urban water management to achieve sustainable water quality and conservation outcomes

URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE WATER QUALITY AND CONSERVATION

OUTCOMES

Water Management is one of the most serious challenges facing major cities

Of all our natural resources, water underpins sustainable development more than any other.

Present Situation

Water supply, sanitation, stormwater and wastewater are managed as isolated entities and

all managed separate from land-use planning and economic development.

Best practice in Water Management is Integrated Water Resources Management

(IWRM)

What is Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM)

• IUWM is described as the practice of managing freshwater, wastewater, and storm water as components of a basin wide management plan. It builds on existing water supply and sanitation considerations within an urban settlement by incorporating urban water management within the scope of the entire river basin.

What is IWRM?

IWRM as defined by the Global Water Partnership is a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.

Hydrological Cycle

Hydrological Cycle

Implementing the process of IWRM requires three pillars

1. An Enabling Environment comprising Policies, Legislative framework, Financing and Incentives structures

2. An Institutional Framework comprising Organizational structure and Institutional Capacity Building

3. Management Instruments comprising water resources assessment, plans for IWRM, Demand management, Social change instruments, Conflict resolution, Regulatory instruments, Economic Instruments, and Information management and exchange

For Island States, Water Resources must be managed in the context of:

IWRM -Integrated and holistic management The basic unit of management – the

Watershed Small Island Developing States

The Integrated Urban Water Management(IUWM) approach requires the alignment of urban development and basin

management to achieve sustainable economic, social and environmental goals.

Planning using IUWM

• The water sector integrates with other sectors such as landuse, energy, agriculture, environment, industry, housing and transportation to overcome fragmentation

• Stakeholders involvement from the various sectors will facilitate consistent policy formulation and effective decision making for water resources sustainability.

Integrated Urban Water Management

Goals of Integrated Urban Water Management

• Ensure access to water and sanitation infrastructure and services.

• Manage rainwater, stormwater, wastewater, and runoff pollution.

• Control waterborne diseases and epidemics.• Reduce the risk of water related hazards

including floods, droughts, landslides and prevent resource degradation.

Principles of IUWM

• Encompasses all the water sources in an urban catchment and recognises alternative water sources. blue water (surface water, groundwater, transferred water, desalinated water), green water (rainwater), black, brown, yellow and grey water (wastewater), reclaimed water, stormwater, and virtual water;

Principles of IUWM (Cont.)

• Differentiates the qualities and potential uses of water sources (surface water, groundwater, wastewater, reclaimed water, and stormwater) with the quality required for different uses.

• Views water storage, distribution, treatment, recycling, and disposal as part of the same resource management cycle.

Principles of IUWM (Cont.)

• Seeks to protect, conserve and exploit water resources at its source.

• accounts for nonurban users that are dependent on the same water source.

• aligns formal institutions (organisations, legislation, and policies) and informal practices (norms and conventions) that govern water in and for cities.

Principles of IUWM (Cont.)

• Recognises the relationships among water resources, land use, and energy.

• Seeks to balance economic efficiency, social equity, and environmental sustainability.

• Encourages participation by all stakeholders.

Water Quality Targets

• Manage the solid and liquid wastes generated daily, much of which is discharged untreated to water bodies, to mitigate against polluting the water and damaging human health, ecosystems and industries.

Water Quality Targets (Cont.)

• Provide access to sanitation facilities and address the fate of wastewaters and their impacts on the environment

• Control water pollution and mitigate impacts on human health, ecosystems and economic activities.

Water Quality Targets (Cont.)

• Collecting, treating and reusing sludge and wastewater.

• Monitoring wastewater, faecal sludge and water quality to advance the sector positively - challenging because many countries either have no data, sparse data or unreliable data.

Actions for Sustainable Water Quality

• Regulation of catchment landuse• Regulation of point source discharges • Regulation of waste and storm water

discharges• Pollution taxes• Catchment protection • Land zoning• Water resources assessment

Actions for Sustainable Water Quality(Cont’d)

• Cleaner production approach in Industries• Groundwater abstraction controls• Leak control to curb infiltration• Preventing waste infiltration into supply• Education on water quality issues• Policy development and planning directed to

addressing the areas to achieve sustainability• Storm water management• Innovative technology

Actions for Water Conservation

• Demand management• Water resources assessment• Design water systems to minimize losses• Water loss reduction from leakage.• Water pricing to encourage more efficient

water management• Water loss management using water saving

measures/devices and monitoring of flows and pressures

Actions for Water Conservation (Cont.)

• Reduction of unaccounted for water.• Laws that prohibit illegal connections to the

water supply and vigorous enforcement.• New water supply infrastructure must use

high quality materials and upgraded existing works to minimize physical losses.

• State of the art system for detecting leaks and effecting prompt repairs.

• Natural and artificial water storage

Actions for Water Conservation (Cont.)

• Faulty meters to be replaced.• Measurement of wastage reduction and operating

costs.• Water Reclamation and reuse• Rainwater harvesting • Desalination water• Innovative Technologies that support IUWM• Storm water management• Education

Technologies that support IUWM

• Membranes• Nanotechnology and microbial fuel cells• Natural Treatment Systems• Source separation of waste streams

IUWM goals and tools at different levels of management

Level Goals Goals Tools

Household, Conserve supplies In-factory and in-house recyclingcommunity Rainwater harvesting

Water-effi cient consumer durables

Meet basic needs Small-scale community networksAuthorisation of private vendors

IUWM goals and tools at different levels of management (Cont.)

Level Goals Goals ToolsMunicipality, cityutility Conserve supplies and reallocate supplies Leak control and network maintenance

Planned reuse at urban scaleDual suppliesCost-based tariffs and meteringRetrofitting of water-use equipment

Improve health and meet basic needs Targeted subsidiesEducation on water hygieneFacilitating community-level provisionRemoving land-tenure restrictions on provisionPreventing waste infiltration into supply

Increase investment Cost-based tariffsBetter revenue collectionHigher operating effi ciencyCurbing illegal connections

Source protection or quality protection Groundwater abstraction controlsLeak control to curb infiltrationLand zoningIndustrial and domestic waste

IUWM goals and tools at different levels of management (Cont.)

Level Goals Goals ToolsBasin Enhance supply Purchase of upstream water or waste disposal

rightsPurchase of catchment protection services

Enhance supply and protect quality Physical enhancement (dams, recharge)Regulation of catchment land useRegulation of waste and stormwater dischargesPollution taxes

Reallocate supplies Regulation of abstractionAbstraction pricingWater tradingConsultation, conflict resolution

IUWM goals and tools at different levels of management (Cont.)

Level Goals Goals ToolsSubnational orregional government

Enhance municipality utilityperformance Monitoring, benchmarking, and publicity

Building of skills, human capacityPublic loansConsultation, conflict resolution for land use

National government Prioritise goals Land and water allocation policyRegulatory frameworksMonitoring of subnational, basin-level agencie

Stormwater Management

• Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events and snow/ice melt.

• unmanaged stormwater can create two major issues: flooding and water pollution.

• Stormwater is also a water resource.

Stormwater Management (Cont.)

Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater created by urbanization. This runoff is a major source of urban flooding and water pollution in urban communities worldwide.

Stormwater Management (Cont.)

Managing the quantity and quality of stormwater is termed "Stormwater Management”.

Stormwater Management (Cont.)

Integrated Water Management (IWM) has the potential to improve runoff quality, reduce the risk and impact of flooding and deliver an additional water resource to augment potable supply.

Stormwater Management (Cont.)

IWM offers several techniques including - stormwater harvest (to reduce the amount of water that can cause flooding), - infiltration (to restore the natural recharge of groundwater), - biofiltration or bioretention (e.g., rain gardens)

to store and treat runoff and release it at a controlled rate to reduce impact on streams

Stormwater Management (Cont.)

Low Impact Development can be achieved by• incorporating land-based solutions to reduce

stormwater runoff through the use of retention ponds, bioswales, infiltration trenches, sustainable pavements (such as permeable paving), and green areas.

• utilizing engineered, manufactured products to achieve similar, or potentially better, results as land-based systems (e.g. underground storage tanks, stormwater treatment systems, biofilters)

Urban planners have an important role in helping governments overcome fragmentation in public policy formulation and decision making by linking planning with the activities of other policy sectors, such as infrastructure provision, and adopting collaborative approaches that involve all stakeholders in determining priorities, actions, and responsibilities.