Renewable Resources Management of Urban Water Systems in Coastal Tourist Area

The recovery of water and other resources from urban water system (UWS) has long been practiced in many Mediterranean countries, but very little in Croatia, although EU policy is encouraging. The threats posed by climate change, the growing problem of water and food supply, the energy crisis, and environmental pollution encourage resources recovery by applying the circular economy principles within integrated resource management (IRM) framework. The paper analyzes UWS sustainable circulation processes of water, nutrients and energy and their components in coastal tourist areas that strengthening urban system (US) and environment sustainability. The concept that is explored in this paper use dissipative structures theory to analyze the complexity and sustainability of UWS, urban systems (US) and circular economy processes. The paper discusses the potential of UWS as a local resource of nutrients, water and energy, and considers a possible integrated approach to selecting a locally sustainable recovery concepts. It was established that at the heart of effective water, energy and nutrient management in urban areas lays the principle of IRM, which treats entire urban life support systems as an interconnected system. Fitting circular economy strategy within IRM framework increases efficiency of resource recovery, and overall sustainability of tourist environment, economy and ensure sustainable well-being.