The approach to water management worldwide is currently in transition, with a shift from centralised infrastructures to greater consideration of decentralised technologies, such as rainwater harvesting (RWH). Initiated by recognition of drivers, including water demand, increasing risk of ground-water pollution and flooding, the value of RWH is filtering across the academic-policy boundary. However, in Nigeria, implementation of sustainable water management (SWM), such as RWH systems, is inefficient social, environmental and technical barriers, concerns and knowledge gaps exist, which currently restrict its widespread utilisation. This inefficiency contributes to water scarcity, water-borne diseases, and loss of lives and property due to flooding. Meanwhile, several RWH technologies have been developed to improve SWM through both demand and storm-water management. Such technologies involve the use of storage tanks, surface water reservoirs and ground-water recharge pits as storage systems. A framework was developed to assess the significance and extent of water management problems, match the problems with existing RWH-based solutions and develop a robust ready-to-use multi-criteria analysis tool that can quantify the costs and benefits of implementing several RWH-based storage systems. The methodology adopted was the mixed method approach, involving a detailed literature review, followed by a questionnaire survey of 1067 household respondents, 135 Nigerian Architects and Civil Engineers and focus group discussion with Stakeholders. A total of 1042 sets of data were collected through a questionnaire survey and analysed using SPSS, Excel and selected statistical methods to derive weightings of the attributes for the tool. Following this, three case studies were selected to collect data for hydrological modelling using the RainCycle model. From the results it is found that the most important barrier constraining sustainable RWH regime in Ibadan was obsolete and insufficient operational equipment, followed by poor renumeration of water corporation staff and misuse of available funds. In addition, the measure of importance of storage capacity was established, with the highest score of 4.5 which reflects the general inadequacy of storage as a major barrier to the adoption of RWH as a sustainable water management method. Further, respondents’ major health hazards associated with drinking contaminated water was established. A larger proportion (61.2%) of respondents chose prevalence of typhoid fever; some have a prevalence of diarrhea (19.4%), while few of respondents’ water sources is free from water-borne diseases (2.3%). The tool developed is an integrated platform of related evaluation techniques, including Whole Life Cycle Cost Analysis and Multi-Attribute Utility Theory. The tool uses data including cost and quantities of materials for building a RWH storage system and quantifies the cost and benefits of alternative RWH-based systems that can improve project management. This tool is novel, given its integration of the analytical techniques mentioned above and application for selecting the most appropriate RWH-based SWM systems. The implementation of the tool is envisaged to provide an objective platform for the quantification of the costs and benefits of RWH-based systems prior to implementation.

Because water is not equitably distributed in time and place, in the right quantity with the adequate quality, water planning and management is used to redistribute the resource in such a way that tries to satisfy the necessities of water users, including the environment. Policies are proposed to improve the water management, however, selecting the best alternative can be difficult when tradeoffs among alternatives improve certain aspects of the planning and management and worsen others. This research establishes a methodology to evaluate water management policies in order to clearly and systematically identify policies that improve the water management. First, each water user, system or environmental requirement are evaluated using performance criteria. Second, performance criteria are summarized using the Sustainability Index. Finally, individual Sustainability Indices are grouped using the Sustainability by Group Index. The Sustainability by Group Index makes it possible to compare groups of water users and regions at a glance. This methodology has been successfully applied in the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo basin, a transboundary basin between the United States and Mexico. A set of scenarios was defined by water users, authorities and environmental organizations of the basin from both countries. A water resources planning model was constructed to represent the water management of the basin. The model was used to evaluate several scenarios and the benefits or damages that each policy provides. Two winning scenarios (called Meta-scenarios) that improve the management for water users, the environment and international treaty obligations were identified. Meta-scenario A is an immediate action scenario that includes: buyback of water rights, improvement in irrigation infrastructure, water demand reduction for irrigation districts in Mexico and the US, groundwater banking and the inclusion of environmental flows. Meta-scenario B is a short term scenario that includes the policies of Meta-scenario A plus expanded buyback of water rights, additional improvements in infrastructure and sharing of water savings between farmers in the US and Mexico. Results have been presented to decision makers and water users in both countries who will ultimately decide if they should implement the suggested policies. Most importantly, some alternative policies are now known that can help to improve the water management in the basin, for whom and where. / text

This study examines the barriers to sustainable water resources management in water vulnerable, yet a mining booming area. The case study is conducted in Omnogovi province of Mongolia in Nov-Dec 2016. This study presents how the Omnogovi province manages its water with increased mining and examines what hinders the province from practicing sustainable water resources management and examines the involvement of residents in the water resources management of Omnogovi province. Qualitative approaches such as semi-structured interviews, participatory observation and literature review were used in this study. This study demonstrates that the water resources management of Omnogovi province is unsustainable in this time period, yet the implementation of IWRM approach has improved the water resources management of the province. The barriers to sustainable water resources management in Omnogovi province are inefficient governance and poor enforcement of law, today. Despite it, data-scarcity and transboundary water issues might become barriers to practice efficient water resources management in the province. The involvement of residents in water resources management of Omnogovi province is deficient, yet the implementation of participatory approach and establishment of RBC might improve the participatory governance. The study shows IWRM can improve the water resources management of a developing country, yet it can be time-consuming, costly and challenging to implement in a country, which is still in socio-economic and political transition.

Water scarcity is a prevalent issue all over the world. Growing water abstractions combined with uncertain effects of climate increase competition for scarce water resources worldwide, especially in arid and semiarid regions. It is crucial to assess and manage available water resources to ensure its sustainability. There is a need for integrated water management at a watershed scale. Watershed models are a useful tool to support sustainable water management and investigate effects of hydrologic responses at various scales under climate change conditions and to simulate effects of the management decisions. This study aims to assess the sustainability of water resources in the Tuul River Basin in Mongolia using SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) model to understand ecohydrological processes in the basin. The model is used to analyze the trends in water usage on a watershed and subwatershed basis. The water supply and demand dynamics at each sub watershed levels are analyzed to develop a sustainability index based on specific criteria of water sustainability. Sustainability index was used for better water management by targeting areas of the watershed. Using the analysis, strategies for water demand management for the Tuul River basin area were developed. I expect the results of the study with transform water resource situation in the region through better information on the dynamics of the system and will help in alleviating water issues in similar regions of the country and of the world. The model can be a useful tool to support decision makers and to simulate and analyze the effects of water management practices.