About this Research Topic
Urban water infrastructure is essential to provide adequate water supply for domestic use and sanitation, industrial use, and to prevent flooding. However, due to rapid population growth and climate change, the use of water in the cities is becoming unsustainable, and new solutions to support water management infrastructures are needed to reduce the corresponding blue, green, and grey footprints while maintaining basic needs in terms of water quantity and quality.
The increase in densely populated areas calls for creative solutions in the way water is used, and how its circularity can be promoted to reduce the pressure on natural sources and the environment. Additionally, the loss of permeable areas due to new constructions in conjunction with climate change is increasing the intensity of flooding events in built-up areas around the globe. Further developments are required in the management of rainwater, stormwater, and wastewater in cities to make them more resilient and safer.
Urban dynamic requires a move towards a circular system to provide resilience and achieve sustainable water use and management in cities. Water services need to become more efficient and responsive so that they protect water resources for future generations and are efficient in their use. In this regard, sustainable water services must apply the 5 Rs principle: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Reload.
This Research Topic will focus on sustainable water use and management in urban areas and welcomes high-quality original research and review articles focusing on the application of the 5 Rs principle and their effect on blue, green, and grey water footprints. Experimental approaches either at the field or at the lab scales or both as well as conceptual and mathematical models addressing the aspects above are all desired contributions.
Themes of interest include but are not limited to:
1) The use of nature-based solutions that replicate the functions of natural ecosystems which limit rainwater runoff and promote retention. Examples include green roofs, river restoration, and urban planting/forests which also contribute to carbon sequestration. These can lead to better flood control in cities and reduced pollution transport to rivers, for example.
2) The reuse of treated wastewater to maintain supply, mainly for irrigation, during drought periods which happen increasingly often. More development is needed to provide the infrastructure to support circular water management practices in cities such as the implementation of constructed wetlands to remove urban pollutants and improve water quality, among others.
3) Rainwater harvesting systems that provide water circularity by recovering an additional resource. Examples of harvesting systems include offline and underground storage tanks which are ‘leaky’ and can be smart-controlled to provide capacity in advance of predicted storm events. The benefits or limitations of these systems in large-scale applications (city-level) is an area that needs more development.
4) The 5 Rs principle as a way of tackling current environmental, climate change, social, and economic challenges in urban water management.
The increase in densely populated areas calls for creative solutions in the way water is used, and how its circularity can be promoted to reduce the pressure on natural sources and the environment. Additionally, the loss of permeable areas due to new constructions in conjunction with climate change is increasing the intensity of flooding events in built-up areas around the globe. Further developments are required in the management of rainwater, stormwater, and wastewater in cities to make them more resilient and safer.
Urban dynamic requires a move towards a circular system to provide resilience and achieve sustainable water use and management in cities. Water services need to become more efficient and responsive so that they protect water resources for future generations and are efficient in their use. In this regard, sustainable water services must apply the 5 Rs principle: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Reload.
This Research Topic will focus on sustainable water use and management in urban areas and welcomes high-quality original research and review articles focusing on the application of the 5 Rs principle and their effect on blue, green, and grey water footprints. Experimental approaches either at the field or at the lab scales or both as well as conceptual and mathematical models addressing the aspects above are all desired contributions.
Themes of interest include but are not limited to:
1) The use of nature-based solutions that replicate the functions of natural ecosystems which limit rainwater runoff and promote retention. Examples include green roofs, river restoration, and urban planting/forests which also contribute to carbon sequestration. These can lead to better flood control in cities and reduced pollution transport to rivers, for example.
2) The reuse of treated wastewater to maintain supply, mainly for irrigation, during drought periods which happen increasingly often. More development is needed to provide the infrastructure to support circular water management practices in cities such as the implementation of constructed wetlands to remove urban pollutants and improve water quality, among others.
3) Rainwater harvesting systems that provide water circularity by recovering an additional resource. Examples of harvesting systems include offline and underground storage tanks which are ‘leaky’ and can be smart-controlled to provide capacity in advance of predicted storm events. The benefits or limitations of these systems in large-scale applications (city-level) is an area that needs more development.
4) The 5 Rs principle as a way of tackling current environmental, climate change, social, and economic challenges in urban water management.
Keywords: water use, circularity, urban areas, sustainable, nature based solutions, urban, water cycle, green infrastructure, water harvesting systems, city, cities, recycle, water management, sponge city, sponge cities
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
