In the 21st Century, the world will see an unprecedented migration of people moving from rural to urban areas. With global demand for water projected to outstrip supply in the coming decades, cities will likely face water insecurity as a result of climate change and the various impacts of urbanisation. Traditionally, urban water managers have relied on large-scale, supply-side infrastructural projects to meet increased demands for water; however, these projects are environmentally, economically and politically costly. Urban Water Security argues that cities need to transition from supply-side to demand-side management to achieve urban water security. This book provides readers with a series of in-depth case studies of leading developed cities, of differing climates, incomes and lifestyles from around the world, that have used demand management tools to modify the attitudes and behaviour of water users in an attempt to achieve urban water security. Urban Water Security will be of particular interest to town and regional planners, water conservation managers and policymakers, international companies and organisations with large water footprints, environmental and water NGOs, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students.

Urban water security is crucial for achieving sustainable development, peace, and human health and well-being. Framing urban water security is challenging due to the complexity and uncertainty of its definition and assessment framework. Several studies have assessed water security in widely divergent ways by granting priority indicators equal weight without considering or adapting to local conditions. This dissertation develops a new urban water security definition and assessment framework applicable to water scarce cities, with a focus on Madaba, Jordan. It takes a novel and systematic approach to assessing urban water security and culminates in integrated urban water security index (IUWSI) as a diagnostic tool and guide management actions. The dissertation suggests a new working definition of urban water security based on the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 on safe drinking water for all and the human rights on water and sanitation as follows: The dynamic capacity of water systems and stakeholders to safeguard sustainable and equitable access to water of adequate quantity and acceptable quality that is continuously, physically and legally available at an affordable cost for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being and socioeconomic development, ensuring protection against waterborne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability. This proposed definition captures issues at the urban level of technical, environmental and socioeconomic indicators that emphasize credibility, legitimacy and salience. The assessment framework establishes a criteria hierarchy, consisting of four main dimensions to achieve urban water security: drinking water and human well-being, ecosystem, climate change and water-related hazards and socioeconomic aspects (together, DECS). The framework enables the analysis of relationships and trade-offs between urbanization, water security and DECS indicators. The dissertation also provides a structured analysis to understand how urban water is managed in intermittent water supply system, by conducting a water balance analysis after quantifying the components of water losses in Madaba’s water distribution network. The findings showed that Madaba's non-revenue water (NRW) amounted to annual loss of about 3.5 million m3, corresponding to financial losses of 2.8 million USD to the utility, of which 1.7 million USD is the cost of real losses. The dissertation provided an intervention strategy for strengthening infrastructure resilience and reducing leakage via the infrastructure, repair, economic, awareness and pressure (IREAP) framework. The IREAP framework provides a robust strategy to shift intermittent water supply (IWS) into continuous water supply. The IUWSI highlighted the state of water security in Madaba, Jordan and identified the means of implementation to move towards achieving urban water security based on the priorities for Madaba. The drinking water and human wellbeing dimension was the most important priority, receiving a weight of 66.22%, followed by ecosystem (17.15%), socioeconomic aspects (10.18%), and climate change and water-related hazards (6.45%) dimensions. The IUWSI indicated that the urban water security in Madaba is reasonable with a score of 2.5/5 and can meet the minimum requirements in several dimensions, but nonetheless, it has many loopholes to cover. Gaps are clear in the climate change and water-related hazards, and socioeconomic dimensions with scores of 1.6/5 and 2.237/5 respectively. Additionally, specific shortcomings are found in indicators such as water availability, reliability, diversity, and public health. The IUWSI framework assists with a rational and evidence-based decision-making process, which is important for enhancing water resource management in water-scarce cities

Understanding the impacts of urbanization on the urban water cycle and managing the associated health risks demand adequate strategies and measures. Health risks associated with urban water systems and services include the microbiological and chemical contamination of urban waters and outbreak of water-borne diseases, mainly due to poor water and s

The book addresses the challenges of urban water security and adaptive management in Sub-Saharan Africa, exploring and interlinking novel concepts of ecosystems services, watershed investments, and boundary work. Specifically, the book’s goals are to (i) present a conceptual framework for the urban water sector from an ecosystem services perspective, highlighting the specificities of the Sub-Saharan context; (ii) develop an operational approach to designing and assessing the impacts of watershed investments, based on ecosystem services and boundary work; and (iii) test the approach through a case study in Asmara, Eritrea, and discuss the findings and lessons learned that can be applied in other contexts. Through a fully worked out case study, from identification of water challenges and opportunities to spatially explicit modelling, the book offers a sound and accessible, coverage of issues and proposed solutions to better operationalize ecosystem services, watershed investments and boundary work, to promote adaptive management, and achieve water security in the context of rapidly developing cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The book is an effective tool for capacity building of diverse stakeholders on the urban water sector, including water managers, local and national policy-makers as well as a suitable resource for both undergraduate and post-graduate courses in planning and geography.

This book presents solutions to address water security in rapidly urbanizing cities, and explores the new paradigms of water security in changing contexts. Highlighting the latest developments in water research, changes in water policy, and current discourses on water security, the book also provides information and tools for local stakeholders, water managers, and policymakers to build the capacity for sustainable water governance. The book discusses a wide range of sustainable solutions and their implementation to ensure that the balance between water supply and demand remains sustainable in the long term, with a focus on local solutions to build capacity and developing policy awareness for a wide range of stakeholders. As the concept of urban water security in changing contexts is open to multiple interpretations, the authors set out various approaches. Providing an overview of the changing perspectives of urban water security in different contexts, the book is based on findings of the Asia-Pacific Network water security project at the United Nations University, Tokyo, as well as the authors' current research-based at Pokhara University, Nepal, Hosei University, Tokyo, Institute for the Global Environmental Strategies, Japan and the Australian National University, Australia. The book also includes the views of international authorities (such as water experts) on the subject. The solutions are complemented by analysis of case studies of various localized sustainable solutions at different scales. The book is a valuable resource for water professionals and policymakers around the globe, academics, teachers working in water-related areas, NGOs, think thanks, water research institutes, donor organizations, and international and local water utility services.

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2014 3rd International Conference on Civil, Architectural and Hydraulic Engineering (ICCAHE 2014), July 30 -31, 2014, Hangzhou, China

Selected Proceedings of the 11th Stockholm Water Symposium "Water Security for the 21st Century - Building Bridges Through Dialogue", held in Stockholm, Sweden, 13-16 August 2001. The 11th Stockholm Water Symposium had the theme "Water Security for the 21st Century - Building Bridges Through Dialogue". The aim was to actively contribute in building bridges between different groups involved in societal planning and in economic decision making on the one hand, and between the experts involved in water resources development and management, in food and industrial production and in protection of ecological services, on the other hand. The overarching goal was to contribute to facilitation of a sustainable development by linking water visions to economic, political and ecological visions. How to influence globalization and other remote driving forces were crucial perspectives under discussion. The Symposium introduced a new workshop format allocating ample time for the building of bridges through dialogue. Only a limited number of oral presentations were given and more than half of the time was used for dialogue and discussion. The dialogues were conducted by moderators and the discussions were summed up by Chairmen and Rapporteurs. The future-oriented, multi-disciplinary Stockholm Water Symposia are convened annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), a scientific, technical and awareness-building organization that contributes to international efforts to combat the escalating global water crisis. SIWI facilitates research, raises understanding and stimulates action on world water issues.

Essay from the year 2023 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Demographics, Urban Management, Planning, grade: 1,3, University of Osnabrück (Institut für Geographie), course: Seminar: Water Risk and source of life- an inter- and transdisciplinary perspective, language: English, abstract: As cities around the globe continue to grow and urbanize, the need for effective adaptation measures to address challenges becomes increasingly urgent. This essay attempts to identify the known vulnerabilities of urban environments and then aims to examine the various opportunities for adaptation in order to ensure water security in the face of global challenges of the 21st century and especially water related extreme weather events. Through a literature review, this paper aims to explore a concise outlook on strategies cities can employ in order to build resilience and complete a transition to urban areas fit for the future. Global challenges of the 21st century can cause a significant threat to water security in urban areas in the future. Rising temperatures, increased precipitation, and more frequent extreme weather events are transforming the availability and distribution of water resources, leading to increased pressure on water systems and infrastructure. Furthermore, the reduction of permeable green space and loss of floodable urban spaces will increase the vulnerability of urban environments. Cities are already economic engines of entire regions. About 600 urban regions on earth with 20% of the world’s population contribute 60% of the GWP (gross world product). Moreover, By the year 2050, 70 % of the world’s population will be living in cities and urban areas. Therefore, the demand for water will increase significantly, as well as the number of water stressed areas. Despite the fact that the number of people who have no access to reliable water resources will grow significantly, some areas will be lacking access to any water sources at all or dealing with water pollution issues.