Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Framing Sustainable Urban Water Management: A Critical Analysis of Theory and Practice

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Urban Water Trajectories

Part of the book series: Future City ((FUCI,volume 6))

Abstract

Achieving ‘sustainable urban water management’ (SUWM) is a growing goal for many cities globally, particularly in the face of existing and emerging water threats. Water policy reveals particular ways of framing problems and possible actions. By understanding the components of sustainability, we analyse how key water policies for two major cities frame SUWM. London and Melbourne face significant future water threats, and have tried to address these through strategic water policy. However, they have different approaches to water policy, and different climatic and built-form contexts. Hence, we review the water policy context shaping London and Melbourne, and analyse to what extent their strategic water policy addresses SUWM. Our study shows that the water policy documents analysed do not define SUWM. Despite this, they addressed a number of components of sustainability, strongly focusing on economics and spatial planning, but there were notable gaps such as climate change, uncertainty and complexity. We draw upon the broader water policy context of each city to discuss these differences within the documents. Our results indicate that a broader and more holistic conceptualisation of sustainable urban water management would be beneficial in both policy contexts. Doing so will help achieve this important goal, particularly in light of current and future water threats, including climate change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    A seed grant from the Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, provided funding for this research. Financial support of Hurlimann’s sabbatical was received from the University of Melbourne, hosted by Oxford Brookes University during which this research was conceived. Dr Sonia Graham provided research assistance.

References

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015) Monthly and annual mean, lowest, highest, percentile rainfall at Melbourne Regional Office (86071) from 1855–2014. http://www.bom.gov.au. Accessed 11 Sept 2014

  • Bell S (2013) Water supply, drainage and flood protection. In: Bell S, Paskins J (eds) Imagining the future city: London 2062. Ubiquity Press, London, pp 85–93

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brandt P, Ernst A, Gralla F, Luederitz C, Lang DJ, Newig J, Reinert F, Abson DJ, von Wehrden H (2013) A review of transdisciplinary research in sustainability science. Ecol Econ 92:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown RR (2008) Local institutional development and organizational change for advancing sustainable urban water futures. Environ Manag 41(2):221–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown R, Farrelly M (2009) Delivering sustainable urban water management: a review of the hurdles we face. Water Sci Technol 59(5):839–846

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown L (2013) The real threat to our future is peak water. The Observer. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/jul/06/water-supplies-shrinking-threat-to-food. Accessed 3 Oct 2015

  • Brown R, Sharp L, Ashley R (2006) Implementation impediments to institutionalising the practice of sustainable urban water management. Water Sci Technol 54(6–7):415–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bulkeley H (2013) Cities and climate change. Taylor and Francis, Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter JG (2007) Spatial planning, water and the water framework directive: insights from theory and practice. Geogr J 173(4):330–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Closas A, Schuring M, Rodriguez D (2012) Integrated urban water management – lessons and recommendations from regional experiences in Latin America, Central Asia and Africa. The World Bank Water Partnership Program, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE (1991) Steady-state economics, 3rd edn. Island Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Dempsey N, Bramley G, Power S, Brown C (2011) The social dimension of sustainable development: defining urban social sustainability. Sustain Dev 19(5):289–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Transport Planning and Local Infrastructure (2014) Plan Melbourne: metropolitan planning strategy. Government of Victoria, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Diesendorf M (1997) Principles of ecological sustainability. In: Diesendorf M, Hamilton C (eds) Human ecology, human economy: ideas for an ecologically sustainable future. Allen and Unwin, St Leonards, pp 64–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Dingle T, Rasmussen C (1991) Vital connections: Melbourne and its board of works 1891–1991. McPhee Gribble, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbie MF, Brookes KL, Brown RR (2013) Transition to a water-cycle city: risk perceptions and receptivity of Australian urban water practitioners. Urban Water J 11(6):427–433

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkington J (1997) Cannibals with forks. Capstone Publishing Limited, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrelly M, Brown R (2011) Rethinking urban water management: experimentation as a way forward? Glob Environ Chang 21(2):721–732

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson B, Brown RR, Frantzeskaki N, de Hann FJ, Deletic A (2013) The enabling institutional context for integrated water management: Lessons from Melbourne. Water Res 47(20):7300–7314

    Google Scholar 

  • Gleick PH (1998) Water in crisis: paths to sustainable water use. Ecol Appl 8(3):571–579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodland R (1995) The concept of environmental sustainability. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 26:1–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of Victoria (2006) Sustainable water strategy, central region action to 2055. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Government of Victoria (2013a) Melbourne’s water future. Government of Victoria, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Government of Victoria (2013b) Victorian climate change adaptation plan. Government of Victoria, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Government of Victoria (2014) Victorian population bulletin. Department of Transport Planning and Local Infrastructure, Melbourne. http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/222974/2014-Victorian-Population-Bulletin.pdf. Accessed 21 Sept 2015

  • Grant SB, Fletcher TD, Feldman D, Saphores JD, Cook PLM, Stewardson M, Low K, Burry K, Hamilton AJ (2013) Adapting urban water systems to a changing climate: lessons from the millennium drought in Southeast Australia. Environ Sci Tech 47(19):10727–10734

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greater London Authority (2015) London datastore. Greater London Authority, London. http://data.london.gov.uk. Accessed 21 Sept 2015

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill M (2013) The public policy process, 6th edn. Pearson Education, Harlow

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodson M, Marvin S (2010) World cities and climate change. McGraw-Hill Education, Maidenhead

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurlimann A (2011) Household use of and satisfaction with alternative water sources in Victoria Australia. J Environ Manage 92:2691–2697

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014a) Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. IPCC Working Group II Contribution to AR5. WMO and UNEP, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014b) Mitigation of climate change: IPCC working group III contribution to AR5. WMO and UNEP, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Kates RW, Clark WC, Corell R, Hall JM, Jaeger CC, Lowe I, McCarthy JJ, Schellnhuber HJ, Bolin B, Dickson NM, Faucheux S, Gallopin GC, Grubler A, Huntley B, Jager J, Narpat SJ, Kasperson RE, Mabogunje A, Matson P, Mooney H, Moore BI, O’Riordan T, Svedin U (2001) Sustainability science. Science 292(5517):641–642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kern K, Bulkeley H (2009) Cities, Europeanization and multi-level governance: governing climate change through transnational municipal networks. JCMS: J Common Mark Stud 47(2):309–332

    Google Scholar 

  • Laves G, Choy D (2012) Building resilience to climate change in urban water supplies: are current policies on track for achieving this goal? Water and climate: policy implementation challenges. In: Proceedings of the 2nd practical responses to climate change conference engineers Australia, pp 583

    Google Scholar 

  • le Gouais A, Wach E (2013) A qualitative analysis of rural water sector policy documents. Water Altern 6(3):439–461

    Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd S, Wong T, Blunt S (2012) Water-sensitive cities: applying the framework to Melbourne. Aust J Water Res 16(1):65–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Lodge M (2007) Comparative public policy. In: Fischer F, Miller GJ, Sidney MS (eds) Handbook of public policy analysis. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 273–288

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall T (2014) Infrastructure futures and spatial planning: lessons from France, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Prog Plan 89:1–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey E, Huitema D (2013) The emergence of climate change adaptation as a policy field: the case of England. Reg Environ Chang 2:341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayor of London (2011a) The London plan: spatial development strategy for greater London. Greater London Authority, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayor of London (2011b) Managing risks and increasing resilience: the Mayor’s climate change adaptation strategy. Greater London Authority, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayor of London (2011c) Securing London’s water future: the Mayor’s water strategy. Greater London Authority, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayor of London (2014a) London infrastructure plan 2050: a consultation. Greater London Authority, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayor of London (2014b) Enabling infrastructure: green, energy, water and waste infrastructure to 2050. Greater London Authority, London

    Google Scholar 

  • McKay J (2005) Water institutional reforms in Australia. Water Policy 7:35–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Melbourne Water (2014) Water Use Data. http://www.melbournewater.com.au/waterdata/wateruse/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 1 Jan 2015

  • Melbourne Water (2015) Desalination. http://www.melbournewater.com.au/whatwedo/supply-water/Pages/Desalination.aspx. Accessed 31 Oct 2015

  • Meterology Office (2014) Monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall (England SE/Central S Region 1910–2014). UK Government, London. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/summaries/datasets. Accessed 11 Sept 2014

  • Miller F, Bolitho A, Jamieson N, Catmur C, Hurlimann A, Bowen K (2014) A plan to push limits? Investigating the ecologically sustainable development dimensions of Melbourne’s central sustainable water strategy. Aust Geogr 45(1):19–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell VG (2006) Applying integrated urban water management concepts: a review of Australian experience. Environ Manag 37(5):589–605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pahl-Wostl C (2002) Towards sustainability in the water sector – the importance of human actors and processes of social learning. Aquat Sci 64(4):394–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rein M, Schon D (1996) Frame-critical policy analysis and frame-reflective policy practice. Knowl Policy 9(1):85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider F, Bonriposi M, Graefe O, Herweg K, Homewood C, Huss M, Kauzlaric M, Liniger H, Rey E, Reynard E, Rist S, Schädler B, Weingartner R (2015) Assessing the sustainability of water governance systems: the sustainability wheel. J Environ Plan Manag 58(9):1577–1600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van de Meene S, Brown R, Farrelly M (2011) Towards understanding governance for sustainable urban water management. Glob Environ Chang 21(3):1117–1127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vink MJ, Boezeman D, Dewulf A, Termeer CJAM (2013) Changing climate, changing frames: Dutch water policy frame developments in the context of a rise and fall of attention to climate change. Environ Sci Policy 30:90–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson E, Piper J (2010) Spatial planning and climate change. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong T, Brown R (2009) The water sensitive city: principles for practice. Water Sci Technol 60(3):673–682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our common future. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Yencken D, Wilkinson D (2001) Resetting the compass: Australia’s journey towards sustainability. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin RK (2014) Case study research: design and methods. Sage, Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne Australia, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Anna Hurlimann

  2. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    Elizabeth Wilson

  3. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Svenja Keele

Authors
  1. Anna Hurlimann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth Wilson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Svenja Keele
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Hurlimann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom

    Sarah Bell

  2. The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom

    Adriana Allen

  3. The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom

    Pascale Hofmann

  4. The Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom

    Tse-Hui Teh

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hurlimann, A., Wilson, E., Keele, S. (2017). Framing Sustainable Urban Water Management: A Critical Analysis of Theory and Practice. In: Bell, S., Allen, A., Hofmann, P., Teh, TH. (eds) Urban Water Trajectories. Future City, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42686-0_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42686-0_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42684-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42686-0

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation