Replenish waterbodies and their ecosystems within the basin by withdrawing or discharging only amounts that the natural environment can sustainably provide or absorb.

Reduce water intake to match quantities that the natural environment is able to renew, and protect the quality of water sources from wastewater and urban run-off so that it is fit for ecosystems and for use with minimal treatment requirements.

Minimise the amount of water used in accordance with storage capacities.

Minimise the energy used in moving and treating urban waters, including rainwater.

Reuse and utilise diverse water sources with treatment levels appropriate to their intended use, following the “fit for purpose” water quality approach and the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM5).

Recover energy from water whether through heat, organic energy or hydraulic energy;

Recycle and recognise the value of “upcycled” materials, such as nutrients or organic matter.

Consider the different parts of a water system and other services such as waste or energy as a whole, to enable solutions that reduce and reuse while improving services costs efficiently.

Enhance modularity and ensure the availability of multiple options for resources, treatment, storage, and conveyance across the system to maintain service levels and strengthen the resilience of urban water systems against both gradual and sudden changes.

Plan and implement urban design enabling regenerative water services.

Design domestic and industrial precincts and buildings in ways that enables regenerative water services. This reduces the water, energy and carbon footprint of housing, contributing to its affordability through lower monthly bills.

It also leads to cleaner waterways, benefiting ecosystems and people, while also improving social and urban amenities. It includes building green infrastructure to capture and treat stormwater for a range of co-benefits.

Increase resilience to flood risks by developing urban drainage solutions, integrated with urban infrastructure design so that safe flooding spaces are provided and the city acts as a “sponge”, limiting surges and releasing rainwater as a resource.

Plan vital infrastructure to enable quick disaster recovery.

Enhance liveability with visible water from roadside green infrastructure to major blue-green corridors as opportunities for recreation, inclusive public space, economic development and transportation, creating multi-purpose spaces and infrastructure.

Urban water services are essential for ensuring sustainable irrigation of parks and gardens, providing shade and mitigation of heat islands.

Urban materials used for roofs, walls, surfaces, roads, and street furniture should be carefully chosen to prevent the release of pollutants when exposed to sunlight and rainfall.

Water wise citizens can drive urban planning and design with their understanding of the risks (flooding, scarcity) and opportunities (resource recovery, reducing dependency on uncertain future resources, increased well-being). Water wise citizens will also adapt their behaviour. They will develop their acceptance to solutions, enabling regenerative water services, and their willingness to pay for such services while mandating their officials to ensure affordability.

Professionals with various expertise (finance, technical, social) who understand the co-benefits across urban sectors so that they may plan and implement the best solutions for urban dwellers and businesses. They recognise the synergies and interdependencies between water and other urban systems, including planning, architecture, landscaping, energy, waste, and transport. For example, while water services consume energy, urban water systems can also generate local energy. Similarly, green spaces need water, which can be sustainably supplied through rainwater harvesting or the reuse of treated effluent, supporting nutrient recycling in vegetated areas. By appreciating both the market and non-market value of these co-benefits, such professionals can drive innovative, sustainable, and integrated urban solutions.

Transdisciplinary planning and operations teams integrating water in city planning. All waters (freshwater supply, rain, rivers, seas and wastewater) are interconnected with each other and other urban systems (parks, roads, energy and waste) so that efficiencies and synergies arise from a coordinated approach. A city planning organisation recognising these inter-relations and bridging over existing individual departments is required to enable urban professionals to implement sustainable urban water.

Policy makers enable the implementation of the Principles for regenerative water services, water sensitive urban design, and basin-connected cities. Water-wise policy makers establish policies and financing mechanisms (tariffs, partnerships, that are responsive and adaptive to future changes) to drive and enable sustainable urban water through incentivising and rewarding innovative solutions. They phase out the existing subsidies and tax advantages that are environmentally harmful. They monitor, evaluate and adjust the policies based on future needs as they change over time.

Leaders provide the progressive vision and a governance structure to coordinate work at 4 scales (catchment, metro, neighbourhood and building) and across disciplines. The people governing at the national and local levels can enable sustainable urban water through coordination and integration, leveraging 'effective and efficient governance enhancing trust and engagement.'

Secure the water resource and plan for drought mitigation strategies by sharing the water resource with other users in the basin, namely agriculture, industry and energy sectors, and other cities who all contribute to the basin’s and city’s economy.

Protect the quality of the water resource together with the other basin stakeholders, to ensure high quality drinking water achieved with minimal treatment and energy requirements, and ecosystems services (e.g. forest catchment areas, wetlands).

Prepare for extreme events, such as storms and heavy rains, by managing flow regimes in rivers, by maintaining adequate vegetation in the basin to minimise flash floods. Invest in coastal storm risks mitigation and flood warning systems.