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The study focuses on the Campoalegre River basin in Colombia, where diverse water uses and inter-basin transfers—particularly from hydropower—have reduced downstream supply. The research aims to create a water balance and decision-making tool for regional authorities to manage water stress and governance challenges caused by fragmented planning units.

The study focuses on the Campoalegre river basin in the Colombian coffee region, where water use conflicts are exacerbated by complex governance and water transfers between adjacent basins. By developing a quantitative water balance, the study seeks to provide regional environmental authorities with a decision-making tool to identify current and future water stress and potential rationing needs. It highlights how the diversion of water for hydroelectric power and other human activities reduces downstream supply, a problem complicated by the fact that these transfers often cross different administrative planning units.

The document details the application of the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model to the Otún river basin in Colombia to assess water supply and demand under climate change. It identifies the Corporación Autónoma de Risaralda (CARDER) as the primary institutional manager and calculates a total water demand of 10.35 m3/s for human consumption, energy generation, and environmental flows. A key finding is the critical role of the páramo ecosystem, which provides a relatively constant water flow and contributes up to 60% of the flow at Nuevo Libaré during low-flow months like August.