DETERMINING MINIMUM FLOWS AND LEVELS: THE FLORIDA EXPERIENCE1

ABSTRACT: Florida water resources are among the most abundant in the United States, with Florida receiving the second‐highest mean annual rainfall of all states. However, water supply issues have troubled the state due to the highly variable spatial and temporal distributions of water supply and demand, and they are aggravated by the population's preference for settling in coastal regions where freshwater resources are scarce. Historically, the competing issues of water resource development and natural systems protection have placed water management agencies and local governments at odds. In 1997, the Florida Legislature enacted several major changes to Florida water law in an attempt to improve water resource planning and protection. This paper briefly reviews the history of water management in Florida with an emphasis on decisions culminating in the 1997 legislation, which requires the development of minimum flows and levels. Also examined is the impact of the 1997 law on water management. Efforts made to comply with legislative mandates are summarized; these include, to date, establishment of minimum flows and levels on 209 water bodies and budgeting in excess of $1.4 billion for water resource development projects.     

Landowner Motivations for Civic Engagement in Water Resource Protection

Scholars and water resource professionals recognize citizens must get involved in water resource issues to protect water resources. Yet questions persist on how to motivate community members to get and stay civically involved in nonpoint source pollution issues, given that problems are often ill‐defined. To be successful, interventions intended to engage individuals in collective action must be based on an understanding of the determinants of public‐sphere behavior. The purpose of this study is to explore the psycho‐social factors which influence landowner civic engagement in water resource protection. Data were collected using a self‐administered mail survey of landowners in the Cannon River Watershed and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Study findings suggest landowners are more likely to be civically engaged in water resource issues if they feel a personal obligation to take civic action and perceive they have the ability to protect water resources. Landowners who believe water resource protection is a local responsibility, perceive important others expect them to protect water resources, and believe they have the ability to protect water resources are more likely to feel a sense of obligation to take civic action. A combination of strategies including civic engagement programs addressing barriers to landowner engagement will be most effective for promoting civic engagement in water resource protection.     

REVISITING STATE WATER RIGHTS LAW1

ABSTRACT: Water resources professionals should be engaged actively in revisiting state water rights law. During the past four years, sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers with cooperation of other water resources organizations, over a hundred engineers, hydrologists, geographers, lawyers, administrators, educators, water users, and other persons interested in water law have been preparing a Model State Water Rights Code. Preliminary drafts of the Model Code have been considered in four states, and its provisions will be disseminated nationally to state legislators and other policy makers upon formal publication in September 1994. The Model Code gathers the best provisions from state water laws into comprehensive regulated riparian and prior appropriation provisions, includes commentaries explaining how its textual sections address water resources planning and management issues, and references similar language in current state water statutes. The goal of the Code Project is to provide materials which will assist legislators so they can enact effective, efficient, and equitable water laws. In the future, the Code drafting group will expand its efforts to develop legal guidelines for allocating shared transboundary water resources, water quality law, federal water statutes, and other water resources legal issues.     

PLANNERS AS A PUBLIC IN WATER RESOURCES PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS1

This paper suggests a number of benefits in identifying urban and regional planners as a public in public participation programs of water resources planning studies. A perspective on public participation is presented. Recent trends and developing concepts are identified: emphasis on the need to coordinate urban and regional planning activities with water resources planning, increasing system complexity, the goals and objectives orientation of planning, planning for multi-objectives, the evaluation of a broader range of alternatives, and the consideration of water alternatives as only one set of measures to further society's aspirations. One way to assist in capitalizing on these trends is to seek out participation of those in other planning efforts who are involved in planning but on a different level. Because of their intimate knowledge of an areas history, growth and development, political climate, local perceptions of needs and desires, and major problems and issues they are able to contribute a great deal of insight in making the water resources planning effort more responsive at the local level. The paper describes one of the first major efforts at working-level public-planner contact which was carried out as part of the Susquehanna River Basin Study. A regional survey team comprised of an engineer and an economist from a federal agency and a state water resources planner met informally with planners, city managers, and local planning commissions to discuss issues related to water resources and the growth and development of local areas. This effort while only part of the overall public participation program yielded a number of benefits and if expanded and refined would be a very useful experience in other studies.     

Ten Years After Mar del Plata

This paper describes the main conclusions of the Interregional Symposium on Improved Efficiency in Water Resources Management: Follow-up to Mar del Plata, which was held in New York in January 1987. The group of 70 water specialists came up with suggestions for governments and international organizations to speed up water resources development in the coming decade. Major issues covered were efficiency in the management of financial resources; human resources; technology; water quality; and natural hazards, consisting of floods and droughts.     

STATE LEGISLATIVE CONSTRAINTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATER RESOURCES POLICY1

ABSTRACT: Legislative constraints on the development of water resources policy fit into three broad categories-political, institutional, and informational. The political category encompasses constituency needs and preferences, satisfaction with existing water management practices and policies, and the necessity for legislators to blend political ambition with public problem solving. Constraints fitting into the institutional category include differences in legislative behavior and attitudes that stem from one's location in the legislature (e.g., senate-house, leader-follower, or committee activity), the dynamics of scheduling and organization, and the capability to manage complex issues. Informational constraints refer to the availability of information and the use to which it is put by lawmakers in formulating decisions on waterrelated issues. These constraints are approached from a behavioral perspective by examining several constituency, institutional, and information hypotheses that “explain” legislative involvement with water resources issues. The data are drawn from a recent study of water resources decision making in West Virginia. Eighty-three of the 134 members of the 1975–76 West Virginia Legislature participated in the study.     

Water resources issues of small island developing states

The water resources of most small island developing states (SIDS) are often very limited and require special consideration to ensure that they are developed and managed in a sustainable manner. Many small islands, typically located in the humid tropics, have no surface water resources and rely on limited groundwater resources in the form of thin freshwater lenses. The exposed location of small islands makes them particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and droughts. Pollution from population centres and from agricultural and other activities is an increasing problem. This article provides an overview of the water resources of small islands, and the main problems and issues related to water resources. Some suggested solutions, based on practical experiences, are offered for water resource assessment and monitoring programmes, and water resource development. Water resource policy, planning and management issues are also addressed, and suggested approaches for resolving some of the major water resource problems presented.     

AN ANALYSIS OF WATER RESOURCES CONSTRAINTS ON POWER PLANT SITING IN THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES1

ABSTRACT: Expansion of the electrical generation system in the Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland power pool will impact, and be constrained by, inland water availability. Future interpretations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 regarding evaporative cooling towers for coastal power plants, offshore siting and energy centers, and the policies and public acceptability of low flow augmentation reservoirs are some of the issues examined in this paper using scenarios generated by the Brookhaven National Laboratory Regional Energy Facility Siting Model (REFS). REFS is a multicommodity, transshipment-location linear programming model used here to allocate power plants among counties in a power pool under a minimization of cost objectives. The solutions are sensitive to the water resources assumptions in the model. For the year 2000, the amount of low flow augmentation allowed in the region's river basins and whether off-shore siting becomes a reality are the two water resources related issues which most affect the scenarios. The results show that decisions regarding specific water problems can have region wide implications for water and nonwater related issues.     

Framework for Measuring Sustainable Development in Catchment Systems

Integrated catchment management represents an approach to managing the resources of a catchment by integrating environmental, economic, and social issues. It is aimed at deriving sustainable benefits for future generations, while protecting natural resources, particularly water, and minimizing possible adverse social, economic, and environmental consequences. Indicators of sustainable development, which summarize information for use in decision-making, are invaluable when trying to assess the diverse, interacting components of catchment processes and resource management actions. The Driving-Forces–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) indicator framework is useful for identifying and developing indicators of sustainable development for catchment management. Driving forces have been identified as the natural conditions occurring in a catchment and the level of development and economic activity. Pressures include the natural and anthropogenic supply of water, water demand, and water pollution. State indicators can be split into those of quantity and those of quality. Impacts include those that affect the ecosystems directly and those that impact the use value of the resource. It core indicators are identified within each of the categories given in the framework, most major catchment-based management issues can be evaluated. This framework is applied to identify key issues in catchment management in South Africa, and develop a set of indicators for evaluating catchments throughout the country.     

ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCE POLICY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This article analyzes the official and non-official responses of Filipinos to the depletion of some renewable natural resources (particularly water quality). Contrary to popular assumption, and contrary to official statements of the Philippine government at international conferences, it appears that environmental depletion is a political issue in the Philippines. The reasons for the salience of resource and environmental issues are discussed. The dilemma of the Philippine government is that it is committed to economic progress, but the resources which make that progress possible are in short supply. Timber, soil and clean water are endangered by deforestation, erosion and pollution. However, conservation and environmental protection are expensive in the short run. The Philippines faces a problem common to developing tropical countries.     

STATE WATER LAW REFORM: IDENTIFYING LEGAL AND MANAGERIAL ISSUES AND OPTIONS1

ABSTRACT: Statutory and case law at the state level provide critical legal frameworks for water management. As many state governments struggle to improve efficiency in water management and resolve conflicts over water usage, they must continually assess the efficacy of their state water law. Most states have water laws that are disconnected and overlapping. This article presents a methodology to assess state water law and take first steps toward a comprehensive state water resources act. The methodology is driven by issues and conflicts in water management. It synthesizes management and legal analyses into a process that incorporates the diverse perspectives of state water stakeholders. The results of the analysis are identification of management issues, profiles of state water law, and explorations of legal options that are available to the state government. Illinois is provided as a case study for this methodology.     

The Environmental sustainability of mining in Australia: key mega-trends and looming constraints

At first ‘sustainable mining’ could be perceived as a paradox—minerals are widely held to be finite resources with rising consumption causing pressure on known resources. The true sustainability of mineral resources, however, is a much more complex picture and involves exploration, technology, economics, social and environmental issues, and advancing scientific knowledge—predicting future sustainability is therefore not a simple task. This paper presents the results from a landmark study on historical trends in Australian mining, including ore milled, ore grades, open cut versus underground mining, overburden/waste rock and economic resources. When complete data sets are compiled for specific metals, particular issues stand out with respect to sustainability—technological breakthroughs (e.g. flotation, carbon-in-pulp), new discoveries (e.g. uranium or U), price changes (e.g. Au, boom/bust cycles), social issues (e.g. strikes), etc. All of these issues are of prime importance in moving towards a semi-quantitative sustainability model of mineral resources and the mining industry. For the future, critical issues will continue to be declining ore grades (also ore quality and impurities), increased waste rock and associated liabilities, known economic resources, potential breakthrough technologies, and broader environmental constraints (e.g. carbon costs, water). For this latter area, many companies now report annually on sustainability performance—facilitating analysis of environmental sustainability with respect to production performance. By linking these two commonly disparate aspects—mining production and environmental/sustainability data—it becomes possible to better understand environmental sustainability and predict future constraints such as water requirements, greenhouse emissions, energy and reagent inputs, and the like. This paper will therefore present a range of fundamental data and issues which help towards quantifying the resource and environmental sustainability of mining—with critical implications for the mining industry and society as a whole.     

南盘江上游水质水量综合分析与管理

南盘江上游水污染严重、水资源短缺，而且缺水与污染相互影响．本文以社会经济和水资源这个复杂的耦合系统为研究对象，以促进社会经济持续发展、改善水质、合理利用有限的水资源为总目标，在水污染和水资源供需现状分析、趋势预测的基础上，从水质水量综合决策出发，探讨了南盘江上游水资源的管理对策．     

Managing Water Quality in Developing Countries

Over the next decade the management of water quality will be one of the outstanding issues relating to the protection and conservation of the national stock of water. In the past, particularly in countries well-endowed with water resources, this has been considered to be a relatively negligible problem. However, the rapid growth of population in major urban centres, industrialization and the heavy dependence on chemical products in the agricultural sector are leading to a serious deterioration of water quality.
This paper reviews the nature of the pollution issue, the institutional requirements to deal with the problem in an effective and comprehensive manner and the near-term actions which governments should take to protect their existing water resources.     

UNIVERSITY WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH AND STATE LEGISLATURES1

ABSTRACT: Societal trends indicate an increased need for university water researchers to develop and improve working relationships with state legislatures to help ensure that water related legislation is based on sound water resources information. Recommendations for providing technical support to state legislatures on water resources issues include: the necessity for researchers to take the initiative; the importance of researchers capitalizing on existing linkages; the need to maintain a continuous link between key legislators, legislative staff, and researchers; and the need for researchers to provide comprehensible information in a timely manner.     

Approaches to integrated water resource development and management

In southern Africa institutional capacity in the water sector is severely limited by diminishing regular budget and external assistance allocations. The result has been an overall decline in operational water resource management. This is ironic given the international community's current concern with 'integrated' or 'comprehensive' water resources management. Often, so-called integrated attempts at river basin planning and development have been conceived within the framework of a river basin authority or regional master plans. Such large-scale attempts have not necessarily been compatible either with the national capacity in water resources management or the existing institutional and legislative frameworks. In many cases the actual integration of a basin's physical resources and social, economic and environmental demands is poorly executed. To examine a way forward in resolving what is clearly an unsustainable state of affairs, a diagnostic study of the Kafue Basin, Zambia, was carried out in order to identify a set of water resource management options for a basin currently under stress. A physical framework for the Kafue Basin was established and principal subcatchments and hydro-geological subsystems identified. Current water resource issues in the basin are discussed and a multiobjective approach is proposed to allow intersectoral competition for the basin's limited water resources to be reconciled.     

Beijing and beyond: women's leadership in sustainable natural resource management

We are pleased to have been asked to introduce this special issue of Natural Resources Forum dedicated to women and natural resources management. The issues discussed in the articles on water and energy resources, artisanal mining and sanitation, and how women can improve the management of their environment, were among the key concerns expressed at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995.     

THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF WESTERN WATER DEVELOPMENT1

ABSTRACT: Social scientists were included in the planning and design for an integrated, trans-basin water resource project. Within this complex project, a socioeconomic impact assessment (SIA) concentrated on identifying the social, political, and economic issues and potential impacts inherent in developing a city's water rights. Before the SIA began, some of the development alternatives had already generated widespread hostility and organized opposition from communities within the watershed. The SIA involved residents of affected communities in the study design and project planning. The study found a number of components that constituted the concerns, beliefs, and expectations about perceived, potential impacts that might result from the different alternatives. In most cases these issues constituted threats to valued environmental resources, valued community resources, the social environment, the economic base, and a secure future. The social science component was a key factor in the ultimate decision to pursue a particular alternative which was sensitive to the social and political issues, minimized environmental and socioeconomic impacts, and ultimately had support among the communities potentially affected. The experience from this case study suggests that the approach used can be applied successfully in the planning of other water development projects and result in cooperation from the wide range of interest groups that often present costly obstacles to such projects.     

World water dynamics: global modeling of water resources

The growing scarcity of fresh and clean water is among the most important issues facing civilization in the 21st century. Despite the growing attention to a chronic, pernicious crisis in world's water resources our ability to correctly assess and predict global water availability, use and balance is still quite limited. An attempt is documented here in modeling global world water resources using system dynamics approach. Water resources sector (quantity and quality) is integrated with five sectors that drive industrial growth: population; agriculture; economy; nonrenewable resources; and persistent pollution. WorldWater model is developed on the basis of the last version of World3 model. Simulations of world water dynamics with WorldWater indicate that there is a strong relationship between the world water resources and future industrial growth of the world. It is also shown that the water pollution is the most important future water issue on the global level.