Systems analysis of decision support systems for water resource users and planners in Eastern Ontario.

Abstract

Following up on a body of research commencing with the Wastewater Allocation Study of the South Nation River [1992] in Eastern Ontario, the problems facing watershed managers are assessed. Following a systems engineering methodology, the WMDSS requirements are decomposed and ranked in order of priority. This yields a ranking for development of tool and information functional groups to support the following assessment types: surface water quality, surface levels and flows, integration, groundwater flows/levels, rainfall/runoff modelling and time series analysis. Functional analysis then provides the architecture and data flows necessary to meet system requirements: primary sub-systems for management of the database, knowledge base, model base, graphical user interface and output reporting are characterised. The current state of the science of watershed management is assessed with a view towards meeting the identified system functionality. With a comprehensive object-oriented analysis and design (OOA/D), the framework necessary for production of a contemporary Watershed Management Decision Support System (WMDSS) is outlined and assessed in light of current tools in use today. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)