Suchergebnisse

AbstractWhilst droughts, by their nature, are not frequently occurring events, it is essential, for prudent management of water‐resources systems, to have analytical tools available for the effective management of the risks to water supplies when such events do occur.Within North West Water Limited, modelling techniques have been developed and applied over a number of years, which allow water‐supply managers to be provided with information concerning risks to supply within the Company's water‐resources systems.The paper describes how these modelling techniques have been integrated within a decision support system for drought management. Two different approaches have been used. Firstly, enhancement by the implementation of a user‐friendly interface and, secondly, the development of a knowledge‐based system. The problems and benefits of each approach are discussed.

Cover -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Glossary -- 1. Sustainable Development and the Water Industry -- 1.1 Sustainable Development -- 1.2 Sustainable Development and the Water Industry -- 1.3 Sustainability Criteria -- 1.3.1 International approaches to developing sustainability criteria -- 1.3.2 UK approaches to developing sustainability criteria -- 1.4 Water Industry Appropriate Sustainability Criteria -- 1.4.1 Economic criteria -- 1.4.2 Environmental criteria -- 1.4.3 Social criteria -- 1.4.4 Technical criteria -- 2. Decision Making for Sustainable Development -- 2.1 Drivers for improving the quality of Water Industry decisions -- 2.2 Types of decision supported -- 2.3 The SWARD concept -- 2.4 Options appraisal and decision making -- 2.5 Tools to assist decision making -- 2.5.1 Decision Analysis Methods -- 2.5.2 Limits to Objectivity in Decision-Making -- 2.5.3 Multi Criteria Decision Making Methods -- 2.5.4 Use of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods within SWARD -- 2.5.5 Value management -- 2.5.6 Use of Value Management within SWARD -- 3. Decision Support Processes - Implementing SWARD -- 3.1 Phase 1 - Define Objectives -- 3.2 Phase 2 - Generate options -- 3.3 Phase 3 - Select criteria and indicators -- 3.4 Phase 4 - Collect data and generate information -- 3.4.1 Tools for generating data -- 3.5 Phase 5 - Analyse Options -- 3.6 Phase 6 - Selection of preferred option -- 3.6.1 Risk and Uncertainty -- 3.6.2 Incorporation of Intangible Aspects -- 3.6.3 Making a Decision (Box 3.10 and Box 3.11) -- 3.7 Phase 7 - Post decision phase: Monitoring and Feedback -- 3.7.1 Decision Review -- 3.7.2 Process Review -- References -- Appendices -- Appendix A: Sustainability Indicators -- Appendix B: Data Collection and Information Generation -- Appendix C: Multi-Criteria Analysis Techniques and Their Application.

AbstractDuring the last few years, the introduction of mandatory leakage targets for UK water companies has had the positive effect of reducing levels of leakage, while requiring the companies to operate at an economic level of leakage. Unfortunately, the determination of company‐specific economic levels of leakage have been a source of disagreement between the water companies and the Government, with the Government view that water companies are not using the true long‐term marginal costs of water abstraction, and therefore are not safeguarding the environment.This paper (a) reviews the model which was used to define the economic level of leakage, (b) argues the case for resource management based on the impact of water abstractions on the socio‐environmental quality of a resource rather than the myopic focus on leakage reductions, (c) presents the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency in relation to socio‐environmental quality, and (d) proposes a new methodology which allows the determination of water abstraction rates while maintaining a desired level of socio‐environmental quality.