One Water (water management)

Last updated

One Water is a term encompassing the management of all water sources in an integrated and sustainable way considering all water sources and uses. [1] This idea stems from core principles of providing affordable water access for everyone. [2]

Contents

Origins and influences

The term “One Water” refers to integrated and effective water management practices that are “older than Texas.” [3] Holistic, system-wide, interconnected approaches to water have been used before.

Holistic water planning by municipalities has become an international trend. [4] The international water community developed Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the early 2000s to protect water resources and promote sustainability. The Global Water Partnership has an IWRM Action hub to share information and insights into implementing an integrated water program. [5]

Definition and core principles

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) defines One Water as an integrated planning and implementation approach to managing finite water resources for long-term resilience and reliability, meeting both community and ecosystem needs. [1] While many cities manage various water sources and disposal systems separately, One Water emphasizes integrating water and land resources for a holistic planning approach to water management. [6] The importance of all water sources is stressed. [7] One Water principles involve taking an interconnected approach to complex issues such as water infrastructure crises, environmental and public health crises, droughts, and climate change at a all scales: individual and building, local, regional, state, country, and international. [8]

Jiang et al. 2021 developed a model using One Water concepts to show how thinking about interconnections can improve modeling and assessing the hydrologic cycle. [9]

Initiatives and organizations

The United Nations and World Health Organization host the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Program that uses One Water principles to monitor progress on local to global scales for attaining Sustainable Development Goal targets for “universal and equitable access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene.” [10]

The Environmental Protection Agency noted that meeting the Clean Water Act (1972 requirements for managing and accessing water would be more efficient using an overall approach to water management. [6] The agency, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Water Alliance have provided webinars and other guidance for using a One Water approach for water management. [11] The U.S. Water Alliance also has more initiatives to support One Water, including the One Water Council to bring organizations together, [12] and Value of Water Campaign to educate about the importance of all water sources. [13]

One Water Panel helps develop strategies for integrating water source development and management to more effectively meet present and future water needs and address climate change impacts. [14]

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) have developed a campaign for Affordable Water, Resilient Communities to increase political awareness around water issues. [15]

Examples of One Water strategies and implementation

Water management education

American Rivers uses a holistic approach to water management and hosted a 2-day conference to collect ideas for helping cities adapt an integrated water management approach in 2016. [8]

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) has a One Water Program to educate about water use and systems and their interrelationships and as a water stewardship approach. They hosted events at the 2023 Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week, posted videos to showcase benefits of a one-water approach, and have a series of articles. [16]

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign includes One Water among five curricula toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental engineering. Their One Water program emphasizes application of physical, chemical, and biological principles to design innovative water quality control processes for safe and reliable community or household drinking water, sanitation, stormwater management, and resource (water, nutrient, energy) recovery systems. [4]

Infrastructure and sustainability

One Water concepts are also used in building planning and sustainable development. Blue Hole Primary School, Texas used One Water concepts as it built the school. [1]

Cities

Cities have developed a variety of One Water Strategies, and there is guidance and studies for helping more cities develop their plans. The Water Research Foundation and Colorado State University are developing guidance for One Water Cities (2020–2023). [17] International Water Association developed a Cities of the Future integrated water management program. [18]

United States

Los Angeles, California, has a One Water LA 2040 Plan [19]

Palo Alto is developing a One Water Plan as part of their climate Action-Protection and Adaptation planning priority. [20]

San Francisco, California, has a broad OneWater SF Vision with many resources into their water planning, including “water, energy, financial, human, community partnerships and natural resources” [21]

Denver, Colorado, adopted a One Water Plan in September 2021. [22] [23]

Wake County, North Carolina started a One Water Plan for its municipalities with a public visioning survey in May 2023. [24] [25]

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has a One Water approach with information tailored to different audiences at #onewaterourwater [26]

Worldwide

Vancouver, British Columbia, uses a One Water Approach to address changes in its watershed. [27]

Awards

One Water Panel Honolulu received the US Water Prize for the Outstanding Public Sector Category, US Water Alliance in 2022 [28]

One Water conferences

One Water Summits were held in 2015, 2017 (New Orleans, Louisiana), and 2018 (Twin Cities, Minnesota) [8]

A City Summit for cities to adapt One Water plans was held in Charlotte, North Carolina November 15–18, 2017. [29]

One Water Summit 2024: Kazakhstan-France Climate Initiative (bnn.network). The planned One Water Summit is a crucial part of a series of combined actions by Kazakhstan and France to address climate issues on a global scale. [30]

See also

Reclaimed water

Water conservation

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanitation</span> Public health conditions related to clean water and proper excreta and sewage disposal

Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems aim to protect human health by providing a clean environment that will stop the transmission of disease, especially through the fecal–oral route. For example, diarrhea, a main cause of malnutrition and stunted growth in children, can be reduced through adequate sanitation. There are many other diseases which are easily transmitted in communities that have low levels of sanitation, such as ascariasis, cholera, hepatitis, polio, schistosomiasis, and trachoma, to name just a few.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable urban infrastructure</span>

Sustainable urban infrastructure expands on the concept of urban infrastructure by adding the sustainability element with the expectation of improved and more resilient urban development. In the construction and physical and organizational structures that enable cities to function, sustainability also aims to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the capabilities of the future generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable sanitation</span> Sanitation system designed to meet certain criteria and to work well over the long-term

Sustainable sanitation is a sanitation system designed to meet certain criteria and to work well over the long-term. Sustainable sanitation systems consider the entire "sanitation value chain", from the experience of the user, excreta and wastewater collection methods, transportation or conveyance of waste, treatment, and reuse or disposal. The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) includes five features in its definition of "sustainable sanitation": Systems need to be economically and socially acceptable, technically and institutionally appropriate and protect the environment and natural resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecological resilience</span> Capacity of ecosystems to resist and recover from change

In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and subsequently recovering. Such perturbations and disturbances can include stochastic events such as fires, flooding, windstorms, insect population explosions, and human activities such as deforestation, fracking of the ground for oil extraction, pesticide sprayed in soil, and the introduction of exotic plant or animal species. Disturbances of sufficient magnitude or duration can profoundly affect an ecosystem and may force an ecosystem to reach a threshold beyond which a different regime of processes and structures predominates. When such thresholds are associated with a critical or bifurcation point, these regime shifts may also be referred to as critical transitions.

The Global Water Partnership (GWP) is an international network created to foster an integrated approach to water resources management (IWRM) and provide practical advice for sustainably managing water resources. It operates as a network, open to all organisations, including government institutions, agencies of the United Nations, bi- and multi-lateral development banks, professional associations, research institutions, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector.

Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either freshwater from natural sources, or water produced artificially from other sources, such as from reclaimed water (wastewater) or desalinated water (seawater). 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightly over two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. The remaining unfrozen freshwater is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air. Natural sources of fresh water include surface water, under river flow, groundwater and frozen water. People use water resources for agricultural, industrial and household activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water security</span> A goal of water management to harness water-related opportunities and manage risks

The aim of water security is to make the most of water's benefits for humans and ecosystems. The second aim is to limit the risks of destructive impacts of water to an acceptable level. These risks include for example too much water (flood), too little water or poor quality (polluted) water. People who live with a high level of water security always have access to "an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods and production". For example, access to water, sanitation and hygiene services is one part of water security. Some organizations use the term water security more narrowly for water supply aspects only.

Integrated urban water management in Aracaju, the capital city of the Brazilian State of Sergipe (SSE) has been and still is a challenging prospect. Home to half a million people, Aracaju is located in a tropical coastal zone within a semi-arid state and receives below average rainfall of 1,200 mm/year where average rainfall in Latin America is higher at 1,556 mm/yr. Most of the residents do have access to the potable water supply and non-revenue water losses are nearly 50%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Integrated urban water management</span>

Integrated urban water management (IUWM) is the practice of managing freshwater, wastewater, and storm water as components of a basin-wide management plan. It builds on existing water supply and sanitation considerations within an urban settlement by incorporating urban water management within the scope of the entire river basin. IUWM is commonly seen as a strategy for achieving the goals of Water Sensitive Urban Design. IUWM seeks to change the impact of urban development on the natural water cycle, based on the premise that by managing the urban water cycle as a whole; a more efficient use of resources can be achieved providing not only economic benefits but also improved social and environmental outcomes. One approach is to establish an inner, urban, water cycle loop through the implementation of reuse strategies. Developing this urban water cycle loop requires an understanding both of the natural, pre-development, water balance and the post-development water balance. Accounting for flows in the pre- and post-development systems is an important step toward limiting urban impacts on the natural water cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WASH</span> Water, sanitation and hygiene services

WASH is a sector in development cooperation or within local governments that provides water, sanitation, and hygiene services to people. The main purposes of providing access to WASH services include achieving public health gains, implementing the human right to water and sanitation, reducing the burden of collecting drinking water for women, and improving education and health outcomes at schools and health facilities. Access to WASH services is also an important component of water security. Universal, affordable, and sustainable access to WASH is a key issue within international development and is the focus of the first two targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6. Targets 6.1 and 6.2 aim for equitable and accessible water and sanitation for all. In 2017, it was estimated that 2.3 billion people live without basic sanitation facilities, and 844 million people live without access to safe and clean drinking water. The acronym WASH is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban resilience</span> Ability of a city to function after a crisis

Urban resilience has conventionally been defined as the "measurable ability of any urban system, with its inhabitants, to maintain continuity through all shocks and stresses, while positively adapting and transforming towards sustainability".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable urbanism</span> Study of cities and the practices to build them

Sustainable urbanism is both the study of cities and the practices to build them (urbanism), that focuses on promoting their long term viability by reducing consumption, waste and harmful impacts on people and place while enhancing the overall well-being of both people and place. Well-being includes the physical, ecological, economic, social, health and equity factors, among others, that comprise cities and their populations. In the context of contemporary urbanism, the term cities refers to several scales of human settlements from towns to cities, metropolises and mega-city regions that includes their peripheries / suburbs / exurbs. Sustainability is a key component to professional practice in urban planning and urban design along with its related disciplines landscape architecture, architecture, and civil and environmental engineering. Green urbanism and ecological urbanism are other common terms that are similar to sustainable urbanism, however they can be construed as focusing more on the natural environment and ecosystems and less on economic and social aspects. Also related to sustainable urbanism are the practices of land development called Sustainable development, which is the process of physically constructing sustainable buildings, as well as the practices of urban planning called smart growth or growth management, which denote the processes of planning, designing, and building urban settlements that are more sustainable than if they were not planned according to sustainability criteria and principles.

Climate resilience is a concept to describe how well people or ecosystems are prepared to bounce back from certain climate hazard events. The formal definition of the term is the "capacity of social, economic and ecosystems to cope with a hazardous event or trend or disturbance". For example, climate resilience can be the ability to recover from climate-related shocks such as floods and droughts. Different actions can increase climate resilience of communities and ecosystems to help them cope. They can help to keep systems working in the face of external forces. For example, building a seawall to protect a coastal community from flooding might help maintain existing ways of life there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart green resilient</span>

Smart Green Resilient, also known as SGR, refers to an emerging planning approach that aims to enable pragmatic concerns to be addressed simultaneously with major environmental issues and to structure long-term resilience in urban planning strategies, masterplans and sustainability frameworks for a wide range of contexts. SGR was developed in the Arup Hong Kong office and is derived from design practice, observations and collective research on East Asia’s energetic urbanisation and is now regarded as a key component of Hong Kong's city strategy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nature-based solutions</span> SustainUse of nature for tackling socio-environmental challenges

Nature-based solutions describe the development and use of nature (biodiversity) and natural processes to address diverse socio-environmental issues. These issues include climate change mitigation and adaptation, human security issues such as water security and food security, and disaster risk reduction. The aim is that resilient ecosystems provide solutions for the benefit of both societies and biodiversity. The 2019 UN Climate Action Summit highlighted nature-based solutions as an effective method to combat climate change. For example, nature-based systems for climate change adaptation can include natural flood management, restoring natural coastal defences, and providing local cooling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change education</span> Education that aims to address and develop effective responses to climate change

Climate change education (CCE) is education that aims to address and develop effective responses to climate change. It helps learners understand the causes and consequences of climate change, prepares them to live with the impacts of climate change and empowers learners to take appropriate actions to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. Climate change and climate change education are global challenges that can be anchored in the curriculum in order to provide local learning and widen up mindset shifts on how climate change can be mitigated. In such as case CCE is more than climate change literacy but understanding ways of dealing with climate

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 6</span> Global goal to achieve clean water and sanitation for all people by 2030

Sustainable Development Goal 6 declares the importance of achieving "clean water and sanitation for all". It is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly to succeed the former Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). According to the United Nations, the overall goal is to: "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all." The goal has eight targets to be achieved by 2030 covering the main areas of water supply and sanitation and sustainable water resource management. Progress toward the targets will be measured by using eleven indicators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate-smart agriculture</span> System for agricultural productivity

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a set of farming methods that has three main objectives with regards to climate change. Firstly, they use adaptation methods to respond to the effects of climate change on agriculture. Secondly, they aim to increase agricultural productivity and to ensure food security for a growing world population. Thirdly, they try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture as much as possible. Climate-smart agriculture works as an integrated approach to managing land. This approach helps farmers to adapt their agricultural methods to the effects of climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 11</span> 11th of 17 Sustainable Development Goals for sustainable cities

Sustainable Development Goal 11, titled "sustainable cities and communities", is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The official mission of SDG 11 is to "Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable". The 17 SDGs take into account that action in one area will affect outcomes in other areas as well, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Integrated Flood Management (IFM) is an approach to managing floods that emphasizes collaboration among various stakeholders, disciplines, and sectors concerned with floods, i.e. integrating them. IFM is a component of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and was developed as more holistic approach compared to the concept of flood control. While flood control aims mainly on reducing or preventing the negative effects of floods, IFM aims on reducing the overall risk by means of land and water resources management with the goal of maximizing the benefits from the use of flood plains and minimizing the damage and loss of life due to flooding in a sustainable manner.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "One Water - The Watershed Association". 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  2. ↑ Tuser, Cristina (2021-09-09). "What is One Water?". Wastewater Digest. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  3. ↑ "One Water in the Texas Hill Country | Welcome to Hill Country Alliance". hillcountryalliance.org. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  4. 1 2 "Environmental Engineering, BS". University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign . Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Welcome to IWRM Action Hub!". Global Water Partnership. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  6. 1 2 ""One Water" Approach for Improvement in Water Resource Management - Environmental Finance Center Network". 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  7. ↑ Tuser, Cristina (2021-09-09). "What is One Water?". Wastewater Digest. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  8. 1 2 3 Lenz, Jeremy (2018-04-28). "One Water: A New Era in Water Management". Open Rivers Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  9. ↑ Jiang, Albert Z.; McBean, Edward A. (January 2021). "Sponge City: Using the "One Water" Concept to Improve Understanding of Flood Management Effectiveness". Water. 13 (5): 583. doi: 10.3390/w13050583 . ISSN   2073-4441.
  10. ↑ "WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP) - Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000 - 2020". UN-Water. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  11. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (April 18, 2023). "Tools and Resources for Climate Resilience Planning Utilizing a One Water Approach". Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov.
  12. ↑ "One Water Council". US Water Alliance. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  13. ↑ "The Value of Water Campaign". US Water Alliance. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  14. ↑ "One Water". Resilience Office - City and County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  15. ↑ "Affordable Water, Resilient Communities(TM)". www.affordableh2o.org. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  16. ↑ "One Water". www.semcog.org. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  17. ↑ "One Water Cities: Development of Guidance Documents and Assessment Metrics". The Water Research Foundation. 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  18. ↑ "Cities of the Future". International Water Association. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  19. ↑ "One Water LA 2040 Plan". LA City. 2023.
  20. ↑ "One Water Plan City of Palo Alto".
  21. ↑ "OneWaterSF". sfpuc.org. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  22. ↑ Emmer, Olivia. "Denver Adopts One Water". Water Education Colorado. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  23. ↑ "Denver One WAter Plan" (PDF).
  24. ↑ "One Water Plan". Wake County Government. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  25. ↑ "Oe Water Wake County" (PDF).
  26. ↑ "#onewaterourwater". #onewaterourwater. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  27. ↑ Vancouver, City of. "One Water". vancouver.ca. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  28. ↑ "One Water". Resilience Office - City and County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  29. ↑ "A "One Water" Future for America's Cities". National League of Cities. 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  30. ↑ Akhtar, Salman (2023-12-04). "Kazakhstan and France Unveil Plans for One Water Summit in 2024". BNN Breaking. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.