Water Control Room South Africa, Mozambique & Eswatini

Introduction

The Water Control Room translates large amounts of weather and water data into current insights, forecasts and advice. In this way, water managers in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique can better manage scarce water resources and cooperate across borders.

Duration: 2019–present
Clients: Department of Water and Sanitation, all 5 RBAs in Eswatini, 6 CMAs in South Africa and 3 ARAs in Mozambique
Partners: South African Weather Services, Emanti
Keywords: water availability, drought, floods, water quality, water allocation, early warning, transboundary water management, satellite data, weather forecasts and capacity development
Models & Tools: Water Control Room, Hydstra, ESRI, dashboards, reports

Background

Making optimal use of every drop

Southern Africa is dealing with drought, water scarcity and increasingly extreme weather conditions. At the same time, the demand for water for households, agriculture, nature, energy and economic development is growing. In transboundary river basins, countries must also comply with agreements on the quantity and quality of the water they share.

A great deal of valuable information was available, but it did not sufficiently reach the water managers. They had to search various websites, databases and reports before they could assess the current situation. The challenge was therefore to translate available data into usable information for decisions where every drop counts.

Method

Hydrology and spatial planning connected

We mapped out the information needs of users and combined local measurements with radar and satellite data, weather forecasts, models and local knowledge. The results were translated into user-friendly dashboards, warnings and reports.
After the first successful application at IUCMA, the Water Control Room was scaled up to all South African Catchment Management Agencies. The approach has meanwhile also been applied for water managers in Eswatini and Mozambique, including forecasts of water availability and water demand for transboundary river basins.

More about our method

The result

From data to cross-border decisions

Water managers have online access to historical, current and expected information on rainfall, water availability, water quality and water use. They no longer have to search various data sources themselves, but can see at a glance what is happening and which measures are possible.

The Water Control Room supports, among other things, the allocation of scarce water, compliance with international agreements and the monitoring of irrigation water using satellite data.

The original project grew into a long-term service. The Water Control Rooms are still being used and further developed for water managers in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. In this way, HydroLogic supports better water decisions from the local to the cross-border level.

What did the project deliver?

Water Control Rooms for all 14 African Water Management Areas
12 data sources have been connected
Better and more accessible rainfall information through cooperation with SAWS
Dashboards for water availability, water quality, drought and floods
Satellite monitoring of irrigation water use
Training of more than 150 South African water professionals
Winner of the Partners for Water Award 2017 for the best international project

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“We are proud that we have really been able to help South Africa, Mozambique and Eswatini tackle their water challenges. The control rooms we developed have already been purchased by more than 25 South African organisations. This project was the first step towards sustainable business in South Africa. In this way, we can continue to support South African water managers in the long term with innovative ICT solutions.”

Leanne Reichard | project lead