Urban Water Journal

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/nurw20

Editorial: UWJ special edition on water

management in developing countries

Nilo Nascimento, Neil Armitage, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Sanches & Joao Paulo
Leitao

To cite this article: Nilo Nascimento, Neil Armitage, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Sanches & Joao
Paulo Leitao (16 Oct 2023): Editorial: UWJ special edition on water management in developing
countries, Urban Water Journal, DOI: 10.1080/1573062X.2023.2266635

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2023.2266635

Published online: 16 Oct 2023.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 30

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=nurw20
URBAN WATER JOURNAL
https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2023.2266635
EDITORIAL
Editorial: UWJ special edition on water management in developing countries
One observes a significant variability in urban, demographic,
and socioeconomic characteristics among cities in developing
countries. In some regions of the world, such as in Latin
America, the period of more intense and faster urbanization
occurred from the 1960’s to the 1990’s for most of the countries
in the region. In those countries, the population living in urban
areas represent about 80% of the total population (Silva et al.,
this special issue). In other countries, intense urbanization is in
process. In the case of India, for instance, where rural popula­
tion represents still more than 60% of the total population
(Vineeth and Ramachandran, this special issue). Oshen et al.
(this special issue) mention that in 2001 there were 35 cities
with more than 1 million inhabitants, whereas in 2011 this
figure had risen to 53 cities.
On the other hand, certain common features of urban devel­
opment are frequently found in developing countries. Rapid
urban development in general implies difficulties for local and
regional governments to ensure the construction of adequate
infrastructure, since funding capacity and technical skills are
frequently not available in the required quantity and quality. In
many situations, new urban developments, particularly in the
case of low-income neighbourhoods, do not fully comply with
urban planning and regulation, where those urban documents
are available. Without the support of the government, for
instance through housing programmes, part of the population
cannot afford to pay the costs associated with urban regulation
requirements (Juntti et al., 2021). Informal settlements are the
most serious case, as people in the base of the income distribu­
tion pyramid cannot afford even the acquisition of a small lot or
a small house and usually occupy urban areas which are public
owned.
These characteristics of urban development, particularly in
the case of poor neighbourhoods, other than their sad condi­
tions have implications for urban drainage in technical and
managerial aspects, often leading to increased risks of flooding,
poor sanitation, health risks, and huge environmental impacts
of runoff, litter, sediments and raw wastewater on receiving
bodies.
Hydrological processes in the context of cities located in
urban development countries are explored in several papers
in this special issue, with particular reference to stormwater
runoff and water pollution processes and characteristics.
Rosa et al. (this special issue) evaluate hydrologic impacts of
urban expansion in a peri-urban catchment particularly on
volumes of infiltration, groundwater flow and runoff, increasing
peak flows and flooding. The authors highlighted how conflicts
in land use regulations among local and regional authorities as
well as landowners may imply significant changes regarding
restrictions on land use, with impacts on the risk of flooding
and on drinking water supply, as exemplified through a case
study in the paper.
© 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Informal settlements, often characterised by limited urban
water infrastructure to treat wastewater, can impact both sur­
face and groundwater resources, as well as the health of the
population living in these settlements. In this Special Issue,
a few papers addressed the challenges of informal settlements
from different angles. One of these papers (dos Santos and
Alves, this special issue) presents a new methodology for iden­
tifying urban precarious settlements and measuring their
access to water and sanitation services. The findings from this
analysis revealed significant inequalities in access to services,
particularly in sanitation, among the poorest populations.
Loots et al. (this special issue) quantify the effects of urban
development on the volumes of runoff and baseflow as well as
on flood peaks for eight South African catchments. The authors
were able to identify an increase in runoff and baseflow
volumes with increased urbanization, although for flood
peaks no statistically significant trends were found in most
catchments, apart from the catchment with the highest propor­
tion of informal settlements. The authors believe that some
specific urban characteristics in developing countries, such as
the widespread adoption of property boundary walls, may be
at the origin of diffuse flood peak attenuation, for instance.
An increase in baseflow volumes is not usually expected
with the increase in impervious surfaces. Loots et al. (this
special issue) attribute this behaviour to leakages in the water
supply network system, among other factors. The same is
reported in another paper published in this special issue focus­
ing on groundwater recharge in a city of India ((Vineeth and
Ramachandran, this special issue).
Loots et al. (this special issue) also point out that other
characteristics of urban areas in developing countries may
have an impact on runoff processes such as the feeble connec­
tion of impervious areas to the drainage system in informal
settlements and permanent blockage of urban drainage infra­
structure due to erosion processes, poor solid waste manage­
ment and lack of maintenance. They emphasise the need for
further research to better understand rainfall-runoff processes
in more formal and informal settlements.
Another paper included in the Special Issue (Norvixoxo et al.,
this special issue) discusses how global sanitation goals have
been assessed primarily through numbers and ratios, both by
the World Health Organization and governments, arguing that
such assessments overlook the actual sanitation practices of
residents in informal settlements. The study presented in the
paper highlights the fact that socio-political factors influence
these practices, which can hinder public health objectives and
undermine local authorities’ efforts. In contrast to quantitative
assessments, the study suggests the need for more qualitative,
experiential, and behavioral modes of assessment, emphasizing
the importance of ethnographic data to better understand and
address sanitation challenges.
2 N. NASCIMENTO ET AL.
Oshen et al. (this special issue) exploit functional and struc­
tural resilience of drainage systems with applications in an
Indian urban area. Understanding resilience as the system's
capacity to provide uninterrupted service during normal and
unexpected events, the authors highlight that functional resi­
lience relates to external threats such as urbanization and
climate change, whereas structural resilience refers to structural
damage such as channel or pipe blockage or structural disrup­
tion. The authors provide a useful methodology for improving
urban drainage design, operation, and maintenance. They also
emphasize the difficulties of hydrologic modelling in the devel­
oping context considering the lack of hydrologic data with
adequate temporal and special resolution as well as data on
the existing drainage infrastructure.
Asset management was also reported in two papers:
Ravanbakhsh et al. (this special issue) on drinking water pipe
burst rate prediction with limited dataset and Vanegas et al.
(this special issue) on the prioritising of sewer pipes inspec­
tions, both topics relevant to urban water management.
Several papers in this special issue have focused on water
quality at different scales and intra-urban (e.g.: Silva et al., and
Zanetti et al., this special issue) and at large river basin (e.g.:
Zanetti et al. and Aithani et al., this special issue) scales. Two
other papers investigate the impact of informal settlements on
the quality of water resources.
The study conducted by Morole et al. (this special issue)
found concerning water quality issues in the Kaalspruit River
in South Africa’s Gauteng province. The study involved
a comprehensive assessment of both water and sediment.
The results showed that the areas near informal settlements
had detectable levels of faecal coliforms and E. coli, indicating
contamination from anthropogenic activities and, conse­
quently, posing potential health risks to nearby communities.
In another study (Twinomucunguzi et al., this special issue), the
impact of on-site sanitation practices (OSS) on antibiotics found
in shallow groundwater beneath an informal settlement in
Kampala City, Uganda, is presented. The research focused on
10 types of antibiotics and their presence in 17 groundwater
sources, considering various water quality factors. The study
found a strong correlation between sulfathiazole and E. coli,
indicating a connection between antibiotics and sanitation
practices. In addition, more than 65% of the studied locations
exhibited a high risk of antibiotic resistance during the dry
season. This study highlights the substantial risk of antibiotic
resistance faced by informal settlement populations, largely
influenced by on-site sanitation practices.
The impact of failures on the sewerage system particularly to
miss connections among the stormwater and wastewater sys­
tems and to structural and operational problems with a focus
on informal settlements is also addressed by Sidane and
Modley (this special issue) under the perspective of public
perception of water quality in the Rietspruit River catchment
in South Africa.
The papers included in this Special Issue focusing on infor­
mal settlements shed light on the multifaceted challenges
regarding water and sanitation. They underscore the urgent
need for holistic approaches that consider not only quantitative
assessments but also qualitative and experiential data to
address disparities in access to services. Moreover, the studies
emphasize the environmental and health implications of infor­
mal settlements on water resources and the concerning risks of
antibiotic resistance associated with on-site sanitation prac­
tices, urging comprehensive solutions for these vulnerable
populations.
Focusing more on the formal urban environment, Silva et al.
(this special issue) present and discuss results of research of
wet-weather monitoring programs independently developed
in Brazil and Colombia, in two small urban catchments, adopt­
ing high-frequency monitoring approaches. The results have
made it possible to infer several common characteristics of
climate, urban water infrastructure and urban planning and
management that may influence the characteristics of wet-
weather pollution which are common between the monitored
sites and possibly also in other Latin American countries due to
similarities in urbanism, development level and urban water
management. The authors highlight the complexity of hydro­
logical processes in urban environments and their influence
over wet-weather diffuse pollution. Understanding and model­
ling of those processes require detailed monitoring
approaches.
It is also worth noting that Silva et al. (this special issue)
found evidence of point pollution sources through the mon­
itoring of Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and total organic carbon
(TOC) suggesting contamination by wastewater, a problem
also highlighted by Zanetti et al. and Aithani et al. (this special
issue), and which is frequently observed in urban areas of
developing countries.
Zanetti et al. (this special issue) and Aithani et al. (this
special issue) addressed water pollution in urban areas and
its impacts on receiving bodies, including in large river basins
(the Yamuna River in Delhi, India, and the Guaiba Lake in
Porto Alegre, Brazil). A low frequency seasonal monitoring
approach was adopted in both urban areas. Based on their
results, Zanetti et al. (this special issue) point out that even
with quite high levels of wastewater collection and treatment
several urban rivers’ reaches keep low water quality which
suggests not only diffuse wet-weather pollution but also
failures in the separated sewer system in avoiding contam­
ination of urban receiving bodies. This leads Zanetti et al.
(this special issue) to emphasize the importance of integrated
urban water management (IUWM) and to raise questions
such as stating water quality targets for receiving water in
developing countries, an issue that has relevant managerial,
financial, and environmental implications.
Aithani et al. (this special issue) examined the sources and
seasonal variation of 10 water quality parameters in 10 different
sites of the Yamuna River following several outflows from the
Delhi urban area, in India. Although this urban area represents
about 1% of the Yamuna River Basin, the authors mention that
it contributes to more than 50% of the total water pollution
charges of the river. The results also highlight the variety and
complexity of water pollution sources: industrial, agricultural,
and urban municipal waste. The focus of this paper, other than
the characterization of these pollutants, is on their implications
for health risk. The authors adopt a probability-based approach
to characterize the uncertainty and variability for the human
health risk from exposure to contaminated water in different
seasons.

Some papers in this special issue focus on hydrological
processes and modelling in the urban environment, dealing,
for instance, with intense rain statistics (Abreu et al., this special
issue), groundwater recharge (Vineeth and Ramachandran, this
special issue) and the assessment of the SWAT model perfor­
mance in the urban environment with regard to soil data
quality (Oruç et al., this special issue).
In urban areas worldwide, the dynamic challenges posed by
water management, from extreme rainfall events to droughts,
require innovative solutions to ensure resilience and sustain­
ability. This special issue also compiles a diverse range of
research papers that collectively address these extreme events,
offering insights and strategies for the cities of the future in
low-income contexts.
In Kumar S. and Singh (this special issue), a systematic
approach to decentralized stormwater management at the
building level is introduced. By mapping topographic and
hydrologic parameters, this study identifies low-lying areas
prone to water stagnation during heavy rainfall, offering
a practical blueprint for cities experiencing similar events. In
Battemarco et al. (this special issue), a methodological frame­
work to prioritise urban development investments that takes
into account flood risk assessment and environmental restora­
tion is proposed. Using hydrodynamic modelling and multi­
criteria indices, it defines an integrated Design Evaluation
Index (DEIx) to guide urban development decisions. The frame­
work encourages projects that incorporate blue-green infra­
structure for long-term sustainability. The work presented by
Barriga et al. (this special issue) presents a new methodology
for relating disasters caused by small rainfall, which are often
overlooked. Nevertheless, these small disasters, such as traffic
congestion and water-borne diseases, can significantly impact
urban life. The proposed methodology relates both rainfall and
catchment characteristics in order to enable cities to prioritize
interventions and enhance their resilience towards small- to
medium-sized rainfall events.
Macedo et al. (this special issue) points out that a non-
universal access to sanitation, which is currently seen in devel­
oping countries, poses an additional risk of floods. The authors
emphasize that few studies evaluate flood risk under the per­
spective of the nexus sanitation-health. Based on this lack of
methodology, the authors propose a general theoretical frame­
work for assessing the resilience of the nexus flood, sanitation,
and public health to applications in urban environments. The
framework allows risk assessment and risk management.
In addition to floods, another aspect related to extreme
hydrological events are droughts. In Souza et al. (this special
issue), the São Paulo’s (Brazil) experiences with droughts are
revisited, comparing two significant events to evaluate the
evolution of drought risk in this city. This study highlights the
critical factors influencing vulnerability and emphasizes the
potential of rainwater reuse as a strategy for reducing stress
in water reservoirs, offering lessons for water-adaptive
societies.
Drinking water demand increases along with population
growth and urbanization. The latter is particularly marked in
developing countries. However, balancing urban water
demand and supply is rather challenging as there are large
uncertainties regarding future social and economic dynamics
URBAN WATER JOURNAL 3
and climate change. In such a context, urban water demand
management emerges as a tool to achieve balanced consump­
tion. Potential water demand management strategies include
socio-political (e.g. laws, decrees and regulations), economic
and financial (e.g. tariffs, taxes and incentives), and structural
and technical measures (e.g. water-efficient appliances, rain­
water harvesting and greywater reuse).
As part of this special issue, different aspects of water
demand management strategies are studied, with a particular
focus on the needs of developing countries. The contributions
span the following topics: (a) the definition and testing of
service-level indicators of water supply systems (from the
water user’s perspective) and urban water resilience at the
household level; (b) the understanding of the drivers of water
consumption at a national scale; (c) the monitoring and reduc­
tion of water consumption in buildings; (d) the evaluation of
low-cost automatic water leakage detection; (e) the identifica­
tion of the requirements for mitigating the short-term impacts
of the filling transition in intermittent water supply systems; (f)
the assessment of attitudes toward alternative water for pota­
ble and non-potable reuse and (g) some technical aspects of
wastewater reuse. Here, we briefly introduce each manuscript
and provide insights into its practical application with the aim
of helping the readers of this special issue to identify those
works that are of most interest.
Odjegba et al. (this special issue) assessed different types of
water supply systems (including self-supply, communal water
supply and public water systems). To perform the system
assessment, five service-level indicators were used: access,
quality, management, cost and reliability. To gather the needed
data, structured questionnaires for users were carried out.
Sharma et al. (this special issue) propose a water resilience
index at the household level. The indicators selection was
done by reviewing the literature, expert selection and modifi­
cation, and also considering data availability and its relevance.
Four main aspects are considered in the index: urban infra­
structure and land use, resources, governance, and social
aspects. Validated and standardized indicators and indexes
would help local governments and local water utilities to
track the effect of the implemented strategies to improve the
performance of supply systems and water resilience, thus facil­
itating the identification of needed adjustments to achieve the
desired outcomes.
It is well known that several aspects influence per capita
water consumption such as climatic, geographic, demographic,
economic, social and water-supply-service-related. Quantifying
such influence may help water managers and authorities to
implement and monitor demand management programs. Da
Veiga et al. (this special issue) analysed 1746 municipalities in
Brazil using a linear regression model. They found that income,
tariff, number of people per household, temperature, the use of
a washing machine, city population, and gender have
a considerable impact on water consumption. These results
are useful for forecasting water consumption and for policy
design.
Water conservation in buildings allows for other benefits
beyond water consumption reduction such as reduced waste­
water production, thus reducing treatment costs and reducing
pressure on the available water resources. Understanding water
4 N. NASCIMENTO ET AL.
consumption is of paramount importance for implementing
conservation measures. Paz Soares et al. (this special issue)
collected 6 years of consumption data at a university campus,
audited plumbing fixtures, developed and applied question­
naires to study water use, and identified the technical and
financial feasibility of using water-saving appliances and pro­
posed water use indicators. The obtained results show that the
per capita water consumption can be reduced by more than
50% using consumption monitoring. In addition to this, if fau­
cets and toilets are replaced nearly 20% savings can be
achieved.
One important component of water demand management
is to reduce losses in the distribution system. The latter is
particularly challenging in developing countries. Real-time
monitoring coupled with outlier detection techniques is effec­
tive but also resource-demanding (both specialized knowledge
and data). To overcome such limitations, Do Nascimento and
Gomes-Jr (this special issue) propose the use of a semi-
supervised outlier detection technique and automated
machine learning resources. The proposed model is considered
flexible and easily applicable to other urban areas.
Intermittent water supply (that is more likely to occur in
developing countries) negatively alters water quality and dete­
riorates supply infrastructure, thus mitigating those impacts is
of great importance. Weston et al. (this special issue) not only
performed laboratory experiments but also field studies in
operational networks in South Africa. The main recommenda­
tion of this study is to have adequately maintained air relief
valves in key locations of the supply networks.
After 2018, the ‘Day Zero’ alert in Cape Town (South Africa)
forced us to evaluate measures to improve water security.
Addressing water scarcity can be achieved by using alternative
water sources such as rainwater, stormwater and reclaimed
wastewater. Prins et al. (this special issue) presented to 668
respondents in South Africa various options that include water
restrictions, desalinated water, reclaimed water, stormwater
and rainwater, thus allowing them to explore their attitudes
towards alternative water for potable and non-potable reuse.
They used a decision pathway survey to collect respondents’
decision-making process information. Obtained results pointed
out that most people support the use of alternative water
sources. Even more, most respondents support direct reuse
(including potable use) in severe drought. Rainwater harvesting
has proved to be the preferred option despite its lack of avail­
ability during severe droughts (note the lack of understanding
of the hydrological cycle under severe drought). It was also
found that information provision to the population can impact
their acceptance (or not) decisions.
Also, regarding the South African context, Essack and
Ilemobade (this special issue) evaluate if the minimum fire
flows required in the National Standard (the SANS 10090) and
the National Guideline (The Red Book) are adequate for fighting
large structural and industry fires in South Africa.
There is a need for wastewater reuse to adapt to climate
change and foster an urban circular economy. Secondary treat­
ment effluents can be used in irrigation, industrial, and even
potable applications. As conventional wastewater treatment
plants are not intended to remove non-biodegradable com­
pounds or micropollutants, advanced filtration techniques are
required. Kaya et al. (this special issue), using pilot units com­
posed of ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO), evaluated
the suitability of a secondary treatment effluent for reuse in
irrigation and industrial processes. Particular attention was paid
to satisfying sodium ions content in order to avoid generating
infiltration issues in the case of irrigation reuse. It was found
that UF effluent is suitable for irrigation and RO effluent in
combination with UF can be used for industrial purposes.
In another relevant study regarding drinking water supply,
Guzman et al. (this special issue) address water utility company
business interruption costs associated with drought events. The
authors emphasize that multiple drivers influence the demand
for water, such as population growth and uncontrolled human
development, as well as the risk of drought and then of the
offer of water, such as the non-stationary nature of climate
extremes and climate change. In the face of this scenario, the
authors propose a multi-driver assessment method for estimat­
ing water yield through a hydrological model driven by regio­
nal climate models under radiative forcing scenarios and the
drought severity and duration associated with pricing policies.
This approach is applied to a case study in Sao Paulo State,
Brazil.
In the face of this diversity of challenges, many developed
countries are exploring a transition to more sustainable urban
stormwater management (SUWM). Vasconcelos & Barbassa
(this special issue) report on a literature review of various
strategies for a SUWM transition in the Brazilian context. Eight
solution strategies supported by 80 implementation measures
were identified from 92 documents. The SUSM-related barriers
included inadequacies in local government, strategic vision,
laws and regulations, financial resources, community engage­
ment, and urban drainage knowledge. The gap between the
potential and the real SUSM implementation is greater in devel­
oping countries compared with developed countries (Gusmão
2016) owing to, inter alia: scarce financial resources, limited
technical and administrative capacities in the municipalities,
turbulent and discontinuous economical investments and pol­
itics, fast and unplanned urban expansions that are frequently
in informal settlements with high population densities and
imperviousness rates, precarious urban infrastructure, great
population vulnerability, complex social systems, and substan­
tial differences in climate compared to the countries where
SUSM concepts were originally developed. Moreover, the bar­
riers are interrelated, and thus the solution strategies must be
integrated to increase the chances of successful adoption
(Brown and Farrelly 2009). A long list of alternatives is provided
that can be used for different contexts depending on the
interests and demands of the local stakeholders.
Phillips & Lindquist (this special issue) explored the potential
for five early-stage SUWM innovations in India utilizing the
Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory (Rogers 1962, 1995) and
a survey of both Innovators and Potential Future Adopters
(PFA’s). DOI has four key elements: 1) the innovation, 2) com­
munication, 3) time and 4) social system (Rogers 1962). In this
context, diffusion is defined as ‘the process by which an inno­
vation is communicated through certain channels over time
among members of a social system’ (Rogers 1995,10). Case-
studies were identified using the authors’ professional net­
works and an extensive review of grey literature and online

sources. When framed in more general terms (not explicitly
related to existing PGI cases), PFA’s rated simplicity as the
‘most important’ and observability as the ‘least important’
characteristics impacting their future willingness to adopt.
Among Innovators, compatibility was rated ‘most important’
in the future success of their initiatives and observability as the
‘least important’. Innovators and PFA’s were largely aligned in
their assessment of the two characteristics considered most
important (namely relative advantage and compatibility) but
not aligned on the characteristic of simplicity or other moder­
ate to less important innovation characteristics (trialability,
observability, and reinvention). Perception of relative advan­
tage may ultimately be the primary driver of positive adoption
attitudes among PFA’s.
However, the implementation of SUWM is usually at the city-
scale and thus several papers described how it might be carried
out in specific cities.
Iftekhar & Islam (this special issue) developed a suite of
strategies that could be developed into a set of specific actions
and targets after thorough consultations with relevant stake­
holders and systematic analysis taking into consideration the
physical, environmental, social and political constraints and
possibilities of Dhaka. Three areas were emphasised: the need
for a coordinating agency, private sector involvement and
testing, and wider implementation of water-sensitive projects.
Dhaka has all the elements to become a Water Sensitive City
(WSC) but lacks adequate investment and a suitable institu­
tional structure to take responsibility for implementation.
Xiao & Xu (this special issue) describe the potential construc­
tion of water space characteristics in Yuanjiang City based on
an urban water management framework based on the relation­
ship between the city and water as the core with Chinese
traditional culture as the ideological context. Urban water man­
agement theory provides corresponding theoretical support
for the construction of water characteristics and guides practice
in many aspects, including water ecology, water environment,
water safety, water cycle, water culture, water space and water
economy, to optimize the structure and function of the water
space. It is necessary to explore measures for constructing
water space features from the standpoint of ecological security
patterns, urban and rural quality improvement and feature
shaping, central urban space layout, and regional coordinated
development.
A similar approach is taken by Paul & Bardhan (this special
issue) in their assessment of Landscapes to eco-scapes: pre­
scriptive transitions for urban waterways to an Indian megacity.
Kolkata is blessed with two significant rivers, an efficient canal
system, and a wetland of international prominence.
Unfortunately, various factors have disturbed their natural
flow resulting in pollution, sedimentation, and reduced aquatic
biodiversity, thus resulting in their loss of socio-cultural impor­
tance. This paper analyses the interactions and inter-
relationships between the city’s main waterways in their com­
prehensive environmental, socio-economic, and cultural con­
text and presents a prescriptive framework for the eco-
restoration and management of the city’s waterways.
Garciadiego (this special issue), however, describes lessons
that were learnt from the failure of the 2007–2012 Magdalena
River restoration project in Mexico City. While the need to
URBAN WATER JOURNAL 5
involve the ‘community’ in decision-making is well documen­
ted, there is still inadequate understanding regarding how this
is to be done as part of the transition processes, especially in
developing countries. There are usually many different social
groups involved who may react to transition experiments in
different ways. This research points out the difficulties that
influence community participation and the necessity of addres­
sing these difficulties while considering the heterogeneous
community character.
Insight into two SUWM approaches is also provided. Several
cities around the world require the construction of On-site
Stormwater Detention (OSD) in new developments. Despite
their wide implementation, their real efficiency remains
unknown due to the gap in research, especially regarding
monitoring data. Drumond et al. (this special issue) attempted
to evaluate and improve the hydrological parameters of the
OSD design through two experiments carried out in Belo
Horizonte (BH city): one with impervious bottom at the Prof.
Amílcar Viana Martins Health Centre, named OSD-CS, and
another one with a permeable bottom at the Municipal
Northeast Regional, named OSD-RNE. The peak flow reduction
efficiency in OSD-CS was approximately 52%, whereas the OSD-
RNE efficiency was approximately 87%. The higher efficiency of
OSD-RNE can be attributed to the permeable bottom which
accounted for the infiltration of approximately 33% of the rain­
fall water volume. It was found that a storage capacity of 30 L/
m2 catchment size is a good reference for preliminary OSD
sizing in BH.
Enhancing water use efficiency in urban green spaces is an
increasing concern in hyper-arid megacities. Ossio et al. (this
special issue) compare the efficacy of species selection vs. soil
management as strategies for reducing water demand of
ornamental trees in irrigated green spaces of the city of
Lima, Peru, the second-largest desert city in the world after
Cairo, Egypt. The performance of a popular exotic shrub used
as a living fence in Lima’s green spaces was compared with
alternative native species when grown in soils with or with­
out biochar at different levels of soil water availability. Plant
water stress and mortality were measured over 6-months.
Native species outperformed the exotic in terms of resistance
to water stress and suffered less mortality at low levels of soil
water. The addition of biochar did not significantly enhance
the leaf water potential. Improved selection of species could
significantly augment water use efficiency in urban green
spaces in Lima and beyond.
Modelling of SUWM approaches remains popular. Rosa et al.
(this special issue) modelled the likely hydrologic impacts of the
deployment of Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) in a peri-
urban catchment in a Brazilian metropolis under pressure from
urban development. A hydrological model was constructed in
SWMM to simulate the likely impacts of GBI on runoff with the
extent of flooding determined using HEC-RAS. Rooftop discon­
nection on individual lots combined with roads treated with
vegetative swales achieved the lowest cost while still having
the highest effectiveness in runoff reduction. The modelling
showed that even with growth of impervious areas by almost
100% from urban expansion, the use of GBI scenario could
maintain the hydrology and associated flooding close to the
current situation.
6 N. NASCIMENTO ET AL.
Alkan & Hepcan (this special issue) used a different approach
in their assessment of the effect of land use decisions on the
surface runoff in an urban catchment located in Izmir, Turkey.
Answers to the following two questions were sought: (1) how
the runoff will be affected if the city plan decisions currently in
use are implemented and (2) whether it is possible to control
the runoff in an urban catchment by developing rational, sus­
tainable planning suggestions based on water. They used the
Curve Number (CN) Method, developed by the USDA (US
Department of Agriculture) – Soil Conservation Service (USDA
1986), more commonly known as the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) to assess the impact of different
land-use changes. The volume of surface runoff will increase by
8.3% in a pessimistic land use change scenario, but will
decrease by 0.4% if an optimistic land use change scenario is
implemented.
Santana et al. (this special issue) compared different methods
of ecological flow calculation and their applicability in an urba­
nised watershed with a focus on urbanised basins without mon­
itored flow data in a developing country context. There are
currently more than 200 methods to calculate ecological flow
(Tharme 2003) but relatively few (e.g. Caissie, El-Jabi, and Hébert
2007; Karimi, Yasi, and Eslamian 2012; Pastor et al. 2013) studies
provide an application and comparison of these in urbanised
watersheds particularly taking into account the resulting envir­
onmental and social implications in the context of a developing
country. This study shows that, in general, the three most sig­
nificant flow calculation methodologies indicate no substantial
variation between the ecological values. The 7Q10, Northern
Great Plains Resource Program, and Ecological Hydraulic Radius
were applied to the Três Córregos river watershed in
Florianópolis, the capital of the state of Santa Catarina, in south­
ern Brazil. This watershed is urban and has been suffering from
the effects of urbanisation. The results demonstrate the need for
urgent land use planning in the watershed as the continuous
process of disorderly urbanisation is causing serious problems for
the river system and its associated ecosystems.
Climate change is becoming an increasingly important
consideration. Çetinkaya et al. (this special issue) assessed
how climate change could affect the balance of water
supply and demand in the megacity of Istanbul, Turkey,
over the next 100 years. The Water Evaluation and
Planning (WEAP) method was used to examine three long-
term scenarios for water availability based on differences in
water supply: 1) a continuation of current supply sources; 2)
expansion of water resources based on construction of
additional water infrastructure; and 3) reduction in water
resources to rely on local resources only. Their findings
showed that extending dependence on inter-regional
water supplies is not only likely to increase Istanbul’s own
water insecurity but may also affect the human populations,
biodiversity and economies of neighbouring cities, repre­
senting an unsustainable solution that can only exacerbate
regional water insecurity in the long run.
In this Special issue, insights from the papers related to
hydrological processes and extreme hydrological events,
urban water management in informal settlements, point
and wet weather diffuse pollution, innovation on drinking
water supply, spanning from flood risk assessment and
drought adaptation to pollution abatement through sustain­
able urban water management in developing countries can
serve as a comprehensive resource for urban planners, pol­
icymakers, and researchers working towards resilient and
sustainable urban water systems. As cities continue to deal
with climate change and urbanization pressures, the knowl­
edge shared in these papers represents a critical step for­
ward in advancing urban water management and urban
planning strategies.
Acknowledgements
This Special Issue invited editors would like to express their gratitude
for the support of the UWJ Editorial Board and for the significant and
indispensable work of all the reviewers who made it possible. This
Special Issue also counted on the support of the UNESCO Latin
American and Caribbean Working Group on Urban Water and Human
Settlements (UWHS-LAC), under UNESCO's Intergovernmental
Hydrological Programme (IHP). Nilo Nascimento is the coordinator of
the UWHS-LAC also integrated by Juan Pablo Rodriguez Sanchez and
several experts on urban water from the LAC region.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Nilo Nascimento
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
niloon@ehr.ufmg.br
Neil Armitage
University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Cape Town, Republic
of South Africa
Juan Pablo Rodriguez Sanches
Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
Joao Paulo Leitao
Department of Urban Water Management, Eawag, Swiss
Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology,
Dübendorf, Switzerland