An Economic, Hydrologic, and Environmental Assessment of Water Management Alternative Plans for the South Central Texas Region

Regional water scarcity has motivated the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group to actively develop water management plans to address long-/short-term regional water needs. This study, therefore, develops an integrated Edwards Aquifer groundwater and river system simulation model to determine the “ best ” choice of regional water management plans using mixed-integer linear programming. The economic, hydrologic, and environmental consequences of the “ best ” choice of regional and other water management plans and options are evaluated and compared. Results indicate a tradeoff between the economic and environmental benefits. A slight decrease in economic benefit results in a substantial increase in environmental benefit.