Search Results (1,320)

Advancing Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is essential for integrating land and water strategies and ensuring access to safe and secure water services. Yet, assessing the quality of IWRM implementation remains a persistent challenge for policy and practice. This study presents the first systematic review of 375 empirical articles to consolidate evidence on how enablers and obstacles shape IWRM’s effectiveness in advancing Sustainable Territorial Development (S-TD). Following PRISMA guidelines and combining bibliometric and qualitative coding procedures, we identify ten categories of enablers and eleven categories of obstacles. Results show that institutional strengthening, stakeholder participation, and technological innovation are the most frequent enablers, while fragmentation, coordination challenges, and financial limitations are the most prevalent obstacles. Beyond frequency patterns, this review highlights that outcomes depend on the configurations and interactions of these factors, which condition IWRM’s capacity to steer sustainable development trajectories in the territory. By comparing enablers and obstacles across nexus sectors (food, energy, land) and geographic scales (sub-basin, basin, transboundary, urban, national), we delineate scale- and sector-sensitive pathways linking IWRM to S-TD. To support further research, we provide an open-access dataset as a unique resource for replication, comparative analysis, and policy design, enabling evidence-based decision-making toward sustainability and resilience across diverse geographical and institutional contexts. Full article

This study presents a life cycle assessment of a low-cost pilot-scale wastewater treatment system that combines solar photocatalytic oxidation with Nature-based Solutions (NBSs) for a specially constructed wetland (CW). The prototype was designed and assessed for its efficiency in treating urban wastewater and its environmental impact on agricultural irrigation reuse. Evaluations were performed with the SimaPro software, applying the Impact ReCiPe Medpoint methodology, which includes characterization and selection of the relevant environmental issues steps. The results demonstrate the potential of this hybrid system for providing high-quality treated wastewater suitable for agricultural reuse in water-scarce regions. The analysis reveals that the operational phase, mainly driven by energy consumption for pumping, aeration, and photocatalytic processes, accounts for over 85–98% of the total global warming potential (GWP), primarily due to reliance on fossil-based electricity. Conversely, the construction phase significantly impacts land use and toxicity categories, with concrete and substrate production contributing around 95% to land occupation and 97% to human toxicity. The photocatalytic subsystem also contributes notably to embodied carbon at 42.4%, owing to energy-intensive manufacturing. The results underscore the importance of optimizing operational energy efficiency and selecting sustainable materials to mitigate environmental burdens. The integrated system demonstrates promising potential for producing high-quality treated effluent suitable for agricultural reuse in water-scarce regions, supporting sustainable water management. These findings provide important insights for reducing ecological impacts and advancing environmentally sustainable wastewater treatment solutions. Full article

Peri-urbanization is one of the most complex and rapidly territorial phenomena in African metropolitan areas, including Morocco. This dynamic, characterized by unplanned urban growth, presents significant challenges in terms of land management and sustainable territorial planning. In this context, this work proposes a methodology for detecting and analyzing peri-urban areas using a deep learning model based on the Global Human Settlement Layer and Global Land Analysis and Discovery Land Cover data. The Multi-Layer Perceptron model was trained on a manually annotated dataset covering the Casablanca metropolitan region and then used to classify the area into four categories: urban, peri-urban, rural, and water. Model interpretability was ensured through the Shapley Additive Explanations method, and a diachronic analysis was conducted from 2005 to 2025. The model achieved high accuracy (90.6%), with strong performance in identifying urban (F1 ≈ 0.996) and rural (F1 ≈ 0.94) areas. However, peri-urban areas represent some challenges, which result in a lower F1-score of about 0.63 due to transitional land patterns. The results reveal a significant expansion of peri-urban areas (+28,000 ha) at the expense of rural lands. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers to develop sustainable land-use planning strategies and to anticipate urban sprawl dynamics. Full article

Bacterial sourcing in urban watersheds is a critical water quality concern because elevated index bacteria concentrations routinely trigger beach advisories and closures in coastal Southern California and elsewhere. This study evaluates diurnal controls on dry-weather bacterial loading in a groundwater-fed storm drain within the Malibu Creek watershed using a 24 h monitoring campaign. Discharge, nutrients, major ions, stable water isotopes, and index bacteria (total coliforms and Escherichia coli) were measured at six time intervals. Storm drain discharge varied by more than an order of magnitude, with rapid nighttime increases of up to +91 L/min during irrigation periods. Total Dissolved Solids ranged from 1276 to 2175 mg/L, peaking during groundwater-dominated low-flow conditions. Nitrate–N ranged from 1.08 to 2.96 mg/L, and orthophosphate from 0.44 to 2.16 mg/L, with nutrient concentrations increasing as irrigation inputs increased. Total coliform concentrations ranged from 13,000 to 670,000 MPN/100 mL, and E. coli ranged from 300 to 120,000 MPN/100 mL, exceeding concentrations in tap water and recycled water runoff by up to two orders of magnitude. End member mixing analysis showed that storm drain flow consisted of approximately 45% groundwater, 23–26% tap water, and 30–33% recycled water during early morning peak flow, shifting to ~56% groundwater and <12% recycled water by mid-morning. The lowest bacterial concentrations occurred during groundwater-only flow, while the largest bacterial increases coincided with the greatest positive changes in discharge rather than with maximum absolute flow. These results support an irrigation-driven biofilm stripping mechanism as the dominant control on dry-weather bacterial loading, with groundwater seepage sustaining biofilm persistence but not peak bacterial release. The findings highlight the importance of internal storm drain processes for managing coastal bacterial exceedances and protecting beach health. Full article

Green roofs in Southern Europe are interest-growing nature-based solutions, capable of improving urban sustainability by positively impacting the water cycle, biodiversity, pollution, and, in some cases, energy consumption and carbon sequestration. Native plants adapted to Mediterranean climates exhibit drought-resistant traits, making them highly suitable for the challenging microclimate of green roofs. This microclimate features intense solar radiation, strong winds, and higher temperatures, in comparison to ground level, leading to increased atmospheric evaporative demand, driven by the interplay of radiation, wind, temperature, and humidity. Consequently, native plants from ecosystems resembling this microclimate are likely better suited for green roofs than local ground-level species. The current review synthesizes current knowledge on the use of native plants in Southern European green roofs, focusing on water management challenges given the region’s climate and scarce water resources. Out of roughly 12,500 native plant species in the Mediterranean basin, only about 124 have been examined in the past 20 years for green roof applications, with just 16% appearing in multiple scientific studies, highlighting a significant knowledge gap. The data indicate that ca. 85% of these species are perennials, valued for their low maintenance needs, a key consideration for green roof sustainability. Some of the studied species retain adequate aesthetic value when cultivated on green roofs with limited water availability. These species are mainly associated with four habitat types—rocky, coastal, dry, or well-drained environments—with a few linked to humid or adaptable conditions. This study aims to document the selection of drought-adapted native plant species best suited for green roof implementation in Southern Europe, contributing to enhancing sustainable urban design in the region, considering water management best practices and water use efficiency. Full article

Understanding the behavior of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) in urban subsurface environments is essential to developing effective pollution control strategies, designing remediation systems, and managing waste and resources sustainably. Oil leakage from urban industrial facilities, underground pipelines, and fueling systems often leads to contamination that is challenging to characterize due to complex soil structures, limited access beneath densely built infrastructure, and dynamic groundwater conditions. In this study, we integrate a large-scale soil tank experiment with multiphase flow simulations to elucidate LNAPL distribution mechanisms under fluctuating groundwater conditions. A 2.4-m-by-2.4-m-by-0.6-m soil tank was used to visualize oil movement with high-resolution multispectral imaging, enabling a quantitative evaluation of saturation distribution over time. The results showed that a rapid rise in groundwater can trap 60–70% of the high-saturation LNAPL below the water table. In contrast, a subsequent slow rise leaves 10–20% residual saturation within pore spaces. These results suggest that vertical redistribution caused by groundwater oscillation significantly increases residual contamination, which cannot be evaluated using static groundwater assumptions. Comparisons with a commonly used NAPL simulator revealed that conventional models overestimate lateral spreading and underestimate trapped residual oil, thus highlighting the need for improved constitutive models and numerical schemes that can capture sharp saturation fronts. These results emphasize that an accurate assessment of LNAPL contamination in urban settings requires an explicit consideration of groundwater fluctuation and dynamic multiphase interactions. Insights from this study support rational monitoring network design, reduce uncertainty in remediation planning, and contribute to sustainable urban environmental management by improving risk evaluation and preventing the long-term spread of pollution. Full article

To improve the safe operation of urban water supply networks and support sustainable water resource management, this study proposes a multi-objective optimization framework for monitoring point placement by integrating pressure-driven analysis (PDA) and the virtual node method (VNM). A PDA-based hydraulic model combined with Wagner’s relationship is employed to overcome the limitations of traditional demand-driven analysis in simulating extreme conditions such as pipe burst events, while the VNM enables efficient representation of burst scenarios without altering network topology. Based on node pressure variations, a binary fault perception matrix is constructed by comparing pressure responses under burst conditions with background noise thresholds to quantify the detectability of pipe burst events by candidate monitoring points. A bi-objective optimization model is then formulated to maximize fault monitoring and minimize the number of monitoring points, and it is solved using the NSGA-III and NSGA-II algorithms. Case studies on the Net3 benchmark network and the real-world Drumchapel network demonstrate that NSGA-III outperforms NSGA-II in terms of convergence performance and spatial perception capability, particularly by reducing spatial redundancy and improving monitoring efficiency under limited monitoring budgets. The proposed framework provides a practical decision-support tool for optimal monitoring point deployment and contributes to the long-term sustainability of urban water supply infrastructure. Full article

A hybrid machine learning framework has been developed in this study to estimate Terrestrial Water Storage Anomalies (TWSA) in Morocco’s Casablanca–Settat region, which faces serious groundwater stress due to rapid urbanization, intensive agriculture, and climate variability. In this study, TWSA is used as an integrated proxy for groundwater-related storage changes, while acknowledging that it also includes contributions from soil moisture and surface water. The approach combines satellite-based observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) with key environmental indicators such as rainfall, evapotranspiration, and land use data to track changes in groundwater availability with improved spatial detail. After preprocessing the data through feature selection, normalization, and outlier handling, the model applies six base learners, i.e., Huber regressor, automatic relevance determination regression, kernel ridge, long short-term memory, k-nearest neighbors, and gradient boosting. Their predictions are aggregated using a random forest meta-learner to improve accuracy and stability. The ensemble achieved strong results, with a root mean square error of 0.13, a mean absolute error of 0.108, and a determination coefficient of 0.97—far better than single-model baselines—based on a temporally independent train-test split. Spatial analysis highlighted clear patterns of groundwater depletion linked to land cover and usage. These results can guide targeted aquifer recharge efforts, drought response planning, and smarter irrigation management. The model also aligns with national goals under Morocco’s water sustainability initiatives and can be adapted for use in other regions with similar environmental challenges. Full article

Climate change is widening the mismatch between water supply and water demand in urban areas, affecting both. Additionally, water demand is increasing due to population growth and economic development. Water allocation is a key component of sustainable urban water management and, unlike traditional approaches, must rely on a fit-for-purpose principle, where water is valued by its quality adequacy based on the use rather than by its source, with water reuse playing a central role in urban water resilience. This paper presents a novel framework, together with the step-by-step process for its application—the smart water allocation process (SWAP) for urban non-potable uses—and the developed software toolset to facilitate the decision-making process by urban managers, water utilities, and other stakeholders. It was developed within the context of a living lab to accelerate the innovation uptake. The demand–supply matchmaking and the plan module are comprehensively described and the SWAP results and their contribution to water resilience in Lisbon are discussed. Three water allocation alternatives were defined to implement different strategies, conservation, redundancy and reuse, in two green area clusters. Synergy with climate action funding was identified. The application of the SWAP enabled decision-making based on factual evidence and fostered intuitive understanding of the urban water resilience challenges. Full article

Sustainable urban water system (UWS) management is vital for climate-resilient, resource-efficient cities. This study presents the first comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of Seoul Metropolitan City (SMC)’s UWS, encompassing water abstraction, treatment, distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, and sludge management. Nine midpoint impact categories from ReCiPe 2016 (H) were analyzed to identify environmental hotspots and mitigation pathways. Results show that wastewater treatment dominates impacts, contributing 57.3% of global warming potential (GWP; 0.947 kg CO₂-eq per functional unit of 1 m³ of potable water supplied) and 71.1% of freshwater eutrophication (FE; 0.00066 kg P-eq/m³), driven by electricity use, sludge disposal, and direct CH₄/N₂O emissions. Electricity consumption is the leading driver across GWP, terrestrial acidification (TA), and fossil resource scarcity (FRS). Infrastructure construction notably influenced terrestrial ecotoxicity (TET) and human toxicity. Sensitivity analysis showed that SMC’s projected 2030 electricity mix could reduce GWP and FRS by up to 18%. Scenario evaluations revealed that sludge ash utilization in concrete and expanded wastewater reuse improve resource circularity, whereas biogas upgrading, solar generation, and heat recovery significantly lower GWP and FRS. The findings underscore the importance of energy decarbonization, resource recovery, and infrastructure longevity in achieving low-carbon and resource-efficient UWSs. This study offers a transferable framework for guiding sustainability transitions in rapidly urbanizing, energy-transitioning regions. Full article

Extensive green roofs can be used to provide spaces for local agriculture in urban environments, although extreme moisture and temperature conditions typically found in these systems can often be challenging for crop production. The Southern Illinois University-Carbondale extensive green roof was utilized to determine the effects of a polyacrylamide hydrogel, pine bark mulch, and irrigation frequency on the growth and productivity of ‘Compact’ and ‘Italian Large Leaf’ basil (Ocimum basilicum), and the growth and overwintering ability of two perennial culinary herbs, sage (Salvia officinalis) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris). Results indicated that weekly irrigation increased late-season basil and perennial plant vigor, basil fresh and dry weight, and overwintered perennial plant vigor and height compared to bimonthly watering. Although the use of pine bark mulch improved basil fresh weight and plant vigor compared to no mulch, mulching did not influence (p > 0.05) perennial herb growth or overwintering in an extensive green roof environment. Hydrogel applications improved basil plant height compared to none, although fresh and dry plant biomass were not influenced by hydrogel applications. In comparison, hydrogels as additions to the green roof medium did not influence either early- or late-season perennial plant vigor, although the overwintered plant vigor collected the following spring was greater in the no-hydrogel treatment. For perennial herbs, sage had greater vigor, overwinter survival, and overall suitability for extensive green roof environments compared to thyme. This research indicated the importance of perennial herb selection and consistent water supply for annual and perennial herb growth and the overwintering success of perennial herbs. Thus, supplemental water and other management strategies to provide more constant medium moisture content are important considerations for sustaining culinary herb production on extensive green roofs. Full article

This study presents a comprehensive geospatial framework for assessing coastal vulnerability and ecosystem service distribution along the Greek coastline, one of the longest and most diverse in Europe. The framework integrates two complementary components: a Coastal Erosion Vulnerability Index applied to all identified beach units, and Coastal Flood Risk Indexes focused on low-lying and urbanized coastal segments. Both indices draw on harmonized, open-access European datasets to represent environmental, geomorphological, and socio-economic dimensions of risk. The Coastal Erosion Vulnerability Index is developed through a multi-criteria approach that combines indicators of physical erodibility, such as historical shoreline retreat, projected erosion under climate change, offshore wave power, and the cover of seagrass meadows, with socio-economic exposure metrics, including land use composition, population density, and beach-based recreational values. Inclusive accessibility for wheelchair users is also integrated to highlight equity-relevant aspects of coastal services. The Coastal Flood Risk Indexes identify flood-prone areas by simulating inundation through a novel point-based, computationally efficient geospatial method, which propagates water inland from coastal entry points using Extreme Sea Level (ESL) projections for future scenarios, overcoming the limitations of static ‘bathtub’ approaches. Together, the indices offer a spatially explicit, scalable framework to inform coastal zone management, climate adaptation planning, and the prioritization of nature-based solutions. By integrating vulnerability mapping with ecosystem service valuation, the framework supports evidence-based decision-making while aligning with key European policy goals for resilience and sustainable coastal development. Full article

Rapid urbanization has significantly affected urban ecological environments, necessitating accurate and scientific quality assessments. In this study, we develop an enhanced remote sensing ecological index (WRSEI) for water network cities using Linyi City, China, as a case study. Key innovations include (1) introducing a water–vegetation index to better represent aquatic ecosystems; (2) incorporating nighttime light data to quantify the intensity of human activity; and (3) employing hierarchical PCA to rationally weight ecological endowment and stress indicators. The model’s effectiveness was rigorously validated using independent land use data. The results show that (1) the WRSEI accurately captures Linyi’s “water–city symbiosis” pattern, increasing the assessed ecological quality of water bodies by 15.78% compared to the conventional RSEI; (2) hierarchical PCA provides more ecologically reasonable indicator weights; and (3) from 2000 to 2020, ecological quality exhibited a pattern of “central degradation and peripheral improvement”, driven by urban expansion. This study establishes a validated technical framework for ecological assessment in water-rich cities, offering a scientific basis for sustainable urban management. Full article

Sustainable groundwater management is critical in semi-arid coastal regions, where municipal landfills pose a severe threat to aquifer integrity and long-term water security. However, there is still a lack of seasonally resolved hydrogeochemical monitoring around newly established landfills, particularly in rapidly urbanizing Mediterranean settings. This study assesses the hydrogeochemical impact of the newly operational Tangier Landfill and Recovery Center on local groundwater resources to inform sustainable remediation strategies. A combined approach was applied to samples collected in dry and wet seasons, using Piper and Stiff diagrams to trace facies evolution together with a dual-index assessment based on the Canadian (CCME-WQI) and Weighted Arithmetic (WAWQI) Water Quality Indices. Results show that upgradient waters remain of Good–Excellent quality and are dominated by Ca–HCO₃ facies, whereas downgradient wells display extreme mineralization, with EC up to 15,480 µS/cm and Cl⁻ and SO₄²⁻ exceeding 1834 and 2114 mg/L, respectively. At hotspot sites P4 and P8, As reaches 0.065 mg/L and Cd 0.006 mg/L, far above the WHO drinking-water guidelines. While the CCME-WQI captures the general salinity-driven degradation pattern, the WAWQI pinpoints these acute toxicity zones as Very poor–Unsuitable. The study demonstrates that rainfall intensifies toxicity through a seasonal “Piston Effect” that mobilizes stored contaminants rather than diluting them, underscoring the need for seasonally adaptive monitoring to ensure the environmental sustainability of landfill-adjacent aquifers. Full article

Manual window cleaning in high-rise urban buildings is labor-intensive, risky, and resource-inefficient. This study addresses these challenges by investigating a resource-aware mechatronic architecture through the design, development, and experimental validation of a modular Automated Window Cleaning System (AWCS). Unlike conventional open-loop solutions, the AWCS integrates mechanical scrubbing with a closed-loop fluid management system, featuring precise dispensing and vacuum-assisted recovery. The system is governed by a deterministic finite state machine implemented on an ESP32 microcontroller, enabling low-latency IoT connectivity and autonomous operation. Two implementation variants—integrated and retrofit—were validated to ensure structural adaptability. Experimental results across 30 cycles demonstrate a cleaning efficiency of ~2 min/m², a water consumption of <150 mL/m² (representing a >95% reduction compared to manual methods), and an optical cleaning efficacy of 96.9% ± 1.4%. Safety protocols were substantiated through a calculated mechanical safety factor of 6.12 for retrofit applications. This research establishes the AWCS as a sustainable, safe, and scalable solution for autonomous building maintenance, contributing to the advancement of resource-circular domestic robotics and smart home automation. Full article