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Optimizing Sustainable Integrated Use of Groundwater, Surface Water and Reclaimed Water for the Competing Demands of Agricultural Net Return and Urban Population

Rapid population growth increases the competing water demand for agriculture and municipalities. This situation urges the necessity of using integrated water management to increase water supply and find possible symbiotic urban-agriculture relationships. Many studies have been done to simulate the integrated use of surface water, groundwater and reclaimed water for different water users. However, few studies use simulation/optimization (S-O) models for water resources to explicitly represent detailed interactions between the different resources as well as the relationship between users and resources.
This research study uses an S-O model to show the symbiotic relationship between urban and agricultural water use. This model fully links the nonlinear flows of groundwater from multiple aquifer layers, surface waters, reclaimed water, and delayed returns of non-consumed water for municipal and agricultural uses. Using specific aquifer and stream properties, and related assumptions, the optimization result shows there is a symbiotic relationship between urban and agricultural water use. The unconsumed water returns to the hydrologic system, for both surface water and groundwater increase agricultural net return by 8.6 %, and urban population by 0.4%.
This particular problem uses ModelMuse to create simulation input files, and SOMOS-Map to create the optimization input files to run the simulation/optimization problem in SOMOS. In addition to presenting an S-O model, we also provide practical information on how to create the model. The results of the study and the explanation on how to apply the method may be helpful information for engineers and water managers.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-6067
Date01 May 2016
CreatorsLanda, Silvia Anastasia
PublisherDigitalCommons@USU
Source SetsUtah State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceAll Graduate Theses and Dissertations
RightsCopyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu).

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