{"title":"Conservation-Targeted Hydrologic-Economic Models for Water Demand Management","authors":"Y. Xiao, L. Fang, K. Hipel","doi":"10.3808/jei.201900418","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Two basin-wide hydrologic-economic optimization models are presented to estimate how much water can be conserved while maintaining at least the same level of economic output. Water consumption is interpreted as either water diverted to consumptive users or water consumed by all users. Two different formulations for representing the two interpretations of water consumption are examined. The characteristics of different users, such as the consumption ratio and productivity, are considered. The models are applied to the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) in southern Alberta, Canada, where water scarcity is a severe issue. It is found that: a substantial amount of water can be conserved without sacrificing economic output; irrigation is the largest contributor while municipal and industrial (MI) users make a small difference in terms of water conservation; MI users make major economic contribution in order to retain the same level of system-wide aggregated benefits, and thereby overall water productivity can be considerably improved; MI users’ reactions are diversified depending on the specified conservation targets; and overall water conservation may be limited if MI users act independently. The implications of the results can be used to facilitate a better understanding of present water usage and guide policy makers into making informed decision for water demand management.","PeriodicalId":54840,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Informatics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.0000,"publicationDate":"2019-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"13","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Informatics","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3808/jei.201900418","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 13
Abstract
Two basin-wide hydrologic-economic optimization models are presented to estimate how much water can be conserved while maintaining at least the same level of economic output. Water consumption is interpreted as either water diverted to consumptive users or water consumed by all users. Two different formulations for representing the two interpretations of water consumption are examined. The characteristics of different users, such as the consumption ratio and productivity, are considered. The models are applied to the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) in southern Alberta, Canada, where water scarcity is a severe issue. It is found that: a substantial amount of water can be conserved without sacrificing economic output; irrigation is the largest contributor while municipal and industrial (MI) users make a small difference in terms of water conservation; MI users make major economic contribution in order to retain the same level of system-wide aggregated benefits, and thereby overall water productivity can be considerably improved; MI users’ reactions are diversified depending on the specified conservation targets; and overall water conservation may be limited if MI users act independently. The implications of the results can be used to facilitate a better understanding of present water usage and guide policy makers into making informed decision for water demand management.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Environmental Informatics (JEI) is an international, peer-reviewed, and interdisciplinary publication designed to foster research innovation and discovery on basic science and information technology for addressing various environmental problems. The journal aims to motivate and enhance the integration of science and technology to help develop sustainable solutions that are consensus-oriented, risk-informed, scientifically-based and cost-effective. JEI serves researchers, educators and practitioners who are interested in theoretical and/or applied aspects of environmental science, regardless of disciplinary boundaries. The topics addressed by the journal include:
- Planning of energy, environmental and ecological management systems
- Simulation, optimization and Environmental decision support
- Environmental geomatics - GIS, RS and other spatial information technologies
- Informatics for environmental chemistry and biochemistry
- Environmental applications of functional materials
- Environmental phenomena at atomic, molecular and macromolecular scales
- Modeling of chemical, biological and environmental processes
- Modeling of biotechnological systems for enhanced pollution mitigation
- Computer graphics and visualization for environmental decision support
- Artificial intelligence and expert systems for environmental applications
- Environmental statistics and risk analysis
- Climate modeling, downscaling, impact assessment, and adaptation planning
- Other areas of environmental systems science and information technology.