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Water Security and Resilience
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Water Security and Resilience

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2023) | Viewed by 13487

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Blanca Antizar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
2. Isle Utilities Ltd, Camelford House, 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP, UK
Interests: water security; circular economy; bioremediation
Prof. Dr. Jo Burgess

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Centre for Bioprocess Engineering Research (CeBER), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
2. Isle Utilities Ltd Inc, PO Box 24531, Gezina 0031, South Africa
Interests: industrial ecology; resource recovery; circular economy; reuse; recycling
Prof. Dr. Jan Hofman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Water Innovation and Research Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
Interests: sustainable water management; origin, fate and abatement options for emerging contaminants like pharmaceutical compounds or nanoparticles in water; thermal energy recovery from water and wastewater; resource recovery from wastewater and water treatment residuals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For the last two decades, water security has been in the spotlight as a key concept for sustainable development. Almost two-thirds of cities around the world believe that climate change will negatively affect their water resilience. Water companies and administrations are under increasing pressure to invest in new ways to meet new demands due to population growth, climate change and tightening environmental standards. Many companies are concerned about business risks related to water supplies. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound changes in the way we live and work, and digitalization is playing an important role globally in the water sector and beyond, boosting knowledge sharing and collaboration to address these challenges.

Against the backdrop of growing global urbanization and climate change and unforeseen challenges such as those we have recently seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, this Special Issue focuses on four major risks—water scarcity, flooding, declining water quality and untreated wastewater—and how we can take steps to improve water resilience.

This Special Issue will usefully supplement the existing literature by addressing water security and resilience in the current context and providing new perspectives to foster an innovation culture in the water sector. Specific topics to be included include water security, resilience, water governance, sustainability, low-carbon innovative technologies to treat drinking and waste water, water security and resilience assessment tools.

Prof. Dr. Blanca Antizar
Prof. Dr. Jo Burgess
Prof. Dr. Jan Hofman
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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 security
  • water resilience
  • sustainability

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3059 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Feasibility of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting for Food Production in Northwestern Arizona on the Hualapai Indian Reservation
by Brianda Hernandez Rosales and Alexandra Lutz
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 2891; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042891 - 06 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1447
Abstract
With the uncertainties of climate change and the persistence of droughts in the Southwestern US, finding additional renewable water resources is crucial to ensure safe drinking water and attain food security in rural and tribal communities. Rainwater harvesting (RWH), the practice of centralizing, [...] Read more.
With the uncertainties of climate change and the persistence of droughts in the Southwestern US, finding additional renewable water resources is crucial to ensure safe drinking water and attain food security in rural and tribal communities. Rainwater harvesting (RWH), the practice of centralizing, collecting, and storing rainwater for later use, has the potential to help alleviate some water stresses in these communities. Although RWH is not a new concept, it has not been widely practiced in arid and semi-arid environments in the United States. This study assessed the feasibility of rooftop RHW at a small scale, in Peach Springs, Arizona, on the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Working alongside the Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program (FRTEP) agent for the Hualapai Tribe, this study considered RWH from four prospective buildings to supplement irrigation practices for food production. Due to high standard deviation and coefficient of variation values, annual precipitation amounts were classified into normal, dry, and wet years to assess variability over the last 40 water years. An average total of ~29,285 L could be collected from one of the buildings considered for RWH during the growing season of April to September during a classified normal year. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) AquaCrop model was used to determine the area that can be cultivated with four staple crops, maize, tomatoes, dry beans, and sunflowers, which are currently being grown in the community garden, solely using the captured rainwater. Cultivable areas range from 8.7 m2 to 71 m2 depending on the catchment size, crop, and classified precipitation year—a wet, dry, or normal precipitation year. A total of 81.2 kg of dry corn could be harvested during a normal precipitation year, solely using the collected rainwater from one of the buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Security and Resilience)
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17 pages, 2226 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Governance Capacity to Ensure a Long-Term Water Supply: The Case of Windhoek, Namibia
by Flavia Olivieri, Steven Hendrik Andreas Koop, Kees Van Leeuwen and Jan Hofman
Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2387; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042387 - 19 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2323
Abstract
Windhoek, Namibia, faces water stress, urbanisation, climate change and governance challenges; these issues are constraining water provision and underpinning the urgency to implement an integrated water resource management plan. Windhoek has provided access to water during droughts by relying on multiple water resources [...] Read more.
Windhoek, Namibia, faces water stress, urbanisation, climate change and governance challenges; these issues are constraining water provision and underpinning the urgency to implement an integrated water resource management plan. Windhoek has provided access to water during droughts by relying on multiple water resources including treated wastewater. However, significant infrastructure investments are required to ensure continued water security. Through applying the City Blueprint Approach—an indicator assessment aiming to provide a holistic understanding of water management and governance—we substantiate how Namibia can enhance the capacity to implement legislation, with long-term focus and collaboration with experts and stakeholders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Security and Resilience)
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Review

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26 pages, 1077 KiB  
Review
Low-Carbon Technologies to Remove Organic Micropollutants from Wastewater: A Focus on Pharmaceuticals
by Thérèse Krahnstöver, Naiara Santos, Karyn Georges, Luiza Campos and Blanca Antizar-Ladislao
Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11686; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811686 - 17 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2658
Abstract
Pharmaceutical residues are of environmental concern since they are found in several environmental compartments, including surface, ground and waste waters. However, the effect of pharmaceuticals on ecosystems is still under investigation. To date, the removal of these micropollutants by conventional treatment plants is [...] Read more.
Pharmaceutical residues are of environmental concern since they are found in several environmental compartments, including surface, ground and waste waters. However, the effect of pharmaceuticals on ecosystems is still under investigation. To date, the removal of these micropollutants by conventional treatment plants is generally ineffective, in addition to producing a considerable carbon footprint. In this sense, to achieve the current zero-pollution ambition, a reduction in the negative impacts of chemical substances such as pharmaceuticals on the environment must be aligned with initiatives such as the European Ecological Compact, Environment Action Programme, and Circular Economy Action Plan, among others. This review provides insight into the key drivers for changing approaches, technologies, and governance of water in Europe (Germany, Switzerland, and the UK), including improving wastewater treatment in sewage treatment plants for the removal of pharmaceuticals and their carbon footprint. In addition, an overview of emerging low-carbon technologies (e.g., constructed wetlands, anaerobic membrane bioreactors, and enzymes) for the removal of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment works is provided. In general, the removal efficiency of pharmaceuticals could be achieved up to ca. 100% in wastewater, with the exception of highly recalcitrant pharmaceuticals such as carbamazepine (removal <60%). These technologies have the potential to help reduce the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment, which can therefore contribute to the achievement of the Europe Union’s objective of being carbon neutral by 2050. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Security and Resilience)
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18 pages, 3370 KiB  
Review
Addressing Water Security: An Overview
by Juliana Marcal, Blanca Antizar-Ladislao and Jan Hofman
Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13702; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413702 - 11 Dec 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5245
Abstract
For the last two decades, water security has been in the spotlight as a key concept for sustainable development. However, due to its wide interpretation range, the understanding of what water security is and what it encompasses can change considerably with different perspectives. [...] Read more.
For the last two decades, water security has been in the spotlight as a key concept for sustainable development. However, due to its wide interpretation range, the understanding of what water security is and what it encompasses can change considerably with different perspectives. By means of a review of both academic and grey literature, this paper presents an in-depth global overview of what water security means and how assessment is being carried out. These aspects are put together in the present work with the aim to facilitate access to this complex concept for academics but also policymakers and other stakeholders involved in water management and governance. Aiming to provide a groundwork for water security understanding, we examine definitions, scales of application, frequent approaches and methodologies used to study water security. We also present indicators and aspects being included in water security frameworks. A summary of important actions towards water security improvement is also presented. As a dynamic and multi-faceted concept, water security requires an equally multi-dimensional and flexible interpretation. Understanding and measuring are key to improving water security levels. Bringing attention to how climate change, environmental needs, demographics, economics and governance are linked to water security can boost impact by prompting science, policies and innovation to come together. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Security and Resilience)
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