In this study we analyse how three cities in the arid Americas have addressed urban growth while facing water scarcity: Hermosillo, Mexico; Mendoza, Argentina; and Tucson, USA. We use the urban water security framework to examine five domains of water management: sociodemographic, economic, technological, ecological and governance (SETEG). Our analysis indicates that, in spite of water scarcity, urban growth has been promoted in the three cities. We argue that this expansion, although encouraged for economic development, is not sustainable in the 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 aquifers and access to domestic water. In order to pursue water security, several options are essential to enhance social–ecological system resilience. These include limits or reduction of urban expansion, reuse of treated effluent for riparian conservation, and community conservation efforts such as rainwater harvesting and other green infrastructure practices.

中文翻译：

---

城市水安全：美洲干旱地区城市的比较研究

在这项研究中，我们分析了干旱的美洲地区三个城市在面对水资源短缺的同时如何应对城市增长的问题：墨西哥的埃莫西约；阿根廷门多萨；和美国图森 我们使用城市水安全框架来检查水管理的五个领域：社会人口统计学，经济，技术，生态和治理（SETEG）。我们的分析表明，尽管缺水，但三座城市仍在促进城市发展。我们认为，尽管这种扩张虽然受到经济发展的鼓励，但从长远来看却不可持续。在这三个城市中，地下水在供水中起着主要作用，但增长对河岸生态系统，含水层的健康状况和生活用水的获取产生了负面影响。为了追求水的安全，有几种选择对于增强社会生态系统的适应能力至关重要。