What is the challenge?
- Over 2 billion people globally lack access to safe drinking water, and 3.6 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services. This disproportionately affects informal settlements, where residents face heightened risks of waterborne diseases and other health issues due to inadequate services.
- Around 1.8 billion people are at risk of flooding globally, while 1.5 billion people face risks from droughts, especially in rapidly growing urban areas. Which leads to rising climate-related migration pressures.
- By 2050, close to 7 billion people – more than two-thirds of the world – are projected to live in urban areas, creating an unprecedented pressure on cities and public service providers.
- Unplanned and managed urbanization limits water sources; through increasing pollution, uncontrolled extraction, leakage, insufficient recharge and competition between sectors. On a city-region scale, lack of planning can lead to the destruction of natural areas such as wetlands, forests, and riverbanks that are critical for water catchment and replenishment. reducing water-related disasters risk, like flooding and droughts.
How can Urban Water and Sanitation Resilience address these challenges?
Urban Water and Sanitation Resilience refers to a city’s ability to adapt, survive, and thrive amid water and sanitation-related challenges (such as flooding, drought, and pollution), while supporting ecological health, social wellbeing, and economic stability. Approaches to create resilience include integrating water and sanitation management with urban planning, green infrastructure, and community engagement, aiming for a multifunctional, adaptive, and sustainable urban water and sanitation system.
Strategies that support urban water and sanitation resilience include:
- An integrated water management and planning approach is used to consider the full water cycle—stormwater, groundwater, potable water, and wastewater—as interconnected resources. By capturing, reusing, and managing water locally, cities can reduce dependence on external water sources and mitigate risks from extreme weather events.
- An integrated sanitation service delivery approach is used to consider the full sanitation value chain—containment, emptying, transportation, treatment, and disposal — as requiring resilience solutions. By addressing the complete chain, cities can reduce risks from extreme weather events and minimise GHG emissions.
- Urban water and sanitation resilience is strengthened when water and sanitation are managed within the broader nexus of energy, food, and ecosystems, and urban development. Actions in one sector affect others, so coordinated efforts create adaptable and sustainable cities that can better withstand climate impacts.
- Water and sanitation within a city can be managed and made fit for purpose alongside energy and food systems to promote wise resource use. For example, recycled water for industry and urban agriculture reduces treatment energy, and saves drinking water, while biogas captured from sanitation can be used as an energy source, and treated wastewater can be used for agriculture.
- Emissions from water supply and sanitation systems (including wastewater treatment) can be integrated into national GHG inventories. For countries to fully leverage the mitigation potential of the water and sanitation sector, these emissions must be visibly and comprehensively included in national monitoring, reporting, and verification systems. In many Global South cities, on-site sanitation systems, such as pit latrines and septic tanks, are the primary sanitation options. These systems can be significant contributors to GHG emissions, primarily methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) due to infrequent emptying, as well as wastewater and sludge treatment. To address this, cities need to upgrade their infrastructure for effective faecal sludge management (FSM), modernise treatment facilities, and integrate sustainable energy solutions to reduce emissions.
- Nature-based solutions like urban wetlands provide multiple benefits for people and nature such as flood control, water quality treatment, enhanced urban green spaces, clean air, and cooling, helping cities and citizens be safer, healthier and more resilient.
Urban water and sanitation resilience also includes designing solutions that benefit all, and create fair, inclusive communities. Inclusive design and planning empower communities, ensuring all residents benefit from resilience measures.
