Received:
2026-01-11 | Accepted:
2026-04-24 | Published:
2026-06-30
Title
Decision-making processes with focus on water demand planning
Abstract
Decision-making processes in Water Demand Planning (WDP) represent a novel and significant concept within the domain of public administration. This paper employs a qualitative approach, integrating both secondary and primary data sources. Secondary data, acquired through a systematic literature review encompassing 468 documents from Scopus-indexed journals spanning from 1972 to 2024, shed light on the extensive literature surrounding decision-making processes in WDP. However, the bulk of this research has predominantly emanated from developed countries such as the USA, UK, Australia, and the Netherlands, with developing nations lagging in this area of study. In addition to secondary data analysis, primary data from interviews and questionnaires are utilised for thematic and statistical analysis. Insights gleaned from interviews and questionnaires suggest a potential deficiency in organisational decision-making processes within management ranks. In summary, this study underscores the newfound importance of decision-making processes in WDP within the public administration sphere.
Keywords
decision-making, water demand planning, systematic review, public management, public administration, government
JEL classifications
H30
URI
http://jssidoi.org/ird/article/251
DOI
Pages
66-81
Funding
The research is funded by University of Johannesburg, School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy, South Africa
This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
References
Böhmer, R., Busbach, U. & Kiesel, B. (2023). The Kehler Management System®: Integration of external stakeholders in the quality assessments of municipal administrations. Economics and Culture, 20(2), 32-45 https://doi.org/10.2478/jec-2023-0014
Search via ReFindit
Chen, Y. (2025). A Replication of "Did New Public Management Matter? An Empirical Analysis of the Outsourcing and Decentralization Public Sector Size. Public Administration, 3, 942-953 https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.70001
Search via ReFindit
Chintapanti, A. (2023). Law, development and regulatory globalisatiglobalizationof the World Bank in India's electricity sector. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429342097
Search via ReFindit
De Lima e Souza, V. & Borges, M. M. (2023). The information on decision-making in health: From predictable to unpredictable. Journal of Health Management, 25(4), 850-859 https://doi.org/10.1177/09720634231215393
Search via ReFindit
González Perea, R., Fernández García, I., Camacho Poyato, E. & Rodríguez Díaz, J. A. (2023). New memory-based hybrid model for middle-term water demand forecasting in irrigated areas. Agricultural Water Management, 284108367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108367
Search via ReFindit
Hibjur Rahaman, M., Roshani, Masroor, M. & Sajjad, H. (2023). Integrating remote sensing derived indices and machine learning algorithms for precise extraction of small surface water bodies in the lower Thoubal river watershed, India. Journal of Cleaner Production, 422138563 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138563
Search via ReFindit
Hoepers, T. R., Leithold, J., Monteiro, M. M., Corzo Perez, G. A., Fernandes, C. V. S., Zevenbergen, C. & Dos Santos, D. C. (2024). An integrated approach to decision-making variables on urban water systems using an urban water use (UWU) decision-support tool. Science of the Total Environment, 912168865 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168865
Search via ReFindit
Johnston, K. (2023). New public service bargain: Time for paradigm shift in turbulent times? Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 85-100 https://doi.org/10.24193/tras.SI2023.5
Search via ReFindit
Kinder, T. & Stenvall, J. (2024). Local Public Sector Innovation. In: Problem-solving and Learning for Public Services and Public Management. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43230-9_5
Search via ReFindit
Lameck, W. & Shabiru, C. (2023). The impact of New Public Management reforms on the delivery of secondary education in Tanzania. Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, (28), 122-131. https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi28.8818
Search via ReFindit
Leite, D. F. B., Padilha, M. A. S., & Cecatti, J. G. (2019). Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature Review Checklist. Clinics, 74 https://doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2019/e1403
Search via ReFindit
Lindaas, N. A., Anthun, K. S. & Magnussen, J. (2024). New public management and hospital efficiency: The case of Norwegian public hospital trusts. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 36 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-10479-7
Search via ReFindit
Malima, T. P., & Pindihama, G. K. (2022). Potable Water Security in Rural South Africa: A Case Study of Vhembe District. African Journal of Governance and Development, 11(1.2), 256-275 https://doi.org/10.36369/2616-9045/2022/v11si2a3
Search via ReFindit
Marienfeldt, J. (2024). Does digital government hollow out the essence of street-level bureaucracy? A systematic literature review of how digital tools' foster curtailment, enablement and continuation of street-level decision-making. Social Policy & Administration, 58(5), 831-855 https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12991
Search via ReFindit
Masruki, R., Hussainey, K., & Aly, D. (2022). Stakeholder expectations of the accountability of Malaysian State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCS): to whom and for what? Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 13(5), 760-777. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-04-2021-0130
Search via ReFindit
Montel, L. (2023). Harnessing the power of the law: A qualitative analysis of the legal determinants of health in English urban planning and recommendations for fairer and healthier decision-making. BMC Public Health, 23(1) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15166-0
Search via ReFindit
Mukonavanhu, T. (2022). Water demand management and planning in the Vhembe District Municipality. University of Johannesburg https://search.proquest.com/openview/3915eb4d48da0349112ce2ef2cec4bd6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2026366&diss=y
Search via ReFindit
Republic of South Africa. (1996). Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 https://www.parliament.gov.za/constitutional-amendments
Search via ReFindit
Roberts, R. (2024). The new public integrity management and the protection of the impartiality of bureaucratic decision-making. Public Integrity, 27(3), 316-339 https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2023.2297118
Search via ReFindit
Sabia, G., Mattioli, D., Langone, M. & Petta, L. (2023). Methodology for a preliminary assessment of water use sustainability in industries at sub-basin level. Journal of Environmental Management, 343 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118163
Search via ReFindit
Sakiyama, R. Z., Zukeram, E. S. J., Ruiz, L. B. & Andrade, C. M. G. (2023). Development of a platform for monitoring the levels of dispersed oxygen in river components of a water supply micro basin using programmable microcontrollers. Water, 15(13), 2316. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15132316
Search via ReFindit
Shalko, M., Lavruk, A., Babiak, О, Khanina, О, Zinchenko, V. & Melnyk, D. (2023). Digital decision-making tools in the field of public administration of healthcare. Financial and Credit Activity: Problems of Theory and Practice, 6(53), 528-540. https://doi.org/10.55643/fcaptp.6.53.2023.4211
Search via ReFindit
Westra, S., & Zscheischler, J. (2023). Accounting for systemic complexity in the assessment of climate risk. One Earth, 6(6), 645-655 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.05.005
Search via ReFindit
Zhang, R., Chen, T., Wang, Y. & Short, M. (2023a). Systems approaches for sustainable fisheries: A comprehensive review and future perspectives. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 41242-41252 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.08.013
Search via ReFindit
Zhang, Y. F., Li, Y. P., Huang, G. H. & Ma, Y. (2023b). Sustainable management of water-economy-ecology nexus through coupling bi-level fractional optimizatiooptimizationent-trading mechanism: A case study of Dongjiang watershed. Ecological Indicators, 154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110752
Search via ReFindit