Using Indicators to Measure Water Resources Sustainability in California

Abstract

As part of the California Water Plan Update 2013, the California Department of Water Resources has teamed with the University of California, Davis and U.S. EPA Region 9 to develop an analytical framework to quantify water resources sustainability indicators for California. The California Water Sustainability Indicators Framework ("Framework") describes indicators that will inform us about water system conditions and relationships to ecosystems, social systems, and economic systems. The Framework provides: 1) a logical hierarchy of goals and objectives for organizing indicators, 2) a suite of suitable indicators and 3) analytical methods for measuring sustainability relative to targets. The Framework is being tested at state and region scales. The Framework includes the Water Footprint (the water required to provide goods and services) as an index of sustainability in its own right. The sustainability indicators are being presented in an online "decision-support tool" to improve California's assessment of water sustainability.

Urban water sustainability in Australian cities: using the National Water Account to indicate the resilience in water systems

“…Likewise, the water discipline also has a growing interest in the use of indicators to measure the health of water systems (e.g. Xu and Wu 2017;Shilling et al 2013). Building on previous work on financial indicator applications to water systems in the early stages of the National Water Account (Hanley and Robinson 2011), and now with the added benefit of six years of water account data covering most of Australia's water use, we evaluated the usefulness of a wide selection of financial metrics and indicators for water reporting.…”

Sustainability Indicators and Indices for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus for Performance Assessment: WEF Nexus in Practice – South Africa Case Study

“…The initial step was to define the sustainability indicators for each WEF nexus sector (water, energy and food). The indicators were framed in a way that reflects the securities of water, energy and food from a nexus perspective [31,[83][84][85][86][87][88]. However, the indicators can be adapted to a particular situation, as they do not always apply in every situation.…”

“…As important components of the WEF nexus, sustainability indicators and indices provide the needed parameters to balance resource planning, governance and technology development to enhance human wellbeing, now and in the future [30]. They are measurable parameters that indicate the performance of ecological, social, or economic systems [31]. They connect statements of intent (objectives) and measurable aspects of natural and human systems [32].…”

“…Sustainability is, therefore, a complex and multidimensional concept, which includes efficiency, equity and intergenerational equity based on socio-economic and environmental aspects [36]. A sustainable system is one providing for the economy, the ecosystem, and social wellbeing and equity at all times [31,37]. Thus, sustainability indicators are simplified decision support tools that aim to minimise the amount of complex interrelationships among resources, converting those relationships into simple formulations that make assessments easier [38].…”

Sustainable Yield in Theory and Practice: Bridging Scientific and Mainstream Vernacular

“…Overdraft can result in significant adverse social, environmental, and economic impacts including increased extraction costs, land subsidence, saltwater intrusion, water quality degradation, and permanent loss of aquifer storage (DWR , Bulletin 118 Update Report). Additionally, DWR encourages agencies developing new water sources to consider the needs of people and ecosystems up‐stream and down‐stream and throughout the hydrologic cycle (Shilling et al ).…”