Security and Resilience of Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing world population is one of the major causes of environmental degradation and water security. Water security issues have been more salient in this century (e.g., water rights, water supply and storage safety, adequacy of quantity and quality of water, effective water use and irrigation, etc.). One needs to know the current status of water resources and the challenges of water security before developing creative and effective solutions to meet current and future water resource challenges.

Protecting the water and wastewater treatment infrastructure is key to maintaining the public health and environmental benefits of safe and clean water. For example, an effective system that can detect and respond, in a timely manner, to drinking water contamination threats needs to be designed. The coordination of the water sector with emergency services sector and an information tool that contains a comprehensive database and analytical methods for dealing with water contaminants are also important for preparedness, response, remediation, and recovery for water contamination events.

In the past few decades, significant changes in precipitation patterns and distribution (caused by climate change) have been identified. These affect the availability of water and increase the frequency of water-related disasters. In response to the impact of climate change, risk assessment methodologies need to be developed, and consequence analysis should be conducted to analyze the potential disaster-related health and economic consequences. Integrated models, such as the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), can be used to assess water security by addressing tradeoffs among water users from agriculture, industry, households, and ecosystems.

Moreover, in the face of water service interruptions (due to natural or manmade disasters), water sectors and communities should work together to enhance the resiliency of drinking water and wastewater utilities. The interaction between water science and water policy will ensure water safety and supply, and the security of water environments can be achieved by tracking nutrient enrichment of water resources, climate change adaptation, flood mitigation, and other adaptive environmental management. Overall, this Special Issue will cover issues on water security and resiliency in terrestrial and freshwater environments, the applications of hydrologic sciences, and new water technologies for sustainability.

Prof. Dr. Wen-Cheng Liu
Dr. Li-Chi Chiang
Dr. Yen-Chan Chen
Guest Editors

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• water quantity
• water quality
• water distribution
• water resources challenges
• water security
• water sustainability
• hydrologic modeling
• water policy
• watershed management
• water techniques
• risk assessment
• consequence analysis
• resilient infrastructure
• information system
• emergency agency