Water Scarcity and the Role of Storage in Development

In this paper, the authors concentrate on the three kinds of technologies that store water for periods of months, in small reservoirs, or years, in aquifers and large reservoirs. These three technologies are compared from the hydrological, operational, and economic standpoints. Some of the environmental aspects of these options are also mentioned, but these aspects are very location specific and are not discussed in detail. The two principle conclusions of this analysis are: 1) aquifers and small and large reservoirs all serve an indispensable role in water storage, and each technology has strong comparative advantages under specific conditions of time and place; and 2) where it is possible to do so, substantial gains can be achieved by combining all three storage technologies in an integrated system.