Evaluating the Watershare platform as a means to improve urban water management

Abstract

Climate change, environmental degradation and increasing urbanisation rendered water crisis as the global risk with the largest impact. Therefore, a more integrated water management is essential for improving cities’ resilience. Along with the global water sector working on this direction, KWR established Watershare, a knowledge platform that provides targeted solutions in the form of 26 specific tools and aims to the actively sharing of water sector knowledge and experience. Intending to contribute to the usability optimisation of Watershare platform, this report consists of two parts. Part 1 is the first attempt to evaluate the presentation and performance of 15 tools in the Watershare platform. The research gives an overview of the current state of these tools on the Watershare suite of tools, from an end user’s perspective. Further, the study provides recommendations for future improvement. Part 2 focuses on two of the Watershare tools: the City Blueprint (CB) and the Urban Water Optioneering Tool (UWOT). This research is the first phase of a larger project targeting in tools integration, aiming to provide end users with a more comprehensive illustration of cities’ water services current state.