A Comparative Approach for Ranking Contaminated Sites Based on the Risk Assessment Paradigm Using Fuzzy PROMETHEE

A ranking system for contaminated sites based on comparative risk methodology using fuzzy Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) was developed in this article. It combines the concepts of fuzzy sets to represent uncertain site information with the PROMETHEE, a subgroup of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods. Criteria are identified based on a combination of the attributes (toxicity, exposure, and receptors) associated with the potential human health and ecological risks posed by contaminated sites, chemical properties, site geology and hydrogeology and contaminant transport phenomena. Original site data are directly used avoiding the subjective assignment of scores to site attributes. When the input data are numeric and crisp the PROMETHEE method can be used. The Fuzzy PROMETHEE method is preferred when substantial uncertainties and subjectivities exist in site information. The PROMETHEE and fuzzy PROMETHEE methods are both used in this research to compare the sites. The case study shows that this methodology provides reasonable results.     

FUZZY DECISION MAKING IN GROUND WATER NITRATE RISK MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT: Ground water nitrate contamination is widespread in the United States and especially prevalent in agriculture-intensive areas such as the Midwest. To reduce human health risks (i.e., methemoglobinemia and cancer risks) from nitrates in ground water supplies, several nitrate risk-management strategies can be developed based on acceptable levels of human health risks, the reasonableness of the cost required for risk reduction, and the technical feasibility of nitrate-control methods. However, due to a lack of available information, assessing risk, cost, and technical feasibility contains elements of uncertainty. In this paper, a nitrate risk-management methodology using fuzzy sets in combination with a multicriterion decision-making (MCDM) technique is developed to assist decision makers in evaluating, with uncertain information, possible regulatory actions along with the various nitrate risk-management strategies in order to determine an appropriate strategy. The methodology is illustrated using data from a community with a nitrate water-quality problem.     

Establishing politically feasible water markets: a multi-criteria approach

A multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) model to simulate the establishment of water markets is developed. The environment is an irrigated area governed by a non-profit agency, which is responsible for water production, allocation, and pricing. There is a traditional situation of historical rights, average-cost pricing for water allocation, large quantities of water used, and inefficiency. A market-oriented policy could be implemented by accounting for ecological and political objectives such as saving groundwater and safeguarding historical rights while promoting economic efficiency. In this paper, a problem is solved by compromise programming, a multi-criteria technique based on the principles of Simonian logic. The model is theoretically developed and applied to the Lorca region in Spain near the Mediterranean Sea.     

The optimal dam site selection using a group decision-making method through fuzzy TOPSIS model

The complex and controversial task of selecting a dam site in a river basin can be successfully achieved using science-informed multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. In this paper, we describe the application of the group fuzzy TOPSIS model for optimal ranking of the case study of Kandoleh dam sites in Kermanshah province, Iran, involving 18 input criteria. In this study, decision-making committee was made up of 20 involved decision makers. The comments of four non-biased, external experts in dam site selection were also used. The triangular fuzzy numbers were used to apply experts’ opinions on the selection criteria. In total, four alternative sites were assessed based on the technical, economic, social and environmental considerations and the data were analyzed using fuzzy TOPSIS MCDM model. Ranking results were compared with multi-criteria decision-making models, including the ELimination and Choice Expressing the REality and simple additive weighting. This logical, open and transparent framework provides a science-informed decision-making approach for complex problems such as optimal dam site selection. Finally, using sensitivity analysis, local studies and group discussions, we demonstrated the multiple benefits of the proposed novel method for a science-informed, open and transparent method for optimal ranking of the dam site candidates.     

INTEGRATING HUMANS IN ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT USING MULTI‐CRITERIA DECISION MAKING1

ABSTRACT: The Ecosystem Management (EM) process belongs to the category of Multi‐Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problems. It requires appropriate decision support systems (DSS) where “all interested people” would be involved in the decision making process. Environmental values critical to EM, such as the biological diversity, health, productivity and sustainability, have to be studied, and play an important role in modeling the ecosystem functions; human values and preferences also influence decision making. Public participation in decision and policy making is one of the elements that differentiate EM from the traditional methods of management. Here, a methodology is presented on how to quantify human preferences in EM decision making. The case study of the National Park of River Nestos Delta and Lakes Vistonida and Ismarida in Greece, presented as an application of this methodology, shows that the direct involvement of the public, the quantification of its preferences and the decision maker's attitude provide a strong tool to the EM decision making process. Public preferences have been given certain weights and three MCDM methods, namely, the Expected Utility Method, Compromise Programming and the Analytic Hierarchy Process, have been used to select alternative management solutions that lead to the best configuration of the ecosystem and are also socially acceptable.     

EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION MODELS FOR APPLICATION TO WATER RESOURCES PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: A research project was undertaken for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine the relative utility and effectiveness of four well-known multicriteria decision making (MCDM) models for applications in realistic water resources planning settings. A series of experiments was devised to examine the impact of rating and ranking procedures on the decision making behavior of users (e.g., planners, managers, analysts, etc.) when faced with situations involving multiple evaluation criteria and numerous alternative planning projects. The four MCDM models tested were MATS-PC, EXPERT CHOICE, ARIADNE, and ELECTRE. Two groups of analysts and decision makers were tested. One group consisted of experienced U.S. Army Corps planners, while the other was comprised of graduate students. Based on a series of nonparametric statistical tests, the results identified EXPERT CHOICE as the preferred MCDM model by both groups based largely on ease of use and understandability. ARIADNE fostered the largest degree of agreement within and among the two groups of individuals tested. The tests also lend support to the claim that rankings are not affected significantly by the choice of decision maker (i.e., who uses any of these MCDM models) or which of these four models is used.     

Water Footprint of 65 Mid‐ to Large‐Sized U.S. Cities and Their Metropolitan Areas

Conventional indicators of water use for urban areas account primarily for direct water use. In contrast, our objective here is to employ the water footprint (WF) concept and methodology to include the virtual or indirect water use to assess the production‐side and consumption‐side WF of 65 United States (U.S.) cities. The 65 cities include the largest metropolitan areas and some of the major mid‐sized cities in the U.S. We use metropolitan areas to define our city boundaries as this is the native spatial resolution of the main datasets used. To estimate the urban WFs, we integrated large and disparate datasets, including commodity flow (agricultural, livestock, and industrial commodities), water use, and socioeconomic data. By analyzing the estimated WF values, we found indirect water use accounts on average for 66% of the WF of consumption. We found some cities are net virtual water exporters (11 of 65) because they rely heavily on direct water uses or are heavy producers of industrial commodities. Also, WF patterns vary widely across the U.S. but regional patterns seem to emerge. For example, the dense cities of the U.S. northeast megaregion have a significantly low per capita WF relative to the other cities, while cities in the Gulf Coast megaregion have a significantly higher industrial WF of production and consumption. Furthermore, there is inequality in the WF of consumption where a few cities account for a disproportionate share of the total U.S. urban water uses.     

Sustainable value assessment of farms using frontier efficiency benchmarks

Appropriate assessment of firm sustainability facilitates actor-driven processes towards sustainable development. The methodology in this paper builds further on two proven methodologies for the assessment of sustainability performance: it combines the sustainable value approach with frontier efficiency benchmarks. The sustainable value methodology tries to relate firm performance to the use of different resources. This approach assesses contributions to corporate sustainability by comparing firm resource productivity with the resource productivity of a benchmark, and this for all resources considered. The efficiency is calculated by estimating the production frontier indicating the maximum feasible production possibilities. In this research, the sustainable value approach is combined with efficiency analysis methods to benchmark sustainability assessment. In this way, the production theoretical underpinnings of efficiency analysis enrich the sustainable value approach. The methodology is presented using two different functional forms: the Cobb–Douglas and the translog functional forms. The simplicity of the Cobb–Douglas functional form as benchmark is very attractive but it lacks flexibility. The translog functional form is more flexible but has the disadvantage that it requires a lot of data to avoid estimation problems. Using frontier methods for deriving firm specific benchmarks has the advantage that the particular situation of each company is taken into account when assessing sustainability. Finally, we showed that the methodology can be used as an integrative sustainability assessment tool for policy measures.     

Sustainable Water Resources Management in a Conflict Resolution Framework1

Abstract: A decision support system for sustainable water resources management in a water conflict resolution framework is developed to identify and evaluate a range of acceptable alternatives for the Geum River Basin in Korea and to facilitate strategies that will result in sustainable water resource management. Working with stakeholders in a “shared vision modeling” framework, sustainable management strategies are created to illustrate system tradeoffs as well as long‐term system planning. A multi‐criterion decision‐making (MCDM) approach using subjective scales is utilized to evaluate the complex water resource allocation and management tradeoffs between stakeholders and system objectives. The procedures used in this study include the development of a “shared vision model,” a simulated decision‐making support system (as a tool for sustainable water management strategies associated with water conflicts, management options, and planning criteria), and the application of MCDM techniques for evaluating alternatives provided by the model. The research results demonstrate the utility of the sustainable water resource management model in aid of MCDM techniques in facilitating flexibility during initial stages of alternative identification and evaluation in a basin suffering from severe water conflicts.     

HYDROLOGIC UNCERTAINTY MEASURE AND NETWORK DESIGN1

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a simple methodology, using the entropy concept, to estimate regional hydro logic uncertainty and information at both gaged and ungaged grids in a basin. The methodology described in this paper is applicable for (a) the selection of the optimum station from a dense network, using maximization of information transmission criteria, and (b) expansion of a network using data from an existing sparse network by means of the information interpolation concept and identification of the zones from minimum hydrologic information. The computation of single and joint entropy terms used in the above two cases depends upon single and multivariable probability density functions. In this paper, these terms are derived for the gamma distribution. The derived formulation for optimum hydrologic network design was tested using the data from a network of 29 rain gages on Sleeper River Experimental Watershed. For the purpose of network reduction, the watershed was divided into three subregions, and the optimum stations and their locations in each subregion were identified. To apply the network expansion methodology, only the network consisting of 13 stations was used, and feasible triangular elements were formed by joining the stations. Hydrologic information was calculated at various points on the line segments, and critical information zones were identified by plotting information contours. The entropy concept used in this paper, although derived for single and bivaviate gamma distribution, is general in type and can easily be modified for other distributions by a simple variable transformation criterion.     

WATER QUALITY MONITORING NETWORK DESIGN: A PROBLEM OF MULTI-OBJECTIVE DECISION MAKING1

ABSTRACT: Hydrologic data network design is a fairly complicated problem where questions as to the number of gages required, time frequencies to be selected, and benefits/costs of monitoring still remain unresolved. These issues are intensified in case of water quality variables as they are more error-prone, costly, and time consuming to sample. The basic difficulty underlying the design and evaluation of monitoring systems is the lack of an objective criterion to assess: (a) the efficiency, and (b) cost-effectiveness of a network. A statistical procedure based on the entropy principle of information theory is proposed to address the evaluation of both factors. Efficiency is measured quantitatively in terms of the information produced by a network. Similarly, benefits of monitoring are described by informative measures for an objective evaluation of cost-effectiveness. The study presented demonstrates the applicability of the entropy method in assessing the efficiency and the benefits of an existing water quality monitoring network. The method is applied for temporal and spatial features of monitoring, handled as both separate and combined problems. The results are shown in the case of the highly polluted Porsuk River in Turkey. The strengths and shortcomings of the proposed methodology are discussed, with recommendations for future research on the application of the entropy principle in network design.     

The impact of direct and indirect experiences on the development of environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior

This study employed a mixed-methods design to examine the relationship between nature experience type (e.g., direct and indirect) and learning outcomes (e.g., environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior) associated with an environmental education, international immersion program for adolescents. Longitudinal data from 108 participant and 49 comparison group members were analyzed to test the study’s hypotheses. Additionally, qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology to assess participants’ perceptions of these processes. The findings indicate that environmental knowledge increased more than environmental attitudes during the indirect portion of the program (i.e., preparatory program) whereas the direct portion (i.e., international workshop) produced similar levels of knowledge and attitude growth. Further, while attitudes were more strongly associated with behavior during the indirect component of the program, the strength of the relationships between attitudes and behavior, and knowledge and behavior were similar during the direct portion of the experience. A synthesis of the findings suggests that the program’s direct experiences catalyzed environmental knowledge into a stronger motivating force than it had been during the indirect experiences. The qualitative findings also provide insights into the characteristics of direct experiences. These findings offer important insights for both theory and practice related to the use of direct and indirect nature experiences to develop environmental knowledge, attitude, and behaviors.     

The impact of economic activity in Asturias on greenhouse gas emissions: consequences for environmental policy within the Kyoto Protocol framework

Climate change is one of the major worldwide environmental concerns. It is especially the case in many developed countries, where the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for this change are mainly concentrated. For the first time, the Kyoto Protocol includes an international agreement for the reduction of the net emissions of these gases. To fulfil this agreement measures designed to reduce or limit current emissions have to be brought into force. Consequently, fears have arisen about possible consequences on competitiveness and future development of manufacturing activities and the need for support mechanisms for the affected sectors is obvious. In this paper, we carry out a study of the emissions of gases responsible for climate change in Asturias (Spain), a region with an important economic presence of sectors with intensive emissions of CO(2), the chief greenhouse gas. To be precise, in the first place, the volumes of direct emissions of the said gases in 1995 were calculated, showing that the sectors most affected by the Kyoto Protocol in Asturias are iron and steel and electricity production. Secondly, input-output analysis was applied to determine the direct and indirect emissions and the direct, indirect and induced emissions of the different production sectors, respectively. The results derived from the direct and indirect emissions analysis and their comparison with the results of the former allow us to reach some conclusions and environmental policy implications.     

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis of Treated Wastewater Use for Agriculture in Water Deficit Regions1

Al-Juaidi, Ahmed E., Jagath J. Kaluarachchi, and Ungtae Kim, 2010. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis of Treated Wastewater Use for Agriculture in Water Deficit Regions. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):395-411. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00409.x Abstract: Coastal regions such as the Gaza Strip of Palestine with limited freshwater supply suffer significantly due to the rapid depletion of water levels, seawater intrusion, and increased water demands. In such regions, use of treated wastewater (TWW) is a viable option if public health issues are addressed. The goal of this paper is to address the use of TWW in agriculture while considering net benefit, economic efficiency of water use (EEWU), environmental goals, and public health risks. The proposed methodology considers public health risk assessment and multi-criteria decision analysis to assess the beneficial use of TWW in agriculture. The methodology was demonstrated for the Gaza Strip. The health risk assessment suggests that increasing the elapsed time between irrigation and consumption and switching from surface to sprinkler and drip irrigation are practical measures to reduce public health risks. The optimization and decision analyses show that proper allocation of freshwater and TWW and distribution of land area by crop type can significantly increase the net benefit and EEWU. In most cases, net benefit increased by 44%, groundwater use reduced 29% while increasing the EEWU by threefold compared with the existing conditions. The multi-criteria decision analysis with weighted goal programming can develop flexible management options that considers a given decision-maker preference. When groundwater abstraction for agriculture reduced from 57 to 36 Mm³ as per decision analysis, the corresponding area below mean sea level decreased by 58% indicating significant aquifer recovery.     

地表水自动监测网数据自动审核的创新与实践

在地表水质量自动监测网络的质量保证管理中,山东省省、市两级监控中心使用计算机数据审核系统对监测数据进行实时监控和质量控制,创新地实现了对监测数据有效性的自动判别、监测网的运行情况自动评价等自动化质控措施。     

Optimal water quality monitoring network design for river systems

Typical tasks of a river monitoring network design include the selection of the water quality parameters, selection of sampling and measurement methods for these parameters, identification of the locations of sampling stations and determination of the sampling frequencies. These primary design considerations may require a variety of objectives, constraints and solutions. In this study we focus on the optimal river water quality monitoring network design aspect of the overall monitoring program and propose a novel methodology for the analysis of this problem. In the proposed analysis, the locations of sampling sites are determined such that the contaminant detection time is minimized for the river network while achieving maximum reliability for the monitoring system performance. Altamaha river system in the State of Georgia, USA is chosen as an example to demonstrate the proposed methodology. The results show that the proposed model can be effectively used for the optimal design of monitoring networks in river systems.     

USE OF HISTORIC FLOOD INFORMATION IN ESTIMATING FLOOD PEAKS ON UNGAGED WATERSHEDS1

Regional procedures to estimate flood magnitudes for ungaged watersheds typically ignore available site-specific historic flood information such as high water marks and the corresponding flow estimates, otherwise referred to as limited site-specific historic (LSSH) flood data. A procedure to construct flood frequency curves on the basis of LSSH flood observations is presented. Simple inverse variance weighting is employed to systematically combine flood estimates obtained from the LSSH data base with those from a regional procedure to obtain improved estimtes of flood peaks on the ungaged watershed. For the region studied, the variance weighted estimates of flow had a lower logarithmic standard error than either the regional or the LSSH flow estimates, when compared to the estimates determined by three standard distributions for gaged watersheds investigated in the development of the methodology. Use of the simple inverse variance weighting procedure is recommended when “reliable” estimates of LSSH floods for the ungaged site are available.     

Assessment of emerging and innovative techniques considering best available technique performances

For the past 20 years, the European context has been policy-driven by several directives to reduce pollution, one of the most important for industries being the industrial emissions directive (IED). The IED's objective is to minimise pollution from various industrial sources throughout the European Union. One means of attaining the objective is to implement techniques which have at least the same performance as reference techniques called best available techniques (BAT) given at European level. The study of existing methodologies on performance assessment of proven or emerging techniques has made it apparent that there are none taking into account the 12 criteria proposed by the Annex III of the IED to evaluate technique performances. Even if innovative techniques are not considered by the IED, support to (public or private) researchers in their development in terms of assessment methodology must be proposed. This is what we present in this article.The methodology based on a tree-structured information system (objectives, criteria, indicators) and a qualitative assessment of indicators (environmental, technical, economic and social) is an initial approach to an innovative technique assessment method considering BAT on laboratory or industrial scales. In an aim to adapt the criteria and indicators to a specific process, assessment methodologies must be adaptable. Our method allows for choosing indicators to comply perfectly with the process studied. Only the first level of the tree is fixed. The other branches could be adapted to the case studied. Performance assessment is based on a five-level scale coupled with a simple multi-criteria analysis (MCA) method. Three different applications (sludge valorisation, urban wastewater treatment, soil remediation) were carried out to validate the methodology, two of them are presented. Applications of this methodology show its usefulness in the validation of techniques for specific process and local application of the BAT concept and the performance assessment regarding BAT definition. It can then be used to detect innovative and emerging techniques to be proposed for the reviewing of the European BREF documents.     

DAYCENT national-scale simulations of nitrous oxide emissions from cropped soils in the United States

Until recently, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission factor methodology, based on simple empirical relationships, has been used to estimate carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fluxes for regional and national inventories. However, the 2005 USEPA greenhouse gas inventory includes estimates of N2O emissions from cultivated soils derived from simulations using DAYCENT, a process-based biogeochemical model. DAYCENT simulated major U.S. crops at county-level resolution and IPCC emission factor methodology was used to estimate emissions for the approximately 14% of cropped land not simulated by DAYCENT. The methodology used to combine DAYCENT simulations and IPCC methodology to estimate direct and indirect N2O emissions is described in detail. Nitrous oxide emissions from simulations of presettlement native vegetation were subtracted from cropped soil N2O to isolate anthropogenic emissions. Meteorological data required to drive DAYCENT were acquired from DAYMET, an algorithm that uses weather station data and accounts for topography to predict daily temperature and precipitation at 1-km2 resolution. Soils data were acquired from the State Soil Geographic Database (STATSGO). Weather data and dominant soil texture class that lie closest to the geographical center of the largest cluster of cropped land in each county were used to drive DAYCENT. Land management information was implemented at the agricultural-economic region level, as defined by the Agricultural Sector Model. Maps of model-simulated county-level crop yields were compared with yields estimated by the USDA for quality control. Combining results from DAYCENT simulations of major crops and IPCC methodology for remaining cropland yielded estimates of approximately 109 and approximately 70 Tg CO2 equivalents for direct and indirect, respectively, mean annual anthropogenic N2O emissions for 1990-2003.     

Application of spatial multi-criteria analysis to site selection for a local park: a case study in the Bergamo Province, Italy

This contribution discusses a site selection process for establishing a local park. It was supported by a value-focused approach and spatial multi-criteria evaluation techniques. A first set of spatial criteria was used to design a number of potential sites. Next, a new set of spatial and non-spatial criteria was employed, including the social functions and the financial costs, together with the degree of suitability for the park to evaluate the potential sites and to recommend the most acceptable one. The whole process was facilitated by a new software tool that supports spatial multiple criteria evaluation, or SMCE. The application of this tool, combined with a continual feedback by the public administration, has provided an effective methodology to solve complex decisional problem in land-use and urban planning.