Structure and support of water-resources management and decision-making

The thesis of this paper is that it is necessary to look beyond the usual role of decision-support systems (DSS) as analytical tools for assisting operational management of water-resources systems. In particular, there is a need to include components capable of supporting the political, organizational and social dimensions of the decision-making process. With the help of a case study in water-resources allocation for the Colorado River, it is shown that decision-making is not as ill-structured as first appears and this should be exploited in the design of the DSS. In the case of the Colorado River, the overall approach has been decomposed into six aspects or 'layers', each of which requires its own set of information-management tools. Classical decision-making perspectives are then used to explain the role of these layers and their significance for the development of a water-resources DSS.