Enhancing Water Sustainability: Introducing the Green Watershed Index (GWI)

There are many indices and indicators of water performance at the basin level available worldwide; however, in a global context where sustainability is highly valued, the need to develop tools that enable the monitoring of basins from their administration and water and environmental management, becomes more pressing. The GWI (green watershed index) methodology is presented, as an extension of urban control methodologies, but this time for rural watersheds. The method is implemented in some rural areas of Colombia, and in some cases, the difficulty of implementing the methodology is evidenced, and in other cases the opportunity to improve the management and administration of water resources at the level of rural basins. The effort of the municipality of Chiquiza at the beginning of sustainable policies is highlighted, specifically in what has to do with wastewater treatment, complying with the environmental regulations in force in Colombia given by the Ministry of the Environment.