Abstract
Centralised water, wastewater and stormwater systems have been implemented for urban municipal services for over 100 years as a common practice. These systems centre around human health protection, reliable and safe water supply and flood management. The sustainability of current urban water systems is under pressure from a range of challenges including population growth, urbanisation, climate change impacts, system capacity constraints and aging infrastructure. Globally, centralised water systems and services are required to respond to current environmental, economic and social challenges. The current level of urban water services can’t be provided within the existing centralised systems’ approach without a significant increase in investment to enhance system capacity, improve level of treatment and rehabilitate the existing centralised systems. To address these issues, urban water services are now being implemented with Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) approaches. IUWM considers all parts of the water cycle, which can be natural or man-made, surface or sub-surface within an integrated system based on fit for purpose concept. Under IUWM approaches, decentralised and distributed water, wastewater and stormwater systems are being promoted either in combination with centralised systems; or alone as the sustainable solution for urban water servicing. These systems can deliver multiple benefits including water conservation, stormwater quality improvement, flood control, landscape amenity and a healthy living environment. Centralised urban water systems are beginning to undergo a transition, where decentralised systems will play a major role in the long-term sustainability of these systems by addressing current challenges.
Published Version
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