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6581808 
Book/Book Chapter 
Water resources vulnerability in the context of rapid urbanization of Dhaka City (a South Asian megacity) 
Hossain, F; Degu, AM; Woldemichael, AT; Yigzaw, W; Mitra, C; Shepherd, JM; Siddique-E-Akbor, AHM 
2013 
Academic Press 
Cambridge, MA 
Climate vulnerability: Understanding and addressing threats to essential resources 
393-404 
English 
Megacities of South Asia face the challenges of decreasing recharge and dwindling ground water resources because of rapid urbanization, high population growth, and rural-to-urban migration. Sustainable approaches for water resources in the future should account for such trends and patterns in the context of increasing urbanization, imperviousness, and dwindling recharge. This study explores the water resources vulnerability for one of the fastest growing megacities in Asia, Dhaka (in Bangladesh), using a bottom–up contextual approach. Using observational evidence, it pursues questions such as what are the patterns of rainfall and urban runoff around Dhaka city and how can they be leveraged for sustainable water resources planning? The study finds that rainfall experiences strong spatial signature, where the region downwind of the city seems to receive statistically higher rainfall than the upwind region. In the wider context of the country, the study also finds that urban regions in general receive less rainfall than nonurban regions. Finally, at the current state of urbanization, approximately 62% of the rainfall is predicted to be available as urban runoff for Dhaka city, which currently is untapped as a potential mitigating source. Projected water demand and population growth indicate that this source of urban runoff could be used for artificial recharge and buildup of groundwater stock by reducing the pressure on groundwater extraction until 2025. An independent pilot-scale study conducted by Bangladesh Institute of Water Modeling on artificial recharge from rain water harvesting has recently verified the effectiveness of the vulnerability assessment approach of the study as a decision-making tool for the adaptation community. 
urbanization; rainfall; urban runoff; sustainability; conjunctive use 
Pielke, RA, Sr 
Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, vol. 5 
9780123847041