Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework
Published on: July 24, 2016
Expert stakeholder attitudes and support for alternative water sources in a groundwater depleted region
Treavor H Boyer1, Christine Overdevest, Lisa Christiansen
1Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, P.O. Box 116450, Gainesville, FL 32611-6450, USA. thboyer@ufl.edu
Abstract:
The main objectives of this research were to quantify the risks/benefits and impacts of alternative water sources (AWSs) as perceived by expert stakeholders and to evaluate the overall support for multiple AWSs by expert stakeholders. The St. Johns River (SJR) basin, FL, USA was chosen as a case study for AWSs because it is a fresh groundwater depleted region and there are ongoing activities related to water supply planning. Expert stakeholders included federal, state, and local governments, public utilities, consulting engineering and industry, and environmental and social non-governmental organizations. AWSs under consideration in the SJR basin include surface water, desalination, water reclamation, and water conservation. A two-phase research approach was followed that focused on expert stakeholders. First, an elicitation study was used to identify salient beliefs about AWSs. Open-ended questions were asked about the risks/benefits of AWSs in terms of the three pillars of sustainability: ecological, economic, and human health impacts. Second, an online survey was constructed using beliefs identified during the elicitation study. The online survey was used to quantify attitudes toward and overall support for AWSs. The salient beliefs of expert stakeholders were dominated by the ecological pillar of sustainability. The support of expert stakeholders for AWSs, from least favorable to most favorable, was surface water withdrawals
Related Concept Videos
Water and Mineral Acquisition
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Quality of Water
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Design Example: Analyzing Capacity Contours for Flood Risk Assessment
Testing Water Quality

