Earth Sciences 66-67: 72-84.
2012			Quin, A. (2012): Information, systems and water management: Information systems which support water management - cases from rural water supply in Uganda and WFD implementation in the North Baltic River Basin District, Sweden. TRITA-LWR PHD 1067. Doctoral Thesis in Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2011			Coello-Balthasar, Z., Phumpiu, P., Balfors, B. & Gustafsson, J.-E. 2011. Assessment of causes leading to an insufficient water supply in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment 145: 27-38.
2011			Quin, A., Balfors, B., Kjéllén, M. 2011. How to walk the talk - The perspectives of sector staff on implementation of the rural water supply programme in Uganda. Natural Resources Forum 35: 269-282.
2010			Hammer, M., Balfors, B., Mörtberg, U., Petersson, M. & Quin, A. 2011. Governance of water resources in the phase of change: A case study of the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive in Sweden . AMBIO 40: 210-220.
2010			Westerberg, I., Walther, A., Guerrero, J.-L., Coello, Z., Halldin, S., Xu, C.-Y., Chen, D. & Lundin, L.-C. 2010. Precipitation data in a mountainous catchment in Honduras: quality assessment and spatiotemporal characteristics. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 101: 381-396, DOI: 10.1007/s00704-009-0222-x.
2006			Furberg, D., Nilsson, S., Langaas, S. 2006. An indicator-based analysis of the river basin districts established under the EU Water Framework Directive. E-WAter 2006/18.
2006			Furberg, D., Nilsson, S., Langaas, S. 2006. An indicator-based analysis of the river basin districts established under the EU Water Framework Directive. E-WAter, 2006/18.
2006			Nilsson, S. 2006. Managing water according to river basins. Information management, institutional arrangements and strategic policy support - with focus on the EU Water Framework Directive. TRITA-LWR PHD 1030. Doctoral thesis in Land and Water Resources Sciences. KTH Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm.
2006			Nilsson, S., Langaas, S. 2006. International river basin management under the EU Water Framework Directive: An assessment of cooperation and water quality in the Baltic Sea drainage basin. Ambio 35: 304-311.
2006			Nilsson, S., Langaas, S. 2006. International river basin management under the EU Wa ter Framework Directive: An assessment of cooperation and water quality in the Baltic Sea drainage basin. Ambio 35: 304-311.
2005			Timmerman, J.G. & Langaas, S. 2005. Water information: what is it good for? The use of information in transboundary water management. Reg. Environ. Change 5: 177-187.
2004		Bäckström, M., Karlsson, S., Bäckman, L., Folkeson, L. & Lind, B. 2004. Mobilisation of heavy metals by deicing salts in a roadside environment. Water Research 38: 720-732.
2004			Gumbricht, T., McCarthy, J. & McCarthy, T.S. 2004. Channels wetlands and islands in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, and their relation to hydrological and sedimentological processes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 29: 15-29.
2004			Nilsson, S., Langaas, S. & Hannerz, F. 2004. International River Basin Districts under the EU Water Framework Directive: Identification and Planned Cooperation. European Water Management Online 2004/02.
2003			Andersson, L., Gumbricht, T., Hughes, D., Kniverton, D., Ringrose, S., Savenije, H., Todd, M., Wilk, J. & Wolski, P. 2003. Water flow dynamics in the Okavango River Basin and Delta - a prerequisite for the ecosystems of the Delta. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 28: 1165-1172.
2003			Langaas, S., Ahlenius, H., Hannerz, H. & Nilsson, S. 2003. Towards GIS- and Internet-based information systems for transboundary river basins. In: J. G. Timmerman and S. Langaas (eds.), Environmental Information in European Transboundary Water Management, pp. 135-152, IWA Publishing, London, UK.
2003			McCarthy, J., Gumbricht, T., McCarthy, T.S, Frost, P.E. & Seidel, F. 2003. Flooding patterns of the Okavango wetland in Botswana between 1972 and 2000. Ambio 32: 453-457.
2003			Nilsson, S. & Langaas, S. 2003. A comparative study of information management in three transboundary water regimes in Europe. In: J. G. Timmerman and S. Langaas (eds.), Environmental Information in European Transboundary Water Management, pp. 224-239, IWA Publishing, London, UK.
2002	Gumbricht, T., McCarthy, T.S., McCarthy, J., Roy, D., Frost, P.E. & Wessels, K. 2002. Remote sensing for detection of sub surface peat fires and peat fire scars in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. South African Journal of Science 98: 351-358.
2002	McCarthy, J. 2002. Remote sensing for detection of landscape form and function of the Okavango Delta Botswana. TRITA-LWR PHD 1000, Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden.