2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
6/08/2017 | 12:15 PM - 12:30 PM | Trading-off socio-economic and ecological outcomes associated with municipal water supply | 301B
Trading-off socio-economic and ecological outcomes associated with municipal water supply
The economic, social, and ecological imperative for sound management of limited freshwater is undeniable. River management often requires trade-offs among these crucial objectives, and a decision framework should be transparent, fair, repeatable, and capable of demonstrating the costs and benefits of alternative management strategies. The quantity, timing, and quality of water flows affects the integrity and long-term resilience of river ecosystems and the human populations dependent on these systems. Although the importance of flow management is widely acknowledged, challenges arise in specifically identifying the quantity, timing, and quality of water flows needed to obtain a desirable and sustainable socio-economic and ecological state.
This case study examines competing outcomes associated with water management in the Middle Oconee River near Athens, Georgia. Operated by a four-county authority, Bear Creek Reservoir is an off-channel, pump-storage reservoir, which withdraws water from the Middle Oconee River for municipal water supply. This project uses structured decision making to examine some of the economic and ecological trade-offs associated with alternative pumping schemes. In particular, we focus on developing a scientific basis for informing flow management in the Middle Oconee River. Outcomes of river management actions are presented relative to socio-economic endpoints of municipal water supply and recreational kayaking as well as ecological outcomes of hydrologic change, fisheries production, and sediment and organic matter transport. Each of these “lines of evidence” contributes to our understanding of how alternative management actions affect the system as a whole and inform decision making. Contrary to common assumptions, ecological and socio-economic outcomes are both shown to benefit from novel flow management schemes. This case study provides a variety of transferrable tools to examine the trade-offs and synergies associated with managing water for multiple objectives.
- S08 Ecosystem Services and Pricing Water for Freshwater Conservation
- S08 Ecosystem Services and Pricing Water for Freshwater Conservation
- S08 Ecosystem Services and Pricing Water for Freshwater Conservation
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Presenters/Authors
Kyle McKay
(), US Army Corps of Engineers, kyle.mckay@usace.army.mil;
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -