Competing for water.

While post-industrial cities are still attempting to control physical expansion by infilling and zoning in many developing countries peri-urban communities remain marginalized as resources and political support become concentrated in urban centres. In addition the peri-urban communities remain ignored by reticulated urban water systems that may have been designed decades before the location and rate of growth was anticipated. As a consequence these communities are often thrown back onto highly localised sources of water that are likely to be severely contaminated due to the concentration of habitation with rudimentary sanitation arrangements and unregulated industrial effluent. In addition the demands for food production on the immediate rural areas increase bringing about changes in farming practices cropping patterns and demands for raw water. The water management problem of cities cannot therefore be viewed in isolation. To address these problems not only will more emphasis have to be placed on the integration of urban and rural planning but also on the options for the rehabilitation of damaged environments. (excerpt)