Kim et al. (2026) Agent-based simulation of equity-oriented water reallocation under drought: A case study of the Geum River Basin

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-10-24
• Authors: Yeonju Kim, Jiheun Kim, Hee Won Jee, Jaeyoung Kim, Tae-Woong Kim, Seung Beom Seo
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.104035

Research Groups

• Department of Earth Sciences, University of Connecticut
• Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University
• Department of International Urban Development, University of Seoul
• AI Research Center, K-water Research Institute, Korea Water Resources Corporation
• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University (ERICA)
• International School of Urban Sciences, University of Seoul

Short Summary

This study develops an integrated framework to improve equitable water allocation during droughts by coupling a basin-scale allocation model with an Agent-Based Model (ABM). The ABM simulates stakeholder-level voluntary donation behaviors during historical drought events in the Geum River Basin.

Objective

• Investigate the effectiveness of agent-based simulation of equity-oriented water reallocation under drought conditions.
• Examine the impact of voluntary water donation among stakeholders on improving equity and supply reliability in the Geum River Basin.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: The study focuses on the Geum River Basin, a structurally heterogeneous watershed with 14 agricultural, 12 domestic/industrial intake, and 3 hydropower stakeholders.
• Temporal Scale: The simulation spans 39 water years (October 1981–September 2020) to capture long-term hydrological responses.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Agent-Based Model (ABM), Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)
• Data sources: Hydrological data from SWAT, agricultural water-use statistics for each subbasin

Main Results

• The ABM simulation demonstrates that equity improvements can emerge as system-level outcomes from repeated decentralized interactions.
• Voluntary donation among stakeholders reduces the Gini coefficient of reliability across stakeholders during drought periods.
• Sensitivity analysis confirms that the simulated equity benefit is robust to variations in inflow magnitude and irrigation demand scaling.

Contributions

• This study addresses the gap in existing research by developing an integrated modeling framework that combines a basin-scale water allocation model with an ABM to simulate stakeholder-level voluntary donation behaviors during historical drought events.
• The results highlight the importance of considering decentralized social processes and voluntary cooperation among stakeholders in improving equity and supply reliability.

Funding

• This research was funded by [project/program name] (reference code).

Citation

@article{Kim2026Agentbased,
  author = {Kim, Yeonju and Kim, Jiheun and Jee, Hee Won and Kim, Jaeyoung and Kim, Tae-Woong and Seo, Seung Beom},
  title = {Agent-based simulation of equity-oriented water reallocation under drought: A case study of the Geum River Basin},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.104035},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.104035}
}