Water Governance Research Articles

Lithium and water: Hydrosocial impacts across the life cycle of energy storage

AbstractAs a key ingredient of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), lithium plays a significant role in climate change mitigation, but lithium has considerable impacts on water and society across its life cycle. Upstream extraction methods—including open‐pit mining, brine evaporation, and novel direct lithium extraction (DLE)—and downstream processes present different impacts on both the quantity and quality of water resources, leading to water depletion and contamination. Regarding upstream extraction, it is critical for a comprehensive assessment of lithium's life cycle to include cumulative impacts related not only to freshwater, but also mineralized or saline groundwater, also known as brine. Legal frameworks have obscured social and ecological impacts by treating brine as a mineral rather than water in regulation of lithium extraction through brine evaporation. Analysis of cumulative impacts across the lifespan of lithium reveals not only water impacts in conventional open‐pit mining and brine evaporation, but also significant freshwater needs for DLE technologies, as well as burdens on fenceline communities related to wastewater in processing, chemical contaminants in battery manufacturing, water use for cooling in energy storage, and water quality hazards in recycling. Water analysis in lithium life cycle assessments (LCAs) tends to exclude brine and lack hydrosocial context on the environmental justice implications of water use by life cycle stage. New research directions might benefit from taking a more community‐engaged and cradle‐to‐cradle approach to lithium LCAs, including regionalized impact analysis of freshwater use in DLE, as well as wastewater pollution, cooling water, and recycling hazards from downstream processes.This article is categorized under: Human Water > Human Water Human Water > Water Governance Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change

Water Governance in an Era of Climate Change: A Model to Assess the Shifting Irrigation Demand and Its Effect on Water Management in the Western United States

Water Governance in an Era of Climate Change: A Model to Assess the Shifting Irrigation Demand and Its Effect on Water Management in the Western United States

Decoupling Characteristics between Coupling Coordination Degree of Production-Living-Ecological Function and Carbon Emissions in the Urban Agglomeration of the Shandong Peninsula

Under the dual carbon goals, the relationship between land production-living-ecological function and carbon emissions points to a new direction for land spatial planning. This study compiles and analyzes carbon emissions and the production-living-ecological function coupling coordination degree of 16 cities in the Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration for the years 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021. Furthermore, it introduces the Tapio decoupling model to calculate the decoupling index between carbon emissions and the coupling coordination degree. The spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of production-living-ecological function coupling coordination, carbon emissions, and the decoupling index were analyzed. The results indicate that (1) from 2001 to 2021, the production-living-ecological function coupling coordination degree in Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration increased overall, with an obvious “high in the east and low in the west” feature in the spatial pattern. That is caused by the difference in resource endowment between the east and the west and the gap in the process of urbanization, industrial structure transformation, and ecological governance. (2) During the study period, overall carbon emissions increased, with a significantly reduced growth rate. A polarization phenomenon of increase and decrease trends within the urban agglomeration was observed. The spatial distribution characteristics of land use carbon emissions showed significant production-living-ecological coupling coordination degree heterotropism. (3) From 2001 to 2021, the decoupling relationship between production-living-ecological coupling coordination degree and carbon emissions mainly exhibited three patterns: strong negative decoupling, expansion negative decoupling, and strong decoupling, maintaining a good decoupling trend overall. These results indicate that the coordinated development level of production, living, and ecological functions in the study area has improved during the research period, and its decoupling relationship with carbon emissions has also shown a positive trend. However, there is still a problem of uneven regional development. In the future, the production-living-ecological development of Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration should adhere to the development pattern of “two circles and four regions”, which aims to promote resource sharing and complementary advantages through specific regional divisions, and achieve coordinated development within the region. This involves optimizing land use structure and function, encouraging innovation and development of green industries, and deepening ecological environment restoration and protection to realize the coordinated development of the production-living-ecological function of land use under the dual carbon goal.

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.

Treatment of effluent from a malting processing plant using bio-coagulants

Stringent measures by water authorities worldwide on water clarification has resulted in the use of chemical-based coagulants to be a formidable challenge. This has driven the need to find alternative sustainable coagulants such as plant-based bio coagulants which are readily available, abundant and cost effective in developing countries such as Zimbabwe. In this regard, the effectiveness of treating effluent from a brewery malting processing plant using bio-coagulants (Aloe vera, Cactus opuntia and Okra seeds) was investigated compared to that of a chemical coagulant (Alum). The water pollution parameters that were investigated include turbidity, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, temperature and pH. The results showed that Alum was the most effective coagulant as it reduced the turbidity from 734 NTU to 68.3 NTU and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) from 19,800 ppm to 880 ppm at a dosage of 40 mg/L. Okra seeds had an optimum dosage of 35 mg/L with a turbidity and TDS removal of 88.83% and 95.25% respectively. Aloe Vera had an optimum dosage of 40 mg/L with a turbidity and TDS removal of 74.25% and 95.40% respectively. For Cactus opuntia it was 50 mg/L obtaining turbidity and TDS removal of 74.66% and 95% respectively. The best blend of the bio coagulants had a ratio of (0.17, 0.17, and 0.67) for Aloe vera, Cactus opuntia and Okra seeds respectively. At a dosage of 40 mg/L the turbidity removal was 83.92% and TDS removal was 95.12%. The results indicated that blending the plant-based coagulants had a positive synergistic effect.Graphical

Building sustainability index for Dubai electricity and water authority

Building sustainability index for Dubai electricity and water authority

Sustainable Urban Clean Water Governance in Indonesia: Problems, Institutions, and Future Solutions

This study aims to explain the urban community-based clean water provision in Bandung City, in terms of general problems, institutional and governance aspects. Community-based clean water governance should be developed so that communities are independent and ready to produce clean water. When clean water is available, the time and money spent on obtaining clean water can be used for other more productive purposes and can improve community welfare. The method used in this research is a qualitative approach with a descriptive approach. Data collection was done through literature review, in-depth interviews and several site surveys. The results of this study indicate the low performance of Regional Water Supply Company in managing clean water supply and the absence of local regulations related to urban community-based clean water governance. In addition, the implementation of clean water provision in Bandung City has not integrated community-based governance. The conclusion of this research is that urban clean water governance in Bandung City and other cities in Indonesia using a community-based system for the current condition is very relevant. Furthermore, it is important to draft a local regulation on urban community-based water governance that aims to protect water resources as well as to create a clean and healthy environment, and sustainable.

Transforming place-based management within watersheds in Fiji: The watershed interventions for systems health project

Watersheds offer opportunities for place-based interventions to transform systems health via preventative versus reactive approaches to management that achieve multiple co-benefits for public and environmental health. The Watershed Interventions for Systems Health in Fiji (WISH Fiji) project embraced participatory knowledge co-production and action-oriented research to identify risks to public and ecosystem health, prioritize interventions to address risks, and monitor responses of the system to interventions. We used screening filters and local knowledge to collaboratively identify five watersheds for action with high prior incidence of water-related diseases (Fiji’s “three plagues” of leptospirosis, typhoid and dengue) and high risk to downstream environmental health. We reviewed literature to identify disease risk factors, evaluated overlaps with risks for downstream environmental impact, and designed 13 instruments to collect information about baseline risk. Following consultations to obtain free, prior and informed consent, we enrolled 311 households across 29 communities. We synthesized data to identify key risks at the household, community, and landscape level, which were communicated to community water and resource management committees and government leaders as part of developing water and sanitation safety plans for each community. Local committees identified 339 priority risk reduction actions across nine main categories: animal management; drainage; health systems surveillance; hygiene; integrated planning; land use management; sanitation systems; waste management; and water systems. As of October 2022, 154 interventions were implemented in the five watersheds across different risk categories and scales. While we can track changes to factors that reduce risk of water-related disease and improve environmental health, direct evaluation of impacts to public health is limited due to poor geolocation of case records. The WISH Fiji project is a model of cross-sectoral coordination that efficiently progresses multiple Sustainable Development Goals, but scaling requires sustained investment in interventions to realize full benefits, particularly for nature-based solutions that exhibit lagged responses.

Tugwi Mukosi Dam and Climate Change: Unlocking Economic Value from Field Cropping for Chivi and Masvingo Rural Districts

Climate change is real and water harvesting is a promising strategy for food and income insecurity for struggling communities. This study proposes how crop agricultural crop value can be unlocked by Masvingo and Chivi rural district communities around and downstream Tugwi Mukosi Dam (TMD). The TMD is Zimbabwe’s largest inland water body is located at the confluence of Tugwi-Mukosi rivers. The dam is on the boundary of in the two districts of Masvingo Province. The study applied both qualitative and quantitative data from Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Lands, Water, Agriculture Fisheries and Rural Development, Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe Limited, local leadership (elected and traditional), development agencies in Chivi, and Masvingo districts, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), as well as agronomists from a local university. Study participants were purposively selected. Interviews, observation and questionnaires were the main data collection instruments. Findings from this study established that local communities around and downstream this dam still suffer severe food and income insecurity despite being on the fringes of this mega water body. It also established vast agricultural crop potential for local communities given supportive national policy and capital investment by the government. It established that the dam was planned and constructed to serve economic interests of corporates only. The study recommends liberalisation of the ZINWA policy to allow local communities to benefit fully from the dam, particularly now as the districts suffer the effects of climate change.

Reviving the forgotten legacy: Strategies for reviving qanats as sustainable solutions for agricultural water supply in arid and semi-arid regions

In semi-arid and arid regions, qanats are a vital water source for agricultural needs. However, many communities are abandoning these traditional and sustainable water supply systems in favor of modern and more productive methods. Consequently, this research aimed to identify the most effective approaches for rejuvenating qanats in the dry and semi-arid areas of Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. To accomplish this goal, a comprehensive strategy was employed by merging the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT, Best-Worst Method (BWM), and the Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS).Based on interviews with experts in water resources and SWOT analysis, 27 factors affecting the restoration of qanats were identified and weighted with BWM. The results of BWM-WASPAS highlight the crucial role of a holistic approach in reviving qanats. The study findings reveal that the highest scores were obtained by the strategies reforming water governance policies to prioritize sustainable indigenous water resources (SO1) and establish an independent institution for qanat restoration (WT7). Conversely, educational (ST1), informational (SO3), and research (WO4) strategies concerning the revival of qanats were categorized as intermediate priorities. Lastly, strategies associated with farm-level support policies were assigned lower priorities. Accordingly, it is recommended that policymakers in Mashhad give priority to macro-level and institutional policies concerning qanat restoration, considering the current state of indigenous water resources. Additionally, a continued emphasis on research policies and farm-level initiatives is advised.

SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT: EVALUATING LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND CHALLENGES

Groundwater is an essential resource for agriculture, drinking water, and industrial use, especially in water-scarce regions like India. However, unsustainable extraction, pollution, and a fragmented regulatory framework have resulted in significant groundwater depletion and contamination. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework governing groundwater management in India, with a specific focus on its alignment with principles of sustainability and the challenges encountered in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). The paper evaluates national and state-level laws, including the 2017 Model Groundwater Bill, and assesses the effectiveness of institutional mechanisms such as the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA). The study also explores the role of judicial interventions in shaping groundwater governance and presents policy recommendations aimed at promoting sustainable groundwater use, ensuring equitable access, and protecting groundwater-dependent ecosystems. In doing so, the article emphasizes the need for an integrated approach that combines legal reforms and community-driven initiatives to safeguard groundwater resources for future generations.

Sustainable Water Governance Based on the Local Wisdom of Tri Hita Karana and Sad Kertih Values: Impact for Environmental Sustainability

Sustainable Water Governance Based on the Local Wisdom of Tri Hita Karana and Sad Kertih Values: Impact for Environmental Sustainability

Can the natural resource balance sheet system promote ecological civilization? --Empirical evidence from panel data of prefecture-level cities in China

As a crucial carrier of natural resource and environmental information, the natural resources balance sheet is important in enhancing ecological governance capabilities and advancing ecological civilization construction. Utilizing panel data from Chinese prefecture cities spanning 2012 to 2018, we employ a Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to examine the policy effects of the natural resources balance sheet system. The findings indicate that compiling the natural resources balance sheet significantly promotes local ecological civilization construction, and local government environmental governance efficiency partially mediates this relationship. Further analysis indicates that the outgoing audit of natural resources and public environmental concern positively moderates the relationship between the two. Drawing on the principal-agent theory, we provide in-depth analysis and elucidation of the mechanisms through which the natural resources balance sheet promotes ecological civilization construction, offering theoretical guidance and empirical data support for strengthening the compilation and application of the natural resources balance sheet.

Drinking Water Quality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The production and transmission system of the Saudi Water Authority (SWA) faces a number of challenges in maintaining the high quality of potable water. Produced desalinated water is transmitted for long distances and is mixed with ground and surface waters of varying quality. The SWA is also in the process of converting from thermal desalination to seawater reverse osmosis which typically gives higher total dissolved solids, requiring better control of species with possible impacts on system integrity or human health. The results of monitoring across the desalination plants and transmission systems of the SWA in 2020–2022 confirm an overall high quality of water, with levels of disinfection by-products and heavy metals low in comparison to public water supplies in high-income countries dependent on surface and groundwater rather than seawater desalination. The results also indicate that continued operational improvements are required with the transition from thermal desalination technologies to reverse osmosis in order to maintain chloride at a level to avoid corrosion in the distribution system and to maintain boron and bromate within acceptable regulatory limits. Significant improvement in bromate control was observed over the course of the study, and recent innovations in post-treatment suggest that this will improve further.

Motivating Public Sector Employees: Public Good Contributions in Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority

Motivating Public Sector Employees: Public Good Contributions in Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority

Effects of urbanization and deforestation on flooding: Case study of Cap‐Haïtien City, Haiti

AbstractCap‐Haïtien, the second largest city in Haiti, is highly vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides, and flooding. The rapid pace of urbanization and deforestation has exacerbated the risk of flooding, resulting in disasters in November 2012, 2016, and 2022. This study aims to assess the impact of urbanization and deforestation on river flooding in Cap‐Haïtien by applying the hydrological model Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the hydrodynamic model Sobek‐Rural. We examined the current situation and a scenario of future urbanization and deforestation. Urbanization and deforestation are found to play a pivotal role in the production and deposition of sediment along the lower Haut‐du‐Cap River reaches. The existing hydraulic capacity of the river and its drainage system cannot handle the estimated peak flows. The mountain ravines west of the city are found to be the primary source of sediment‐laden flash floods. We recommend retention basins, drainage extensions, and pragmatic public policies to mitigate flood risk. Comprehensive strategies are needed to address the detrimental effects of urbanization and deforestation on flooding in Cap‐Haïtien and similar regions where a lack of water governance has worsened the flooding alongside urbanization and deforestation. We generalize our experiences from Cap‐Haïtien into a broader framework for data‐scarce areas.

An Analysis of Policy Transmission Flow in the Chengdu Plain Urban Agglomeration in Southwest China: Towards Building an Ecological Protection Network

Regional ecological protection is an urgent task in today’s social development, and constructing an ecological protection network is an important way to achieve regional ecological coordination. However, previous studies have lacked a systematic review and analysis of policy document transmission paths, failing to consider the spatial network structure and its complex characteristics of regional ecological protection policies, resulting in deficiencies in regional coordinated governance of the ecological environment. To address this gap, this study constructs an ecological policy transmission network lineage for the Chengdu Plain urban agglomeration (CDPUA) based on 400 ecological environmental protection policy documents issued by cities in the CDPUA from 2015 to 2022, focusing on the transmission perspective of policy documents. Social network analysis methods, a GIS spatial analysis, and other methods were employed to construct the ecological protection network of the CDPUA and analyze the complex spatial structure and characteristics of the network. It was found that the integrated ecological protection network of the CDPUA exhibits a multi-core triangular pattern with spatial characteristics of density in the east and sparsity in the west. The integrated ecological protection network has a density of 60.71%, indicating a strong intercity linkage, with Suining as the central nucleus transmitting policies to surrounding cities, forming the Suining–Chengdu–Mianyang policy transmission triangle. The urban agglomeration has formed an ecological protection network dominated by multiple cities, offering diverse and distinct types of ecosystem services. This study provides insights to enhance regional collaborative ecological governance and protection, promoting sustainable development in the region.

The Missing Piece of the Puzzle: How Different Water-related Public Concerns Contribute to Water Governance in China.

Public participation is crucial to improving the performance of water governance systems, especially in a governance model dominated by a top-down hierarchical structure. Public concerns, as a vital form of public participation, have been acknowledged as an essential component in contributing to water governance. However, few studies explore the varying effects of diverse public concerns in leading to different water governance outcomes. This study addresses this gap by exploring the direct and indirect effects of water-related public concerns on water pollution control and governments' pollution mitigating actions, using citizens' water-related posts crawled from China's social media. Results show that public water-related concerns contribute to water governance both through its direct effects on reducing water pollution and indirect effects by promoting policy actions. Specifically, the concerns related to water pollution hazards, water pollution monitoring, prevention products, and water pollution control measures have more positive impacts on water pollution reduction compared to other types of concern. Meanwhile, public concerns demonstrate stronger effects in triggering economic-related and infrastructure-related water pollution mitigation actions. This study provides nuanced insights to understand the role of public participation in improving water governance, the findings of which are insightful to enhance accountability of water governance systems through a bottom-up approach.

Sharing Water Across Borders: Assessing the Hydro-Diplomacy Process in the Resolution of Indus River Disputes

Hydro-diplomacy addresses the political aspects of transnational water systems that aims to prevent, lessen, and settle disputes over shared water systems through water governance frameworks. The Indo-Pakistan dispute over the Indus River proves the importance of diplomacy in addressing water related issues. Using a qualitative and descriptive-explorative method, this research aims to explore mechanisms of the Indus River dispute resolutions within the framework of the hydro-diplomacy concept. The paper uses secondary data consisting of journal articles, books, and official documents . This research finds that the Indus River dispute resolution mechanism encompasses the key aspects of hydro-diplomacy, which are: 1) the political means through bilateral meetings and the Indus Water Treaty formulation; 2) preventive means through dispute resolution mechanism in the treaty; 3) integrative means towards the involvement of numerous stakeholders; 4) cooperative aspect through IWT agreements; and 5)technical means through data-sharing practices.

Advancing nodal leakage estimation in decentralized water networks: Integrating Bayesian optimization, realistic hydraulic modeling, and data-driven approaches

The expansion of cities escalates the demand on water utilities amid global water scarcity, making leakage management a critical challenge for water sector sustainability. On this subject, the study introduces an advanced practical approach for estimating nodal leakage through the calibration of decentralized networks using available data. The approach includes conducting a pressure step-test for data collection, employing the DBSCAN algorithm for outlier detection, and employing Bayesian optimization for effective calibration. Hydraulic leakage models, particularly the power and modified orifice equations, are innovatively applied to model and identify existing leaks at each network node through deep comparison. The computational analysis demonstrated efficiency and accuracy in overcoming vast computational complexity and time constraints, with the calibration of a real-life network resulting in a cumulative MSE of 0.892 and an average R² and NSE values near 0.98. Additionally, realistic leakage modeling revealed inaccuracies in the acknowledged connection between the modified orifice equation and the leakage power equation. This study also provides key insights for enhancing water loss management and conducting on-site inspections in an environmentally conscious manner, especially crucial for budget-constrained water utilities and authorities experiencing revenue declines.