The Comahue region
The Comahue region, in the Argentine Patagonia, extends across the province of Neuquén and Rio Negro including the Limay, Neuquén, and Río Negro basins. Water supply from these rivers supports various economic activities such as hydropower production, irrigated agriculture, urban water supply, oil extraction, and mining. In summertime or in dry periods, these uses can conflict with each other, for example when farmers need water released from dams for irrigation, but utilities want to store it for hydropower generation. Hydrocarbon development has been driving substantial growth in recent years. While these demands are expected to continue increasing, climate change projections show changes in precipitation patterns and increasing temperatures in the region over the coming decades. Increasing temperatures from climate change could also change the timing of peak flows into reservoirs, affecting hydropower and flood control.
The visualization presented below supported the discussion and discovery of potential integrated water management solutions for long-term planning under climate change.
Click here for the interactive version of this visualization
Click here for the Open Source journal article published in the Water Journal
