Seven separable variables turn a vague water-availability conversation into an auditable operating profile.
Water is useful only when the farm can obtain, move, afford, buffer, and apply it reliably.
That distinction matters because irrigation decisions cross several boundaries: a water record becomes a physical delivery, a delivery becomes a hydraulic condition, and that condition becomes a root-zone response. A number at one boundary cannot automatically prove performance at the next.
The mechanisms to keep visible.
Physical deliverability and legal clarity answer different questions.
Reliability measures availability through time, not merely average volume.
Storage flexibility and irrigation compatibility determine whether supply and demand can be reconciled.
Turn the pain point into a defined operating question.
Score the variables individually and investigate the weakest dimension before advancing a project.
Start with the decision the analysis must support. Then identify the smallest set of inputs capable of changing that decision. Keep source facts, calculations, model outputs, estimates, and operator observations distinct throughout the workflow.
Make the result reviewable.
Use documented definitions and evidence labels for each score; do not backfill missing data with confidence.
What this analysis cannot establish by itself.
Weights express planning priorities and should be tested for sensitivity.
SIM treats an honest limitation as part of the result. Where evidence is incomplete, the correct status is inconclusive or unverified—not a more confident sentence.