Water is the topic that refuses to stay in its lane.
You start revising IB ESS thinking it’s just “rivers, reservoirs, rainfall.” Then a question asks you to evaluate a desalination plant in terms of environmental impacts, social equity, and economic cost. Suddenly you’re juggling brine waste, energy grids, food security, and politics in one paragraph.
That’s exactly why water management matters for the 2026 first assessment. It’s one of the clearest places examiners can test what IB ESS is really about: systems thinking, sustainability, and trade-offs.
Systems thinking, but make it waterproof.
IB ESS water management: a quick exam checklist
Use this as your “am I actually prepared?” list for IB ESS:
Know the difference between supply-side (increase water available) and demand-side (reduce use) strategies.
Have two named examples ready: one large-scale, one local/small-scale.
For every strategy, practise writing one benefit and one drawback (minimum).
Link answers to sustainability: environmental, social, economic.
Use at least one key term from the syllabus: water security, water stress, water scarcity, environmental flows, greywater.
In exam terms: water management is a perfect “evaluate” topic. No strategy is purely good or purely bad. Your job in IB ESS is to show you can hold two truths at once.
Large-scale water management strategies (and how to evaluate them)
Large-scale strategies usually sit with governments, regional authorities, or international bodies. They can move the needle for millions of people, but they often come with irreversible environmental consequences.
Dams and reservoirs
Dams store water for cities and farms and may generate hydroelectric power.
In IB ESS, evaluation points tend to sound like this:
A classic named example is China’s Three Gorges Dam. You don’t need a history essay; you need a couple of sharp, relevant facts and a sustainability judgement.
Desalination
Desalination turns seawater into freshwater, often using energy-intensive processes.
Pros: dependable in arid coastal regions; reduces pressure on rivers and aquifers.
Cons: high energy demand (and emissions if powered by fossil fuels), expensive, brine disposal can harm marine ecosystems.
A commonly used example is Saudi Arabia’s large-scale desalination capacity. In IB ESS, the best answers also mention how renewable energy could reduce the footprint, but not erase brine issues.
International water agreements
When rivers cross borders, management becomes political.
Cons: enforcement is difficult; power imbalances can shape who benefits.
A named example often used is the Nile Basin Initiative. Your evaluation can consider whether agreements improve long-term water security or just delay disputes.
Small-scale water management strategies (high marks for realism)
Small-scale strategies are easier to adapt, cheaper per household, and often more sustainable long term. But they may not fully solve scarcity in high-demand regions.
Small-scale strategy: switching off the drama.
Rainwater harvesting
Collecting and storing rainfall from roofs or local surfaces.
Pros: low-cost, boosts resilience, reduces demand on mains supply.
Cons: depends on rainfall patterns; storage and contamination can be issues.
Drip irrigation
Delivering water directly to plant roots, reducing evaporation.
Pros: very efficient, supports food security with less water.
Cons: setup cost, maintenance, and access to technology can limit use.
Israel is a widely cited example, but any named place is fine if your evaluation is specific.
Greywater recycling
Reusing wastewater from sinks/showers for irrigation or flushing (after appropriate treatment).
Along the way, RevisionDojo’s Study Notes, Flashcards, AI Chat, Grading tools, Predicted Papers, Mock Exams, Coursework Library, and Tutors make water management feel less like a topic and more like a skill you can repeat under pressure.
Conclusion: the IB ESS way to think about water
Water management strategies are important in IB ESS because they force you to practise mature thinking: trade-offs, uncertainty, and context. Learn a few big supply strategies, a few smart demand strategies, and the evaluation language that connects them to sustainability. Then practise until that structure shows up automatically in your Paper responses.
If you want to turn water management into reliable marks, build your routine on RevisionDojo: revise with Study Notes, lock in terms with Flashcards, practise with the Questionbank, refine with AI Chat and Grading tools, and pressure-test with Mock Exams and Predicted Papers. That’s how IB ESS stops feeling like a topic you “cover” and starts feeling like one you can control.
