Overview

The following provides information on the important goals of resource management. These goals are expressed in terms of future conditions of the system which may be influenced by the alternative management strategies considered. By explicitly defining the management goals, and by allowing users to select goals that reflect their priorities, the DSS provides a mechanism for aligning the perception of the public and decision makers regarding the proper use of water resources. The specific goals listed below are examples that illustrate the range of goals evaluated by the underlying DSS, including goals related to water quality and availability, economic development and quality of life, as well as goals related to the larger ecosystem such as wildlife populations. By allowing for users to define goals in terms of varied system attributes (economic, ecologic, demographic), the DSS allows for holistic evaluation of management strategies, and provides a framework for accommodating conflicting demands on the resource. This capability also provides a mechanism for recognizing natural ecosystems as water users. Goals can be formulated for ecosystems directly in terms of species population (as in the example), as well as in terms of human uses for recreation and tourism.

Providing a common information base is only one function of the DSS. The DSS also provides a functional integration of available data, allowing decision makers to evaluate alternative management strategies. This capability allows decisions to be evaluated using current information on system dynamics, and implements the critical dependencies between water resource users and the natural system. This functional integration, for example, is required to provide the connection between the integrity and stability of the natural ecosystem and human resource uses such as recreation, drinking water, irrigation, and industrial consumption.

Overview

This is an example of the types of management strategies that can be evaluated through the DSS. The options are hypothetical examples illustrating the variety of alternative management actions that can be evaluated, including mitigating water loss during distribution, regrouping the locally available water supply, improving enforcement of regulations, fostering conservation through education or economic incentives, and collecting additional data on water availability, use, and quality. The example strategies chosen illustrate the range and scope of management options that must be accommodated by the DSS in support of the goal of holistic management.

Overview

This is a simple example of the way this functional integration provides information critical for decision making. The example shows the way the DSS can help decision makers evaluate the consequences of management strategies using a holistic watershed approach. The effects of transferring water from one watershed to another can be evaluated using various assumptions about the future water demands in the watersheds supplying and receiving water. Because these future demands are uncertain, the DSS allows decision makers to assign probabilities to these possible future demands. By treating uncertainty explicitly, the DSS allows decision makers to evaluate the risks associated with alternative strategies.

Overview

This page presents an evaluation of the alternative management strategies in terms of the defined management goals. The DSS performs this evaluation by using the system models to project the consequences of the alternative management strategies. This information illustrates the trade-offs between potentially competing objectives for a variety of alternative management strategies. This information provides an objective basis for developing management strategies so that resource management decisions can be clearly aligned with the public’s perception of the proper use of the resource. By providing an evaluation of alternative strategies with respect to multiple management goals, the DSS provides a framework for reaching and communicating management decisions based on an integrated consideration of various resource uses. This evaluation also allows decision makers to explore and communicate strategies that satisfy multiple diverse goals, rather being perceived as sacrificing one goal for another.