Addressing Escalating Urban Water Demands - New GWP Technical Committee Publication

Urban water management is on the verge of a revolution in response to rapidly escalating urban demands for water as well as the need to make urban water systems more resilient to climate change. Growing competition, conflicts, shortages, waste and degradation of water resources make it imperative to rethink conventional concepts – to shift from an approach that attempts to manage different aspects of urban water cycle in isolation to an integrated approach supported by all stakeholders.

The GWP Technical Committee Background paper No. 16: Integrated Urban Water Management by Dr. Akica Bahri, Technical Committee member, discusses different aspects of the urban water cycle and highlights the challenges of how to integrate urban, land-use planning and water planning towards economic development.

The Paper demonstrates how IUWM, nested within the broader framework of integrated water resources management (IWRM), can contribute to water security in a basin or catchment by aligning the urban water sector with rural water supply, agriculture, industry, energy and the environment. And it provides guidance on implementing IUWM – covering policy, financing and management options and technological advances.