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<br />OOQQ58 <br /> <br />South Platte Decision Support, 3 <br /> <br />When water exchanges or sales are proposed, existing users are often forced to resort to litigation to <br />preserve their rights. This results in high legal and engineering costs, and can place an unfair <br />burden on the downstream right-holder. With an accepted and accessible basin model, some of <br />these costs might be avoided. <br /> <br />Even with increasing demands, unappropriated water still flows in the South Platte during some <br />parts of the year. Colorado needs to explore ways to more fully realize her entitlement under the <br />interstate compact with Nebraska.and maximize the beneficial use of that entitlement, while <br />meeting ecological needs the year around. Development of a DSS could be the next step in this <br />exploration. <br /> <br />lNITIA TING A SOUTH PLATTE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM <br /> <br />Defining DSS <br /> <br />A Decision Support System (DSS) is a computerized system of databases and models, with a user <br /> <br /> <br />interface that invites operation without requiring a degree in computer science, In the past, water <br /> <br /> <br />management models have been constructed to require data input formulated specifically for the <br /> <br /> <br />model. The DSS concept now being initiated for the Colorado River involves one central database <br /> <br /> <br />and a "suite" of models which will all access that same database. A single user interface will, in <br /> <br /> <br />turn, access all the models, providing continuity between applications. <br /> <br />A Decision Support System is intended to facilitate the development and evaluation of alternative <br />solutions to ill-structured or ill-defined problems. A DSS does Illl1 automate the decision process; it <br />is specifically intended for problems that cannot be automated. A DSS supports decision making, it <br />does not make decisions. <br /> <br />Equipped with the proper models a water management DSS could assist in evaluation of proposed <br />(or needed) trading scenarios and augmentation plans by analyzing their potential flow and quality <br />effects. If a DSS were developed, it should address the major issues identified above: minimum <br />streamflow strategies, preservation of agriculture in the face of growing urban demands, and water <br />quality. <br /> <br />Current Status of South Platte Decision Support <br /> <br />In recent years, several efforts have been made toward developing decision support on the South <br />Platte. Denver Water currently models the South Platte drainage from the headwaters to Henderson <br />and has discussed expanding their model to Julesburg. The South Platte Water Rights Management <br />System (SPWRMS), delivered to the SEO in 1994, lacks physically based modeling capabilities but <br /> <br />04111/95 <br />