Birmingham and Manchester are amongst the top 10 cities in the overall rankings in the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Water Index which assesses the water sustainability of 50 global cities.
The Index examines the stewardship of their water across issues impacting their water resiliency, efficiency and quality to show which are best positioned to harness water for their long term success.
Cities from 31 countries across all continents of the world are ranked according to not only how sustainably they manage and maintain water, but also against their natural risk and vulnerability across three pillars of water sustainability – resiliency, efficiency and quality.
Birmingham and Manchester came in at 9th and 10th place respectively, ahead of London which was ranked in 21st place - behind Madrid, Paris, Frankfurt and Brussels. European cities dominate the overall rankings, taking seven of the top ten places. Birmingham is the UK’s highest ranked city overall in the Index.
According to the Sustainable Cities Water Index produced by international built consultancy Arcadis in partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), many of the cities have mature water systems that have been built up over a long period of time - often in response to challenges they have faced with water. The Dutch cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, for example, which overcame challenges such as flooding in the last century, are ranked in first and third place respectively.
The report says that while European cities in general have high water quality through well-established drinking water supply, sanitation and wastewater treatment systems, it is in the area of efficiency that some European cities are challenged, citing London as an example. The low placings of cities like London and Rome , which ranked in 28th position, show that additional investment is needed elsewhere in Europe.
Asian cities trail their western counterparts by some distance overall, with Singapore (22nd), Seoul (23rd), Tokyo (26th) and Hong Kong (30th) the highest ranked in the middle order of the Index. Poor sanitation and insufficient treatment of wastewater see many other Asia cities near the bottom such as New Delhi (50th) and Mumbai (49th). Manila (48th) ranks lowest for resiliency and quality.
Latin American cities feature in the bottom half of the Index - Buenos Aires (33rd) is the highest placed, but in 44th position Rio de Janeiro ranks near the bottom. New investment is needed to boost water quality, particularly in wastewater treatment and sanitation.
The African cities of Johannesburg (45th) and Nairobi (46th) perform well when it comes to resiliency due to geographic advantage but are held back by inefficiency and poorer water quality.
Dubai (32nd) is the highest ranked Middle Eastern city, but other cities rank lower due to the many water management challenges in the hot desert climate.
In North America, Toronto (6th), Washington DC (13th) and New York (14th) perform well overall. Los Angeles ranks second for efficiency, while Chicago and Philadelphia rank second and third for quality. Overall, American cities show their vulnerability to natural disasters and extreme weather with seven U.S. cities in the bottom half for resiliency, the report says.
The Australian cities of Sydney (8th) and Melbourne (11th) score well thanks to efficient water systems and investment in desalination that creates better water conditions.
The report concludes that overall, cities need to make greater investment to improve their resiliency to extreme weather events and unforeseen water shortages.
John Batten, Global Director of Water and Cities at Arcadis commented:
“This report seeks to expand on our annual Sustainable Cities Index to focus solely on water and identify which city is harnessing its water assets to its greatest long term advantage. It is our hope that city leaders find this ranking to be a valuable tool in helping them to think of water as an opportunity and as a resource for economic development while also meeting the critical needs and safety of their residents and the environment.”
Click here to download the report in full