AWWA JAW39255

Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) is more than just a popular buzzword. With its roots in energy planning, IRP has growing relevance for water and wastewater utilities and may actually be more suitable for the water sector than for the energy sector. IRP emphasizes demand management and conservation as potential alternatives to increasingly expensive new capacity. It encourages new institutional roles and new analytical tools to bring about a broader perspective in water resource planning. The IRP toolbox contains an increasing number of analytical methods, both qualitative and quantitative, to help guide water resource planners in applying IRP principles. Water utilities probably will bear substantial responsibility for implementing IRP, but they also have the most to gain. Includes 23 references, table, figure.