Abstract
For the purpose of this paper, Erbil city, located in the northern part of Iraq, has been chosen as a representative case study for a large number of cities, particularly in semi-arid areas, lacking sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). The study assesses (a) the role of SuDS as a measure in areas with a water shortage; (b) water scarcity in decision-making processes; (c) the lack of legislation to implement SuDS; (d) the adverse effects of climate change on the urban drainage system; and (e) the effects of an increased population on SuDS implementation. An integrated methodology that incorporates a self-administrated questionnaire, workshops, face-to-face communication and interviews, as well as electronic media interactions, were used to achieve the objectives. A generic platform that consists of thirteen pillars, supporting the short to long-term national policies and strategies towards a sustainable urban drainage system, has been developed. Results showed that environmental laws need to be introduced. Findings also indicate that a growing population, which is partly due to an increase of internally displaced people, is a major challenge to an early application of SuDS, due to a rise in land demand and a lack of financial resources.
Highlights
Decades of wars combined with economic sanctions, armed conflicts, and the current insecure atmosphere has left deep scars on Iraq’s environment, socio-economic features and infrastructure
This paper aims to develop a generic platform supporting strategic plans for sustainable drainage system (SuDS) implementation and management in Erbil city and elsewhere
The governorate had a population of about 2,062,380 people in 2015, which included roughly 358,260 internally displaced people
Summary
A large proportion of the water supply and sanitation services are malfunctioning, which greatly intensified water-related challenges and exacerbated the size of the problems [1,2]. This has threatened human life, the environment, and the safe access to water supply and basic sanitation practices. An intermittent power supply, a sharp decrease in spare parts availability and chemicals needed to maintain the safe running of water treatment plants, inefficient operation and maintenance programmes, and a prolonged tendency that relies on curative rather than long-term sustainable solutions have intensified the problems of the water-related service delivery systems, the sustainable governance of drainage systems [2,3,4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
