Evaluation of Water Social Service and Comprehensive Water Management Linked with Integrated River Evaluation

Da Ye Kim,Su Hee Park,Chul Min Song

doi:10.3390/w13050706

Abstract

Various factors like climate change and population increase have limited water management evaluation. In South Korea particularly, although the management of water quality and water quantity has recently been integrated, a comprehensive policy has not yet been identified. This study, therefore, aims to propose a methodology for evaluating water social service for 18 basins near major water resources in South Korea. It aims to promote advanced water resource management, secure water equity, and improve inadequate policy implementation. In addition, it proposes a methodology for comprehensive water management evaluation linked with integrated river evaluation with respect to water quality and water quantity. Accordingly, contrary to the common assumption that the entire population has easy access to the supplied water, the status of water service was assessed objectively. The status of water management per sector was also visually represented, through which the vulnerabilities of water management could be intuitively diagnosed. Based on the possibility of utilizing the study results to determine the basic direction for water management, the methodology of this study has been proposed as a tool for establishing an efficient water management policy.

Highlights

Climate change is influencing physical and biological changes on Earth [1], where a portion of the global population still lacks access to sufficient water
The results show that the skewness after conversion of all detailed indicators’ data is between −1 and 1, which implies that the bias has been removed and the normality of indicators’ data secured
The weighted value and rank of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method showed that the weighted value for WREP was the highest at 0.0886, followed by the Cost recovery rate of water supply (CRWS) and WSDB at 0.0879 and 0.0875, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Climate change is influencing physical and biological changes on Earth [1], where a portion of the global population still lacks access to sufficient water. 2.5% of the total volume of water on Earth can be used by humans, and the concern for water scarcity is continuously rising as 2.1 billion people around the globe do not have access to safe drinking water [2]. Water supply insufficiency is expected to reach 40% by 2030 [3]. The emphasis is being placed on managing water, which is an essential element for sustaining life on Earth and has been recognized as a critical resource [4]. Many countries around the world have adopted water management policies and established relevant policy measures. For effectively managing vulnerable water resources, the sustainability of appropriate water quality, water quantity, water availability, and water supply must be secured.

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion