Urban water resources management in tropical climates

This paper presents the main issues that the less developed countries face with the implementation of integrated urban water resources management, particularly with respect to flood control. Emphasis is given to the importance of having the appropriate technology. Formulae and models developed for temperate climates are not directly applicable to designing urban flood control systems in tropical countries. The problems of the largest metropolitan region of South America, Sao Paulo, are presented. It is shown how the urban area growth was not followed by the necessary infrastructure. This is an example that illustrates the situation in many tropical areas of the world. The current developments in terms of structural and non-structural flood control measures have provided some hope that in the near future the problems of that metropolitan region should be much less critical than they are today.