Managing cascading effects – Regional water sustainability from a crisis management perspective

Cascading effects of water stress - understood as sequential failures in interdependent natural, infrastructural, and institutional systems - increasingly challenge crisis management, particularly amid intensifying droughts and growing demand for water-intensive emergency operations. Despite rising awareness of sustainable water management, a disconnect persists between sustainability principles and their application in emergency settings - where actions may unintentionally trigger or exacerbate cascading effects. To explore this, an exploratory survey of 44 German civil protection practitioners was conducted. Participants (e.g., fire brigade, ambulance service, Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW)) were selected for their decision-making authority in water-intensive operations such as firefighting or emergency water treatment. The study assessed awareness of cascading effects and examined current approaches to manage water-intensive operations. It focused on perceptions of the water-emergency operations interplay, types of information used in decisions (e.g., real-time GIS data), and systemic barriers to sustainable management. Findings show that sustainable water use is only marginally considered in civil protection. Standard procedures for integrating long-term recovery or water resource considerations are mostly lacking, and coordination across responsible institutions is fragmented. Tools to predict cascading effects or to support sustainable decisions under time pressure are also insufficient Nonetheless, respondents showed general awareness of the issue’s relevance. They emphasized that raising awareness and improving coordination are key first steps toward more sustainable operational response strategies. These could contribute to developing a Water Governance Framework where civil protection is recognized as a significant water demanding sector.