Addressing uncertainties in water accounting

Abstract

A precursor to effective water management is the availability of useful information. Water accounts are being developed to meet these needs. However, there are considerable problems in quantifying all of the reported elements. Even where direct measurements are available, they are often prone to measurement uncertainties. The volumes of other elements are difficult to measure and often can only be quantified based on a series of assumptions. The presence of uncertainties in water accounts poses two problems. Firstly, the decisions made based on information presented in the accounts may change if the associated uncertainties were disclosed to those making decisions. Secondly, due to the uncer..