Experimenting with Water Supply Planning Objectives Using the Eldorado Utility Planning Model Multireservoir Testbed

Abstract

This paper introduces a generic multireservoir planning testbed called the Eldorado Utility Planning Model (EUPM). The purpose of the EUPM is to facilitate experimentation with advanced water supply planning tools and techniques using a complex system that is not subject to the sensitivities or paradigms of real-world case study models. The model centers on a hypothetical Colorado utility and incorporates the regional context of the western United States, e.g., competition between water users and the spatial and temporal complexities that impact water availability. The benefits of the EUPM are demonstrated through an experimental multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) optimization problem formulation designed to generate informative tradeoffs without the use of uncertain estimates of monetary costs. Incorporating two performance measures—minimization of new storage and of new supply—into the set of long-term planning objectives produces a suite of planning alternatives that can facilitate the application of human judgment to broader planning policy discussions, including the implications that a portfolio has on total plan cost.