The major goals of this Participatory Modeling Framework are as follows:
The goals of this workshop are:
Bill Werrick's Cokeville Reservoir MOCK Shared Vision Model. Major advantage - software is probably available on every computer. Disadvantage - somewhat difficult to built and modify.
Systems dynamics modeling software. Plus: User-friendly and visually compelling. Minus: software needs be purchased for $400-500. No optimization.
Same as Stella but cheaper and allows optimization. User interface a bit more flaky but still can do pretty much the same.
Developed by HydroLogics, Inc. OASIS software "is a powerful tool that enables parties with diverse and often conflicting goals - such as cities, power facilities, environmentalists, and agriculturalists - to work together to develop operating policies and solutions that mutually satisfy their diverse objectives. It is capable of modeling virtually any water system in the world, from small and simple to large and complex. OASIS is a major advancement in the modeling of water and hydropower systems, featuring unprecedented ease of use and effectiveness of results".
Click HERE to download a Powerpoint presentation about OASIS, or view slides on-line.
Summary of the 3/22/07 Working Group Conference Call
The call began at 10:00 a.m. with the following participants:
Bill Arguto, Mark Bennett, Hal Cardwell, Bill Cox, Nick Konchuba, Scott Kudlas, Monica Licher, Mark Mansfield, Steve Nebiker, Regina Poeske, Vijay Satyal, Alexey Voinov, Terry Wagner
The call began with a brief overview of the purposes of the James River shared vision planning pilot study and review of activities to date. Although the study is oriented toward development of a process ("the process is the product"), the current focus is on development of a rudimentary model to simulate flow in the James River, and the discussion quickly turned to modeling issues. Considerations of scope of the initial model resulted in a decision that it would be limited to water flow at this point, with the potential for linkage to water quality models later. The ability for the model to utilize daily time steps was seen as important for the analysis of system performance during drought, but a monthly time step may be necessary due to data limitations in such areas as withdrawal records. Some members indicated that daily records could likely be obtained for major withdrawals. The issue of appropriate time step was left open for the present since initial steps in the modeling exercise can proceed without a final decision at this point. Another issue related to scope was the treatment to be given to tributaries, some of which may involve fishery issues or other water use conflicts due to concentrations of water users. A decision was made to focus on the main stream initially, with attention to be given to major withdrawal points and tributary entry points. The main stream has several streamflow gages, and statistical analysis will allow extension of gage records to longer time periods and transfer of development of flow records at ungaged locations.
The discussion then focused on software options. Excel has the advantage of wide availability to most computer users but has the disadvantages of non-transparency and its non-visual nature. Stella was seen as a good alternative since it aids visualization and is a simpler approach for new users; however, it is proprietary and not already widely available. Madonna, which is similar to Stella, provides an optimization feature which can be used in conjunction with Stella models. Oasis, another proprietary software option, has been developed specifically for river basin modeling and has substantial potential for analysis of alternative management scenarios. It has seen considerable use in VA and is being evaluated by VA DEQ for further applications. One of the working members will consider arranging a demonstration of Oasis for the working group.
Another conference call was tentatively planned in approximately three weeks. Two principal action items were identified for attention prior to the next call:
Suggestions on these items should be forwarded to Alexey Voinov or Bill Cox.