Water resources sustainability is the ability to use water in sufficient quantities and quality from the local to the global scale to meet the needs of humans and ecosystems for the present and the future to sustain life, and to protect humans from the damages brought about by natural and human-caused disasters that affect sustaining life (Mays, 2007).
Because water impacts so many aspects of our existence, there are many facets that must be considered in water resources sustainability including:
• Water resources sustainability includes the availability of freshwater supplies throughout periods of climatic change, extended droughts, population growth, and to leave the needed supplies for the future generations.
• Water resources sustainability includes having the infrastructure, to provide water supply for human consumption and food security, and to provide protection from water excess such as floods and other natural disasters.
• Water resources sustainability includes having the infrastructure for clean water and for treating water after it has been used by humans before being returned to water bodies.
• Water sustainability must have adequate institutions to provide the management for both the water supply management and water excess management.
• Water sustainability must be considered on a local, regional, national, and international basis.
• To achieve water resources sustainability the principles of integrated water resources management (IWRM) must be implemented.
Sustainable water use is “the use of water that supports the ability of human society to endure and flourish into the indefinite future without undermining the integrity of the hydrological cycle or the ecological systems that depend on it” (Gleick et al., 1995). The following seven sustainability requirements were presented:
A basic water requirement will be guaranteed to all humans to maintain human health.
A basic water requirement will be guaranteed to restore and maintain the health of ecosystems.
Water quality will be maintained to meet certain minimum standards. These standards will vary depending on location and how the water is to be used. Human actions will not impair the long-term renew ability of freshwater stocks and flows.
• Data on water-resources availability, use and quality will be collected and made accessible to all parties.
• Institutional mechanisms will be set up to prevent and resolve conflicts over water.
• Water planning and decision making will be democratic, ensuring representation of all affected parties and fostering direct participation of affected interests.
Many of the ancients practiced sustainable water use through building water structures that were adapted to the environment and were fitted into nature. One excellent example was the use of qanats. Qanats rely upon distributing water which is recharge to the groundwater from precipitation. Today we have lost this sense of sustainable water use. By the drilling of wells and pumping beyond the recharge capabilities we have exhausted many aquifers that can no longer provide water supplies. This has even occurred in parts of the world that have qanats, drying them up so they are no longer useable.
World History
