Decision support for sustainable water security
Doctoral thesis, 2020

Society’s large dependence on water, in combination with climate, socio-economic and demographic changes, places a massive pressure on our freshwater resources. As a result, water crisis, defined as a significant decline in the available quality and quantity of freshwater, is now considered to be among the most critical global risks to society. The overall aim of this thesis is to increase the understanding of how decision support methods based on risk, cost-benefit and multi-criteria decision analyses can be used to facilitate our collective action towards water security. In the thesis, a sustainability assessment model is presented which can rank alternative drinking water options from the most preferred to the least preferred within each of the social, environmental and economic sustainability domains and with regards to all domains. The thesis further presents a marginal abatement cost curve to provide a common starting point for cross-sectoral dialogue on water scarcity mitigation. It enables a comparison of the cost-effectiveness of alternative mitigation measures, providing guidance for businesses, households, farmers and water utilities. Furthermore, a scenario-based risk assessment approach is presented to enable a comprehensive view on risk when evaluating water supply systems and risk reduction options. The approach allows for thorough analyses of economic losses under a range of water supply disruption scenarios, facilitating prioritizations on measures that aim to reduce the overall risk rather than individual risks. The provided methods are all exemplified in Swedish case studies, demonstrating different ways of evaluating and comparing management responses to the water-related challenges we face. In conclusion, the methods can help us strengthen the ongoing discussions regarding challenges and opportunities while providing structure and transparency to decision-making, and by that contribute to an enhanced water security.

risk assessment

decision support

water security

water availability

multi-criteria decision analysis

water scarcity

sustainability

drinking water supply

cost-benefit analysis

marginal abatement cost curves

kod till zoom 697951
Opponent: Professor Dale Whittington, University of North Carolina

Author

Karin Sjöstrand

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Geology and Geotechnics

Cost-Benefit Analysis for Supporting Intermunicipal Decisions on Drinking Water Supply

Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management - ASCE,;Vol. 145(2019)

Journal article

Marginal Abatement Cost Curves for Water Scarcity Mitigation under Uncertainty

Water Resources Management,;Vol. 33(2019)p. 4335-4349

Journal article

The value of water—estimating water-disruption impacts on businesses

Water (Switzerland),;Vol. 13(2021)

Journal article

Decision-support system for sustainable regional water supply

Formas (2015-130), 2015-09-01 -- 2018-12-31.

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Subject Categories

Earth and Related Environmental Sciences

ISBN

978-91-7905-382-6

Doktorsavhandlingar vid Chalmers tekniska högskola. Ny serie: 4849

Publisher

Chalmers

kod till zoom 697951

Online

Opponent: Professor Dale Whittington, University of North Carolina

More information

Latest update

11/13/2023