Urban Water Resources—Some Planning Fundamentals

In view of the deteriorating quality of surface and subsurface waters in urban regions a review of planning fundamentals is in order. The management process involves the initiation of political leadership, establishment of a goals structure, identification of alternatives, courses of action, evaluation of alternatives, selection of a course of action, implementation of the selected alternatives, and measurement of the performance of the previous action. A goals structure is suggested that offers operational definitions for values, goals, objectives, standards, policies, plans, and programs. A process for measurement of program performance with respect to goal achievement is given. A systems definition of the urban water resource provides a basis for the identification of alternate courses of action. Displaying alternate decisions using a decision tree is illustrated. Monetary costs, potential impact, and implementability are suggested as a framework to compare alternatives.