Simone Williams poster was accepted and will be displayed at the virtual conference of the USGIF GEOIntegration Summit

Simone Williams is an incoming ALRS PhD student for Fall 2020.  Already she is able to have her poster accepted in tn the USGIF GEOIntergration Summit Virtual event, September 28-29, 2020.  Simone is from Jamaica, but she completed her MS in Earth & Environmental Resource Management from the University of South Crolina in 2006.  She has an ABD in Geographical & Sustainability Science from the University of Iowa.  Her research proposal will be on: Water Security: Groundwater Resourcesand Climate Change Vulnerability, Impact and Adaptations in Critical Geographic Areas(Arid\Semi-AridRegions,Islands and Urban Areas

Simone's Advisor is Professor Sharon Megdal(link is external), Director of The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC).

Below is a copy of her poster's abstract:

GIS Application in Local Water Resource Planning in Westmoreland, Jamaica
Abstract:
Water is one of the most important natural elements on earth and is essential to maintaining life.
Water availability and quality influence human lives and development; both directly and indirectly.
The lack of access to water is widely accepted as a limiting factor to sustainable development.

In the context of current local sustainable development planning in Westmoreland, application of
GIS-based analysis to conduct a situational analysis of the local water resource management
landscape is explored. The analysis examines location and availability of water resources relative
to human population, access to water by human population, and selected anthropogenic and
climate change impacts on water resources along with some resulting risks to sustainable water
resource management. An illustration of GIS-based analysis as a water planning tool is presented
with the benefit of assisting planning professionals and decision makers in making economic,
efficient and strategic decisions. Further, the effective use of GIS-based techniques to replace,
complement and supplement data collection is outlined in relation to various aspects and different
types of local water resources management issue, such as surface and ground water availability,
water infrastructure development planning, and provision of access to potable water.

The analysis described can help planners, water resource managers, politicians and local
populations to appreciate the potential of applying GIS-based analysis in the management of water
resources. It has obvious economic, environmental and social benefits; particularly in improving
local sustainable development planning and demonstrating linkages between research and action
to address water and sustainable development issues in local jurisdictions.