Prototype Decision Support System for Analyzing Impact of Catchment Policies

Abstract

The South Australian government has recently formed a committee to investigate conflicts over the use of resources in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, including improvements to the quality of water supplied to the city of Adelaide. The committee is examining potential land‐use and land‐management policies. The writers have developed a prototype of a decision support system (DSS) that will estimate the effects of these policies on water quality and the costs of implementing the policies. The DSS consists of three modules. The policy module allows the user to build up a suite of policies in a formal syntax. The second module, the catchment model, will estimate the effects of these policies on total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and turbidity levels. The user can query the DSS about these estimates in the third module. The prototype has been evaluated by the South Australian Engineering and Water Supply Department, and a second version of the DSS is now being designed.