Using Multiobjective Optimization to Inform Green Infrastructure Decisions as Part of Robust Integrated Water Resources Management Plans
Citation:
Piscopo, A., C. Weaver, AND N. Detenbeck. Using Multiobjective Optimization to Inform Green Infrastructure Decisions as Part of Robust Integrated Water Resources Management Plans. JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, 147(6):1-12, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0001369
Impact/Purpose:
This study uses multi-objective optimization applied to EPA watershed modeling tools to generate candidate watershed management plans which account for the competing goals of maximizing reductions in stormwater runoff and nutrient loads while minimizing plan cost. These plans are then evaluated under a variety of future climate scenarios to understand how to further design plans that will be robust across the range of potential future climate-driven changes in watershed hydrology. This integrated approach is demonstrated for a rapidly-developing watershed in EPA Region 1, the Taunton River watershed, which is experiencing water quality issues related to point and nonpoint source nutrients.
Description:
Uncertainty in the impacts of climate change and development on freshwater resources pose significant challenges for management of freshwater resources. Integrated and adaptive approaches to water management are a promising means of addressing uncertainty that afford flexibility in balancing multiple stakeholder objectives. However, guidance on designing such plans is lacking. In this study, we use multi-objective optimization to strategically incorporate green infrastructure (GI) into integrated water resources management plans that maximize reductions in nutrient loads, minimize stormwater runoff, and minimize costs. Robust decision-making methods are applied to the resulting plan options to evaluate how optimized GI implementation varies under different possible future climates and to determine which solutions would be robust under a range of plausible future conditions. We demonstrate these coupled methods using a case study in southern Massachusetts, to relieve a rapidly developing watershed of its water quality issues related to point and nonpoint source nutrients.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Using Multiobjective Optimization to Inform Green Infrastructure Decisions as Part of Robust Integrated Water Resources Management Plans