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SWITCH Training Kit

SWITCH Training Kit

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

The SWITCH Training Kit

Integrated Urban Water Management in the City of the Future

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

SWITCH Training Kit: All modules

One system – one approach!
From population growth to rapid urbanisation, changing consumption patterns to deteriorating infrastructure, increasing energy
prices to climate change: water systems in cities throughout the world are confronted by an intimidating future. Integrated Urban
Water Management (IUWM) can make a difference – and the SWITCH Training Kit has been developed to show how.
Designed for training workshops, but also for individual reading, the SWITCH Training Kit contains six modules covering all of
the central features of urban water management (see diagram on the opposite page).
Users will also find insights into:• the interactions between the different elements of the urban water cycle;• the wide-reaching benefits of an integrated approach to managing water;• the recommended phases of a strategic planning process; andThe overall SWITCH approach to IUWM

Module 1

Module 2Strategic Planning
Preparing for the future

Stakeholders
Involving all the players

Contains an introduction to key challenges
of managing water in urban areas now andin the future and a step-by-step explanation
on how to develop and implement a strategicplanning process.

Contains an overview of different approaches
to multi-stakeholder involvement – including
Learning Alliances – and ways and means bywhich such an engagement can be effectively
realised for the purposes of IUWM.

• ways and means to work with local stakeholders effectively.
Target group: Water managers, urban planners and engineers from local governments and water, wastewater and drainage utilities.

Sustainable solutions

Accessibility: Freely available. The SWITCH training modules can be found on the attached CD-ROM. They can also be downloaded
from the SWITCH Training Desk (www.switchtraining.eu) along with supporting resources, further training material
and a set of practical case studies.

Module 3

Water Supply
Exploring the options

CD-ROM missing?
All SWITCH training materials can also be found atwww.switchtraining.eu

Module 4

Stormwater
Exploring the options

Module 5

Wastewater
Exploring the options

Describes how urban water supply / stormwater management / wastewater management
can benefit from increased integration including examples of innovative solutions as researched in
SWITCH and the contribution these can make towards a more sustainable city.

Decision making

Module 6

Decision-support Tools
Choosing a sustainable path

Publisher:

ICLEI European Secretariat GmbH | Gino Van Begin (responsible)

Design:Rebekka Dold | Grafik Design & Visuelle Kommunikation | Freiburg, Germany | www.rebekkadold.de
Poster image by Loet van Moll – Illustraties | Aalten, Netherlands | www.loetvanmoll.nl

Copyright:© 2011 ICLEI European Secretariat GmbH, Leopoldring 3, 79098 Freiburg, Germany

Creative Commons
Licence:

The content in this booklet summarising the modules of the SWITCH Training Kit entitled ‘Integrated Urban Water Management in the City of the
Future’ is under a license of Creative Commons specified as Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0. This license allows others to remix, tweak,
and build upon the training materials for non-commercial purposes, as long as they credit the copyright holder and license their new creations under
the identical terms. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ The full legal text concerning the terms of use of this license can be foundat http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode.

Acknowledgements: The Training Kit was prepared within the framework of the European research project SWITCH (2006 to 2011) | www.switchurbanwater.eu | SWITCH was supported by the European
Commission under the 6th Framework Programme and contributed to the thematic priority area of “Global Change and Ecosystems” [1.1.6.3] - Contract no. 018530-2.
Disclaimer:This publication reflects only the authors’ views. The European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

ISBN 978-3-943107-00-5 (print copy) | ISBN 978-3-943107-01-2 (PDF) | ISBN 978-3-943107-02-9 (CD-ROM)

Introduces the concept of integrated decision making for urban water management, including detailsof a number of decision-support tools such as the SWITCH developed ‘City Water’.

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SWITCH Training Kit

SWITCH Training Kit

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Module 1

Strategic Planning
Preparing for the future

In most cities, the different sectors of the urban water cycle – water supply, stormwater,
wastewater – are managed by different departments and institutions with minimal
coordination in their design and operation. Decisions are taken from a narrow perspectivewith little consideration for the long-term impacts across the city as a whole.
As pressures such as climate change, population growth and ageing infrastructure
increase, this fragmented approach and its dependence on conventional technologies is
no longer sufficient to deliver the water services that cities rely on.

Module 1 introduces the concept of IUWM and describes how shifting from a conventional
approach to urban water management towards an approach based on integration is moresuitable to meet current requirements and cope with future uncertainty.
It also demonstrates how greater integration can be realised in practice through the
adoption of a strategic planning process. Rather than investing in short-term solutions
that focus solely on today’s problems, the development and implementation of a strategicplan provides the framework for making sustainable urban water management a reality.

Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) is an alternative approach. IUWM
recognises that problems encountered in one area of the urban water cycle may be theresult of (mis)management in another. By looking at water in the city as one system,
holistic evaluation becomes possible leading to a more efficient and sustainable use ofresources.

Baseline
assessment

Visioning,objectives, targets& indicators© ICLEI European Secretariat

Scenario building& developmentof strategy andaction plan

© iStockphoto.com/neoellis

4Implementation
Monitoring &evaluation

More specifically, the module will assist users in gaining a solid understanding of:• what constitutes an integrated approach to managing the urban water cycle and how
it differs from a conventional approach;• how IUWM can help move towards increased sustainability in the urban water cycle andurban development in general; andThe SWITCH hypothesis:‘The design and management of the urban water system based on an analysis of
the entire system will lead to more sustainable solutions than separate design andmanagement of elements of the system.’• how to adopt IUWM through a long-term strategic planning process.

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SWITCH Training Kit

SWITCH Training Kit

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Module 2

Stakeholders
Involving all the players

Professionals in water utilities, regulators, environmentalists, government officials, tourists,
urban farmers, entrepreneurs, energy providers, lawyers, communities marginalised
from mainstream society: all leave their mark on water in the city. Some are users,
some are decision makers – all are affected if the urban water cycle is managed poorly.

Module 2 is based on the conviction that institutions acting in isolation and withlittle consideration of water users will have no future in urban water management. Big
problems require big ideas to solve them and fragmentation doesn’t help. Pooling theknowledge, experiences, and resources of stakeholders can significantly improve urban
water management. Coordination of needs and interests as well as of strategies andactions is necessary to achieve more efficiency. Encouraging stakeholders to talk to eachother is the first step to making Integrated Urban Water Management a reality.

Water users and water institutions often only react when problems come to the surface
causing tensions and frictions in society. This may be the case, for example, when citizens
living in communities with poor water and sanitation services start protesting in front of
the city hall about their unhealthy living conditions. Or when the competition for water
resources between farmers and industries turns into a major conflict and catches theattention of the media. Or when environmental groups put the spotlight on politicians
who have been bribed into ignoring the pollution of rivers and wetlands caused by acompany’s waste.

© Anne-Claire Loftus© SWITCH© Barbara Anton

Many institutions and individuals using or dealing with the urban water system neverthink about how their actions impact upon water in other locations. Water falls from thesky, comes from the tap, is supplied through pipes - and is carried away in other pipes
when it is dirty or flooding the streets. Different bodies are in charge of making sure thishappens and communication between them is kept to a minimum.

This module provides an overview of the most relevant stakeholders in urban water
management as well as of a range of alternative ways of working with them. Among thedifferent approaches, Learning Alliances stand out in times where water issues become
increasingly complex. Learning Alliances are multi-stakeholder platforms that rely to alarge degree on the participation of researchers who share their expertise in order tojointly tackle issues of common concern.
More specifically, the module will assist users in:• distinguishing between ‘good’ and ‘poor’ involvement;• understanding the rationale and the benefits of working with stakeholders;© Katarzyna Izydorczyk

6• identifying the most important stakeholders in their city and getting them involved;• planning and coordinating a stakeholder process in the long run;• becoming aware about the costs and other challenges of stakeholder involvement; and• assessing the stakeholder process and its outcomes.

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SWITCH Training Kit
Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Module 3

Water Supply
Exploring the options© Ralph Philip

As cities grow and develop, more water is needed to satisfy the increasing demands ofdomestic, industrial and commercial uses. Traditionally, the solution has been to dam
more rivers, drill more boreholes and transfer water from neighbouring regions. But
as limited resources become increasingly depleted, cities are running out of options,
resulting in water scarcity and the inability to meet demand. Source pollution and thepotential impacts of climate change exacerbate the problem further.

The opposite approach is to prioritise investment in reducing demand rather thanincreasing supply. When combined with source protection, natural water treatment
techniques and the use of alternative supplies, such an approach can protect andenhance fragile water environments, reduce service costs and energy consumption, andeven contribute to flood control and improved wastewater treatment.

Detachable poster:

The Water-Sensitive City of the Future
The electronic version of this image can be found on the website
www.switchtraining.eu and on the CD-ROM containing themodules of the SWITCH Training Kit.

Contact:© ICLEI European Secretariat

8

ICLEI European Secretariat
Leopoldring 379098 Freiburg, Germany
www.iclei-europe.org
Phone: +49-761/368 92-0
Fax:
+49-761/368 92-29
Email: water@iclei.org
Poster image by: Loet van Moll – Illustraties | Aalten, Netherlands | www.loetvanmoll.nl

The Water-Sensitive City of the Future

SWITCH Training Kit
Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Module 3 presents an overview of water supply in cities and how this influences, and is
influenced by, the urban water cycle and urban development as a whole. The aim of themodule is to reassess the conventional approach to urban water supply and to examine
an integrated approach that can lead to more sustainable management of resources.

© Ralph Philip© SWITCH

The module also introduces a number of alternative solutions that can replace
conventional technologies while yielding additional benefits to urban water management
and the quality of life in a city.

More specifically, the module will assist users in gaining a better understanding of:• what constitutes a more sustainable approach to water supply and how this differsfrom a conventional approach;• the direct and indirect benefits that a city can gain by prioritising demand management
and alternative sources of supply over increased resource development;• the opportunities that exist to improve potable water treatment efficiency, particularly
through the use of natural systems; and• the solutions available to put a more sustainable approach to water supply into practice.

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SWITCH Training Kit

SWITCH Training Kit

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Module 4

Stormwater
Exploring the options

Posing a restriction to development and potential threat to infrastructure, stormwater inthe city is typically considered a nuisance. The more a city grows the more problematicstormwater becomes. Urbanisation replaces vegetation with impermeable roofs, roads
and paving, restricting the natural attenuation and infiltration of stormwater and creating
greater volumes of runoff.

Alternatively, stormwater can be approached and managed not as a nuisance but rather
as a resource. By attenuating, infiltrating and reusing rainfall runoff within the city,stormwater management can become an attractive and beneficial feature of the urban
landscape.
Module 4 highlights the problems caused by conventional urban drainage methods andexplains the benefits of integrating stormwater with other sectors of water management
and urban design. These include flood risk management, environmental protection,
urban regeneration and the alleviation of water scarcity.

© stock.xchng/shortsand

In addition, the module introduces a number of more sustainable urban drainage
solutions, such as the use of ponds and wetlands for stormwater retention, vegetationand soils for attenuation, and aquifers for infiltration and reuse. It goes on to demonstrate
how these can positively influence urban water management and city development as awhole.

© Johannes Gerstenberg

To cope with these increased volumes, urban drainage infrastructure is designed with theaim of conveying rainfall away from the city as rapidly as possible. Taking this approachhas, however, negative implications, including localised and downstream flood risk,
erosion of streams and riverbanks, groundwater depletion and pollution of receiving
water bodies.

More specifically, the module will assist users to gain a better understanding of:© ICLEI European Secretariat

10• what constitutes a more sustainable approach to stormwater management and how
this differs from a conventional approach;• the direct and indirect benefits that a city can gain by managing stormwater as aresource rather than as a restriction to urban development; and• the solutions available to put into practice a more sustainable approach to stormwater
management, including the use of natural systems.

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SWITCH Training Kit

SWITCH Training Kit

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Module 5

Wastewater
Exploring the options

Urban wastewater is made up of a variety of waste streams, such as faeces, urine, greywater, stormwater and industrial effluent; each differing in volume and composition.
Conventional wastewater management is designed to combine these different streams
during collection before applying centralised treatment and discharging the effluent toreceiving water bodies.

Module 5 shows how the separate collection, treatment and reuse of different wastewater
streams can recycle resources and improve treatment performance. It also demonstrates
the positive impacts that this can achieve, particularly for water security, urban agriculture,environmental protection and energy consumption.
A variety of decentralised options that can replace or complement conventional wastewater management infrastructure is introduced. These include technologies that facilitate
wastewater separation and reuse as well as flexible treatment solutions that make use ofnatural systems such as ponds, wetlands and soils.

As opposed to the combined and disposal-orientated approach of conventional wastewater management, an integrated approach is based on the separate collection andrecycling of wastewater streams. This encourages, for example, the use of urine as
fertiliser, the generation of biogas from sludge and the reuse of greywater for non-potablewater consumption, leading to a range of benefits within and beyond the wastewater
management sector.

© Barbara Anton© Barbara Anton© Barbara Anton

Although capable of protecting human health and the environment, this approach towastewater management can be inefficient and fails to extract and recycle many of theresources contained within the different streams. The system also lacks flexibility andcopes badly with unexpected change such as rapid urbanisation and climatic variation.

More specifically, the module will assist users to gain a better understanding of:• what constitutes a more sustainable approach to wastewater management and how
this differs from a conventional approach;• the direct and indirect benefits that a city can reap by managing wastewater as aresource rather than as a waste product; and• the solutions that are available to put a more sustainable approach to wastewater
management into practice, including the use of natural systems.
© ICLEI European Secretariat

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SWITCH Training Kit

SWITCH Training Kit

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Integrated Urban Water Managementin the Cit y of the Future

Module 6

Decision-support Tools
Choosing a sustainable path

Due to the large investment costs and long life span of pipelines, reservoirs and treatment
plants, long-term planning is a vital aspect of urban water management. Traditionally,
investment and planning decisions are taken independently within different sectors,
based on narrowly defined aims and implementation costs. Quantified data and futureforecasts are used to identify a solution that addresses a current or anticipated problem
under presumed conditions.
This approach leads to the selection of solutions that are optimal for a confined areaand specific goal of urban water management. However, it typically lacks the scope toalso identify negative knock-on effects – as well as benefits – elsewhere in the system,
since it fails to assess the urban water cycle as a whole. In addition, the faith placed infuture predictions tends to favour rigid solutions only capable of operating within a rather
limited range of variability.

Module 6 introduces a number of decision-support tools that are available to help water
managers and urban planners assess the impacts of different actions and policies on
urban development more broadly. These tools allow decision makers to explore a rangeof alternative interventions by providing a system that collects, interprets, revisits andupdates the vast amount of information that inevitably needs to be managed.
Adaptable to local circumstances, the tools discussed in this module focus on specificareas of the urban water cycle, such as stormwater management and water supply, whilst
ensuring that the input data and interpretation of outputs are placed firmly in the context
of IUWM.
More specifically, the module will assist users to gain a better understanding of:• the way in which integrated decision making utilises information and knowledge toassess the urban water cycle holistically, manage future uncertainty and promote multistakeholder engagement;• how Decision Support Systems can be used to manage large quantities of data andmodel the impacts of potential strategies and scenarios;• the use of indicators to evaluate results of data assessment and present complex output
to a wider audience; and• the practical details of selected tools, including the SWITCH developed City Water.

Integrated modelling and decision-support tools can help assess the urban water cyclefrom a holistic perspective and facilitate decision making that has a higher chance ofleading to sustainable solutions. Rather than focusing only on the economic cost ofproviding/treating/disposing of a certain quantity of water, an integrated assessment
also considers a range of less direct benefits and impacts associated with the naturalenvironment, economy and overall quality of life in the city.
Crucially, integrated decision making acknowledges uncertainty and prioritises
interventions that have the flexibility to cope with a range of possible future scenarios,
thereby improving the adaptive capacity of the city’s water system.

source: www.ipogee.ch© Barbara Anton

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The SWITCH project aimed to achieve more sustainable urban water management in the “City of the Future”.
A consortium of 33 partner organisations from 15 countries worked on innovative scientific, technologicaland socio-economic solutions with the aim of encouraging widespread uptake around the world.

www.switchtraining.eu
Contact:

Partners:

ICLEI European Secretariat
Leopoldring 379098 Freiburg, Germany
www.iclei-europe.org
Phone: +49-761/368 92-0
Fax:
+49-761/368 92-29
Email: water@iclei.org

Aqu
ifer

Find out how we can help with your training needs
ICLEI, in cooperation with specialist SWITCH partners, offers tailor-made training workshops on all of
the subjects covered by the SWITCH Training Kit. Please contact us if your organisation is interested inbuilding its capacity for Integrated Urban Water Management.
Loswater@iclei.org
ISBN 978-3-943107-00-5 (print copy)
ISBN 978-3-943107-01-2 (PDF)
ISBN 978-3-943107-02-9 (CD-ROM)

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