Handbook of Knowledge Management for Sustainable Water Systems

Meir Russ

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781119271635
• eBook ISBN: 9781119271673
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Environmental Management
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A comprehensive synthesis of the best practices for management in the vital and rapidly growing field of sustainable water systems

Handbook of Knowledge Management for Sustainable Water Systems offers an authoritative resource that goes beyond the current literature to provide an interdisciplinary approach to the topic. The text explores the concept of knowledge management as a key asset and a crucial component of organizational strategy as applied to the sustainability of water systems.

Using the knowledge management framework, the authors discuss socio-hydrology sustainable water systems that reflect the present political, economic and technological reality. The book draws on contributors from a number of disciplines including: economic development, financial, systems-networks, IT/IS data/analytics, behavioral, social, water systems, governance systems and related ecosystems. This vital resource:

• Contains a multifaceted approach that draws on a number of disciplines and contains contributions from experts in their various fields
• Offers a coherent approach that discusses the dynamic concept of sustainability drawing on data from people, systems and processes of diverse water systems
• Includes a comprehensive review of the topic and offers a platform for dialog between theory and empirical analysis
• Explores opportunities for multi-constituent synthesis

This book is written for regulators, water utility practitioners, researchers and students interested in the fledgling field of knowledge management and sustainable water systems and those who want to improve the effective and efficient management of a complex water system.

Part 1
Organizational and Administrative Aspects of Knowledge Management for Sustainable Water Systems

Chapter 1
Perspectives from a water research institute on Knowledge Management for Sustainable Water Management

Janet G. Hering^1,2,3, Lothar Nunnenmacher¹ and Harald von Waldow¹

¹Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland

²Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, IBP, CH-8092, Zürich, Switzerland

³Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), ENAC, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

Introduction

Sustainable Water Management (SWM) is a domain in which the aspects of knowledge as a public good (van Kerkhoff, 2013) are intuitively obvious. This derives from the fact that water management has been a core responsibility of civil society throughout history (Mays, 2010; Sedlak, 2014). Here, water management is defined broadly to encompass:

• Water supply and use (e.g., for drinking water, irrigation, aesthetics, fire protection, etc.).
• Water resources protection (e.g., for fisheries, recreation and provision of other ecosystem services).
• Management of watercourses and infrastructure (e.g., for navigation, flood protection, water and wastewater conveyance).

With this broad definition, water management must necessarily address competing uses and interests, taking into account natural, technical and societal factors (Hering & Vairavamoorthy, 2017). Whether water management can be characterized as sustainable (in a given context) will depend on whether deficits in one type of factor, such as limited natural water availability, can be offset by other factors (e.g., demand management and/or infrastructure for water storage). Conversely, sustainability is unlikely to be realized when deficits are aggravated by, for example, limited human capacity and economic resources. Meaningful approaches to SWM can only be identified and implemented in local and regional contexts (Hering et al., 2015).

A huge, even overwhelming, array of knowledge is available that is highly relevant to SWM. This knowledge, which derives not only from the natural, social and engineering sciences but also from practical experiences in water management, reflects a massive investment of resources on the part of civil society. Having access to SWM-relevant knowledge could allow society to conserve its resources by using (rather than re-inventing) existing knowledge. It might also be possible to avoid unintended, adverse consequences by understanding past failures and, as well, the factors that contributed to past successes and might limit their replication under different conditions. In addition, tapping SWM-relevant knowledge could contribute to understanding what conditions would be amenable to “leapfrogging” as compared with those that are likely to require the progressive development of systems or approaches for water management (Briscoe, 2011). Ultimately, the goal of improving access to SWM-relevant knowledge would be to provide the most useful knowledge base for decision-making (Cash et al., 2003; Cornell et al., 2013; Hering, 2015; Martinuzzi & Sedlacko, 2016; van Kerkhoff, 2013; van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006; van Kerkhoff & Szlezak, 2016). This need is especially pressing in light of the commitment of the nations of the world to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 (UN, 2015). Water supply, sanitation and the quality of receiving waters are addressed explicitly in Goal 6 “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all” and also in the Goal 11 targets to reduce the impact of water-related disasters and the adverse per capita impacts of cities.

In this chapter, issues of Knowledge Management (KM) as applied to SWM are examined from the perspective of a single organization, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). Constraining the scope of this analysis to Eawag is intended to allow specific needs and demands with regard to KM to be clearly identified and characterized, not only for issues arising within Eawag but also issues that arise for Eawag as a member of the SWM community. This approach is intended to provide a basis for assessing measures to meet KM needs as well as barriers to KM that would need to be circumvented and, ideally, for proposing new approaches that could be pursued within Eawag or in cooperation with external partners.

1.1 The setting – Eawag's funding, scope and mandate

Eawag is a publically-funded research institute that receives approximately 75% of its funding through direct support from the Swiss federal government. With this level of direct support, it is particularly incumbent upon Eawag to use its resources efficiently; effective KM is an integral aspect of efficient resource utilization.

The scope of Eawag's activities is legally defined^a and encompasses the following topics:

• Chemistry, physics, biology and microbiology of water.
• Ecology of aquatic systems.
• Drinking water and wastewater treatment technologies.
• Sustainable management of water supply and resources and of the water environment.

Eawag's thematic scope focuses mainly on water quality, which reflects both the history of the organization (Eawag, 2011) and the abundance of water resources in Switzerland. Issues related to flooding are mainly addressed by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) though Eawag collaborates with WSL on projects dealing with aspects of flooding and flood protection that pertain to water quality and aquatic ecology.

Eawag is one of six institutions belonging to the Domain of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Domain). These six institutions share a common mandate in research, education and expert consulting. Since Eawag does not grant degrees, it fulfills its mandate in tertiary education in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and Lausanne (EPFL), the Swiss Cantonal Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences, and also with international, degree-granting partners.

Eawag's expert consulting in context of industrialized countries is mainly focused on Switzerland with further engagement in Europe resulting from common interests and projects. Many of Eawag's applied projects in Switzerland are funded by the federal, cantonal and local authorities and are often conducted jointly with water and wastewater utilities. Eawag conducts expert consulting and research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and charitable foundations.

Because of its engagement with ETH Zurich, EPFL and the Swiss Cantonal Universities (which include joint professorial appointments), Eawag's research benefits greatly from the participation of doctoral students as well as Masters and Bachelors students conducting projects and thesis research. The short residencies of students (especially as compared with Eawag's permanent scientific staff) poses specific challenges for KM. Summary statistics (for 2016) are presented in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Eawag statistics (2016)

Total staff (number)^a	472
Scientific staff^b (number)	306
with adjunct professorships	12
with tenured or tenure-track appointments	76
Joint professors^c (number)	17
Supervised doctoral dissertations^d (number)	144
Supervised Bachelor's and Master's theses (number)	136
Base funding (CHF)	61,499,000
External funding (CHF)	17,627,000
Peer-reviewed (ISI) publications (number)	408
Other (non-ISI) publications^e (number)	146

^a This number of staff corresponds to 422 FTE due to part-time appointments.

^b The scientific staff includes thos...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of contributors
• Series Editor Foreword - Challenges in Water Management
• Preface
• Introduction and a theoretical framework for Knowledge Management for Sustainable Water Systems
• Part 1: Organizational and Administrative Aspects of Knowledge Management for Sustainable Water Systems
• Part 2: Regional Aspects of Knowledge Management for Sustainable Water Systems
• Index
• End User License Agreement