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The water supply is fine: decision‐maker perceptions of water quantity and supply‐side management
Author(s) -
Cockerill Kristan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/wej.12029
Subject(s) - demand side , supply side , water supply , perception , business , supply and demand , demand management , supply management , water resources , environmental resource management , environmental economics , water resource management , environmental planning , environmental science , economics , environmental engineering , ecology , psychology , commerce , neuroscience , biology , macroeconomics , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , microeconomics
Years of research have called for more science to be integrated into water management decisions and for a shift from supply‐side to demand‐side management; yet, there remains a strong emphasis on supply‐side approaches and in many areas limited attention to hydrological data. A survey and interviews with decision‐makers in western N orth C arolina reveal that there is only low‐level concern about water quantity, and this drives a continued emphasis on supply‐side management and no perceived need for hydrological data. The historical realities of low demand and abundant water have generated a perception of ‘water supply’ as disconnected from physical, hydrological systems and allowed for ad hoc decision‐making processes to prevail. The lack of well‐established processes may, ironically, provide significant opportunities for employing collaboration among researchers and decision‐makers to develop policies and processes that integrate data into making water management decisions and thus prompt increased attention to water demand.