How to assess sustainability of urban water cycle systems (UWCS)

Abstract

This paper incorporates an extended definition of sustainable development of urban water cycle services combined with a system to measure the progress towards sustainability. Two dimensions of sustainability, namely the values of assets and the practice of governance are added to the three conventional dimensions, social, economic and environmental impact. The metering system further comprises objectives, criteria and metrics. The method implies a definition of risk factors that may compromise a sustainable development and the impact of interventions to compensate this. The concept of metabolism or other LCA methods may be used to analyze the impact of these interventions on the environment as well as the social and economic impact and the effect on the assets and governance. The impact of climate change is considered to become a main aspect in future urban water cycle services and is addressed in particular.