Real-Time Flood Forecasting Systems In Flanders

As a highly urbanized and flood prone region, Flanders has experienced multiple floods causing significant damage in the past. In response to the floods of 1998 and 2002 the Flemish Environment Agency, responsible for managing 1 400 km of unnavigable rivers, started setting up a real time flood forecasting system in 2003. Currently the system covers almost 2 000 km of unnavigable rivers, for which flood forecasts are accessible online (www.waterinfo.be). The forecasting system comprises more than 1 000 hydrologic and 50 hydrodynamic models which are supplied with radar rainfall, rainfall forecasts and on-site observations. Forecasts for the next 2 days are generated hourly, while 10 day forecasts are generated twice a day. Additionally, twice daily simulations based on percentile rainfall forecasts (from EPS predictions) result in uncertainty bands for the latter. Subsequent flood forecasts use the most recent rainfall predictions and observed parameters at any time while uncertainty on the longer-term is taken into account. The flood forecasting system produces high resolution dynamic flood maps and graphs at about 200 river gauges and more than 3 000 forecast points. A customized emergency response system generates phone calls and text messages to a team of hydrologists initiating a pro-active response to prevent upcoming flood damage. The flood forecasting system of the Flemish Environment Agency is constantly evolving and has proven to be an indispensable tool in flood crisis management. This was clearly the case during the November 2010 floods, when the agency issued a press release 2 days in advance allowing water managers, emergency services and civilians to take measures

Models of everywhere revisited: a technological perspective

The concept ‘models of everywhere’ was first introduced in the mid 2000s as a means of reasoning about the environmental science of a place, changing the nature of the underlying modelling process, from one in which general model structures are used to one in which modelling becomes a learning process about specific places, in particular capturing the idiosyncrasies of that place. At one level, this is a straightforward concept, but at another it is a rich multi-dimensional conceptual framework involving the following key dimensions: models of everywhere, models of everything and models at all times, being constantly re-evaluated against the most current evidence. This is a compelling approach with the potential to deal with epistemic uncertainties and nonlinearities. However, the approach has, as yet, not been fully utilised or explored. This paper examines the concept of models of everywhere in the light of recent advances in technology. The paper argues that, when first proposed, technology was a limiting factor but now, with advances in areas such as Internet of Things, cloud computing and data analytics, many of the barriers have been alleviated. Consequently, it is timely to look again at the concept of models of everywhere in practical conditions as part of a trans-disciplinary effort to tackle the remaining research questions. The paper concludes by identifying the key elements of a research agenda that should underpin such experimentation and deployment

Concepts and applications of the Flanders Hydrological Model environment

Today, water authorities face a set of water management challenges, related to new European policies, climate change adaptation, land use planning, urban wastewater and storm water management. In response to these evolutions and anticipating on fast changing IT-technologies, Flanders Environment Agency has developed a set of next generation tools for operational hydrology. These tools are flexible, open and integrate all major components of the water system (principle toolbox). Rather than just providing a set of tools, the toolbox is integrated into existing information systems by the latest technologies using open standards and web protocols. Currently, the toolbox is used to establish a regional hydrological model set for Flanders. This large scale model will produce information on the hydrological status (runoff, subflow, infiltration, soil storage, etc.) at any location in Flanders. Furthermore, an interactive web-application of the toolbox was developed to enable hydrological modelling through the internet. Besides the fulfilment of the modelling needs of the Flanders Environment Agency, the initiative aims to foster collaboration, not only between governmental agencies with operational duties in water management, but also between the different communities in support of operational hydrology

Concepts and applications of the Flanders Hydrological Model environment

Today, water authorities face a set of water management challenges, related to new European policies, climate change adaptation, land use planning, urban wastewater and storm water management. In response to these evolutions and anticipating on fast changing IT-technologies, Flanders Environment Agency has developed a set of next generation tools for operational hydrology. These tools are flexible, open and integrate all major components of the water system (principle toolbox). Rather than just providing a set of tools, the toolbox is integrated into existing information systems by the latest technologies using open standards and web protocols. Currently, the toolbox is used to establish a regional hydrological model set for Flanders. This large scale model will produce information on the hydrological status (runoff, subflow, infiltration, soil storage, etc.) at any location in Flanders. Furthermore, an interactive web-application of the toolbox was developed to enable hydrological modelling through the internet. Besides the fulfilment of the modelling needs of the Flanders Environment Agency, the initiative aims to foster collaboration, not only between governmental agencies with operational duties in water management, but also between the different communities in support of operational hydrology

A Water Data Infrastructure for Next-Generation e-Water-Services in Flanders

status: publishe