Integrated Urban Water Management

TARGET GROUP: URBAN PEOPLE

OBJECTIVES

·        To trigger some critical thinking and discussion among water managers and decision makers that can set the stage for tangible actions for enhanced water security. 

SUMMARY

Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) has been widely promulgated as a contemporary philosophy across the globe for managing the urban water sector. Often seen as the more doable version of the basinscale Integrated Water Resources Management, the philosophy essentially propagates that the water supply, wastewater, and stormwater elements are looked at holistically in order to augment the water security of a city. In India, IUWM has been acknowledged as a sound and robust solution to manage the urban water sector since 2015. However, it has not been taken up as enthusiastically as envisaged, for different reasons. One of these could be attributed to lack of awareness of the IUWM philosophy in some cities, especially the smaller ones. However, in larger proactive cities, attempts are being made to explore the adoption of IUWM. The existing knowledge about IUWM and its role in managing the urban water sector is quite comprehensive, however, the challenge appears to be in translating this knowledge into practice.

REFERENCE

https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/unesco_ndl_and_niua_white_paper_iuwm.pdf