The conceptual framework for measuring and evaluating urban water security (case study: Ahvaz metropolis)

Abstract

achieving urban water security is a major challenge for many countries. urban water security has created significant concern for urbanization and climate change. Having systems thinking and integrated management can help to understand the mechanisms that affect the long-term water security of a city. Today, the metropolis of Ahvaz has become one of the largest cities in Iran due to the development of economic, social, cultural, and political activities with the growing population. Considering that the process of urban construction and development and excessive population growth in this metropolis was not subject to a pre-determined and codified plan and its water supply and distribution plans were not consistent with the increase in population; Therefore, in this city, like all the big cities of Iran and the world, there are various problems in terms of water security. Global climate change, geographical features of this metropolis, environmental issues, pollution of water resources and insufficient water resources for the current population on the one hand and the other hand the increasing industrial use of water, the existence of large industries, and new and growing cities and towns around this The metropolis as well as the huge consumption of water in the agricultural lands around the city of Ahvaz has made the water resources more limited. The continuation of this trend is all reason for the need for comprehensive planning and assessment of water security for the future. to analyze the trend of changes in climatic parameters of precipitation and discharge of Ahvaz station, the period of 70 years ( 1330 - 1400 ) was studied And the time trend of changes in the aforementioned climatic parameters was calculated using the Menkendall non-parametric test in the monthly, seasonal and annual time series during the statistical period of the study. The results showed that during the studied period of the year, there have been changes in climatic parameters in the city of Ahvaz in the form of a decrease in precipitation and a decrease in discharge, and this has had consequences for the metropolis of Ahvaz. This study presents a systematic approach to better understanding urban water security, with a working definition and an assessment framework for application in urban areas. The assessment framework for achieving urban water security depends on four main dimensions: Drinking water and humans, ecosystem, climate changes, and risks related to water and socio-economic factors. This framework allows further analysis of the relationships and trade-offs between urbanization and water security, as well as between the aforementioned indicators. Applying this framework will help governments, policymakers, and water stakeholders target scarce resources more effectively and sustainably. This study shows that achieving urban water security requires a comprehensive and integrated approach with common stakeholders to provide a meaningful way to improve the management and understanding of urban water security.

Keywords

• water security assessment
• metropolises
• ahvaz