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1. Unexpected growth of an illegal water market

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01177-7  

   Klassert, Christian; Yoon, Jim; Sigel, Katja; Klauer, Bernd; Talozi, Samer; Lachaut, Thibaut; Selby, Philip; Knox, Stephen; Avisse, Nicolas; Tilmant, Amaury; et al (November 2023, Nature Sustainability)

   Abstract Scarce and unreliable urban water supply in many countries has caused municipal users to rely on transfers from rural wells via unregulated markets. Assessments of this pervasive water re-allocation institution and its impacts on aquifers, consumer equity and affordability are lacking. We present a rigorous coupled human–natural system analysis of rural-to-urban tanker water market supply and demand in Jordan, a quintessential example of a nation relying heavily on such markets, fed by predominantly illegal water abstractions. Employing a shadow-economic approach validated using multiple data types, we estimate that unregulated water sales exceed government licences 10.7-fold, equalling 27% of the groundwater abstracted above sustainable yields. These markets supply 15% of all drinking water at high prices, account for 52% of all urban water revenue and constrain the public supply system’s ability to recover costs. We project that household reliance on tanker water will grow 2.6-fold by 2050 under population growth and climate change. Our analysis suggests that improving the efficiency and equity of public water supply is needed to ensure water security while avoiding uncontrolled groundwater depletion by growing tanker markets. 

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2. Commercial Tanker Water Demand in Amman, Jordan—A Spatial Simulation Model of Water Consumption Decisions under Intermittent Network Supply

   https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020254  

   Zozmann, Heinrich; Klassert, Christian; Sigel, Katja; Gawel, Erik; Klauer, Bernd (February 2019, Water)

   The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is confronted with a severe freshwater crisis shaped by excess water demand and intermittent public supply. In Jordan’s capital and most populous city, Amman, the pervasive water shortage gave rise to private tanker water operations, which transport groundwater from wells in the vicinity of the city and sell it to urban consumers. These tanker water markets have received little attention in the literature up to date, particularly with regard to their relevance for commercial water users. This paper aims to empirically estimate the water demand of commercial establishments in Amman under public supply rationing and to assess to which extent tanker operations contribute to meeting commercial water needs. Building on a prior simulation model of residential water consumption, the results of three extensive surveys concerned with tanker water markets and various geographic data, we develop a spatial agent-based model of the water consumption behavior of commercial establishments in different sizes. According to our estimation, 35–45% of the overall water volume consumed by the commercial sector stems from tanker operations, depending on the season. We find that the local disparities in access to affordable network water, along with the dispersion of groundwater wells around the city, result in considerable spatial differences in tanker water consumption. The outcome of this analysis could be relevant for policy attempting to enhance freshwater sustainability in Jordan. 

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3. Can Tanker Water Services Contribute to Sustainable Access to Water? A Systematic Review of Case Studies in Urban Areas

   https://doi.org/10.3390/su141711029  

   Zozmann, Heinrich; Morgan, Alexander; Klassert, Christian; Klauer, Bernd; Gawel, Erik (September 2022, Sustainability)

   Tanker water markets (TWM) supply water services in many urban areas, including those unconnected to public infrastructures. Notwithstanding, they have been associated with outcomes in conflict with sustainability goals of water policy, e.g., through inequitable and unaffordable supply or by contributing to groundwater overexploitation. So far, the literature dedicated to TWM has primarily conducted case studies embedded in diverse local contexts, which impedes the comparison and transfer of insights. In this article, we systematically summarize existing empirical knowledge on TWM and assess to what extent normative claims about the impacts of TWM on sustainability goals are supported by evidence. We use the concept of sustainable access, which combines notions of what constitutes access to water and what characterizes sustainable supply of services. The available evidence suggests that TWM have two key functions in urban water systems: (1) They provide services at otherwise unavailable levels, particularly with respect to the temporal availability and spatial accessibility of the service, and (2) they extend access to areas without or with low-quality network supply, typically low-income communities on the fringe of cities. From the perspective of sustainable access, we find that TWM can provide high service levels and thus fill a specific gap in the landscape of urban water services. Due to comparatively high prices, however, it is unlikely that these services are affordable for all. The combination of heterogeneous access to cheaper (subsidized) piped water and marginal pricing in TWM results in allocation outcomes that are not coherent with existing notions of equitable access to water. However, there is little convincing evidence that TWM necessarily result in unsustainable water use. The literature indicates that urban water governance in the studied areas is frequently characterized by a lack of effective institutions, which impedes the regulation or formalization of TWM. 

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4. ANALYZING EQUITY IN TRUCK-DRONE COOPERATIVE DELIVERY FOR RURAL AREAS

   Zhu, H; He, X; Wang, Z (January 2024, the 103rd Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting)

   Given the surge in rural logistics services and the disparities between urban and rural delivery services, a compelling necessity emerges to explore innovative drone-based delivery solutions. The challenges inherent in truck-drone delivery due to technological and physical barriers affect service quality for some rural customers, thus magnifying concerns about delivery fairness. To investigated delivery equity, we present a truck-drone cooperative delivery model to analyze rural customers’ accessibility to such innovative delivery technology. This model accommodates rural residents’ delivery preferences while optimizing truck routes. Drones are dispatched from designated trucks to serve customers within their flight distance. Our proposed heuristic algorithm, founded on graph-based truck-drone delivery preferences, solves this intricate problem efficiently. Numerical experiments underscore the efficacy of our approach, highlighting substantial reductions in delivery costs and an impressive 20% increase in drone deliveries on a large-scale network. Through sensitivity analyses exploring drone operational costs and flight distances–affected by government policies and technological advancements–we devise an equity metric that gauges the efficiency and accessibility of rapid rural delivery services under the truck-drone delivery framework. Our research contributes to equity analysis, addressing challenges faced by logistics companies and rural residents. Moreover, it bridges the gap between urban and rural logistics, fostering an inclusive and equitable delivery ecosystem benefiting all customers, regardless of their location. 

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5. Analyzing Water Supply Management and Governance Institutions Across Scales

   Lawless, Krista (December 2024, Proquest)

   This dissertation provides a foundation for understanding how water governance has changed over time, how watershed positionality and governance level shape the goals and strategies as well as the coordination of organizations actively involved in water issues, and how local, rural stakeholders changed legacy groundwater management. The first study examines the evolution of Colorado River Basin water management over the last century to understand how changing environmental conditions and path dependency have shaped past water management changes. Improved understanding can help inform policy responses to current challenges. The combined spatial, temporal, and network analyses show that Colorado River Basin water governance has been influenced by 100 years of rules that are layered and still in place. The rules have evolved water management strategies over time, shifted the emphasis of water management actions, and changed the distribution of authority across actions and rule levels. The second study explores how water management coordination varies based on governance level and physical location in the watershed. Additionally, this study analyzes how the level of governance and hydrologic position of organizations shape goals, strategies, and beliefs about the risks and benefits of changes to Colorado River Basin water management factors. The content and cluster analysis found the level of governance more influential than the hydrologic position and that coalitions can rearrange in a short period of time based on how the issue is framed. The last study unveils how local, rural residents were able to change legacy groundwater management through a process that began with a social movement to a ballot initiative to public input on groundwater management via a management goal-setting policy process in the Douglas Groundwater Basin in Arizona. The framing analysis shows that the public can identify problems and solutions, including paired solutions, but residents do not know whom to identify as being responsible for addressing water management in the basin. 

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