Abstract
AbstractWater smart cities are increasing their use of irrigation and misting to cope with extreme heat and drought. This is being enabled by widespread use of rainwater tanks, stormwater capture and storage systems, and recycled sewage wastewater to irrigate street trees as well as private and public green spaces. These alternative water resources provide new options for cities to better withstand and function under extreme summer heatwave conditions with little or no impact on drinking water supplies. Small‐scale approaches to evaporatively cool urban animals, vegetation habitat, and people are showing initial success. However, ongoing testing and modeling are needed to understand the impacts of scaling up these interventions and to evaluate their cost‐effectiveness. We describe current innovations in irrigation of Australian cities to help policy development in other countries and cities experiencing similar climates with episodic summer heatwaves.
Highlights
Many regions around the world are experiencing heat waves and extended drought
Water smart cities are increasing their use of irrigation and misting to cope with extreme heat and drought
We describe current innovations in irrigation of Australian cities to help policy development in other countries and cities experiencing similar climates with episodic summer heatwaves
Summary
Summer heatwaves in both the northern and southern hemisphere culminated in unprecedented long and harsh bushfire and wildfire seasons These events, increasing in frequency and severity, present a real challenge to cities that already experience higher air temperatures due to urban heat islands and global warming. Increasing urban irrigation may seem paradoxical in a continent known for intense drought, but the capture, storage, and treatment of alternative water sources (stormwater, roof water, and recycled sewage water) has provided new sources of irrigation that might be a pathway for alleviating urban heat and water stress. We present practical examples of irrigation and misting to cool targeted faunal communities within urban green spaces, irrigation to mitigate drought and heat impact of valued vegetation within urban parks and reserves, and irrigation and misting to cool human residential communities These interventions offer an unprecedented opportunity for scientists to collaborate with stakeholders to monitor irrigation programs aimed at local cooling and contribute to adaptive management of extreme urban heat
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