Professor Leigh Tesfatsion of the Department of Economics at Iowa State is a Co-PI on an LAS Signature Research Initiative Award for a project entitled, “Water and Climate Change (WACC): Building Community Consensus for a Sustainable Future for Iowa and the World.”

The three-year award will support the research of a highly multidisciplinary group at Iowa State, drawing from the Departments of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, English, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, and Economics.

Researchers will address competing water demands of municipal, industrial, energy and agricultural interests in Iowa that are likely to grow in the future in the face of changing climate and economic factors. They will develop and apply to the Squaw Creek watershed (1) a prototype water-resources model that combines physical climate and hydrology modeling with agent-based modeling of human behavior; and (2) Iterative Participatory Modeling (IPM) to engage relevant communities of practice in co-developing steps toward sustainable water-resources planning.

Tesfatsion will focus on economic policies and incentives governing water use in the target study area (the Squaw Creek watershed), with a particular concern for water usage by the electric power industry. She will also be assisting with the IPM development of an agent-based modeling of this watershed that takes into account both physical and social aspects.