Decision-support systems for smart water management
The EU-funded project SAID (Smart water management with integrated decision support systems) gathered public authorities, industry and academia to build software-based decision support systems (DSSs) for integrated management of water infrastructures at river basin scale. Project partners developed flood risk, water quality and energy DSSs to better manage river basins. The flood risk DSS provides guidance to dam operators on issues such as dam level, released water and gate operation, the main aim being to reduce flood risk as well as flood damages. The water quality DSS enables users to assess current or historical water quality information throughout basin metering points. It uses this information to obtain global water quality indicators that can be used to support planning and operational decisions. The energy DSS gathers all data on energy generation at a dam. It allows for planning optimal management strategies to ensure production objectives, considering all other constraints such as flood risk and water quality. The SAID team also created an open, extendable ICT platform for DSS integration and a robust, low-energy wireless sensor network. The DSSs were integrated into the platform and can be exploited independently or as a whole. Final users such as river basin managers can access the integrated DSSs by means of a centralised web portal. It includes intuitive maps, dashboards and charts where data is calculated by DSS components or obtained from external sensor networks. The web application also allows users to run simulations in flood and ordinary conditions in order to estimate an early basin response that can lead to more supported and better decisions. The solutions were successfully validated at a river basin in Spain with a complex interconnected dams system that serves urban, irrigation, tourism, energy and ecological uses. The demonstrator was based on cutting-edge DSS technologies in three management areas: flood control, water quality, energy production. By integrating the eco- and cost-efficient SAID innovations in water management and decision-making, relevant stakeholders will be able to reduce flood risks, improve water quality, optimise hydro-power generation and limit the economic fallout from floods and inadequate water quality. The project has produced a video outlining SAID work and achievements.
Keywords
Decision-support systems, water management, SAID, flood risk, energy, river basins, water quality
