Integrated Management to Address Structural Shortage: The Case of Vega Baja of the Segura River, Alicante (Southeast Spain)
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This manuscript is within scope of Sustainability, and it addresses highly important issue of the current circumstances i.e. the management of water resources in a specific Mediterranean region that is highly important for socio-economic development and the maintenance of the natural ecosystems. This article addresses also important predicting on the climate change, where the water scarcity situation is going to worsen, which will aggravate the water imbalance. So, its importance is of wider value for other countries within Mediterranean region.
Nevertheless, there are some issues that need to be better address. At the section in between line 207-208, authors are addressing the WFD, but it is unclear if within focus study area is currently any monitoring practice considering both Physical-chemical and biological parameters? If this is a case then data, particularly within biological spectrum (macro-invertebrate, macrophytes, fish….obligatory following WFD) then it will better tell about current and predicted situation.
In many instances the authors are addressing issue of climate changes and that deficit of water is going to be worsen as e.g. (line 606-609): “When conducting a balance between the supply and demand of water resources, it is estimated that the global deficit in Vega Baja del Segura is 52.2 hm³/year. This structural deficit is expected to worsen over the next few years, due to the climate change effects, the increases in demand and the gradual reduction in exogenous contributions”, but can see references of studies dedicated to Mediterranean region that following specific modeling approaches addresses this issue. So, would recommend use of such references (E.g. Giorgi, F.; Lionello, P. Climate Change Projections for the Mediterranean Region. Glob. Planet. Chang. 2008, 63, 90–104.; Lionello, P.; Scarascia, L. The Relation between Climate Change in the Mediterranean Region and Global Warming. Reg. Environ. Chang. 2018, 18, 1481–1493.;Todaro, V.; D’Oria, M.; Secci, D.; Zanini, A.; Tanda, M.G. Climate Change over the Mediterranean Region: Local Temperature and Precipitation Variations at Five Pilot Sites. Water 2022, 14, 2499. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/w14162499……). This enriches the paper value, and would recommend to address even at the introductory section…
Author Response
Thank you for reviewing the study and your helpful comments. Changes have been made to the document in response to comments received. In the attached document you will find a justification for the changes made and their identification in the final document.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper is very descriptive, rather a documentation. I did not identify original elements or results obtained from a scientific research. I suggest the authors deepen the concrete situations and develop a water deficit management plan based on the prioritization of the types of water use.
Author Response
Thank you for reviewing the study and your helpful comments. Changes have been made to the document in response to comments received. In the attached document you will find a justification for the changes made and their identification in the final document.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
1) All maps should be presented the Latitude and Longitude.
2) Lines 224-225: Cause and impact of water pollution must be explained more details by mentioning the main sources, for example agriculture. Using fertilizers, herbicide and pesticide can generate the water pollution, which assess in terms of gray water footprint. Please see these papers [Environmental, Human and Ecotoxicological Impacts of Different Rice Cultivation Systems in Northern Thailand. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 2738. ] [Reducing AgriculturalWater Footprints at the Farm Scale: A Case Study in the Beijing Region. Water 2015, 7, 7066–7077.] [Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of Thailand. Agronomy, 12(2), 380.]
3) 3. Methodology section needs a lot of improvements. What kind of data were obtained from each source? How to do the document analysis? How to synthesize and analyze all data? Which type of tools, software, statistical analysis, …, were used? Please explain more details.
4) 7. Conclusions section is too long, which must be shorten. Moreover, lines 637-639 should not contained the references. Conclusion must be come from your findings.
Author Response
Thank you for reviewing the study and your helpful comments. Changes have been made to the document in response to comments received. In the attached document you will find a justification for the changes made and their identification in the final document.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Please find attached.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Thank you for reviewing the study and your helpful comments. Changes have been made to the document in response to comments received. In the attached document you will find a justification for the changes made and their identification in the final document.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper has been improved, the solid scientific element is still missing, but it could be published as a communication paper.
Reviewer 3 Report
Accept in present form.
