In this thesis, the decision analysis process of investigating the best optimal strategy for Tehran water management in 2021 is described. Such process is normally divided into four steps including: structuring the problem; identifying feasible strategies, their impact and uncertainty; quantifying preferences; and evaluation of countermeasures and sensitivity analysis. Here, in order to structure the problem, the characteristics of Tehran with respect to water issues and its history of water management are reviewed. The state of surface waters and ground waters and a description of Tehran plan for waste water treatment are given, the most significant constraints of Tehran water sector are classified and the challenges of climate change and variability are explained. The feasible adaptation strategies are designed subsequently based on that classification, data extracted from a survey and a number of interviews with water officials and managers and ordinary citizens in Tehran. Each strategy contains a series of separate measures with different weights. The phase of quantifying preferences and elucidating utility functions is conducted based on the data available from previous studies and also the current survey. The measures include: installing water saving devices, awareness raising to change citizens’ water consumption pattern, adding new sources of surface water, investing on waste water utilization, migration control and repairing water distribution network.Different combinations of these measures provide different possibilities for formulating adaptation strategies. We compare two more discussed adaptation strategies of the spectrum of strategies; one is inclined toward exploiting more water resources while the other one is more focused on demand management. The former is mainly supported by water officials and the latter advocated by water experts we interviewed. The criteria of comparison are social acceptability, economic feasibility, time-efficiency and environmental tenability. By considering the uncertainty attributed to the criteria weights, the WEB-HIPRE DSS analysis shows that the demand-oriented strategy is the optimal one in most cases, however, if time-efficiency and/or economic feasibility gain very high significance, the strategy of water officials wins over that of experts.

For sustainable water management, here is a necessity to consider alternatives, in addition to conventional systems. The aim of this research is to develop and demonstrate a sustainables, from and greywater reclamation system for WC flushing and it was started in 1994. In the UK there are no water quality standards for WC flushing water use. There were no design guidelines for greywater water reclamation and no published study on the supply-dernandb alance, in detail, for water recycling in institutions such as universities. The research has shown the feasibility of planned direct grey and storm water reclamation and recycling system to manage growing water and wastewater problems. This thesis is based on the information gathered from 4 universities, 3 hotels and 3 recreational centres, and experiences gained at Loughborough University during the development and demonstration of the full scale "in-house grey and roof water" reclamation and recycling systems. The water use, greywater quality and roof water characteristics were studied in detail and this information was used for the development of the reclamation and recycling system. The studies showed that the water usage at the university halls were not similar to usage in households. Unlike large water supply schemes, small in-house systems generate a large peak factor for water use. To avoid deficit, in addition to personal washing waters, a top-up of laundry wastewater or roof water, and a well-designed balancing tank is necessary. The demonstration study shows that there was no standby mains' water used, which means that the water reclaimed was sufficient for reuse. The quality characterisation study shows that the greywater and first flush storm water roof runoff were polluted. The characteristics of combined grey and roof water are suitable for biological treatment. Based on the infomation, a lab-scale unit was developed; the reactor characteristics and performance such as head losses and removal efficiency were monitored; and the unit was refined. Two novel multi-barrier reclamation systems were developed to achieve sufficient quantity and near potable quality of water with minimum maintenance and cost. During 1997 the grey and roof water recycling system with laboratory tested physical and biological reclamation processes without the use of coagulants and disinfection were installed. The performance of the treatment system was closely monitored until 1998. This provided benefits in near potable quality of reclaimed water, low head loss, reliability, failure free operation and simple maintenance. The reclaimed effluent from Project I and 2 met the UK/EU bathing water standards and was also able to meet the US EPA standards for WC flushing. The microbial (using coliform as an indicators) quality of reclaimed water without disinfection is acceptable for controlled recycling systems (carefully monitored and fully informed). There were no odour problems in the treated water or sludge blockages. Comparatively, Project I was more efficient at removing coliform, turbidity, solids (suspended, dissolved, volatile), and Project 2 better at removing carbon (organic and inorganic). A simple cost benefit analysis done for the recycling system at Royce Hall of Residence showed 10 years pay back. More detailed cost-benefit analysis including comparisons of new built and retrofit recycling system and fife cycle analysis are recommended. This study shows that most of the people questioned were accepted and were willing to consider using the recycling system for toilet flushing, if the water was clear, colourless, odour free, carried no risk and gave cost-benefits. During the demonstration stage the users willingly accepted non-potable grey water reuse.

Abstract Purpose: The purpose with this thesis is to identify the problems that these two municipalities, Jönköping and Borås, are facing in regard to sustainable development in the water infrastructure area and highlight the different strategies that the municipalities has developed to find solutions to these problems. Two municipalities have been chosen for this analyse, the municipalities of Borås and Jönköping, for the reason that they both have similar population but two different solutions in how the municipality water management is run. The questions that the thesis are built on is: 1)    How do these two municipality work towards a sustainable development in water management? 2)    What are these strategies based on? 3)    How does the checklist for sustainable development been developed and how does it differ between the two municipalities? Method: The method of finding the answers to these questions is six qualitative interviews with people from both organizations with knowledge of the subject. Literature studies of the theories behind sustainable development in water infrastructure and analysing documents provided by the municipalities in order to scientifically back up the findings from the interviews. Findings: After analysing the collected data one can see that sustainability is already a part of water management in general but there is some focus areas that the organizations are working on with different tools which is presented in a checklist. Implications: There are three conclusions that could be made from this thesis, they are about legal requirements, technical development and sustainability index.    Limitations: This thesis is of limited size and is therefore an overview of these organizations work towards sustainable development. The thesis does not bring up the political aspect and does not do a deeper analysis of the different aspects of water management.  Keywords: sustainable development, sustainable water management, water management

The Lake Urmia positioned in a closed basin in north-west Iran, positioned at altitude 1250 m above the sea level, and has been rapidly drying since 1990. The lake water level has declined to 1271.58 m in 2008 from the last highest record 1277.80 m in 1994. The lake water volume has fluctuated during the observation period and shows a drop from of 32 to 14.5 million cubic meters, while the lake salinity has increased from 205 to 338 g/l due to the evaporation and water inflow reduction. In the Lake Urmia basin, there has been an increase in public awareness of the possible environmental threat and the unpleasant socio-economical consequences on the region’s inhabitants.  The main aim of this study is to assess the current water use pattern in the Urmia Lake basin system with emphasis on the agricultural sub-system, and to propose adaptive measures and sustainable water management scenarios. The study shows that the main cause for these changes are the diversion of rivers and streams for agricultural irrigation; agriculture is a sector with one of the highest water demands, and frequent drought in early 2000s exacerbated the situation. In addition, a growing population and the increased development of agricultural land has led to an increase in unsustainable practices which have an unpredictable impact on the Lake Urmia ecosystem. This study investigates sustainable water use strategies for Lake Urmia basin, and considers economic and environmental factors, including the loss of valuable ecosystems that highlights social and ethical issues for the current and coming generations.

Grey water reuse has attracted more and more attention among researchers and professionals in recent years. As most of the Chinese cities are undergoing the process of fast urbanization and economic development, many water-related problems have occurred and urban water resources management has become a strategic issue. The urge to reconsider the conventional ways of utilizing water and discharging the wastewater in cities is calling. As a relatively simple and flexible way, decentralized grey water reuse system can help to make the first step in achieving a sustainable urban water management. However, whether it is feasible in China is still a question. This paper aims at looking for the answer based on a survey and interviews with professionals in the fields from different Chinese cities. The result shows “reuse” as one of the solutions of solving water shortage and achieving sustainable water management is not as simple as one may think. In general, decentralized urban grey water / wastewater reuse is not easy to flourish in China in the near future though most of the respondents hold a positive attitude about reuse itself. To explain this difference between attitude and actual planning we need more historical, political and social-economic understanding with a touch of “Chinese characteristics”.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Alpa Nawre / Stephanie A. Rolley / In underprivileged communities in developing countries, water is essential for basic survival. Particularly for rural communities, water supports irrigation for agriculture and, hence, the livelihood of villagers. Based on a forecast by the Asian Development Bank, India is expected to reach a water deficit of 50% by 2030 (Dutta, 2017). Without awareness of conservation and efforts to conserve water resources and protect them from being polluted by industries and communities, rural Indian communities will continue to suffer from water mismanagement and the loss of potential long-term environmental, social, and economic benefits that water can bring to a community. Nonetheless, better water management is attainable in rural communities. Given the model Indian villages that have been transformed into sustainable communities by implementing and managing effective blue-green infrastructure through community participation, landscape architects are proven that they are capable of various roles in leading, initiating, and providing design and technical support for water infrastructure projects of different scales in rural India. Since stewardship and maintenance of these systems are critical for long-term effectiveness, the core idea of this design project is leveraging local efforts and community power to build and maintain functional water infrastructure as a better, more sustainable water management strategy. In this study, public space associated with water infrastructure is considered as a potential driver for local efforts to maintain the water management landscape when those public spaces are designed for inclusiveness and diversity. Thus, the project goal is to create or transform the public space associated with existing water infrastructure into an inclusive, productive community place that can generate environmental, social, and economic benefits, as a strategy for sustainable water management in rural India. Currently, the proposed water management landscape in this study is a diverse public space shared by community members of different ages, genders, classes, castes, and religions. The research methodology divides into three phases. The first phase addresses the general water issues and the cultural background of rural India through literature and preliminary site inventory using the GIS data provided by the Panchayat of Dhamori. The second phase presents the perceptions of villagers in Dhamori about using water and public space after collecting quantitative and qualitative data through site observation and participatory planning. By synthesizing and analyzing the knowledge generated from the participatory process on-site, the final phase interprets and addresses the emergent problems through developing a design framework for conceptual site design.

abstract: Water is the defining issue in determining the development and growth of human populations of the Southwest. The cities of Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, and El Paso have experienced rapid and exponential growth over the past 50 years. The outlook for having access to sustainable sources of water to support this growth is not promising due to water demand and supply deficits. Regional water projects have harnessed the Colorado and Rio Grande rivers to maximize the utility of the water for human consumption and environmental laws have been adopted to regulate the beneficial use of this water, but it still is not enough to create sustainable future for rapidly growing southwest cities. Future growth in these cities will depend on finding new sources of water and creative measures to maximize the utility of existing water resources. The challenge for southwest cities is to establish policies, procedures, and projects that maximizes the use of water and promotes conservation from all areas of municipal users. All cities are faced with the same challenges, but have different options for how they prioritize their water resources. The principal means of sustainable water management include recovery, recharge, reuse, and increasing the efficiency of water delivery. Other strategies that have been adopted include harvesting of rainwater, building codes that promote efficient water use, tiered water rates, turf removal programs, residential water auditing, and native plant promotion. Creating a sustainable future for the southwest will best be achieved by cities that adopt an integrated approach to managing their water resources including discouraging discretionary uses of water, adoption of building and construction codes for master plans, industrial plants, and residential construction. Additionally, a robust plan for education of the public is essential to create a culture of conservation from a very young age. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Applied Biological Sciences 2013

Water is essential for life on earth. Human society is challenged to sustain sufficient water quantity of good quality. This objective is reflected in sustainable development goal 6, “clean water and sanitation”. Water monitoring is part of sustainable water management and aims to evaluate the physical, chemical and biological status of a water body. Regular monitoring in the catchment area of Indalsälven (Sweden) is conducted by the Indalsälven Water Conservation Association (IWCA). In this area counts of Escherichia coli (E. coli) between 0 and 500 colony forming units (CFU) were monitored from 1993 – 2022 at the closest monitoring station Enkroken. This implies that drinking water quality standards were exceeded during many occasions (≥10 E. coli CFU/100ml). It is known that survival of E. coli in aquatic environments is dependent on nutrient levels, turbidity, sedimentation, pH level, predation, microbial community composition, temperature, and solar radiation. Low water depth and clear water with poor nutrient level in Enan and Handölan, tributaries to Indalsälven, are believed to cause solar radiation to be the main driver for inactivation of E. coli. Inactivation behaviour of indicator bacteria for faecal contamination such as E. col, is assumed to reflect on other bacteria that were excreted in the same way. The objective of the research was to investigate to which extent river color and river depth under the influence of sunlight affected E. coli inactivation in pristine like conditions such as the upper catchment area of Indalsälven. In this study, conditions from the research area were mimicked in 4 laboratory experiments. Results showed that neither 10 nor 35µW/cm2 led to additional inactivation due to sunlight. In a following experiment the liquid depth was reduced, with as a result that the inactivation of bacteria started to be influenced by sunlight when the depth was reduced to 14.4cm or lower. A fourth experiment was conducted at 14.4cm depth and additional color concentration 50 and 100 mg/l Pt. Results indicated that inactivation influenced by sunlight was reduced at color level 50 or more to a level that was equal to no sunlight radiation. A median depth of 0.2 cm and median color level of 15 mg/l Pt in the catchment area of Indalsälven suggests that inactivation of E. coli is very likely influenced by the sun, upstream the measuring point Enkroken and at points where the river is as shallow 14.4cm or less. Sunlight radiation might be underestimated in the conducted laboratory experiments, therefore continuous on-site research is suggested. / <p>2022-06-19</p>

This research examines the application of a Classic Glaserian Grounded Theory methodology to the phenomenon of drought when viewed from the perspective of household water users in southern England. The resulting conceptual work calls into question the effectiveness of water-wise messaging and current Government policies on water management, by highlighting the double assurances afforded to the public through their own observations of the natural cycling of water resources between atmosphere and land, and the continuous operation of the regulated water industry, that together sustain blind belief in the ongoing availability of potable water resources. To establish a clear separation between the development of substantive theory and mixed method studies that claim to take a grounded theory approach that are generally more popular within the discipline of Human Geography, the theory is presented alongside two pieces of work; a collection of modern drought histories and a questionnaire. Developed as part of the necessary process of cycling alternate projects to enable a theory to emerge from the data whilst the researcher is distracted from forcing her own ideas onto it, both these pieces can be viewed separately or as supportive companions to the theory. Additionally, in acknowledging the difficulty in presenting a Classic Grounded Theory in the traditional discussional form, for the benefit of the reader the theory is preceded by an autoethnography, which incorporates descriptive elements taken from field notes and the author’s personal water diary. These works draw data from subjects in three counties in England (Norfolk, Kent, and Devon), following the northwest – southeast rainfall gradient. Supplementary material for the drought histories is drawn from local and national archives and recorded oral histories. The primary emphasis of this work is placed on assessing the merits of each of the methods deployed in addressing environmental social science issues in the context of climate change, which hitherto have been focused on perception questionnaires and the development of popular cultural typologies.

Physically decentralised water management systems may contribute to improving the sustainability of urban water management. Any shift toward decentralised systems needs to consider not just physical system design but also social values, knowledge frames, and organisations, and their interconnections to the physical technology. Four cases of recent Australian urban water management improvement projects were researched using qualitative methods. Three cases were of decentralised water management innovation. The other was of a centralised system, although decentralised options had been considered. These cases were studied to identify institutional barriers and enablers for the uptake of decentralised systems, and to better understand how emerging environmental engineering knowledge might be applied to overcome an implementation gap for decentralised urban water technologies. Analysis of each case focused on the institutional elements of urban water management, namely: the values, knowledge frames and organisational structures. These elements were identified through in-depth interviews, document review, and an on-line survey. The alignment of these elements was identified as being a significant contributor to the stability of centralised systems, or to change toward decentralised systems. A new organisational home for innovative knowledge was found to be common to each case where decentralised innovation occurred. ??Institutional entrepreneurs??, strong stakeholder engagement, and inter-organisational networks were all found to be linked to the creation of shared meaning and legitimacy for organisational and technological change. Existing planning frameworks focus on expert justification for change rather than institutional support for change. Institutional factors include shared understandings, values and organisational frameworks, and the alignment of each factor. Principles for, and examples of, appropriate organisational design for enabling and managing decentralised technological innovation for urban water management are proposed. This research contributes to the understanding of the institutional basis and dynamics of urban water management, particularly in relation to physical centralisation and decentralisation of urban water management technologies and, to a lesser extent, in relation to user involvement in urban water management. Understanding of factors that contribute to enabling and constraining decentralised technologies is extended to include institutional and organisational factors. New and practical pathways for change for the implementation of decentralised urban water systems are provided.