This research explored the use of development charges (DCs) as a sustainable planning policy implementation tool to address integrated urban water management (IUWM) principles through the implementation of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) practices. This was accomplished by focusing on whether and how development charges can be used in Canadian slow-growth city regions to provide incentives for sustainable urban infrastructure practices through facilitating the decentralisation of stormwater management. The forms of stormwater management explored included structural landscape- and building- based strategies encompassing bioretention, infiltration, and dispersion. Potential implications were explored from the perspective of planning through semi-structured interviews, to the on-the-ground site design level within development projects through a review of the literature and case study analysis. Findings from the National Capital Region (Ottawa and environs) case study were synthesised into a series of best management practices for implementation of an IUWM DC strategy for the Manitoba Capital Region.

The main objective of this study was to determine water access and use characteristics of household in Dar es Salaam in order to determine how the integrated urban water management (IUWM) approach can be applied in solving the water crisis in the city as well as other challenges of urban water supply and sanitation. A limited household water access and use survey was carried out in all three districts of Dar es Salaam. It was found that some of the principles of IUWM such “fit for purpose use” are already being practiced informally at household level, although this is not recognized in planning by Water Authorities. The study also shows that practices geared at saving and efficient use of water are well entrenched in households; with even those with access to sufficient amounts of water practicing it. At the user level, there do not appear to be any obstacles to adoption of IUWM. The potential for IUWM application is therefore shown to exist and recommendations are made for immediate measures such as incorporation of the various water sources in use in households into the formal system as well as improvements to methods of water saving, ground water extraction and rain water harvesting. Recommendations are also provided for wider adaptation of the entire city water management system to IUWM with emphasis on context driven solutions.

Reliability of water supply in the urban setting has become essential for communities to function and thrive. It is needed for more than mere human consumption and well-being. Although modern cities have water treatment and distribution systems, pressures from urbanization, population growth and the anticipated pressures of climate change are affecting the quality of water supply and the reliability of treatment and distribution systems. There is therefore an urgent need to take appropriate measures to improve the resilience of water supply systems before the impacts are irreversible. Improving the resilience of water supply systems can be a challenge. In the United States, there is increased awareness of aging, overtaxed and under designed water infrastructure. To date, resilience planning has been principally focused on improving preparedness and the restoration of critical services in communities following extreme events, such as hurricanes, earthquakes or terrorism, and less so on the slow-moving consequences of climate change, perceived as a less urgent threat. All these issues – increased pressure of urbanization and population growth, deteriorating infrastructure, together with the consequences the impacts of climate change may have on water systems and the apathetic view of the need for action – are what make the development of a solution difficult. This research proposes Integrated Urban Water Management as a new water management paradigm as one that can withstand contemporary issues as well as future climate threats, while increasing water supply resilience for communities. This research (1) focuses on analyzing the urban water cycle for potential vulnerabilities, (2) seeks to understand the benefits and challenges of integrating water infrastructure, (3) tests the level of sustainability in an IUWM system, (4) identifies critical thresholds ‘slow-moving’ climate change on water supply infrastructure, (5) performs a system-wide water and salt balance and (6) tests the system for resilience to salt water intrusion. Since coastal communities are subject to higher population densities, demands on resources, and exposed to greater threats than inland communities, this project utilizes a coastal community with integrated water infrastructure as a basis to better understand the benefits as well as the potential challenges of the proposed future paradigm (IUWM). The results of this research show that IUWM offers many options for sustainable practices as well as adaptability, a key aspect of resilience. The conclusions drawn from the scoping study, case study and modeling of water and salt flows within the urban water cycle offer relevant and transferable lessons for water management in coastal cities while they approach uncertain and alternative climate futures.