Urban Water Planning

According to the International Water Management Institute environmental research organisation global water stress is increasing, and a third of all people face some sort of water scarcity. Where demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates, there will be conflicts between the various players involved.

Water is one of the most precious resources, which support the life of almost everything in the world. Indeed, the world is covered by 75% water, but most of this water is not suitable for human consumption or use. On the same note, the world has been increasing its consumption of water due to the increasing population, leading to increased demands. The increased water consumption, which has been a result of high population, is worrying because the matter may lead to massive water shortages in the future.

Between the 1840s and the 1960s, New York City established the greatest metropolitan water distribution system internationally. Even though NYC’s Water system is a work in progress it can be considered one of the best in respects to its quality, reliability and innovative management.

In order to address the issue of clean water availability, the objectives must address multiple levels of the social-ecological model simultaneously. Three overarching objectives will be addressed. 1) The current public water system must increase in capacity. The current public water system is small and up to 40% of households do not have access to the public water system (2). 2) Due to the rural nature of the population, expansion of the current system should begin

1-2-5 Public Water Use : Water used in public buildings (city halls, jails, schools, etc.) as well as water used for public services including fire protection, street washing and park irrigation is consider public water use. 1-2-6 Water Unaccounted For : In a water supply system there is a certain amount of water that is lost or unaccounted for because of meter and pump slippage, leaks in mains, faulty meters and an authorized water connections. 1-2-7 Infiltration / Inflow : Infiltration is the ground water that enters sewers through service connections, cracked pipes, defective joints, and defective pipes and manhole walls.

Over 30% of London’s water production is lost through leakages in its distribution system. This amount is “equivalent to the volume needed to fill about 350 Olympic swimming pools every day” [9]. Economically reasonable solutions related to efficient water distribution and repairs would prove to be very beneficial by reducing London’s total water consumption.

Everyday, billions of people use water all over the world. They use water in drinks and food. They use water for bathing and hygiene. They use water in agriculture and industry. They use water for so many things. However, there are many problems with the usage of water around the world. In his editorial, “Our Water System: What a Waste”, Michael E. Webber explains how America has a water problem, and how that problem can be solved.

The current official population of Gold Coast City in June 2015 was about 556.000. And as the population grows, there is also more water needed as a water supplies. Beside the usage of drinking water, we need water for a lot more reasons like laundry and cleaning, toilets, showers and baths, faucets, irrigation and agriculture. If we don’t want to run out of water, there is need of more water sources building another dam in the Gold Coast Hinterland or building a new Desalination Plant in the northern area of the Gold Coast (SEQ Water, 2016).

Within the unprecedented challenges posed by the explosive growth of urban population, the lack of water supply and sanitation is one of the most urgent and harmful issues. The relationship between water supply and cities’ welfare is very important, as cities require a huge supply of fresh water, and in turn, the way in which the city makes use of water has an impact on the availability of fresh water. It is impossible to consider a city as being ‘sustainable’, if it cannot ensure safe access to drinking water and suitable sanitation to its habitants. (Naciones Unidas, 2010)

In the water sector, which is a special concern for this research, it is predicted that the water supply conditions in all regions and sectors in the world are likely

Manzoor, K. P. (2011). The global water crisis: Issues and solutions. IUP Journal of Infrastructure, 9(2), 34-43.

One of the greatest reasons for water scarcity over the past decade has been population growth in heavily concentrated in urban areas- an excellent example of this phenomenon being China. Already the world 's most populated country, China 's largest cities have evolved into what the United Nations have begun to call "megacities"- defined as cities with a population of over ten million. With urbanization expected to increase 60-65% by 2030, water insecurity is already a concern for the Chinese government and one that is emphasized by Shanghai and Beijing (populations 14.35 and 11.51 million respectively) being coastal cities with little access to water inland ("Market Report: Developing Desalination In China"). In recent years, China has begun to rely heavily on water sourced from desalination plants, and desalination has grown into a 4 billion dollar industry, but both the economic and environmental effects have become apparent. Water from desalination plants is, on average, twice as expensive as naturally sourced fresh water. Although energy usage accounts for much of the total cost of a desalination plant, China current technology is almost completely imported and therefore very costly to ship and maintain. Introducing domestic technology would be one solution, however, in China,

Further restrictions on water supply have been imposed on commercial and household users in the city of Cape Town as reported in the “Engineering News.” This news relates to suppliers since it focuses on reducing the supply of a limited natural resource. The restrictions were necessitated by the need for renewed pressure management (“News24Wire” p.1). According to the City’s Mayor, de Lille Patricia, the move aims at capping excess water use. Commercial property and facility managers have been directed to reduce municipal waste water supply and consumption by at least 20 percent unlike in 2016 (“News24Wire” p.1).

Water purification and a wastewater treatment plants would be necessary in order to provide the citizens and visitors with clean healthy water. To prevent flooding, this city was built on flood plains.

Every day Americans depend on public water systems to treat and deliver over 44 billion gallons of water to homes daily (“Importance of Clean Water”). However, Americans