Sector-specific applications and case study examples show that the knowledge developed by the project partners supports risk management and adaptation planning, not only at regional but also at national and European level. Sector-specific impacts include:
• Increased interpretation and use of seasonal forecasts in Jucar and Segura basins;
• Improved flood forecasting due to innovations in hydro-meteorological model equipment and application of flood damage models;
• Significant uptake of (sub)seasonal forecasts in the inland water transport sector;
• Enhanced uptake of near-term probabilistic forecasts in the water treatment sector;
• Mapping potential value gain of using (seasonal) forecasts by the hydropower sector;
• Survey of current and future climatic influence on virtual water trade has exposed vulnerabilities of various food commodities in Europe.
In addition, IMPREX has generated an incremental contribution to the quality of forecasting systems, climate services and science-practice and science-policy interactions. Raised awareness of these factors will improve future science-practice interactions.
Stakeholder interaction, forecast system development, climate change impact analysis are all activities that take a long time to mature. For some specific applications IMPREX can present a number of success stories:
• IMPREX has engaged both public and private partner organizations and end-users to maximize the contribution of tailored information to their benefits. Case study evaluations by the contributing SMEs (Future Water, HKV and the start-up R2water) has added to their product portfolio, supporting the development of a business model for climate services. The river transport forecasting service initially was developed as prototype, but based on very positive stakeholder feedback and partner BfG has been requested to turn the service into an operational forecasting system.
• The DWTP forecasting and monitoring services developed by CetAqua is exploited by Suez in a large number of DWTPs via the platform HIDROMET.
Successful outreach activities were:
• A coherent analysis of European policies in flood risk and drought management was executed, highlighting the usefulness of IMPREX tools and methodologies for implementation of EU Policy Frameworks on Floods and Droughts at basin level. Policy briefs were produced about different topics related to these policy areas (Deliverable 13.6 and 14.6).
• For each sector, a factsheet was produced with major achievements, tools and user responses on these results. Also factsheets were produced on the contribution of IMPREX to forecasting and projection tools, and novel concepts in water related climate services.
• Further outreach has been spread over different target audiences, and included a wide range of dissemination channels: scientific papers, conference sessions at eg EGU and ECCA, public seminars, press releases, policy advising sessions (e.g. EU Working Group on Floods) and webinars all contributed to the legacy of the project.
