THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PLAN OF STUDY – AN INTERAGENCY APPROACH TO MULTIOBJECTIVE PLANNING AND EVALUATION OF WATER AND LAND RESOURCE USE1

ABSTRACT The paper presents a systems approach for planning and evaluating alternative plans for resource use incorporating the concepts of multiobjective planning and evaluation (MOPE). The need for multidisciplinary input and strong interagency cooperation in planning for resource use is related to the logical and orderly completion of the planning steps. The paper briefly describes MOPE, emphasizing two important concepts: (1) the relationship of the study problems and objectives to national social objectives, and (2) the display of alternative solutions showing tradeoffs. Several important characteristics of a plan of study which implements MOPE are presented and discussed. A proposed MOPE analytical system is discussed in detail. The MOPE analytical system is divided into eight interdependent subsystems that describe data collection, use, analysis, and results. A linear program (L.P.) model is proposed to analyze the present and future demand relationships for natural resources. The model will also evaluate the interaction of agriculture, forestry, and recreation with the resource base of the basin, considering National Economic Development, Environmental Quality, and Regional Development.     

MODERNIZATION OF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVER FORECASTING TECHNIQUES1

The National Weather Service is nearing the conclusion of a five year period of transition from index type catchment modelling to the use of conceptual hydrologic models. The decision to make this technological change was based on an extensive research project in which various catchment models were tested in a wide variety of basins and their strong and weak points ascertained. This project is described. Some of the problems involved in the changeover, which are discussed, are practical parameter optimization methods, computer requirements for the more complex technology, data requirements, fitting of the catchment model to major river systems, training of personnel and staffing problems.     

Application of SMR to Modeling Watersheds in the Catskill Mountains

Very few hydrological models commonly used in watershed management are appropriate for simulating the saturation excess runoff. The Soil Moisture Routing model (SMR) was developed specifically to predict saturation excess runoff from variable source areas, especially for areas where shallow interflow controls saturation. A recent version of SMR was applied to two rural catchments in the Catskill Mountains to evaluate its ability to simulate the hydrology of these systems. Only readily available meteorological, topographical, and landuse information from published literature and governmental agencies was used. Measured and predicted streamflows showed relatively good agreement; the average Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency for the two watersheds were R ²=72% and R ²=63%. Distributed soil moisture contents and the locations of hydrologically sensitive areas were also predicted well.     

A regional environmental quality management model: An assessment

The principal purpose of this paper is to discuss the research and policy lessons learned from a large environmental quality management model constructed for the Lower Delaware River Valley Region, The policy lessons involve estimates of the costs of meeting varying standards on air and water quality and the impact on those costs of certain region-wide management alternatives. The research lessons concern: (a) the desirability of considering air and water quality, and solid waste disposal, simultaneously in a single model; (b) the costs of and returns to including nonlinear models of natural systems in a regional optimization framework; and (c) the feasibility of working with constraints on the geographic distribution of the costs of environmental quality improvement within the regional, nonlinear model.