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Joe LoBuglio P.E.
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 | Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Sciences & Engineering, UNC-Chapel Hill, Advisor: Dr. Greg Characklis. |
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Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, 1990. |
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Bachelor of Science in Engineering; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, 1986. |
An Integrated Approach to Evaluating the Economic and Environmental Impacts of Drought Through Probabilistic Modeling of a Multi-reservoir River Basin
Water supply challenges are increasing worldwide and demand for water resources in the United States continues to increase even as undeveloped resources become more difficult to find. The consequences of increased demand are evident even in the traditionally water-rich region of the southeastern United States where hydropower production competes with municipal, industrial, and agriculture users, especially in times of drought. As society faces ever greater levels of water scarcity, understanding the economic value of these competing uses and the environmental consequences of various water allocation strategies is critical.
The objective of this research is the creation of a probability-based model for the Catawba River basin, a multi-reservoir system in North Carolina. The model will be used to develop strategies that maximize hydropower generation and municipal supply reliability subject to maintaining a healthy freshwater ecosystem. Ecological and economic considerations will be integrated with a system-wide probabilistic water balance model so that a broader set of outcome variables (e.g. chlorophyll a concentrations, total net economic benefit) can be considered.
