Urban Water Metabolism, an Efficient Tool for Evaluating Urban Water Management Performance (Case study: Isfahan City)

With the increase in climate and social change, the issue of water security in cities is becoming more highlighted and urban decision makers are paying attention to issues such as water productivity and reuse of sewage to achieve sustainable municipal water management. In this study, a framework of urban water metabolism was developed based on the water balance. The water flow patterns in the urban areas examined and the performance of water management in Isfahan was evaluated. In this article, previous equations of urban water metabolism reviewed and new relationships were defined by adding parameters such as Non-revenue water, taking into account the conditions of urban water management in developing countries such as Iran. The developed water metabolism model was first used on Isfahan city as a real sample for 2019 and the pattern of water use and urban water performance of Isfahan were analyzed. The city of Isfahan is largely dependent on surface water (water of the Zayandeh-Rud Dam and River), While having a lot of domestic consumer, it has a high potential in terms of gray water and treated wastewater. Studies showed that more than 80% of Isfahan's water requirement is provided from foreign sources, and this indicates that Isfahan's sustainable water supply is weak and there is severe dependence on the surrounding areas for water supply. These results show that the water metabolism framework helps to facilitate more comprehensive understanding and evaluations of city water performance.