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Water Sustainability: Managing Surface Water, Groundwater and Ecosystems for a Resilient Future

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 2467

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Basant Maheshwari

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Science, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
Interests: water resources management; irrigation; environmental sustainability; water security; water reuse; urban water
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water is central to sustainable development, yet growing pressures from population growth, climate variability, urbanisation, and agricultural intensification are placing unprecedented stress on both surface water and groundwater systems. Sustainable water management must therefore balance human needs with ecological integrity, while recognising the interconnectedness of rivers, aquifers, wetlands, and urban water systems.

This Special Issue seeks contributions that advance understanding and practice in water sustainability across diverse contexts and landscapes. It will focus on approaches that integrate hydrological, ecological, social, economic, and policy dimensions to ensure water availability and quality for future generations. Key themes of interest include river and catchment health, sustainable groundwater use, water in agriculture and food systems, urban water resilience, managed aquifer recharge, water governance, and participatory and technological innovations. Contributions may be conceptual, empirical, or methodological, and we particularly welcome interdisciplinary and comparative studies that provide actionable insights.

By bringing together global perspectives and case studies, this Special Issue will fill critical gaps in the literature and guide researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

We invite you to contribute your original research articles, critical reviews, and perspectives to this timely discussion on water sustainability.

Prof. Dr. Basant Maheshwari
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water sustainability
  • groundwater management
  • river health
  • urban water resilience
  • sustainable agriculture
  • water governance
  • managed aquifer recharge
  • citizen science
  • water–energy–food nexus

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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21 pages, 28484 KB  
Article
Quantifying Groundwater Availability and Hydrological Status Using Visual MODFLOW in Siliguri Planning Area, a Terai Region of Darjeeling Himalaya, India
by Dipesh Roy, Motrih Al-Mutiry, Hussein Almohamad and Deepak Kumar Mandal
Sustainability 2026, 18(10), 4779; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18104779 - 11 May 2026
Viewed by 189
Abstract
The environmental water balance is threatened due to the massive extraction of freshwater resources for daily human consumption around the world. This study endeavors to incorporate Visual MODFLOW, remote sensing and GIS techniques to establish a computational simulation of groundwater flow and quantify [...] Read more.
The environmental water balance is threatened due to the massive extraction of freshwater resources for daily human consumption around the world. This study endeavors to incorporate Visual MODFLOW, remote sensing and GIS techniques to establish a computational simulation of groundwater flow and quantify groundwater availability in the Siliguri Planning Area, which is facing rapid urbanization and high population growth. The basic parameters of MODFLOW modeling, such as observation heads and wells, boundary conditions and layer properties, are prepared from data issued by different sources. A model was designed to enhance our understanding of the three-dimensional hydrogeologic system of aquifers and simulate current and future groundwater behavior. Model performance was evaluated using more statistical indicators, including mean absolute error (MAE = 0.386 m), root mean square error (RMSE = 0.466 m) and coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.9826), which indicate good agreement between observed and simulated groundwater levels. Recharge is primarily controlled by monsoonal precipitation and LULC characteristics, with agricultural and vegetated areas contributing 60–70% of total recharge, while built-up areas contribute less than 20%. Temporal analysis indicates localized groundwater decline at a rate of 0.16–0.18 m/year in urbanized zones. The groundwater recharge in the study area ranges from 5000 to 10,000 hectare-meters (ham), while groundwater extraction ranges from 1000 to 1500 ham. Overall, the net groundwater availability across all layers is 10,430 hectare-meters (ham). The findings may help groundwater authorities and associated organizations better comprehend the possible state of groundwater resources and put adaptation plans into place to prevent the loss of the water resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Sustainability: Managing Surface Water, Groundwater and Ecosystems for a Resilient Future)
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49 pages, 6366 KB  
Systematic Review
Assessing Water Sustainability for the Sustainable Development Goals: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis Highlighting Gaps in Current Assessment Frameworks
by Niruban Chakkaravarthy Dhanasekaran, Basant Maheshwari, Michelle Donovan-Mak and Samsul Huda
Sustainability 2026, 18(5), 2514; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18052514 - 4 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1915
Abstract
Water sustainability plays a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as it influences human well-being, ecosystem integrity, and long-term development pathways. Over the past three decades, a substantial body of research has emerged on water sustainability; however, there remains a [...] Read more.
Water sustainability plays a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as it influences human well-being, ecosystem integrity, and long-term development pathways. Over the past three decades, a substantial body of research has emerged on water sustainability; however, there remains a limited synthesis of how sustainability has been assessed, how assessment approaches have evolved, and the extent to which they align with the multidimensional intent of the SDGs. This study addresses the gap by combining a systematic review conducted using the PRISMA framework and bibliometric analysis from 1995 to 2025. The results show a marked acceleration in research output after 2015 following the formal adoption of the SDGs, with concentrations in a small number of countries and research hubs. Water sustainability assessment is mainly shaped by technically oriented indicator-based frameworks that emphasise water availability, water quality, and management performance. While these approaches have enabled comparability and methodological consistency, they often provide a partial representation of sustainability with limited integration of governance processes, social equity, cultural contexts, indigenous knowledge, and ecosystem services. The findings highlight the need for assessment approaches that go beyond technical metrics to more integrative and context-sensitive frameworks that can inform policy, support adaptive decisions, and reflect the interconnected nature of sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Sustainability: Managing Surface Water, Groundwater and Ecosystems for a Resilient Future)
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