← System Models Planning
What are these models?
Models that distribute available water across regions, sectors, or users — balancing the competing needs of agriculture, cities, industry, and the environment.
What are they used for?
- Balancing competing demands during scarcity
- Supporting policy decisions on water rights
- Managing basin-scale water systems
- Evaluating water trading and market mechanisms
Typical inputs
- Total water availability
- Demand by sector (agriculture, urban, industrial, environmental)
- Policy rules and entitlements
- Environmental flow requirements
Typical outputs
- Allocation decisions by user and region
- System-wide trade-offs and impacts
- Scenario analysis for drought or growth
Tools & sources
Where these models are used
| Case Study | Tool / Model | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Murray–Darling Basin Plan | eWater Source / basin allocation models | Allocates water across regions, users, and environment |
| Indus Basin Irrigation System | Canal system simulation models | Distributes water across agricultural users and provinces |
| California SGMA Implementation | MODFLOW / C2VSim groundwater models | Models groundwater sustainability under extraction limits |
Water • Australia
Murray–Darling Basin Plan
Landmark water reform balancing agricultural extraction with environmental flows across Australia’s largest river system.
Water • Pakistan
Indus Basin Irrigation System
The world’s largest contiguous irrigation network serving 18 million hectares of farmland across Pakistan.
Water • USA
California SGMA Implementation
Landmark legislation requiring local agencies to achieve groundwater sustainability by 2042, transforming governance of over-exploited aquifers.
Related use cases
Decisions these models support:
- Allocate water between competing users — Distribute available water fairly between agriculture, cities, industry, and the environment when...
- Transfer water between regions — Move large volumes of water from a water-rich region to a water-scarce one through canals, tunnel...
- Monitor river and reservoir levels — Continuously measure water levels in rivers, reservoirs, and aquifers so that operators have an u...