INTEGRATING GROUNDWATER-FLOW AND LAND-USE-PLANNING MODELS TO ADDRESS COMPLEXITY AND TO FACILITATE PARTICIPATORY MODELING

Originally designed as means to study complexity and non-linear behavior for land-use planning when groundwater resources are a source of water to a developing area, an integrated groundwater-flow/land-use-planning model also may serve as a platform for participatory modeling involving hydrologists, planners, and stakeholders. The U.S. Geological Survey numerical groundwater-flow model MODFLOW was integrated into a java-based water-use/land-use planning model (WULUM). WULUM was designed to simulate complexity and non-linear behavior in the study of zoning and other land management approaches for planning. By integrating MODFLOW into WULUM, the physical mechanisms simulated in MODFLOW can be brought into the land-use planning study and potential feedback between the water resources system and urban, residential, industrial, or agricultural use can be studied. For the groundwater modeler, the integrated system provides a way to more realistically project water use for different development scenarios thereby improving the utility of the results from the groundwater-flow model. Participatory modeling studies, where stakeholders interact directly with models in collaboration with hydrologists and planners, are envisioned to help stakeholders and decisionmakers facing water-resources issues learn about the potential relations between development, planning, zoning, and groundwater extraction.