Evaluating Municipal Water Management Options with the Incorporation of Water Quality and Energy Consumption

Rapidly growing population and associated socio-economic development are placing increasing stress on water resources and posing challenges for water management. This study develops a system dynamics model for municipal water management in Hillsborough County by incorporating water quality and energy consumption associated with water supply in decision-making. The result shows that the percentage of surface water withdrawal will decrease by 11.7~23.3 % with considering water quality, and this results in the simulated surface water level increases by 1.32~1.39 %. With considering both water quality and energy consumption, the surface water level increases by 1.10~1.30 %. There is a slight decrease in groundwater storage (0.02~0.08 %) compared with the reference behavior. The result also finds that water conservation education is the most effective option among the seven management options reducing the freshwater withdrawals. It reduces the freshwater withdrawals by 14.9 %, followed by rebates on indoor water appliances. Rebates on outdoor water appliances and irrigation restriction are effective to decrease the outdoor water demand. The model is sensitive to precipitation and a more accurate representation of precipitation should be employed.