Modelling urban water management transitions: A case of rainwater harvesting

Authored by Christian Urich, Md Sayed Iftekhar, Adam C Castonguay, Ana Deletic

Date Published: 2018

DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.05.001

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: C++ DynaMind

Model Documentation: ODD Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: https://github.com/iut-ibk/DynaMind-ToolBox

Abstract

A promising way to address the growing demand for water supply and improve the liveability of cities is to invest in decentralised multifunctional urban water technologies. However, the adoption of multifunctional water technologies is a complex issue that requires cross-disciplinary approaches. This paper uses an agent-based model that integrates economic and environmental factors to explore and simulate the decision-making and interactions of two types of agents: a regulator and households. The model is applied to evaluate strategies to increase the adoption of rainwater tanks in a suburb of Melbourne, a city that has often suffered from severe droughts. The model was able to replicate the uptake of rainwater tanks by households for 2005-2014, the period known as the `Millennium Drought'. Results indicate that using economic instruments alone may have been insufficient to promote the adoption of rainwater tanks, and that water restrictions have had a major impact on the uptake. (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tags

Agent-based model Simulation Adoption diffusion Technology adoption systems Drought Australia Hybrid Human decisions Odd protocol Demand Policies Melbourne Sustainable urban water systems Environmental policies Rainwater harvesting Diffusion-models Supply systems