DEVELOPMENT OF A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR WATER QUALITY MANAGERS: CONCEPTS AND STRUCTURE

Water quality scientists in Australia are responding to the need from managers and politicians to predict the future of estuarine and marine systems. However, poor communication between scientists and managers can hinder understanding of each other’s needs. This can lead to inappropriate and ineffective use of monitoring and predictive tools in the decision making process. Furthermore, scientists involved in this process generally have expertise in only one area: monitoring or modeling. This Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (Coastal CRC) project aims to develop a tool to educate and direct decision making on monitoring and modeling. The PC-based education tool will be a knowledge-driven decision support system (DSS) that will hold a series of knowledge bases (a collection of facts, rules, and procedures) including: basic concepts and definitions, classification of models, types of monitoring, data requirements for modeling and information on linking water quality models to catchment information. The tool will be designed in the first case to assist a specific management issue, the licensing and regulation of wastewater treatment plants, and will be trialed with a target user group. This paper will present an overview of the project concept, the support tool structure, and examples of knowledge base content.