An information processing tool for the management of natural water systems

Fast and efficient access to up-to-date information is the most important factor in enabling organisations to make appropriate decisions in dealing with day-to day work or long term policy matters. In particular, the effective monitoring and management of vast and complicated natural systems such as rivers is not possible without processing large amounts of data in short periods of time. Therefore, the use of computer models which reduce the cost of acquisition and increase the speed of data handling has become an indispensable feature in the management of river/estuary systems. However, due to the complexity of the models used to simulate the hydrodynamics, pollutants dispersion and interaction between water flow and man made structures, the utilisation of computer models of river networks requires expertise and significant amount of experience. In this paper the development of an IT system which enables operators with minimal experience in hydrodynamic modelling to access and process information related to the behaviour of complex natural water systems is presented. This system provides a valuable tool for the management of river/estuary networks specifically in dealing with critical events such as flooding. Implementation of the IT system described here is demonstrated via presentation of sample applications.