1. Introduction
Water security is widely recognised by policy makers and academics as a global risk and policy challenge that transcends national security, endangers the health and livelihoods of vulnerable communities, and matters to global security [
1,
2,
3,
4]. Since water security is a multifaceted challenge, the concept of water security is viewed from diverse perspectives that cannot be easily reconciled [
5,
6]. It can generally be seen as the umbrella goal of water resources management toward sustainable development thinking with the focus on meeting water demand for societal and ecological needs [
7,
8,
9]. The concept has emerged from the need to balance people’s needs with conserving water resources, and is reflected explicitly in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal related to water and sanitation (SDG6) [
10].
The world is rapidly urbanizing; villages become towns and towns become cities. The urban population has risen dramatically from 751 million (1950) to 4.2 billion (2018) [
11,
12]. This trend is expected to continue, such that, by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities, and by 2030, there will be 43 densely populated cities with over 10 million dwellers [
12]. With more than 80% of global gross domestic product (GDP) generated in cities, urbanization can play a crucial role in spurring progress towards Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 11 as nations strive to build inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities [
13,
14,
15,
16].
The intersection of water security and urbanization poses many issues, ranging from high population density and water crises to climate risks and natural disasters [
5,
9,
17,
18,
19]. Rapid urbanization has exceeded the capacity of governments to meet the water demand, which has led to many water challenges, such as a lack of access to safely managed water and sanitation, intermittency of water supply, water quality degradation, failing flood management, and environmental degradation [
20,
21,
22,
23,
24]. In recent years, many cities have faced serious water shortages, such as Delhi and Chennai (India), Cape Town (South Africa), Mexico City (Mexico), and Santiago (Chile), and many cities are likely to run out of water in the future [
25,
26,
27,
28].
Water security is a multifaced challenge that hangs on a plethora of socioeconomic, public health, governance, anthropogenic, natural risk, infrastructure, and institutional dimensions that are hard to align and manage [
29,
30,
31,
32]. The discourse on urban water security in recent years has involved many studies, at different levels, on definitions and assessment frameworks with indicators of water security [
4,
9,
29,
33,
34,
35,
36,
37,
38,
39]. Most of these assessments are poorly integrated with the needs of policy makers and there is thus a clear scalar mismatch [
40,
41]. The concept was studied and used in widely diverging ways; the Oxford school argues approaching water security with a risk perspective is more pragmatic [
30,
42,
43], while others emphasize the role of adaptive capacity and inclusive governance mechanisms to ensure water security goes with sustainability [
44,
45]. Others stress the need to develop earth observations to increase reliability, comparability and reproducibility [
7,
46,
47]. UN-Water looked at water security in its distinct aspects and addressed four dimensions, namely drinking water and human well-being, ecosystem, climate change and water related hazards, and socio-economic aspects (DECS framework) [
10]. However, the major challenges of such all-encompassing studies are the complexity of operationalising the concept of water security holistically and captured it in one metric or in a robust policy action [
6].
Our recent study [
31] thoroughly investigated the holistic view of urban water security and proposed a new working definition and assessment framework, based on the sustainable development goal related to water and sanitation SDG6 [
10] and the UN human rights to water and sanitation resolution 64/292 [
48,
49]. According to the authors, urban water security should be defined as “The dynamic capacity of water systems and stakeholders to safeguard sustainable and equitable access to water of adequate quantity and acceptable quality that is continuously, physically and legally, available at an affordable cost for: sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, ensuring protection against waterborne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability” [
31].
This study takes a novel approach to address the above challenges by assessing water security in its DECS assessment framework and capture it in one single metric, namely the integrated urban water security index (IUWSI). We applied this approach in Madaba, Jordan to represent water scarce city with complex challenges, that could characterize the water challenges of many cities around the world. Jordan’s water security is a fundamental challenge to the country’s stability [
50]. Jordan is one of the top water-scarce countries in the world [
51,
52]. It is extremely vulnerable as it is facing great pressures on water resources that include long-term drought, a high level of nonrevenue water, illegal use, transboundary water competition, and an influx of refugees [
53,
54,
55]. Drinking water is supplied on an intermittent basis—once or twice per week—in most cities, with a high level of nonrevenue water (48%) in 2017 [
56,
57,
58,
59]. Intermittency of water supply leads to a vicious cycle of urban system degradation and water insecurity [
60,
61,
62].
Jordan has been experiencing increasing demands due to population growth and an influx of displaced people, coupled with climate change, which significantly widens the gap between water supply and demand [
52,
63]. By the year 2025, if the current trajectory remains in place, Jordan may face a serious, long-term water crisis, since the per capita water supply will drop from the current 145 m
3/year to only 91 m
3/year, reaching a water deficit of 630 × 10
6 m
3/year [
53,
57,
64].
The main objectives of this study are to (1) apply the new DECS framework and IUWSI in Madaba, Jordan, by assessing and normalizing the indicators toward the levels of urban water security; (2) put in place a mechanism for the prioritization of urban water security according to the DECS dimensions and indicators, by considering the local conditions; and (3) measure the integrated urban water security index to identify the gaps and threats to the DECS dimensions and indicators that are to be used as a decision-support tool for better formulation of water security plans.
3. Results and Discussion
The DECS dimensions were assessed using their related indicators, in which each indicator is quantified and normalized to assess the level of water security. After that, weights were assigned for the indicators based on the results from the AHP, prioritised to reflect the significance and impact of each indicator in the study area.
3.1. Drinking Water and Human Well-Being
This dimension was assessed (
Table 7) in terms of securing an adequate and sustainable quantity of water of an acceptable quality, which is physically, legally, and continuously available to meet the water demand.
The overall IUWSI for the dimension of drinking water and human well-being is 2.6 (a satisfactory level). However, there are major gaps and serious concerns in Madaba—based on the score results and weights of the indicators—related to the availability of water resources and the diversity and reliability of the infrastructure. The fresh water available from the Heedan and Wala wells in Madaba is 135 m3/capita/day in 2016, of which irrigated agriculture constituted 6.6 million m3, industries 1 million m3, and municipalities 9.0 million m3. According to the water-stress index, the available fresh water is 135 m3/capita/day, which puts Madaba at the level of absolute water scarcity (less than 500 m3/capita/day). Wastewater reuse is an untapped resource in Madaba, in that less than 30% of the treated wastewater is being effectively reused for restricted agriculture. The excess water is being discharged onto the land and wasted. This amount would relieve and secure treated wastewater for agricultural uses.
Madaba has not secured alternative water resources to safeguard the drinking water supply for households. Action in this area is fundamental to achieve a high level of urban water security. Water and energy are dependent upon each other, so their deficit is coupled in Madaba, with major effects on the urban system and people’s lives. The contribution of alternative energy sources, such as renewable energies to Madaba’s water system, is vital to decrease GHG emissions and shifting the intermittent water supply into a continuous supply. Thus, diversification of both water and energy resources is essential to achieve urban water security.
The reliability of the water infrastructure is measured in terms of nonrevenue water (NRW) in Madaba, which is a great challenge on the road to achieving urban water security. About 40% of the supplied water is being lost due to physical losses (the infrastructure leakage index was 3.12 in 2016), and commercial losses make up 40% of the total nonrevenue water. Metering is also a component of commercial losses; 91.02% of households in Madaba are connected to meters, but mechanical meters, illegal uses, and billing inefficiencies are still a major cause of commercial losses. Energy efficiency programs in Madaba are being improved, especially in pump stations, with an average of 72.24% of the total energy consumed in the grid. Moreover, adequacy and equity in Madaba are a major concern in that people receive water only once or twice per week, for an average of 7 h daily.
On the other hand, Madaba has a good water security level in terms of water quality, accessibility, and water dependency: 1715 water samples from drinking water were tested and found to be of high grade, complying with the water quality standards. The same was true for wastewater and industrial water (132 samples from the wastewater treatment plant and 22 samples from the industrial factory). However, water quality is still a serious issue in that turbidity is high in the winter season and the utility is obliged to stop pumping water from the wells and import water from the capital, Amman.
The physical accessibility of water and sanitation services is a key to achieving the basic human right to water and salination. According to SDG 6.1.1, 98% of Madaba’s population (31,192 subscribers) have access to safely managed drinking water services, while 65% of the population (15,462 subscribers) use safely managed sanitation services (SDG 6.2.1 a) and are connected to the wastewater network.
Madaba imports 332,000 m
3 of water from Amman during the winter due to heavy rains because water turbidity is high and risks to public health are a major concern. Thus, water pumping from the wells is halted as a precautionary measure.
3.2. Ecosystems
The ecosystem is at a reasonable level (2.52) of water security, as computed from the related indicators (
Table 8), with major gaps in two indicators: pollution and the effectiveness of the wastewater and storms networks. Sanitation infrastructure is still a significant gap; only about 67% of wastewater is being treated in Madaba’s wastewater treatment plant. Although wastewater represents a risk in this case, it provides many opportunities if this untapped resource is properly utilised for urban agriculture and recharging ground water. In Madaba, blockage complaints (3250 in 2016) are an indicator of the inefficiency of the storm and wastewater infrastructure. It is crucial to strengthen the resilience of the infrastructure for ecosystem and water security.
The proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality is at a good level. Samples from the groundwater from Wala and Heedan wells were tested and confirmed to meet the WHO and locally applicable quality standards 90% of the time, while the water quality was found to be deteriorated due to water turbidity in the winter.
However, there are major concerns about the low impact of indicators related to green roofing. In Madaba, green roofing has not been deployed since roof tanks take up a considerable area of the roof and local technologies are not in place. Madaba’s green spaces are minimal; it may be described as a city in the desert. Madaba is at risk of urban water insecurity due to the ecosystem aspect.
3.3. Climate Change and Water-Related Hazards
The results for climate change and water-related hazards show poor water security (1.6) in most of the related indicators, as summarized in
Table 9.
Madaba is a heavily industrial city whose total GHG emissions for the entire water and wastewater system are 6.07 kg CO2/m3 (3.4 kg CO2/m3 from water supply + 2.67 kg CO2/m3 from wastewater) due to the high energy consumption from the pump stations, a high level of nonrevenue water, and the energy consumed by the Madaba wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).
According to the Ministry of Health [
59], Madaba has a record 3475 cases of diarrhoea; this may be correlated with the intermittent water supply, which can lead to significant risks to public health due to the potential suction of nonportable water by negative pressure, biofilm detachment, and microbial regrowth, especially when static conditions occur. Roof tanks often increase bacterial regrowth.
Urban flooding is caused by heavy and/or prolonged rainfall that exceeds the capacity of the drainage system. Flooding and drought are natural hazards with a great economic and social impact on cities. The growing threat of urban flooding has revealed the poor state of the city’ resilience to climate change. Madaba has experienced unprecedent flooding in 2018, which led to a death of 13 people. The flood prone areas are in Zarqa Main, a valley area of 270 km
2 that represents 0.29% of the total area of Madaba.
3.4. Socioeconomic Aspects
The socioeconomic results of each indicator are in
Table 10, with major gaps in the following crucial indicators: budget directed to water and sanitation, illegal uses, and customers’ complaints. In Jordan, only 1.05% of the total budget of the government is directed to the water sector. Maximizing the budget directed to the water sector is indispensable to achieve urban water security. In Madaba, illegal uses are a great concern; 396 cases were reported in 2016. Customer satisfaction is a key factor to achieve urban water security; a state in which the utility is capable of operating and managing the water system so as to satisfy the water demand. In Madaba’s intermittent water supply system, complaints about leakage and no water are one of the main issues that put pressure on the performance of the water utility.
The topography of Madaba and pumping water far from the Heedan and Wala wells play a major role in increasing the per unit energy consumption to 4.98 Kwh/m3, coupled with the intermittency of water—water is highly pressurized for a short supply time to meet the demand, which causes negative impacts in terms of increasing the greenhouse gas emissions as well as on the infrastructure in terms of leakage and high energy consumption. Wastewater treatment and discharge consumes 30% of the total energy in the water cycle. In Madaba, 1.31 kwh/m3 is the average consumption, mainly due to overconsumption by the aerators. However, the Madaba WWTP has the potential to produce biogas; wastewater is still an untapped resource to achieve water and energy security for WWTPs in Jordan.
In Madaba, water is highly subsidized by the government. Thus, the water tariff per 15 m3 is USD 0.78, which is very low, to cover the operation and maintenance costs. Part of the water tariff (USD 0.15 per 15 m3) contributes directly to wastewater, which is not enough for cost recovery and bridging the infrastructure gap as only 65% of Madaba’s population is connected to the wastewater network.
The total annual operating revenue per population served divided by the national GNI per capita is 0.58%, an indicator of the affordability of water and sanitation services in Madaba. The indicator can give an approximate measure of the affordability, but it cannot reveal the high costs of coping with the intermittent water supply in Madaba. The water tariff and the high level of nonrevenue water are key components of cost recovery in Madaba; the operating revenue can only cover 78% of operating expenditure.
The overall water security is presented in
Figure 7 by the score value and the relative importance of each indicator. The IUWSI diagram is used to graphically represent the results of indicators and its weights with graded colours—ordered by the relative importance of each indicator—in order to facilitate the visualization of the state of urban water security and the needed intervention strategies in Madaba, Jordan.
The level of water security in Madaba is represented below by the cumulative single index IUWSI.
4. Conclusions
It is clear that there are a plethora of issues that can help explain the current urban water security figures in Madaba. This study develops a systematic approach to study the dynamics of urban water security using the IUWSI in the water-scarce city of Madaba, Jordan. The overall IUWSI in Madaba shows a satisfactory level—that is, it can meet basic demands but has inefficient water governance due to centralized decision-making and focuses on just one dimension of urban water security—drinking water. The degree of water security in Madaba in the dimensions of drinking water and the ecosystem is satisfactory, but with weak major indicators: water availability, diversity, reliability, pollution, and effectiveness of water and storm networks.
The socioeconomic and climate change dimensions are fair and poor, respectively, with major concerns about the related indicators of the budget directed at illegal water uses, customer complaints, public health, and floods. Addressing all the aforementioned indicators would strengthen the capacity of the system and allow water stakeholders to achieve urban water security.
Despite clear evidence of dwindling water resources and increasing water demands, Madaba continues to count on conventional (non-renewable) solutions to groundwater and silo-oriented solutions to meet the basic needs of drinking water, neglecting crucial dimensions and indicators of the DECS framework. In Madaba, urban water management is linear and discounted from the entire water cycle; water is mainly abstracted from the Heedan and Wala wells with limited thought given to sustainability constrains, the vulnerability of the ecosystem, fragmented socioeconomic development, or wastewater and stormwater management.
Accordingly, the study makes the following key policy recommendations about urban water security in Madaba based on the results of the indicators in terms of high relative weights with low scores:
The urban water security index provides the water stakeholders with a clear understanding of the challenges and what is needed for achieving water security in Madaba.
Diversity of water resources in Madaba is a major concern, and vital to increase the availability of water resources and achieve urban water security. Wastewater reuse and nonrevenue water are untapped resources in Madaba, and would have a great positive impact on the reliability of the system.
The dangers of high-water turbidity in Madaba’s wells during flash floods—which are increasing as a result of climate change—made the system dependent on external sources and imported water from the capital, Amman. Climate resilience measures are necessary to mitigate climate extremes in the future.
Intermittent water supply in Madaba poses risks to water quality and water services in terms of adequacy and equity.
Access to safely managed sanitation is crucial to improving water security and reducing pollution in Madaba.
Green roofing and urban agriculture should receive a lot of attention to improve the ecosystem dimension.
Adaptative management and IWRM based on public participation and knowledge exchange can increase the adaptivity capacity in the face of climate change and water-related hazards, and are critical to the resilience of people and infrastructure and to achieve water security.
Energy consumption in Madaba’s water supply is high due to the topography and energy losses. Investing in energy efficiency programs and renewable energies is a good measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The budget being directed to water and sanitation services is essential to achieve water security; adjusting water and wastewater tariffs is needed to maximize domestic finances for achieving water security.
Illegal uses pose threats to the DECS framework; strict measures and technologies are needed to detect theft and crack down on it.
The IUWSI provides a holistic framework to operationalize the concept, identify different types of insecurity, highlight gaps in indicators, weight indicators based on their importance, and recognize the complex causal processes that lead to a certain level of urban water security.
We argue that urban water security could be relevant as a tool for reforming water policies in many countries that face substantial challenges in managing water resources effectively. This broader approach can be used to assess the extent to which water policies are aligned with the key objectives and the required resources. The findings are symptomatic of Jordan and the Middle East region in which rapid urbanization coupled with climate extremes are key factors placing pressure on the limited water resources. As a result, water supply is intermittent, water quality is deteriorated, there is inequality of water supply and great competition for access to water, and a continuing need to pursue strong reform agenda.
The findings highlight the dangers faced if we continue with a business-as-usual approach. It is crucial to shift from silo solutions to more integrated ones to ensure urban water security. A clear action is needed for countries running in a vicious cycle of water insecurity due to interment water supply. We recommend that policy makers take decisive action toward the weak indicators with high impact and to shift intermittent water supply into 24 × 7 provisioning, to ensure sustainable water management and get back the virtuous cycle of water security.
We argue that this novel approach would help policy makers and water stakeholders to target their scant resources toward achieving urban water security. While some policy measures, such as increasing access to sanitation, water-use efficiency, cracking down illegal uses, and increasing the budget directed to water sector, have positive implications for achieving urban water security, other measures, such as reusing wastewater for agriculture, diversity of water and energy sources, inter-basin transfers of water to deal with water shortage, and reducing greenhouse gases emission to deal with climate risks, may increase the trade-offs and nexus challenges. For example, treated wastewater use in agriculture as an untapped resource may be positive for water conservation, although you increase the risk to groundwater quality and polluting the farmland with chemical residual of wastewater treatments. These trade-offs are strongest in water-scarce countries with limited resources and capacities, where many people lack access to safely managed water and sanitation as in Jordan and the Middle East region. Policy makers have to make choices among intervention measures using this tool, which focus prominently on the weak indicators with high impact. Managing the trade-offs in dynamic water security is a daunting task and significant challenges remain.
The existing literature on water security assessments is too narrow to apply an equal weight to all the indicators of water security, which often does not represent the reality on the ground and underestimate the necessary interventions at the local scale. The results of the study are dependent on the local context that can be different from other cases. The study highlights the importance of the weights as a tool in planning pathways toward water security and underscore the most important indicators with high impact to invest first. This will result in maximizing synergies and minimizing trade-offs among indicators. The result of the
Figure 7 is a good representation of the required interventions to achieve urban water security in terms of defining the weak indicators with high relative weights.
This study is an initial attempt to develop AHP models for evaluating the relative importance of the DECS indicators by comparing a set of indicators and weights for urban water security. The AHP model should be refined and views from different stakeholders must be collected, considered and balanced according to the differences that may arise. Since water security is a dynamic process affected by increasing demands, changing climate, political structures, economic growth, and resources, the relative importance of indicators should also be seen as an iterative process based on feedbacks.
The study can be implemented and scaled to many parts of the world and this would help to create a platform for comparative analysis and benchmarking cities toward achieving urban water security. Therefore, water stakeholders, public authorities, and regulators can learn the best practices from each other, to continuously improve the integrated management of water resources and services.