The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
Topics at Water Nexus: the pages in this section are listed below, each with its own scope and status.
The Water Nexus topics are the eight subject dossiers of its field, among them catchment hydrology, groundwater and aquifers, and drought and flood. Each dossier sets out how the risk develops, what is measured and in which units, the public sources and their licences, the methods, who decides and the limits of the evidence.
GCRI is a research, development and policy institution. It is not a regulator, and it does not certify, license or approve; its findings carry their methods and uncertainty.
The topics run from the physical system (catchments, groundwater, extremes) through shared basins and utilities to drinking water and sanitation, then out to the couplings with energy, food and ecosystems.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Catchment | The land area that drains to a single outlet point on a river; also called a drainage basin, or a watershed in North American usage. |
| Aquifer | A body of permeable rock or sediment that stores groundwater and yields it to wells and springs in useful quantities. |
| Compound event | Two or more hazards or drivers occurring together or in sequence whose joint impact exceeds what either would cause alone, such as drought followed by intense rain; IPCC assessments use the term. |
| Safely managed drinking water | Water from an improved source located on the premises, available when needed and free from faecal and priority chemical contamination; the top rung of the JMP ladder for SDG 6.1. |
| Non-revenue water | Water that a utility produces but does not bill, made up of physical losses from leaks, commercial losses from metering errors and theft, and unbilled authorised use. |
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Catchment hydrology and the complete water balance.
TopicGroundwater depletion, recharge, contamination and rights.
TopicCompound water extremes, forecasts and limits.
TopicTreatment, safety, infrastructure and equity.
TopicUtility asset condition and continuity during outages.
TopicTransboundary evidence and institutions.
TopicPumping, cooling, hydropower and demand.
TopicIrrigation, soil, wetlands and ecological services.
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