This study develops and presents a conceptual framework which builds upon and extends the economics of information literature. Combining observations which emerge from a review of literature concerning organizational decision processes, this framework considers the nature of the demand and value for water resource information by individuals who participate in the decision making process found within public water management organizations. Based upon this conceptual framework the paper reports the results of an empirical model relating decision participant use of the Water Resource Council' s Second National Water Assessment and hypothetical expenditures on "national assessment type information" to personal and agency characteristics in two water basin management situations; instream versus offstream water use competition in the Missouri River basin, and low freshwater inflows to Chesapeake Bay. In addition, results of a contingent ranking investigation designed to estimate marginal water information values are presented and the potential use of the contingent ranking method by agencies in water data collection discussed. Results of the investigations indicate that previous use of specific water information products and the level of expenditures made on certain types of water information are influenced by personal and organizational characteristics. Consequently, there can exist no "correct" information system and thus no "correct" data collection plan in the absence of knowledge concerning information value. Moreover, results indicate that contingent ranking procedures involving items of information may be successfully conducted in a mail survey format and that the information value estimates derived through this technique can be employed to promote greater efficiency in water data investment. / Ph. D.

<p>In the context of climate change, increasing demands for freshwater make it necessary to manage our water resources in a sustainable way and find innovative ways to extend their life. An integrated water management approach needs to consider anthropogenic water use and reuse which represent major components of the current water cycle. In particular, unplanned, or de facto, indirect water reuse occurs in most of the U.S. river systems; however, there is little real-time documentation of it. Despite the fact that there are national and state agencies that systematically collect data on water withdrawals and wastewater discharges, their databases are organized and managed in a way that limits the ability to combine reported water data to perform large scale analysis about water use and indirect reuse. To better document these issues and to demonstrate the utility of such an analysis, I studied the Wabash River Watershed located in the U.S. Midwest. Existing data for freshwater extraction, use, discharge, and river streamflow were collected, curated and reorganized in order to characterize the water use and reuse within the basin. Indirect water reuse was estimated by comparing treated wastewater discharges with stream flows at selected points within the watershed. Results show that during the low flow months of July-October 2007, wastewater discharges into the Wabash River basin contributed 82 to 121% of the stream flow, demonstrating that the level of water use and unplanned reuse is significant. These results suggest that intentional water reuse for consumptive purposes such as landscape or agricultural irrigation could have substantial ecological impacts by diminishing stream flow during vulnerable low flow periods. This research also completed a time series watershed-scale analysis of water use and unplanned indirect reuse for the Wabash River Watershed from 2009 to 2017. Results document the occurrence of indirect water reuse over time, ranging from 3% to 134% in a water-rich area of the U.S. The time series analysis shows that reported data effectively describe the water use trends through nine years, clearly reflecting both anthropogenic and natural events in the watershed, such as the retirement of thermoelectric power plants, and the occurrence of an extreme drought in 2012. Results demonstrate the feasibility and significance of using available water datasets to perform large scale water use analysis, describe limitations encountered in the process, and highlight areas for improvement in water data management.</p>

Sura sulfatjordar (SSJ) bildas på tidigare havsbottnar med sulfidhaltiga sediment som med landhöjningen har lyfts upp ur havet och genom grundvattensänkande aktiviteter  exponerats för syre. Vörå å är ett vattendrag  i västra Finland som är kraftigt SSJ-påverkat. Närings-, trafik- och miljöcentralen i Österbotten har gjort vattenmätningar i Vörå å i flera decennier och syftet med detta arbete var att strukturera, beskriva och tolka tidigare obehandlade data från vattenmätningar som gjorts mellan 1969 och 2017 och därmed synliggöra årstidsvariationer och förändringar i vattnets kemiska sammansättning över tid. Vattenkvaliteten i Vörå å var allra sämst under höst och vår: pH &lt;5, höga sulfathalter och konduktivitet om 25–100 mS/m.  Suspenderat material och turbiditet var som högst i april medan pH, konduktivitet, järnhalt och COD var som högst under sommaren. Variationerna i vattnets kemiska sammansättning var minst under våren och störst under sommaren då flera variabler uppvisade en mycket stor spridning. I slutet av mätperioden uppvisade många variabler en liten bättring och vad denna beror på är oklart. I och med klimatförändringar har årsmedeltemperaturerna i Finland stigit vilket skulle kunna tänkas påverka tiden för högflöden. Det finns tecken i datan som tyder på sådana förändringar sedan 1970-talet. Metallmätningar som gjorts under 2000-talet jämfördes mot bakgrundsvärden, vissa uppvisade förhöjda värden. / Acid sulphate soils (ASS) form in sulphide bearing marine sediments that have been exposed to atmospheric oxygen caused by eustatic uplift and draining of cultivated fields. The river Vörå å, in western Finland, is a small stream that is severely affected by ASS. Finnish authorities have during decades sampled and analysed the water, but the data has not been interpreted. The objective of this study was to structure, describe and interpret previously untreated analyses data of the water samples from the years 1969 to 2017. Wa-ter quality was in general very bad and the worst situations occurred during springs and late autumns with pH &lt;5, high sulphate concentrations and EC between 25–100 mS/m. Suspended solids and turbidity peaked in April while pH, EC, iron concentration and COD were highest during the summer. The variations in the chemical composition of the water were lowest during the spring and most widespread during the summer. At the end of the measurement period, many variables showed a slight improvement, the reason for this is unclear. Due to climate change the mean temperatures in Finland have increased, this may possibly affect the timing for snow melt in the spring and the time for flooding during the autumn. There are signs in the data indicating such changes. Metal concentra-tions from samples collected since 2005/2010 were compared with regional background values. Some metals demonstrated high concentrations.

Uppsala Municipality has, through previous projects, tried to communicate information about public bathing sites on a map by having employees manually look up temperature readings before posting them on Facebook. The projects have shown to be an inefficient use of resources. Therefore, a user-friendly website has been built to visualise relevant information on 21 public bathing sites in Uppsala Municipality. By having access to temperatures in the water and air at bathing sites on the website, citizens, and tourists can make a more informed decision on which public bathing site they should travel to. Conducted user tests for the website show that 71.6% would use it before visiting a bathing site, and further, 20.6%, may use it. To supply the website with data, we developed an API, specifically a public data API. / Uppsala Kommun har genom tidigare projekt försökt att förmedla information om offentliga badplatser på en karta med hjälp av anställda som manuellt läser av värden för att sedan publicera dessa på Facebook. Detta har visat sig vara en ineffektiv användning av resurser. Därför har en webbsida byggts som visualiserar relevant information om 21 offentliga badplatser i Uppsala Kommun på ett användarvänligt sätt. Med webbsidan kan medborgare eller turister ta ett mer informerat beslut och semestra inom kommunen genom att ha tillgång till temperaturen i vattnet och luften vid badplatser. Utförda användartester visar att 71.6% kan tänka sig använda webbsidan, och 20.6% kan kanske tänka sig använda webbsidan inför ett badbesök. För att tillhandahålla information till webbsidan har en API utvecklats, specifikt ett öppna data API.

From the Proceedings of the 1977 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 15-16, 1977, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper describes a water supply data base being developed for the Colorado River Basin States by the University of Arizona under contract with the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. This data base is a guide to existing natural, technical, economic, and legal water data and water data agencies in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.