The current population in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is more than 7 million. Due to pressures of increasing population, the developing economy and climate change, the future security of water supply is far from satisfactory. There is also pressure to connect a large number of customers currently not connected to the HCMC water supply reticulation grid. Current water resources management tends to be fragmented and focused purely on supply side management. It is not economically and environmentally sustainable to focus purely on augmenting supply to meet increasing demand. Sustainable water resources management requires a broader more holistic approach. Government's plans to improve current and future water management issues are examined in the context of two case studies, one from Australia (a developed country) and one from the Philippines (a developing country). The sustainable water management approaches adopted by these two case studies sit at either end of the s pectrum of options. One is closer to a centralized government planning model and the other is a more radical privatisation flavoured model. The thesis investigates the current water demand and supply balance for residential, commercial and industry; and propose a balanced strategy to meet the HCMC's demand until year 2020. The amount of water savings are calculated by implementing a suite of water conservation initiatives. The proposed initatives will substantially narrow the gap between the planned supply and forecasted demand, thus providing a acceptable reasonable supply security for the community.

abstract: Many global development initiatives focus on improving access to safe and affordable water. Governments and infrastructure in rapidly urbanizing cities struggle to meet the increased demand for water, especially in peri-urban and informal settlements of sub-Saharan Africa. The private sector, in the form of small water enterprises (SWEs), plays an increasing role in satisfying demand for water, but their greater effects have seldom been investigated. This research explores how SWEs affect access to household water in a peri-urban settlement of Accra, Ghana and investigates their social, economic, and environmental impacts in the community. This research also examines how SWEs influence security and sustainability goals within the framing concepts of the US Army’s Stability doctrine and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The methods employed in this study were interviews, observation, and review of existing literature and case studies. Results of this qualitative analysis reveal that while SWEs increase and diversify local access to clean water, provide economic opportunities and jobs—especially to women—they also present environmental and health concerns when unregulated and unaddressed by educators, city officials, and community leaders. Further, in cases where municipal governments cannot provide safe and consistent access to clean water in the given location, results show that SWEs enterprises can work in cohesion with both the SDGs and the US Army stability goals. Moving forward, city officials, development programs, and US Army stability doctrine should consider supporting SWEs to increase water access and improve other developmental outcomes, while working to avoid potentially negative environmental and health outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Sustainability 2019

This thesis examines whether the concept of good (environmental) governance provides a useful tool and legal base for the achievement of water sustainability in South Africa's mining sector. The thesis introduces water pollution as one sustainability challenge that South Africa is facing in its mining sector. The main question is how the legal framework should promote and guide water sustainability through good environmental governance. The question results from the fact that mining is a constant threat to water resources. Mining is one of the leading causes of water pollution which adversely affects human life among others when water contaminated with heavy metals is consumed. Farming, as an essential component of food security, is under constant threat in places like Mpumalanga as soils are rendered less productive by mine-contaminated water infiltrating from topsoil or rising from underground mines. Similarly, polluted water adversely affects biodiversity, thus, destroying ecosystems and vegetation which serve as livestock feed. The analysis of sustainability, governance and good governance theories and specific concepts underpinning them shows that they can inform water protection in the South African mining sector. Sustainability, found to be a broad and interdisciplinary concept, is a necessary guideline for the pursuit of water governance in the mining sector. Despite conflicting perceptions or facts regarding sustainability, it is evident that for water to be preserved, sustainable practices are essential. This requires mining activities to be conducted while always minimising the occurrence of water pollution to ensure water sustainability in the South African mining sector. The thesis also expounds that water sustainability pursued through governance practices is likely to be effective in alleviating or preventing water concerns. Thus, the concept of governance is presented as a tool with which individuals or organisations can achieve effective water sustainability, through decision-making, planning and law enforcement. Governance as a concept is complex, multifaceted and interdisciplinary, but can ensure water sustainability and the wellbeing of members of society who depend on the natural environment. The thesis further highlights that water sustainability is more likely when pursued through governance in its best possible form. The concept of good environmental governance is therefore explained as a theory that can guide effective decisionmaking and serve as a tool at the disposal of interested and affected parties to judge the performance of administrative officials. Effective decision-making processes and its elements are to be promoted through cooperative governance, accountability, transparency and public participation, for effective administrative action. The thesis then analyses the South African legal framework and establishes that water governance in the mining sector is extensively catered for therein. The Constitution sets the water sustainability mandate based on which legislation is enacted, both followed by legal interpretation in the courts. The analysis, however, show that there are various shortcomings relating to the implementation and enforcement of the law through administrative action. Nevertheless, the analysis remains hopeful that water sustainability can still be achieved in the mining sector. Despite the existence of environmental provisions and various attempts to achieve water sustainability, the current South African legal framework still fails to control water pollution effectively. The failure may be attributed to the shortcomings of the said framework, but it is, to a larger extent, a result of poor implementation and enforcement. One main reason is less effective administrative action due to inefficient decision-making processes, which implies that the quality of governance regarding water protection in the mining sector is inadequate. Such findings show that water sustainability could have been achieved or improved if decisionmakers had relied fully on good governance principles to implement and enforce provisions aimed at water protection in the mining sector. Hence, this thesis finds that no new regulation is required; rather it suggests a reform of various provisions within the existing legal framework to improve water sustainability. This is subject to improved implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Water security is becoming an increasing concern for communities in the southwestern United States. Projected decreases in water availability due to climate change combined with increased demands from a rapidly growing population have many concerned about the sustainability of the water supply in coming years. As water availability becomes an increasing concern, greater efficiencies must be made to increase the resilience of the water supply system. This dissertation analyzes the efforts of Tucson, Arizona households to conserve water during the hottest and driest decade in the city's recorded history, between 2000 and 2009. This study utilizes survey data to statistically examine the motivations for household adoption of five conservation methods: rainwater harvesting systems, graywater systems, xeriscaping, high-efficiency devices and volunteerism for public water conservation projects. Following the statistical analysis, interviews were conducted with participants to provide further context for analyzing the results. This mixed method approach reveals that drought alone did little to directly encourage household water conservation over the decade. However, public water conservation initiatives that were launched during the decade made a significant contribution to increasing household water conservation. Households consistently cited a desire for more information about the implications of the current drought status as well as additional information about their individual household's water use.

abstract: Studies of governance have focused on the interactions among diverse actors while implicitly recognizing the role of power within those relationships. Explicit power analyses of water governance coordination are needed to better understand the conditions for and barriers to sustainability. I therefore utilized a novel conceptual framework to analyze vertical and horizontal governance, along with power, to address how governance interactions affect water sustainability in terms of (1) interactions among governance actors across local to state levels; (2) coordination among actors at the local level; and (3) the exercise of power among assorted actors. I adopted a qualitative case study methodology that involved triangulating interview transcripts, policy documents, and other data in the case study area of Prescott, Arizona. Across governance scales, my analysis found that informational and contentious interactions occur around water management plans, groundwater withdrawal fees, and growth debates due to the stipulations of Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act. Locally, municipalities in different groundwater basins coordinate by pooling resources for water development due to shared growth visions. However, municipalities within the same groundwater basin are divided in their pursuit of the state-mandated goal of safe yield due to discontent arising from differing growth visions, libertarian values of water control, and unequal responsibilities among actors in conserving water or monitoring use. Finally, local and state actors exercise power through litigation, legislation, and political processes to pursue their interests, thereby limiting coordination for water sustainability. My explicit analysis of power reveals that coordination occurs not just because of water policies but due to interest-based water narratives (growth and libertarian). The emphasis of growth proponents on supply augmentation and libertarian opposition to regulations pose significant barriers to water sustainability. Successful policy-based pursuits of water sustainability will, thus, require an acknowledgment of these management asymmetries and commitments to addressing them. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geography 2017

<p>Water resources are currently under high pressure due to population growth, urbanization, and changes in climate patterns. Therefore, there is a need for strategies to improve water resources management  at  all  scales.  The  Food-Energy-Water  (FEW)  nexus approach has  emerged  as an alternative  for  water  resources  management  since  it provides a  comprehensive management strategy through which interactions among components of food, energy, and water systems can be evaluated. In the Latin American and Caribbean region, studies and reports evaluating the FEW nexus are  limited  in  comparison  to  other  regions  in  the  world. The  aim of  this work was to investigate  the  potential  for  applying  a  FEW  nexus  approach  to  improve  water  resources management in the Colombian Andean region. In this study, an urban FEW nexus framework was developed  for the  Otun  River  Watershed  (ORW),  a  pilot  study  site  located in the Colombian Andean  region, based  on a  characterization of  the watershed’s climate,  land  use  land  cover, streamflow,    and    water    quality.    Results    from    the    characterization    revealed    that    the Pereira/Dosquebradas urban area had the greatest impact on watershed water resources owing to its high water and energy demand. Additionally, the Otun River water quality is mostly affected by this urban area due to the lack of a wastewater treatment facility to decontaminate urban sewage water. The Pereira/Dosquebradas urban area is primarily dependent on food coming from outside of  the  ORW,  thus  food  production  does  not  have  as  large  an  impact  on  water  resources  in  the watershed. A FEW nexus analysis for 2035showed that water and energy demand could increase by 16%  and  30%,  respectively,  except where a reduction  in  food  production in  the  ORW  is considered, in which case the water demand would remained unchanged. Hydrological modeling of the watershed showed potential changes ranging between -35%and 53%in watershed runoff and  -29%and25% in overall water yield for the period 2030to2039, in response to anticipated changes in average annual precipitation ranging from -29% to 6% when comparing to a baseline scenario (2007-2012). Thus, changes in precipitation could affect the volume of water available for residential,  industrial,  and  agricultural activities  in  the  ORW. Moreover,  an  increase  in  the number   of extreme   weather events   could   cause   more   floods and   landslides. Therefore, recommendations for water resources management in the ORW include reducing water losses in the  water  distribution  systems,  adopting  water  conservation  practices,  developing  GI  and decentralized  wastewater  systems,  and  implementing  urban  and  peri-urban  farming  practices. Finally, as water quality is of high concern in the ORW, an assessment was conducted to determine suitable water quality sampling frequencies to meet different water quality monitoring objectives. This analysis used the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) as a case study site as it has long-term, continuous water quality records with data available at least ona daily basis. Daily concentrations for select  constituents  (suspended  solids, total  phosphorus, soluble  reactive  phosphorus,  and nitrates+nitrites)  were  used  to  create  weekly,  bi-weekly,  monthly,  and  seasonal  subsamples following  distinctive  rules  for  day,  week,  or  month  of  sampling. Results from  this evaluation indicate that monthly and seasonal sampling would be sufficient if the objective was to assess the stream’s water quality status. However, if the monitoring objective was related to the examination of water quality trends, weekly and bi-weekly sampling would give better results. Furthermore, differential sampling could be adopted in areas with distinctive characteristics, prioritizing high-resolution sampling (daily, weekly, and bi-weekly) in subareas where the constituents of concern have a high variability (sediments and nutrients)or non-point source pollution has been identified as an issue. The remaining subareas could be sampled on a seasonal or annual basis, with sampling conducted at random to reduce bias. Overall, this study provided an urban FEW nexus framework for the Colombian Andean Region, illustrated the application of this framework in a pilot study site (ORW) under current and future conditions, and presented recommendations for water quality sampling frequency on sites with limited resources to implement a high-resolution water quality monitoring plan.</p>

Increasing population, diminishing supplies and variable climatic conditions can cause difficulties in meeting water demands. When this long range water supply plan is developed to cope with future water demand changes, accuracy and reliability are the two most important factors. To develop an accurate model, the water supply system has become more complicated and comprehensive structures. Future uncertainty also has been considered to improve system reliability as well as economic feasibility.In this study, a general large-scale water supply system that is comprised of modular components was developed in a dynamic simulation environment. Several possible scenarios were simulated in a realistic hypothetical system. In addition to water balances and quality analyses, construction and operation of system components costs were estimated for each scenario. One set of results demonstrates that construction of small-cluster decentralized wastewater treatment systems could be more economical than a centralized plant when communities are spatially scattered or located in steep areas.The Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm (SFLA), then, is used to minimize the total system cost of the general water supply system. Decisions are comprised of sizing decisions - pipe diameter, pump design capacity and head, canal capacity, and water/wastewater treatment capabilities - and flow allocations over the water supply network. An explicit representation of energy consumption cost for the operation is incorporated into the system in the optimization process of overall system cost. Although the study water supply systems included highly nonlinear terms in the objective function and constraints, a stochastic search algorithm was applied successfully to find optimal solutions that satisfied all the constraints for the study networks.Finally, a robust optimization approach was introduced into the design process of a water supply system as a framework to consider uncertainties of the correlated future data. The approach allows for the control of the degree of conservatism which is a crucial factor for the system reliabilities and economical feasibilities. The system stability is guaranteed under the most uncertain condition and it was found that the water supply system with uncertainty can be a useful tool to assist decision makers to develop future water supply schemes.

This dissertation works to create a clearer understanding of sustainability in water policy. Current water policy in four US cities was compared to a matrix of recommended sustainability themes that have been presented in the literature to determine the extent of which these themes have been implemented into water policy. To best analyze policy for sustainability it is necessary to look at the policy of cities that are considered sustainable. This was determined by a city’s inclusion in “Most Sustainable US Cities” lists. The two cities that best represented sustainability were Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA. The research also included cities that are not considered leaders in sustainability but are similar in demographics, population, and state; these two cities are Fort Worth, TX and San Jose, CA. Finally, the same matrix was applied to the state policy to establish how state policy influences city sustainability. The results of this study add to the current knowledge in this field as it contributes a current analysis of sustainable water policy. The final findings compile the themes into a sustainability pyramid framework of common, uncommon, and rare sustainability. It appears that the ‘sustainable’ cities have included more uncommon and rare themes than the traditional cities, while common themes are implemented across the board. Common themes are those that are traditionally associated with sustainability – themes like conservation, reuse, and reducing pollutant impact on water sources. In order increase sustainability, cities should apply more of the themes from the top of the pyramid.

Water is essential to life, but it is becoming inadequate, even in Europe. In central, western, and a few parts of northern and northeastern Europe, water availability is facing challenges due to the impacts of climate change. These impacts further cause strains on water abstractions needed for agriculture, industries, energy, and public water supply, as well as causing extreme weather conditions like droughts during the summer. One possibility is to reduce these issues by raising awareness among individuals of their direct and indirect water consumption. However, this study implies that people cannot visualize their water consumption due to not possessing or conveniently accessing their water meter. Thus, this thesis explores the implementation of gamification and its features using a prototype to observe if this can create motivation to educate individuals in reducing their water consumption. This study uses research through design approach centered around the mid-fidelity mobile application prototype, named SAVR, developed in the iterative design process. The iterative process consists of three phases where the participants are involved in evaluating the prototype containing gamification features. The results suggest that specific game features such as points, progress and feedback successfully engaged participants in using the prototype, consequently changing their attitude, and stimulating some awareness raised on their water consumption. Overall, this opens a scope for municipalities to adopt a gamified mobile application to communicate the importance of sustainable water use as well as educating the citizens of the awareness in a playful way.

Variações climáticas podem resultar na entrada insuficiente de água no balanço hídrico de uma região, acarretando em inconsistências relacionadas à outorga de água superficial. O sistema de outorga de água superficial utiliza as vazões percentis &#40;Q7,10, Q90, Q95&#41; para definir a vazão máxima outorgável. No entanto, em períodos de estiagem tais vazões de referência podem não ser suficientes para atender a demanda outorgada, demandando a captação de águas subterrâneas para contrabalançar essa insuficiência hídrica do manancial superficial. Portanto, a outorga dos recursos hídricos deve ocorrer de forma integrada e sustentável, considerando a alteração da descarga do aquífero para o rio devido à captação subterrânea. O objetivo deste trabalho é estimar a disponibilidade hídrica integrada &#40;superficial e subterrânea&#41;, por meio de um modelo empírico linear, proposto como função da média móvel da precipitação de períodos anteriores relacionados ao tempo de regulação do aquífero. Técnicas de correlação e espectrais foram empregadas na análise de séries temporais de precipitação &#40;P&#41; e vazão &#40;Q&#41; da bacia hidrográfica do Ribeirão da Onça, com o objetivo de determinar os tempos de resposta de Q em relação a P. A metodologia proposta foi verificada para precipitação e vazões observadas na bacia com área de 65 km2 no período de 2003 a 2014. Os resultados indicam que o aquífero armazena uma parcela de água precipitada e controla o fluxo para o rio, com tempos de regulação de aproximadamente 60 dias para o escoamento subsuperficial e de aproximadamente 2 anos para o escoamento de base. A metodologia também foi testada para duas sub-bacias hidrográficas do Rio Jacaré-Guaçu, com áreas de 1867 e 3519 km2. A adoção da metodologia proposta permite calcular uma vazão de referência sustentável, possibilitando prever a variação da vazão de base nos períodos de recessão, por estar definida em função de precipitações passadas. Portanto, tal vazão seria mais condizente com as observadas no meio ambiente, proporcionando um adequado funcionamento do ecossistema, garantindo assim a sua preservação. / Climatic variation may result in insufficient input of water in the water balance in a region, resulting in inconsistencies in the water rights permits. Brazilian water allocation system uses the flow duration curves &#40;Q7,10, Q90, Q95&#41; to establish the maximum allowable discharge. However, during droughts such reference discharges may not reach the water rights permits, requiring groundwater extraction to compensate this deficiency in surface water bodies. Hence, the water right permits must be integral, considering the base flow variation due to the groundwater extraction. The aim of this study is to determine the integrated water availability &#40;surface and groundwater&#41;, using an empirical linear model, proposed as a function of the average rainfall of previous periods related to the aquifer regulation time. Correlation and spectral techniques were employed for time-series analysis of precipitation &#40;P&#41; and discharge &#40;Q&#41; in the Ribeirão da Onça watershed, to determine response times of Q as a function of P. The proposed methodology was developed for precipitation and discharge observed from 2003 to 2014 in a watershed with an area of 65 km2. The obtained results indicate that the aquifer stores the rainfall water with regulation times of approximately 60 days for the subsurface flow, ans approximately 2 years for the base flow. The methodology was also tested for two sub-basins of the Jacaré-Guaçú River watershed, with areas of 1867 and 3519 km2.The proposed methodology allows the estimation of a sustainable reference discharge making it possible to predict the base flow variation during recession periods, since it is defined as a function of past rainfall. Therefore, this discharge is more consistent with the values observed in the environment, allowing a proper functioning of the ecosystem, thereby ensuring their preservation.