Water resources management in the watershed of Volvi Lake

The decrease of available water resources, the water quality degradation as well as the
rapid increase of population combined with the growth of human activities, impose today
the development of a science that concerns the Management of Water Resources. Lake
Volvi faces a lot of problems, the most important being the water level drop, which is
mostly due to the big quantities of water flowing through to Rihios River and to the wrong
management of irrigation water. The study area of the present research consists of the
watershed of Lake Volvi, situated in Northern Greece, 39 km away from the city of
Thessaloniki. The objective of this study is the estimation of the water balance of the
hydrologic basin of Lake Volvi with a Corporate Management program, using Visual
Fortran and the creation of scenarios for better management of the water resources of
the region. Lake Volvi is situated next to Lake Koronia, both of them belonging to a wider
region that forms the geological basin of Mygdonia. Lake Volvi is the recipient of the
water draining from Lake Koronia. The water that drains from Lake Volvi is discharged
into the gulf of Strymonikos through Rihios River. Firstly, a close analysis is attempted for
the estimation of the water balance of the entire hydrologic basin of Lake Volvi with the
method of Turc, which is used widely throughout the world. Next, in order to simulate the
lake, an administrative model is used, written in Visual Fortran. A rational management of
the hydrological elements of the region is attempted with the creation of four alternative
scenarios. After the execution of the Corporate Management program, the results show
that the main problem for Lake Volvi is the water leaking to Rihios River. Moreover, the
research also shows that it is important to reduce the water used for irrigation. As a final
result, it is an imperative need to develop water resources management plans for the
restoration of the entire region.