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The Use of Models for Water Resources Management, Planning, and Policy
Author(s) -
Friedman Robert,
Ansell Christopher,
Diamond Stuart,
Haimes Yacov Y.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr020i007p00793
Subject(s) - plan (archaeology) , government (linguistics) , resource (disambiguation) , management science , water resources , action plan , computer science , action (physics) , operations research , environmental planning , risk analysis (engineering) , business , engineering , environmental science , management , economics , biology , philosophy , linguistics , computer network , ecology , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , history
The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of the U.S. Congress investigated the current and potential use of water resource‐related mathematical models. It focused on mathematical modeling as a means of assessing the broader issue of the nation's ability to analyze and plan courses of action to deal with current and long‐range water problems. OTA found that models capable of analyzing many pressing water resource issues are currently available and that these models have significant potential for increasing the accuracy and effectiveness of information available to managers, decisionmakers and scientists. Surveys and workshops conducted by OTA, however, indicate that institutional constraints to modeling—including inadequate Federal support services for model dissemination, training, and technical assistance, and maintenance—have impeded modeling from realizing its full potential. The states, in particular, are hard pressed to fulfill their present responsibilities without an improved capacity to use the best available analytical tools, which they rely on the federal government, in part, to provide. Many major federal agencies, however, lack an integrated plan for developing and supporting models; in the absence of a comprehensive strategy, federal agencies are often unresponsive to both state and federal problem‐solving needs.