← Use Cases Allocate
What is this?
Distribute available water fairly between agriculture, cities, industry, and the environment when there is not enough for everyone.
When does it happen?
Ongoing governance challenge. Becomes acute during droughts or when a new major user (city, farm, mine) enters the system.
What data is used?
Total available water, licensed entitlements, actual usage metering, environmental flow requirements, economic value of water uses.
What decision is made?
“Who gets how much water? Should allocations be reduced? Should water trading be used to reallocate?”
What action follows?
Set seasonal allocations; enforce extraction limits; enable water trading; protect minimum environmental flows.
Related decision patterns
Proven strategies for handling this scenario:
Basin governance systems
When multiple users (farmers, cities, industry, environment) draw from the same river or aquifer, over-extraction and conflict are inevitable without rules.
Case studies
Real-world examples of this use case in practice: