Systems Analysis of Resources Development - California State University, Sacramento

The course presents a variety of systems analysis techniques that can be used for resource planning and management in the civil engineering field. Simulation and optimization techniques (or mathematical programming) are emphasized as they apply to civil engineering problem solving. Course taught at University of Central Florida

Water Policy, Planning and Governance - University of Central Florida

Water Resources Policy, Planning and Governance deals with political, social, economic and administrative systems that affect the use, development, planning, and management of water resources at different levels. Course taught at University of Central Florida

Irrigania Game Activity - II

Directed class activity for students to play the Irrigania Game by Seibert and Vis (2012). Students choose to irrigate fields each year (round) with rainwater, surface water, or groundwater to maximize profit. Six different games are described. Game 1 Objective: Maximize your individual rank (profit) in class Rules: 1) No communication between you and any other farmer, 2) Precipitation = Normal (P=1), 3) Number of years (rounds) = 15. Game 2 Objective: Maximize your individual rank (profit) in class Rules: 1) No communication constraints, 2) Precipitation = Normal (P=1), 3), Number of years (rounds) = 15. Game 3 Objective: Maximize your village’s rank (average profit) in class Rules: 1) No communication constraints, 2) Precipitation = Normal (P=1), 3), Number of years (rounds) = 15. Game 4 Objective: Maximize your individual rank (profit) in your village Rules: 1) No communication allowed, 2) Precipitation = Random each year (P=0, 1, or 2), 3) Number of years (rounds) = Unknown, 4) Villager\u27s strategies shown after each year. Game 5 Objective: Maximize your individual rank (profit) in the class Rules: 1) No communication constraints, 2) Precipitation = Random each year (P=0, 1, or 2), 3) Number of years (rounds) = Unknown, 4) Villager\u27s strategies shown after each year. Game 6 Objective: Maximize your individual rank (profit) in the class Rules: 1) Communication is not allowed, 2) Precipitation is normal (P=1), and 3) Number of years (rounds) = Unknown Seibert, J., and Vis, M. J. P. (2012). Irrigania – a web-based game about sharing water resources. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16(8), 2523-2530. http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/16/2523/2012/

Irans Water Crisis; Inducers, Challenges and Counter-Measures

Similar to many countries in the world experiencing extreme water shortages, the Islamic Republic of Iran is also in the midst of a serious water crisis. The looming crisis is being blamed on a number of factors including population growth and uneven distribution, natural phenomena such as droughts and changing climate patterns, and the mismanagement of existing water resources. The country’s resources management is facing many subsequent challenges, including growing demand for water resources with proper quality, a considerable increase in the costs of supplying additional water and urgent need to control water pollution as well as the uncontrolled exploitation of underground waters and the necessity to conserve these valuable resources. If immediate mitigation measures are not taken, the situation could become even more disastrous in the years to come. Being cognisant of the crisis' importance and its destructive influences, governmental authorities have begun evaluating their plans and programmes and have devised long-term strategies to allay the water crisis. This article describes the state of the country’s threatening water crisis while also explaining in detail its main sources and the subsequent challenges it has caused the country to endure. Discussions on how governmental authorities are fighting the crisis and the state of the approaches which they have pioneered are also presented. Moreover, context of the Long-term Development Strategies for Iran’s Water Resources is discussed from sustainable water mangement point of view with practical recommendations on the issue.

Systems Analysis to Promote Frames and Mental Models for Sustainable Water Management

In the water sector, there have been numerous failures in projects aiming at sustainable development and there have been some, but less numerous, examples of successes. However, the most striking observation is the near universal failure to learn from these examples. Somehow, scientists and decision makers have allowed the indications of new approaches and opportunities go undetected because they did not fit with their mindsets or perceptual apparatus. This paper discusses some of the mental frames that have hampered the progress towards sustainable development. It analyzes where these frames come from, who is promoting or defending them, and what can be done to change these frames in ways that are more in line with the basic tenets of sustainable development. It is found that there is a lack of consistency in the interpretation of sustainable development. Most sustainability initiatives have failed because the environment and development were never properly brought together. The “environment” is where we live: and “development” is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot within that abode. The two are unseparable (Our Common Future). Thus, there is a need to draw on diverse disciplinary perspectives and to cut across sectoral boundaries to counter the monovalent approaches that have dominated mainstream enquiry and practice. To that end, systems analysis can help produce enabling frameworks for process changes. These frameworks should define general objectives and means of verification of progress without specifying uniform approaches and activities. Systems analysis is also a methodology helping to make sure that problems posed are adequately defined and that helps detecting biases in goal formulation stemming either from dominant actors or from “solution oriented approaches”

The Evolution of the Upper St. Johns River Restoration Project

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Water Resources Systems Analysis: A Bright Past and a Challenging but Promising Future

Our field of water resources systems analysis is now experiencing one of its most exciting eras where scientists, decision makers, and funding agencies want to apply systems approaches to solve varied, complex, uncertain, and interdisciplinary resource management problems. Solving these problems presents great opportunities for us to engage in complex, real-world decision-making and make positive changes. However, to capitalize on these opportunities, we as a field must also overcome several large challenges related to problem identification, integration, blind use of systems tools, a focus on optimality, and harnessing big data. To overcome, we must look back to find what we have accomplished, why we have sometimes failed, and how we can improve upon our past work

Water Resources Systems Analysis: A Bright Past and Challenging but Promising Future

The field of water resources systems analysis is now experiencing one of its most exciting eras where scientists, decision makers, and funding agencies want to apply systems approaches to solve varied, complex, uncertain, and interdisciplinary resource management problems. Solving these problems presents great opportunities for us to engage in complex, real-world decision-making and make positive changes. However, to capitalize on these opportunities, we as a field must also overcome several large challenges related to problem identification, integration, blind use of systems tools, a focus on optimality, and harnessing big data. To overcome, we must look back to find what we have accomplished, why we have sometimes failed, and how we can improve upon past work

The Next Step in Central Valley Flood Management: Connecting Costs and Benefits

Historically, large expanses of California\u27s low-lying Central Valley flooded nearly every winter. Over the past 150 years, individuals, communities, and state and national agencies have increasingly altered the landscape with levees, reservoirs, and bypasses to support agriculture and urban centers. The Central Valley\u27s flood protection infrastructure and the institutions that manage flood risks have coevolved as risks and local needs have changed. The current state of flood management is in transition, as the recognition of a precarious disconnect between land-use decisions, flood liability, and flood infrastructure expenses unfolds. Substantial risks to public safety, the state\u27s purse, and water supply are likely to be exacerbated by population growth and climate change. The paper identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the current flood management system, and explores several market and policy measures that might address the weaknesses of the system, especially the disconnection between flood management costs and benefits in California\u27s Central Valley