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Promoting Domestic Water Conservation through the Utilization of a Scenario-Based Planning Support System

Burgess, Amy G.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1277000131

Abstract Details

2010, MCP, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Community Planning.
Water is one of the most important life-supporting resources on the planet. Many Americans use more water than is necessary to live healthily. This contributes to water resource depletion, ecosystem degradation, and difficulty in supplying quality water to present and future generations. Involving the public more readily in community planning related to water consumption may avoid some problems associated with identifying these water issues only after major impacts have been caused (Fletcher and Deletic 2008). The increasing awareness of climate change requires immediate attention of water resource planners and the general public. It is pertinent to adopt water conservation strategies, especially in areas facing water availability challenges. This study aims to increase the awareness of water conservation among consumers by promoting the idea “think globally, act locally, start with me!” A water consumption model is built into a scenario-based planning support system (SB-PSS) to enable planners to relay water conservation plans to the public. The input of the model includes various water conservation strategies reflecting indoor and outdoor water consumption rates for different land uses under different climate conditions (temperature and precipitation). In addition to the Baseline scenario, six water conservation scenarios were developed to demonstrate the effect of various strategies being implemented individually or collectively. They are 50% turf-to-xeriscape conversion; 100% Turf-to-Xeriscape Conversion; Pool Cover Utilization; Indoor Conservation; and an All Conservation scenario that uses inputs from the 100% Turf-To-Xeriscape Conversion, Pool Cover Utilization, and Indoor Conservation Scenarios. A scenario was developed to reflect climate change with indoor conservation. The model is implemented with a commercial planning support system software package – CommunityViz. A user can adjust the water consumption rates, temperature, precipitation, and future land use configuration in a study area to analyze consumption using various conservation techniques. Results display the differences between scenarios using maps, graphs, and tables. It is important to show comparison between scenarios and also within scenarios (Deal and Pallathucheril 2007). The model computed parcel-based daily water consumptions, which were summarized spatially by neighborhood, block group, or land use type. The choice of scenarios is based on the review of Las Vegas, a city with water scarcity. Existing literature shows that residents are the largest consumers of water in Las Vegas (Southern Nevada Water Authority 2009). With the help of scenarios-based planning approaches planners can involve the public in the collaborative environmental planning and decision-making process in order to help communities make better-informed decisions (Randolph 2004). A set of educational strategies are created to display how the scenario-based planning support system can be used to educate the public of the different types of water conservation and how their actions can help reduce water consumption. This study will give planners and engineers an easy-to-use tool for including water conservation into their master plans. This application can be adapted to any region in order to make water conservation decisions. It gives visual representations of conservation scenarios that can be used to educate the public and make lasting changes to the way water is used.
Xinhao Wang, PhD (Committee Chair)
Jeffrey Yang, PhD (Committee Member)
Marisa Zapata, PhD (Committee Member)
186 p.
Urban Planning
Water Conservation; Scenario-Based Planning Support System; Public Education; CommunityViz

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Burgess, A. G. (2010). Promoting Domestic Water Conservation through the Utilization of a Scenario-Based Planning Support System [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1277000131

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Burgess, Amy. Promoting Domestic Water Conservation through the Utilization of a Scenario-Based Planning Support System. 2010. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1277000131.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Burgess, Amy. "Promoting Domestic Water Conservation through the Utilization of a Scenario-Based Planning Support System." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1277000131

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1277000131
389
© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.