ABSTRACT
The water system is in many regards special, as the natural and cultural functions of the resource are diverse and strongly influence each other. Human activity can affect water quantity and quality. Natural functions of water are life sustainment, habitat, and regulation like the energy balance, the hydrological cycle, and the matter balance. The cultural functions of water are consumption and withdrawal for food and drinking, cleansing and agricultural as well as industrial production. The management of the resource water is influenced by the values found in the particular sociocultural context of the society using the water. Protection and sustainable use of freshwater can often be attained efficiently on the local level, namely, in the corresponding water catchment areas. The actors involved with the water system assessed the socio-ecological transition differently depending on the regarded cities. An approach to sustainability needs to be tailor-made, as every city has different characteristics.
