System dynamics for water resource sustainability issues: assessing the impact of river restoration plans in the Upper-Middle Ciliwung river basin, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

A system dynamics (SD) model was developed for assessing the impact of river restoration plans on the sustainability of water resources based on a case study of the Upper-Middle Ciliwung river basin in Indonesia. The river restoration scenarios were used to compare the impact of proposed river restoration activities, specifically, the use of processed wastewater (reclaimed water), increased agricultural water demand efficiency, agricultural land reduction, and inter-basin water transfer. Based on the evaluation without river restoration plans, the relative water stress indicator (RWSI) shows a value > 0.4, which means that a basin is in a highly stressed and critical condition. By combining various restoration plans, the RWSI value was < 0.4, which means the river restoration plans restored the sustainability of the water resources in the basin. The SD model was developed to understand and seek solutions for decision-makers in sustainable water resource management.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainable
• water resources
• river restoration
• system dynamics model
• relative water stress indicator

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).