Isotope Techniques for the Evaluation of Water Sources for Domestic Water Supply in Urban Areas

Following up from an IAEA Technical Meeting in 2017, a new coordinated research project (CRP) is being launched in the field of water resources assessment. The project—planned to last four years (2018-2021)—seeks to improve methods of assessing and managing water resources used for domestic water supply in cities.

Development of large urban centres (especially megacities) is causing major health and water security problems around the world. Examples include intensive pumping and economic costs, overexploitation of local sources, water quality deterioration (wastewater from domestic and industrial uses, leakages, etc.), and poor sanitation and hygiene conditions resulting in water and vector borne diseases.

Representative image, Houston, Texas, Source: Wikimedia Commons, Labeled for Reuse

These impacts have heavily disturbed the local water cycle (water balance, interactions, water quality), and new approaches are required on a local, regional, and global scale to address these issues and to sustainably exploit groundwater as a key resource in drought conditions.

The use of environmental isotopes is a well-established and reliable tool for urban hydrology, as isotopes can provide important information to water managers for assessing sources and interactions between water bodies. The provision of water for domestic supply in urban areas is complex and usually involves many sources (i.e. groundwater, surface water, and in some cases seawater) with different isotopic signatures. These unique isotopic signatures can be used to better define sources, pathways, and interactions of water bodies in urban environments.

Understanding the vulnerability of freshwater sources to pollution is crucial for water managers to improve water security. Pollution problems caused by point or non-point sources in urban areas can be readily identified using a multi-stable isotope approach combining conventional hydrochemical data.

This project aims to assess the usefulness of environmental isotopes to better evaluate sources, pathways, and interactions of water bodies in urban environments for the provision of water suitable for domestic supply. The case studies to be conducted as part of this CRP will provide a unique platform for expanding the use of isotopic techniques to TC projects that are assessing water sources for domestic supply in urban areas.

CRP Overall Objective:

This CRP aims to develop, test, and integrate new capabilities and methodologies in Member States so they can better assess, map, and manage water resources that are used for domestic water supply in urban environments.

Specific Research Objectives:

• Improve the assessment of freshwater resources for domestic supply using environmental isotopes for evaluating and mapping sources, pathways and interactions of water bodies in urban environments.
• Develop and improve capabilities in the understanding and interpretation of environmental isotopes to predict the availability and quality of freshwater resources for domestic supply.
• Develop best-practice guidelines on integrating environmental isotopes to assist water managers in the planning, designing and management of freshwater resources for domestic supply in urban environments.

Read full article and see how to join the CRP: IAEA

Media

Taxonomy

• Urban Drainage
• Water Access
• Water Resource Management
• Water Supply
• Urban Water
• Water Supply
• Urban Resource Management
• Urban Water Supply
• Urban Drainage System
• Urban Water Infrastructure
• urban water security