Isotope Hydrology Section (IHS) of the SLAEB is working in the field of water management and dam safety by

• (i) Providing consultancy services to the national institutes, organizations, universities etc… on national needs
  This includes expertise service for the projects/programs on groundwater investigations and leakage/seepage investigations of dams and reservoirs.
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• (ii) Providing research based information/data on water resources management and dam/reservoir safety and sustainability. IHS conducts researches in collaboration with water sector institutes/organizations and dam owner institutes with the support of International Atomic Energy Agency
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• (iii) Providing analytical services for isotopes and chemical parameters in waterOnly with precise information on the availability and renewability of water resources can country makes sound decisions about sustainable water resources management. Isotopes provide unique information about water resources characteristics in a cost efficient, accurate and easy-to-use way. Isotopes are waters fingerprints. They provide information on the age, origin and renewal rate of groundwater, its dynamics, as well as the vulnerability to source of pollution, salt water intrusion and climate change.

The Science

Isotope hydrology utilizes the natural variance in the composition of water resources. During evaporation and condensation of water, the concentrations of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes change. As a result, in different parts of the hydrologic cycle, water is naturally tagged with isotopic fingerprints, which vary according to the history of a particular body of water and its route through the hydrologic cycle. There are other isotopes in rainwater, such as tritium and carbon-14, whose concentration decreases with time. These data enable experts in making evidence-based decisions on sustainable water resource management.