6.1 CONCLUSIONS
As a general conclusion of this report, it may be stated that the relationship between socio-economic conditions and processes and urban hydrology is not yet sufficiently understood.
There is need for a comprehensive analysis of the more important factors in the interplay between society and urban hydrology. Urban water management and planning as well as decision-making processes are evidently social in nature and result from the complex interactions of:
1. water resources needs
2. The types of development proposed
3. The kinds and organizational qualities of institutions existing, or required, to implement the development
4. The types of communities being considered and the structure of the urban society
5. The matrices of values, attitudes, and goals of all those involved - including planners, construction workers, administrators, decision makers, and community residents.
The characteristics of these categories of variables mentioned above might affect the viability of any urban water management and planning system (Johnson, 1974).
To these five points a series of objectives must be added for instance, the following (Vlachos, 1975):
1. National economic development and development of particular regions or communities within the country - through increased employment and improvements of the economic base.
2. The preservation of the nation's resources, including protection and rehabilitation insuring availability for the future.
3. Enhancement of the quality of the environment by improvement of certain natural and cultural resources and ecological systems.
4. Promotion of the well-being of people and concern with the social welfare of all, by contributing to the security of life and health;
by providing educational and cultural opportunities; and, guaranteeing balanced growth among various affected persons or groups.
To this should be added concern for the surrounding natural and man-modified environment.
6.2 URBAN PLANNING AND/OR DEVELOPMENT AS A FUNCTION OF WATER AVAILABILITY
The world is becoming more and more urbanized and this seems to be a constraining trend. As a result the effective control of urban water resources becomes critical. This situation prevails not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. The magnitude and physical scale of the urbanization process shows that urban water resources should be carefully and wisely allocated if the environment of man is to be improved. We also note that this increased demand for urban water is attributed not only to increased urban population but has to do with changes also in social and cultural habits, changes in
transportation and communication systems. Moreover, we observe an evolution in the needs of production processes, as well as in the requirements for leisure.
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Urban planning and/or development as a function of water availability
As the urban infrastructure becomes more costly and inefficient and institutions and facilities fail to provide adequate services to the population, it may be expected that urban, social and economic inbalances and injustices will be intensified. As a consequence, the quality of the total urban environment erodes and it becomes difficult to harmonize man's activities with the natural environment. This brings into focus the social values as
determined by the goals and needs of urban society and the economic value of the urban land.
Considering the activities which depend on water resources, the growth of urban cities is faced with some important problems. There is in fact a risk that a narrowly-based engineering-technological view of urban water-resource management and planning will be also applied to solve the water problems of the megalopolis, implying that the complex water system of a big city could be solved by means of a separate study of all its different parts. Not only the engineering approach has to be changed but also the design of the institutions capable of satisfying the constraints of the urban water environment have to be altered. These institutions may grow well beyond the relatively simple enlargement of the geographical domain of the water authority, and very often they may touch upon the socially sensitive subjects of differential water and waste water pricing, as well as land and water zoning, intake and outfall locations, intra-regional economic development and city-suburban relations (Zobler, 1972) .
Whether we consider urbanized areas in developed or developing countries, we are faced with the central problem due to the use of water resources with a conflict between the two categories of supply and disposal, especially as the urbanization expands and user groups adopt self-interest. This leads to a strategy, including:
1. Acquisition of new sources, more distant locations, or deeper drilling of old sources,
2. Raising treatment levels of raw water,
3. Supporting regulatory or preventive measures against disposers;
or in a different sphere:
1. Encouraging the water users to acquire new sources of water or non-conventional sources of water,
2. Seeking to postpone the imposition of penalties or requirements for effluent pre-treatment,
3. Relocating outfalls.
Both categories of user have concurrent needs for clean water just because they use the same waterways for supply as well as disposal. Resolving the urban water problem presupposes the analysis of the subsystems of the urban water systems. The urban water system consists of subsystems for water supply, water demand, sewage disposal etc. Interactions of these subsystems should be considered as a whole. This is a fundamental idea which is not yet generally accepted. Consequently, today we witness some sort of suboptimization based for instance on factors which result in a sanitary sewer system being unrelated to the water supply system, or a storm sewer system not related to possible pollution loads. However, to adopt an overall view of urban water problems, we have to analyse the functioning of
relevant subsystems. According to Hufschmidt and Elfers (1971) there are three basic functions which underline all systems: the controls of water in time, space and quality. The urban water supply system, the water demand system and thereafter a combination of these two are studied. This last system is a system of stochastic nature of hydrology and of values and objectives in relation to the use of water. There is an interaction between supply and demand which is controlled by the functions for control of water. However, besides this control mechanism there must exist a monitoring scheme with a feedback to control the use of the three functions: control in time, space and quality. There are three levels of correction which may develop an imbalance, or discrepancy, between the supply and demand of water:
1. Altering the control of the three functions, 2. Changing the specific uses of water.
Reaommenda tiens
3. Reappraising basic values and objectives.
The three levels of feedback can operate in the system at the time but 'the lower the level, the more likely it is to occur and the shorter the time lag for implementation. However, the higher the level of feedback and change, the more significant its long term effect is likely
to be.'
6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
6.3.1 Recommendations on well-being and urban hydrology
1. Informed planning, decision-making and management in urban hydrology should include considerations of welfare, social well-being and quality of life.
2. Researchers and decision-makers involved in solving problems in survival areas where conditions are below minimal, should ensure that their actions to solve immediate problems do not create serious problems which may jeopardize the well-being of the people at some future date.
3. It should be recognised that there are no universal formulae for determining well-being. Criteria to be used for its measurement should take into account time, place, culture and specific situations.
4. The environmental impact assessment can be used as an important means of evaluating human activities in relation to hydrological processes, in the context of an integrated, interdisciplinary understanding of the urban ecosystem.
5. The environmental impact assessment should pay particular attention to a balance between short-term gains and long-term enhancement in order to ensure equitable consideration of economic development, on one hand, and the protection, conservation, and improvement of natural resources, on the other.
6. The choice of alternatives should take into account the fact that problem-solving should be compatible with the needs and aspirations of the people benefiting from a particular project and with the available technological possibilities.
6.3.2 Recommendations on urban water project evaluation
1. Different techniques for project evaluation are in use by some national and local agencies. The techniques are not necessarily incompatible, but they do approach socio-economic considerations from different directions. There is a trend towards the blending of river basin planning with urban planning, one result of which has been confusion over evaluation methodology and interpretation. National and local authorities are urged to reconcile this dichotomy and researchers in the social sciences are requested to offer improved concepts for more orderly evaluation.
2. The basic water requirement to maintain a minimum acceptable standard of health should be investigated.
3. Measures for reconciling competing uses for water, such as domestic versus agricultural supplies, should be investigated.
4. Maintenance of water quality requires overall management of the catchment, embracing supply sources (including aquifers) and disposal.
5. Water and sewer services to high-density low-income urban areas should have a high social priority.
6. Some degree of sewage treatment should be provided, particularly for the protection of public health.
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Recommendations
7. Large drainage and sewerage schemes should be the object of socio-economic evaluation.
Small schemes probably do not justify the effort of such an evaluation, but should be designed as minimum cost solutions to meet prescribed standards. The authorities responsible for setting drainage standards should re-examine those standards in the light of recent socio-economic changes.
6.3.3 Recommendations on liaison/cooperation
1. Means should be adopted, nationally, for coordination between researchers and decision makers in the field of urban hydrology.
2. Unesco should establish the necessary machinery for periodic meetings on a regional and world-wide basis.
3. The IHP should take into account the conceptual and methodological framework of the MAB program, especially those projects related to human settlements, ecosystems analysis and monitoring research.
6 3.3.1 Recommendations on specific research projects
With respect to specific research projects, it is recommended that the following procedure be accepted :
1. develop a mechanism for consultation on the identification of specific problems, 2. outline the contributions to the design of research projects, to be expected from
various groups of decision makers,
3. establish an agreement between decision-makers and researchers on the most
appropriate formats such as non-technical description, technical manuals, and other devices for communication, for presenting the research results,
4. encourage direct participation in the research by the decision makers' technical staffs (such as local and regional planners, land developers, water-resource engineers, etc.),
5. organize meetings, as appropriate, at which research progress at national, regional and international level may be presented to interested individuals and future plans for action discussed,
6. encourage and reinforce dialogue and collaboration between social, natural scientists and engineers for the solution of common, complex problems,
7. develop appropriate methodological approaches to facilitate interdisciplinary techniques, gathering of pertinent data and relevant field work.
6.3.4 Recommendation on data collection
The Workshop recommends that information should be collected from various cities on urban growth, irrigation, crowding, water supply, water use, waste-water systems, and socio-economic parameters, according to the format given in Appendix 1. This will be especially useful for the preparation of information manuals, in accordance with IHP Project 7.1.
6.3.5 Final recommendation
The Symposium and Workshop to be held in Amsterdam in October 1977 should take cognisance of the recommendations of this Workshop on socio-economic considerations in urban water-project evaluation, and this report should be distributed to all countries concerned.