CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

In this study we analyse how three cities in the arid Americas haveaddressed urban growth while facing water scarcity: Hermosillo, Mexico; Mendoza,Argentina; and Tucson, USA. We use the urban water security framework to examinefive domains of water management: sociodemographic, economic, technological,ecological and governance (SETEG). Our analysis indicates that, in spite of waterscarcity, urban growth has been promoted in the three cities. We argue that thisexpansion, although encouraged for economic development, is not sustainable inthe long term. In the three cities, groundwater plays a major role in water supply,but growth has negatively affected riparian ecosystems, the health of the aquifersand access to domestic water. In order to pursue water security, several options areessential to enhance social?ecological system resilience. These include limits orreduction of urban expansion, reuse of treated effluent for riparian conservation,and community conservation efforts such as rainwater harvesting and other greeninfrastructure practices.