Bringing People, Policies, and Computers to the Water (Bargaining) Table

by Richard E. Punnett,
James M. Stiles,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water Management in the '90s: A Time for Innovation

Abstract:

Droughts have been defined terms of hydrometeorological terms; however, a Water Control Manager realizes that droughts are also a function of demands. During the drought of 1988, water users in the Kanawha River, West Virginia, became painfully aware of conflicting uses that have developed since the 1970's. Under the National Drought Preparedness Study, the Kanawha River Basin Study was conducted to resolve drought-related issues. A numerical model of the river basin was developed to evaluate the effects of different management scenarios on lake and river uses. The model was developed using STELLA, an object-oriented programming language. The model was used to aid in discussions among private industries, public interest groups, State agencies, and the Corps of Engineers. Since the model was graphically user-friendly, discussions of water management options were greatly enhanced among people of non-engineering backgrounds. This paper focused on the process - including modeling - of resolving drought conflicts.

Subject Headings: Water shortage | Water resources | Droughts | Water management | Rivers and streams | Numerical models | Water quality | West Virginia

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