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Climate Change Adaptation in Water Resource Management

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2026 | Viewed by 400

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
Interests: climate change adaptation; climate change impacts on water resources; integrated water resources management; coastal water resources; bias correction; groundwater; nitrate pollution; seawater intrusion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change presents unprecedented challenges to the availability, quality, and distribution of water resources and management worldwide, from altered hydrological cycles and extreme events to rising competition for water across sectors. This Special Issue will focus on innovative approaches, tools, and strategies for adapting to climate change within the field of water resource management from high-quality, original research and reviews that address how water resource management systems and society can adapt to climate-induced stressors through science, policy, and practice.

We invite the submission of contributions that explore the following topics:

  • Adaptive governance and water policy reforms;
  • Integrated water resource management (IWRM);
  • Innovative modeling and decision-support tools;
  • Nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation;
  • Case studies on urban, agricultural, or transboundary water adaptation;
  • Adaptation to climate change and extreme hydrological events induced;
  • Water resource systems in transition;
  • Water quality under climate stressors;
  • Socioeconomic and equity considerations.

This Special Issue aims to foster a cross-disciplinary dialog, improve resilience in water systems, and inform decision-making under future climate scenarios. It seeks to bridge scientific research with practical applications, supporting adaptive decision-making in water resource planning under uncertainty. It will contribute to the ongoing discourse on sustainable water management and climate resilience by bringing together interdisciplinary insights from engineering, hydrology, environmental sciences, and policy frameworks for water resource sustainability.

Prof. Dr. Athanasios Loukas
Dr. Aikaterini Lyra
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. Water 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 2600 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

  • climate change adaptation
  • water resources management, policy and governance
  • hydrological modeling
  • groundwater
  • climate downscaling
  • integrated water resources management (IWRM)
  • seawater intrusion
  • water quality
  • sustainable water systems
  • agricultural catchment
  • floods
  • droughts

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 3749 KB  
Article
Strengthening Dam Safety Under Climate Change: A Risk-Informed Overtopping Assessment
by Wan Noorul Hafilah Wan Ariffin, Lariyah Mohd Sidek, Hidayah Basri, Adrian M. Torres, Ali Najah Ahmed and Nurul Iman Ahmad Bukhari
Water 2025, 17(19), 2856; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17192856 - 30 Sep 2025
Abstract
Climate change is intensifying hydrological extremes, posing growing threats to the safety and operational reliability of embankment dams worldwide, particularly those in regions susceptible to heavy rainfall and flooding. This study evaluates the overtopping risk for Batu Dam, a critical flood mitigation and [...] Read more.
Climate change is intensifying hydrological extremes, posing growing threats to the safety and operational reliability of embankment dams worldwide, particularly those in regions susceptible to heavy rainfall and flooding. This study evaluates the overtopping risk for Batu Dam, a critical flood mitigation and water supply structure near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, under future climate scenarios, with the aim of informing risk-informed dam safety strategies. Using historical hydrological data (1975–2020) and downscaled climate projections from the CMIP5 database under three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5, RCP6.0, RCP8.5), we conducted flood routing simulations and probabilistic risk assessments employing the iPRESAS software. Our results demonstrate that the annual probability of overtopping increases substantially under higher-emission scenarios, reaching up to 0.08% by the late century under RCP8.5, driven by increased frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events. These projections highlight significant spillway capacity limitations and underscore the heightened risk of downstream consequences, including economic losses exceeding RM 200 million and potential loss of life surpassing 2900 individuals in worst-case scenarios. The findings confirm the urgent need for both structural adaptations, such as spillway expansion and crest elevation, and non-structural measures, including enhanced real-time monitoring and early warning systems. This integrated approach offers a robust and replicable framework for strengthening dam safety under evolving climate conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Adaptation in Water Resource Management)
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