The DayWater decision support approach to the selection of sustainable drainage systems: A multi-criteria methodology for BMP decision makers

The decision-making process for the selection of Best Management Practice (BMP) systems for stormwater runoff management involves a variety of stakeholders within public and private sectors holding differing powers and opinions regarding the significance they attribute to differing criteria. The paper describes a web-based multi-criteria analysis (MCA) approach being developed within the EU 5^th Framework DayWater project (www.daywater.org) to support stakeholder negotiation and the development of mutually acceptable sustainable solutions to the problem of control and treatment of urban surface water drainage. The MCA matrix methodology is outlined and some of the advantages and limitations of the procedure and its application are discussed.