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Water Resources Allocation, Planning, and Regulation for Sustainable Management
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Water Resources Allocation, Planning, and Regulation for Sustainable 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: 10 June 2026 | Viewed by 2588

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Carina Almeida

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Engineering, Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: hydrological modelling; water management; climate scenarios; management scenarios
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue “Water Resources Allocation, Planning, and Regulation for Sustainable Management” aims to bring together innovative research, methodologies, and practical experiences that contribute to the equitable and efficient management of water resources. As water scarcity and climate change increasingly challenge societies worldwide, there is a growing need for integrated approaches that ensure the sustainable use and protection of water across competing sectors and ecosystems.

This Special Issue invites contributions that address the complexities of water allocation and planning under conditions of uncertainty, rising demand, and environmental stress. It encourages interdisciplinary perspectives that combine hydrology, policy, economics, engineering, and governance to support decision-making processes at local, regional, and transboundary levels.

This Special Issue seeks to promote dialogue and knowledge exchange among scientists, practitioners, and policymakers to foster sustainable water resource management worldwide.

We welcome original research articles, case studies, reviews, and methodological advances on topics including (but not limited to) the following:

  • Water allocation models and optimization techniques;
  • Planning strategies for multi-sectoral water use;
  • Legal and institutional frameworks for water regulation;
  • Participatory governance and stakeholder engagement in water management;
  • Economic instruments and incentives for sustainable water use;
  • Adaptation of water management practises to climate change;
  • Water–energy–food–ecosystem nexus approaches;
  • Monitoring tools and data systems for planning and regulation;
  • Evaluation of policy impacts on water sustainability.

Dr. Carina Almeida
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. 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

  • water resources management
  • water allocation
  • planning and regulation
  • climate change adaptation
  • integrated approaches
  • water governance
  • sustainability

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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29 pages, 19040 KB  
Article
Decoupling Effect, Influencing Factors and Planning Strategy of Urban Water Use in Small Cities: Evidence from Guangxi
by Chunlin Chen, Changbin Bai and Sidong Zhao
Water 2026, 18(9), 1055; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18091055 - 29 Apr 2026
Viewed by 500
Abstract
Water resources serve as a rigid constraint for urban sustainable development, yet existing studies still lack sufficient understanding of the decoupling effect and its nonlinear mechanism in urban water resource utilization. This study comprehensively employs the spatiotemporal dynamic matrix, decoupling model, and explainable [...] Read more.
Water resources serve as a rigid constraint for urban sustainable development, yet existing studies still lack sufficient understanding of the decoupling effect and its nonlinear mechanism in urban water resource utilization. This study comprehensively employs the spatiotemporal dynamic matrix, decoupling model, and explainable machine learning methods to conduct an empirical analysis of 70 small cities in Guangxi, China. Findings: (1) From the integrated perspective of stock and flow, the dynamic patterns of water use are diversified. (2) The decoupling status is generally positive, with over 60% of counties decoupling, primarily characterized by weak decoupling. However, over 30% of counties are still in an unhealthy negative decoupling state, indicating that the problem of extensive use of water resources is still prominent. (3) Water resource endowment, population, urbanization, water supply facilities, and land use complexity are key factors affecting decoupling relationships. The effects of these factors exhibit nonlinear patterns such as L, N, U, inverted U, and parabolic patterns, accompanied by pronounced threshold effects and spatial heterogeneity. (4) By integrating the analysis results of the dynamics mode and decoupling effect, this study constructs a 4 × 3 systematic decision-making toolkit. It proposes differentiated and adaptive planning strategies for 12 zoning categories, providing a scientific basis and decision-making references for refined water resource governance in similar areas worldwide. The innovation of this study lies in establishing a nonlinear analytical framework that spans the entire process of “identification—diagnosis—attribution—planning”, advancing the research paradigm in this field from linear to nonlinear approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Resources Allocation, Planning, and Regulation for Sustainable Management)
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20 pages, 3022 KB  
Article
Near-Future Climate Change Impacts on Sado River (Southern Portugal) Flow Rates Using CMIP6-HSPF Modelling
by André M. Claro, André R. Fonseca, António Fernandes, Christoph Menz, Carina Almeida, Helder Fraga and João A. Santos
Water 2026, 18(4), 442; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18040442 - 7 Feb 2026
Viewed by 822
Abstract
Climate change impacts on the Sado River (southwest Portugal) flow rates (FRs) were assessed for the first time under the 2041–2060 Shared Socioeconomic Pathways: 1–2.6 W/m2 (SSP1-2.6), 3–7.0 W/m2 (SSP3-7.0), and 5–8.5 W/m2 (SSP5-8.5), using bias-adjusted and downscaled General Circulation [...] Read more.
Climate change impacts on the Sado River (southwest Portugal) flow rates (FRs) were assessed for the first time under the 2041–2060 Shared Socioeconomic Pathways: 1–2.6 W/m2 (SSP1-2.6), 3–7.0 W/m2 (SSP3-7.0), and 5–8.5 W/m2 (SSP5-8.5), using bias-adjusted and downscaled General Circulation Model (GCM) ensemble projections from the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP3b-Sado). ISIMIP3b-Sado was used to estimate future precipitation and temperature changes, and as input for Hydrological Simulation Program—FORTRAN (HSPF) simulations. The HSPF projected decreases in the Sado FRs, mainly under SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5, due to temperature increases and autumn/spring precipitation decreases. The FR decreases may lead to 29%/33% reductions in yearly accumulated riverine water volume under SSP3-7.0/SSP5-8.5 and a 31% summertime riverine water deficit increase under SSP3-7.0. Surface-water demand fulfilment in the Sado Basin could suffer a 22-day delay, and the wintertime precipitation range is projected to increase. Hence, in the near-future, summertime surface-water needs and reservoir recharge in the Sado Basin could become more dependent on wintertime precipitation. With Sado being an agricultural region, our results should prompt agriculture stakeholders and decision makers to improve wintertime surface water storage and management to sustain summertime crop irrigation needs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Resources Allocation, Planning, and Regulation for Sustainable Management)
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Review

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22 pages, 2173 KB  
Review
The Problem of Water Losses in the Visegrad Group (V4) Countries: Challenges and Opportunities
by Mateusz Rożnowski, Jakub Żywiec, Dawid Szpak and Barbara Tchórzewska-Cieślak
Water 2026, 18(5), 640; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18050640 - 8 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 680
Abstract
One of the objectives of Directive (EU) 2020/2184 is to assess the amount of water leakage in water supply systems (WSS) and to reduce it if it exceeds a certain threshold. The Directive is binding on water supply companies supplying at least 10,000 [...] Read more.
One of the objectives of Directive (EU) 2020/2184 is to assess the amount of water leakage in water supply systems (WSS) and to reduce it if it exceeds a certain threshold. The Directive is binding on water supply companies supplying at least 10,000 m3/d or serving at least 50,000 consumers. The problem of water losses due to, among other things, aging infrastructure currently requires appropriate action to be taken by WSS management companies. This paper discusses the problem of water losses in the Visegrad Group countries and the challenges and opportunities associated with it. In order to analyze the problem, a bibliometric analysis of the state of knowledge was performed. The results of the literature review present the current directions of research on this topic in the V4 countries as former communist bloc countries. The strengths and weaknesses identified in the paper can be used to plan water loss reduction by water supply companies, researchers, and legislators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Resources Allocation, Planning, and Regulation for Sustainable Management)
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