Abstract

A Water Demand Data Model for the Upper Colorado River
Track: Water Resources
Authors: Kevin Sampson, Olga Wilhelmi

The complexity of the water demand and supply balance that exists in the Upper Colorado River basin and potential vulnerabilities to present-day and future droughts calls for a local-level, scalable analysis of water demand and its distribution by sectors and administrative units. This data model was designed to provide a quantitative spatial analysis framework for topologically connecting the water users to the network of water delivery systems within the context of a basin or an administrative unit. The combination of the spatial and non-spatial elements in the database allows comprehensive analysis of potential drought situations and the users affected. The effort resulted in a geodatabase and a data model (NIDIS Water Demand data model) that provide a scalable, flexible approach for estimation of water demand. GIS provides a suitable platform for performing multiple analyses regarding water resources in the Upper Colorado River Basin.