Decision Support for Estuarine Water Quality Management

Abstract

Management of water quality in estuarine systems is a multistepped process, ranging from characterization of the hydrological and hydromechanical properties that govern water quality changes through identification of waste loads, regulatory constraints, and water quality attributes to identification of alternative candidate plans and selection by so‐called decision makers‐ of the best plan to be implemented. The ultimate step in this complex process is to operate the physical system within the stipulated performance goals. Recently, with the advent of everincreasing computer power, geographic information systems (GIS) and interactive graphics, supporting integrated user‐friendly data management and processing, have been added to the body of tools intended to support the decision process through its many steps. This paper focuses on implementation of a new generation microcomputer as the sole host of the decision support system, and seeks to demonstrate how it may be used at each step of the decision process. Special attention is given to features like: (1) Object‐oriented data and control handling; (2) the integration of simulation models into the decision support system; and (3) the water quality management process. The case of a small estuary in Southern California is presented as a demonstration of the approach.