Urban Water Security Research Articles

Review: Urban Water Security and Safety

“Water security” and “water safety” is defined differently. As the terms are related they may lead to confusion and misinterpretations, depending on the context. Water security generally refers to a lack of resources of an acceptable quality, i.e. water scarcity that may be related either to an excess of water demand or drought impacts (with links to climate change and e.g. salt water intrusion into coastal aquifers). Further, water security is closely related to food security, energy security, health security and ecological security. From a (human) security viewpoint, however, water security may also be understood in the light of possible intentional degradation of the resources, e.g. criminal or terrorist act leading to a deliberate (chemical or biological) contamination of water supply systems. Water safety on the other hand refers to the quality or chemical status of the water resources that has to comply with the defined quality standards for drinking water specifically to protect human health, both from elevated concentrations of contaminants and natural geogenic elements. This review gives a snapshot of various (ground)water safety and security issues written by authors from different sectors and disciplines. Illustrating and clarifying the many societal challenges related to water security and safety in cities.

Impacts of climate change on urban stormwater runoff quantity and quality in a cold region

Climate change poses significant challenges to urban environments affecting both flood risks and stormwater pollutant loadings. However, studies on variations in stormwater runoff quantity and quality in cold regions, which are highly sensitive to climate change, are notably limited. Integrating climatic, hydrologic, and hydraulic modelling, the study assesses the potential impacts of climate change on stormwater runoff volume and pollutant dynamics in a Canadian urban watershed (Calgary). A two-year field program was conducted to support the calibration and validation of the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). Intensity–duration–frequency curves were employed to evaluate the impacts of climate change on peak flow rate and flooding duration. In addition, typical dry, average, and wet years were applied to continuously simulate stormwater runoff quantity and quality during the 2050s and 2080s. The results suggest substantial increases in peak flow rates and flooding durations, particularly for the 5-year return period rainfall, with 1-h, 4-h, and 24-h peak inflow rates increasing by 74.3% (170.7%), 89.2% (158.4%), and 64.1% (102.8%) in the 2050s (2080s) Furthermore, the runoff quantity is projected to rise by 2.4–10.2% in the 2050s and 11.8–17.5% in the 2080s. Total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) loadings are anticipated to increase by 2.0–36.1%, 3.1–21.4%, and 4.1–20.7%, respectively. As a result, the current stormwater system could overload and stormwater quality is likely to deteriorate under the impact of climate change. The findings are beneficial for cold regions to develop adaptive strategies that enhance urban water security and environmental sustainability under climate change.

Urban Water Security: Geospatial Insights into the Water Scarcity of Bengaluru City during 2023–2024

Urban Water Security: Geospatial Insights into the Water Scarcity of Bengaluru City during 2023–2024

Urban water security in multidisciplinary practices: A case of Lamphun Municipality, Thailand

Urban water security is a multi-faceted water, socioeconomic, and governance challenge. The complexity of translating the holistic approach into policies is an important need for improving water resource management to achieve prosperity, equity, sustainability, and good governance. The city of Lamphun is an example of the practice, which faced drought and major challenges in efficiently distributing water to industrial partners and downstream residents. The purpose of this study was to monitor urban water security and formulate a water management-based urban land use policy for Lamphun Municipality to mitigate water conflicts and ensure access to water for all residents. Therefore, the study examined urban water security using 4 indices: urban water resources, access, risks, and governance. A careful urban land use plan responsible for water security was proposed based on potential surface analysis techniques and public participation. The result of this research would not only guarantee water security, but also promote public participation and sustainable communities.

A national-scale assessment on the spatial and temporal variations in water color for urban lakes in China

Monitoring the variations of lake water quality is essential for urban water security and sustainable eco-environment health. However, it is challenging to investigate the water quality of urban lakes at large scales due to the need for large-amount in situ data with diverse optical properties for developing the remote sensing inversion algorithms. Forel-Ule Index (FUI), a proxy of quantifying water color, whose calculation does not require in situ data of specific properties, can comprehensively reflect water quality conditions. However, the spatial and temporal distribution of water color in Chinese urban lakes is still poorly understood. To fill this research gap, this study investigated the spatial distribution of water color in 523 urban lakes (area > 0.5 km2) in China using the FUI derived from the high-quality Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) data onboard Sentinel-2 during the ice-free period (April–October) from 2019 to 2022. The monthly and seasonal variation patterns of water color in urban lakes were also analyzed. Our results show that green domain is the most common color of urban lakes, with about 86 % of urban lakes in China being green, and non-green lakes accounting for only 14 % of the total number of lakes. The monthly variation of FUI in urban lakes across the country and multiple geographic regions is basically the same. The monthly average FUI first increases, then decreases, and then rebounds. We also found that the seasonal variation of water color in most urban lakes in southern and northern China is opposite. This study helps to comprehensively understand the spatial and temporal variation of water color and quality of urban lakes in China, providing key basic information for the protection and governance of urban lakes.

Rainwater harvesting as a sustainable solution for the production of urban hydroponic crops

ABSTRACT Population growth and poor agricultural practices demand an improvement in the efficiency of food production. Urban hydroponic crops represent a potential solution to this challenge. However, the use of drinking water for urban agriculture is not a priority. Consequently, rainwater harvesting can reduce the use of drinking water for other purposes than human consumption. This study evaluated the efficiency of rainwater harvesting for the production of hydroponic crops in an Andean city. We developed a rainwater harvesting model to analyze the efficiency and optimization of two hydroponic production scenarios: (1) domestic production (30 plants) and (2) small-scale commercial production (200 plants). We found an efficiency of 99.71 and 75.79%, for scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. The 75.79% efficiency is given by the presence of low precipitation periods, which in the case of the study area are sporadic. Furthermore, scenario 2 could reach efficiencies of 100% if the roof capture area increases up to 40 m2. Rainwater harvesting in Andean cities, with sustained precipitation throughout the year, is enough to supply water for domestic and small-scale commercial hydroponic production with basic household modifications. We show promising results by combining rainwater harvesting and hydroponic crops for improving urban food and water security.

Urban water security assessment: investigating inequalities using a multi-scale approach

Abstract Water security is a multi-faceted concept that encompasses dimensions such as water quantity, quality, human health, well-being, water hazards, and governance. The evaluation of water security is an important step towards understanding and improving it, particularly in urban settings where disparities resulting from unequal distribution of population and resources are present and often evade citywide assessments. To address the diversity of the urban space, we propose a multi-level assessment approach based on downscaling the spatial dimension. Using a comprehensive indicator-based framework, we evaluate the city of Campinas in Brazil across citywide and intra-city scales. Employing the Theil index to measure inequality, the results reveal nuanced disparities less apparent at broader scales. Despite an overall favourable water security condition, spatial heterogeneity is still noticeable in the urban area of Campinas. The methodology highlights different aspects, such as vegetation cover, social green areas, and wastewater collection, which are inequitably distributed in the urban area. This integrated approach, linking inequality and water security assessment, has the potential to unveil specific needs within urban areas, helping guide targeted interventions to improve water security levels for all.

URBAN WATER SECURITY PROTECTION: IDENTIFYING POLLUTION SOURCES IN JURU RIVER BASIN USING CHEMOMETRICS

The consumption of surface water is becoming increasingly significant as a main solution for Malaysia's issues with water supply, especially in urban areas. The study addresses the protection of urban water security by multivariate analysis, evaluating trends in the distribution of water quality parameters and identifies the primary sources and processes involved in water quality contamination in the Malaysian Juru River Basin. Conventional graphical and multivariate statistical methods HACA and PCA from chemometric techniques were used. The data collected in the Juru River was subjected to this investigation, which recorded 19 physical-chemical and microbiological characteristics at two sampling locations throughout the Juru River Basin. Consequently, the HACA was effectively split into the downstream and upstream areas. Six VFs are displayed by PCA in the high pollution source area (HPS), which represents 81.11% of the variance. The main cause of a decrease in water quality in the downstream areas of the Juru River Basin is anthropogenic pollution, or pollution caused by human activities. The study concludes by demonstrating how chemometric techniques can be used to identify significant details about their capacity to interpret complex data that determines the Juru River Basin's spatial and temporal variation in water quality distribution trends into MPS and HPS areas to ensure the urban water security protection.

Assessing inequalities in urban water security through geospatial analysis

Water security, which is key for sustainable development, has been broadly investigated through different spatial scales, time frames and perspectives, as a multi-dimensional concept. Fast growth and the diversity of the urban environment add to the challenges of reaching good levels of water security in cities. Yet, few studies have focused on evaluating the heterogeneous distribution of water security in urban areas, which is a key step to highlight where inequalities in large cities are present and how to best guide interventions. The objective of this research is to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of urban water security as well as quantifying inequalities using the new assessment presented in this paper. A holistic indicator-based evaluation framework to intra-urban sectors of the city of Campinas in Brazil is applied, followed by an inequality analysis to describe the distribution of water security aspects. A spatial correlation analysis is then carried out to identify patterns for high inequality indicators. Results show that even though Campinas has established good overall water security conditions, spatial heterogeneity is still noticeable in the urban area. Quantification of inequality by the Theil index highlighted aspects, such as vegetation cover, social green areas, and wastewater collection, that are inequitably distributed in the urban area. The subsequent analysis of spatial patterns exposed areas on the outskirts of the city where infrastructure challenges and social vulnerability coincide. This novel approach has been therefore successfully validated in a city in Brazil, and it has been demonstrated that our water security assessment framework identifies what are the main water security challenges and where they are in the city. For the first time we show that associating spatial and inequality analysis with conventional evaluation of urban water security has the potential to help target areas in need and tackle specific water security issues in the urban area. This is crucial to inform urban planning and policy making for a sustainable and inclusive urban water management strategy.

A Review on Digital Twin Application Research for Urban Water Security

A Review on Digital Twin Application Research for Urban Water Security

Scarcity and quality risks for future global urban water supply

ContextSupply of freshwater to the world’s cities is increasingly affected by human pressures and climate change. Understanding the effects of human pressures and climate change on global urban water scarcity and quality risks in an integrated way is important.ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to assess the scarcity and quality risks to water security for 304 large cities (population > 1 million) across the world for 2015 and 2050.MethodsWe assessed the water scarcity according to water demand and availability, and evaluated the quality of water supply in terms of the population density, cropland fertilization, and landscape patterns in source watersheds. In addition, the impacts of human pressures and climate change on urban water risks were quantified using contribution analysis.ResultsWe found that about 90% of these cities faced water risks in 2015. The number of cities facing quality risk was about three times the number of cities facing scarcity risk, and nearly a quarter faced dual risks. From 2015 to 2050, 88.8–99.7% of cities were projected to face rising water risks with about one-third facing dual risks by 2050. Increase in water demand was the main cause of rising scarcity risk; growth in population and crop fertilization in source watersheds were the main reasons for rising quality risk.ConclusionsThere is an urgent need to promote landscape conservation of urban water source areas, implement sustainable urban water planning and governance, improve water supply infrastructure, and refine ecological compensation regimes to achieve global urban water security.

Identification and analysis of evolution characteristics of flash drought based on three-dimensional perspective: A case study in the Jialing River basin

Flash drought is an extreme hydrological event, with a short foreseeable period and high destructive force, and it is difficult to monitor. Flash drought aggravates the risk of extreme disasters and seriously threatens agricultural production and urban water security. To explore the temporal and spatial dimension evolution and identifiable characteristics of flash drought, the present study proposed a comprehensive flash drought intensity (FDI) index to evaluate the severity of flash drought in the Jialing River Basin (JRB) based on the standardized evaporative stress ratio (SESR) method. In addition, the Normalized Area-Time Accumulation (NATA) curve was used to describe the three-dimensional continuous spatiotemporal evolution process of flash drought in the basin. The results showed that flash droughts lasted longer and were more severe in the highly urbanized southern part of the basin. In the past 40 years (1980–2020), the frequency, duration, and severity of flash droughts in the JRB increased. According to the susceptibility to flash drought, the JRB can be divided into four drought centers. Drought Center No. 1 is situated in the mountainous region in the northwest of the basin, exhibiting a high frequency of occurrence but affecting a relatively small area. In contrast, Drought Centers No. 2, 3, and 4 are located within urban areas, showing lower occurrence frequency but affecting a wider geographical expanse. Drought events with different developmental characteristics were compared using the NATA curve. Overall, the FD1 flash drought type, occurring in the early stages of drought, accounted for a significant proportion. Meanwhile, the accumulated area affected by FD3 and FD4 flash drought events in the later stages exceeded that of the FD2 flash drought type. In the later period, FD3 and FD4 flash drought events exhibited stronger growth momentum, thereby increasing the complexity and challenges of drought monitoring. The present study provides a theoretical basis for understanding the process, shape and evolution model of drought development under environmental changes as well as enables an enhanced early warning for flash droughts to improve management of water resources.

The Scientific Landscape of Smart Water Meters: A Comprehensive Review

This review underscores the escalating global research trend in this field since 2000. The primary scientific disciplines contributing to extensive research on smart water meters are engineering, computer science, and energy. In terms of countries, the analysis reveals that the United States, India, and China exhibit the highest scientific production. Concerning affiliations, prominent contributors include Griffith University, Politecnico di Milano, and the Università degli Studi di Salerno. Regarding worldwide research trends, an examination of distinct clusters defined by their principal keywords was conducted. The following clusters were identified in order of significance based on the number of publications: Urban Water Meters, IoT Connection, Communication and Security, Grid Management, Water Networks, Hot Water, Groundwater Monitoring, and Smart Irrigation. Of particular note is the growing use of machine learning applications, especially in the management of distribution networks. This trend opens up a promising avenue for addressing complex problems in real time.

Understanding contemporary challenges for water security in Ulaanbaatar, a semi-arid region in Mongolia

Water security is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Understanding context-specific challenges and opportunities around this issue is key to improving water systems globally. This paper explores the current state of urban water security in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city. Ulaanbaatar is home to more than 40% of the country’s population and 60% of its national GDP. The city is located in the Tuul River basin and relies almost entirely on groundwater aquifers of the Tuul River for its supply of clean drinking water. In recent years, socio-economic stressors resulting from rapid urbanisation and environmental pressures have intensified the levels of degradation of the Tuul River and intensified the risks of water insecurity for the population of Ulaanbaatar. First, this paper draws from an extensive literature review and document analysis to provide an overview of the current state of urban water security in Ulaanbaatar. Secondly, the discussion is substantiated with information from key informant interviews which aim to explain the ongoing challenges for water security in Ulaanbaatar and suggest paths for improvement. This study finds that the main challenges for water security in Ulaanbaatar are data unavailability, limited human and financial resources across public water sector agencies, exacerbating flood risk and ongoing water quality disparities between the central city area and peri-urban ger districts.

Risk assessment method of level-induced water scarcity in the city located along rivers: Application in Nanchang, China

In the context of global environmental changes, the problem of low water levels (LWLs) is becoming increasingly prominent and posing a significant threat to urban water security. At the same time, there have been noticeable changes in basin hydrological conditions, leading to compromised consistency of water level data based on historical monitoring. Assessing the adaptability of urban water intake projects to water level changes has become a challenging problem currently. Firstly, we have designed a new indicator with good consistency - velocity of water level descending (VWD). Secondly, we have interpreted the connotation of the risk of urban level-induced water scarcity (LIWS) based on the perspective of the coupling system of “water source - water intake engineering - the subsystem of urban water demand” (CSWWU). Thirdly, we constructed a risk assessment model of urban LIWS to quantify the possibility and consequences of adverse scenarios, aiming to enhance the city’s ability to respond to extreme events. Taking Nanchang as an example, we generated 972 preset scenarios, calculated the probability of all scenarios, and drew the risk map of LIWS. The results showed that: (1) When the water level of Nanchang Station descends to 10.33, 10.14 and 10.04 m, the water supply deficit of the urban water plant can be balanced by the saved water volume, which is released by activating three types of emergency measures, respectively. (2) The city faces the greatest risk of LIWS in January and February of each year, which is the key period of risk management. (3) By drawing a risk map, we have comprehensively evaluated the important scenarios about urban LIWS in the future. The risk assessment method for urban LIWS is based on the new indicator, which can provide theoretical support for urban emergency water supply management and promote local governments to fully utilize the resilience of coupling systems to adapt to constantly changing society and environment.

Urban water resources accounting based on industrial interaction perspective: Data preparation, accounting framework, and case study

Water scarcity has become one of the serious global challenges threatening urban water security. To systematically understand the utilization of water resources in cities, this study established a novel comprehensive accounting framework of urban water resources based on three dimensions: “the entire city, sectoral level, and intersectoral interactions”. To make this accounting framework that can be applied to the majority of cities, a method for compiling input–output (IO) tables at the general prefecture-level city scale was proposed to obtain the needed core data. Dongguan, a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China, known for its well-developed manufacturing industries but water scarcity, was chosen as a case study to test the effectiveness of the method. The results indicated the total water use in Dongguan decreased by 7.2% during 2012–2017, which benefited from steady economic growth. Besides, the “agriculture” sector has significantly higher direct water use coefficient than other sectors, while the indirect water use coefficient of the manufacturing sector exceeded the direct water use coefficient in 2017. In addition, there are two major virtual water flow paths among sectors in Dongguan, which are helpful to water conservation. The comprehensive water resources accounting framework proposed in this study for general prefecture-level cities is applicable to water resource management, enabling not only the optimization of water resource allocation in urban areas but also the reduction of environmental pollution and ecological damage. Nevertheless, it is still necessary to further optimize the compilation of IO tables and better support the formulation of specific water-saving measures in the future research by collecting more detailed industry data and import-export data. These results of this study can provide important practical reference information for water resource management in general-scale cities similar to Dongguan in the world.

Unequal, Unreliable, and Unfixable?—The Need to Investigate Water Infrastructure Improvements in Intermittent Supply Systems

AbstractInfrastructure deterioration threatens urban water security and the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6, “water for all”). One billion urban residents worldwide already face intermittent piped water access, making their public water supply unreliable and unequal. Thus, effective investments in water infrastructure improvements are critical. In a recent WRR paper, Jeuland et al. (2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR033897) evaluate the impacts of a large infrastructure improvement project on various water security metrics and assess the challenges of such an investigation. They apply a rigorous difference‐in‐difference approach to data from a US$275 million investment in upgrades to water supply and sewage networks in the Zarqa governorate in arid Jordan, analyzing its effects on households, businesses, farms, and the water utility. The authors find a range of moderate improvements to water access and re‐use metrics, including a significant reduction in reported shortages. Key water security indicators related to access intermittency, however, such as the supply duration per day and the expenditure on water deliveries by tanker trucks, saw little to no improvement. The findings reveal that the efforts required to overcome the insecurity and inequity of intermittent public water supply systems might be considerably larger than expected. This suggests an urgent need to further enhance both the accuracy of impact evaluation methods and the effectiveness of infrastructure investments to support the pursuit of SDG 6.

Research on urban water security based on water poverty theory: a case study of lower yellow river cities

Research on urban water security based on water poverty theory: a case study of lower yellow river cities

Application of Integrated Urban Water Security Index (IUWSI) in Sana’a, Yemen (Case study)

ABSTRACT Water security is crucial to mitigate human-induced and climate change-related impacts on water resources. Previous studies on Sana'a's domestic water supply have raised safety, administration, and scarcity issues. However, a comprehensive water security assessment has not yet been conducted. This study uses the proposed Integrated Urban Water Security Index (IUWSI) framework to assess Sana'a's urban water security using human and environmental factors Five distinct parameters have been used to calculate (IUWSI) as a decision-making tool to prioritize and distinguish indicators affecting the five dimensions of urban water security: water supply, sanitation and hygiene, water economy, ecosystems, and governance and society. The proposed framework for measuring (IUWSI) in Sana’a city has revealed a low level of water security, with an overall index value of 1.43. This disappointing result indicates water security issues like limited access to safe drinking water, poor sanitation, and high-water pollution. The IUWSI framework helps water-insecure cities improve water supply management through logical and evidence-based decision-making.

Effective dashboards for urban water security monitoring and evaluation

This paper reviews the factors affecting effective dashboards for urban water security monitoring and evaluation. Urban water security is a constantly evolving field influenced by several factors, including changes in climate, ecosystems, socio-economic status, and human beings. Although urban water security has been discussed in some parts of the literature, there has been minimal literature review that focused on the factors of urban water security and the effective dashboards for monitoring and evaluation. Using systematic literature review (SLR) and preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA), this paper reviewed 143 articles. The result shows growth in the environmental informatics landscape since the last ten years when the first article on the urban water management dashboard was published. The visual design was the most frequently discussed factor for dashboards, followed by user customization. It also shows that this topic can go deeper to integrate both factors and design an effective environmental dashboard. The discussion identified three potential opportunities for future research in water security and informatics: i) exploring other dimensions of effective dashboards, ii) considering more research on the environmental dashboard, and iii) investigating the real-life application of dashboards in urban water security.