48 research outputs found
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Multicriterion modeling of wastewater management : a comparison of techniques
Multicriterion modeling of wastewater management problem is presented in order to select the most preferred wastewater scheme. The Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant which serves the binational cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora is used as case study in the modeling process. The process includes identifying of objectives, specifying of treatment alternatives and defining criteria to relate the objective satisfactum level to the alternative schemes. Six different multicriterion decision making techniques are applied to analyze and obtain preference ordering among the alternative treatment schemes. Analyses on the individual techniques and comparison among them are performed to arrive at the following conclusions: (1) all the techniques except one can be confidently used to obtain complete ordering of alternatives, (2) there is inter-model consistency in the ordering process, (3) in performing this function, the techniques are fairly robust with respect to parameter changes, and (4) only two treatment alternatives of fifteen considered are consistently ranked higher than the rest.hydrology collectio
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Choice of multicriterion decision making techniques for watershed management
The problem of selecting a multicriterion decision making (MCDM) technique for watershed resources management is investigated. Of explicit concern in this research is the matching of a watersned resources management problem with an appropriate MCDM technique. More than seventy techniques are recognized while reviewing the area of MCDM. A new classification scheme is developed to categorize these techniques into four groups on the bases of each algorithm's structural formulation and the possible results obtained by using the algorithm. Other standard classification schemes are also discussed to better understand the differences and similarities among the techniques and thereby demonstrate the importance of matching a particular multicriterion decision problem with an appropriate MCDM technique. The desire for selecting the most appropriate MCDM technique for watershed resources management lead to the development of 49 technique choice criteria and an algorithm for selecting a technique. The algorithm divides the technique choice criteria into four groups: (1) DM/analyst-related criteria, (2) technique-related criteria, (3) problem-related criteria and (4) solution-related criteria. To analyze the applicability of MCDM techniques to a particular problem, the levels of performance of the techniques in solving the problem are, at first, evaluated with respect to the choice criteria in each criterion group resulting in four sets of preference rankings. These four sets are then linearly combined using a set of trade-off parameters to determine the overall preference ranking of the techniques. The MUM technique selection process is itself modeled as a multiobjective problem. In this research, for example, a set of 15 techniques, the author is familiar with, are analyzed for their appropriateness to solve a watershed resources management problem. The performance levels of the 15 MCDM techniques in solving such a problem are evaluated with respect to a selected set of technique choice criteria in each criterion group leading to a set of four evaluation matrices of choice criteria versus alternative techniques. This technique choice problem is then analyzed using a two-stage evaluation procedure known as composite programming. The final product of the process resulted in a preference ranking of the alternative MCDM techniques.hydrology collectio
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Water Consumption of Common Plants in the Southwest U.S.
From the Proceedings of the 2004 Meetings of the Hydrology Section - Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science - April 12, 2004, Midwestern University, Glendale, ArizonaThis article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact [email protected]
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The Role of Multicriterion Decision Making in Managing and Resolving Conflicts in Ecosystem Management
From the Proceedings of the 2003 Meetings of the Hydrology Section - Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science - April 12, 2003, Northern Arizona University, FlagstaffThis article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact [email protected]
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Hydrologic Effects of Wildfire
From the Proceedings of the 2006 Meetings of the Hydrology Section - Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science - April 8, 2006, University of Arizona, TucsonThis article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact [email protected]
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DOWNSTREAM IMPACTS OF DAMMING THE COLORADO RIVER
Dams are structures constructed across rivers to control their flows. The main objectives for building dams are to capture and store the surface flow from rivers and runoff from adjacent and upstream watersheds in artificial lakes or reservoirs and eventually release the stored water as needed. The system may be designed for purposes such as flood control, hydroelectric power generation, and providing freshwater for drinking and irrigation. Reservoirs may also serve as sanctuaries for fish and wildlife and for providing recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, and boating (Colorado River Research Group 2014). However, there are also many drawbacks to building dams that need to be considered. Dams displace people from their homes, flood productive areas, destroy ecosystems and /or impair services, inundate precious historical and cultural artifacts and eliminate important wildlife sanctuaries. The subject of this paper is the Colorado River and the effects of its extensive damming projects on downstream ecosystems and the environment. The Colorado River is the major river in the arid and semi-arid southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It is a 1,470-mi (2,352-km) river with its main headwaters in the Rocky Mountain National Park in north-central Colorado. It is the international boundary for 17 mi (27 km) between Arizona and Mexico in the southwest (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region 2015). The Colorado River system, including the Colorado River, its tributaries, and the lands that these waters drain, is called the Colorado River Basin. It drains an area of 246,000 mi2 (637,000 km2) that includes parts of seven western U.S. states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) and two Mexican states (Baja California and Sonora) (Fig. 1). Three-fourths of the Colorado River Basin is in federal lands comprised of national forests, national parks, and Indian reservations. The drainage Basin's total runoff is about 24,700 ft3 (700 m3) per second (Colorado River Commission of Nevada 2006, Colorado River Research Group 2014). The river is the primary source of water, which comes mostly from snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains, for a region that receives little annual precipitation. For more than a thousand years, the Colorado River has been a central feature in the history and development of the southwestern part of the United States. During this period, management efforts in the Colorado River Basin embody society's struggle to overcome conflicts between competing interests over a shared water resource. First, there have been Native Americans who irrigated their crops with water from the river (Glenn et al. 1996). One tribe, the Cocopah Indians who reside in the delta region fished and farmed there for about 2,000 years. Unfortunately, the present Colorado River is often drained dry by upstream demands before reaching this part of Baja, California (Glenn et al. 1992, Zielinski 2010). In spite of this situation, irrigation is still one of the main uses of the Colorado River, especially on its lower portion where it supports one of the most extensive irrigated agriculture in the United States. Other equally important uses are generating hydroelectric power, and supplying drinking water to distant urban areas and other communities. For example, water from the Colorado River is diverted eastward across the Rocky Mountains to Denver and other cities in Colorado. The Colorado River Aqueduct carries water to the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, California, and the Central Arizona Project brings water supply to the Phoenix and Tucson areas in Arizona. In addition, the cities of San Diego and Las Vegas and many smaller cities, towns and rural communities in Arizona, Nevada, and California are dependent on the Colorado River for their water supply. All together about 35 million people in the U.S. Southwest and 3 million others in Mexico depend on the Colorado River for their water supply.This article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact [email protected]
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Multiobjective Wastewater Management Planning in a Semiarid Region
From the Proceedings of the 1986 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Association, Hydrology Section - Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the Arizona Hydrological Society - April 19, 1986, Glendale Community College, Glendale, ArizonaThis article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact [email protected]
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RESTORING THE WATER QUALITY OF THE SAN PEDRO RIVER WATERSHED
This paper is concerned with restoring the quality of water in some portions of the San Pedro River. There are high concentrations of bacteria in some parts of the San Pedro River. Our aim is to find ways of improving the situation. Specifically, there are two objectives in the study. The first one attempts to identify the possible sources of the bacterial contamination and assess its trends within the watershed. The second objective is to determine appropriate methods of restoring the water quality. The main water quality problem is nonpoint source pollution, which enters the stream and moves along with it. The magnitude of the problem is affected by the size and duration of the streamflow, which brings bacteria-laden sediment. The amount of sediment brought into the system is large during the monsoonal events. At this time, the streamflow becomes highly turbid in response to the organic and inorganic sediments entering the system. Based on research done for this paper, the amount of bacterial concentration is strongly related to turbidity. Best management practices (BMPs) have been designed and implemented to restore the water quality problem in the area. The BMP's consist of actions such as monitoring, educational outreach, proper signage, and other range/watershed related improvement practices. Other issues that contribute to the increasing amount of bacteria that are briefly addressed in this paper are bank and gully erosion, flood control, and surface water and streamflow issues that occur on the stream headwaters.This article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact [email protected]