The Phoenix Water Services Department’s Conservation Team has developed a simulation game to test residents’ ability to manage the City’s water portfolio.
The Drought Simulation Game (Drought Sim) is designed as an educational resource to help residents better understand why it’s important to protect the water supply and what’s at stake each time a water management decision is made, no matter how small.
Role of a water policymaker
In the simulation game, players are assigned the role of water policymaker for a large city – impacted by a difficult drought – and that serves families, companies, and farms. City leaders are up against the clock, needing to resolve water shortages within three years.
Through an interactive dashboard, players have nine rounds to choose the best policies and programmes that not only benefit residents, but also lower water use and water costs before it’s too late and the city runs out of water.
The City said while the dire scenario was created for educational purposes, cities across the US face various complexities in the short-term and long-term management of water resources. In the City of Phoenix, strategic planning related to water conservation has been a goal for more than 100 years.
Read more: smartcitiesworld.net
