HARMONIQUA - Harmonising Quality Assurance in Model Based Catchment and River Basin Management (EU project)

Problems to be solved: The Water Framework Directive (WFD) provides a European policy basis at the river basin scale. In the WFD it is explicitly mentioned that water resources models should be used to support the planning process and the decisions. Both from a scientific and public side, a gap is perceived between the required and available functionality of models in water management. Due to this discrepancy, confidence in the use of models is decreasing, whereas at the same time the water managers increasingly base their decisions on these models.

A summary of needs: standardisation and harmonisation to allow auditing the modelling projects; improve the quality of modelling and simulation by using more homogenous and better software; methodologies and software enabling quantification of uncertainties and sensitivities; integration of hydrological, socio-economic and legal-political issues, and tools for evaluation of appropriate use of models.

The existing, mostly nationally based, guidelines on how to use models usually only focus on single domains as contrary to integrated models including several domains. Furthermore, these guidelines are quite different throughout Europe. The consequences are that the resulting models and the decisions based on them often are non-transparent, irreproducible, non-auditable and not fully comparable among different countries.

Scientific objectives and approach: The overall goal of HarmoniQuA is to improve the quality of model based river basin management and enhance the confidence of all stakeholders in the use of models. HarmoniQuA has 4 specific objectives:

• To develop a generic, scientifically based methodology and a set of guidelines for the modelling process;

• To develop tools to support modellers and water managers throughout the quality assurance process;

• To test the methodology/guidelines and the support tools in real-life cases;

• To disseminate the results of the project to users in the academic education sector, the water managers and model users and to other interested stakeholders.

Deliverables:

• One shared European methodology on model based water management covering generic and specific aspects for single domains, multidomains and integrated levels at a river basin scale, structured in a knowledge base (3 versions);

• A set of tools to use the methodology and support the entire process of modelling and simulation (3 versions);

• Results of 2 sets of real life case studies;

• Infrastructure for exploitation and dissemination, including courseware.

It is expected that these can contribute significantly to improvements of the quality of modelling and towards a harmonisation of modelling practices throughout Europe. Such harmonisation of river basins modelling procedures in relation to the WFD will stimulate the compatibility and the consistency in modelling and will thus effectively support the development of a consistent water management policy across Europe, opening up the concept of quality-controlled modelling to any interested stakeholders including planners, policy-makers and concerned members of the public.

Role of SMHI: SMHI is not actively involved in the development of guidelines and methodology, but has the following duties:

• To function as an independent auditor of the guidelines at different stages of the development process;

• To test the methodology/guidelines and the support tools in two actual ongoing projects at SMHI;

• To contribute to the dissmination of results to relevant users.

A first version of the software tool named MoST (Modelling Support Tool), including guidelines, for quality assurance in catchment-based modelling was finalised in autumn 2003. Testing by SMHI and others took place during the last months of 2003, and the results of that testing were developed into a plan for revision of the tools. 

In May 2004 a project meeting was held at SMHI. 

Status (October 2005): A second round of testing took place during winter 2004/2005, the results were reported during a project meeting in March 2005, and at present the final version of MoST is under construction. The preliminary version of the MoST layout is shown in Figure 1. Public presentations and demonstrations of MoST are being held by many partners of the project during autumn 2005. At SMHI, a seminar of this kind took place on September 28.

Figure 1. The software MoST as it looks on the screen.

Duration: 2002-2005

Funded by: EU

Responsible at SMHI: Jonas Olsson

External partners: Wageningen University, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, National Technical University of Athens, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, WL | Delft Hydraulics, Cemagref, Bündesanstalt für Gewässerkunde, VITUKI Plc, University of Dortmund, Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil Hidráulica, DHI Hydroinform a.s.

Website: http://harmoniqua.wau.nl/

References:

Olsson, J., (2005) A test of MoST - a new tool for quality assurance of catchment-based modelling, Vatten, in press (in Swedish).

Olsson, J., Scholten, H., Arheimer, B., and L. Andersson (2004) Quality assurance support tool for catchment-based modelling: a test on the HBV-NP model for eutrophication assessment, Proceedings of 8^th International Conference on Diffuse/Nonpoint Pollution, 24-29 October, Kyoto, Japan, 241-248.

Refsgaard, J.C., (ed.) 2002. State-of-the-art report on quality assurance in modelling related to river basin management, HarmoniQuA Report, D-WP1-1, Copenhagen, Denmark.