Multiobjective Water Resources Management Planning

Abstract

A multiobjective optimization procedure using the constraint linear programming technique is developed to assist water resources planners to establish a more unified basin‐wide management plan which will simultaneously consider the three major aspects in basin‐wide planning: (1) Water supply allocation; (2) water quality control; and (3) prevention of undesirable overdraft of the ground‐water basin. This optimization procedure is designed to be applied in concert with one or more simulation models: A ground‐water quantity‐and‐quality model or a river flow‐and‐mass transport model, or both, and a model which routes the water from the supply sources to various demand points, through the wastewater collection and treatment facilities, and ultimately to the disposal sites. To create the necessary linkage between the optimization procedure and the simulation models, the influence coefficient method is used as the connecting agent. With this agent, the optimization procedure can be carried out independently of the simulation models, while, at the same time, keeping a good representation of the response surface of the simulation models in the optimization procedure.