Focus Area: Water

Water is a vital, limited and variable resource which is under increasing demand. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) (glossary) is a process which seeks to secure access to clean water, to satisfy current and future needs, in an economically efficient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable way. It includes: good governance principles and taking advantage of scientific knowledge to support policy and decision-making; coordination of the different LG departments and engagement of a wide range of stakeholders; integration of different water uses within the watershed, upstream and downstream (including with wastewater management); the integration of future needs into current planning processes; and as a next generation of integration the water – energy nexus. This Solution focuses on the processes which the Local Governments (LGs) can implement to contribute to IWRM, within their territory and beyond.

This Solution was tailored to Local Governments who have ownership and/or regulatory authority over the municipal water supply system. In this Solution, the Local Government takes a comprehensive approach throughout the different phases of the system’s project and useful life to decrease water-loss, both due to leakage and ruptures and to unaccounted consumption, from policy setting, project design, and project evaluation criteria to operation, monitoring, and maintenance of the system.