Integrated urban water management (IUWM) is a philosophy of varying definitions and interpretations. According to the authors of the book entitled, "Integrated Urban Water Management: Humid Tropics", IUWM is described as the practice of managing
freshwater,
wastewater, and
storm water as components of a
basin-wide management plan. It builds on existing
water supply and
sanitation considerations within an
urban settlement by incorporating urban
water management within the scope of the entire river basin. One of the early champions of IUWM, SWITCH is a research program funded by the
European Union and seeks to shift urban water management away from ad hoc solutions to a more integrated approach. IUWM within an urban water system can also be conducted by performance assessment of any new intervention strategies by developing a holistic approach which encompasses various system elements and criteria including
sustainability type ones in which integration of water system components including
water supply,
waste water and
storm water subsystems would be advantageous. Simulation of
metabolism type flows in urban water system can also be useful for analysing processes in urban water cycle of IUWM.