Abstract
Production and consumption activities deplete freshwater, generate water pollution and may further lead to water stress. The accurate measurement of water stress is a precondition for sustainable water management. This paper reviews the literature on physical water stress induced by blue and green water use and by water pollution. Specifically, we clarify several key concepts (i.e., water stress, scarcity, availability, withdrawal, consumption and the water footprint) for water stress evaluation, and review physical water stress indicators in terms of quantity and quality. Furthermore, we identify research gaps in physical water stress assessment, related to environmental flow requirements, return flows, outsourcing of water pollution and standardization of terminology and approaches. These research gaps can serve as venues for further research dealing with the evaluation and reduction of water stress.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 201 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Water (Switzerland) |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jan 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding: J.L. was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 41625001, the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, grant number XDA20060401, the High-level Special Funding of the Southern University of Science and Technology, grant numbers G02296302 and G02296402. D.W. was funded by China Scholarship Council, grant number 201908440332
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords
- Water footprint
- Water quality
- Water scarcity
- Water stress
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Biochemistry
- Aquatic Science
- Water Science and Technology
