Visualization tools

Visualization Tools and Support for Decision Making in Water Management

Forecasts of freshwater availability for drinking water supply

SMHI has a long-lasting experience in driving operational hydrological services addresses to drinking water sector. The severe droughts experienced in the past recent years made the need of forecasts for groundwater availability also to increase. To this end, SMHI conducted work to include such information in the forecast services for drinking water producers.

The Municipality of Norrköping (Nodra) and Region Gotland have been the first customers to get access to daily updated forecasts of water level for their reservoirs, both for surface water bodies and for aquifers. Forecasts for water levels reach until six months in the future and are presented in a web-based interface tailored to the users’ needs. This information can be used to support daily operations and long-term planning as the forecasts show how different rates of water extraction can affect freshwater availability in the long run with reasonable advance.

- We presented the new system during the customer days organized for the drinking water sector. This event was held at the beginning of April at SMHI’s headquarter in Norrköping and there was strong interest from many drinking water producers, says Helen Ivars Grape, Product Manager Hydrology.

The diagram is taken from the web interface and shows two forecasts for water levels for the coming 6 months based on two different alternatives of water extraction. Forecasts can be compared with historical measurement data, which are showed in the background in different colors that correspond to the probability of occurrence of the levels (above, near or below normal conditions). This gives an idea of how the water levels in the reservoir are in comparison with the previous years (green color in the diagram indicates near normal levels). The alternatives for water extraction rate and the historical measurements are provided from the customer and are used to update the model results every day.