Climate Resilient Water Resources Management: Robert C. Brears

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN CLIMATE
RESILIENT SOCIETIES
Series Editor: Robert C. Brears
CLIMATE
RESILIENT
WATER
RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT
Edited by
Robert C. Brears
Palgrave Studies in Climate Resilient Societies
Series Editor
Robert C. Brears
Our Future Water, Christchurch
New Zealand
The Palgrave Studies in Climate Resilient Societies series provides readers
with an understanding of what the terms resilience and climate resilient
societies mean; the best practices and lessons learnt from various govern-
ments, in both non-OECD and OECD countries, implementing climate
resilience policies (in other words what is ‘desirable’ or ‘undesirable’ when
building climate resilient societies); an understanding of what a resilient
society potentially looks like; knowledge of when resilience building
requires slow transitions or rapid transformations; and knowledge on how
governments can create coherent, forward-looking and flexible policy
innovations to build climate resilient societies that: support the conserva-
tion of ecosystems; promote the sustainable use of natural resources;
encourage sustainable practices and management systems; develop resil-
ient and inclusive communities; ensure economic growth; and protect
health and livelihoods from climatic extremes.
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Robert C. Brears
Editor
Climate Resilient
Water Resources
Management
Editor
Robert C. Brears
Our Future Water
Christchurch, New Zealand
Palgrave Studies in Climate Resilient Societies

ISBN 978-3-319-78895-1 ISBN 978-3-319-78896-8 (eBook)
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Preface
The effects of climate change are beginning to be felt around the world
with rising temperatures, changing precipitation levels, more frequent and
severe storms, and longer more intensive droughts threatening human life
and livelihoods and damaging property and infrastructure. As such, soci-
ety in all countries—both developing and developed—need to increase
their resilience to the impacts of climate change, where resilience is the
ability of a system to absorb stresses and adapt in ways that improve the
overall sustainability of the system, enabling it to be better prepared for
future climate change impacts.
In this context, a climate-resilient society is one that is reflective (learns
from experiences), robust (both people and infrastructure can withstand
the impacts of extreme conditions), forward-thinking (with plans made to
ensure systems function during extreme events), flexible (so systems and
plans can change, evolve, or adopt alternative strategies), resourceful (to
respond quickly to extreme events), inclusive (so all communities includ-
ing the vulnerable are involved in planning), and integrated (so people,
systems, decision-making, and investments are mutually supportive of
common goals).
There is no single strategy, choice, or action that governments can take
to build a climate-resilient society. Instead, resilience is achieved through
the implementation of multiple strategies, choices, and actions over time,
including protecting and conserving natural systems; ensuring public
health and well-being; ensuring climate-smart hazard mitigation, disaster
preparedness, and recovery; encouraging climate-resilient investments in
infrastructure and facilities; and enhancing capacity of individuals,
v
vi Preface
c ommunities, and society to recognise, understand, assess, and plan for

climate risks and impacts.
This book, Climate Resilient Water Resources Management, addresses
how various levels of government in different geographical locations, with
varying climates, incomes, and lifestyles, have implemented a variety of
policies to ensure communities are resilient to climatic risks, all the while
preserving and enhancing ecosystem health.
Our Future Water, Christchurch, New Zealand Robert C. Brears

School of Health and Human Services Tara Rava Zolnikov
National University, La Jolla, CA, USA
Water Research Node, Monash University Bimo Nkhata
(South Africa), Johannesburg, South Africa
University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa Charles Breen
Water Research Node, Monash University Machaya Chomba
(South Africa), Johannesburg, South Africa
World Bank, Almaty, Kazakhstan Manon Cassara
Contents
1 Introduction 1
Robert C. Brears
2 Climate Change: Water and Sanitation 5

Tara Rava Zolnikov
3 Resilience and Water Resources Management 15

Robert C. Brears
4 Demand Management Strategies to Enhance Climate

Resilience 31
Robert C. Brears
5 A Survey of Water Technologies to Build Climate

Resilience 49
Robert C. Brears
6 Why Southern Africa Needs More than an Adaptation

Strategy to Build Climate Resilient Floodplains: A Call
for Transformative Water Security on the Kafue Flats
of Zambia 77
Bimo Nkhata, Charles Breen, and Machaya Chomba
vii
viii CONTENTS
7 Shifting the Paradigm of Transboundary Water Resources

Management Toward Climate Resilience 93
Manon Cassara
8 Conclusions 113
Robert C. Brears
Erratum to: Conclusions E1
Index 117
Notes on Contributors
Robert C. Brears is the author of Urban Water Security and The Green
Economy and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. Brears is a contributing author
for the World Bank’s Water Blog, Asian Development Bank’s blog, United
Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Making It magazine,
Green Growth Knowledge Platform, and Johns Hopkins University’s
Water Magazine. He is the founder of Mitidaption, Mark and Focus, and
Our Future Water.
Charles Breen is an Emeritus Professor and Fellow of the University of
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He is an environmental scientist with an
enduring interest in social-ecological systems, particularly those that are
structured around rivers and wetlands. He has collaborated with
South African National Parks in the development and application of
adaptive management and served as a consultant for both the estab-
lishment and review of the World Bank-funded Transfrontier
Conservation Areas Project in Mozambique. Through his interest in
protected area management, he has collaborated with colleagues at
the University of Montana while providing opportunities for research
students from Zambia, Namibia, and elsewhere in Southern Africa.
His current interest is change and sustainability of social-ecological
systems.
Manon Cassara is a Water Resources Management Consultant for the
World Bank in Central Asia since three years. She is a specialist on interna-
tional waters, focusing on institutional, basin planning, and water infor-
mation management issues as well as stakeholder engagement strategy.
ix
x NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Reflecting on a diverse international experience with projects cover-

ing Egypt, Caucasus, Vietnam, and Senegal, she has contributed to
several institutional assessments, water reform processes, and inter-
state dialogue initiatives. She is currently the World Bank regional
focal point for the Central Asia Water Resources Management Project
and for the Central Asia Energy and Water Development Program knowl-
edge activities.
Machaya Chomba is a researcher and conservationist with a focus on the
governance of natural resources in developing country contexts. He holds
an MPhil in Integrated Water Resources Management and is pursuing a
PhD in Environment and Development with a research focus on river
catchment use and governance. Through his professional and academic
experience, he possesses practical and in-depth knowledge of community-
based natural resource management, freshwater planning, and institutional
design. He joined Monash South Africa in 2012 and is currently a research
associate for the Water Research Node. His research interests include
adaptive governance, water security, and ecological infrastructure.
Bimo Nkhata is the Director and Associate Professor of the Water
Research Node at Monash University South Africa. He has a PhD in
Environmental Science that is specifically directed at global sustainability
issues. He joined Monash South Africa in 2011 bringing with him exten-
sive professional experience of having worked in the environmental and
water sectors of Africa for many years. He possesses in-depth knowl-
edge about Africa’s water management, development, and reforms
and has written widely on water governance, policy, and planning.
He is a Monash South Africa Distinguished Researcher. His passion
for education has centred on developing water leaders and researchers for
a sustainable African future.
Tara Rava Zolnikov is an assistant professor at National University at
the School of Health and Human Services. Zolnikov teaches courses in
both the BPH and MPH programmes. Her primary courses are environ-
mental health and global health. Zolnikov’s research primarily focuses on
water-related issues in low- and middle-income countries, including
Kenya. She has worked with the Kenya Red Cross on a variety of
public health projects, ranging from infectious diseases (e.g. Ebola and
HIV/AIDS) to access to water projects. She is primarily a qualitative
researcher and focuses on providing vulnerable populations with a voice;
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
xi
she uses autoethnographic and phenomenological perspectives to under-

stand or live through these experiences in order to recreate them for a
widespread audience. Finally, Zolnikov is the vice president of a nonprofit
organization, The Shepherd’s Village, which focuses on providing access
to water to Maasai communities around Narok, Kenya.
List of Tables
Table 3.1 Elements and factors that determine resilience 18

Table 3.2 Ecosystem services 22
Table 3.3 Social pillar of strong sustainability 23
Table 3.4 Management instruments in IWRM 27
Table 4.1 San Antonio’s residential monthly volume charge 34
Table 4.2 Singapore’s Public Utilities Board’s non-domestic water price 35
Table 4.3 Prague Water Supply and Sewerage’s educational programme 39
Table 4.4 Waterwise Business Recognition Scheme awards 42
Table 5.1 Maine’s Drinking Water Program’s Source Water (Surface
Water) Protection Grant application criteria 57
Table 5.2 SA Water’s tiered residential water use prices 62
Table 7.1 Summary of the transboundary agreements negotiated during
the twentieth century 98
xiii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Robert C. Brears
Abstract This book addresses how various levels of government in differ-

ent geographical locations have implemented a variety of policies and
technologies to ensure communities are resilient to climatic risks, all the
while preserving and enhancing ecosystem health.
Keywords Climate change • Resilience • Community resilience
Globally, the effects of climate change are beginning to be felt with rising
temperatures, droughts, and heatwaves as well as more frequent and severe
storm events impacting water quantity and water quality. As such, water
managers at all levels of governance, from the city to transboundary river
basin level, need to ensure communities are resilient to water scarcity pres-
sures as well as water excesses, all the while ensuring the natural system
and its associated ecosystem services are protected and enhanced.
In this context, a community that is resilient to climatic extremes is one
that is reflective (learns from experiences), robust (people and infrastruc-
ture can withstand the impacts of extreme conditions), forward-thinking
(plans are made to ensure systems function in extreme conditions), flexible
R. C. Brears (*)
Our Future Water, Christchurch, New Zealand
© The Author(s) 2018 1

R. C. Brears (ed.), Climate Resilient Water Resources Management,
Palgrave Studies in Climate Resilient Societies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_1
2 R. C. BREARS
(systems and plans can change), inclusive (all stakeholders are involved in
planning), and integrated (people, systems, decisions, investments, etc. are
mutually supportive of common goals).
There is, however, no single action or strategy that any government—
city, state, nation, or transboundary organisation—can implement to
ensure a community is resilient to climate change-related extreme weather
events while protecting the natural system. Instead, climate resilient water
resources management requires integrated, forward-thinking policies that
not only are adaptable to changing climatic conditions but also seek to
maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner while ensur-
ing the health of ecosystems.
Nonetheless, there is a lack of knowledge on how these integrated,
forward-thinking adaptable policies can be developed at various scales to
ensure communities are resilient to climate change while maintaining the
health of the natural environment. This book, Climate Resilient Water
Resources Management, addresses how various levels of government in dif-
ferent geographical locations, with varying climates, incomes, and life-
styles, have implemented a variety of policies and technologies to ensure
communities are resilient to climatic risks, all the while preserving and
enhancing ecosystem health.
In particular, Climate Resilient Water Resources Management focuses
on how a variety of policies and technologies including alternative water
supply technologies that reduce pressures on current supplies, demand
management tools to encourage the efficient use of scarce supplies, the
reuse of wastewater, and transformative transboundary river basin man-
agement initiatives can help ensure communities are resilient to water-
related climatic extremes, while at the same time protecting and enhancing
the natural system that human health, social equity, and economic growth
depend on.
The book’s chapter synopsis is as follows:
Chapter 1 provides an introduction.

Chapter 2 focuses specifically on water and sanitation resiliency ideas that
can be used to improve health outcomes.
Chapter 3 discusses building resilience to climate change and ensuring
sustainable development in general and in the context of water resources
management.
Chapter 4 surveys the variety of technologies implemented around the
world to enhance resilience to water scarcity.
INTRODUCTION 3
Chapter 5 reviews the various demand management tools available for

populations to be resilient to water scarcity risks.
Chapter 6 argues why Southern Africa requires more than an adaptation
strategy to build climate resilient floodplains.
Chapter 7 discusses how current transboundary waters governance frame-
works should be transformed to embrace the uncertainty of climate
change.
Chapter 8 discusses the conclusions of the book.
CHAPTER 2
Climate Change: Water and Sanitation
Tara Rava Zolnikov
Abstract Climate change affects population health worldwide. The con-

sequences of climate change include many changes, such as sea-level rise,
precipitation changes and increased floods and droughts, heat waves,
intense storms, air pollution, and more. These consequences affect human
health. Fortunately, by addressing climate change through adaptation and
coping strategies, many health effects could be decreased or, perhaps,
avoided altogether. The information in this chapter focuses specifically on
water and sanitation resiliency ideas that can be used to improve health
outcomes.
Keywords Climate change • Water • Sanitation
Introduction
The earth’s climate has significantly increased in the last couple of decades.
In the past 1400 years, the 30-year period between 1983 and 2013 had
the highest average temperature increase (Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change [IPCC], 2014). Combined land and ocean surface
T. R. Zolnikov (*)
Department of Community Health, National University,
San Diego, CA, USA

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_2
6 T. R. ZOLNIKOV
temperature data confirmed that between 1880 and 2012, the tempera-
ture has increased by 0.85°C (with a range of 0.65°C–1.06°C) (IPCC,
2014). These changes have been primarily due to ocean warming, which
has absorbed 90% of accumulated energy between 1971 and 2010 (IPCC,
2014). Ocean warming occurs near the top 7 meters of water, which has
increased by 0.11°C (IPCC, 2014). Precipitation rates have also changed—
high salinity occurs in areas with high evaporation rates (e.g. ocean sur-
face), while low salinity occurs in other areas that experience higher levels
of precipitation, resulting in more freshwater (e.g. brackish water).
Another measurable change is through ocean uptake of carbon dioxide
(CO2), which causes ocean acidification. These changes are confirmed by
lower pH levels in the ocean surface water, which have decreased by 0.1
pH and increased in 26% acidity (measured as hydrogen ion concentra-
tion) (IPCC, 2014). More obvious effects of climate change are visually
available with melting glaciers, diminished snow cover, Arctic sea ice
decreased each consecutive season, and sea-level rise (IPCC, 2014).
These changes can affect people worldwide. While many populations
suffer from outcomes, climate change poses the most significant threat to
vulnerable populations. Individuals living in low- or middle-income coun-
tries are more likely to be affected, due to historical low levels of food sup-
ply, poor access to improved sanitation and potable water, inadequate
countrywide efforts to mitigate and adapt, and large populations living on
coastal regions. People living in low- and middle-income countries are also
more affected by climate change outcomes because of fragile health infra-
structure and the poor ability of government policymakers to respond and
adapt to changes in resulting health and disease patterns (Skolnik, 2016).
These populations are then further segmented into risks based on ages and
where they live. For example, children and aging adults are at risk for mor-
bidity and mortality due to diarrheal diseases and heat-related conditions
(Costello, 2009). Another example occurs because of living location; urban
areas are more exposed to air pollution and rising temperatures (e.g. asthma
and heat exhaustion), while rural areas will be more affected by weather
pattern changes and agricultural losses (World Health Organization, 2014).
Climate Change and Water

Climate change affects the environment. As the atmosphere warms,
hydrological cycles are altered, which results in unprecedented amounts of
precipitation, increased atmospheric water vapor, reduced snow cover, ice
CLIMATE CHANGE: WATER AND SANITATION 7
melting, and changes in soil moisture and runoff (EPA, 2017). More
precipitation will affect watersheds as well as aquatic and marine environ-
ments (EPA, 2017). Shifts will occur in water storage from decreased
amounts in mountain glaciers and Northern Hemisphere snow-covered
areas to increased amounts over land in high northern latitudes (Bates,
Kundzewicz, Wu, & Palutikof, 2008). Climate models project future
trends concurrent to research, suggesting increases in high latitudes and
parts of the tropics and decreased water amounts in subtropical and lower
midlatitude regions (Bates et al., 2008). Floods and droughts will likely
ensue. Projections suggest that flood frequency will increase in Southeast
Asia, Peninsular India, Eastern Africa, and the northern half of the Andes
(Hirabayashi et al., 2013). Major areas affected by drought include the
Mediterranean Basin, Western United States, Southern Africa, and
Northeastern Brazil (Bates et al., 2008).
Floods and droughts affect water quality through contamination.
Sediment, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, pathogens, pesticides, and
salt will pollute water and have negative impacts on human health (e.g.
waterborne diseases) (Bates et al., 2008). In addition to increased amounts
of contaminated water, there will also be less freshwater sources available.
This will be due to a variety of reasons. One reason is due to sea-level rise,
which will extend onto freshwater sources and contribute to salinization of
groundwater and estuaries, and redistributed water to land (Bates et al.,
2008). Another reason is because of redistributed water to land from irri-
gation (Taylor et al., 2013). A final reason for water scarcity is because,
with increased temperatures, evaporation rates will be higher.
Human activity greatly contributes to these changes through redistrib-
uting freshwater from rivers, lakes, and groundwater to arable land; irriga-
tion consumption accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawal and 90% of
water consumption use, which has resulted in significant groundwater
depletion (Taylor et al., 2013). This situation may perpetuate a cycle in
which climate change plays a significant role in decreased groundwater
availability due to increased irrigation demands, especially in drought-
stricken regions that will be affected by recharge and discharge (Taylor
et al., 2013). In fact, one analysis suggested that around two-thirds of all
irrigation demands will be subjected to increase water requirements
because of persistent droughts in the areas (Döll, 2002). This outcome
could then spiral the usage of groundwater to surface water for agricul-
tural needs and drain freshwater resources indefinitely. Other negative
effects include decreased food availability, instability of resources, and
8 T. R. ZOLNIKOV
increased vulnerability of farmers in low- and middle-income countries

(e.g. African mega-deltas).
Water scarcity and water demands will alter human life. Some positive
outcomes will arise, as there are indications of positive crop yields due to
increased temperatures, but globally, negative effects will outweigh any
possible benefits (Adams, Hurd, Lenhart, & Leary, 1998; Bates et al.,
2008). By 2025, water stress from climate change is projected to more
than double (Bates et al., 2008). Thus, more typical outcomes will include
increased flood or low flow conditions that restrict navigation and fishing,
decreased potable water availability due to affected water supply infra-
structure and services, increased personal costs for water supply equip-
ment, low crop yields, increased waterborne disease rates, and more
indirect causes, like malnutrition, starvation, population displacement,
and resource conflicts (Intragovernmental Panel on Climate Change
[IPCC], 2007; National Institute of Enviornmental Health Sciences
[NIEHS, 2010]). For example, in Western China, early spring snowmelt
and declined glaciers will reduce water that would have been used for irri-
gating crops and this affects net income and economics in the region
(IPCC, 2007); in fact, it has been projected that the net income of some
farmers affected by unaltered trends of climate change will decrease by
16–30% by 2030 and 30–45% by 2090 (Chen, Gillig, & McCarl, 2001).
Water scarcity is by far the most significant problem that will affect life.
Affected populations who experience water scarcity due to climate change
are projected to increase from 0.4–1.7 billion in 2020 to 1–2 billion in
2050 all the way to 1.1–3.2 billion in 2080 (Arnell, 2004). This situation
means that people will have to adapt. The ability to cope with water-
related climate change outcomes primarily depends on technology avail-
ability, country-specific financial capacities, and individual socioeconomic
status (IPCC, 2007). If the quantity of freshwater must increase in a
region, desalination and chlorination are options to create freshwater;
however, the cost of desalination is US $1 per 1/m3 for seawater, while
chlorination of freshwater—assuming it exists—is US $0.02/3 (IPCC,
2007). These alternative solutions have significant costs associated with
them that may quickly become exorbitant and unobtainable in densely
populated areas, such as coastal Egypt, China, Bangladesh, and India
(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], 2003).
Coping capacity will change in rural versus urban environments, and
research has suggested that populations in rural areas of flooding will be
more affected than population suffering from future drought semi-arid
areas, as there has already been some adaptation strategies implemented to
cope with decreased water demands and availability (IPCC, 2007; Wilhite,
2001). For example, the Turkana tribe in Northern Kenya have adapted to
continued drought through diversification of livelihood sources, drought-
resistant or resilient livestock and crops, and sending children to school as
a long-term investment strategy to pay back from eventual employment
(Opiyo et al., 2015).
Solutions and strategies can be wide-ranging and must include all lev-
els of governance as well as local community and individual needs. The
first thing to do is create a detailed account of water supply and identify
the most successful coping strategies that can be applied in each circle of
society (FAO, 2011). The hydrological cycle and relationship between
surface and groundwater, upstream and downstream catchment, quality
and volume, and reuse in river basins are important to understand
because these ultimately can decide if proposed actions will be effective
(FAO, 2012). With this information, coping strategies can then be
developed, which can focus on supply enhancement and demand man-
agement. Supply enhancement is the ability to access water, recycle and
reuse it, alternative freshwater solutions (e.g. desalination), and pollu-
tion control. Demand management is how well people can control water
demands (FAO, 2012). Together, these strategies will aim to combat
water scarcity. For example, irrigation appears to be the most significant
source of pressure affecting water levels, so coping strategies could be
directly applied to agricultural conditions; supply enhancement and
demand management measures could be divided, targeting each part of
the continuum from the source of water to the farmer to the people
receiving the goods (FAO, 2012). These discussions could also include,
but not be limited to, cost-benefit analysis to measure outcomes in eco-
nomic gains as well as more comprehensive strategies to include assess-
ments regarding health endpoints (FAO, 2012).
Human adaptation to climate change will be complicated, but it can
occur through appropriate planning and development. Since the frequency
and magnitude of extreme events along with populations exposed to out-
comes are related to these disasters, such as water scarcity or floods, it is
important to be aware of the fluid nature of adaptation, mitigation, and
coping strategies. All changes need to be designed specific to the context
of development, environment, and health policies where they will be
implemented (e.g. high-income country). The benefits of adapting to
water-related climate change outcomes are that knowledge is available,
and through this information, the chances for positive change become
heightened.
10 T. R. ZOLNIKOV
Climate Change and Sanitation

Water and sanitation are linked, so it makes sense that sanitation is also
connected to climate change. Sanitation refers to the disposal of human
excreta. There are either improved or unimproved types of sanitation dis-
posal. Improved sanitation methods range from pit latrines—a hole in the
ground covered by some privacy permitting housing structure—to flush-
ing toilets with septic tanks, ventilation, and complete in-house privacy
(Jacobsen, 2013). Unimproved sanitation facilities are unsophisticated
and oftentimes do not even offer the most basic form of privacy. This situ-
ation contributes to open defecation practices, where a person simply
squats outside of their living arrangement and either bags up or leaves the
excreta in the open. Unimproved sources also include flush or pour-flush
toilets that drain into public areas and shared or open pit latrines (Jacobsen,
2013). To date, 946 million people use unimproved sanitation (World
Health Organization [WHO], 2016). Beyond potential discomfort, poor
sanitation contributes to the transmission of cholera, diarrhea, dysentery,
hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio (WHO, 2016). Waterborne disease rates
can become exacerbated due to outcomes of climate change, especially
floods. Floods, droughts, and storms destroy water supplies and sanitation
disposal areas and, in turn, contaminate water (United Nations Children
Development Fund [UNICEF], 2016). This is because of the high likeli-
hood of coming in direct contact with fecal matter, which happens through
inadequate disposal of excrement and contaminated soil, water, food,
hands to mouth, or flies and other insects that spread feces to food and
water (Jacobsen, 2013).
Solutions to sanitation are the same whether or not being exacerbated
by climate change. Efforts range from providing the simplest technology
of a bucket latrine to implementing modern sewage systems in populated
urban environments (Skolnik, 2008). Cost is the primary reason for the
wide-ranging implemented projects. For example, a pour-flush latrine,
ventilated-improved latrine, and simple latrine pit cost around US $60 in
many low- and middle-income countries (Skolnik, 2008), whereas the
construction of conventional sewage systems is probably ten times that
cost, if not more (Skolnik, 2008). Unfortunately, a study in Cambodia
found that despite the demand for toilets and inability to pay for simple
yet effective solutions (~$5–$10), people would rather have the unafford-
able $150 improved sanitation (Salter, 2008). Thus, it is important to
remember that alongside cost, culture also has a role in implementing and
using safe sanitation. This occurs not only through the requests and pref-
erences of populations but also through communication on the part of the
government, agencies, and charities to provide technical and culturally
appropriate and accepted toilets (Mara, Lane, Scott, & Trouba, 2010).
This type of poor health communication results in 50% of toilets built by
government programs that become either rejected or used for other pur-
poses (Sanan & Moulik, 2007).
Access to safe water is the major consideration regarding successful
sanitation project implementation. If running water is available, then peo-
ple have the option for a flush toilet, which is the most effective interven-
tion countering waterborne disease spread. Regions at risk for droughts
and floods typically have poor access to water and unimproved sanitation;
this is a focal point—to increase access to quality water and improved sani-
tation, so that if a natural disaster occurs and affects water supply, people
will be prepared and have better resources to avoid contaminating water
through continued poor sanitation and being exposed to these hazards
later on (UNICEF, 2016).
Ultimately, the interaction of technology and management will deter-
mine vulnerability and adaptive capacity of access to water and sanitation
services (WHO, 2009). Technology needs to focus on resilience to climate
change by evaluating the environment and engineering capacity as well
adjusting coping strategies due to different climate conditions (WHO,
2009). For example, UNICEF’s Water and Sanitation and Hygiene pro-
grams are using innovative solutions to create positive change and reduce
the effects of climate change on people by using solar-powered water
pumps and rainwater harvesting techniques to relieve water scarcity and be
able to focus on sanitation efforts (UNICEF, 2016). By providing house-
hold sanitation, there is an improved potential to be resilient to climate
change; however, alongside these efforts, guidance and a supportive policy
environment must also ensue (WHO, 2009). These types of strategies will
eventually help to alleviate waterborne disease outbreaks from heightened
natural disaster occurrences due to climate change.
Conclusion
Climate change affects population health worldwide. The consequences of
these altered weather patterns include many changes, such as sea-level rise,
precipitation changes and increased floods and droughts, heat waves,
intense storms, air pollution, and more (IPCC, 2014; Portier et al., 2010).
12 T. R. ZOLNIKOV
These consequences affect human health. Fortunately, by addressing cli-

mate change through adaptation and coping strategies, many health
effects could be decreased or, perhaps, avoided altogether. The informa-
tion in this chapter focused specifically on water and sanitation resiliency
ideas that can be used to improve health outcomes. It was determined that
technology and management will be significant contributors to resiliency
efforts. Information must be sought to determine changes in water flow,
how water will interact with sewage in both surface and groundwater sup-
plies, and the adequacy and availability of water supply distribution sys-
tems (Portier et al., 2010). Each aspect will be continuously evolving, so
trend and prediction analysis of climate-related changes will need to be
employed to successfully prevent human exposure to waterborne contami-
nants. Through these approaches, solutions will determine how climate
change impacts drinking water and sanitation, how optimization efforts of
existing technology and systems can maximize resilience to climate change,
the need for redeveloped future services for outcomes related to climate
change, and how best to respond to water and sanitation crises worldwide
(WHO, 2009). Ultimately, climate change can negatively affect popula-
tions, but through adaptation and resiliency efforts, these effects can be
decreased and people may not have to suffer at all.
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who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs392/en/
CHAPTER 3
Resilience and Water Resources Management
Robert C. Brears
Abstract This chapter discusses how resilience-building strategies must

be part of a broader sustainable development framework that empowers
disadvantaged groups and improves people’s asset positions and access to
quality basic service. The chapter then discusses the most appropriate
framework for building resilience to climate change while managing water
resources.
Keywords Integrated Water Resources Management • Resilience •

Water resources management
Introduction
Climate variability threatens both water supplies and sanitation. Floods are
normal occurrences that cause shocks to affected populations with impacts
including catastrophic damage to water infrastructure with damage taking
years to repair; smaller-scale damage to water infrastructure impacting ser-
vices for days, weeks, or months; and the potential distribution of human
waste and associated health risks across communities. Meanwhile, droughts
R. C. Brears (*)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_3
16 R. C. BREARS
impact groundwater tables and reduce surface water flows leading to wells
drying up, extending the distance that must be travelled to collect water,
and increasing water source pollution (WHO, 2009). With climate change
exposing vulnerable populations to enhanced risks, this chapter discusses
how resilience strategies must be part of a broader sustainable develop-
ment framework that empowers disadvantaged groups and improves peo-
ple’s asset positions and access to quality basic service. The chapter then
discusses the best framework for building resilience to climate change
while managing water resources. Finally, the chapter discusses how resil-
ience can be achieved through the application of many actions.
Resilient Water Systems

For communities to be resilient to climate change, where resilience has
been defined by the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) as “the
ability to cope with, and recover from, disruption, and anticipate trends
and variability in order to maintain services for people and protect the
natural environment, now and in the future”, the water system, which
comprises the physical and technological infrastructure and users, survives
shocks and stresses, the people and organisations can accommodate these
stresses in their day-to-day decisions, and institutional structures continue
to support the capacity of people and organisations to fulfil their aims
(Ofwat, 2015; Brears, 2016).
Elements of Resilience
From the Ofwat description of resilience, it can be said that there are three
generalisable elements of resilience in a society: systems, agents, and
institutions.
Systems
Populations require high levels of infrastructure to deliver essential ser-
vices, for example, water supplies. They are also linked at multiple scales to
other systems, such as populations relying on ecosystem services beyond
their region for flood protection. When systems fail, they jeopardise
human well-being in all affected areas and hamper economic activity until
their function is restored. These systems include water supplies and the
ecosystems that support these. Resilient systems differ from an engineering
RESILIENCE AND WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 17
approach to robust systems, which rely on hard protective structures, for

example, large-scale water diversion schemes. Resilient systems, in con-
trast, ensure their functionality is retained and can be rapidly reinstated
through system linkages despite some failures or operational disruptions.
Factors that contribute to the resilience of systems are summarised in
Table 3.1.
Agents
Agents, or actors, including individuals, households, and private and
public-sector organisations have differentiated interests and can change
their behaviour based on strategy, experience, and learning. Many agents
are dependent on systems but are not proactively involved in their cre-
ation, management, or operation of those systems, while other agents are
directly concerned with the management of these systems. Resilience is
not evenly spread across individuals and households with poverty, gender,
ethnicity, and age all contributing to differing levels of vulnerability of
social groups to climate hazards through quality of housing and location
and access to services and social networks. For individuals and house-
holds, their capacity to be resilient to climate hazards is determined by
access to financial assets (wealth or access to credit), physical assets (house,
possessions), natural assets (land), social assets (family), and human assets
(health and skills). With climate change-related hazards typically eroding
multiple types of assets, furthering impoverishing vulnerable groups, the
role of local government and community organisations is to organise,
plan, and coordinate disaster preparedness and emergency responses.
These high-capacity agents have the ability to access the resources of sup-
porting systems, including the ability to access resources provided by
other agents. In addition, the capacity of individuals and organisations to
learn is a critical aspect of resilience, where learning not only includes the
creating and sharing of knowledge but also includes basic literacy and
access to education. Factors that determine the resilience of agents are
summarised in Table 3.1.
Institutions
Institutions are social rules or conventions that structure human behav-
iour including social and economic interactions. They can be formal or
informal, overt or implicit, and created to reduce uncertainty, to maintain
18 R. C. BREARS
Table 3.1 Elements and factors that determine resilience

Element Factors Description
Systems Flexibility and The ability to perform essential tasks under a wide
diversity range of conditions and to convert assets or modify
structures to introduce new ways of doing so. A
resilient system has key assets and functions that are
physically distributed so that one event does not affect
them all at any one time (spatial diversity) and has
multiple ways of meeting a given need (functional
diversity).
Redundancy, Spare capacity for contingency situations, to
modularity accommodate increasing or extreme surge pressures
or demand; multiple pathways and a variety of options
for service delivery; or interacting components
composed of similar parts that can replace each other
if one, or many, fails. Redundancy is also supported by
the presence of buffer stocks within the system that
can compensate if flows are disrupted (e.g. local water
supplies to buffer imports).
Safe failure Ability to absorb sudden shocks (including those that
exceed design thresholds) or the cumulative effects of
slow-onset stress in ways that avoid catastrophic
failure. Safe failure also refers to interdependence of
various systems, which support each other, meaning
that failure in one structure or linkage will unlikely
result in cascading impacts across other systems.
Agents Responsiveness The capacity to organise and reorganise in a timely,
beneficial fashion; ability to identify problems,
anticipate, plan, and prepare for a disruptive event or
organisational failure; and to respond quickly.
Resourcefulness The capacity to organise various assets and resources
to act. It includes the ability to access financial and
other assets, including those of other agents and
systems through collaboration.
Capacity to learn The ability to learn from past experiences, avoid
repeated failures, and innovate to improve
performance, as well as learn new skills.
(continued)
Table 3.1 (continued)

Element Factors Description
Institutions Rights and Rights and entitlements to use resources or access

entitlements linked systems should be clear. Institutions that constrain the
to system access rights and entitlements can limit access to systems and
services and therefore reduce resilience of vulnerable
groups.
Decision-making Decision-making processes should follow widely
processes accepted principles of good governance that include
transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. This
includes recognition of groups most affected and
ensuring they have legitimate inputs to
decision-making.
Information flows Households, businesses, community organisations,
and other decision-making agents should have access
to credible and meaningful information to enable
judgements to be made about risk and vulnerability.
Application of new Institutions that facilitate the generation, exchange,
knowledge and application of new knowledge enhance resilience.
Tyler and Moench (2012)
continuity of social patterns and social order, and to stabilise human

interaction in a more predictable manner. Institutions condition the ways
that agents and systems interact and respond to climatic hazards.
Institutions can enable or constrain individuals to organise or engage in
decision-making and determine the standards to which systems are
designed and managed. Institutions can enable and support, or constrain,
vulnerable sectors of society. Factors that determine the resilience of insti-
tutions are summarised in Table 3.1 (Tyler & Moench, 2012).
Resilience Planning
Resilience planning, according to the Asian Development Bank, is the
“process of bringing together technical, scientific, and local knowledge into
decision-making processes”. The aim of resilience planning is to build itera-
tive, inclusive, and integrated processes to reduce the uncertainty and
complexity of climate change. As part of the process, engaging multiple
stakeholders needs to be more than a one-off event. Instead, engagement
should be part of a cycle of action and reflection that progressively builds
up capacity and understanding over time. This iterative process can
20 R. C. BREARS
increase the capacity of decision-makers including businesses, communi-

ties, households, and governments to incorporate new information and
uncertainty into future plans and actions (ADB, 2014).
Climate Resilience and Sustainable Development

With climate change increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme
weather and climate events, developing countries and low-income
countries are at greatest risk of climate hazards. If left unattended, cli-
mate hazards are likely to increase poverty, worsen inequality, and cause
health problems. In addition, climate change has differential impacts
on people and communities within countries, with the impacts detri-
mental to the most disadvantaged groups of society. Therefore, resil-
ience strategies must be part of a broader sustainable development
framework that empowers disadvantaged groups and improves people’s
asset positions and access to quality basic services (UN, 2016), where
sustainable development is defined by the Brundtland Report as “devel-
opment that fulfils the needs of the present generation, without compromis-
ing the ability of future generations to fulfil their needs”. The Brundtland
Report attempts to connect environmental, economic, and social
aspects of sustainability into the concept of sustainable development,
with the objective of sustainable development being the maximisation
of each pillar in development (Vallance, Perkins, & Dixon, 2011;
Lieberherr-Gardiol, 2008).
Forms of Sustainable Development

Sustainability proponents can be divided into those that adhere to weak
sustainability and those adhering to strong sustainability (Neumayer,
2012). In the weak form of sustainability, natural capital is substitutable
for other types of capital in the pursuit of economic growth, while strong
sustainability places a priority over the maintenance or improvement of
current levels of natural capital in the pursuit of economic growth. In
weak sustainability, there is no difference between natural and other forms
of capital. As long as natural capital being depleted is replaced by even
more valuable physical and human capital, then the aggregate stock
(human, physical, and remaining natural capital) is, at the minimum, being
retained for future generations (Milbrath, 1995; Barbier, 2011; Neumayer,
2012; Haughton, 1999). Weak sustainability is based around a key

assumption that new technologies, fostered through appropriate market
instruments, can reduce environmental degradation. As such, proponents
of strong sustainability argue that weak sustainability ignores the human,
social, and cultural drivers of environmental degradation (Spence &
Pidgeon, 2009). Furthermore, opponents of weak sustainability argue
that it promotes a “take-make-waste” economic framework where natural
resources are taken from the environment, converted into goods and ser-
vices from which large amounts of waste is returned back into the environ-
ment causing irreversible environmental damage (Pike, Doppelt, & Herr,
2010). This economic model has led to rapid accumulation of physical and
human capital and excessive depletion and degradation of natural capital
(Barbier, 2011; Darnault, 2008). Strong sustainability proponents argue
natural capital is not substitutable with other forms of capital for three
reasons: First, the depreciation of natural capital is irreversible or takes
long periods of time to recover; second, it is not possible to replace a
depleted resource with a new one; and third, ecosystems can collapse
abruptly. As such, supporters of strong sustainability believe that natural
capital cannot be substituted with other forms of capital and no amount of
physical or human capital can replace all the environmental resources that
comprise natural capital or the ecological services performed by nature.
Therefore, natural capital should be protected, not depleted (Barbier,
2011; Dasgupta, 2008).
Sustainable Water Resources Management

The most appropriate form of sustainability in water resources manage-
ment is the strong sustainability viewpoint for three reasons: First, strong
sustainability ensures current and future generations can meet their basic
water needs; second, strong sustainability ensures there is sufficient water
to produce goods and services; and third, strong sustainability ensures
there is adequate quality and quantity of water resources necessary to pro-
tect ecosystems. Therefore, strong sustainability reduces the potential for
conflicts and tensions between the environmental, economic, and social
pillars of sustainable development (Jønch-Clausen & Fugl, 2001;
UN-Water, 2013; Loucks, 2000; Offermans, Haasnoot, & Valkering,
2011; Jowsey, 2012).
22 R. C. BREARS
Table 3.2 Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services Description
Provisioning Services focused on directly supplying food, non-food products from

services water flows (freshwater supplies, crop production, hydropower,
timber, livestock, etc.)
Regulatory Services related to the regulation of flows or reducing hazards related
services to water flows: regulation of hydrological flows (buffer run-off, soil
water infiltration, groundwater recharge), natural hazard mitigation
(flood prevention, landslide prevention, etc.), soil protection, and
control of ground and surface water quality
Supporting Services provided to support habitats and ecosystem functioning
services (wildlife habitat, flow regime required to maintain downstream
habitat and uses)
Cultural and Services related to recreation and human inspiration (aquatic
amenity services recreation, landscape aesthetics, cultural heritage and identity, artistic
and spiritual inspiration)
Smith et al. (2006)
Environmental Pillar
In strong sustainability, the environmental pillar of water resources man-
agement aims to protect the quality and quantity of water necessary for
the survival of both humans and nature (UN-Water, 2013; Smith, de
Groot, & Bergkamp, 2006). The environmental pillar recognises the need
to protect the numerous services provided by ecosystems that are benefi-
cial to humans and nature summarised in Table 3.2.
Economic Pillar
In the strong form of sustainability, water is allocated in the most effi-
cient way with a priority placed on uses that provide the highest value to
society as a whole (OECD, 2010; Jønch-Clausen & Fugl, 2001). Water
is a special economic good with no substitute and therefore its allocation
is a societal question, not a market question. As such, water is not priced
solely through market forces; instead, the price of water should, first,
include the full economic cost of providing the water service and, sec-
ond, provide a clear signal to users that water is a scarce good, provides
valuable ecosystem services, and should be conserved (Savenije & Van
Der Zaag, 2002).
Table 3.3 Social pillar of strong sustainability

Social pillar component Description
Intergenerational equity The sustainable use of water ensures the satisfying of needs
(equity of current and for both current and future generations. To reduce
future generations) intergenerational competition over water resources, the use of
water resources should not exceed the limits of its natural
recharge rate, so future use is safeguarded
Intragenerational equity Each water user has a basic right to water of adequate
(equity amongst the quantity and quality. Water users should avoid unnecessary
current generation) use through the promotion of water conservation to avoid
welfare losses for both current and future generations
Geographical equity River basins are often transboundary with water flowing over
(transfrontier administrative and political boundaries and so there is a
responsibility) responsibility to ensure all users and uses are treated equitably
Procedural equity (right Regulatory systems should be devised to ensure transparency
to environmental as it is critical that people have the right to access information
information) on water quality and quantity
Interspecies equity Humans have an obligation to ensure there is adequate
(equity between all quantities of water of good quality sufficient for the survival
species) of ecosystems
Brears (2016)
Social Pillar
In the social pillar of strong sustainability, water is managed in a way that
ensures both current and future generations have access to good quality
water of sufficient quantity. The social pillar ensures there are both inter-
generational and intragenerational equity as well as geographical, proce-
dural, and interspecies equity in water supplies summarised in Table 3.3.
Integrated Water Resources Management

The water resources management framework best suited for building resil-
ience to climate change and ensuring the strong, sustainable management
of water resources is Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
(Sadoff, Water Partnership, & Muller, 2009; Brears, 2016), which is a
cross-sectoral approach designed to promote the coordinated develop-
ment and management of water, land, and related resources to maximise
economic and social welfare in an equitable manner, without compromis-
ing the sustainability of ecosystems and the environment. IWRM is based
24 R. C. BREARS
on the understanding that water resources are an integral component of

the ecosystem, a natural resource, and a social and economic good. For
IWRM to be successful it requires the coordinated development and man-
agement of land and water use, surface water and groundwater, water
quantity and quality, upstream and downstream use, and freshwater and
coastal waters while recognising all users are interdependent on one
another. An important aspect of IWRM is the participation of individuals
and communities in all aspects of water management policy and decision-
making (GWP, 2011). This ensures all members of society benefit from
the sustainable and equitable use of water resources. IWRM is also about
modifying human systems to encourage people to use water resources sus-
tainably (Davie, 2008). There are five key principles of IWRM:
1. Freshwater is a finite and vulnerable resource and it is essential to

sustain life, development, and the environment.
2. Water development and management should be based on a partici-
patory approach involving users, planners, and policy-makers at all
levels.
3. Women play a central role in the provision, management, and safe-
guarding of water.
4. Water is a public good and has a social and economic value in all its
competing uses.
5. IWRM is based on equitable and efficient management and sustain-
able use of water.
Benefits of IWRM
There are significant benefits from managing water in an integrated way.
For developing countries, effective water management will alleviate pov-
erty and disease through clean water and sanitation. In both developing
and developed countries there will be greater protection against natural
disasters as higher quality data for water resources management enables
countries to better manage droughts and floods. Regarding water conser-
vation, effective water resources management will lead to increased water
conservation and reductions in discharges of municipal and industrial
wastes. This can be achieved through the enactment of appropriate water
charges and discharge guidelines. In rural communities, the application of
water-saving technology and improved management methods will result
in increased agricultural production and rural water supply. At the same
time, a more integrated approach to water resources management will

protect fragile aquatic ecosystems through decreased disruption of water-
ways and lower levels of pollution (UN Documents, 2011).
IWRM Actions to Build Climate Resilience

In IWRM, there is no single action or strategy that will ensure water
resources are resilient to climate change. Instead, resilience is achieved
through many actions, building upon each other over time with people
and institutions learning from past experiences and applying it to future
decisions. These actions can be divided into hard actions and soft actions.
Hard actions involve infrastructural solutions that mitigate flood and
drought risks, for instance, the construction, upgrade, and maintenance of
flood defences, the restoration of watercourses, enhancing of wetlands,
and the construction of reservoirs. Meanwhile, soft actions involve non-
infrastructural means to enhance resilience to variability and extreme
events including risks assessments, institutional capacity building, and out-
reach and education (ADB, 2013).
Hard Actions
Flood protection infrastructure is used to control river floodwater flow
and protect communities from costly inundation. These structural barri-
ers are typically permanent construction built at designated points on a
waterway to contain water on one side of the barrier. Common examples
of which include dams, dikes, locks, and levees (UNEP-DHI Partnership,
2017). Reconnecting rivers with their floodplains is a green infrastructure
approach that focuses on removing barriers along edges of rivers. This
allows rivers to re-establish their natural course over time, eventually
reconnecting to its old floodplain, or creating a new one. In addition to
slowing the movement of water and reducing the chances of erosion and
flooding, additional benefits of reconnecting rivers to floodplains are that
it allows habitats for species to thrive and contribute to biodiversity all the
while providing a variety of ecosystem services to people (UNEP-DHI
Partnership, 2017). Riparian buffers, for example, wetlands, protect
waterways from potential pollutants from the surrounding land area such
as those from agricultural land and activities. Riparian buffers are usually
naturally present but are often under pressure due to human activities
including urbanisation. They can be man-made or left untouched to allow
natural regeneration. In addition to improving water quality, riparian
26 R. C. BREARS
buffers slow down water flow during storms, protecting downstream

areas from flooding. Surface reservoirs are built structures that help
improve water security for local communities. The types and sizes of res-
ervoirs vary, from the damming of natural water bodies for storage to the
excavation of low-lying plains fed by either rainwater or diverted rivers.
Stored water can be used for many purposes including irrigation, industry,
domestic use, hydropower generation, and flood control (UNEP-DHI
Partnership, 2017).
Soft Actions
Water resources assessments are required for informed decision-making
and involve collecting hydrological, demographic, and socio-economic
data and the setting up of routine data assembly and reporting. Water
resources assessments are also important for mitigating floods and
droughts. Assessments can be used for planning development options,
resource use, and human interactions. Communication and information
instruments encourage a water-orientated society. Risk assessments iden-
tify specific hazards, analyse those risks associated with them, and deter-
mine appropriate ways to eliminate or control those hazards, where risk is
defined as probability multiplied by effect, which is typically a monetary
value, and hazards include water scarcity, water quality, public health, or
ecosystem change. Risk assessments can be conducted on three levels: in
relation to natural and human-induced hazards, in relation to the risks
faced by water managers and regulatory agencies in their work, and in
relation to the potentially harmful effects of water management decisions
(GWP, 2017). Some of the risks are a result of human actions, while other
risks arise from natural causes. Nonetheless, even for those arising from
natural causes, the consequences can be impacted by human actions and
interventions. Information is an important tool for changing behaviour
through public awareness campaigns, school curricula, university water
courses, and professional training. Transparency of water resources data
and product labelling of water-efficient appliances and practices are other
key social change instruments. Having a conflict resolution mechanism in
place is vital as conflict is endemic in the management of water resources
in many places. Therefore, dispute resolution tools must be in place for
users. Economic and regulatory instruments are frequently used in the
management of water and involve setting allocation and water use limits as
well as pollution controls. Pricing, subsidies, and other market tools are
used to provide incentives for all water users to conserve water, use it
Table 3.4 Management instruments in IWRM

Instruments Description
Water resources assessments Data collection networks and assessment techniques

Environmental impact assessments
Risk management tools for flood and droughts
Communication and Raise awareness of the need for water conservation
information Informed stakeholder participation
Allocation and conflict Allocation of water resources through market instruments
resolution Allocation based on the valuation of costs and benefits
Tools for conflict resolution: upstream versus downstream,
sector versus sector, human versus nature
Economic and regulatory Direct controls—regulations, land use plans
Economic—prices, tariffs, subsidies, fees, taxes
Self-regulation—transparent benchmarking, product
labelling
Technological Research and development
Efficiency guidelines
Improving water supply infrastructure
Financing Investment in IWRM by users, governments, private
sector, and donors
Brears (2016)
e fficiently, as well as avoid pollution (GWP, 2004). Meanwhile, techno-

logical innovations promote water efficiency and reduce pollution, while
financing is made available to IWRM projects. The summary of these
management instruments is in Table 3.4.
Conclusions
Climate variability threatens both water supplies and sanitation with floods
damaging water infrastructure and reducing water services while droughts
reduce availability of groundwater and surface water as well as increase
water source pollution. For communities to be resilient to climate change,
the water system must be able to survive shocks and stresses, people and
organisations must be able to accommodate these stresses in their day-to-
day decisions, and institutional structures must continue to support the
capacity of people and organisations to fulfil their aims. To build a resilient
water system, resilience planning needs to be iterative, inclusive, and inte-
grated, all the while ensuring multiple stakeholders are engaged in the
process. This iterative process also enhances the capacity of individuals,
28 R. C. BREARS
households, communities, businesses, and governments to incorporate

new information and uncertainty into future plans and actions. With cli-
mate change having differential impacts on people and communities
within countries, resilience strategies must be part of a broader sustainable
development framework that empowers disadvantaged groups, protects
assets, and ensures access to quality basic services. In the context of man-
aging water resources, the most appropriate framework for building resil-
ience to climate change and ensuring sustainable development that values
natural capital is the IWRM framework. However, the IWRM framework
does not provide a single action or strategy to ensure water resources are
resilient to climate change. Instead, resilience is achieved through many
actions, which can be divided into hard actions and soft actions, where
hard actions involve infrastructural solutions that mitigate flood and
drought risks, while soft actions involve non-infrastructural means to
enhance resilience to variability and extreme events.
References
ADB. (2013). Increasing climate change resilience of urban water infrastructure:
Based on a case study from Wuhan City, People’s Republic of China. Retrieved
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CHAPTER 4
Demand Management Strategies to Enhance

Climate Resilience
Robert C. Brears
Abstract By mid-century, it is projected that the world will face a water

deficit under a business-as-usual climate scenario. At the same time, the
majority of the world’s population will be urban. Considering these trends,
the key objective for cities to be resilient to water scarcity risks is to reduce
demand for water so as to reduce pressure on water resources.
Keywords Demand management • Policy • Fiscal • Non-fiscal
Introduction
Currently, over 54 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban settle-
ments. By 2030, urban areas will be home to 60 per cent of all people with
ten additional cities classed as mega-cities (cities with populations of more
than ten million inhabitants) (UN, 2016). At the same time, the world is
projected to face a 40 per cent water deficit under a business-as-usual cli-
mate scenario. By 2050, 66 per cent of the world’s population is expected
to be urban, while global demand for water is projected to further outstrip
R. C. Brears (*)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_4
32 R. C. BREARS
supply by 55 per cent (UNESCO, 2015). Considering these trends, the

key objective for cities to be resilient to water scarcity risks is to reduce
demand for water so as to reduce pressure on water resources (Ofwat,
2015). This chapter will first define the term demand management before
discussing various policy tools water utilities can use to balance rising
demand with limited supplies.
Demand Management
Traditionally, water utilities have relied on large-scale, supply-side infra-
structural projects such as dams and reservoirs to meet increased demand
for water (supply-side management). However, these projects are costly
both economically and environmentally. In addition, with the clear major-
ity of water resources being transboundary, supply-side projects can create
political tensions as they rely on water crossing both intra- and inter-state
administrative and political boundaries. Therefore, there is a need to move
towards managing actual demand for water (demand management) as
ultimately it is society’s attitudes and behaviours towards water that deter-
mine the amount of water that needs supplying.
Demand management involves the better use of existing water supplies
before plans are made to further increase supply. Specifically, demand
management promotes water conservation during both normal and
abnormal conditions, through changes in practices, culture, and people’s
attitudes towards water resources. Demand management seeks to reduce
the loss and misuse of water, optimise the use of water, and facilitate major
financial and infrastructural savings by minimising the need to meet
increasing demand with new water supplies. The benefits of demand man-
agement include reduced water and electricity bills, reduced carbon emis-
sions from pumping and heating water, reduced leakage, and more water
for a healthier environment (Brears, 2016). Overall, there are two types of
demand management tools available to water utilities to enhance resilience
to water scarcity: fiscal and non-fiscal tools.
Fiscal Tools
Fiscal tools include the pricing of water as well as the use of subsidies and
rebates to encourage water conservation.
DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE CLIMATE RESILIENCE 33
Pricing of Water
In water resources management, economic theory suggests that demand
for water should behave like any other goods—as price increases, water use
decreases. In using price as a mechanism to promote water conservation,
water utilities can use a variety of different price structures all which send
to individuals and communities different conservation signals. A flat rate is
essentially a fixed charge for water usage regardless of the volume used
where typically the size of the charge is related to the customer’s property
value (Sibly, 2006; Policy Research Initiative, 2005). While fixed prices
enable water utilities to raise sufficient revenue for the operation and
maintenance of the water supply network, it does not provide any incen-
tive for individuals and households to conserve water (CAP-NET, 2008;
Olmstead & Stavins, 2007). A volumetric rate is a charge based on the
volume used at a constant rate. Therefore, the amount users pay for water
is strictly based on the amount of water consumed (Policy Research
Initiative, 2005). An increasing block tariff contains different prices for
two or more pre-specified quantities (blocks) of water, with price increas-
ing with each successive block. Water utilities must, therefore, decide on,
first, the number of blocks; second, the volume of water use associated
with each block; and third, the price charged for each block. The pricing
of water can include a two-part tariff system: a fixed and variable compo-
nent. In the fixed component, water users pay one amount independently
of consumption and this covers infrastructural and administrative costs of
supplying water. Meanwhile, the variable amount is based on the quantity
of water consumed and covers the costs of providing water as well as
encouraging conservation.
Case: San Antonio’s Residential Water Service Charges

San Antonio Water System’s water bills for residential customers are
calculated based on water consumption, standard or seasonal rate
type, metre size, and whether the customer is inside or outside city
limits. Residential customers are charged a monthly Service
Availability Charge for water furnished through metres with the
amount determined by the size of the metre along with a Monthly
Volume Charge measured per 100 gallons of water usage. The
Monthly Volume Charge is based on eight block rates. The residential
34 R. C. BREARS
volume charge for customers within the city limits is summarised in

Table 4.1 (San Antonio Water System, 2018).
Table 4.1 San Antonio’s residential monthly volume charge

Usage gallon block threshold Rate per 100 gallons
Current 2017 Proposed 2018 Proposed 2019
2,992 $0.0672 $0.0737 $0.0740

4,489 0.1176 0.1290 0.1295
5,985 0.1511 0.1658 0.1665
7,481 0.1847 0.2026 0.2034
10,473 0.2183 0.2395 0.2405
14,962 0.2520 0.2764 0.2775
20,199 0.3023 0.3316 0.3329
Over 20,199 0.4366 0.4790 0.4809
Case: Singapore’s Public Utilities Board’s Non-domestic Water Price

Singapore’s Public Utility Board’s (PUB) potable water price is
made up of four components: water tariff, water conservation tax,
waterborne fee, and sanitary appliance fee. The water tariff covers
the costs incurred in various stages of the water production pro-
cess—collection of rainwater, treatment of raw water, and distribu-
tion of potable water to customers with the tariff charged based on
the volume of water consumed. The Water Conservation Fee encour-
ages water conservation and reflects its scarcity value, while the
Waterborne Fee (WBF) and Sanitary Appliance Fee (SAF) go
towards meeting the costs of treating used water and maintaining
the used water network.
PUB will be revising its potable water price for domestic and non-
domestic customers in two steps, on 1 July 2017 and 1 July 2018, to
strengthen Singapore’s water security as well as meet rising opera-
tional costs. For non-domestic customers, both the water tariff and
water conservation tax will increase, while the WBF and SAF be will
restructured into a single, volume-based fee, making it more reflective
of the volume of used water discharged (Table 4.2) (PUB, 2018b).
Table 4.2 Singapore’s Public Utilities Board’s non-domestic water price

Current From 1 July 2017 From 1 July 2018
Water price Water price ($/ Water price ($/

($/m3) m3) m3)
Potable Tariff $1.17 $1.19 $1.21

water Water conservation $0.35 (30% $0.42 (35% of $0.61 (50% of
tax (% of water tariff) of $1.17) $1.19) $1.21)
Used Waterborne fee $0.56 $0.78 $0.92
water Sanitary appliance fee $2.80 per Combined into Combined into
fitting waterborne fee waterborne fee
Total price $2.15 $2.39 $2.74
Subsidies
Economic instruments such as subsidies (incentives) are used to modify
individual’s behaviour in a predictable, cost-effective way, that is, reduce
wastage and lower water consumption (Partnership, 2012; Policy Research
Initiative, 2005; Savenije & van der Zaag, 2002; OECD, 2012). Incentives
are commonly used to encourage the uptake of water-efficient appliances
as positive incentives are found to be more effective than disincentives in
promoting water conservation. In addition, incentives have been found to
reduce the gap between the time the incentive is presented and behav-
ioural change as compared to disincentives (Policy Research Initiative,
2005). To accelerate the replacement of old water-using fixtures, water
utilities commonly offer incentives to customers who purchase water-
efficient toilets, taps, and showerheads.
Case: City of San Diego Public Utilities Department Rebates

The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department offers rebates for
the installation of greywater systems and rainwater harvesting sys-
tems. Since 2013, the city has streamlined its permitting process for
‘simple’ and ‘complex’ greywater systems to encourage homeowners
to conserve water and save money. For non-permit systems, which
involve the use of greywater from a single washing machine in a one-
or two-family dwelling being used for irrigation with no pump
36 R. C. BREARS
required, provided the discharge is less than 250 gallons a day,

homeowners can receive a rebate ranging from $150 to $250. If the
materials used do not total the $150 minimum requirement, then no
rebate will be given. For permit systems, which take discharge water
from other elements in a residence including bathtubs and showers
and therefore require more extensive in-house plumbing and use of
a pump, homeowners can receive a rebate of up to $1,000 for mate-
rials and permitting fees (City of San Diego Public Utilities
Department, 2016). For rainwater harvesting systems, homeowners
can receive a rebate of up to $1 per gallon of barrel storage capacity
for residential rainwater harvesting (rain barrel), up to 400 gallons
and $400 per property. The minimum total storage capacity to
receive a rebate is 45 gallons and connecting several rain barrels is
acceptable (City of San Diego Public Utilities Department, 2018).
Non-fiscal Tools
Non-fiscal tools include product labelling, retrofits, education and public
awareness, regulations, and competitions.
Product Labelling
The labelling of household appliances according to water efficiency is
important in reducing household water consumption by eliminating
unsustainable products from the market; however, this is provided the
labelling scheme is clear and comprehensible and identifies both private
and public benefits of conserving water. Nonetheless, people are more
likely to respond to eco-labels if the environmental benefits match closely
personal benefits such as reduced water bills.
Case: New Zealand Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme

The New Zealand Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS) is
designed to provide information, through labelling at the point of
sale, to consumers buying new products that use water. The label pro-
vides information on a product’s water efficiency and water consump-
tion in a standardised form. The WELS applies to six product class:
clothes washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, showers, taps, and
urinals. The WELS label provides a star rating indicating relative water
efficiency and a water consumption or water flow figure. Each product
label displays a rating out of six with the more stars the more water
efficient. All WELS labels have a water consumption or flow figure in:
• Litres per minute (for showers and taps)

• Litres per wash (for clothes washing machines and dishwashers)
• Litres per flush (for toilets and urinals) (Ministry for the
Environment, 2018)
Retrofits
Retrofit programmes involve the distribution and installation of replace-
ment devices to physically reduce water use in homes and offices. The
most common retrofits are toilet retrofits, involving customers having
their older toilets replaced with newer low/dual flush toilets, and the dis-
tributing of showerheads and faucet aerators (devices that when inserted
into taps reduce the flow of water) to households and offices (Michelsen,
McGuckin, & Stumpf, 1999; Pennsylvania State University, 2010). Water-
saving devices can be distributed by water utilities in numerous ways
including door to door with water-saving kits delivered to households,
direct installation by trained technicians or plumbers, mass mailing with
water-saving devices posted out, depot pickup with customers calling in to
pick up devices, or water-saving device requests where customers request
devices for installation (Pennsylvania State University, 2010).
Case: Thames Water’s Smarter Business Visit Trial

Over the 2016–2017 period, Thames Water ran a Smart Business
Visit (SBV) trial in London to make businesses more water efficient.
The programme involved a qualified plumber visiting business prem-
ises and reviewing the kitchen and bathroom facilities. They recom-
mended best solutions to the business and fitted suitable water-saving
devices with both the visit and installations free. In addition, the
SBV team also found and fixed visible internal leaks. The free water-
saving devices that were on offer for installation included cistern dis-
placement devices, tap inserts, ecoBETA showerheads, and urinal
controls (Thames Water, 2017).
38 R. C. BREARS
Education and Public Awareness

Education of the public is crucial in generating an understanding of water
scarcity and creating acceptance of the need to implement water conserva-
tion programmes. For a water conservation programme to be robust, it
must target both young people and adults. Water utilities can promote
water conservation in schools to increase young people’s knowledge on
the water cycle and encourage the sustainable use of scarce water resources.
To do so, water utilities can use a variety of strategies including school
presentations, distribution of water conservation information, and
materials that can be used in school curriculum. Meanwhile, water utilities
can raise public awareness on the need to conserve water resources. Water
utilities can influence individual’s attitudes and behaviours towards water
resources by increasing their knowledge and awareness of environmental
problems associated with water scarcity (Steg & Vlek, 2009; Najjar &
Collier, 2011; Policy Research Initiative, 2005). There are multiple tools
and formats water utilities can use to increase public awareness on the
need to conserve water including:
• Public information: Printed literature distributed or available for the

public, public service announcements and advertisements on bill-
boards, public transportation, television commercials, newspaper
articles and advertisements, internet, and social media campaigns.
• Public events: Water utilities can hold public events such as conservation
workshops where customers can receive information on both water con-
servation tips and the various types of water-saving devices available.
• Information in water bills: Water bills should be understandable
enabling customers to easily identify volume of usage, rates, charges,
and so on. The water bill should also be informative, enabling custom-
ers to compare their current bill with previous bills (Brears, 2016).
Case: The City of Phoenix Water Services Department’s Watersmart

Workshops
Over the summer/fall period of 2017, the City of Phoenix Water
Services Department held a series of free watersmart workshops. The
workshops were:
• Desert lawn care: Learn practical advice for maintaining a

healthy, beautiful, and water-efficient lawn
• Landscape watering: Learn how to properly maintain a land-

scape to save time and increase the health and beauty of the
plants
• Rain gardens: Learn how to design an earth-friendly yard
using simple earthworks and low-water-use plants
• Water 101: Learn more about where your plants come from,
how water gets to us, how we use water, where it goes, and
how Phoenix is planning for the future (City of Phoenix Water
Services Department, 2018)
Case: Prague Water Supply and Sewerage’s Children’s Education

Programmes
Prague Water Supply and Sewerage provides education and educa-
tional activities for children to encourage environmental protection
and ecological behaviour. The utility provides a range of educational
programmes for elementary schools with each programme designed
for 15–30 students and is free (Table 4.3). The utility has created a
magazine for children that contains topics that focus on the water
industry as well as tests, crosswords, accessories, and colouring books
(Prague Water Supply and Sewerage, 2018a, 2018b).
Table 4.3 Prague Water Supply and Sewerage’s educational programme

Educational Suitable for Description
programme (grade)
History of water supply 5th–9th grade, • History of water supply, the first
in the Museum of high school Prague waterworks
Water in Prague • Vltava renaissance waterworks
(water towers), modern ways of
drinking water treatment
The water cycle in the 1st–5th grade • The water supply, experiment,
water and demonstration of water
industry + experiments purification
with water • A short tour of the Prague
Waterworks Museum with a
brief explanation
(continued)
40 R. C. BREARS
Table 4.3 (continued)

Educational Suitable for Description
programme (grade)
Waste Water 6th–9th grade • A brief explanation of the water

Treatment—Inspection cycle in the water industry
of Waste Water wastewater treatment plant tour,
Treatment Plant Horní explanation of wastewater
Počernice Č ertousy treatment
Lectures in schools The utility adapts • The water cycle in the water
the lecture and industry + experiments with
the pace of water can be done in the form of
lectures to the age a lecture directly at school in
of children which case the programme does
not include a museum tour and
lasts one lesson
Case: Eau de Paris’ Water Consumption Calculator

Eau de Paris provides on their website a residential water consump-
tion calculator that is comprised of three steps:
1. Users detail how many people live in the household.

2. Users fill in the different elements of consumption:
(a) Water for the kitchen: How many times a week do you use tap
water for cooking?
(b) Dishwater: How many times a week do you use your
dishwasher?
(c) Dishes in hand: How often do you do the dishes by hand a
week?
(d) Washing machine: How many times a week do you use your
washing machine?
(e) Drink: How many litres of tap water do you drink per person
per day?
(f) Bathroom sink: How often do you use your sink’s faucet per
person per day?
(g) Shower: How many showers do you take per person per week?
(h) Flush: How often do you flush per person per day?
(i) Bath: How many baths do you take per person per week?
3. Do you have a dripping faucet at home? Yes/No
The online calculator then provides users with:
• An indicator of the litres of water consumed per month and

the equivalent monthly bill
• A breakdown of water usage throughout the house in the form
of a percentage pie graph
• The average water consumption of a family of equivalent size
in Paris per month
• A warning if your consumption is higher than the French
average
• A series of tips on how to conserve water around the home
(Eau de Paris, 2018)
Regulations
Water management generally comes in the form of temporary and perma-
nent regulations. Water conservation temporary regulations restrict cer-
tain types of water use during specified times and/or restrict the level of
water use to a specified amount. These programmes are usually enacted
during times of severe water shortages and cease once the shortage has
passed (Brears, 2016). Examples of water-use regulations include:
• Restrictions on non-essential water uses, for example, watering

lawns, washing cars, filling swimming pools, washing driveways
• Restrictions on commercial use, for example, car washes, hotels, and
other large consumers of water
• Bans on using water of drinking quality for cooling purposes
Water conservation permanent regulations include amendments to build-

ing codes or ordinances requiring the installation of water-saving devices, for
example, low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets in all newly constructed
or renovated homes and offices (Michelsen et al., 1999; OECD, 2011;
Pennsylvania State University, 2010). For example, plumbing codes can be
used to ensure new homes and offices have maximum water-use standards
for plumbing fixtures such as toilets, urinals, faucets, and showers.
42 R. C. BREARS
Case: Water Corporation’s Waterwise Business Program

Western Australia’s Water Corporation Waterwise Business Program
requires all businesses that use more than 20,000 kilolitres of water
utility-supplied water to complete a Water Efficiency Management
Plan (WEMP) to help save water. As part of the programme, partici-
pants are required to develop a WEMP that details water-saving tar-
gets and actions/initiatives and provide annual progress reports on
water-saving targets and actions/initiatives. Once the plan is submit-
ted and accepted, it will be valid for five years; however, if water use
increases significantly, a revised WEMP may need to be submitted.
Overall, there are many benefits from participation including:
• Access to free training sessions and events to learn new ways of

saving water
• Access to a free data logger
• Learning how other businesses save water through case
studies
Waterwise Business Recognition Scheme

Each year, outstanding water-saving efforts are rewarded under
the Waterwise Business Program Recognition Scheme (Table 4.4).
Award winners are determined by calculating the saving in both
actual water use and benchmark as a percentage the business’
improvement in water efficiency (Water Corporation, 2018).
Table 4.4 Waterwise Business Recognition Scheme awards

Award Achievement
Champion Achieved Gold Recognition or better for 2 consecutive years

Platinum More than 50% improvement in water efficiency
Gold 35%–50% improvement in water efficiency
Silver 25%–35% improvement in water efficiency
Bronze 10%–25% improvement in water efficiency
Competitions
Water utilities can increase participation rates in water conservation pro-
grammes by promoting competition among individuals and communities
to achieve specific water consumption targets. Examples of competitions
include eliciting commitments to water-saving targets and promoting
competition through the water bill. Regarding eliciting commitments,

water utilities can obtain verbal or written commitments from individuals
and communities to achieve specific water-saving targets. Competitions can
then be formed to compare individuals or communities water savings with
one another and offer winners recognition or prizes for their water-saving
achievements (Patchen, 2010). The water bill can also be used as a tool for
competition between water users, for example, water bills can show a house-
hold’s water consumption compared to the average household in the
neighbourhood, city, province, or state (Brears, 2016; Patchen, 2010).
Case: Los Angeles’ Water Conservation Pledge

The City of Los Angeles’ Water Conservation Pledge encourages
citizens to take a pledge to conserve water, with participants, upon
signing up, receiving a free cotton tote bag. The pledge involves tak-
ing actions to conserve more water including:
• Running only fully loads of dishes and clothes

• Fixing leaking faucets
• Turning off water when brushing teeth or lathering hands
• Planting drought-resistant native plants
• Watering early in the morning or later in the evening when
temperatures are cooler to minimise evaporation
• Listing other activities to save water
(LA Stormwater, 2018)
Case: Singapore’s Water Efficiency Awards

Introduced in 2017, PUB’s Water Efficiency Awards (WEA) is a
biennial award that recognises the top water efficiency performers in
the respective sectors. The best performers in each sector refer to
premises with the lowest Water Efficiency Index (WEI) or industrial
plants with the highest recycling rates. The WEI is the sum of the
total amount of water consumed divided by the business activity
indicator, which is a measure of business activity that considers the
business operations of the water user. In 2017, awards were given to
44 R. C. BREARS
recipients from seven sectors (office, retail, hotel, wafer fabrication,

refinery, school, and estate). The specific qualifying criteria are:
• The premises’ WEI must be within the top 10th percentile value
or have the highest recycling rates in the industries sector.
• All qualifying award winners must be certified under the Water
Efficient Building Certification (Basic) programme and be best
performers within their sectors.
(PUB, 2018a)
Conclusions
With the world projected to face a water deficit under a business-as-usual
climate scenario and the majority of the world’s population projected to
be urban by mid-century, cities will need to become resilient to water
scarcity risks. Considering these trends, the key objective for cities to be
resilient to water scarcity risks is to reduce demand for water so as to
reduce pressure on water resources. In this context, demand management
is the better use of existing water supplies before plans are made to further
increase supply and involves changing people’s practices, culture, and atti-
tudes towards water resources. Some of the main benefits of demand man-
agement include financial savings from not having to upgrade infrastructure,
reduced water and electricity bills, lower carbon emissions, and more
water for environmental needs. There are two types of demand manage-
ment tools available to water utilities to enhance resilience to water scar-
city: fiscal and non-fiscal.
Fiscal tools include the pricing of water as well as the use of subsidies
and rebates to encourage water conservation. Some examples of water
utilities implementing these tools include San Antonio Water System bill-
ing residential customers based on their water consumption, season (stan-
dard or seasonal rate type), their metre size, and geographical location
(whether the customer is inside or outside city limits), Singapore’s PUB
revising its potable water price for domestic and non-domestic customers
to strengthen water security as well as meet rising operational costs, and
the City of San Diego offering rebates for the installation of greywater
systems and rainwater harvesting systems.
Non-fiscal tools include product labelling, retrofits, education and pub-

lic awareness, regulations, and competitions. Some examples of water
utilities implementing these tools include New Zealand’s Water Efficiency
Labelling Scheme that provides information on a product’s water efficiency
and water consumption in a standardised form, Thames Water offering
retrofits to help businesses use domestic water more efficiently, the City of
Phoenix Water Services Department holding a series of free watersmart
workshops for residents, Prague’s water utility providing education and
educational activities for children to encourage environmental protection
and ecological behaviour, Eau de Paris providing an online residential
water calculator that provides users with their water usage and equivalent
monthly bill along with a series of tips on how to conserve water, Western
Australia’s Water Corporation requiring all large water-using businesses to
complete a Water Efficiency Management Plan to help save water, the City
of Los Angeles creating the Water Conservation Pledge that encourages
citizens to take a pledge to conserve water, and Singapore’s Water
Efficiency Awards that recognises the top water efficiency performers in a
variety of industry sectors.
References
Brears, R. C. (2016). Urban water security. Chichester, UK; Hoboken, NJ: John
Wiley & Sons.
CAP-NET. (2008). Economics in sustainable water management: Training man-
ual and facilitators’ guide. Retrieved from http://www.euwi.net/files/Cap_
net_EUWI_FWG_GWP_Manual_Economics_of_water_FINAL.pdf
City of Phoenix Water Services Department. (2018). Conservation workshop.
Retrieved from https://www.phoenix.gov/waterservices/resourcesconserva-
tion/workshops
City of San Diego Public Utilities Department. (2016). Graywater systems—
System and rebate information. Retrieved from https://www.sandiego.gov/
sites/default/files/graywater_system_and_rebate_information.pdf
City of San Diego Public Utilities Department. (2018). Rainwater harvesting
rebates. Retrieved from https://www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation/
rebates/rainbarrel
Eau de Paris. (2018). Calculate your water consumption. Retrieved from http://
www.eaudeparis.fr/calculez-votre-consommation-deau/
LA Stormwater. (2018). Water conservation pledge. Retrieved from http://www.
lastormwater.org/take-action/water-conservation-pledge/
46 R. C. BREARS
Michelsen, A. M., McGuckin, J. T., & Stumpf, D. (1999). Nonprice water conser-
vation programs as a demand management tool. JAWRA Journal of the
American Water Resources Association, 35(3), 593–602.
Ministry for the Environment. (2018). Water efficiency labelling. Retrieved from
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/fresh-water/we-all-have-role-play/water-efficiency-
labelling-scheme
Najjar, K. F., & Collier, C. R. (2011). Integrated water resources management:
Bringing it all together. Water Resources Impact, 13(3), 3–8.
OECD. (2011). Greening household behaviour: The role of public policy. OECD
Publishing.
OECD. (2012). Environmental outlook to 2050: The consequences of inaction.
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Ofwat. (2015). Towards resilience: How we will embed resilience in our work.
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0366d316cab9ab8.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/
pap_pos20151210towardsresiliencerev.pdf
Olmstead, S. M., & Stavins, R. N. (2007). Managing water demand: Price vs. non-
price conservation programs. Pioneer Institute White Paper (39).
Partnership, Global Water. (2012). Water demand management (WDM)—The
Mediterranean experience. Technical focus paper. Retrieved from http://www.
gwp.org/Global/The%20Challenge/Resource%20material/gwp_tech_focus.
pdf
Patchen, M. (2010). What shapes public reactions to climate change? Overview of
research and policy implications. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy,
10(1), 47–68.
Pennsylvania State University. (2010). Water conservation for communities.
Retrieved from http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/water/conserva-
tion/water-conservation-home-study/why-conserve-water/communitywater-
conservation.pdf
Policy Research Initiative, Government of Canada. (2005). Economic instruments
for water demand management in an integrated water resources management
framework: Synthesis report. Policy Research Institute.
Prague Water Supply and Sewerage. (2018a). Children’s Magazine. Retrieved
from http://www.pvk.cz/voda-hrou/detsky-casopis/
Prague Water Supply and Sewerage. (2018b). Educational program for elementary
schools. Retrieved from http://www.pvk.cz/voda-hrou/vzdelavaci-program-
pro-zs/
PUB. (2018a). Water Efficiency Awards. Retrieved from https://www.pub.gov.
sg/savewater/atwork/WaterEfficiencyAwards
PUB. (2018b). Water price. Retrieved from https://www.pub.gov.sg/watersup-
ply/waterprice#
San Antonio Water System. (2018). Residential water service. Retrieved from
https://www.government.nl/topics/energy-policy/contents/energy-
agreement-for-sustainable-growth
Savenije, H., & van der Zaag, P. (2002). Water as an economic good and demand
management: Paradigms with pitfalls. Water International, 27(1), 98–104.
Sibly, H. (2006). Efficient urban water pricing. Australian Economic Review,
39(2), 227–237.
Steg, L., & Vlek, C. (2009). Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An inte-
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309–317.
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ability.thameswater.co.uk/a-precious-resource/-/media/6CF8085673954AA
2B9C2F98B843B94C7.ashx?bc=White&db=web&la=en&thn=1&ts=d3b72
39e-a429-4b9d-bc0a-26cfe4305b9e.pdf
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from https://www.watercorporation.com.au/home/business/saving-water/
water-efficiency-programs/waterwise-business-program/waterwise-business-
recognition-scheme
CHAPTER 5
A Survey of Water Technologies to Build

Climate Resilience
Robert C. Brears
Abstract This chapter surveys the variety of technologies implemented

around the world to enhance resilience to water scarcity with a focus on
technologies related to water allocation, water augmentation, water effi-
ciency and demand management, water storage, and alternative water
sources.
Keywords Adaptation • Water management technologies • Hardware •

Software
Introduction
In 2017, UN Environment—DHI Centre on Water and Environment,
Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) and the UNEP DTU
Partnership published Climate Change Adaptation Technologies for Water:
A Practitioner’s Guide to Adaptation Technologies for Increased Water
Sector Resilience. This chapter surveys the technological solutions that
have been enacted around the world to ensure communities and
R. C. Brears (*)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_5
50 R. C. BREARS
populations are resilient to climate change-related water scarcity.

Technologies to enhance resilience to water scarcity from climate change
can be classified as hardware (physical infrastructure and technical equip-
ment on the ground), software (‘soft technologies’ including approaches,
processes, and methodologies including planning and decision support
systems, models, knowledge transfer, and building capacity), and ‘org-
ware’ (organisation technologies for instance, organisation, ownership,
and institutional arrangements) (UNEP-DHI Partnership, 2017). The
variety of technologies surveyed relate to water allocation, water augmen-
tation, water efficiency and demand management, water storage, and
alternative water sources.
Water Allocation
Water allocation as a climate change response aims to implement tech-
nologies and establish arrangements for sharing of existing resources
among users in a way that is equitable and of maximum benefit for all,
including the environment. Some of the available technologies include
basin level modelling and seasonal forecasting, seasonal water rationing,
and water reallocation.
Basin Level Modelling and Seasonal Forecasting

Basin level modelling for water allocation is a planning instrument that can
help optimise water allocation among competing water uses and users in
response to changing water availability. The objective of modelling is to
determine how to best optimise available resources among competing
users and assess potential trade-offs, all the while ensuring there is enough
water for nature. Models can also be used to project the impacts of future
climate change on availability of water resources and help inform infra-
structure development and land-use planning decisions.
Case: Hydrological Modelling in the Murray-Darling Basin

Computer-based hydrological modelling has been used by the
Murray-Darling Basin Authority in Australia for more than four
decades to inform the development and implementation of key water
management policies including water sharing arrangements and caps
A SURVEY OF WATER TECHNOLOGIES TO BUILD CLIMATE RESILIENCE 51
on diversions. There are 24 individual river system models that are

linked together to describe the surface water resources of the Basin.
In addition, a number of additional modelling tools have been used
in the Basin-wide systems modelling, including:
• Rainfall-runoff models for creating continuous streamflow records

for the period 1895–2009
• eFlow Predictor tool developed by eWater Cooperative Research
Centre to assist in creating a series of environmental water
requirements
• Results from floodplain inundation models to estimate vegetation
communities that benefit from different flow rates
Overall, modelling is undertaken using historical climate data col-

lected over 114 years (from 1895 to 2009) with the record including
the Federation and Millennium Droughts as well as very wet periods
during the 1950s and 1970s, therefore representing a range of cli-
matic conditions across the Basin that may reoccur in the future,
with some uncertainty around the influence of climate change
(Murray-Darling Basin Authority, 2018).
Seasonal Water Rationing

The amount of water available from a source can vary greatly between
seasons, and therefore it is important to ensure sustainable abstraction
rates and protect water sources from overuse, particularly during dry sea-
sons. Seasonal water rationing controls water use rates among different
users based on the seasonal availability of water and socioeconomic priori-
ties. Rationing can take the form of water use restrictions for certain pur-
poses, at certain times, or in certain areas.
Case: Austin Water’s Conservation Stage Restrictions

Austin Water is currently in Conservation Stage water restrictions.
Customers can only use water for outdoor use on their assigned
day(s) and times.
52 R. C. BREARS
• Residential
–– Hose-end sprinklers: Two days per week—midnight to 10 a.m.
and/or 7 p.m. to midnight
–– Automatic irrigation: One day per week—midnight to 10 a.m.
and/or 7 p.m. to midnight (residential customers may also
water a second day with a hose-end sprinkler)
• Commercial/multi-family/public schools
–– Hose-end sprinklers or automatic irrigation: One day per
week—midnight to 10 a.m. and/or 7 p.m. to midnight
Other restrictions include:
• Wasting water is prohibited with fines of up to $500 per

violation.
• Washing vehicles at home is permitted with an auto shut-off hose
or bucket.
• Charity car washes may only be held at a commercial car wash.
• Fountains must recirculate water.
• Commercial power/pressure washing equipment must meet effi-
ciency requirements (Austin Water, 2018).
Water Reallocation
Water reallocation is the transfer of use rights between users who have
been allocated a certain amount of water (through formal water use rights
or entitlements, or informal arrangements) after it has been determined
that the initial allocation is physically impossible or socioeconomically
unfavourable. Resource reallocation can help adapt to unforeseen events
such water shortages during long dry periods, reduce stress on renewable
water supplies, and help optimise water use to meet changing societal
demands. Water reallocation can be voluntary (water users choose to sell
water use rights) or mandatory (a central authority makes it mandatory to
redistribute their rights).
Case: State of Victoria’s Water Grid and Markets

The State of Victoria in Australia is developing a water grid and mar-
kets in which dams, reservoirs, and the desalination plant are con-
nected via infrastructure including pipes and pumps and natural
elements like rivers, while the water market allows users to move
water in connected systems to where it is most needed. Local,
regional, and state-wide networks operate independently as well as
together to allow water to be moved from where it is captured and
stored to where it is required. Victoria’s water markets allow farmers,
the Victorian Environmental Water Holder, and water corporations
to buy and sell water entitlements and seasonal allocations. This
enables them to manage their own risk according to their willingness
to pay. Furthermore, moving water around the grid or transacting
water trades must not result in adverse impacts on the environment
or third parties. The overall benefits of the water grid and markets
are that it delays or avoids costly additions to the water grid, frees up
water for other uses including irrigation, and ensures water for envi-
ronmental outcomes (Victoria Department of Environment, 2018).
Water Augmentation
Water augmentation aims to increase the available supply of water through
active recharge or protection or water recharge areas. Some of the avail-
able technologies include rainwater harvesting for infiltration, urban green
spaces, combined use, and development of surface and groundwater, aqui-
fer recharge, and source water protection.
Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Rainwater harvesting for infiltration—known as in situ water harvesting—
is where rainwater uptake in soils is increased through the soil surface,
rooting system, and groundwater. Soil effectively acts as a storage agent,
which improves water holding capacity and soil fertility and reduces the
risks of soil loss and erosion. Rainwater harvesting can improve cropland
and vegetation as well as ensure sustainable water supplies for livestock or
domestic use through improved recharge of nearby water flows and ponds
as well as groundwater.
54 R. C. BREARS
Case: Rainwater Harvesting in Pakistan’s Punjab Province

In a jointly funded project between the International Fund for
Agricultural Development and residents of Thoa Mehram Khan vil-
lage in Punjab’s Talagang sub-district, farmers have constructed a
mini dam for rainwater harvesting to secure water for crops and live-
stock throughout the year. To construct the dam for rainwater har-
vesting, a natural stream near farmland was identified and then
chocked by building a wall in the front. An engine was then installed,
and water supplied to farms through a pipeline. The small dam, 15
feet in height, was built on government land in the village and has a
catchment area of one square kilometre with a storage capacity of
29.21 acres/feet. In addition to supplementing irrigation, the dam
has resulted in the groundwater table in the village rising from 450
feet to 200 feet (The Third Pole, 2015).
Urban Green Spaces

Green spaces are areas covered by vegetation including grass, bushes, and
trees and enable water to permeate through the soil and vegetation, filter-
ing part of the sediment and pollutants before reaching the groundwater
below. In urban areas, green spaces and permeable surfaces help uptake
and infiltrate water, decreasing runoff rates. In addition to water being
purified by chemical, biological, and physical processes, green spaces
increase the groundwater recharge rate.
Case: Copenhagen’s St. Kjeld’s Neighbourhood

Copenhagen’s St. Kjeld’s Neighbourhood has been chosen as an
exhibition area for climate adaptation. The vision is that 20 per cent
of the covered surface area in the neighbourhood will be turned into
green areas and that 30 per cent of the daily rainwater will be man-
aged locally. One of the main features of the project is Tåsinge
Square, which has been transformed from a plain grass area with
parking spaces to a green oasis that has a rainforest area, flowers, wild
herbs, slopes facing the sun, and a café area. The area is sloped to
collect rainwater at the bottom of the slopes, where it seeps into the
ground instead of being directed into the drains. Water from the
streets is then collected in ‘water beds’ that are filled with mould that
filters the water (State of Green, 2018).
Conjunctive Use and Development of Surface and Groundwater

Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater is the combined use and
development of surface water and groundwater as a climate adaptation
strategy or sustainable resource in general. Conjunctive use strategies aim
to increase overall resilience of the water supply by utilising both sources
of water, particularly in areas with high water availability throughout the
seasons.
Case: The California Central Valley Groundwater-Surface Water

Simulation Model
The California Central Valley Groundwater-Surface Water Simulation
Model (C2VSim) is an integrated numerical model that simulates
water movement through the linked land surface, groundwater, and
surface water flow systems in California’s Central Valley. The C2VSim
model contains monthly historical stream inflows, surface water
diversions, precipitation, land use, and crop acreages from October
1921 through September 2009. The C2VSim can be used to
• Calculate crop water demands

• Allocate contributions from precipitation, soil moisture, and
surface water diversions
• Determine groundwater pumpage required to meet the remain-
ing demand
• Simulate the response of the Central Valley’s groundwater and
surface water flow systems to projected future stressed
(California Department of Water Resources, 2018)
Managed Aquifer Recharge

Managed aquifer recharge is an approach to maximise natural storage and
increase water supply during periods of low flows and high seasonal vari-
ability. During these periods, aquifers are intentionally recharged to
recover water. The socioeconomic benefits of managed aquifer recharge
are that it increases water supply system resiliency, reduces potential water
losses from evaporation, enables the productive use of alternative water
sources, and increases the supply of freshwater for activities and house-
holds uses. The environmental benefits of managed aquifer recharge are
that it maintains healthy environmental flows and reduces the risk of water
56 R. C. BREARS
source overextraction and degradation, sustains groundwater-dependent

ecosystems, reduces the risks of saltwater intrusion and land subsidence,
and improves water quality through the infiltration process.
Case: Perth’s Groundwater Replenishment Scheme

Perth has commenced stage 1 operations of its first full-scale
Groundwater Replenishment Scheme at the Beenyup facility in
Craigie. The scheme involves treated wastewater being further treated
to drinking water standards involving ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis,
and ultraviolet disinfection before being piped to two offsite recharge
sites. In stage 1, the Scheme has the capacity to recharge up to 14 bil-
lion litres of recycled water into groundwater supplies each year.
Construction of stage 2 of the Scheme will see its capacity double to
28 billion litres of recycled water into groundwater supplies each
year, enabling Perth to have a new climate-independent water source
to boost its drinking water supplies (Water Corporation, 2018).
Source Water Protection

Source water protection is an approach to protecting public drinking
water sources from contamination and overuse. Identifying potential
sources of contamination is a key first step in establishing sustainable man-
agement plans that ensure a long-term supply of clean water. Source water
protection frequently involves measures that restrict overuse and pollution
of water at its source and can include regulations, compensation schemes,
or conservation measures upstream.
Case: Maine’s Drinking Water Program’s 2017 Source Water (Surface

Water) Protection Grant
In 2017, the State of Maine’s Drinking Water Program (DWP) pro-
vided a Source Water (Surface Water) Protection Grant to commu-
nity and non-profit non-community public water systems to plan or
implement projects that protect their surface water source. Grants of
up to $5,000 were provided, with a few projects eligible for grants
up to $10,000. The projects eligible for grants had to clearly aim to
decrease the likelihood of contamination of a surface water source.
The grants were able to be used to purchase capital items associated
with source water protection. DWP assessed which proposal would

receive a grant based on a scoring criterion with projects ranked by
total points with grants awarded to the highest scoring projects sum-
marised in Table 5.1 below (Maine Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2017).
Table 5.1 Maine’s Drinking Water Program’s Source Water (Surface

Water) Protection Grant application criteria
Points Criteria Description
0–5 Demonstrated need How will the project help protect the surface water
for the project source?
0–2 Previous water Has the system demonstrated a commitment to
protection work source water protection? What other projects have
been completed?
0–5 Community involved Explain how local partners will work together to
protect the water source
0–3 Describe how the Will the project reduce the risk of contamination?
project will address
an identified risk
0 or 1 Implementation of a Projects that implement recommendations from an
Source Water existing source water protection/watershed
Protection Plan management plan will receive one point
0 or 1 Cost sharing Projects that contribute money upfront receive a
point
0 or 1 Previous grant Projects that have never received a Source Water
awards Protection Grant will receive one point
Total possible points: 18
Water Efficiency and Demand Management

Water efficiency and demand management measures help reduce ineffi-
cient use and waste of water resources through improved technologies and
better oversight of water use. Some of the available technologies include
encouraging water efficiency in industry, improved irrigation efficiency,
water metering, reducing system water loss and leakages, public water
conservation campaigns, progressive prices, hydrological zoning, water
licensing and permits, shifting the timing of use, and water savings require-
ments in buildings.
58 R. C. BREARS
Water Efficiency in Industry

Water efficiency in industry can be increased with more effective leak
detection and repair of water pipes as well as the use of new and more
efficient technologies such as industrial reuse and recycling. Industrial
reuse and recycling creates a new water source that does not require
extraction or transportation from elsewhere, which in turn reduces costs,
energy use, and pressures on freshwater sources.
Case: Welsh Water’s Water Efficiency Audits for Businesses

To help business customers reduce water wastage and lower over-
heads by lowering water and energy bills, Welsh Water offers a pro-
cess audit service. The audit is carried out by a Welsh Water industrial
process engineer who will look at water consumption within the pro-
duction and operational processes found on-site. The audit can be
scaled to reflect the needs of each customer, but the key parts of the
audit service include:
• Site walkover: An experienced engineer will carry out a detailed

observation of on-site processes, identifying areas of high con-
sumption or wastage, plus cost-saving opportunities.
• Data analysis: A detailed site data analysis will be taken including
efficiency correlation analysis; analysis of production, water, and
effluent volumes; and, where appropriate, concentrations.
• Mass balance: A site-wide balance will be created that shows
unidentified losses and the costs of those losses.
• Cost-benefit analysis: This will identify opportunities for cost-
savings, showing pay-back periods and priorities by profitability
(Brears, 2017).
Improved Irrigation Efficiency

Improved irrigation efficiency aims to minimise water use within the agri-
cultural sector while continuing to maintain original crop productivity
rates. Technological improvements that enhance efficiency include more
efficient irrigation systems that control water release so that crops receive
only the amount needed. Other advances include wireless sensors and
geographic information systems technology to improve site-specific and

volumetric precision to meet precisely the needs of soils and crops.
Case: Queensland’s Rural Water Use Efficiency for Irrigation Future

Programme
To enhance water efficiency in agricultural production, Queensland,
Australia, has developed the Rural Water Use Efficiency for Irrigation
Future (RWUE-IF) programme which is a partnership arrangement
between rural irrigation industries and government. The aim of the
programme is to improve the use and management of on-farm irri-
gation water to achieve improved productivity and sustainability of
rural industries. Assistance to irrigators is provided through techni-
cal advice, irrigation system evaluations, limited financial assistance,
field days, workshops, and exposure to web-based technologies.
Irrigators have also benefited from a software application for mobile
devices that allow irrigators to access real-time climate and irrigation
scheduling data (Business Queensland, 2018).
Water Metering
Water meters help users account for water consumption rates that are
often coupled to pricing charges per unit consumed, with the overall aim
of reducing water consumption. Water meters can be used to detect leaks
and provide information to utilities about consumer behaviour that can be
used in water conservation campaigns.
Case: San Francisco’s Automated Water Meters

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has installed
automated water meters in more than 96 per cent of San Francisco’s
178,000 water accounts. The smart meters transmit hourly water
consumption data to the utility’s billing system by a wireless net-
work. The meter readings received by SFPUC identify every cubic
foot of water used each hour (where one cubic foot is equal to
around 28 litres). The reliable and frequent water usage information
allows customers to monitor their use and detect leaks faster than
60 R. C. BREARS
possible with the manually read meters. SFPUC has also created the
web portal My Account in which account holders can download
detailed daily and monthly water usage data and learn ways to con-
serve water. SFPUC also uses the hourly water consumption data to
notify residential single-family customers when they have three days
of non-stop, 24/7 water use, which could mean they have a plumb-
ing leak. Leak alerts are provided via email, mobile phone text,
phone call, and letter and indicate the dates and amounts of continu-
ous usage (San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 2018a).
Reducing System Water Loss and Leakages

Leak detection and water loss control measures are important in improv-
ing the efficiency of the water distribution system. There are two types of
losses, real and apparent, with real losses being the amount of water lost
between the supplier and the consumer and includes distribution network
leaks, while apparent losses are from inaccurate consumption measure-
ments by the consumer or utility from imprecise metering, data errors, or
unauthorised consumption.
Case: Bureau of Waterworks, Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Leak

Prevention Programme
Tokyo’s Bureau of Waterworks has pursued an active leak detection
programme that has resulted in reducing the annual leakage from
150,000 million m3 (leakage rate of 8.9 per cent) in 1996 to
50,000 million m3 (leakage rate of 3.2 per cent) in 2015. To achieve
these results, the Bureau has a three-pronged water loss-reducing
policy to prevent leaks:
1. Scheduled replacement of water mains and employment of stainless

steel service pipes:
(a) Systematic upgrading of the aged water mains to high dura-

ble ductile cast iron pipes
(b) Replacement of the old lead service pipes with stainless steel
pipes with flexible parts
2. Detecting leaks and swiftly repairing:
(a) Scheduled leak detection operations cover all service area

(b) Mobile leak detection operation on constant alert for leaks
24/7
(c) Detected leaks are repaired as soon as possible
3. Development of leak detection equipment and conserve the legacy of

leak detection skills:
(a) Develop and improve leak-detecting devices

(b) Training new technical experts to retain water loss reduction
skills (Bureau of Waterworks, 2016)
Public Water Conservation Campaigns

Public water conservation campaigns raise awareness across society about
the importance of saving water with the aim of changing attitudes and
behaviour to improve water use efficiency.
Case: City of Phoenix’s Watersmart Workshops

In 2018, the City of Phoenix will provide residents with a series of
free and informative landscape and conservation workshops:
• Find and fix leaks: Learn how to find and fix leaks that are drain-
ing your budget
• Desert lawn care: Learn practical advice for maintaining a healthy,
beautiful, and water-efficient lawn
• Landscape watering: Learn how to properly water your landscape
to save time and increase the health and beauty of your plants
• Rain gardens: Learn how to design an earth-friendly yard using
simple earthworks and low-water-use plants
• Water 101: Learn more about where your water comes from, how
water gets to us, how we use water, where it goes to, and how
Phoenix is planning for the future (City of Phoenix Water Services
Department, 2018)
62 R. C. BREARS
Progressive Pricing
Progressive pricing is an instrument to manage water demand and help
reduce excessive water consumption through an economic disincentive.
Progressive pricing means that the water price per unit volume increases
as the volume used increases. This means the largest consumers of water
pay higher rates for the volume of water consumed beyond a specified
threshold.
Case: SA Water’s Residential Water Prices

SA Water in South Australia has a state-wide price for most water ser-
vices with customers in both metropolitan and regional areas paying
the same price per kilolitre (1 kL equals 1,000 litres) as every other
residential customer in the state. The 2017–2018-tiered residential
water use prices are summarised in Table 5.2 (SA Water, 2018).
Table 5.2 SA Water’s tiered residential water use prices

Tier Usage charge Price per litre Indicative quarterly Daily threshold
threshold
1 $2.381/kL $0.002318 0–30 kL 0–0.3288 kL

2 $3.308/kL $0.003308 30–130 kL 0.3288–1.4247 kL
3 $3.584/kL $0.003584 Above 130 kL Above 1.4247 kL
Hydrological Zoning
Hydrological zoning is an approach that divides land into different zones
based on their hydrological properties. Usually, each type of zone has dif-
ferent land use and development regulations, with the overall aim being to
protect local water sources from risk of over-abstraction, land salinisation,
groundwater pollution, and waterlogging.
Case: Portland Water Bureau’s Groundwater Protection Program

Portland Water Bureau’s Groundwater Protection Program, in part-
nership with the cities of Gresham and Fairview, aims to protect the
Columbia South Shore Well Field, a drinking water source for over
800,000 Oregonians, from chemical spills. Businesses within the
wellhead protection area boundary are subject to regulation if they
use certain types and quantities of chemicals. The regulations focus
on spill containment, prevention, and best management practices
(Portland Water Bureau, 2018).
Water Licensing and Permits

Water licensing is a demand management tool that requires private land-
owners or specific potential water users to apply or purchase a licence or
permit for water use or water-affecting activities such as construction,
diversion, and artificial recharge in a watershed. This enables authorities to
track how much water is being used, where, and by whom.
Case: Compulsory Water Licensing in South Africa

South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation has initiated
compulsory licensing in the three catchments of Mhlathuze in
KwaZulu-Natal province, Jan Dissel in Western Cape Province, and
Tosca in North West province. The Department usually announces
compulsory licensing in specific areas 6–12 months before actual
calls for licence applications are made. After the announcement, a
Water Allocation Plan is developed that indicates:
• How much water is required for strategic uses

• How much water is tied up as existing lawful water use
• Opportunities for emerging users to establish successful and sus-
tainable water using businesses
• Types of curtailments that might be needed to meet all new
demands for water
• Allocations that would be made to various water using sectors
(Department of Water and Sanitation Republic of South Africa,

2018)
64 R. C. BREARS
Shifting the Timing of Use from Peak to Off-Peak Periods

Shifting the timing of use from peak to off-peak periods means more bal-
anced distribution of water demand across time, helping to avert interrup-
tions to supply as well as reduce costs of water, for instance, energy, within
the water supply system.
Case: California Irrigation Time-of-Use Pilot

California’s Pacific Power Irrigation Time-of-Use Pilot programme
ran through the months of June, July, and August in 2017 with par-
ticipants paying a lower price for power used during ‘off-peak’ hours,
which is any time outside of 2–6 p.m., on weekdays. All other hours
during those months were on-peak. The total pilot on-peak per kilo-
watt hour (kWh) rate was 43 cents, and the total pilot off-peak per
kWh rate was 9 cents (Pacific Power, 2018).
Water Saving Requirements in Building Codes

Water savings, or water efficiency, requirements in building codes is a leg-
islative approach to improving efficiency in commercial and residential
buildings. The codes can include the mandatory installation of water-
efficient technologies or the installation of infrastructure to provide alter-
native water sources.
Case: San Francisco’s Commercial Water Conservation Ordinance

San Francisco’s Commercial Water Conservation Ordinance required
all existing commercial building owners to repair plumbing leaks,
replace inefficient plumbing fixtures, and submit a completed
Commercial Water Conservation Affidavit to the Department of
Building Inspection by 1 January 2017, that verifies all plumbing
fixtures are compliant. All non-compliant fixtures that exceeded the
maximum flow rates below had to be replaced before completing the
affidavit:
• All showerheads must not exceed a maximum flow of 2.5 gallons

per minute (gpm)
• All showers have no more than one showerhead per valve

• All faucets and faucet aerators must not exceed a maximum flow
rate of 2.2 gpm
• All toilets must not exceed a maximum rate water consumption of
1.6 gallons per flush (gpf)
• All urinals must not exceed a maximum flow rate of 1.0 gpf
• All water leaks have been repaired
(San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 2018b)
Water Storage
With climate change resulting in changes in the length and intensity of dry
and wet seasons, water storage is an important response to coping with
water scarcity. Some of the available technologies include surface reser-
voirs, multipurpose dams, soil moisture conservation techniques, natural
wetlands, and rainwater harvesting for storage.
Surface Reservoirs
Surface reservoirs are built structures that store water to help improve
water security for local communities. Surface reservoirs vary in their types
and sizes, from damming natural water bodies to ground excavation in
low-lying areas to store rainwater or water from local waterways.
Case: Local Catchment Water in Singapore

With a land area of around 710 km2 and growing urban areas,
Singapore lacks the space to collect and store all the rain that falls on
it. Through a network of rivers, canals, and drains, rain that falls on
two-thirds of Singapore’s land area is channelled into 17 reservoirs
before it is treated for drinking water. Since 2011, the water catch-
ment area has increased from half to two-thirds of Singapore’s land
surface following the completion of the Marina, Punggol, and
Serangoon Reservoirs.
(PUB, 2018c)
66 R. C. BREARS
Multipurpose Dams
Multipurpose dams combine one or two or more functions of traditional
single-purpose dams into one hydro infrastructure project. Multipurpose
dams can combine storing and supplying water for a variety of uses
including irrigation, industry, and human consumption with other uses
including flood control, power generation, navigation, runoff storage, and
water discharge regulation.
Case: Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project in the Philippines

The Kabulnan-2 Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project, imple-
mented by the National Irrigation Administration in the Philippines,
is a multi-use infrastructure project consisting of irrigation, water
supply, and hydroelectric facilities utilising the potential of the
Kabulnan River. The overall objective of the project is to increase
agricultural productivity and will be achieved through the provision
of continuous water supply for irrigation over 19,600 hectares of
agricultural land. The project will also deliver 735-gigawatt hours of
hydroelectric power generation for the Mindanao Grid as well as pro-
vide water for domestic users of nearby municipalities (SMEC, 2018).
Soil Moisture Conservation Techniques

The main objective of soil moisture conservation is to minimise the
amount of water loss from the soils through evaporation and transpiration
or combine the evapotranspiration. Preserving soil moisture is necessary
for agricultural production and helps reduce irrigation needs of the crops,
particularly important in areas where rainwater and/or groundwater for
irrigation is scarce.
Case: Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Irrigation Outreach

and On Farm Nitrogen Management in Central Minnesota
In 2018, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, in partnership
with the East Otter Tail Soil and Water Conservation District, will
carry out a series of irrigation workshops that promote proper water
and nitrogen fertiliser management. Three central Minnesota work-
shops were held in both 2012 and 2013, and one larger workshop
was held in 2014 and 2015. Topics covered during each workshop
have included:
• Irrigation water management

• Soil moisture assessment
• Nitrogen management on sandy soils
• Soil health and moisture-holding capacity
• Area groundwater nitrogen concerns
(Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 2018)
Natural Wetlands
Natural wetlands are ecosystems that are either permanently or seasonally
saturated in water, creating habitats for aquatic plants and conditions that
promote the development of wetland soils. Wetlands come in many variet-
ies including marshes, swamps, forested wetlands, bogs, wet meadows, as
well as coastal wetlands with mangroves. Wetlands retain large volumes of
water, which they release slowly, making them important for combatting
extreme weather conditions such as drought mitigation and flood control.
Case: Long Beach California’s Willow Springs Park Wetlands

Restoration Project
Long Beach California’s Willow Springs Park Wetlands Restoration
Project is a 12-acre project within the 48-acre Willow Springs Park.
It features a walking loop that takes visitors through a series of water-
capturing bioswales that flow to:
• Forty-three thousand square feet of restored seasonal wetlands

• Twelve acres of open space with native plants and trees
• A constructed spring mimicking the original artesian spring that
provided water to early Long Beach
• A water retention basin that cleans and diverts water from the Los
Angeles River to be reused on-site
• An outdoor classroom for environmental education
(City of Long Beach, 2017)

68 R. C. BREARS
Rainwater Harvesting for Storage

Rainwater harvesting for storage, also known as ex situ water harvesting,
involves collecting and storing rainwater for productive use, for example,
drinking water, agricultural, sanitation, and so forth. Rainwater can be
captured in open storage systems or collected in tanks.
Case: Funding of Rainwater Harvesting Tanks in Sri Lanka

In the Jaffna district of Sri Lanka, there is a widespread drinking
water quality problem due to pollution of groundwater from exces-
sive use of fertilisers, agrochemicals, increasing salinity due to over-
extraction, and pollution due to human waste. To address this
problem, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of National Integration and
Reconciliation, with the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation,
submitted a project proposal to construct 3,000 rainwater harvest-
ing tanks for 3,000 households in selected divisions of the district. In
addition, the project includes training of the households on opera-
tion and maintenance of the systems. The Government of India has
granted approval for the project through the Indian Small Grant
Assistance Programme. The beneficiaries of the programme will be
identified by the Government of Sri Lanka in consultation with the
Government of India with selected beneficiaries including women-
headed families and recently resettled families (DailyFT, 2016; Sri
Lanka Mirror, 2017).
Alternative Water Sources

Even with successful water supply and demand measures, there are regions
in the world where water scarcity requires looking for alternative water
sources. This creates a need for new sources of freshwater beyond surface
and groundwater utilisation. Some of the available technologies include
seawater desalination, solar water distillation, fog harvesting, interbasin
transfers, groundwater prospecting and extraction, boreholes and tube-
wells, and water recycling and reuse.
Seawater Desalination
Desalination of seawater is where salt and other constituents are removed
to produce pure water. The most common forms of desalination are ther-
mal treatment and membrane processes. Thermal treatment uses heat to
evaporate the water, which leaves behind dissolved salts (waste stream)
and separating it from pure water. Membrane processes use reverse osmo-
sis and high pressure to force saltwater through very fine porous filters that
retain the salt, leaving pure water on one side of the membrane and the
waste stream on the other side.
Case: Singapore’s Fourth National Tap—Desalinated Water

In 2005, Singapore’s SingSpring Desalination Plant in Tuas was
made operational, providing Singapore with its fourth National Tap
(water from local catchment, imported water, NEWater, and desali-
nated water). It was Singapore’s Public Utilities Board’s (PUB) first
public-private partnership project. SingSpring Pte Ltd was appointed
to design, build, own, and operate the plant and supply water to
PUB. One of the region’s largest seawater reverse osmosis plant, this
plant can produce 30 million gallons of water (130,000 m3) a day.
After treatment, desalinated water is blended with treated water
before it is supplied to homes and industries in the western part of
Singapore (PUB, 2018a).
Solar Water Distillation

Solar water distillation is the process of using energy from sunlight to
separate freshwater from salts or other contaminants. The untreated water
is placed in a still basin which absorbs heat, eventually reaching high tem-
peratures, causing water to evaporate, cool, and condense into vapour,
leaving the contaminants in the underlying basin. The vapour forms as
drops on an overlying cover, usually glass, and is channelled and collected
in a separate basin as freshwater.
70 R. C. BREARS
Case: Mildura Rural City Council’s Solar Distillation Demonstration

Site
Mildura Rural City Council, Victoria, Australia is the largest, driest,
and geographically most isolated municipality in the state. Like many
regions bordering the Murray-Darling Basin, water security is of
critical concern for agricultural industries and communities who are
facing uncertainties from climate change. In response, the council
has developed the Solar Distillation Demonstration Site at the
Mildura Eco Village to showcase how solar panels can produce dis-
tilled water from contaminated storm water or saline water sources.
Seventy distillation panels have been set up with the distilled water
generated from the system used to irrigate the landscaped areas on-
site at the Mildura Eco Village. Overall, the demonstration project
objectives are to:
• Educate regional businesses on water recovery technologies

• Increase regional water security, by capturing and using
wastewater
• Reduce the reliance on potable and raw water for non-consumptive
purposes
• Assist in the retention of businesses and workers involved in
water-dependent industries
• Build community and economic resilience to a reduction in water
availability, as well as an increase in costs of water supply (Mildura
Rural City Council, 2018)
Fog Harvesting
Fog harvesting provides an alternative source of freshwater through tech-
niques that capture water from wind-driven fog. Fog harvesting systems
are typically installed in areas where fog is naturally high, such as coastal
and mountainous areas. The systems are usually constructed with mesh
nets, stabilised between two posts that are spread out perpendicular to the
prevailing wind carrying the fog. As the wind passes through, drops of
freshwater form and drip into an underlying gutter, which leads to a water
storage tank.
Case: Women-Led Fog Harvesting in Morocco

Dar Si Hmad, a women-led non-governmental organisation in
Morocco, has designed and installed the world’s largest operational
fog water harvesting system. The Dar Si Hmad project provides
potable water to more than 400 people in five villages, most of them
women and children. The project includes:
• 600 m2 of nets to harvest freshwater from fog, 7 reservoirs with

593 m3 storage capacity, 6 solar panels, and more than
10,000 meters of piping
• Prepaid water meters connected to 52 homes in 5 villages, serving
more than 400 rural Berber residents
In 2017, the project was upgraded with CloudFisher net technol-

ogy, which mimics the way a spider’s web naturally collects dew
droplets from mist. The net can harvest up to 36,000 litres of water
a day for 800 residents. With more water collected, it enables more
time for women to work and children to study (UNFCCC, 2018;
Designboom, 2018).
Interbasin Transfers
Interbasin transfers involve moving water from one watershed with a surplus
to a watershed with a shortage. The water is transferred, via pipelines and
canal systems, to alleviate water scarcity in the receiving basin and is often a
long distance away from the donor watershed. Other purposes for transfer-
ring water include hydropower generation and navigation-route expansion.
Case: Central Arizona Project

Central Arizona Project (CAP) is Arizona’s largest resource for
renewable water supplies. CAP provides up to 1.5 million acre-feet
of water from the Colorado River to Central and Southern Arizona
each year, servicing more than 5 million people, or 80 per cent of the
state’s population. CAP carries water from Lake Havasu to the
southern border of the San Xavier Indian Reservation southwest of
Tucson. This 336-mile long system is comprised of aqueducts, tun-
nels, pumping plants, and pipelines (Central Arizona Project, 2018).
72 R. C. BREARS
Groundwater Prospecting and Extraction

Groundwater prospecting involves locating suitable quality and quantity
groundwater for extraction. It can be done as part of a general water
resources management strategy to increase supply or to respond to climate
change-related water scarcity or variability. Prospecting and extraction
methods can include hydrogeological investigations, geophysical surveys,
remote sensing assessments, or assessments of existing well sites.
Case: Indian Space Research Organisation’s Groundwater Prospects

and Recharge Zone Mapping
The Government of India’s Indian Space Research Organisation,
with funding from the Drinking Water Supply of the Ministry of
Rural Development, has been conducting groundwater prospects
and recharge zone maps on 1:50,000 scales. So far, 14 states have
been mapped, with each map provided to the respective State
Ground Water Departments and other concerned departments. The
maps have been used for locating well sites and recharge structures.
The feedback shows that about 275,000 wells have been drilled with
more than 90 per cent success rate and about 9,000 recharge wells
have been constructed (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, 2018).
Boreholes and Tubewells

Boreholes and tubewells provide water supplies during times of water
shortages and droughts. They extract freshwater from subsurface or
deeper groundwater aquifers. The approach can also create new boreholes
and tubewells as a drought response measure or deepen or rehabilitate
existing ones.
Case: Northern Ireland’s Rural Borewells Scheme

Northern Ireland’s Rural Borewells Scheme, which opened in June
2012 and ended on 31 March 2015, was a partnership between the
Department for Regional Development (now Department of
Infrastructure) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural

Development. The Scheme provided grants up to GBP 12,000
towards the cost of a private borewell for rural households to obtain
a wholesome water supply where it was not technically or financially
feasible to access the public water mains (Department of Infrastructure
Northern Ireland, 2018).
Water Recycling and Reuse

Water reclamation or recycling makes non-potable wastewater useful,
reducing the economic and environmental costs related to establishing
new water supplies. Water recycling involves collecting, treating, and using
wastewater that mainly comes from municipalities, industry, or agricul-
ture. The recycled water can be used for irrigation or industrial use as well
as for domestic use if properly treated. In some cases, treated wastewater
is injected into groundwater aquifers to increase capacity.
Case: Singapore’s NEWater

Singapore’s NEWater process recycles treated used water into ultra-
clean, high-grade reclaimed water. In total, five NEWater plants sup-
ply up to 40 per cent of the city-state’s current water needs. By
2060, it is projected that NEWater will meet up to 55 per cent of
Singapore’s future water demand. NEWater is created from a three-
step process involving microfiltration, where microscopic particles
including bacteria are filtered out; reverse osmosis, in which con-
taminants are removed to create high-grade water; and ultraviolet
disinfection, where water passes through ultraviolet light ensuring
any remaining organisms are eradicated. Because of its ultra-clean
state, NEWater is used for industrial and air-con cooling purposes at
water fabrication plants, industrial estates, and commercial build-
ings. NEWater is delivered to these commercial customers via a dedi-
cated pipe network. During dry periods, NEWater is also added to
PUB’s reservoirs to blend with raw water. The raw water from the
reservoir is then treated at the waterworks before being supplied to
consumers as tap water (PUB, 2018b).
74 R. C. BREARS
Conclusions
Technologies to enhance resilience to water scarcity from climate change can
be classified as hardware, which includes physical infrastructure and technical
equipment; software, including approaches, processes, and methodologies
such as planning and knowledge transfer mechanisms; and orgware, which
are organisation technologies such as institutional arrangements. Around
the world, these technologies have been applied in the form of water alloca-
tion, water augmentation, water efficiency and demand management, water
storage, and alternative water sources, all of which aim to enhance climate
resilience at the urban up to the river basin level across countries of all levels
of development. In addition to the numerous environmental benefits of
using water efficiently, these technologies provide multiple social and eco-
nomic benefits including women and children having more time for educa-
tion than fetching water, enhanced employment opportunities, as well as
lower operational costs in the providing of water services.
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924560112.1514944874
CHAPTER 6
Why Southern Africa Needs More than

an Adaptation Strategy to Build Climate
Resilient Floodplains: A Call
for Transformative Water Security
on the Kafue Flats of Zambia
Bimo Nkhata, Charles Breen, and Machaya Chomba
Abstract This chapter seeks to illustrate why efforts to build climate resil-
ient floodplains in Southern Africa require long-term transformative water
security interventions. The authors argue that a transformative water secu-
rity approach that is generative of change is needed to deal with the many
adaptation challenges experienced by floodplain systems. They call for
transformative water security that emphasises continuous experimentation
and learning in an ongoing process of defining and balancing thresholds.
This is particularly important given that most Southern African societies
B. Nkhata (*) • M. Chomba

Water Research Node, Monash University (South Africa),
Johannesburg, South Africa
e-mail: bimo.nkhata@monash.edu
C. Breen
University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_6
78 B. NKHATA ET AL.
undeniably need to develop capacities to adapt to the impacts of climate

change. The authors contend that societal efforts need to be directed
towards building transformative capacities. This, however, will require a
shift towards a functional balance between adaptation and transformation.
Keywords Water security • Floodplains • Transformative water security
Introduction
Floodplains provide multiple ecosystem services in proportions that are
variable over time and space. These services are ecologically and socio-
economically valuable and lead to a range of benefits that support human
well-being. In Southern Africa, for example, the benefits that people
obtain from floodplains (such as flood regulation, improved water quality,
potable water, fish stocks, energy generation, and recreation) are known
to be a major contributor to local and national economic development.
Increasingly, however, climate change has been adversely affecting flood-
plains and the ecosystem services they provide. Climate change has made
weather patterns more variable, extreme, and unpredictable. Weather pat-
terns have shifted to more intense and frequent events with dire conse-
quences for water security. Droughts in particular have become a major
feature of the climate and socio-economics of floodplains. These complex
emergent issues related to climate change, floodplain management, and
water security raise significant questions about the analytic linkages
between adaptation and transformation. Can Southern African societies
adapt to climate change with business as usual? Does climate resilience
require more fundamental change and the subsequent emergence of a
new state?
Following Moore et al. (2014), we suggest that adaptation essentially
denotes the capacity of a system to adjust its responses to change in
external drivers and internal processes at multiple scales. Yet, such adap-
tation cannot necessarily transform linked social and ecological systems
and the feedback mechanisms between them. While such adaptation may
lead to changes in the structures and activities of the social-ecological
system (Cash et al., 2006), it will usually remain confined to the single
scale at which adaptation was implemented (Moore et al., 2014). As
Moore et al. (2014) contend, transformation is necessary in situations
where adaptation remains confined to a single scale and does not affect
WHY SOUTHERN AFRICA NEEDS MORE THAN AN ADAPTATION STRATEGY… 79
multiple s ocial-ecological elements. This is especially so when dominant

feedbacks between the ecological and social system do not change
(Collingridge, 1996).
In this chapter, we argue that while Southern African societies undeni-
ably need to develop capacities to adapt to the impacts of climate change,
much more thoughtful consideration will have to be directed at enabling
societies to build transformative capacities for viable floodplain manage-
ment. Societies need to look beyond adaptive capacities to develop trans-
formative solutions to the most pressing climate change challenges
affecting floodplains. There is need for a shift towards a functional balance
between adaptation and transformation. Using a case study of floodplain
management on the Kafue Flats of Zambia, we illustrate why efforts to
build climate resilient floodplains in Southern Africa require long-term
transformative water security interventions. A transformative water secu-
rity approach, we argue, is generative of change, as contrasted with adap-
tive water security which is often responsive to change, particularly when
change is gradual and under conditions of water scarcity. Importantly,
transformative water security emphasises continuous experimentation and
learning in an ongoing process of defining and balancing thresholds.
The Kafue Flats Floodplain Social-Hydrological

System
The Kafue Flats is a floodplain wetland located in central, southern Zambia
(15°20′–15°55′S; 26°–28°E) (GRZ/ECZ, 1995). It covers an area of
approximately 6,500 km2 between the Itezhi-Tezhi and Kafue Gorge
dams (Jeffery, 1993). The area has two National Parks (Blue Lagoon and
Lochinvar) and a Game Management Area (divided into North and South
Banks). The floodplain is one of the most important ecological and eco-
nomic systems in Zambia. It provides various ecosystem services from
which users benefit in different ways (WWF, 2016). The two national
parks and the adjoining game management area provide economic oppor-
tunities for tourism on the flats. About 89% of Zambia’s sugar is produced
from cane grown on the flats under irrigation from the Kafue River. Sugar
production in Zambia contributes 3–4% to the gross domestic product
(GDP) and 6% of national exports. It has been estimated that the total
irrigated area on the Kafue Flats constitutes 81% of the formal national
irrigated area and the majority of this can be attributed to sugar cane
80 B. NKHATA ET AL.
growing. The flats host the largest population of livestock in the country
and one of the most productive fisheries (Deines, Bee, Katongo, Jensen,
& Lodge, 2013). More than 50% of the total national electricity produc-
tion is generated as hydropower at the two dams. The Itezhi-Tezhi dam
regulates flow downstream into the Kafue Flats and further down to the
Kafue Gorge hydropower station. As a result, the Kafue River is consid-
ered a highly regulated system, and present-day flows are viewed as being
different from historical ones (Mumba & Thompson, 2005).
For thousands of years, the indigenous people of the Kafue Flats lived in
areas where rainfall was markedly seasonal and droughts were part of their
lives. These people were attracted to the flats by the enhanced security
provided by the services of the floodplains. As populations grew and link-
ages were established beyond the direct influence of the floodplain, ecosys-
tem services became tradable commodities and value chains were
established. In time, as these value chains responded to technological
advances and growing markets, they became embedded in national econo-
mies. As this happened, those who benefited indirectly in the value chains
increasingly sought to shape both the ways in which ecosystem services are
used and the supply of goods from floodplains are distributed. What started
as a social-ecological system, strongly defined and bounded by direct rela-
tionships between ecosystem services and users, evolved into a system that
was institutionally complex and difficult to define in space and time.
Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the Kafue Flats social-ecological
system could be characterised as a subsistence non-monetary economy
that was largely reliant on the direct use of ecosystem services. With bur-
geoning urban development and migration of rural people to towns, the
system became an important source of food for the urban sector. This led
to the opening up of local areas, traditionally occupied by the Batwa peo-
ple, to nonlocal people from other parts of Zambia who had experience of
commercialising fisheries (Deines et al., 2013). Over time, the develop-
ment of the Zambian economy stimulated growing demand for electrical
energy. The Kafue River provided opportunities for increased national
power generation capacity. As the river flow increasingly became more
regulated and demands for agricultural water grew, the floodplain evolved
to incorporate new value chains that extended nationally and internation-
ally, with distant beneficiaries exerting significant influence on how the
river should be managed.
As value chains developed and markets expanded, human populations
on the floodplain grew to a point of threatening the sustainability of some
ecosystem system services, such as fish resources (Deines et al., 2013). The
value of commercial agriculture developed and expanded as the scale of
the social-ecological system also increased; this being so evident when one
considers how international perceptions of the value of floodplain ecosys-
tems and their services exert influence on management, particularly with
regard to the sustainability of natural flooding regimes. The floodplain
social-ecological system expanded to include new beneficiaries who may
not have had prior knowledge of the system’s inherent thresholds and
services. The new entrants’ perceptions of such thresholds would most
likely not have been framed by the implications for others, particularly
those who were directly dependent on the floodplain ecosystem services.
As with most areas in Zambia, rainfall on the Kafue Flats is strongly
seasonal. And because of this, irrigation is required to sustain most field
crops such as sugar cane that require at least a full year of growth before
harvest. The Kafue flats provide access to a secure source of water during
the dry winter season and to large areas of suitable soils. A summer flood-
ing regime is required to sustain the biodiversity of Lochinvar National
Park. While commercial agriculture is more concerned with secure water
in the dry winter, the conservation economy is concerned with securing
floods in summer. Over the last four decades, however, rainfall seasons
have become less predictable and shorter, with rainfall occurring in fewer
but more intense events. The intensity and frequency of droughts and
floods and the number of people affected has also changed, with a net
trend towards more floods and, over a longer time period, droughts.
The year 1994, for example, saw severe floods in the Flats when fishing
camps and some settlements along the river were inundated resulting in
the displacement of people. Mud brick houses especially those in the plains
collapsed; two bridges in the Kafue Flats were washed away cutting off
Monze and Namwala towns from the rest of the country. All the pontoons
on the river were rendered non-operational due to torrential currents. The
earlier floods of 1977/1978 and 1988/1989 were equally devastating.
The most recent floods in the Kafue sub-basin are the flash floods which
occurred in various places in the 2005/2006 rainy season. The flash floods
that affected the Kafue Gorge Power Station in December 2005 rank
highly in terms of extent of damage, which disrupted power generation
for a period of two weeks. Widespread flooding was also reported in
months of February and March 2006 which affected housing units and
agricultural fields in Mazabuka, Monze, and Choma. During the same
period, the Kafue Flats experienced increased mean annual temperature of
82 B. NKHATA ET AL.
1.3 degrees C and decreased mean rainfall of 1.9 mm/month. In the com-
ing years, average annual temperatures and rainfall are projected to increase
by 3.6 degrees C and 3% respectively.
Some of the resultant major concerns associated with climate change
on the floodplain include over-allocation of water resources in the Lower
Kafue and illegal abstractions and high water demand in the Upper Kafue
(Jani, 2016). Casarotto and Kappel (2016) note that ‘If the current popu-
lation growth rate is upheld for the coming 10 years, keeping all the other
parameters constant, basin-wide net benefits will be reduced by about 12
percentage points in a dry year’. Casarotto (2013, p. 40) suggests that
progress towards improved governance is hindered by a highly centralised
governance structure that leaves little room for effective stakeholder par-
ticipation. She concludes that the low resource base, in terms of human
and financial resources, weak commitment by key stakeholders and staff in
the water institutions, and their resistance to change, confounds transi-
tion towards Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)-based
governance practices. The predominant coping strategies adopted by the
communities include reducing meal quantities, numbers, and composi-
tion and shifting to a vegetable-only diet while relying on less preferred
wild foods. It has been suggested that climate change, water use, and
migration into the area are forcing the floodplain social-ecological system
towards looming thresholds that will largely be defined by increasing
human vulnerability for the more than 1.1 million residents on the flood-
plain (CSO Zambia, 2003).
Adapting to Looming Thresholds

The adaptation efforts on the Kafue Flats have manifested through indi-
vidualistic responses to the impacts of the two dams that have been aggra-
vated by the consequences of climate change. These consequences have
witnessed the emergence of multiple looming thresholds associated with
different system elements and different water users at multiple levels. The
looming thresholds have largely manifested through multiple system
reconfigurations including changes in the vegetation due to shrub
encroachment; reduction in agricultural land for crops as a result of out-
of-season dam water releases; reduced capacity for water retention and
hydropower energy production due to lower river flow and increasing
abstraction for agriculture; reduced grassland areas due to the develop-
ment of new permanent lagoons; increased tick population and a rise in
cattle disease; reduction in wildlife populations especially the Kafue lechwe;

reduction in fish stocks due to loss of spawning grounds and over-fishing;
increased levels of uncertainty of the timing of flooding; and increased
number of disturbed areas for human rural settlements. It is important to
recognise that some of these thresholds have already been crossed as new
unrecognised (hidden) thresholds have been developing. Each subsystem
of thresholds adapts independently of the others as it experiences the
changing pattern of river flow. This is particularly so as the affected parties
strive to avert a looming threshold that threatens their preferred system
structure and functioning.
The challenge of envisioning and engaging adaptation to looming
thresholds at multiple scales is easily seen when considering the scale dif-
ferences between the operations of a fisherman, a fishing village, an indus-
trial sugar cane plantation, a national park, and a national power generating
company. Even when such scale differences and potential thresholds are
evident and taken into account in planning, achieving the intended out-
come requires more than an agreement on what should be done. Also, it
is important to realise that, because of differences in the value chains,
some of these thresholds have much wider implications than others. For
example, while the production of energy and sugar are regarded as national
interests, fishing and wildlife utilisation seem to be perceived as have much
narrower, local implications. As a result, each water user or actor on the
Kafue Flats has been adapting differently to their own perceived looming
thresholds. As each group of users seeks to optimise its benefits under
changing conditions of water security consequent upon climate change
and growing demand, they commonly do so without taking into account
the consequences for other beneficiaries of the ecosystem services—their
approach to adaptation of a looming threshold which draws the focus to
their own threshold, and away from others, as they adapt to emergent
conditions. This is particularly so when scale differences are large.
In 1997, the then Department of Water Affairs, acknowledging the
potential of flow regulation to change the supply of ecosystem services and
shift thresholds for beneficiaries, developed a flow regulation regime that
would allow adaptation to avoid crossing thresholds that would lead to
collapse of, for example, the floodplain fishery and grazing system and the
wildlife habitat. The flow releases committed the hydropower company
(ZESCO), which was essentially responsible for dam operations, to a
minimum release of 40 m3 s−1: 25 m3 s −1 for maintenance of the down-
stream riverine habitat and 15 m3 s −1 for other downstream water uses
84 B. NKHATA ET AL.
such as farming and domestic water use. An additional requirement to

provide for the flooding of the Flats was set at a flow of 300 m3 s −1 for four
weeks in March each year, commonly known as the March freshet. While
this was intended to elicit collective accountability for cross-scale effects of
flow regulation, it did not materialise.
The proposed flow regulation regime was intended to manage emerg-
ing risks across all sectors, the fishery, floodplain livestock, commercial
agriculture, and biodiversity. However, the authority responsible for flow
management chose not to release summer flood for most of the past ten
years. The hydropower company perceived the dam operating rules as
being too rigid. In fact, the company viewed the March freshet as a form
of tax for hydropower generation in the dry season. These perceptions
prompted the company to stop adhering to the dam operating rules and
to partly justify this by claiming uncertainties associated with their limited
meteorological monitoring capacity that led to increased difficulties in the
planning and coordination of flow releases at Itezhi-Tezhi. With increas-
ing demand for hydropower and from growth in the irrigated agriculture,
it became easier to justify failure to maintain the ‘March’ freshet releases.
This is despite evidence that such failure is driving 1.1 million people who
depend directly on the floodplain fishery and livestock, ever closer to a
critical survival threshold. And, as the floodplain becomes drier and is
invaded by woody tree species, the critical threshold for sustaining wet-
land biodiversity for which the Lochinvar National Park was established
becomes more evident.
Adaptation to looming power generation thresholds by the hydro-
power company resulted in a situation whereby most often than not the
flow releases from the Itezhi-Tezhi dam tended to be higher in the dry
season with lower and shorter releases in the rainy season. The frequency
and duration of flooding decreased due to shorter and lower peak flows.
With a more regulated flow and back flooding from the Kafue Gorge res-
ervoir, parts of the floodplain that would have drained during the dry
season were now permanently submerged. Despite the decision to use
flow management to avert looming thresholds, power generation took
precedence, driving change towards other thresholds.
Our interpretation is that the scale differences and the perceptions par-
ties have of each other’s thresholds led to dominance on one threshold,
power generation, over others. While under certain circumstance this
dominance may be justified, what cannot be justified is the failure to man-
age the cross-scale implications that current understanding suggests will
lead to conditions in which adaptation cannot, on its own, prevent critical

thresholds to be passed. With this understanding, we suggest that there is
need to enable a balance between adaptation and transformative change
that leads to an alternative that has better prospects for resilience to the
consequences of climate change and the growing demand for water.
Similar individualistic adaptation efforts have manifested in small-scale
agriculture where farmers have been implementing an informal water reg-
ulation strategy to ensure that all farmers have equal access to water. The
strategy is designed to reduce the effects of climate change-induced water
shortages. For instance, farmers have been trying to reduce the number of
dry-out periods that each farmer’s field has to undergo by alternating
water supply to individual farmers. When the farmers see that the field of
one of them has had more dry-out periods than other fields, they deliber-
ately supply the affected farmer with more water to reduce the effects of
water shortages. The farmers outline this strategy based on the notion of
irrigation cycles that they each use to ensure that each farmer has equal
chance to irrigate their fields under climate-stressed conditions. While this
adaptation strategy appears to have been well suited to deal with the effects
of climate change-induced water shortages, the strategy, unfortunately,
did not take cognisant of similar adaptation efforts in other sectors such as
hydropower generation.
The Need for Transformative Change

Existing floodplain management approaches on the Kafue Flats have
become increasingly untenable under conditions where thresholds are
ever-changing and always in transition. As observed elsewhere by Béné
and others (2011), the focus of management under these conditions tends
to shift to identifying and managing for critical thresholds. Such threshold
shifts typically transform the way in which issues are framed, thereby shap-
ing individual behaviours and making it difficult to sustain a collective
approach to management (Tavoni & Levin, 2014; McEvoy, Fünfgeld, &
Bosomworth, 2013; Dewulf, Craps, Bouwen, Taillieu, & Pahl-Wostl,
2005). In complex social-hydrological systems such as the Kafue Flats,
where there may be multiple thresholds, there is a likelihood of water users
and managers not knowing that a threshold exists until it is crossed (Kelly
et al., 2015). In such situations, whoever recognises an approaching
critical threshold typically seeks to shift the focus of management to that
particular threshold. This becomes more likely when an approaching
86 B. NKHATA ET AL.
threshold focuses on management to an extent that the consequences for

other thresholds are not appreciated, are ignored, or are considered justi-
fied. With each party focusing on their own needs and identifying thresh-
olds differently, the thresholds of others may be ‘cryptic and difficult to
recognise before they are crossed’ (Béné et al., 2011, p. 1174). The indi-
vidualistic adaptation efforts on the Kafue Flats have necessitated modifi-
cations in the way society manages floodplains to build resilience.
Efforts to build climate resilience on the Kafue Flats will certainly
require long-term transformative water security interventions. Future
prospects will be defined by the capacity to transform rather than to adapt
to emergent conditions. What is needed is transformative water security
that is generative of change. On one hand, transformative water security
emphasises continuous experimentation and learning in an ongoing pro-
cess of defining and balancing thresholds. On the other hand, it denotes
the capacity of a social-ecological system to move to a new configuration
defined by new state variables (Olsson et al., 2004). In some cases, this
might involve old state variables, which are however augmented by new
ones. In this context, new variables will have to be either introduced or
allowed to emerge.
While re-establishing a flow pattern on the Kafue Flats that will favour
diverse ecosystem services may alleviate the adaptation challenges, this will
not offer a long-term solution. As the situation stands, the trajectory of
adaptive change on the Kafue Flats would appear to be undermining resil-
ience and directing it towards a less desirable state. This change is rein-
forced by growing demands for electricity, the need for expansion of
commercial agriculture, and increasing vulnerability of local residents. On
the contrary, transformative change would require deliberate attention to
governance processes that constrain and/or promote collective action
among water users (van Asselt & Renn, 2011). In other words, transfor-
mation would entail change that is directed towards coupling drivers and
outcomes across levels and scales.
Although some efforts may be directed towards developing adaptive
capacity to increase system resilience, this may not always be possible
(Rocha, Peterson, & Biggs, 2015; Crépin et al., 2012). In some circum-
stances, such efforts may not be desirable as a regime shift may be less
harmful and perhaps more beneficial in the longer term. This is because
some regime shifts can amplify drivers of change and increase the l ikelihood
of a greater number of thresholds being crossed, possibly irreversibly
(Rocha et al., 2015; Horan, Fenichel, Drury, & Lodge, 2011; Davidson,
2010; Kinzig et al., 2006). This understanding gives weight to the notion
that adaptation as it relates to regime change should be a process of delib-
erate transformative change (Olsson, Galaz, & Boonstra, 2014; Nelson
et al., 2007) rather than defensive actions seeking to protect cores, assets,
or functions (Pelling, 2010).
Demand for hydropower generation in Zambia is expected to increase,
especially in the mining and commercial sectors (BMI, 2015). This has
huge implications for transformative water security especially in the con-
text of climate change and variability on the Kafue Flats. The Kafue Flats,
as part of the Zambezi Basin, are listed as one of the worst impacted by
climate change in Africa (MEWD, 2014). The situation is exacerbated by
the fact that almost 60% of countries in Southern Africa depend on hydro-
power for their power supply (Beilfuss, 2012). Climate change and vari-
ability could affect the region in several ways: reduced dam inflows as a
result of decreased rainfall; increased extreme weather events, such as
flooding, resulting in the risk of infrastructure failure; delayed surface area
evaporation; and increased sediment load (Conway et al., 2015). This is
already manifesting in Zambia as evidenced by recent low water levels in
the Itezhi-Tezhi and Kafue Gorge dams attributed to the poor rainfall
season of 2014/2015.
In the long run, powerful national imperatives will determine how the
water security situation of the Kafue Flats will take into account key vari-
ables such as cross-scale interactions (Folke et al., 2010, p. 29). Currently,
it is such variables that are shaping the trend in vulnerability of people
whose livelihoods depend on floodplain agriculture and fisheries. The
demands for water and energy are driven by national priorities that make
it difficult to conceive of local scale strategies that can mitigate the factors
that are driving the system towards multiple thresholds. And, as vulnera-
bility increases, local smaller scale actors will develop defensive changes
(Pelling, 2010) such as increased fishing activity, while seeming to alleviate
the situation. However necessary, such incremental (rather than transfor-
mative) (Nelson et al., 2007) or ‘piecemeal interventions’ (Folke et al.,
2010, p. 4) are not likely to prepare the system for dealing with ongoing
change.
Our interpretation suggests that the vulnerability of the floodplain
‘agri-fishing system’ is a slowly changing variable that, while acutely expe-
rienced at local scale, is less evident and ‘real’ for those remote from the
floodplain social-ecological system. This system is responding slowly to
the high-level allocative decisions that prioritise flow regimes for hydro-
88 B. NKHATA ET AL.
power generation. Increasing the vulnerability of the floodplain people is,

in its own way, a slow variable that will drive change at larger scale, as the
nation is forced to respond to increasing poverty and urban migration.
Reversing the trend requires solutions that are derived through cross-scale
interactions. But how realistic is this? Are environmental flows in the sys-
tem an illusion that encourages ‘business as usual’, thereby hiding an
approaching threshold? Can the trend be reversed? While the Kafue sys-
tem remains central to Zambia’s energy supply, there seems little prospect
that environmental flows will be fully reinstated. Under such conditions,
evidence suggests that vulnerability will gradually become worse. Has the
time come to consider strategic options in which transformative change
leads to alternative states that are less dependent on sustaining environ-
mental flows?
Conclusion
In this chapter, we sought to illustrate why efforts to build climate resilient
floodplains in Southern Africa will require long-term transformative water
security interventions. We have argued that a transformative water security
approach that is generative of change is needed to deal with the many
adaptation challenges. We have called for transformative water security
that emphasises continuous experimentation and learning in an ongoing
process of defining and balancing thresholds. This is particularly impor-
tant given that most Southern African societies undeniably need to develop
capacities to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Societal efforts need
to be directed towards building transformative capacities. This, however,
will require a shift towards a functional balance between adaptation and
transformation.
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CHAPTER 7
Shifting the Paradigm of Transboundary

Water Resources Management Toward
Climate Resilience
Manon Cassara
Abstract This chapter summarizes how current transboundary water

governance frameworks should be transformed to embrace the uncertainty
factors generated under the climate change context as well as promoting
more flexible management mechanisms. The ecosystem-based approach
has been recognized as a fundamental cornerstone in insufflating climate
resilient practices within the IWRM concept, including at the transbound-
ary level, bridging ecosystems, environment, and water still in an inte-
grated manner and to the benefit of the most vulnerable livelihoods.
Enhanced cooperation mechanisms have also to be introduced, building
on what is already working, increasing the involvement of ranging stake-
holders, and using the opportunities from the world of innovations to
demonstrate the mutual benefits of sharing natural resources.
Keywords Transboundary Water Resources Management • Integrated

Water Resources Management • Cooperation
M. Cassara (*)
Consultant for water resources management, Almaty, Kazakhstan

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_7
94 M. CASSARA
Introduction
Water, at the image of climate-related issues, ignores man-made borders
and pursues its natural path across the globe. As of today, there are more
than 286 transboundary river basins that span over 151 countries as well
as 592 transboundary aquifers (UNEP-GEF-DHI, 2016). Socioeconomic
needs vary in each territory; each country has its long-term ambitions,
goals, and own strategies toward sustainable development. This diversity
is sometimes conducive to divergent interests including on the use of
shared natural resources.
Climate change is a reality and literature is abounding on the urgency
to start adapting now. Hydrometeorological records and climate scenarios
have provided evidence that water is the most vulnerable resource in the
climate change context (IPCC 4; UNECE, 2009). In many river basins,
we can observe increases in flow variability and transformation, as hydro-
logical changes accrue and alter the watercourses. These impacts may not
be all negative, but it challenges decision-making processes as well as our
capacity to adjust (IPCC, 2014). At the global level, great efforts have
been put in place for the comprehension over climate change’s impacts on
water as well as on potential resilience responses (e.g. Cancun Adaptation
Framework, National Adaptation Programs of Action [NAPAs], Green
Climate Fund [GCF]), but encompassing water resources management
with climate resilience development is a recent practice.
As such, managing transboundary waters is by nature challenging, par-
ticularly within a context of complex social and environmental change
(IUCN, 2014). The concern for acute conflicts is likely to be accentuated
in the context of climate change, as the pressure over the use of natural
resources is expected to increase. Drivers for tensions can be rooted into
different factors such as diversion, over-abstraction, pollution, and scarcity
of water resources. Those can be aggravated by structural drivers of socio-
economic nature (e.g. poverty, rapid growth, urbanization) and the
increasing climate variability.
History shows an abundant practice for managing arising conflicts,
bringing riparian countries to consensus, and posing solid foundations for
interstate cooperation. Nowadays, we account a diversity of legal
instruments and institutional frameworks established within river basins by
reflecting an upbringing tradition for cooperation.1
1
For instance, the history of water treaties dates back to 2500 BC, when two Sumerian
city-states of Lagash and Umma crafted an agreement related to the Tigris River, ending
what is acknowledged as the only “true war” over water resources (McCaffrey, 2003).
SHIFTING THE PARADIGM OF TRANSBOUNDARY WATER RESOURCES… 95
The significant impacts of climate change on the hydrological cycle and

water resources2 call for a deeper integration across sectors, stakeholders,
and disciplines as well as intensified cooperation. Besides the actual changes
in water availability and demand, the magnitude of uncertainty and the
complexity of science on global climate change pose unique risk manage-
ment challenges. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has
been the main tool used over the past decades at national and transbound-
ary levels to improve, coordinate, and protect the use of water resources
and other related resources on a watershed basis.
IWRM provides excellent ground with taking into account natural cli-
matic variability, sectoral integration, and thus, supporting overall climate
resilience development efforts. However, there is a belief that water man-
agement practices of the past will not be sufficiently robust to respond to
the new dimension of climatic change (Lenton & Muller, 2009).
This chapter summarizes how current transboundary water governance
frameworks should be transformed to embrace the uncertainty factors
generated under the climate change context as well as promoting more
flexible management mechanisms. The ecosystem-based approach has
been recognized as a fundamental cornerstone in insufflating climate resil-
ient practices within the IWRM concept, including at the transboundary
level, bridging ecosystems, environment, and water still in an integrated
manner and to the benefit of the most vulnerable livelihoods. Enhanced
cooperation mechanisms have also to be introduced, building on what is
already working, increasing the involvement of ranging stakeholders, and
using the opportunities from the world of innovations to demonstrate the
mutual benefits of sharing natural resources.
Improving Transboundary Water Governance

Toward Climate Resilience
Adaptation to climate change calls for innovative transboundary water
governance mechanisms. Although Transboundary Water Resources
Management (TWRM) is still emerging from abundant customary prac-
tice, there is a global consensus to develop more adaptive resource gover-
nance, capable of addressing key challenges posed by climate change, for
example, high level of climate uncertainty, unpredictable changes and
availability of natural resources, capacity to answer to sudden changes in
2
See the IPCC Chap. 3—[…] for more detailed information on the impacts of climate
change on water resources.
96 M. CASSARA
the state of the resources and ecosystem, and efficient cross-sectoral-

institutional coordination.
Water governance refers to the “political, social, economic and admin-
istrative systems that are in place, and which directly or indirectly affect the
use, development, and management of water resources and the delivery of
water services at different levels of the society”.3 While there is no com-
monly accepted definition of “adaptive governance”, a tentative would
include: “the capacity to learn, reflect, and adapt; the distribution of
authority over multiple entities capable of acting in the same sphere; the
capacity to integrate management across jurisdictions and sectors that
affect the resource in question through arrangements such as co-
management; and the formal engagement of those affected by decision
making” (Cosens & Chaffin, 2016).
At the transboundary level, governance systems are intrinsically devel-
oped through fastidious and complex political processes, formalized into
basin level or regional treaties and institutions with a tendency to multiply
and oversee procedural and commitment made. Under IWRM practices,
the focus on water allocation and hydropower development has shifted to
progressively include provisions for multiple uses, joint development, and
increasingly for environmental protection. Adaptive governance would
consist in upgrading these efforts, with strengthened mechanisms for hori-
zontal integration (i.e. inter-institutional and inter-sectoral coordination)
as well as vertical integration (i.e. coordination among levels of water gov-
ernance) (IUCN, 2014, Bauer et al., 2011).
In this regard, adaptive governance would go beyond the legal and
institutional frameworks integrating climate resilient practice into trans-
boundary water management and would additionally include good
practices for knowledge and information sharing, inclusive measures for
high participation of all the stakeholders, the introduction of innovative
financial mechanisms, robust compliance strategies, assessment, and con-
flict resolution mechanisms.
Developing an Adaptation Strategy at the Transboundary Level

Developing a tailored vision and action plan based on detailed vulnerabil-
ity assessment and scenarios provides a good entry point toward adaptive
3
Water Governance Facility, 2005.
governance. Most of the time, this strategy is developed by the organiza-

tions in charge of the river basin with the participation of all the relevant
stakeholders. This step is bridging the political and technical spheres from
the beginning and enabling to pose good cooperation practices. To be
effective, the strategy needs to receive further political support, endorsed
by relevant policymakers (UNECE, INBO, 2015). Under the ecosystem-
based approach, the strategy is complemented by regional governance
programs which also clarify the cooperation, stakeholders’ participation,
institutions, knowledge exchange, and so on. (cf. section on the ecosystem-
based approach). It is also important that national-level strategies, for
example, NAPAs would also be evenly updated among the riparian coun-
tries. Mitigation aspects should also be taken into consideration wherever
adaptation measures are being proposed.
In 2007, the Ministerial Conference gathering the parties of the

Rhine River Basin gave a mandate to the International Commission
for the Protection of the Rhine to assess climate change impacts and
to develop an adaptation strategy. The strategy, adopted in 2015, has
identified the following actions:
–– Planned activities should pave the way to enhance the resilience
of the river and floodplain ecosystems.
–– Monitoring activities should be strengthened (incl. discharges,
water temperatures, water quality) to better understand and
anticipate the changes in particular during low discharge peri-
ods and build relevant linkages to existing framework such as
the Water Framework Directive.
–– Continuous exchange of best practices, new results, and imple-
mentation of mitigation measures should take place.
–– Development of a flood risk management plan for the interna-
tional district of the basin.
Source: https://www.iksr.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente_
en/Reports/219_en.pdf
98 M. CASSARA
Adjusting the Legal/Policy Approaches

International water law has major implication from a perspective of adap-
tive governance. On the 300 existing transboundary water sharing agree-
ments, 158 river basins have no cooperative management framework,
and less than 20% of these agreements involve all the riparian in a basin.
Each agreement is unique and provides specific measures that have been
negotiated between the riparian; a summary of the transboundary agree-
ments negotiated during the twentieth century is provided in Table 7.1
(Cooley & Gleick, 2011). The UN 1997 and UNECE 1992 conven-
tions provide good standard references including key provisions of inter-
national law such as the principles of equitable and reasonable use, the
“no significant harm” principles, and the precautionary principle.
However, many frameworks remain incomplete as of today. For instance,
few agreements include regulations regarding water quality and not all
the frameworks include provisions on monitoring, enforcement, and
conflict resolutions. The legal frameworks are especially powerful in cre-
ating the conditions that can enable (or impair) effective transboundary
adaptation decisions and actions (UNECE, INBO, 2015). They need to
be designed in a balanced manner, providing both stability in relation-
ships among the riparian (e.g. clear rules, standards, and procedures) and
flexibility in approaches (e.g. amendments, reviews, monitoring, etc.).
Flexible allocation strategies would enable to define procedures for
negotiation or renegotiation of water allocations, and climate-proof reg-
ulations and standards for water quality should be proposed. The highly
political aspects of transboundary water sharing legal instruments and
Table 7.1 Summary of the transboundary agreements negotiated during the

twentieth century
Focus of transboundary agreements (%)
Hydroelectricity 39
Water allocation 37
Flood control 9
Industrial uses 6
Navigation 4
Pollution 4
Fishing 1
the rigorous character of the provisions makes them almost “unmov-

able” instruments. Undertaking changes requires an initiation of new
collective political processes, which can take time and without guarantee
of success. Thus, flexibility is the most challenging and key concept to be
applied to the legal (and institutional) frameworks in the context of cli-
mate change. This could be introduced as follows:
anaging the Allocation Flows

M
As mentioned in the section below, the ecosystem-based approach uses the
environmental flows to maintain water quantity and quality levels neces-
sary to preserve human needs and basic ecological functions. This is piv-
otal in promoting climate resilient measures within TWRM concept.
Integrating relevant disposition into the legal/institutional frameworks is
part of the first important steps and a driver for more successful and
smoother implementation.
The Water Charter of the Senegal River Basin creates an enabling

environment for such integration: the article 4 includes the need to
protect environment as a guiding principle for water allocation. The
article 5 also affirms that in allocating available water, the necessary
conditions should be created for the flooding of the river valley and for
supporting traditional agriculture (Senegal River Basin Charter, 2002).
Procedural Aspects
Provisions allowing the parties to amend and review freshwater treaty
regime are essential considering the variability of hydrological, social, and
climatic conditions in the basin. For instance, in the Colorado River Basin,
“minutes” of the riparian assemblies, once approved by all the parties,
have been attributed to a binding value and accounted for as amendments
to the treaty.
Strengthening/Establishing Joint Institutions

Joint institutions play a significant role in managing transboundary water
resources, particularly under the climate change context. These entities are
critical and have a convening role among riparian, contributing to an
100 M. CASSARA
enabling environment for cooperation (Cf. third section on cooperation).

Building effective institutions is a long-term and often complex process.
They should be properly regulated but also, in the light of the precedent
paragraphs, flexible. At the image of transboundary water agreements,
there is no identical institution; their mandate, roles, and activities reflect
the unique history of the basin and the state of relationships among
riparians.
Mandates and authorities vary widely, from facilitating the develop-
ment of adaptation frameworks and programs between riparian countries,
exchanging climate-relevant information and data, coordinating early
warning systems, or supporting the preparation of common climate
change impact and vulnerability studies, or playing an active role in dis-
pute resolution with regard to flow variability and infrastructure opera-
tions (UNECE, INBO, 2015). The scope can remain broad enough and
should include all riparian nations, with sufficient management and
enforcement authority. As such, these structures should be all the contrary
of static and be able to continuously evolve, adapting to the conditions of
the basin, surfing on the wave of new technologies, and be smart enough
to promote the interest of the basin beyond the national perspectives (Cf.
example below for the Danube River Basin).
Ecosystem Approaches and Integrated Water

Resources Management (IWRM) for Transboundary
Waters
As described by the Global Water Partnership, IWRM highlights the inter-
dependence of natural and social systems and provides a practical frame-
work for such integration on a watershed basis (UNESCO-INBO).4 The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identified
IWRM as a potential vehicle to operate the paradigm shift of transbound-
ary waters management toward climate resilience.
According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the ecosystem
approach in transboundary IWRM is a strategy for the integrated manage-
4
The Global Water Partnership defines IWRM as a “process which promotes the coordi-
nated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maxi-
mize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising
the sustainability of vital ecosystems”.
ment of land, water, and living resources that promotes conservation and
sustainable use in an equitable way.5 As such, the ecosystem approach in
watersheds implies that water, biodiversity, and environmental protection
require multidimensional integration initiatives, consisting in strategies,
actions, and investments based on the needs of watershed inhabitants
(Al-Jayyousi & Bergkamp, 2008). The practical aspects of the ecosystem-
based approach and inherent services demonstrate mutual benefits in
managing transboundary river systems, breaking the traditional upstream/
downstream competing, rigid, and disbalanced water distribution dynam-
ics. This would enable more effective IWRM in transboundary watersheds
(UNECE, INBO, 2015).
Although very recent, numerous frameworks are being developed
recently to achieve a mutual benefits approach which is applied to disas-
ter risk reduction (e.g. flood regulation and storm-surge protection, use
of aquifers as water storage mechanisms, formal integration of riparian
forests within water quality, and purification processes). In particular,
the ecosystem approach has been promoted in the UNECE 1992
Convention, the United Nations Watercourses Convention (1997), the
Ramsar Convention (1971), and the Berlin Rules on Water Resources
(2004). The RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands signed in 2002 pro-
motes an ecosystem approach recognizing site-based management plan-
ning under a multi-scale approach and acknowledging the ecosystem
boundary with the river basin boundary. Hence, the Convention out-
5
UNEP and for more information on the Convention on Biological Diversity: https://
www.cbd.int/. Ecosystem-based approaches can be applied both to adaptation and
mitigation:
Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation—the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as
part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people adapt to the adverse effects of cli-
mate change and may include sustainable management, conservation, and restoration
of ecosystems, as part of an overall adaptation strategy that takes into account the
multiple social, economic, and cultural co-benefits for local communities. Adaptation
is facilitated through both specific ecosystem management measures (e.g. managed
realignment) and through increasing ecosystem resilience to climate change (e.g.
watershed management, conserving agricultural species genetic diversity).
Ecosystem-based approaches to mitigation—the use of ecosystems for their carbon storage
and sequestration service to aid climate change mitigation. Emission reductions are
achieved through creation, restoration, and management of ecosystems (e.g. forest
restoration, peat conservation).
102 M. CASSARA
lines the IWRM framework, focusing on the safeguard and maintenance

of ecological processes and functioning, which is the hallmark of the
ecosystem-based approach (UNESCO, 2015).
While the ecosystem-based approach complements IWRM practices, it
also brings the flexibility required to address climate change challenges.
This is particularly evident regarding the following areas of activities:
Green Investments
Ecosystem-based adaptation would provide an excellent platform to pro-
mote the implementation of more flexible financial mechanisms and invest-
ments, in response to growing in efforts of moving beyond hard
infrastructure solutions to climate adaptation. Through the use of ecosys-
tems or hydrological and ecological processes, these infrastructures can be
developed in extension or as an alternative to built structures. This also
contributes to the development of ideal win-win solutions in a transbound-
ary context considering limited harmful impacts or even advantageous
effects in downstream areas of the watersheds (UNECE, INBO, 2015).
The Lower Danube Green Corridor

In 2000, an Agreement was signed by the governments of Romania,
Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Moldova to establish a green corridor along
the entire length of the Lower Danube River (~1,000 km). The
Agreement aims at protecting and restoring wetlands along the river
and reconnecting the river to its natural flooding areas, reducing the
risks of major flooding in areas with human settlements and offering
benefits for local economies and the ecosystems along the river. The
Corridor would be composed of 1 million ha of existing and new
protected areas and 223, 608 ha to be restored to natural flood
plain. In 2014, 50,000 ha have already been implemented, demon-
strating significant benefits for flood safety, nutrient retention, biodi-
versity, and recreation. The project is implemented by the WWF.
Source: http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/metadata/case-stud-
ies/lower-danube-green-corridor-floodplain-restoration-for-flood-
protection/#success_limitations_anchor
Environmental Flows
Including flexibility into water allocation schemes is a core measure that
would positively impact the shift of current TWRM mechanisms to cli-
mate resilient practices. The Ecosystem based Approach (EbA) prompts
the use of environmental flow approaches as an essential adaptive measure
in line with sustainable river basin planning and management. Indeed,
climate change is expected to affect average water flows and as conse-
quence impacts the ecosystem services that the most vulnerable communi-
ties rely on for their livelihoods. The environmental flows refer to “the
quality, quantity, of water flows required to maintain the components,
functions, processes, and resilience of aquatic ecosystems that provide
goods and services to people” (World Bank, 2009). The Mekong River
Basin has been one of the first examples where basin planning for environ-
mental flows within a transboundary setting was provided. In a trans-
boundary context, agreeing on environmental flows is particularly difficult
as each riparian has to agree on the flows and fully coordinate the imple-
mentation. In this regard, the importance of the governance instruments
is undeniable; environmental flows have to be embedded within the main
river basin strategies, agreements, as well as defined within the status of
river basin entities in charge of the basin planning and management (Cf.
Governance measures section).
Boosting Transboundary Water Cooperation

in the Context of Climate Change
The context of climate change and its impacts on transboundary water

management require each of us to step out of our traditional schemes for
water management. Water management, in the pressing context of climate
change, should envision water sharing not as a competitive factor but as a
process that creates opportunities and shared benefits for riparians, liveli-
hoods, and the environment. Such change, as any substantial transforma-
tion, requires time and a lot of efforts to build trust and solid relationships.
The governance mechanisms described in the preceding paragraphs are
resulting from long-term cooperation practices, which have alternatively
pulled the nations apart and brought them together over unique history.
One of the most fascinating experiences displaying old efforts to share
responsibility for joint waters is the Danube River Basin.
104 M. CASSARA
Building Cooperation in the Danube River Basin: A Constant

Evolution
The Danube is considered as the most international river basin in the
world accounting 19 riparian countries and 2,860 km long. It is a
corridor linking the Black Sea with the heart of Europe. It is acknowl-
edged now as the region where international organizations first
evolved. Cooperation history has started long before the signature
of the Danube River Protection Convention in 1994 which is the
overall legal instrument in place in the Basin. Back in history, water
has been a powerful force to promote transboundary partnerships
even in some areas that were prone to conflicts. Prior to World War
II, the European Commission of the Danube, in reference of the
1856 Treaty of Paris, was ensuring free navigation along the Danube
across all the European countries as well as freedom of commerce.
The cooperation arrangements as part of this commission have been
effective until the middle of the twentieth century. Due to its inten-
sive use, the quality of the river became a serious issue.
Hence, the Declaration of the Danube Countries to Cooperate on
Questions Concerning the Water Management of the Danube
(Bucharest Declaration) was signed in 1985 endorsing the principle
that the environmental quality of the river depends on the environ-
ment of the basin as a whole and committing the countries to an
integrated approach in water management. The first and main action
was the establishment of a basin-wide unified monitoring network.
In 1991, the countries created the Environmental Program for the
Danube River Basin; countries agreed to adopt a single monitoring
system to assess environmental impact, addressing the issue of liabil-
ity for cross-border pollution and defining rules for the protection of
wetland habitats.
An interim task force composed of the Danube River Basin ripar-
ian countries and main donors developed a Strategic Action Plan in
1993 to address major environmental threats with a pragmatic pro-
gram. Major consultations have been conducted involving decision-
makers and others stakeholders. It was the first time that public
participation was mandatory during such process.
Different factors have driven cooperation aspects in the Danube
River Basin, starting with the freedom to circulate, and then more
important issues related to the degradation of the state of the river.

The Danube is also one of the precursor basins to introduce the
ecosystem-based approach for the planning and management of the
Basin. Governance mechanisms progressively put in place or adjusted
still accompany and support this interstate dialogue. It has been now
more than 20 years, and the process is in constant evolution.
Source: https://www.icpdr.org/main/publications/flow-danube-
cooperation-history-shared-responsibility
Cooperation for climate resilience and the transboundary water man-

agement have been envisioned as separate sectors for a long time. There is
a global acknowledgment that these two spheres complement each other
and have to be well orchestrated together. It is only recently that practices
that facilitate the integration of both of these sectors have been developed.
A common aspect, important to these two areas, relates to cooperation
through developing a continuous dialogue as well as building trust.
Options are numerous but they demand a stepwise and context-specific
approach that facilitates shared understanding. This is timely as our world
today offers plenty of opportunities through advanced technologies, wide
range of technical options as well as new mindset perspectives (e.g.
increased amount of open source information, stakeholders’ participation,
and work through networks and communities). Technical, economic, and
multilateral cooperation are, in many ways, supporting a broader political
dialogue and sow the seeds of trust among the countries. One of the keys
is to find the right entry point that would enable the facilitation of the
dialogue in good conditions. Particularly applied to climate resilience
development, we achieve very diverse experiences.
When Knowledge Exchange Enhances

the Environment for Cooperation
Despite the existence of legal and institutional frameworks for coopera-

tion, this might not be sufficient when it comes to implementation.
Providing reliable and timely information is fundamental to the solid
foundation of trust among the riparian countries. Building robust infor-
mation systems go beyond the technical aspects, generating further
106 M. CASSARA
cooperation opportunities through capacity building, involvement of large

range of stakeholders (e.g. civil servants, academia, youth), strong involve-
ment of joint institutions (e.g. joint monitoring, knowledge networks),
realization of joint assessments, and so on.
In the Chu-Talas River Basin shared between Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan, the entry point is the development of an information system
to support policy dialogue for enhanced management of the Chu-Talas
River in the context of climate change (UNECE, 2014).
Reducing Vulnerability to Extreme Events

Many areas are exposed to multiple hazards such as landslides, floods, and
coastal storms. Because of existing capacities, vulnerabilities, and limited
infrastructure, these hazards transform into disasters at high cost for liveli-
hoods and local governments. Intrinsically, reducing vulnerability to
extreme event is also an entry point for good cooperation.
The Project FLOOD-WISE aims at improving cross-border flood risk
management for the rivers Bug, Elbe, Meuse, Rur, Sava, and Somes, with
the objective to obtain a high willingness of responsible authorities to
develop harmonized or joint flood strategies and policy measures across
borders within the frameworks of EU and national policies and regula-
tions (Flood-wise project).
Engaging Stakeholders
The leading role of public authorities in promoting transboundary coop-
eration, including on climate adaptation and resilience, is critical to sus-
tained progress and effective action. But the governmental action is not
enough (UNECE, INBO, 2015). Stakeholders have to be engaged from
the very beginning and relevant strategic needs to be properly formulated
in the legal and institutional frameworks. Stakeholders encompass national
and local authorities of riparian countries, established transboundary bod-
ies and platforms, infrastructure management agencies (water, energy,
land, transport, etc.), relevant private sector entities, civil society, media,
academia, and so on. Public participation is a principle which is well
acknowledged in IWRM processes, but stakeholders’ engagement might
be more important in the climate change context, because of the uncer-
tainty factor, the need for increased trust in cooperation, and the nature of
investments.
As such, it is also seen as a driver for sustainable cooperation. Both

engaged as actors and beneficiaries, stakeholders provide a more neutral
vision, closer to technical issues and common interests rather than speak-
ing from a public/political perspective.
Alleviating Poverty and Sustaining Livelihoods

Climate variability impedes sustainable development and can aggravate
poverty and worsen local conditions in river basins which are home to
vulnerable populations. Foster climate resilience bringing on investments
to boost local economies and develop river basin’s potential in respect to
its environment provides an important basis to build cooperation on.
The Niger River Basin is at the extreme end of the vulnerability

scale. It knows a large adaptation deficit with very limited capacities
of national and local Governments to answer to climate-related
events. The Basin accounts for 130 million people distributed across
the 9 riparians, who rely on the Niger River and its tributaries for
their needs in drinking water, irrigation, aquaculture, energy, and
transport. Over 70% of the population lives in areas where food secu-
rity depends on unreliable rainfall and variable river flows.
Acknowledged as one of the most fragile basins in Africa, climate
variability is a long-standing challenge for the development of the
Basin.
Yet, the Niger Basin countries recognize that the shared nature of
their water resources is an opportunity for collaboration and coordi-
nation, deriving greater resilience-building outcomes. The Climate
Resilience Investment Plan (CRIP) was adopted in 2015 and will be
implemented by the Niger riparian countries and the Niger Basin
Authority, one of the oldest African intergovernmental agency cre-
ated in 1964 in Niamey, Niger. The long tradition and history of
cooperation between the riparian countries as well as the high poten-
tial for sustainable development, including resilience building, are
two important assets for the region.
108 M. CASSARA
The riparian countries agreed that “Strengthening resilience to

climate change of the populations, ecosystems, infrastructures and
institutions of the Niger Basin consists in reducing their exposure,
reducing their sensitivity and strengthening their adaptive capacity to
the climate risks specific to the Niger Basin according to an overall
development path where climate change is one of the major con-
straints”. This sentence has set the whole entry point for cooperation
in strengthening climate resilience in the Niger River Basin.
In total, the CRIP includes 246 actions, culled from the Niger
Basin Authority operational plan, member countries “National
Adaptation Programs of Action” (NAPAs) and “National Adaptation
Plans” (NAPs) as well as the country proposals. Two packages have
been created: (1) the knowledge package and (2) the sectoral invest-
ment package. The total amount estimated for the implementation
of the plan is about $3.11 billion.
The selected investments bolster resilience through various ways

such as providing climate insurance in Burkina Faso; adapting farm-
ing calendars and crop types to a new climate context in Benin;
adapting the national gender policy to respond to climate consider-
ations in Cameroon; adopting anti-erosion and anti-silting measures
to protect cultivable lands in Mali; restoring fallow land and promot-
ing agroforestry in Niger; and rehabilitating water storage structures
in Nigeria.
The CRIP will be implemented through the project Building

Climate Resilience in the Niger River Basin Project (BCRN) which
is currently under preparation by the World Bank.
Source: Climate Resilience Investment Plan (CRIP) for the

Niger River Basin. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/
en/779091468197948067/pdf/102271-WP-P149714-PUBLIC-
Box394828B.pdf
Conclusion
TWRM is progressively integrating climate resilience development in its
practices. The implementation of IWRM at various levels and the history
of cooperation in the shared river basins have created solid foundations
that further enable to incorporate climate change issues. The ecosystem-
based approach both for adaptation and for mitigation has proved to be an
excellent entry point to facilitate the shift of TWRM toward climate resil-
ience as well as offers diverse implementation options.
Climate resilience practices also challenge the actual mechanisms used
for TWRM. Eclipsed by intra-basin politics and tangled by power asym-
metries as well as the downstream/upstream dynamics, TWRM is a heavy
machine to move. The gaps within the formative international water law
and incomplete capacities of the institutional frameworks add in complex-
ity. On the other hand, addressing the climate variability challenge requires
fast actions and, more importantly, “flexibility”.
This is highly encouraging to see the modernization process for TWRM
turning to innovative and customized approaches to support climate resil-
ience development. An adjusted governance model for TWRM would
strengthen a multidimensional integration with systematic participation of
various levels of stakeholders, cooperative information systems and knowl-
edge networks, and an inclusive engagement at the local level.
This shift should also be envisioned beyond the basin level. The devel-
opment community including international donors needs to adjust the
format of ongoing/planned TWRM projects. Very often, classical invest-
ment projects propose strict timelines that can be difficult to fulfill in a
transboundary context. “Flexibility” also needs to be injected into support
programs, using a progressive approach, programmatic financing, support
of the regional dialogue, and long-term time frame.
More than a challenge, climate change can be an additional driver for
cooperation, providing additional opportunities for joint activities in the
context of transboundary water resources.
110 M. CASSARA
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Cooley, H., & Gleick, P. H. (2011). Climate-proofing transboundary water agree-
ments. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 56(4), 711–718. https://doi.org/10.10
80/02626667.2011.576651
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and projects: Findings and recommendations. Environment and Development.
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Adaptation to climate change (pp. xx +284). Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.
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CHAPTER 8
Conclusions
Robert C. Brears
Abstract Climate resilient water resources management requires proac-

tive, transformative, innovative actions to be taken at all levels, from the
household to the transboundary river basin level.
Keywords Climate change • Climate resilience • Resilience planning
The consequences of climate change include sea-level rise, precipitation

changes and increased floods and droughts, heat waves, intense storms, air
pollution, and more. These consequences all affect human health. By
addressing climate change through adaptation and coping strategies, many
health effects could be decreased or, perhaps, avoided altogether. With a
focus on water and sanitation, technology and management will be signifi-
cant contributors to resiliency efforts. Information must be sought to
determine changes in water flow, contamination of sewage in both surface
The original version of this chapter was revised: Chapter authors were removed
as they were added inadvertently. The erratum to this chapter is available at
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_9
R. C. Brears (*)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_8
114 R. C. BREARS
and groundwater supplies, and the adequacy and availability of water sup-
ply distribution systems. Technology will be able to provide trend and
prediction analysis of climate-related changes to successfully prevent
human exposure to waterborne contaminants. Through these approaches,
management decisions will be made to optimise existing technology and
systems to maximise resilience to climate change as well as how best to
respond to water and sanitation crises worldwide.
To build a resilient water system, resilience planning needs to be itera-
tive, inclusive, and integrated, all the while ensuring multiple stakeholders
are engaged in the process. This iterative process also enhances the capac-
ity of all stakeholders to incorporate new information and uncertainty into
future plans and actions. Resilience strategies must also be part of a broader
sustainable development framework that empowers disadvantaged groups,
protects assets, and ensures access to quality basic services. In this context,
the most appropriate framework for building resilience to climate change
and ensuring sustainable development that values natural capital is the
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework. However,
the implementation of the IWRM framework alone does not guarantee
resilience to climate change. Instead, resilience is achieved through many
actions, both hard and soft. This book provided a range of situations in
which hard and soft actions have been implemented to enhance resilience
to climate change, from initiatives at the city level all the way up to the
transboundary river basin level.
Around the world, a variety of water technologies have been applied in
the form of water allocation, water augmentation, water efficiency and
demand management, water storage, and alternative water sources, to
enhance climate resilience from the urban level right up to the river basin
levels. In addition to the numerous environmental benefits of using water
efficiently, these technologies provide multiple social and economic benefits
including greater educational opportunities, enhanced employment oppor-
tunities, as well as lower operational costs in providing water services.
With the world projected to face a water deficit under a business-as-
usual climate scenario and the majority of the world’s population pro-
jected to be urban by mid-century, cities will need to become resilient to
water scarcity risks. One way of becoming resilient to water scarcity risks is
to reduce demand for water so as to reduce pressure on water resources.
In this context, demand management is the better use of existing water
supplies before plans are made to further increase supply and involves
changing people’s practices, culture, and attitudes towards water resources.
CONCLUSIONS 115
Cities can rely on a variety of demand management tools including pricing

of water, financial incentives to install water-efficient devices and technol-
ogies, and education and awareness on the need to conserve scarce water
resources. Overall, demand management provides a multitude of benefits
including financial savings from having to upgrade infrastructure, reduced
water and electricity bills, lower carbon emissions, and more water for
environmental needs.
At the river basin level, floodplains provide multiple ecosystem services
in proportions that are variable over time and space. These services are
ecologically and socio-economically valuable and support economic devel-
opment. However, climate change has been adversely affecting floodplains
and the ecosystem services they provide. While climate adaptation may
lead to changes in the structures and activities of the social-ecological sys-
tem, it will usually remain confined to the single scale at which adaptation
was implemented. As such, transformation is necessary in situations where
adaptation remains confined to a single scale and does not affect multiple
social-ecological elements. In this context, it is argued that while Southern
African societies undeniably need to develop capacities to adapt to climate
change, greater consideration will have to be directed at enabling societies
to build transformative capacities for viable floodplain management.
Overall, societies need to look beyond adaptive capacities to develop trans-
formative solutions to the most pressing climate change challenges affect-
ing floodplains, where transformative water security emphasises continuous
experimentation and learning in an ongoing process of defining and bal-
ancing thresholds.
At the transboundary level, transboundary water resources manage-
ment is progressively integrating climate resilience development in its
practices. To become more resilient to climate change, current trans-
boundary water governance frameworks, such as IWRM, should be trans-
formed to embrace the uncertainty factors generated under the climate
change context as well as promoting more flexible management mecha-
nisms. An important aspect in managing transboundary water resources is
that an ecosystem-based approach as it allows additional flexibility in
addressing climate change challenges; for instance, this approach pro-
motes the use of green investments to enhance ecosystems and ensures
environmental flows.
Overall, climate resilient water resources management requires proac-
tive, transformative, innovative actions to be taken at all levels, from the
household to the transboundary river basin level.
Erratum to: Conclusions
Robert C. Brears
Erratum to:
Chapter 8 in: Robert C. Brears, Climate Resilient Water Resources
Management, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_8
Authors, Charles Breen and Machaya Chomba, were inadvertently added
as Chapter authors for the conclusion Chapter. Hence, they were removed
and Robert C. Brears is the sole author of the chapter.
---------------------------------------------------
The updated original online version for this chapter can be found at
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_8
---------------------------------------------------
R. C. Brears (*)
© The Author(s) 2018 E1

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8_9
Index
A Climate change, 82, 94

Adaptation, 82 droughts, 7, 8, 15
Adaptation strategy, 96–97 environment, 6, 7
Aquifer recharge, 55 floods, 7, 15
Austin Water, 51, 52 impacts, 7
Australia, 50 resilient, 16
Perth, 56 sea-level rise, 7
Victoria, 53 Climate hazards, 17
Climate resilience, 25, 86
Copenhagen, 54
B
Basin level modelling, 50
Building codes, 64 D
Demand management, 9, 31–45, 57
Desalination, 8, 9, 69
C Droughts, 15, 78
California Central Valley, 55
Central Arizona Project, 71
City of Los Angeles, 45 E
City of Phoenix, 38, 39, 61 Eau de Paris, 40, 41
City of Phoenix Water Services Ecosystem-based approach, 95
Department, 38, 39 Ecosystem services, 22, 78
City of San Diego, 35, 36 Education, 39

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78896-8
118 INDEX
Environmental flows, 103 N

Equity, 23 New Zealand, 36
Non-fiscal tools, 36
Northern Ireland, 72, 73
F
Fiscal tools, 32
Floodplains, 78–88 O
Floods, 15 Ofwat, 16
Fog harvesting, 70
P
G Pacific Power, 64
Green spaces, 54 Pakistan, 54
Perth, Australia, 56
Portland Water Bureau, 62, 63
H Prague, 39
Hydrological zoning, 62 Prague Water Supply and Sewerage, 39
Hydro-power generation, 87 Product labelling, 36
I Q
India, 72 Queensland, 59
Integrated Water Resources
Management ((IWRM), 23–24,
100–102 R
Interbasin transfers, 71 Rainwater harvesting, 53, 54
International Water Law, 98 Rainwater harvesting systems, 53
Irrigation efficiency, 58 Regulations, 41
Resilience, 15–28
sustainable development, 20–21
L water system, 16
Leak detection, 58, 60, 61 Resilience planning, 19–20
Long Beach California, 67 Resilient systems, 16, 17
Rhine River Basin, 97
Risk assessments, 26
M
Maine, 56, 57
Minnesota Department of Agriculture, S
66, 67 San Antonio, 33, 34
Morocco, 71 San Francisco, 64, 65
Multipurpose dams, 66 San Francisco Public Utilities
Murray-Darling Basin Authority, 50, 51 Commission (SFPUC), 59, 60
INDEX
119
Sanitation, 10, 11 Transboundary water governance,

SA Water, 62 95–100
Senegal River Basin, 99 Transformative change, 85–88
Singapore, 34, 35, 43–44, 65, 69, 73
Social-Hydrological System, 79–85
Solar water distillation, 69 V
Source water protection, 56 Victoria, Australia, 53
South Africa, 63
Southern Africa, 78–88
Sri Lanka, 68 W
Stakeholder engagement, 106–107 Water allocation, 50, 98, 99
Subsidies, 35 Water conservation, 41, 61
Surface reservoirs, 65 Water Corporation, 42
Sustainable development, 20–21 Water efficiency, 58
Water efficiency labelling, 36
Water governance, 95–100
T Water Law, 98
Thames Water, 37 Water licensing, 63
Tokyo Bureau of Waterworks, 60 Water metering, 59
Transboundary river basins, 94 Water pricing, 34, 35

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PALGRAVE STUDIES IN CLIMATE

More information about this series at

Palgrave Studies in Climate Resilient Societies

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018939044

Printed on acid-free paper

c­ ommunities, and society to recognise, understand, assess, and plan for

Our Future Water, Christchurch, New Zealand Robert C. Brears

2 Climate Change: Water and Sanitation 5

3 Resilience and Water Resources Management 15

4 Demand Management Strategies to Enhance Climate

5 A Survey of Water Technologies to Build Climate

6 Why Southern Africa Needs More than an Adaptation

7 Shifting the Paradigm of Transboundary Water Resources

Erratum to: Conclusions E1

Reflecting on a diverse international experience with projects cover-

she uses autoethnographic and phenomenological perspectives to under-

Table 3.1 Elements and factors that determine resilience 18

Abstract This book addresses how various levels of government in differ-

Keywords Climate change • Resilience • Community resilience

© The Author(s) 2018 1

Chapter 1 provides an introduction.

Chapter 5 reviews the various demand management tools available for

Climate Change: Water and Sanitation

Tara Rava Zolnikov

Abstract Climate change affects population health worldwide. The con-

Keywords Climate change • Water • Sanitation

© The Author(s) 2018 5

Climate Change and Water

increased vulnerability of farmers in low- and middle-income countries

Climate Change and Sanitation

These consequences affect human health. Fortunately, by addressing cli-

Resilience and Water Resources Management

Abstract This chapter discusses how resilience-building strategies must

Keywords Integrated Water Resources Management • Resilience •

© The Author(s) 2018 15

Resilient Water Systems

approach to robust systems, which rely on hard protective structures, for

Table 3.1 Elements and factors that determine resilience

Table 3.1 (continued)

Institutions Rights and Rights and entitlements to use resources or access

continuity of social patterns and social order, and to stabilise human

increase the capacity of decision-makers including businesses, communi-

Climate Resilience and Sustainable Development

Forms of Sustainable Development

2012; Haughton, 1999). Weak sustainability is based around a key

Sustainable Water Resources Management

Table 3.2 Ecosystem services

Provisioning Services focused on directly supplying food, non-food products from

Smith et al. (2006)

Table 3.3 Social pillar of strong sustainability

Integrated Water Resources Management

on the understanding that water resources are an integral component of

1. Freshwater is a finite and vulnerable resource and it is essential to

time, a more integrated approach to water resources management will

IWRM Actions to Build Climate Resilience

buffers slow down water flow during storms, protecting downstream

Table 3.4 Management instruments in IWRM

Water resources assessments Data collection networks and assessment techniques

c ommunities, and society to recognise, understand, assess, and plan for

Our Future Water, Christchurch, New Zealand Robert C. Brears

2 Climate Change: Water and Sanitation 5

3 Resilience and Water Resources Management 15

4 Demand Management Strategies to Enhance Climate

5 A Survey of Water Technologies to Build Climate

6 Why Southern Africa Needs More than an Adaptation

7 Shifting the Paradigm of Transboundary Water Resources

Erratum to: Conclusions E1

Table 3.1 Elements and factors that determine resilience 18

e fficiently, as well as avoid pollution (GWP, 2004). Meanwhile, techno-

Waste Water 6th–9th grade • A brief explanation of the water