previous_studies.tex

The method used to predict the benefit gained from a water infrastructure intervention [define this in intro] is an example of a cost-benefit analysis. Using the framework developed in Valuing Water, Valuing Livelihoods*, we optimize the amount of time gained by citizens per the amount of money spent.

[Include a 20-liner on the history of cost benefit analysis in civil engineering or more specifically hydrology]

For any given water intervention, the exact implementation must be decided after a thorough visit to the community it is intended to serve.
This includes an on-site expert who will speak with local leaders and community members, observe and evaluate the current water system, and determine where and how the decided intervention should be implemented.
Does the community even desire the intervention suggested?
Will they be able to maintain it well, or will it need to be replaced after only a few years?
Will the intervention actually improve the current water situation, either by reducing time needed to get water, or improving water quality?
These questions, among others, are all things that can only be determined by an on-site expert.
As such, the model discussed is not a substitute for current methods of evaluating the best way to help in-need communities, but rather a way to decide what communities should be priorities for visits and evaluations.
[Include a 15-liner that talks about the research of the community that is frequently mentioned in Valuing Water, Valuing Livelihoods]