Summary: | A multi-criteria framework comprising the triple bottom lines of social, economy, and environment dimensions, taking into consideration the basin water availability is used to determine water priority for different water supply service areas within an urbanized river basin. The social index is derived based on population concentration in the urban built-up areas. The economy index is the product of land value, plot ratio, and the GDP contribution of the area. The environmental index is derived based on the length of downriver reach from the points of interest (POIs), i.e., the basin water treatment plants (WTPs), where water abstraction during drought events may reduce the environmental flow on its downstream. Meanwhile, the basin water availability is measured in terms of a water resources index (WRI), defined as the available water resource compared to the historical average. Using the proposed weight for the four dimensions considered, the service area with the highest aggregated index is given the highest water priority. The approach is implemented on Klang River basin, Malaysia, as part of the national water balance study. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.
|