Special Issue "Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), a Holistic Approach to Sustainable Water 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: 31 May 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. José Álvarez-García
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Financial Economy and Accounting Department, Faculty of Business, Finance and Tourism, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Interests: business and tourism; resource and service management; water resources management; water governance; sustainable rural development; financial economics; accounting and management; sustainability; entrepreneurship; innovation; quality and environmental management systems
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Amador Durán-Sánchez
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Financial Economy and Accounting Department, Faculty of Business, Finance and Tourism, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Interests: business and tourism; resource and service management; water resources management; water governance; sustainable rural development; financial economics; accounting and management; sustainability; entrepreneurship; innovation; quality and environmental management systems
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. María de la Cruz del Río-Rama
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Business Management and Marketing Department, Faculty of Business Sciences and Tourism, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Interests: business and tourism; resource and service management; water resources management; water governance; sustainable rural development; sustainability; entrepreneurship; innovation; quality and environmental management systems
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water is a scarce natural resource, essential for life and for the vast majority of economic activities; it is irreplaceable, not expandable by the mere will of man, irregular in its way of presenting itself in time and space, easily vulnerable, and susceptible to successive uses. Only 3.5% of the earth's water is fresh, but of this percentage, 70% is in glaciers and polar caps. The remaining 30% is found in the subsoil, wells or aquifers. Only 1% of the earth's freshwater flows through river basins in the form of streams and rivers. It is, therefore, a limited resource, whose demand, according to the forecasts of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will skyrocket globally to 55% between the years 2000 and 2050.

Conflicts over competition for water use are likely to increase as societies grapple with social, economic, and political challenges, especially compounded by climate change. In this scenario, the sustainable management of water resources is a key priority to meet the growing demand for water and to achieve a safe and sustainable supply. The Integrated Water Resources Management is understood as a process that promotes the development and coordinated management of water, land, and related resources in order to maximize economic and social well-being in an equitable way and without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems in the future.

The objectives and scope of this Special Issue are very broad. Manuscripts presenting cutting-edge research on Integrated Water Resources Management (conceptual and/or empirical works) from all areas of knowledge are welcome. Research that addresses the following specific topics, without excluding others directly related to them, is of interest:

  • Water Resources Systems
  • Integrated Water Modeling
  • Water Monitoring
  • Water Protection and Management
  • Water Resources Planning
  • Adaptive Management
  • Water Demand Management
  • Water Economics
  • Water-Saving Strategies Assessment (WSSA)
  • Drought Management
  • Groundwater Depletion
  • Urban Water Management
  • Water Management and Economics Sector
  • Water Allocation
  • Water Quality
  • Water Use and Sustainable Development
  • Water Markets
  • Water Footprint
  • Emerging Contaminants of Water
  • Wastewater, Management, Recycling, and Water Reuses
  • Wastewater Decontamination
  • Other relevant topics related to the subject.

In summary, this Special Issue invites the submission of articles examining trends and initiatives in Integrated Water Resources Management, employing original methodologies and offering interesting empirical insights and novel theoretical contributions.

Prof. Dr. José Álvarez-García
Prof. Amador Durán-Sánchez
Prof. Dr. María de la Cruz del Río-Rama
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 papers will be 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 2000 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 Management 
  • Water Resources 
  • Urban Water Management 
  • Water Supply 
  • Water Protection 
  • Sustainable Development 
  • Decision Making 
  • Groundwater 
  • Wastewater 
  • Water Recycling 
  • Water Decontamination 
  • Water Reuses Management 
  • Water Shortage Management 
  • Water Planning 
  • Water Economics 
  • Water Quality 
  • Water Markets 
  • Water Footprint

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Design of a Thermal Hotel Based on AHP-QFD Methodology
Water 2021, 13(15), 2109; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152109 - 31 Jul 2021
Viewed by 423
Abstract
The aim of this investigation was to help select design criteria that highlight customer satisfaction, and thus improve the design quality in buildings, specifically in a building of a thermal hotel. The methodology is based on applying the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) technique [...] Read more.
The aim of this investigation was to help select design criteria that highlight customer satisfaction, and thus improve the design quality in buildings, specifically in a building of a thermal hotel. The methodology is based on applying the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) technique to listen to the voice of the customer, in addition to the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which allows selection of the best design alternative. The literature shows that QFD–AHP methods have been tried in different areas of the building industry, but there are few examples of combining building design processes. In the study process, collaboration environments between stakeholders were established and the operability of the method used was tested with real actors. The matrix solutions realised in the horizontal and vertical sections of the framework of the model can be reused in different projects with different user demands. This added a modular and developable feature to the model. This study revealed that the most important customer needs, in order of importance, are “health”, “service”, “comfort”, and “functionality”. These are followed by “accessibility”, “aesthetics”, and “energy conservation”. According to the findings, QFD was shown to be an appropriate method for transferring customer (occupant) requirements to designs in the most accurate manner, given the complex structure of thermal hotel buildings. Full article
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Article
Geometric Model of a Coastal Aquifer to Promote the Sustainable Use of Water. Manglaralto, Ecuador
Water 2021, 13(7), 923; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13070923 - 28 Mar 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 881
Abstract
Modeling an aquifer provides significant advantages when evaluating and estimating the water resource for its sustainable use. This study focuses on the rural parish Manglaralto, a semi-arid area with a shortage of water, and without supply service by the public network. Still, it [...] Read more.
Modeling an aquifer provides significant advantages when evaluating and estimating the water resource for its sustainable use. This study focuses on the rural parish Manglaralto, a semi-arid area with a shortage of water, and without supply service by the public network. Still, it has a great demand for supply by the local and floating population (tourism). This has caused the coastal aquifer, which supplies the area’s water, to show signs of overexploitation, and its natural balance is compromised. The aim is to establish a geometric model of the aquifer through geological and geophysical analysis to set sustainable water-use guidelines. The methodology includes: (i) the processing of the current technical and hydrogeological information to know the aquifer’s data; (ii) geometric modeling of the aquifer through the correlation of technical information, using the GeoModeller software; (iii) proposals for the sustainable use of water in the framework of the United Nations’ Agenda 2030. The geometric model results reveal that the aquifer’s thickness varies from 4 m at the head of the river to 30 m at the sea’s mouth. The volume of water is estimated at 13.6 Hm3. The sustainable-use proposals ensure that more than half of the population receives the community company’s service. More than 40% of the territory is a protected area, and 64% of the population has sewerage service. This geometric model is a visual contribution that allows us to know the aquifer’s shape and establishes guidelines that help strengthen the water supply’s development and sustainability over time. Full article
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Article
Wastewater Management: Bibliometric Analysis of Scientific Literature
Water 2020, 12(11), 2963; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12112963 - 22 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1146
Abstract
Two of the greatest challenges that threaten sustainable development are the water supply crisis together with the control of water resources pollution. The United Nations recognises that the right to safe drinking water and sanitation is an essential right, and states are called [...] Read more.
Two of the greatest challenges that threaten sustainable development are the water supply crisis together with the control of water resources pollution. The United Nations recognises that the right to safe drinking water and sanitation is an essential right, and states are called upon to intensify their efforts to provide the entire population with affordable access to safe drinking water. However, due to population growth and climate change, water resources are under great pressure, producing millions of cubic metres of wastewater. Due to the near impossibility of increasing water supply in a natural way, the importance of wastewater management as a method has grown in recent years, which, although it is not to increase the amount of this resource, but to facilitate its successive use before its final return to the sea. The objective of this article is to carry out a bibliometric analysis regarding the production and impact of the scientific research related to wastewater management indexed in the WoS and Scopus databases. The purpose is to know key aspects such as the progression of production over the years, maturity in research, coverage of the subject, identifying the most discussed topics and therefore identifying the gaps, the most relevant authors and the core of journals through which knowledge in this area is disseminated, as well as its impact through the analysis of citations. This analysis can help future researchers in this field by providing an overview of the current literature that helps them identify new research approaches to position their own work and identify the most relevant authors in this field. Likewise, a comparison is made on coverage and overlap between the two main international databases WoS and Scopus. From the analysis of the 211 articles selected through an advanced search by terms with a time limit set in 2018, it is concluded that we are facing a very incipient field of knowledge that has aroused great interest since 2010, with about half of the articles published in the period 2012–2018. Although WoS and Scopus differ in general terms in scope and coverage policies, both systems are complementary and not exclusive. In the specific area of wastewater management, Scopus is the base that provides the best coverage taking into account the number of articles published and the number of citations received. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Groundwater: Worldwide research perspectives

Authors: Néstor Montalván-Burbano1,2 Paúl Carrión-Mero2,3 Gricelda Herrera-Franco4,5 María Jaya-Montalvo6

Affiliation: 1 University of Almería, Management and Business Department, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain;

2 ESPOL Polytechnic University, Centro de Investigaciones y Proyectos Aplicados a las Ciencias de la Tierra (CIPAT), Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Guayaquil, Ecuador;

3 ESPOL Polytechnic University, Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de la Tierra, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Guayaquil, Ecuador; 

4 Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena (UPSE), Facultad de Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Avda. principal La Libertad – Santa Elena, 240204 La Libertad, Ecuador; 

5 ESPOL Polytechnic University, Geo-recursos y Aplicaciones GIGA, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

6 Bira Bienes Raíces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Av. Alfonso de Mercadillo, P.O. Box 071350 Zaruma, Ecuador; 

 
Abstract: Groundwater is a field of research that in recent years has gained acceptance in the scientific community and in the literature associated with Water Resources Management. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of Groundwater's academic research, using bibliometric analysis methods and their visualization through bibliographic maps. The present study is based on the publications indexed in the Scopus database between 1917 and 2020, which allowed obtaining valuable information related to i) Scientific production and its main actors: authors, institutions, and journals; ii) The understanding of the intellectual structure through the use of bibliometric maps, and allowed to show its evolution, areas of interest and potential development of research at Groundwater. We consider that this study is a contribution to the academic world by showing extensive information on the subject that other investigations have partially addressed without being able to show the current state of the research field.

Title: Sustainable Water Resources Management in Spanish Aquaculture: Innovation, Competitiveness, Knowledge Management, Species Recovery and Repopulation
Authors: María Montserrat Cruz-González1; Francisco JavierSánchez-Sellero1; Vanessa Suárez-Porto2; María Carmen Sánchez-Sellero3
Affiliation: 1 Business Management and Marketing Department, Faculty of Business Sciences and Tourism, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain

2 Business Management and Marketing Department, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain

3 Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of A Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain

Abstract: This study analyzes the impact of aquaculture on the land; the marine or continental ecosystems in which it develops, as well as the species it exploits, with special mention of the corporate projects dedicated to the recovery and repopulation of aquatic species. We will dedicate a specific section of the work to the regional comparative analysis of the current degrees of compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6 and 14) of the United Nations regarding aquaculture in Spain, in line with the concepts of the circular economy, diversity and sustainability of species, environments and ecosystems. A second global objective focuses on a differential analysis of aquaculture companies with respect to their investments in R&D (research and development) activities; determination of strategic groups more or less involved in said activities that mobilize monetary and human resources and characterization of the types of technological innovation and collaboration with third parties by activity subsectors. Based on the relevance of business efforts in R&D on competitiveness and management of sectoral knowledge, we have deemed it convenient to analyze the differential implications of Spanish aquaculture companies by subsectors, activities and crops; both in terms of the decision-making implication itself, and in relation to the quantification of expenditure, the involvement of the research staff and the type of technological innovation developed. Finally, we verify the implications of innovation theories on sectorial competitiveness and knowledge management, proposing models based on covariance structures.

Title: Water consumption targets and policies, their benefits for investors in the whoole American continent Public companies
Authors: Oscar V. De la Torre-Torres
Affiliation: Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo

Abstract: Water management in Public companies is of special need for profitability and sustainability purposes. Given the widely accepted climate change and its corresponding water supply globally, it is of need to have a proper water management policy and proper target water consumption. This could lead to an impact on the profitability and market performance of a given company. Departing from this, in the present paper we measure the impact that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores had on the Return on Equity, market price, and Fundamental analysis performance surprise. This, for the American continent (north, central, south America, and the Caribean) Public companies. Our position is that higher ESG scores, lower Environmental or social controversies, and the implementation of water consumption targets and policies have either a positive or no impact on the profitability and market performance of American companies. By using a random Effects regression, model with the Hausman-Taylor estimation in an unbalanced panel, we found that there is a positive or null impact in the implementation of water consumption targets and policies in profitability. This, by differentiating a country and index leverage effect. That is, the impact is different across companies, being industrials and financial services among the most benefited of using water management policies. This result gives an answer for the argument that being a socially responsible (and water responsible) company has a negative impact on the performance and profitability of a company. Also, proofs as true the shunned stock hypothesis for socially responsible investors.

Title: Hydropower Technology for Sustainable Energy Generation in Urban Wastewater Systems: Learning from the Experience
Authors: Rosa M. Llácer-Iglesias; P. Amparo López-Jiménez; Modesto Pérez-Sánchez
Affiliation: Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Abstract: Hydropower is a well-known technology, applied worldwide for electricity generation from renewable sources. Within the current framework, some recent studies have started to consider its application to existing urban water systems, to harness an excess of energy that otherwise would be wasted. This research sought to determine a methodology to assess the potential application of hydropower to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), bearing in mind different aspects of the sustainability concept. Firstly, previously developed methodologies for potential assessment in this sector at a country level were analyzed. Secondly, data from existing real case studies were gathered from publicly available documents, including academic and grey literature. An in-depth analysis of the actual performance of the identified cases was conducted, to validate assumptions made in the previous methodologies. As a result, the proposed methodology was adapted for potential assessment at a lower level, considering several possible driving factors. This novel perspective could provide a closer approach to the most likely decision-making level for this kind of strategies in the wastewater industry and illustrate new possible areas to explore in further research. The results also demonstrated that there is an existing experience out of the academic literature which is not being used to explore all the options for this sector.

Title: Effect of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Household Water Consumption in Ecuador: An Approach Using SEM
Authors: Pablo Ponce; Nathalie Aguirre-Padilla; Patricia Guerrero - Riofrío; Johanna Alvarado ‐ Espejo
Affiliation: Carrera de Economía y Centro de Investigaciones Sociales y Económicas, Universidad Nacional de Loja, 11050 Loja, Ecuador. Carrera de Agronegocios, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, 11050 Loja, Ecuador Carrera de Economía, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, 11050 Loja, Ecuador
Abstract: The COVID-19 outbreak brought economic consequences, both in consumption and in production, related to the policies that were defined to mitigate the spread of the virus. Some of the policies caused people to stay longer at home, which meant an increase in the consumption of some resources, such as water consumption. The increase in water consumption increased due to frequent personal hygiene, washing and disinfection of food, increased food preparation at home, among others. Consequently, this research examines the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on household water consumption, for which information was collected through a questionnaire in 384 households in Ecuador. Next, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity were validated by means of Covariance Based - Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM). The results show that COVID-19 significantly increased household water consumption. Additionally, it is found that environmental awareness and social norms practices generate a decrease in water consumption. The results obtained allow defining some policy measures to counteract household water consumption to counteract negative externalities on the environment.

 

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