Objetivo
The aim of the project is to produce a methodology to support water undertakings in assessing the impact of climate change and other hydrological events on the management and development of water resources and supply networks. The project will consider methods for advising the water supply managers and planners on making better use of the existing sources in daily and weekly operation from the point of view of minimising the risk of failure to meet demand, preventing over-exploitation of sources and using the sources most cost-effectively. It will also look at longer-term issues, principally the effect of changes in climate on source operating strategies and how formal models of source hydrology and of the supply network can be used to plan the evolution of the water system to meet changing patterns of demand, climate and other environmental influences. The aim of this is to reduce the development of new sources (which can be expensive and environmentally intrusive) either by operating the existing sources in a more efficient way so as to increase their safe yield, or by increasing the capacity of the supply network through capital development.
The methodology will be supported by a software prototype that integrates models of the supply
network and of the hydrological behaviour of sources.
The first step in the project will be to assess the state of the art of source modelling, both by
reviewing the literature and by examining the models and operating rules in current use in the
water industry.
A task analysis of the European Water Industry will be undertaken to determine the critical needs
of the industry in relation to resource allocation and planning, to focus the methodology on the
priority requirements.
The methodology will be developed in a practical, iterative way by introducing the methodology
and its associated suite of software tools at several pilot sites across Europe for daily and weekly
operation, getting feedback on its effectiveness and refining it through the project.
A number of scenarios, based on real data supplied by end-users, will also be analyzed off-line
using the methodology, to include investigating the impact of climate change on the management
of the pilot sites in the medium and long term, the impact on source development and operating
policies of increased demand and the development of contingency plans to cope with extreme
hydrological events.
Ámbito científico
Convocatoria de propuestas
Data not availableRégimen de financiación
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinador
MK43 0SN Cranfield
Reino Unido