Premium
PLANNING PROCESS FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN REGIONAL WATER RESOURCES PLANNING 1
Author(s) -
Moorhouse Maggie,
Elliff Scott
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2002.tb04335.x
Subject(s) - public participation , plan (archaeology) , government (linguistics) , focus group , process (computing) , legislation , business , resource (disambiguation) , public relations , newspaper , environmental planning , the internet , environmental resource management , public administration , political science , computer science , marketing , geography , environmental science , world wide web , computer network , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , advertising , law , operating system
The state of Texas passed legislation in 1997 that established a process for developing a 50‐year state water plan through a bottoms‐up approach involving representation from at least 11 recommended special interest groups. Moorhouse Associates Inc. was contracted to develop and implement a Public Participation Plan for the South Central Texas Region. The two goals of the public process were to take planning information out to the public and to provide a format for bringing the public opinion back to the planning group. The overall goal of the project was to provide public input throughout the planning process that will facilitate the development of a water plan that is widely accepted by the public. By using county government to establish focus groups, participation was encouraged from all of the twenty‐one counties in the region. The tools used in the process included an Internet site, surveys, focus groups, public meetings, community group presentations, media communications, and newspaper clippings. The public participation process as implemented, maintained communication throughout the planning process and at key decision points. This ongoing communication helped alleviate an initial uneasiness with the integrated resource planning approach.