Simulating regional hydrology and water management: An integrated agent-based approach

Water management is crucial to all societies. In addition to the technical challenges of moving large volumes of water from often distant sources to the populations that use them, water management entails a social challenge as well. In this paper we present a linked simulation framework in which a large-scale hydrological Water Balance Model (WBM) is linked to an Agent-Based Model (ABM) in which agents represent urban water managers. We present a test case in which agents plan individual water schedules to meet their consumers´ needs, and optionally can interact when scheduled amounts fall short of actual demand. The simulation framework allows us to examine the impact of these relationships on the larger hydrology of the region, under different policy structures and water stress. We present a case study based on water management in Phoenix, Arizona, along the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal.