It’s National Water Week, and we are supporting the Australian Water Association. This week is an opportunity to celebrate the work of our water professionals and organisations across Australia as well as continue to find ways to protect our most vital resource, water; now and into the future.
Michael Wilson, eWater Group CEO, said “Water is fundamental to all life on Earth and its sustainable management is critical to the wellbeing of our society and our environment. To achieve positive outcomes across all sectors – food security, energy security, climate change, biodiversity and ecosystem health, and disaster management – water security is paramount.”
“eWater Group and its divisions proudly support National Water Week, and join in with the Australian Water Association, through our work, to help communities throughout Australia and in developing countries across the globe, manage their water more sustainably.”
eWater Group is committed to the pursuit of sustainable management of water resources through the development and sharing of best practices, capabilities, and knowledge of Australian water expertise, nationally and globally.
We develop and deliver Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform (eWater Source) on behalf of all Australian governments; and deliver international water development programs on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including the flagship, Australian Water Partnership.
Together, we are united by water.
Learn more about National Water Week > https://sbee.link/83qetn9mwv
Learn more about eWater Group and its divisions > https://sbee.link/gu6a4pnvt8 and https://sbee.link/9btxrnjp8q
Mekong River Commission Regional Stakeholder Forum
eWater Group attends the 13th MRC Regional Stakeholder Forum
The impact of climate and human activities in the Mekong River Basin continues to have a detrimental impact on the lives of millions of people and communities in the region and requires experts across government, the private sector and community organisations to work together for a sustainable future.
eWater Group was delighted to participate in the recent 13th Mekong River Commission Regional Stakeholder Forum, in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, with representation from Trudy Green, Hydrology and Partnerships Lead, and Dr Paradis Someth, Principal Hydrologist.
A highlight of the forum was the release by the Mekong River Commission and Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center (LMC Water Center) of the Phase 1 findings on Changing Hydrological Conditions of Lancang-Mekong River Basin and Adaptation Strategies. We congratulate the MRC and LMC on this significant achievement.
For eWater, the Forum provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to contribute to the outcomes of the Joint Study and engage in insightful conversations with our partners in the Mekong.
Trudy Green, Hydrology and Partnerships Lead, said: “Attending the workshop was a fantastic opportunity to understand the diversity and complexity of issues in the Mekong Region and will allow eWater Group to continue to improve and refine the technical support we provide to the MRC and the Member Countries.”
At this regional forum, we were excited to reconnect with our valued Mekong partners, including Mekong River Commission Secretariat, National University of Laos (NUoL), Lao Department of Water Resources (DWR), Laos National Mekong Committee (LNMC), Cambodia National Mekong Committee (CNMC), Thai Office of the National Water Resources (NOWR), and Viet Nam National Mekong Committee (VNMC).
eWater Group is thrilled to offer a world-class water resource modelling tool, empowering transboundary water management.
However, if you have any issues, please reach out to our team at support@ewater.org.au
Original Communications
TheeWater Wikiprovides a space for online collaboration and hosts the Source User Guide and Scientific Reference Guide.
eWater is undertaking critical maintenance to the eWater Wiki, including moving from the now unsupported server edition to the cloud-hosted edition. To enable this, the Wiki will be unavailable from Thursday 5 to Monday 16 October.
We apologize for the inconvenience but need to make this change to ensure the long-term availability of the Wiki. If the loss of access causes you a critical issue please contact us a support@ewater.org.au and we will try to help you.
For most Source users, the move to the cloud environment will have no impact, a small group of power users may find they have different editing privileges. We are working through this with our stakeholders but please contact me if you are negatively impacted by any of the changes.
Meet Shreya Gyawali, Australian Water Partnerships
Shreya Gyawali, Senior Program Officer, Australian Water Partnerships
“Our work directly impacts people’s lives. Knowing that my day-to-day contributions at work could positively influence someone’s life is a significant motivator to keep going.”
It is this kind of thinking that makes eWater Group an exceptional place to work. Our people – like Shreya Gyawali – bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our organisation but it is the willingness to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable people and their communities that is truly exceptional.
We are an organisation dedicated to delivering water management expertise and tools in Australia and internationally through our three divisions – the Australian Water Partnership, eWater Solutions, and Mekong Water Solutions.
The Australian Water Partnership (AWP) is a key part of Australia’s support for sustainable water resources management in South Asia, the Mekong region, and the Pacific. Working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AWP supports a range of activities that draw on Australian expertise to respond to assistance from our international partners and governments.
In her role as AWP’s Senior Program Officer, Shreya has a whole raft of responsibilities including managing and engaging on international and national events for AWP but just as important, if not more, leading the Gender, Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (or GEDSI) portfolio within AWP.
Shreya works with the AWP program team to better integrate GEDSI across all activities, as well as lead on internal policy reviews and implementation processes. It is one of our critical roles within AWP.
“AWP’s commitment to advancing Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in partnership with different organisations in Australia and overseas is a significant reason of why I work at AWP.”
Water has always played a big role in Shreya’s life. Having worked in the development sector in her hometown of Kathmandu, Nepal, prior to moving to Australia to complete her Master’s in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University Shreya participated in field visits to see first-hand the impacts of water stress on women and girls.
“Issues like water insecurity disproportionately impacts women and girls. It impacts their education, hygiene, and safety, and as they usually have the responsibility of fetching water- also impacts their time. These issues are embedded within cultural contexts and social norms and become further exacerbated in the face of climate change as well as in crisis scenarios.
“Water issues are personal issues for women and girls. Creating change in this space will mean having the ability to influence people’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour – which is what I would like to do, and being in this sector is a great platform to meet like-minded people and create momentum for that change.”
Now working at AWP for nearly two years, Shreya has represented AWP at major national and international events, including SIWI World Water Week 2022 in Stockholm where she collaborated with water leaders from Australia and the region to share knowledge and successes. She is on her own leadership journey as one of AWP’s Young Water Professionals and brings her passion and unique perspective to her work every day.
“Being a Nepali woman with my own cultural experiences and having seen the lived realities of people back home, I am aspiring to be a change agent and champion for people in my community, and I see this as a step towards making that happen.”
“There is a crucial need to recognise and accept the different forms of knowledge that inform solutions to the challenges of climate change; cultural, Indigenous, technical, and local knowledge and find ways to better integrate them together.”
It is this commitment to changing how we engage with communities, develop policies and programs on water management, and think more strategically about our water resources, which remains central to the work of AWP and eWater Group.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
Meet: Usman Khalil Hydrologist
The people who work at eWater Group are leaders in their fields, bringing years – in many cases decades – of experience from a diverse range of industries, including science and technology, international development, academia, public policy, project management, sales, and more.
We are an organisation dedicated to delivering world-class water management expertise and tools in Australia and internationally through our three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership, and Mekong Water Solutions.
Usman Khalil encapsulates many of the diverse skills and experience we have across the eWater Group. As one of our hydrologists, Usman works closely with one of our most significant partners, the Murray Darling Basin Authority, where he contributes to the review of water resource plans and the implementation of the Basin Plan.
For Usman, our partnership with MDBA is a critical one in which he provides hydrologic and statistical analysis for several major rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin to help inform water allocation and management policy, as well as analysis of water flow and rainfall data insights.
This collaborative partnership with the Murray-Darling Basin Authority is an example of our support for the use of eWater Source, Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform to support water management.
Usman holds a PhD in Water Resource Engineering from the University of Wollongong, where he focused on Queensland Australia’s Coastal flood governance and water management in Queensland. He also has an MSc in Hydraulics and Irrigation Engineering and a BSc in Civil Engineering.
Usman’s passion for hydrology and finding sustainable water management solutions was solidified during the completion of his BSc in Civil Engineering in Pakistan in late 2010. In that year, approximately one-fifth of Pakistan’s total land area was devastated by floods from heavy monsoon rainfalls, causing casualties and destruction of property, infrastructure, and land.
“That was the time I decided to contribute to sustainable water and flood management and decided to focus my career on the field of Water Resource Engineer to play my role in it.”
And it is this passion that led Usman to join eWater Group, where he works closely with our government owners and partners with knowledge and understanding of their bespoke challenges and provides guidance on using our technology and expertise in hydrology to find solutions.
Usman brings 13 years of knowledge and experience to eWater Group. Usman has been involved in a diverse range of projects and activities, including dam design, hydrological modelling, hydraulic modelling, hydrodynamic modelling, transboundary cooperation, academic teaching, sustainable development and planning, and climate-resilient water plans.
“I value my work at eWater and appreciate the diverse opportunities that it offers in several ways, including the diversity of work, the ability to shape the direction of Australia’s hydrological modelling tools, the close partnerships with government owners and many of Australia’s leading water managers, and the collaborative work culture.”
“I enjoy my role as it enables me to share knowledge and expertise in water management to meet national and international needs.”
These national and international needs include the growing need to address water scarcity and sustainability, which continues to be a current and emerging challenge for Australian governments and partners, as well as international governments and institutions.
How we address these challenges relies on the hydrologists, academics, software developers, sales, project managers, public policy, and water industry experts and innovators who make up eWater Group.
For Usman, the key to finding solutions is through eWater Group’s products and software that “help customers make informed decisions in water modelling, scarcity, and sustainability. We are helping to bridge the gap between complex data and actionable information. This enables decision-makers, stakeholders, and policymakers to understand the implications of their choices, identify optimal solutions, and prioritize investments that promote water sustainability.”
“By providing accurate assessments, modelling different scenarios, and promoting sustainable water management practices, we are contributing to informed decision-making, efficient resource allocation, and the long-term sustainability of water resources in the country.”
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
Meet Dr. Jin Wang, Senior Hydrologist
The people who represent our organisation are exceptional. They bring years – in many cases decades – of experience from a diverse range of industries, including science and technology, academia, public policy, project management, sales, and more. Our workforce is world-class experts and leaders in their respective fields.
We are an organisation dedicated to delivering water management expertise and tools in Australia and internationally through our three divisions – the Australian Water Partnership, eWater Solutions, and Mekong Water Solutions.
Introducing Dr. Jin Wang, who has been working as our Senior Hydrologist for the past five years and counting, plus two decades of experience in the industry.
Jin, who works within the eWater Solutions teams, brings an enormous amount of experience to our organisation, including four degrees (B.Eng., M.Eng., M.Sc., and Ph.D.) in Hydrology and Water Resources from institutions within Australia, Ireland, and China.
Dr. Wang’s doctoral research revolved around the development of a computer-based spatial decision support system for flood forecasting and warning.
In addition to his pursuit of higher education, Jin also worked at the University of Melbourne, consulting firm GHD and the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water. It is this industry experience, coupled with his education, that has actively contributed to the advancement of his hydrological knowledge and practices.
His love for hydrology was spurred by a serendipitous incident where he encountered his cousin, who inspired Jin with his interest in hydrology and water engineering, leading Jin to change his university application and apply for water engineering instead of a career in medicine. This decision was reaffirmed soon after when his father encountered challenges when a geologist failed to detect a concealed sandy layer at a dam closure site, which led to an accelerated flow and subsequent difficulties for hydrologists in managing the flow velocity at the narrow closure site. This served as an indelible inspiration, propelling Jin to pursue a comprehensive academic exploration of hydrology and geology.
“I believe that these disciplines would equip me with the requisite skills to address and mitigate such critical issues effectively. The immense gratitude I harbour for this serendipitous path is surpassed only by the profound satisfaction and fulfillment I derive from the continuous study and professional engagement within this fascinating field.”
It is Jin’s profound proficiency in hydrological and stormwater analysis, water resource management, dam design, hydraulic models, and more, that led to joining eWater Group.
“eWater is an excellent organisation for pursuing my career interests. Its primary objective is to establish and disseminate Australia’s world-class modelling tools while concurrently offering expertise and a community of practice to support their implementation both within Australia and globally.”
“Consequently, I can leverage my diverse skill set to address complex problems and provide support to fellow professionals in water modelling. The collaborative work environment at eWater, coupled with its associated modelling tools community, fosters a deeper comprehension of the application of our tools, and the opportunity to contribute to feature development enhances the overall allure of the work.”
It is commitment like Jin’s to sharing knowledge and expertise with his colleagues, our owners, and partners which enables eWater Group to be a leader in water management in Australia and internationally. Our people are central to maintaining and developing Australia’s internationally respected water modelling tools and provide support, program delivery, and training both in Australia and overseas.
Jin’s role as a senior Hydrologist sees him working on diverse projects and solving our clients’ water-related issues using our platforms, eWater Source and eWater MUSIC.
“As part of my role, I deliver technical support by applying hydrological principles and eWater software to address client issues, including effectively identifying, investigating, and resolving problems within the existing product. I also provide comprehensive guidance to support clients to use our products to tackle their water management challenges.”
“I find immense gratification in integrating my expertise in hydrology, GIS, and computer science to contribute to the advancement of the eWater Source application and facilitate feature development.
“Through the collaborative application of specialised knowledge, services, and unwavering support, I am humbled by the opportunity to address complex challenges and offer innovative solutions. This pursuit of excellence not only fuels my professional growth but also underscores the meaningful impact of my contributions to shaping the hydrological landscape.”
Dr. Wang is part of a dedicated group of hydrologists and software developers, and the wider organisation, who work diligently to support our owners, partners and the water management sector with tools, knowledge, and expertise to find solutions to many of the challenges facing our environment and the impact of climate change, in Australia and internationally.
We face many challenges ahead of us. According to Dr. Wang, how we address these challenges in water modelling must include “integrating with other existing models (e.g., groundwater models) and providing capacities to consider future development in the relevant disciplines such as climate change and environmental accounts.”
It is this experience and understanding which helps eWater Group provide expert knowledge and understanding of water resource management to the Australian Government, State and Territory Governments, our Australian and international partners, as well as leading water experts and leaders.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
A recap on MODSIM 2023
With MODSIM 2023 now done, we are taking the opportunity to recap our time at this critical conference and how important it is for modellers from a diverse range of fields to showcase the latest science and technology and how it is applied by the global water modelling and community.
Last month, Darwin played host to the 25th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation – otherwise known as MODSIM – where modellers from across Australia descended on the balmy city to talk about water modelling, including the use of emerging technologies to improve modelling practice and the use of modelling to find new solutions to solve the growing impact of climate change in our waterways and environment.
eWater Group Hydrologists, Dr Jin Wang and Sudeep Nair represented our organisation at MODSIM, where we were a sponsor, to facilitate sessions related to hydrological modelling and showcase the new functionalities of Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform, eWater Source, and how it helps water managers to meet the changing needs in water resources management.
Sudeep said “it was great to see how various users unravel the many facets of eWater Source and understand how it is helping the users to achieve their objectives. We heard their experiences and feedback, which helped us to understand the strength of Source as a hydrological modelling tool and areas for potential enhancement.”
“MODSIM was also a great opportunity for us [hydrologists] to introduce eWater Source to a wider audience who were not so familiar with the tool, and a chance to update ourselves on the latest trends and techniques in water and environmental modelling.”
One of the more interesting observations from our hydrologists was from other presenters at the conference who demonstrated the versatility and agility of Source as a hydrological modelling tool and how modellers were using it for bespoke applications.
“One of the many advantages of eWater Source is that it can handle both water quantity and quality aspects and has many functionalities specific for Australian purposes,” Sudeep said.
With any science-based software and technology tools, there is also room for improvements in areas such as stability, accuracy, and performance improvements, and eWater Group is diligent in improving our software platforms to enable our owners, partners and water experts have an enriched user experience.
For our hydrologists, Dr Wang and Sudeep Nair, MODSIM provided a great back drop to generate interest and discussion on hydrologically modelling methods in general and eWater Source in particular.
Both Sudeep and Dr Wang co-presented a session with Rachael Holden from Power and Water Cooperation: Providing Water for All: Modelling to Improve Water Security for Communities, the Environment and Industry, which helped spearhead conversations on the impact of water modelling to inform decision-makers and the role of eWater Source.
Conferences like MODSIM play a significant role in the water space. It is an avenue for learning, networking, and informing of the latest research and modelling outcomes in Australia and beyond; and an important opportunity for eWater Group and our people to showcase who we are and what we are doing to address the new challenges in the hydrological modelling realm.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
Meet Rohan Kent, Australian Water Partnership
Our people who represent our organisation are exceptional. Our people bring years – in many cases decades – of experience from a diverse range of industries, including international development, science and technology, academia, public policy, project management, sales, and more.
We are an organisation dedicated to delivering water management expertise and tools in Australia and internationally through our three divisions – the Australian Water Partnership, eWater Solutions, and Mekong Water Solutions.
The Australian Water Partnership (AWP) is a key part of Australia’s support for sustainable water resources management in South Asia, the Mekong region, and the Pacific. Working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AWP supports a range of activities that draw on Australian expertise to respond to assistance from our international partners and governments.
As the AWP Program Lead, Rohan Kent plays a critical role in our international program of activities, overseeing a diverse range of projects across the Indo-Pacific in river basin and water resources planning, urban and rural water, agriculture, flood and drought management, and climate resilience.
Prior to joining AWP in 2021, Rohan worked across several sectors, including health, education, humanitarian and international development, and Indigenous community programs, including Save The Children Australia as its Deputy Humanitarian Director, and at the Australian Civil-Military Centre in its Concepts and Capabilities Unit.
“Most of my career has been based around working with vulnerable communities through international development and a rights-based programming lens. Within these roles, I have worked closely with multiple stakeholders – many with differing or competing perspectives. This has helped me not only appreciate the need to take time to design projects carefully so there is not only a focus on sustainable outcomes but also ensure they are delivered in an efficient and effective way.”
“With any role or project, I believe effective communication cannot be underestimated; this helps to promote ownership and create a supportive environment around the project. And of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention how important accountability is within the project management cycle and how it must be encouraged so responsibility for actions is ensured.”
In addition, Rohan has worked across several development and disaster settings, implementing integrated programs in the protection, WASH, food security and livelihoods, and health sectors in the Philippines, Fiji, Pakistan, Iraq, and South Sudan.
While bringing decades of experience to AWP and its partners is nothing short of invaluable, it is Rohan’s understanding of the development sector, together with his compassion for the needs of the world’s most vulnerable people, that sets Rohan apart from others.
“Water security is a challenge that impacts us all. It’s not just about the ability to provide for industrial, agricultural, recreational, energy, and domestic needs. While these are important, we also need to consider the integrity and sustainability of our surrounding ecosystems.”
“It’s important that as Australians we continue to be involved in discussions around water security if we want Australia – and our neighbours – to enjoy continued sustainable development, the preservation of the environmental, and poverty reduction.”
“After all, as Australia, we have much to contribute given we have the privilege of having the oldest, continuing living culture in the world, who can share their knowledge and learnings on caring for water and waterways and promoting better water security.”
It is this commitment to finding solutions to real-world challenges facing communities impacted by climate change, access to water supply, and quality, that drives Rohan and his team to do more.
“Continuing the conversation doesn’t always mean we are the ones talking. Being present is important but so is acting with humility and patience in this space when we are engaging in conversation. My experience across the world in the aid and development sector has taught me to focus on ‘listening’ as well as to talk at the appropriate time.”
“We must listen to what rights holders and duty bearers’ needs are and work with them in partnership to drive innovative solutions and not just impose what we think they need upon them, no matter how good we think our solutions might be.”
“I remember listening to representatives from the Kaurna people at this year’s AWP Partners Workshop. They spoke of the need for people to take more time to listen to what the environment around us is saying. Indigenous knowledge is a critical source of water science. We need to recognise its value, and the ways that we can both share and learn from in this space.”
It is this level of commitment by Rohan to the vision and mission of AWP, and the wider eWater Group, that enables our organisation to have an indelible impact on the lives of people and their communities within Australia and internationally.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
Meet Channpisey Nop, Mekong Water Solutions
Channpisey Nop, Irrigation Engineer, Mekong Water Solutions
Water sustainability and scarcity is a real challenge for communities around Australia and internationally every single day. At eWater Group our role is to provide governments, decision makers, water managers, researchers and modellers the tools and expertise to make the right decisions when it comes to protecting our most precious resource: water.
Our people are multi-talented and made up of hydrologists, software developers, water industry experts, international development professionals, and innovators, with a strong commitment to supporting sustainable water management.
Our reach is far and wide within Australia and internationally. eWater Group is responsible for the management of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership, and Mekong Water Solutions.
Mekong Water Solutions, which is funded by the Australian Government, works closely with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Royal Cambodian Government, with the skills and tools necessary to provide sustainable and accessible water to communities, farmers and industry across the region. We do this through innovative solutions, collaborative partnerships, and with local knowledge at the heart of everything.
Channpisey Nop, Irrigation Engineer, Mekong Water Solutions, is responsible for water balance analysis for irrigation system design, and water management system for river basins in Cambodia and brings a special understanding of how important of river managements are to the people of Cambodia.
With an Engineering Degree in Water Resources and Rural Infrastructure supported by the Asian Development Bank from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, and a master’s degree in water resources engineering with a Japanese Government scholarship from Kyoto University, plus years of experience in water resources engineering and infrastructure in both Japan and Cambodia; Channpisey brings a wealth of knowledge to Mekong Water Solutions.
“I am grateful as a specialist on water resources engineering because I have a chance to share my knowledge and experiences for the development of water resources in Cambodia and in the Mekong region or even internationally through Mekong Water Solutions.”
“I enjoy going to the field to study the real issues that provide a better understanding to solve those problems. The main inspiration for my role is when I can directly support the farmers who could get benefit from our work.”
One key project Channpisey has been part of is the World Bank Cambodia Water Security Improvement Project which is focused on improving water security and increasing water productivity in river basins in Cambodia.
“This project is a real challenge for us [Mekong Water Solutions] to deliver quality work and solutions for our partners and safeguard water availability for Cambodia’s economic development – it is a very important project that will ensure water security for the whole of Cambodia.”
Water scarcity is a major concern for the region which faces many challenges including the reliability and variation of water flow, erosion, and of course climate change.
“Mekong Water Solutions with technical support from Australian expertise in combination with local experiences could effectively solve water issues in the country and in the region. We have many tools developed in Australia that can help with in-country issues such as eWater Source.”
eWater Source is Australia’s own National Hydrological Modelling Platform, developed over thirty years and underpinned by world-class science and technical innovation to provide real-time information on water scarcity and resources. eWater Source is used by governments, decision-makers, water managers, modellers and researchers, in Australia and internationally.
Channpisey is a real champion of support more women and girls into the water sector in Cambodia and in the life of society.
“The woman performs the role of wife, partner, organizer, administrator, director, re-creator, disburser, economist, mother, disciplinarian, teacher, health officer, artist, and queen in the family at the same time. Apart from it, woman plays a key role in the socio-economic development of society.”
“Globally, women have become engines for economic growth. Achieving gender diversity in enterprises is of critical importance to improving business outcomes. Women are often under-represented in the academic and professional fields of engineering, and not enough women have contributed as much as they should be able to the diverse fields of engineering historically and now.”
“For example, at Mekong Water Solutions, I am the only female engineer, so more work needs to be done to support more women and girls in engineering, but we are committed to doing that.”
“We need to encourage women and girls to feel supported to be innovative in the water space, need more value from people around them for their skills by providing more benefits for their hard work, encouraging them to believe in themselves.”
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
MODSIM 2023: Introducing new eWater Source Catchment Modelling Features
Introducing new eWater Source catchment modelling features
S. Azadi a, Shiroma Maheepala b
a eWater Group, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia,
b Vic Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
The following abstract was presented at MODSIM 2023, Darwin, 9-14 July.
Abstract: Water is vital for life. Clean freshwater is necessary for drinking and sanitation, providing for crops, livestock, and industry, and creating and sustaining the ecosystems on which all life depends. However, freshwater is becoming scarce in many countries due to human population growth, disruption of natural water cycles in response to human activity, climate change, and poor water management. Australia, as the world’s driest inhabited continent with many different climate zones, has had to deal with many climate-related challenges, from highly variable rainfall and cycles of devastating floods to prolonged drought.
In response, Australia has developed water governance frameworks appropriate to its climate and environment contexts utilizing leading science, innovative technology, and proven water management tools.
In this regard, eWater Source, Australia’s agreed National Hydrological Modelling Platform (NHMP), supports integrated planning, operations, and governance from urban, catchment to river basin scales, including human and ecological influences (https://ewater.org.au/, Dutta et al., 2013). eWater Source accommodates diverse climatic, geographic, water policy and governance settings for both Australian and international climatic conditions (Ly et al., 2020).
Water management often involves monitoring and modelling water quality and quantity; accordingly, water management practices are constantly evolving and improving.
Therefore, eWater Source requires ongoing development to enable eWater Source to meet emerging or specific water management requirements.
Working with the Victorian Government, eWater has added new features to eWater Source to support water quality and catchment modelling, a critical component of good water resources management, including the ability to:
merge two catchment scenarios to be run as a single scenario,
specify a catchment map reporting region,
record flows and constituents in bulk for a specified set of sub-catchments and/or for a specified set of functional units,
export different model components (such as nodes, links, and sub-catchments) as a spatial layer,
assess spatial outputs using a mapping tool.
These new features improve the capability of eWater Source catchment modelling at larger spatial scales, provide additional visual diagnostics of spatial outputs and allow a bulk analysis of the water quality and catchment records. Employing Source with these recent enhancements can facilitate the implementation of water management projects in different areas, from the simulation of the interaction between land use changes and water quality and hydrological dynamics to identifying the impacts of alternative development scenarios on water resources.
Dutta, D., Wilson, K., Welsh, W., Nicholls, D., Kim, S., Cetin, L., 2013. A new river system modelling tool for the sustainable operational management of water resources. Journal of Environmental Management 121, 13–28.
Ly, K., Metternicht, G., Marshall, L., 2020. Simulation of streamflow and instream loads of total suspended solids and nitrate in a large transboundary river basin using Source model and geospatial analysis 744, article 140656.
Keywords: eWater Source, catchment modelling, water quality modelling, water management
MODSIM 2023: Functionalities in eWater Source to address new challenges in hydrological modelling.
Functionalities in eWater Source to address new challenges in hydrological modelling.
S. Nair1, J. Moolman1, Y.Li2, S. McCallum3
1eWater Group, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
2Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action
3Western Australia Department for Water and Environmental Regulation
The following abstract was presented at MODSIM 2023in Darwin 9-14 July.
Abstract: Hydrological modelling is a vital component of the water management toolbox, to stay relevant, modelling tools must evolve to meet the changing needs of water managers, this is particularly evident in the changes needed to respond to the new challenges posed by climate change and its impacts. Australia has recognised this and responded through the development of eWater Source® and its adoption as the National Hydrological Modelling Platform (NHMP).
Developed to manage the highly varying water resources in Australia, Source is a crucial tool for climate change adaption. Source helps the water managers and modellers to understand and inform policies regarding environment, codify them, and make operational plans in an efficient way. Source is a constantly evolving tool, with more capabilities and functionalities added to its toolkit based on changing requirements and feedback from the user community. In this regard, eWater Group is playing a significant role in supporting the environmentally sustainable management of water resources in Australia and around the world.
This paper features two recent enhancements to Source that will support water managers to meet current and emerging challenges of a changing climate.
The uncertainties of climate change require modellers to consider a wide range of scenarios. Working with the Victorian Government, eWater has added new ‘multi-replicate’ or ‘Replicate Analysis’ functionality to Source. Based on functionality in REALM (Victoria University and Department of Environment and Primary Industries, 2013), the ‘Replicate Analysis’ functionality allows the users to run multiple instances of any Source model with any degree of complexity using the concept of input data recycling to allow modellers to extract each replicate result. This is a useful functionality particularly in understanding the risk of spill in reservoirs under varying climatic conditions. For example, users can test ‘what if’ scenarios such as the reservoir storage and spill conditions if a past rainfall pattern is repeated in a particular year.
The ‘Replicate Analysis’ option is now integrated into Source as one of the run configuration options. Users can define the number of replicates required and the increment of replication and select all or specific data sources to be cycled. For example, if a particular rainfall data is selected and cycled, the resulting multiple downstream flows could be used to analyse the effect of changes in rainfall patterns on the flows.
Farm dams play an important role in helping landowners to manage climate variability. But they can also impact catchment and river hydrology. Source modellers have been able to examine these impacts for several years using the Onstream Farm Dam plugin, this functionality has recently been incorporated into core Source, making it more readily accessible to all Source users. The new Farm Dams node models the reliability of water diversion from farm dams to agricultural land based on environmental engineering principles (Government of Western Australia, 2012). The node uses inputs and parameters such as dam capacity, demand, rainfall, evaporation, seepage etc. to conduct water balance at every time step.
The adoption of abovementioned functionalities and features help eWater Source to continuously evolve and adapt to new challenges in the realm of water resources management.
eWater Group celebrates 10 years of water expertise in Australia and internationally
This year marks ten years of eWater Group, and we recently took the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate our achievements so far and the challenges that we have faced as an organisation over the past decade.
Representatives from across Federal, State, and Territory governments, the private sector, research, and international institutions, recently came together at a special event in Canberra to celebrate eWater Group and its divisions, and our work in Australia, the Mekong, and the Indo-Pacific region.
Since our inception, we have led the way in delivering water management, water security, and sustainability solutions through our expertise, knowledge, program delivery, and water modelling tools and services.
Michael Wilson, Group CEO, said the event was a great opportunity for employees, our owners, and partners to acknowledge the collective efforts by all to deliver water management expertise and tools to meet both the Australian and international needs and the increasing pressure of climate change on our environment.
“I thank our owners and partners for the support and collaboration that have shown eWater Group over the past ten years and now into the future. With this support, our organisation will continue to grow and reinforces Australia as a leader in water management, water security, and sustainability, here and internationally.”
While we acknowledge our achievements over the past decade, we are now looking ahead to the future as eWater Group, and its divisions continue to deliver new programs as well as strengthen and create new partnerships in Australia and internationally.
Sharing Australian water expertise, globally
Our Hydrology team recently joined experts in the Mekong region for a regional training modelling tools program.
Sharing best practices, capabilities, and knowledge of Australian water expertise globally is our mission at eWater Group.
Our people – across eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership, and Mekong Water Solutions – work incredibly hard in the pursuit of sustainable management of water resources.
Members of our Hydrology team – Juanita Moolman, Paradis Someth, Samira Azadi, and Sudeep Nair – recently joined experts from six Mekong countries to run a regional training modelling tools program as part of a joint study.
The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) are conducting a joint study on the changing hydrological conditions of the Lower Mekong River Basin. The study aims to develop adaption strategies that address the flooding and drought risks caused by climate change across the river basin.
Paradis Someth, Principal Hydrologist, eWater Group, said “As part of the study, our eWater Group Hydrology Team joined by water modelling experts from across the Mekong region to provide hands-on training and expertise on using, eWater Source to gain a better understanding of this tool and how it can help in impact assessment.”
“eWater Group has a long and proud history of supporting water resource management in the Mekong region. eWater Group’s three divisions – eWater Solutions, Australian Water Partnership, and Mekong Water Solutions – play a critical role in shaping Australia’s technology and helping to build capabilities in the region.”
Australia has been a partner of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) since its inception in 1995. The MRC is an intergovernmental organisation, established “to help the lower Mekong countries build consensus around solutions that ensure a sustainable future for the Mekong and its people through river basin monitoring, assessment, data and information sharing, and dialogue and cooperation.”
Since 2013, eWater Group has supported the MRC and its four member countries (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) to enhance the management of the Mekong River’s water for the benefit of all who depend on it.
Understanding the movement of water in rivers, lakes, dams, and seas, together with the effects of climate change on an increasingly changing environment requires a wealth of knowledge… and a Master’s or other higher degree can help.
Meet Samira Azadi, one of our hydrologists with a Masters in Water Engineering from Iran’s Shiraz University and a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Civil Engineering – Water and Environmental – from the University of Newcastle. As an experienced Water and Environmental Engineer, Samira plays a key role in supporting our National Hydrological Modelling Platform, eWater Source.
After completing her MPhil, Samira decided to make Australia her home and moved to Canberra to join eWater Group in 2021 and has been making her mark ever since.
“I wanted to live in Australia because I found Australians are very friendly and welcoming. It feels like a big diverse community. I love that we love our jobs, but it is part of what we do, not everything we do. There is so much more to explore.”
For Samira, working as an eWater Group Hydrologist, enables her to continue her passion for hydrology and eco-hydrologic modelling, and offering support and advice to our partners across each state and territory to deliver innovative solutions to support sustainable water for cities and communities across Australia and the world.
“I love my job. I am passionate about what I do. And if I want to describe eWater in only one word I would say eWater is a dynamic organisation.”
“I am able to learn new things every day, and share my knowledge and experience with my colleagues, including fellow hydrologists and developers, but also support our partners to deliver water solutions for their communities.”
“My fellow hydrologists empower me and create opportunities for me to learn so I can be the best at my role. I love that my team is so supportive.”
For Samira, working as an eWater Group Hydrologist, enables her to continue her passion for hydrology and eco-hydrologic modelling, and offering support and advice to our partners across each state and territory to deliver innovative solutions to support sustainable water for cities and communities across Australia and the world.
“I think eWater Source is an incredible tool. Being the national hydrological platform means that everyone is getting consistent data and information to make informed decisions about hydrology, catchments, and river systems.”
“From the moment that the first raindrop comes from the sky to where it lands and how it seeps through the soil, we can show our partners this critical information through dynamic data. This helps them make the right decisions regarding how our water resources are used and where.”
Source helps water experts with all climates and environments and is adaptable and readily updated to include new policy, data, knowledge, and management approaches. It offers the flexibility and ability to link to new and existing models and other information systems; and has been built in partnership with governments, industry, and research organisations.
For Samira the critical issue facing water sustainability and hydrology is data, and ensuring we continue to have the right data with real-time information for our partners and clients. By continuing to invest in Source, we can deliver the best information available to make the right decisions to enhance our ability to manage water sustainability, scarcity, and resilience.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
COVID-19:Water is essential for public health
Containing the COVID-19 virus is a global public health challenge.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), frequent and thorough hand washing can help reduce your chances of contracting infectious diseases such as COVID-19.
But it is hard to wash your hands if you don’t have access to clean water – and worldwide 780 million people do not have access to an improved water source.[1] In 2017, poor sanitation and limited access to hand-washing facilities contributed to around 1.5 million deaths worldwide. In the least developed countries, 22% of health care facilities have no water service, 21% no sanitation service, and 22% no waste management service.[2]
The pandemic has devastated the lives of poor people across the developing world. COVID-19 threatens to hit the world’s poorest nations disproportionately, the United Nations has warned, not just as a health crisis but as a social and economic crisis for billions of people in the months and years to come.
The UN Development Program expects income losses to exceed $220 billion in developing countries as economic shutdowns linked to the coronavirus bite, and nearly half of all jobs in Africa could be lost.
Exacerbating the crisis is climate change which primarily impacts the water cycle. UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterras has noted that 40% of the world’s people are affected by water scarcity and more than 90% of disasters are water-related.
Water scarcity is a global problem that needs collective action. There is no more urgent a time to address the world’s water crisis than now, when people are constantly being reminded to use water to combat the spread of the virus.
Key to addressing water scarcity is improved water management. We must ensure sustainable and equitable water for all, if we are to stem future crises. Finding the balance in allocations between agriculture, industry and growing urban centres while protecting the environment is an ongoing activity for governments, and hydrological models remain a vital tool, particularly when it comes to predictions of the future.
eWater was established by Australian Federal and State governments to provide watermodelling tools, technical support and capacity building in Australia and internationally. eWater works with DFAT, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the Mekong River Commission, and a range of government water authorities across the Indo-Pacific to help manage water better with a view to providing reliable water supply and sanitation for rural and urban communities to improve health and wellbeing for all.
In restricting the spread of the COVID-19 virus and in adapting to climate change, improved water management is critical and must be given higher priority.
[1] World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: 2012.
[2] WHO Fact Sheet: Drinking Water June 2019
Supporting Queensland’s next generation of water modellers
The Queensland Water Modelling Network (QWMN) aims to improve the state’s capacity to model its surface water and groundwater resources and improve the quality of it’s models.
Established by the Queensland Government in 2017, the QWMN provides tools, information and collaborative platforms to support best-practice use of water models and the uptake of their results by policy makers and natural resource managers. The QWMN encourages engagement between modellers, researchers, policy makers and resource managers.
A key focus of the QWMN is building Queensland water sector capability through its mentoring program. The program partners experienced modellers with university undergraduate students and young water professionals interested in water modelling, it The aims to:
Grow the size and capabilities of the Queensland water modelling workforce by building a pipeline of skilled and enthusiastic graduates who want to pursue water modelling careers in Queensland.
Expose students to ‘real world’ water policy issues so that they develop applied knowledge and become enthused about the work of water modellers.
Develop undergraduate student critical analysis and systemic understanding of how the outputs from water models are and can be used.
The program has two components. Firstly, students undertake online water model training and tutorials to become familiar with the relevant models and tools. Students then undertake a ‘real world’ modelling challenge, supported by mentors who are experienced Queensland Government modellers.
eWater is an active supporter of the mentoring program, providing access to the full version of Source, training materials and technical support for participants.
Phase 1 of the program has been successfully completed by students from Griffith University, James Cook University, University of South Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and University of Queensland and a young professional within the Queensland Department of Natural Resources Mines and Energy (DNRME).
Students used eWater Source to understand how water quality targets are set for the Great Barrier Reef catchments. The Cattle Creek sub catchment within the Mackay/Whitsunday region used in the challenge. Through the project, participants both learn how to use Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform, eWater Source and are exposed the the challenges faced by both government and industry to meet the Great Barrier Reef water quality targets.
The program has since been extended to students at the universities of Central Queensland and the Sunshine Coast in 2020-21. The QWMN is also working to engage modelling experts from the private sector.
eWater’s Source modelling provides a valuable tool to help water and catchment managers predict the impacts of the recent bushfires on river systems and water supplies.
Source has a number of rainfall-runoff models which can be directly parameterized to reflect changes to runoff volumes due to forest destruction and regrowth. Source water system models using these can then be combined with historical climate data to assess changes in the reliability of water supply resulting from the bushfire impacts during the regrowth period. Such analyses would involve hundreds of runs of the models to reflect climate variability. Additional impacts due to climate change can also be assessed. Existing water system models developed using pre-determined inflow data can be adjusted to reflect changes in runoff behaviour described by Hill et al. (2008). These models can also be used to assess changes in the reliability of water supply resulting from the bushfire impacts during the regrowth period.
The Source rainfall-runoff models can also be used to assess the likely impacts on stream and water storage water quality. The models would be paramaterised according to findings of past studies (such as Sheridan, G.J. et al. 2007), and would inform catchment and water managers where contingency management plans are required. A precursor to Source has been used to model both the runoff volume and quality impacts of past bushfires in Australia (Murray-Darling Basin Commission, 2007; Feikema et al. 2011).
Water Research Australia – 2020 Catchment Forum
This year’s Water Research Australia catchment forum had a focus on bushfires ‘Recovery for Resilience’. eWater presented the initial findings of our analysis of the impacts of the 2003 bushfires in the ACT on water yield.
Bushfire burning near Blowering Reservoir, NSW (Greg Brave, Adobe Stock)
Bushfire impacts on hydrology
Changes to the quality of runoff
Past bushfires have resulted in significant water quality emergencies, for example:
contamination of water supply reservoirs in Canberra’s Cotter catchment, leading to disruptions to water supply and the need to construct a new water treatment plant (White I. et al, 2006)
a significant fish kill due to near-zero dissolved oxygen levels in the Ovens River in north-east Victoria following a severe storm over a fire-impacted tributary (Smith, H. et al., 2011)
Numerous studies following past bushfires have given us a trove of data with which to predict future impacts on the quality of runoff (e.g. Sheridan, G.J. et al. 2007). The short term increase in runoff rates following bushfires exacerbates the risks of water quality emergencies following bushfires.
Runoff after bushfires can contain high loads of sediment, ash, debris, chemicals and nutrients (Daria Ni, Adobe Stock)
Changes to the quantity of runoff
Bushfires in Australian eucalypt forests lead to significant detrimental impacts on runoff volumes, and the quality of runoff. Numerous studies (Langford, K. J. 1976; Kuczera, G. A. 1985; Hill, P. I. et al. 2008) have found that for a given rain event, runoff volumes initially increase compared with pre-bush fire rates, then significantly reduce before returning to pre-fire rates as the regrowth forest matures. This behaviour is shown below:
Projected change in streamflow relative to mean pre-2003 fire flow for the Murray River (Hill et al. 2008)
The initial responses of runoff rates to bushfire can be even more complex. Fire can make the soil hydrophobic, leading to increased rates of runoff, fire can open up cracks or root holes, leading to increased infiltration and reduced runoff rates, or ash can seal soil pores, leading to increased runoff (Sheridan, G.J. et al. 2007).
Destruction of the forest and canopy, and death of the trees, is the major driver of the short-term change in runoff rates, as the trees can no longer transpire, and the canopies no longer intercept rainfall. As the trees regrow and mature the leaf area of the canopies increase, and root zone becomes deeper. The increasing leaf area leads to higher transpiration rates and so reducing runoff, and the deeper root zone enables the growing forest to access water from deeper in the soil profile, also contributing to reducing runoff as the trees regrow.
Water yields decrease as vegetation recovers from bushfire, and it can take decades for yields to return to pre-fire levels (Kinglake bushfire regrowth – David Hutchinson, Adobe Stock)
The recent devastating bushfires have left many water supply catchments significantly damaged.
Water and catchment managers will be faced with a range of short and long-term impacts on both water quality and volumes of runoff.
In this page, we bring together information to support our community work through these challenging times, including:
an overview of the current state of knowledge of post bushfire hydrology,
how to apply Source functionality to assess post bushfire hydrology, and
useful information sources.
Research and past experience tell us that it could take decades for catchments to recover and that the impacts will vary at different stages of the recovery process. Modelling will be an important tool, providing water and catchment managers with a platform to understand the different risks to water availability and water quality as catchment conditions change and to test the performance of different management responses.
If you would like more information or support with using Source to help understand the impact of bushfire on your catchment or water supply, please contact:
The two most significant impacts of bushfires on hydrology are changes to water quality and runoff rates. We have compiled a short summary of information on these impacts.
The eWater Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) and its predecessors the CRC for Catchment Hydrology and CRC for Freshwater Ecology led a range of initiatives investigating the impacts of bushfires on catchments. Much of this information remains relevant today. https://ewater.org.au/bushfire/main.shtml
Strengthening Water Resources Management in Afghanistan
The Strengthening Water Resources Management in Afghanistan (SWaRMA) project is a two year collaboration between the governments of Afghanistan and Australia through the CSIRO.
eWater, in collaboration with the CSIRO has supported the initiative through:
Developing a Kabul Basin Model.
Developing a Whole-of-Afghanistan water availability model.
Capacity building in water resource modelling with eWater Source.
Panjshir valley in Eastern Afghanistan (credit:mbrand85/AdobeStock)
Kabul Basin Model
The Kabul River Basin is located in Eastern Afghanistan. It joins the Indus River in neighbouring Pakistan. Most inflows are generated from snow melt in the sub-basins of the Panjsher and Konar rivers, which are located high in the Hindu-Kush mountains, with their heavy snowfalls and many glaciers. The catchment is largely undeveloped, with only 6% of land used for cropping (FAO, 2010) and 1% urban. Kabul City is the largest urban area with a population of 4 million.
The model includes water demands for irrigated cropping, urban water, hydropower and the expected water demand from the Aynak mine. Minimum flow requirements are included to meet environmental needs. Urban demands are only modelled for Kabul City, as it is the only urban demand large enough to have an impact on downstream water supply. After consultation with the Ministry of Energy And Water (MEW), demands for Kabul were estimated as 120 L per person per day. Water demand on groundwater is factored into water use for Kabul City, since it is known that over time the reliance on groundwater for Kabul City will change to using surface water from the proposed Shatoot and/or Gulbahar dams. The model is conceptualised to provide for this change in the future.
The Source model for the Kabul Basin provides a broad scale representation of the Kabul River basin and its key water demand and supply elements. It serves as a tool for capacity building, including demonstrating the use of models to assess different water management scenarios. The model is not currently intended to be applied as an operational model of the system. However, it has been conceptualised to provide a framework representing the key features which can be extended with further information regarding management rules and requirements.
This model has been handed over to the Ministry of Energy and Water, so they can continue to develop the model and use it to more detailed analysis and water resource planning and management.
Integrated Source model for the Kabul River Basin
Rapid assessment of whole of Afghanistan water availability
The Source platform makes it possible to explore water availability across multiple scales, from the scale of sub-catchment tributary to major river basin scale to the whole country. A whole of Afghanistan Source model was built to undertake a rapid assessment of water availability in Afghanistan’s five major river basins. Due to limited historical data, the assessments were based on daily global data inputs for the period 2006-2016 and long-term monthly average flows from pre-1980.
Afghanistan is a land locked country and shares its river basins with its neighbouring countries. The use of global input sets helped overcome potential issues of sourcing this data from these other countries. However, a lack of available observed flow sites within these countries meant that neighbouring flow contributions could not be calibrated.
Due to lack of observed flows, it was only possible to calibrate against historical average monthly flows. As such the model can only be considered to represent long-term average conditions across Afghanistan and can only give an indicative assessment of water availability. In time, the model can be further developed as data and knowledge improve.
The rapid assessment provides a much needed baseline tool and information source for water managers. The figure below is an example of the outputs available from the model, it shows the area-weighted outflow per sub-catchment, providing an indication of the distribution of water availability across Afghanistan. It shows that the higher mountain areas are the main source of flows, particularly the Hindu Kush mountains, which receives significant snow in winter.
Area weighted outflows per sub-catchment in Afghanistan
References
FAO (2010) Land cover of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://dwms.fao.org/~draft/lc_2010_en.asp(accessed 12/12/2018)
