Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Approach (Research Paper Sample)
All students are required to participate equally in a group project to research, review, and write a water management plan for a specific watershed or other jurisdiction.
Students will choose their own teams of 4 to 5 members. As a last resort, the instructor may assign students to a team if they do not choose a team by the end of the second week. Students cannot leave a team once they have been assigned responsibilities by the team. Students will use the Break Room discussion area to solicit for team members. This is a big project and I expect the students to work as a team. Individual reports are not allowed. Team Leaders are chosen by each group and the Team Leader will submit the Group Project Report.
You could assume that your team is an environmental consulting company that has been hired by the State Government in Watershed or River Basin X. The State Department of Water Resources wants you to write a comprehensive drought management plan that they can use to address, reduce, or eliminate a given set of water quantity and/or quality problems. Assume you will be paid a 25% bonus, if you have write an effective and implementable watershed management plan that reduces project costs by $2,000.000.
Each team may begin by selecting a reference jurisdiction within the United States If you are considering an issue at the watershed level, use EPA's “Surf Your Watershed” web site http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm. Teams can also identify critical water issues through other Federal Agency or State documents.
The selected region, river basin, or water shed must contain at least one impaired water-body or a broad water problem such as drought. Each team must identify 2 or 3 primary causes of impairments (problems/concerns) such as overuse or ground water depletion.
The team must conduct literature reviews/research and present solutions on how to address the causes of the water impairment. There are existing plans (including but not limited to watershed plans) that you can use as guides, examples, and then use them to develop the Group's own plan. Teams are also to welcome to interview experts on a particular water issue.
For example, a team may choose a stream or lake that is polluted with nutrients, PCB and bacteria/ E. coli. The team must then find sources of these problems, priority solutions to address these problems, costs for the solutions, etc., and write a comprehensive management plan as to how the problems can be reduced or addressed through, for example, institutional or technological changes.
You will have to make certain assumptions (since you do not have enough time to collect actual data). For example, you may estimate cost/budget for installing culverts, planting trees; timeline for the project, etc.
The water management plan must be of graduate-level quality and demonstrate effective communication and research skills. Careful attention should be given to organization, citation/references of source of information (no plagiarism), grammar, and the presentation of data/facts. Any copied materials must be properly cited. You should use APA writing format.
As a team, you should be able to collaborate and work together regardless of your geographical location in the world; research, review, and critique an IWRM plan; and write a comprehensive summary of the IWRM.
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Approach
The availability and quality of water are essential to life, but too much or too little can bring disasters. The manner in which water is managed for multiple uses is critical to whether or not positive or negative outcomes will result. Effective water management should promote “the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources to maximize economic and social welfare without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems” (Global Water Partnership, 2000). The IWRM perspective defines many desired outcomes: positive changes in national economic efficiency, national environmental quality effects, public safety, and social effects (Shabman & Scodari, 2012).
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B (ii)
Coordination Water Management Integration
The coordination integration of Monocacy and the Catoctin Watershed Alliance is a mutual, non-advocacy, collaboration efforts among the individuals as well as the organization's aspirations to join hands towards the improvement of healthy of watershed resources. The collaboration has grown in more than two years of action planning for Monocacy Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) leading Frederick County to coordinate and assists the local states in the planning process; participate in decision making to continue their affiliation as well as cooperation to foster implementation of planned WRAS.
Agreements provides technical as well as finance in response to unified watershed valuation that assists the local government willing towards the development implementation of watersheds. The WRAS in Monocacy address the need and the importance of restoration as well as conservation in the priority watershed (Hutzell, Starr & Assessment, 2012). The lower Monocacy Rive, DNR, local cooperation in public and private organization are involved and associates in management strategy of watershed. The earlier devising steps of Monocacy WRAS implements watershed through from the information gathered locals and the shareholders. WRAS provides necessary primary outcomes grounded on the data and identifying sources to conduct more analysis of legislation and policies. They provide common understanding around Monocacy River crunch and the local government, businesses, and private groups.
Currently, community groups having local problems and potential ideas for the restoration of the community in watershed protection in Monocacy project approach the shareholders of the alliance and ask for assistance. The requests are often referred to the community coordinators of the restoration who in turn alerts the appropriate partners of the project and simplifies initial conversation. They conduct meeting that provides discern the ultimate strategies for planning as well as securing the needed resources in the local government (Espinola et al. 2014). Mostly, when the interested local community groups are concentrated in a particular watershed source, collaboration and funding potential for the project increases. The shareholders and the managing team of the Monocacy River protect the inhabitant and the environment of the watershed for the benefits of the locals.
The Monocacy Scenic River Citizen Advisory Board (SRCAB) mutually embodies Fredric and Carroll counties along the appointed members respectively through Frederick and Carroll commission of the counties (Gellis & Noe, 2013). The named board conducts consultation of Monocacy River different watershed activities roles. The sustenance was establishment in 1978 with twenty members who were ordained to respond to the Monocacy River designation at the Scenic. Due to Monocacy designation, it requires special treatment and promotion of eligibility of the conservation of the river.
The objectives of the management of watershed in Monocacy focus on improved water quality to help maintenance and restoration of the ecological health productivity of the river (Espinola et al. 2014). The locals are encouraged on the importance of the compatible use of land and attention to the environment to exploit protection and utilization of natural resources. The private organization identifies facilities appropriate use and alternative protective measures of relevant ecological and significant scenic, archaeological sites and valued resources. The government provides facilities that are used to improve multi-jurisdictional support along with organization of controlling board and safeguard the river corridors. The management integrates and increases public awareness on the importance of Monocacy river resources values en route to environmental and public relation education.
C (iv)
Phase IV: Implement IWRM Actions, Monitor, and Cycle (Plan)
The principal goal of IWRM becomes the grip of managing water sustainability fashion that achieves balance among the water competitive use and water requirement. The goals of IWRM are to more of a process rather than substance in watershed management. It implies that IWRM establishes processes that offer the opportunity for public engagement, stakeholders along with all levels of government essentials to facilitate and provide balanced, sustainable water management outcomes (Saunders, 2012). IWRM embraces various essential principles that depend on a variety of terms being described and planned through regulations, yet they reflect a similar concept. In a recent report of AWRA 2012, indicated that adoption of watershed approach perspective cannot be employed in an isolated from other principles and must interact and reinforce each other (Todd & Preston, 2012).
Adopting the watershed approach in Monocacy project focus will benefit a defined local support within the community where the principle of holism advocates that water management should adopt a watershed perspective and focus on the interconnection of local water issues and the wide range of watershed issues (Saunders, 2012). Since there is a growing recognition of perceived water sources problems in the dimension of numerous concerns of the safeness and quality of surface water, the diverse interest groups should be targeted to implement solution and conduct survey of watershed management and legislative required to protect the sustainable environment habitat (Gellis & Noe, 2013). Given watershed perspective, the interrelationship of resources of water in Frederic County especially Monocacy River and the political boundaries implies that water management policies must view watershed systems and explore the interconnection and influence watershed protection.
The monitoring of the IWRM should begin by identifying the overall relevant watershed resources across all associations and related problems or opportunity to be under consideration. They include all the water resources of Monocacy River projects as well as programs ongoing or are being planned in the watersheds. The proponent, managers and stakeholders in the management team that is interested in advocacy of water management in Monocacy River should take responsibility for land and water management in the watershed and assess whether the policies and legislations are well followed according to the use of water and protection of watershed from pollution (Hutzell, Starr & Assessment, 2012).. The principle of IWRM collects data on the processes going on the watershed and use it for evaluation of measured required or improvement needed to perfect the resources of the watershed. The enhanced collaboration, information and network sharing across the water sources should be supervised by the federal, state agencies and the international water management organizations.
The benefits of outcomes, environmental, spanning economy, safeties and quality of life security output as well as the performance measures must be defined in watershed management. Adopting the watershed approach looks forward to interconnection among local issues and the entire region (Espinola et al. 2014). IWRM focus on the integration of water resources planning and management with human resources and finance to balance collaboration with government, stakeholders, and private institution. The modeling of participative decision-making process tools helps to visualize the impact of management where the sound science and innovation intervenes to provide the best information, support, and decision-making process. Therefore, the transparency and accountability of planning management of Monocacy watershed provide sharing of information in a dynamic process to the public and states.
D (i)
Suitable Environment Policies, Strategies and Legislation
The environmental policy and planning of house bill 786 on storm-water management Act of 2007 focus on the conservation of land for the development process that alters the hydrological cycle as well as impacts watershed health (Davis et al., 2011). After cutting down trees and clearing land for construction purpose, infrastructure and building are developed (Gellis & Noe, 2013). The roads, rooftops, and direct ways are considered impervious surfaces in comparison to the vegetation, landscape that has been replaced. In the urban environment, during the rainy season, the water runs off of the impervious surface, gains heat and pick up oil, sediments and chemical substances that are transferred to rivers in this case Monocacy watershed via the gutters and curbs and sewers (Hunicke & Darr, 2011). The act tries to control these pollutants discharges through regulation of the use of chemicals and oil spillage since it affects the quality of water and the health of downstream aquatics.
With the assistance of the diverse groups’ partnership, Frederick County public work division of the developed watershed restoration of the watershed plan concerning Monocacy River (Hutzell, Starr & Assessment, 2012). The strategic restoration for the health of Glade and Israel Creeks are associated with the plan. The WRAS policy is part of Clean Water Action Plan in Monocacy River under the federal initiative to guide states in renewing efforts for the restoration and p...
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