One of the most significant and relevant challenges facing the planet today is water. This ranges from challenges of water availability, flood risk, water quality and wastewater, to embodied water in construction materials and development leading to increased impacts on river environments and wider ecology.
Water affects people and nature. Its management spans the physical sciences to the social sciences. Water has no regard for jurisdiction. Our water-based challenges exist at all levels of the water cycle from the local basin and river stream to the oceans they eventually supply. Planners coordinate work with the multidisciplinary teams required to tackle these increasingly complex water-based challenges.
Planners have a vital role to play in ensuring the water environment is properly managed and considered in land use decisions to achieve a sustainable future for all, implementing effective mitigation and adaptation and increasing the resilience of communities, including:
- Supporting the delivery of infrastructure necessary for improving the supply, security, quality, and sanitation of water
- Facilitating the implementation of sustainable urban drainage and water sensitive urban design
- Safeguarding communities against water related risks, hazards, and disasters
- Protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems
- Leading the effective management of the water, energy, and food nexus through the collection of evidence and the partnering of stakeholders.