Managing the Innovative Water Supply in Urban Economy

Abstract

Research of prospects for achieving sustainability of urban water supply systems as an integral part of the urban management system in order to reduce pressure on water resources and ensure continuous access of the population to quality water through the formation of an effective water management system and innovative water supply. Goal. Development of proposals for assessing the effectiveness of urban water management and highlighting the stages of the study of the feasibility of introducing innovative water supply from the standpoint of ensuring the sustainability of urban development in the direction of “cities with water” (i.e., the reuse of treated wastewater and the implementation of projects of automatic irrigation systems in the urban economy). Method or methodology. Analytical and logical methods, theoretical developments on water resources efficiency management in their interrelation with other sectors of the urban economy were used. The methodology of the research is based on the provisions of the general theory of systems and institutional economics. Results. It is shown that effective water management is an important element for overcoming the barriers to achieving sustainable development of the water sector and cities in general, as well as mitigating the negative impact of global trends. Suggestions are given for assessing the effectiveness of urban water management. Imperative requirements are formulated for integrating the water management complex into a single urban management system in order to smooth out the fragmented practice of managing various sectors of the urban economy that has developed in practice. It was emphasized that the achievement of sustainable urban development is impossible without innovative water supply - the introduction of the principles of a circular economy and the best available technologies in the urban economy. Automatic irrigation systems are an example of using the best available technologies for innovative water supply, which allow achieving significant savings in urban water resources, as well as use treated wastewater when irrigating urban areas. It is emphasized that such systems, with their proper design, installation and maintenance, can become an effective element in the environmentally sustainable development of urban economy in the direction of “smart cities”, “cities with water”, which also satisfy technological, social, environmental, economic, institutional, cultural requirements. It is shown that the practice of reuse of treated wastewater should be taken into account when developing a long-term strategy for the development of urban water management, taking into account socio-economic circumstances, environmental and climatic conditions, cultural and religious preferences, existing legislation, participation in international projects, as well as political readiness for their consideration and implementation. The constraining factors of the introduction of wastewater reuse and automatic irrigation systems (including those using treated wastewater) were highlighted - The lack of a clear policy defining wastewater reuse as part of water resources, the institutional framework for the implementation of such projects, reliable quantitative and qualitative data, limited financial resources, environmental risks, as well as the lack of culture of maintaining landscape areas, and the lack of specialists for designing, modernize and maintain such systems. Suggestions are given for conducting a comprehensive phased study of the feasibility of introducing the practice of reuse of treated wastewater and automatic irrigation systems, which takes into account not only the expenditure and return on such projects, but also provides the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of using both of them in conjunction with the environmental reasonableness of their application, cultural and historical aspects, social priorities, quality of life in the city, economy and budget of the cit