WEAP is a software tool for integrated water resources planning that attempts to assist rather than substitute for the skilled planner. It provides a comprehensive, flexible and user-friendly framework for planning and policy analysis. A growing number of water professionals are finding WEAP to be a useful addition to their toolbox of models, databases, spreadsheets and other software. This introduction presents WEAP's purpose, approach, and structure; a detailed technical description of WEAP capabilities is available in a separate publication, the
WEAP User Guide.
Background
Many regions are facing formidable freshwater management challenges. Allocation of limited water resources, concerns regarding environmental quality, planning under climate variability and uncertainty, and the need to develop and implement sustainable water use strategies are increasingly pressing issues for water resource planners. Conventional supply-oriented simulation models are not always adequate for exploring the full range of management options.
Over the last decade, an integrated approach to water development has emerged which places water supply projects in the context of demand-side management, and water quality and ecosystem preservation and protection. WEAP incorporates these values into a practical tool for water resources planning and policy analysis. WEAP places demand-side issues such as water use patterns, equipment efficiencies, re-use strategies, costs, and water allocation schemes on an equal footing with supply-side topics such as stream flow, groundwater resources, reservoirs, and water transfers. WEAP is also distinguished by its integrated approach to simulating both the natural (e.g., evapotranspirative demands, runoff, baseflow) and engineered components (e.g., reservoirs, groundwater pumping) of water systems. This allows the planner access to a more comprehensive view of the broad range of factors that must be considered in managing water resources for present and future use. The result is an effective tool for examining alternative water development and management options.
WEAP operates on the basic principle of a water balance and can be applied to municipal and agricultural systems, a single watershed or complex transboundary river basin systems. Moreover, WEAP can simulate a broad range of natural and engineered components of these systems, including rainfall runoff, baseflow, and groundwater recharge from precipitation; sectoral demand analyses; water conservation; water rights and allocation priorities, reservoir operations; hydropower generation; pollution tracking and water quality; vulnerability assessments; and ecosystem requirements. A financial analysis module also allows the user to investigate cost-benefit comparisons for projects.
The analyst represents the system in terms of its various supply sources (e.g., rivers, creeks, groundwater, reservoirs, and desalination plants); withdrawal, transmission and wastewater treatment facilities; water demands; pollution generation; and ecosystem requirements. The data structure and level of detail can be easily customized to meet the requirements and data availability for a particular system and analysis.
The Stockholm Environment Institute provided primary support for the development of WEAP.
Hydrologic Engineering Center of the US Army Corps of Engineers funded significant enhancements. A number of agencies, including the
UN,
World Bank,
USAID,
US EPA,
IWMI,
Water Research Foundation (formerly AwwaRF) and the
Global Infrastructure Fund of Japan
have provided project support. WEAP has been applied in water assessments in dozens of countries, including :
the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Egypt, Israel, Oman, Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, China, South Korea, and Thailand.
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