SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH COMBINING ENGINEERING, LAW, BUSINESS, AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Abstract

The world sees increased water problems in urban areas because of urbanization, climatic changes, and unsustainable use. This paper examines sustainable water management in urbanization through a multidisciplinary method of engineering, law, business and public health. This research was grounded on the secondary data on the world case studies and thematic comparative analysis of the best practices. It has established that smart water systems such as metering and IoT sensors have been capable of cutting down to 30-40 percent of non-revenue water loss in high-income cities, with wastewater recycling and desalination being able to increase water supply in arid regions by 25 percent. The centralised systems of governance by the use of legal structures enhanced the levels of compliance over 60 times compared to the fragmented systems that have gaps in implementation.

The 20-35 per cent coverage was done through financial models (public-private partnerships) and equity and affordability through the tiered pricing schemes. Healthwise, built-in safe water system reduced incidence of water borne diseases by over 50 percent in cities such as Singapore or Amsterdam. These results prove that not one field suffices, instead, strong and equitable water futures require cross-disciplinary convergence where engineering drives innovation, law keeps the players in check, business can keep water viable, and human health can avoid human failures.