Abstract
Sustainable water management (SWM) requires allocating between competing water sector demands, and balancing the financial and social resources required to support necessary water systems. The objective of this review is to assess SWM in three sectors: urban, agricultural, and natural systems. This review explores the following questions: (1) How is SWM defined and evaluated? (2) What are the challenges associated with sustainable development in each sector? (3) What are the areas of greatest potential improvement in urban and agricultural water management systems? And (4) What role does country development status have in SWM practices? The methods for evaluating water management practices range from relatively simple indicator methods to integration of multiple models, depending on the complexity of the problem and resources of the investigators. The two key findings and recommendations for meeting SWM objectives are: (1) all forms of water must be considered usable, and reusable, water resources; and (2) increasing agricultural crop water production represents the largest opportunity for reducing total water consumption, and will be required to meet global food security needs. The level of regional development should not dictate sustainability objectives, however local infrastructure conditions and financial capabilities should inform the details of water system design and evaluation.
Highlights
Water is at the foundation of sustainable development as it is the common denominator of all global challenges: energy, food, health, peace and security, and poverty eradication.—UN Water [1]
Sustainable water management (SWM) evaluation requires accounting for real costs, opportunity costs, and competing requirements among and within water use sectors
SWM of urban, agricultural, and environmental systems is integral to continued development
Summary
Water is at the foundation of sustainable development as it is the common denominator of all global challenges: energy, food, health, peace and security, and poverty eradication.—UN Water [1]Sustainable development is commonly defined by the Brundtland Report [2] as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.“Needs” include economic, environmental and ecosystem service delivery, and cultural goals including identity and subjectively defined values. Water is at the foundation of sustainable development as it is the common denominator of all global challenges: energy, food, health, peace and security, and poverty eradication.—UN Water [1]. Sustainable development is commonly defined by the Brundtland Report [2] as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. “Needs” include economic, environmental and ecosystem service delivery, and cultural goals including identity and subjectively defined values. Together, these are commonly referred to as the sustainability triple bottom line. Mays [3] defines SWM as meeting current water demand for all water users without impairing future supply. SWM should contribute to the objectives of society and maintain ecological, environmental, and hydrologic integrity [4]
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