Smart Water Management Information Screens: acting together across boundaries

Introduction

The information screens for the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal/North Sea Canal and the Rhine-Meuse estuary give water managers a single current picture of the entire water system. Combined with joint decision frameworks, this enables faster and better-coordinated action.

Duration: 2016–present
Clients: Rijkswaterstaat and the water boards involved in the ARK-NZK and RMM/VZM regions
Keywords: Smart Water Management, information screens, decision frameworks, water nuisance, drought, salinisation, cooperation and actionable perspective
Models & Tools: Water Control Room, regional data sources in Delft-FEWS, APIs, water levels, discharges, rainfall forecasts, salinity measurements, dashboards and serious games

Background

Water does not respect management boundaries

An extreme rainfall event led to a great deal of water nuisance and damage in the region. It made clear that the individual managers knew their own area well, but that a current picture of the total water system was missing. While water moves freely through canals, boezems and polders, information and responsibilities were divided among different organisations.

In the case of drought and salinisation too, decisions affect multiple interests, such as drinking water, agriculture, nature, industry and shipping. Effective water management therefore requires shared information, mutual trust and clear agreements about who acts when.

Method

Think big, act small

The ambition was big: managing the water system as a whole. The first step was small and practical: a joint WhatsApp group in which water managers shared current information. This built trust and the cooperation grew.

Using a serious game, the managers then deepened their shared system knowledge. They then drew up decision frameworks for water nuisance, water shortage and salinisation. These record in advance what can happen in different situations, which measures are possible and who takes action when.

HydroLogic translated this information need and these agreements into operational information screens for ARK-NZK and RMM/VZM. In this way, the step was made from trust and system knowledge to daily decision support.

More about our method

The result

Everyone looks at the same screen

The information screens combine current information on, among other things, water levels, discharges, rainfall, salinity levels and the use of locks and pumping stations. As a result, all managers have the same picture of the situation.

The decision frameworks make clear what this information means and which actionable perspective is still available. As a result, water managers can coordinate measures faster, make better use of the water system and limit damage caused by water nuisance, drought or salinisation.

The screens and decision frameworks are actively used. In ARK-NZK, the managers discuss the operational situation every two weeks, and when problems threaten, the cooperation is further intensified.

What did the project deliver?

Regional information screens for ARK-NZK and RMM/VZM
A single current picture across management boundaries
Decision frameworks for water nuisance, water shortage and salinisation
Serious games for shared system knowledge
Direct insight into possible measures and actionable perspective
Structural information exchange and operational cooperation
Embedding of the approach in daily practice and the ARK-NZK Water Agreement

“The strength lies not only in the information screen, but above all in the trust, the shared system knowledge and the agreements on who acts when it matters.”

Minke Wuis | project lead