What is the system? What are its key elements and subsystems? What are the boundaries, and how are they determined? What is the environment?

Glades County is a region on the Gulf Coast with a population of 600,000. About 90 percent of the population is located in and near the city of Sitkus. The main attractions of the area are its clean, sandy beaches and nearby fishing. Resorts, restaurants, hotels, retailers, and the Sitkus/Glades County economy in general rely on these attractions for tourist dollars.
In the last decade, Glades County has experienced a near doubling of population and industry.
One result has been the noticeable increase in the level of water pollution along the coast, due primarily to the increased raw sewage dumped by Glades County into the Gulf. Ordinarily, the Glades County sewer system directs effluent waste through filtration plants before pumping it into the Gulf. Although the Glades County Sanitary District (GCSD) is usually able to handle the county’s sewage, during heavy rains, the runoff from paved surfaces exceeds sewer capacity and must be diverted past filtration plants and directly into the Gulf. Following heavy rains, the beaches are cluttered with dead fish and debris. The Gulf fishing trade is also affected since pollution drives away desirable fish. Recently, the water pollution level has become high enough to damage both the tourist and fishing trades. Besides coastal pollution, there is also concern that as the population continues to increase, the county’s primary fresh water source, the Glades River, will also become polluted.
The GCSD has been mandated to prepare a comprehensive water waste management program that will reverse the trend in pollution along the Gulf Coast as well as handling the expected increase in effluent wastes over the next 20 years. Although not yet specified, it is known that the program will include new sewers, filtration plants, and stricter anti-pollution laws. As a first step, GCSD must establish the overall direction and mission of the program.