PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Water
Sec. Water and Human Systems
This article is part of the Research TopicLeading Perspectives on Water SecurityView all 6 articles
Integral Modelling for Water Security Beyond the Water Cycle
Provisionally accepted
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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Water pollution is a critical constraint to water security, impacting natural environment and reducing the resilience of infrastructure. Conventional approaches, often focused on modelling the hydrological cycle, struggle to capture the wider interactions between natural and engineered systems in which water is embedded. However, water systems are closely linked with transport, food and energy, creating feedback that remains poorly understood. In this Perspective, we propose that advancing water security requires integral modelling frameworks that move beyond water-cycle-only approaches. Such frameworks provide a modular, graph-based representation capable of linking physical systems with human behaviour and decisions. We illustrate this conceptually through the Water Systems Integration Modelling framework, showing how its modular development can extend modelling beyond the water cycle. As an example, we outline how tyre wear pollution can be conceptualised through pathways that connect water and food systems. We conclude by highlighting three priorities for future work: developing interdisciplinary processes for cross-sectoral integral modelling, evaluating systemic portfolios of interventions, and extending applications to sectors such as energy, all of which will shape the next generation of integral modelling for water security.
Keywords: Integral modelling, modular development, tyrewear pollution, Water Quality, water security
Received: 05 Sep 2025; Accepted: 13 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Mijic, Buytaert, Dobson, Katsou, Stettler and Valero. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ana Mijic
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