activities, results and preliminary report acwi meeting september 14, 2005 the sustainable water...
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Activities, Results and Preliminary Report
ACWI Meeting
September 14, 2005
The Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable
(SWRR)
SWRR Activities
• Development of principles, criteria and indicators to support decision-making
• Identification of opportunities for
collaboration on research needs
• Strategies to expand SWRR participation to states, non-profits, academia and corporations
SWRR’s Four Principles for the Sustainability of Water
Resources Management
1. Involve policies, plans, and activities that improve equality of access to water
2. Recognize limits of water use beyond which ecosystem behavior might change in unanticipated ways
SWRR’s Four Principles for the Sustainability of Water
Resources Management
3. Consider the interactions across different geographical ranges –
global, national, regional, local
4. Look to the future to assess and understand implications of decisions made
today – – on the lives and livelihoods of future
generations, – on the natural ecosystems upon which
they will rely
SWRR’s Framework
Tim
e
General Framework for Driving Forces and Underlying Processes
Ecosystems Society
Social &EconomicDrivers:
EconomicDevelopment
Energy Production and Use
Land Use
PopulationGrowth
Transportation
UnderlyingNatural
Processes:
Disturbance & Response
EnergyCycling
Hydrologic Cycle & Flow
Regime
Materials Cycling
The Biophysical Environment
Ecosystem
Goods &
Services
HumanAlterations &
Discharges
General Framework for Driving Forces
and Underlying Processes
SWRR’s FrameworkSpecific Categories for Indicators
Gross WaterAvailability
Social Capacity
HumanConditions,
Infrastructure Capacity
Water WithdrawalsFor Human Uses:Quantity Quality
Water DependentResource
Withdrawals
Water Uses
WaterDependent Resource
Uses
HumanConditions
Water DependentResources and
Conditions
WaterQuality
Water in the
Environment
Environmental Conditions
Social &EconomicProcesses
EnvironmentalProcesses Water Dependent
ConditionUses
Specific Categories for Water-Resources Sustainability Indicators
Environmental Conditions
StartingConditions
Ending Conditions
Processes
Return, Waste and Residual Flows
Alterations of Landform & Stream Morph.
Treatment
Treatment Econ.Production
Gross WaterAvailability
Water UsesAnd Reuses
Water in the Environment:Streams Lakes
WetlandsAquifers
System Capacity and Water AllocationExamples of Indicators
Treatment
Treatment
Social Infrastructural Capacity:
Drinking water and wastewatertreatment capacity
Net WaterAvailability
Social Institutional Capacity:
Water law and rightsRegulation of appropriations
Water Withdrawals for Human Uses: Total withdrawals for all purposes
Return Flows
Water Dependent Resource Uses:Fish consumptionWater Dependent
Resources and Conditions: Fish stocksAesthetics
Water in the
Environment
Environmental Conditions:Water quality
Biological integrity
Water ConditionDependent Uses:
Sailing
Consequences of Water AllocationExamples of Indicators
Water UsesAnd Reuses:Municipal andIndustrial use
Water WithdrawalsFor Human Uses
Return Flows
Water Dependent Resource Harvests: Fish landings
Effects on People Examples of Indicators
Water Uses:Crop Irrigation
WaterDependent Res. Uses:
Fishing
WaterCondition
Dependent Uses:Sailing
Value of Goods and ServicesProduced with Water:Value of produce and
processed foods
Value of Goodsand Services Produced
With Resources:Food & recreational value
Value of Uses Dependenton Water Conditions:Boating expenditures
Recreational value
Health Effects:
Nutritional valueExposure to toxic chemicalsIncidents ofdrowning
A. System capacities, quality and allocation
1. Gross water availability2. Total withdrawals for human uses3. Water remaining in the environment after withdrawals and consumption4. Water quality in the environment5. Total capacity to deliver water supply over unit of time (i.e., infrastructure capacity)6. Social and organizational capacity to
manage water sustainably
B. Consequences of the way we allocate water capacity
7. Environmental conditions8. Resources conditions9. The quality and quantity of water for
human uses10. Resources withdrawals and use
C. Effects on people of the conditions and uses of
water resources
11. Human conditions -- Measures of the economic valuepeople receive from the uses of water and the costs they incur
D. Important factors affecting water resources
12. Land use
13. Residual flows: the flow of water and
wastes back into the water system
14. Social and economic processes: the
systems people and organizations
develop to influence water resources
and sustainability
15. Ecosystem (environmental)
processes
E. Composite sustainability assessment
16.Water use sustainability -- In each watershed, the ratio of water withdrawn to renewable supply
17. Water quality sustainability-- In each watershed, indicators of the suitability of water quality for the uses desired, including ecosystem uses
Sample Indicator
Gross Water Availability
Collaboration on Research Needs
Hosted by SWRR and the University of Michigan, 75 experts from the public and private sectors convened in April in Ann Arbor, Michigan to discuss: • Process Research • Decision Support Tools • Data Inventory• Technologies • Value of Water in Policy Decisions• Better Law & Policies • Human Resources • Collaboration
SWRR’s Outreach
• About 300 active participants from Federal State and Local Government, Corporations, Non profits and Academia
• About 550 people on distribution list• Meetings held in California, Minnesota,
Michigan, Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia• Various publications and conference
presentations
SWRR Future Work
• Complete, revise and refine indicators for tracking the sustainability of water resources
– including indicators scalable to national, state and local levels
• Assist agencies– by describing the need for programs to collect the
information necessary for generating indicators
• Increase representation– from regional water management programs
SWRR’s Future Work• Expand relationships with the scientific
community – to draw on the best ideas in water disciplines– to encourage research into sustainability as it
relates to water resources
• Consult with other programs on water-related indicators, including
– National Research Council’s Key National Indicator Initiative
– Council on Environmental Quality– Heinz Foundation– Others
• Plan a National Forum on Sustainable Water Resources
SWRR Contacts
Co chairsRick Swanson [email protected] Goldstein [email protected]
CoordinatorTim Smith [email protected]
Manager and FacilitatorDavid Berry [email protected]