Evaluating sustainability criteria for water resource decision making: A case study from the assiniboine delta aquifer region

Abstract

In this study we examine the implementation and practicality of three sustainability criteria: reversibility, risk and equity in the context of groundwater use and allocation in the Assiniboine Delta Aquifer (ADA) region. The objectives of the study were to design a strategy for implementing the three sustainability criteria, to test the feasibility of the criteria, to recommend improvements to the criteria and to provide insight into the sustainability of groundwater use in the ADA region. The criteria were used to evaluate three separate policy structures that could be used tomanage the aquifer. Data were collected from government and industry, stakeholder preferences collected during a series of workshops, and expert opinion.Analysis of the data provided mixed results. No one scenario was preferred by all the criteria. However, the researchers felt that the criteria could be useful in rounding out amultiple criteria decision making framework along with other toolssuch as benefit cost analysis and environmental assessment. Recommendations include refinement of the tools used to collect the riskcriteria data, further development of the proportionality- and need-based aspects of the equity criteria, and further research into the issue of expert opinion in sustainability and environmental assessment. © 1999 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.