Sustainable Water Use and Management in Urban Areas

Urban water infrastructure is crucial for ensuring adequate supply for domestic and industrial use, as well as flood prevention. However, rapid population growth and climate change make urban water use increasingly unsustainable. Innovative solutions are needed to support water management infrastructure, reducing blue, green, and grey water footprints while meeting essential quality and quantity needs.

As urban areas become more densely populated, creative strategies are required to enhance water use efficiency and promote circularity, alleviating pressure on natural resources. The decrease in permeable areas due to construction, along with climate change, exacerbates flooding in cities worldwide. Advances in rainwater, stormwater, and wastewater management are necessary to build resilient, safer urban environments.

Cities must transition to a circular water system to ensure resilience and sustainability. Water services should be efficient and proactive, safeguarding resources for future generations while optimizing usage. The 5 Rs principle - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, and Reload—guides this transformation.

This Research Topic welcomes high-quality original research and review articles focused on sustainable urban water management, particularly the application of the 5 Rs and their impact on water footprints. We welcome field or lab experiments, as well as conceptual and mathematical models on these topics.

Themes of interest include:

• Nature-based solutions: Implementing green roofs, river restoration, and urban forestry to mimic natural ecosystems. These strategies reduce rainwater runoff and enhance retention, contributing to flood control and pollution reduction.
• Wastewater reuse: Utilizing treated wastewater for irrigation and other non-potable uses during droughts. Infrastructure development, like constructed wetlands, supports circular water practices and pollutant removal.
• Rainwater harvesting systems: Developing systems such as offline and underground storage tanks with smart controls to enhance water circularity. Exploring their large-scale application benefits and limitations is crucial.
• 5 Rs principle: Applying the 5 Rs to address environmental, climate, social, and economic challenges in urban water management.

Keywords: water use, circularity, urban areas, sustainable, nature based solutions, urban, water cycle, green infrastructure, water harvesting systems, city, cities, recycle, water management, sponge city, sponge cities

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.