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Table of contents: Foreword by Prof J. Philip O'Kane Foreword by Prof Jean A. Cunge Introduction The Nature of Urban Flood Risk Urban areas and flooding, Tracing the roots of urban flood risk, The nature of risk, Adding Social and Ethical Aspects into Flood Risk Mitigation The technocratic way of thinking, Historical perspectives of social justice, Characterisations of social justice, Realising social justice in the context of flood risk mitigation, Leadership and social justice, On sociotechnology, Data-Information-Knowledge-Understanding-Wisdom, The role of hydroinformatics in active stakeholder participation, Scientific and Technical Aspects of Flooding Floods and drainage systems, Quantifying urban processes, Data collection for modelling, Rainfall data analysis and catchment delineation, Modelling wet weather and dry weather flows, Hydraulic modelling, Numerical solutions of equations, Modelling practice, Practical Aspects of Flood Risk Assessment and Mitigation Flood risk assessment, Flood mitigation measures, Production of plans

Book edited by Harry Edmar Schulz, André Luiz Andrade Simões and Raquel Jahara Lobosco, • Short characterization of estuarine systems and the Mondego estuary (Portugal); • Research methods: sampling program description and mathematical integrated modelling (hydroinformatic tool presentation) • Hydrodynamic estuarine modelling, including calibration and validation procedures; • New approach for tidal prism and flow estimation in estuaries, using mathematical modelling. • Estuarine dispersion conditions, including the assessment of saline wedge propagation into the Mondego estuary. • Influence of tides and freshwater discharges on residence time spatial distribution in the Mondego estuary.

The positioning of valves on the pipes of a Water Distribution System (WDS) is a core decision in the design of the isolation system of a WDS. When closed, valves permit to isolate a small portion of the network, so called a sector, which can be de-watered for maintenance purposes at the cost of a supply disruption. However, valves have a cost so their number is limited, and their position must be chosen carefully in order to minimize the worst-case supply disruption which may occur during pipe maintenance. Supply disruption is usually measured as the undelivered user demand. When a sector is isolated by closing its boundary valves, other portions of the network may become disconnected from the reservoirs as a secondary effect, and experience supply disruption as well. This induced isolation must be taken into account when computing the undelivered demand induced by a sector isolation. While sector topology can be described in terms of graph partitioning, accounting for induced undelivered demand requires network flow modeling. The aim of the problem is to locate a given number of valves at the extremes of the network pipes so that the maximum supply disruption is minimized. We present a Bilevel Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model for this problem and show how to reduce it to a single level MILP by exploiting duality. Computational results on a real case study are presented, showing the effectiveness of the approach.

Universities and other higher education institutions involved in water-related engineering education are facing new challenges in offering lifelong learning services and online educational support. Both the curricula and the form of delivery are changing, as contemporary water problems require interdisciplinary approaches involving diverse and up to date expertise maintained via continuous professional development. Hydroinformatics education faces similar challenges in developing relevant curricula and finding appropriate combinations of course delivery to its target group. This article presents experiences from delivering two hydroinformatics courses in the fields of flood modelling for management (FMM) and decision support systems (DSS) in river basin management that in recent years have been delivered both online and in classroom settings. Comparisons between the two modes of delivery are provided, with the conclusion that online education in this field, although still faced with many challenges, has a promising potential for meeting future educational needs.

My Ph.D. Thesis relates to real-life optimization problems in the hydraulic engineering field. More precisely, with the collaboration of computer scientists, operational researchers and hydraulic engineers, I investigate and exploit potentialities of various Operational Research and Artificial Intelligence techniques in order to achieve good (and, whenever possible, optimal) solutions for those particular design issues of the urban hydraulic network that can be effectively modelled as known combinatorial optimization problems. Furthermore, suchdesign issues often require to devise new specialized variants of the known combinatorial optimization problems.

This paper addresses the general problem of establishing a consistent way of identifying and systematizing the various information sources and information processing tasks which constitute a hydroinformatic system. Reasoning is seen as the core process in the generation of new knowledge from several information sources and an epistemological model of reasoning knowledge is presented. A hydroinformatics architecture based on the epistemological model is developed. The architecture provides a basis for an explicit description of the order in which the information sources and the information processing tasks are applied. The explicit description is in the form of a navigation among the sources and tasks.

Hydroinformatics often arises immediately from social needs that are amenable to satisfaction by the application of advanced information technology. These kinds of needs and their satisfaction are introduced here using the example of problems of flood damage mitigation in Bangladesh, where they are seen to lead to particularly efficacious solutions. These solutions, however, necessitate hydroinformatics research in the area of the integration of two generically different kinds of knowledge and information, namely those of hydraulics and geography. This integration is realised here by a linking together of the respective domain knowledge encapsulators, namely a widely-used proprietary fourth-generation modelling system and a widely-used proprietary geographic information system (GIS). Some of the problems of the resulting technological research are introduced.

In this paper three examples of concepts of hydroinformatics systems are described:(i) Integrated System for the Management of Agricultural Pollution - EUREKA ISMAP Project, aimed at developing methodology including informatics tools and simulation models. The problem of agricultural pollution is as much political and media-affected as technical. The paper describes the informatics part of ISMAP.(ii) Multimodel Integrated System for Management of Time Evolving Risks in Environment - MISTERE, is a hydroinformatics framework designed to build simulation and real-time management systems based on the multimodel/multimethod principle allowing integration of any method or any model into the system and comparison of their results thus opening new horizons for designers.(iii) Within the framework of EUREKA Project OPMOD-F, LHF developed interfaces to allow a user to run, simultaneously or consecutively, various suites of simulation software, implemented on different computers. OPMOD interfaces allow the operator ...

The direction in which hydroinformatics is developing is influenced by perceived and declared needs of managers in water-based industries. Hydroinformatics systems for managers can be developed correspondingly. Some generic criteria for such systems are presented together with realisations of such systems for beach management and irrigation management and as a management-supporting information system for urban drainage. The importance of a correct design of frameworks based on common data-base and other userinterface standards is stressed. It is concluded that the development of hydroinformatics systems will not only serve to disseminate hydraulic knowledge much more widely in water management practice, but it will continuously provide new incentives to research further areas in hydraulics.

Through the rapidly ongoing process of electronic encapsulation of information and knowledge, a new kind of space opens up in hydraulics between the places and ways in which information and knowledge are produced, through research, and the places and ways in which these are applied, through engineering and management practice. It is this space that is now being occupied by hydroinformatics. The special problems of presenting hydroinformatics arc introduced in relation to the types of electronic knowledge encapsulators that are currently being brought together and integrated in real-time-control, alarm-handling, computer-aided design, computer- aided management and other systems. The new challenges that hydroinformatics presents are outlined and related to the contributions to this special edition of the Journal of Hydraulics Research.The distinction between information and knowledge and the most immediate consequences of this distinction are set out in an appendix to this introductory paper.

The practice of hydroinformatics calls for an education in a number of basic subjects and a further education and training in the ways in which knowledge and information arising from the corresponding subject areas can be integrated into hydroinformatics products and services. Even if only because of its multidisciplinary basis, hydroinformatics is not suited to a conventional undergraduate education, so that education must proceed at a postgraduate level and be augmented by practical training. A postgraduate course in hydroinformatics and its associated training programme are described and some if the more basic problems that have been experienced are introduced.

This paper describes a new approach to real time control of urban drainage systems: model-based control. A hydrodynamic numerical model is included in the control loop to provide information about the expected situation. The introduction of the numerical model not only changes the level of information available, but also the way in which it is applied. It allows for a more dynamic control where more control strategies can be analysed. It also promotes global control, in which the situation of the entire urban drainage system is taken into account. A software package for model-based control, MOUSE ONLINE, is described.

In a world of ever changing information technologies, involving software as well as hardware developments, it is only natural that hydroinformatics must position itself within these possibilities and developments. Even though hydroinformatics mostly is living within the conditions set by the world of information technology in general, in some cases hydroinformatics may push these developments in desired directions, and in even more cases hydroinformatics must add functionality to such technologies in order to make them complete and so useful.One such new technique is object orientation. This paper discuss how the use of object orientation, and the consequences that flow from that use, will influence the way in which hydroinformatics systems will be implemented in the future. At the same time, certain areas are indicated which have a great potential for hydroinformatics, areas where standardisation and developments are still missing and where hydroinformatics may have to contribute actively before real-wor...

Recent developments in urban storm drainage are reviewed starting with rainfall/runoff processes, followed by discussions of combined sewage, drainage impacts on receiving waters, impact mitigation, hydroinformatics, regulatory programs and conclusions. The most promising trends in this field include improvements in spatial definition of rainfall data, runoff modelling with a limited number of model parameters and recognition of modelling uncertainties, analytical statistical modelling of runoff quality, advances in the understanding and modelling of sewer sediment transport, the use of biomonitoring and modelling in assessing drainage impacts on receiving waters, further refinement of best management practices for stormwater management, development of new processes for treatment of stormwater, experience with vortex combined sewer overflow structures and their applications in combination with other treatment devices, real time control of sewer system operation, advances in hydroinformatics leading to improvements in the integrated management and modelling of drainage systems, interfacing of drainage models with geographic information systems, and improved regulation of drainage effluents.

Hydroinformatics represents a technological challenge for a research and consultancy organisation such as DELFT HYDRAULICS. Building problem-solving systems by combining numerical models with computer technologies such as databases, geographical information systems (GIS), visualization systems, artificial intelligence and intelligent user interfaces, is only part of the work. The other part is quality control: ensuring that the results obtained with hydroinformatics systems are reliable, that they are applied correctly and that the clients' needs are met. This paper discusses both aspects.The usability of a hydroinformatics system is crucial: it is necessary to provide convenient access to the functions of the system, and to present the required information in a suitable form. The way in which this can be best achieved depends on the users' requirements as well as on their profile. A development method is described which takes into account the evolving needs of the users of a hydroinformatics system.Anoth...

Watershed science traditionally refers to the themes of hydrology and water resource management. Watershed science has been experiencing a rapid evolution that thrives on a forceful superimposition of multi-discipline and innovative earth observing and information techniques. The water and its interactions with other systems in a watershed is increasingly becoming a focus in scientific communities, and several new disciplines such as ecohydrology, ecoeconomics, environmental hy-drogeology and hydroinformatics have emerged in recent years. From a water-soil-air-plant-human perspective, an integrated study should be implemented regarding a basin in its totality; this new science is called watershed science (Cheng et al., 2014).

Accurate predictions of storm surge are of importance in many coastal areas. This book focuses on data-driven modelling using methods of nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory for predicting storm surges. A number of new enhancements are presented: phase space dimensionality reduction, incomplete time series, phase error correction, finding true neighbours, optimization of chaotic model, data assimilation and multi-model ensembles. These were tested on the case studies in the North Sea and Caribbean Sea. Chaotic models appear to be are accurate and reliable short and mid-term predictors of storm surges aimed at supporting decision-makers for flood prediction and ship navigation.

A design method for integrated modeling and assessment DSS in Hydroinformatics based on ontology and domain modeling is given. Four levels of design are discussed. First, formal concept analysis is employed for domain ontology analysis and construction in Hydroinformatics. Second, OWL is used as representation language for domain ontology. In third level, metamodel method of domain model is combined with domain ontology for the design of domain model. And finally an example of flood risk analysis and management is given to illustrate the design process and integrated method.

En los últimos años se han logrado importantes avances en la aplicación de tecnologías de información en la gestión de recursos hídricos, desde un campo multidisciplinar lamado hidroinformática, cambiando así el enfoque en la valoración del impacto medioambiental y en la toma de decisiones con respecto a diversos recursos ambientales. Este artículo presenta un sistema de recuperación de imágenes utilizando como base la colección digital de varios tipos de ecosistemas de piedemonte y llanura amazónica, del Grupo de Investigación en Calidad y Preservación de Ecosistemas Acuáticos, de la Universidad de la Amazonia. Este sistema propone la clasificación automática de imágenes a partir de tres atributos: color del agua, márgenes y tipo de flujo del recurso acuático, de acuerdo al esquema de clasificación de Dinnerstein, adaptado en el 2001 por el Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales (Ideam) y la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Significant progress has been made during recent yearsin applying information technologiesto water resource management from a multidisciplinary field called hydroinformatics; this can change the focus of environmental impact assessment and decision-making according to available environmental resources. This article presents an image retrieval system which uses the Universidad de la Amazonia´s (Colombia)Aquatic Ecosystem Quality and Preservation Research Group´s (CAPREA) digital image collection. Automaticpicture classification (having attributes relative to water colour, edges and flow type) is proposed which has beenbased onDinnertein´s classification, adapted by the Universidad Nacional de Colombia´s Hydrology and Meteorology Institute and Environment Studies in 2001.

This paper presents a new application of logic programming to a real-life problem in hydraulic engineering. The work is developed as a collaboration of computer scientists and hydraulic engineers, and applies Constraint Logic Programming to solve a hard combinatorial problem. This application deals with one aspect of the design of a water distribution network, i.e., the valve isolation system design. We take the formulation of the problem by Giustolisi and Savic (2008) and show how, thanks to constraint propagation, we can get better solutions than the best solution known in the literature for the Apulian distribution network. We believe that the area of the so-called hydroinformatics can benefit from the techniques developed in Constraint Logic Programming and possibly from other areas of logic programming, such as Answer Set Programming., Comment: Best paper award at the 27th International Conference on Logic Programming - ICLP 2011; Theory and Practice of Logic Programming, (ICLP'11) Special Issue, volume 11, issue 4-5, 2011

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Urbana, O novo paradigma da gestão dos recursos hídricos, anunciado pela Directiva n.º 2000/60/CE (Directiva Quadro da Água ‐ DQA) e a sua transposição para a legislação portuguesa através da Lei n.º 58 de 29 de Dezembro (Lei da Água), estabeleceu a necessidade de desenvolvimento e integração de novos mecanismos e ferramentas que possibilitem a produção de informação vital aos processos de tomada de decisão. A modelação matemática pode fornecer esse contributo à gestão dos recursos hídricos na União Europeia e, mais especificamente, em Portugal. Para a construção de modelos hidrodinâmicos e de qualidade da água, que servirão de base aos objectivos principais do presente trabalho, foi utilizada uma ferramenta de modelação matemática em hidráulica denominada SOBEK. Este software específico de modelação, com uma experiência alargada de aplicação (Delft Hydraulics, 2005), permite, através de um conjunto de informação de suporte, criar reproduções da realidade hidráulica tão fiéis quanto o utilizador entender e a informação que possui permitir. Tendo identificado estes factores, a capacidade técnica do utilizador e a qualidade da informação de base, aliados à complexidade da representação da realidade na modelação matemática e à dificuldade no processamento, como sendo aqueles que mais condicionam o desempenho final dos modelos e a sua utilização, aplicou‐se uma metodologia inteligente de computação, as Redes Neuronais Artificiais (RNA), para tentar mitigar as dificuldades reconhecidas em utilizações específicas de modelação matemática como é o caso da gestão optimizada de recursos hídricos. Estes algoritmos inteligentes, cujo desenvolvimento foi inspirado no comportamento do sistema nervoso humano, serão utilizados para interpretar e simular séries de dados de monitorização e ainda emular modelos hidrodinâmicos e de qualidade da água. Por serem algoritmos genéricos e que não implicam conhecimento específicos na área onde serão aplicados, estes modelos poderão complementar ferramentas específicas como o SOBEK e ainda reproduzir o seu comportamento matemático, desde que devidamente treinadas para o efeito. Os resultados deste trabalho permitem compreender até que ponto as RNA poderão emular modelos hidrodinâmicos e de qualidade da água, substituindo ou complementando ferramentas específicas de modelação matemática, e ainda inferir sobre a sua capacidade de relacionar variáveis de monitorização dos recursos hídricos., The new water resources management paradigm, introduced by the Directive n.º 2000/60/CE (Water Framework Directive) and it’s translation to the Portuguese legislation through the Law n.º 58 of December 29 (Water law), established the need of development and integration of new mechanisms and tools that allow the generation of vital information to decision making. Mathematical modelling can provide a valuable contribution to water resources management in the European Union and, more specifically, in Portugal. For the construction of hydrodynamic and water quality models, which will serve as support to the main objective of the present thesis, it was used the SOBEK software. This specific modelling software, already with a wide application experience (Delft Hydraulics, 2005), allows, through a set of base information, to create representations of the hydraulic reality as faithful as the user wants and the quality of the base data allows. Having identified the user technical ability and the quality of the information basis, allied to the reality representation complexity in mathematical modeling and the processing difficulty as being those which most affect the model’s final performance and it’s use, arose the need to mitigate these known difficulties in mathematical modeling applied to water resources. For that, was applied an intelligent computation methodology, the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). These intelligent algorithms, which are inspired in the human nervous system behavior, will be used to interpret and simulate monitoring data series and emulate hydrodynamic and water quality models. Because they are generic algorithms that don’t involve specific knowledge in the area in which they will be applied, these models may complement specific tools like SOBEK and still recreate it’s mathematical behavior, if properly trained for that purpose. The results of this work allow understanding how far can the ANN go to emulate hydrodynamic and water quality models, replacing or complementing mathematical modeling specific tools, and still deduce over its ability to relate water resources monitoring variables.

The rapidly developing practice of encapsulating knowledge in electronic media is shown to lead necessarily to the restructuring of the knowledge itself. The consequences of this for hydraulics, hydrology and more general water-resources management are investigated in particular relation to current process-simulation, real-time control and advice-serving systems. The generic properties of the electronic knowledge encapsulator are described, and attention is drawn to the manner in which knowledge ‘goes into hiding’ through encapsulation. This property is traced in the simple situations of pure mathesis and in the more complex situations of taxinomia using one example each from hydraulics and hydrology. The consequences for systems architectures are explained, pointing to the need for multi-agent architectures for ecological modelling and for more general hydroinformatics systems also. The relevance of these developments is indicated by reference to ongoing projects in which they are currently being realised. In conclusion, some more general epistemological aspects are considered within the same context. As this contribution is so much concerned with the processes of signification and communication, it has been partly shaped by the theory of semiotics, as popularised by Eco (A Theory of Semiotics, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1977).

Hydroinformatics tools have increasingly offered a contribution towards the assessment of water management problems and the formulation of enhanced solutions. Nonetheless, the search for improved basis of water management requires not only a combination of technical and managerial responses, but also a firm action against socioeconomic injustices and political inequalities. This chapter problematises the role of hydroinformatics in situations of established inequalities and acute management distortions. A case study of the Baixada Fluminense, in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro, illustrates the challenges to reverse unsustainable practices where water problems have been exploited by local and national politicians. Although the hydroinformatics community is certainly aware of the social dimension of water management, the aim is to further emphasise the centrality of issues of power and political disputes. The chapter concludes that the agenda of hydroinformatics needs to expand in order to combine state-of-the-art information technology with a critical understanding of how social and spatial differences affect the use and conservation of water systems.

This paper describes the parallelization needs required by the TELEMAC system, a complete hydroinformatics tool developed by EDF R&D. A focus on three codes part of the TELEMAC system, namely Estel-3D, Telemac-3D and Spartacus-3D, is achieved. For each code, performance in terms of speed up is presented, as well as an industrial application.

Estuaries and coastal lagoons are commonly subjected to intensive anthropogenic stress due to massive pollutant loading from urbanised riparian areas. Nutrient enrichment is a key-factor for habitat degradation, leading to sensible structural changes in estuarine ecosystems with the consequent occurrence of eutrophication processes. The influence of hydrodynamics must not be neglected on estuarine eutrophication vulnerability assessment. In fact, flushing time affects the transport and the permanence of water and its constituents inside an estuary, so the increase of estuarine flushing capacity can be seen as a management measure to mitigate or to invert eutrophication processes, like the one observed in the Mondego River estuary (Portugal), during the last two decades. In this work, an integrated 2-DH water quality model was applied to calculate water residence time values, at different simulated management scenarios of the Mondego estuary. The results of the performed simulations illustrate the strong assymmetry of flood and ebb duration time at the inner sections of this estuary, a keyparameter for a correct tidal flow estimation, as the major driving force of the southern arm flushing capacity, as well as a spatial and temporal variability of calculated RT values. The conclusions of this work confirm the crucial influence of hydrodynamics on estuarine water quality status and the usefulness of this hydroinformatic tool as contribution to support the design of a sustainable management plan, based on nutrient loads reduction and hydrodynamic circulation improvement. So, the proposed methodology, integrating hydrodynamics and water quality, constitutes a powerful hydroinformatic tool for enhancing estuarine eutrophication vulnerability assessment, in order to contribute for better water quality management practices and to achieve a true sustainable development., (undefined)

Residence time is broadly recognised as a key-parameter to assess estuarine eutrophication vulnerability since it is related to the eutrophication gradients observed in many estuarine systems. The increase of estuarine flushing capacity can be seen as a management measure to mitigate or to invert eutrophication processes. The southern arm of the Portuguese river Mondego estuary was strongly stressed by an eutrophication process due to massive nutrient loading from urbanised areas, aquaculture farms and agricultural land runoff. A research work was carried out in the development of a hydroinformatic tool (MONDEST model) for the description and assessment of freshwater inflows effects on residence time spatial variation in estuarine systems. This tool was applied in the identification of the most critical zones subjected to an eutrophication process, considering different hydrodynamic scenarios. MONDEST model can be a powerful tool for enhancing wetland eutrophication vulnerability assessment in order to establish the best water quality management practices and restoration measures for the environmental sustainability of this complex aquatic ecosystem.

In this thesis, several modelling approaches are explored to represent spatial pattern dynamics of aquatic populations in aquatic ecosystems by the combination of models, knowledge and data in different scales. It is shown that including spatially distributed inputs retrieved from Remote Sensing images, a conventional physically-based Harmful Algal Bloom model can be enhanced. Also, Cellular Automata based models using high resolution photographs prove to be good in representing aquatic plant growth. Multi-Agent Systems can capture well the spatial patterns exhibited in GIS density maps. A synthesis modelling framework was developed to include biological/ecological growth and diffusive processes, and local effects in conventional modelling framework. The results of the complementary modelling paradigms investigated in this research can be of help in achieving a sustainable environmental management strategy.

In this thesis, several modelling approaches are explored to represent spatial pattern dynamics of aquatic populations in aquatic ecosystems by the combination of models, knowledge and data in different scales. It is shown that including spatially distributed inputs retrieved from Remote Sensing images, a conventional physically-based Harmful Algal Bloom model can be enhanced. Also, Cellular Automata based models using high resolution photographs prove to be good in representing aquatic plant growth. Multi-Agent Systems can capture well the spatial patterns exhibited in GIS density maps. A synthesis modelling framework was developed to include biological/ecological growth and diffusive processes, and local effects in conventional modelling framework. The results of the complementary modelling paradigms investigated in this research can be of help in achieving a sustainable environmental management strategy.

The author develops a point of view concerning the ensemble of knowledge in the field of hydroinformatics which should be assimilated by a Hydraulics Engineer during his university studies. This will be considered in relation to the basic hydraulics knowledge which must be learnt. The point of view stems from the author's teaching experience at the ENSHMG (Ecole nationale superieure d'hydraulique et de mecanique de Grenoble) as well as from 30-Years experience of informatics applications in hydraulics. Beginning with to-day's situation main lines of teaching programmes of hydroinformatics will be proposed an undergraduate and graduate-specialisation levels. Special attention will be given to the network of European Universities and Institutes, their complementarity and to the possibility of following very complete curricula of hydroinformatics studies and specialisations within EEC.

Owing to the high complexity and the non-linearity of ecosystems and the rapid development of technology in spatial data survey, soft computation is more and more widely used in ecohydraulics models. Soft computing is a broad field which includes cellular automata (CA), individual-based models (IBM) and box-based models with respect to paradigms, and artificial neural networks (ANN), fuzzy logic (FL), genetic algorithms (GA), chaos theory and rule-based method with respect to techniques. This chapter will concentrate on the use of CA and rule-based techniques to ecohydraulics models. Application cases include modelling of population dynamics, algal bloom forecasting and aquatic ecosystem succession.

Data-driven modelling is the area of hydroinformatics undergoing fast development. This chapter reviews the main concepts and approaches of data-driven modelling, which is based on computational intelligence and machine-learning methods. A brief overview of the main methods - neural networks, fuzzy rule-based systems and genetic algorithms, and their combination via committee approaches - is provided along with hydrological examples and references to the rest of the book.

Urban drainage systems constitute a very significant portion of all assets in urban areas. Their structural integrity and functional efficiency represent key parameters for the safe transfer and disposal of surface runoff and domestic/trade discharge. Hydroinformatics tools can help in dealing with the optimal rehabilitation of such systems. An approach that links the hydrodynamic model of a drainage system with the multi-criteria global evolutionary optimisation engine that takes into account the performance indicators relevant for rehabilitation decisions is being developed. This paper presents the tools and the optimisation algorithms used, and a simple case study demonstrating the effectiveness of the approach.

This chapter examines various applications of evolutionary computation (EC)-based meta-models to augment or replace the conventional use of numerical simulation and optimisation within the context of hydroinformatics. Evolutionary computation-based optimisation techniques are increasingly used in a wide range of water and environmental applications either as optimisation, analysis or design tools. However, despite the advances in computer power, it may still be impractical to rely exclusively on computationally expensive (time-consuming) simulation for many real-world complex problems. The meta-model investigated in this chapter can take various forms and, when coupled with a genetic algorithm, forms a fast and effective hybridisation. Three examples, including calibration of a rainfall–runoff model, modified Monte Carlo sampling of a kinematic wave model and the design and robust rehabilitation of water distribution models, are then used to illustrate the concept of EC-based meta-models. The proposed meta-model reduces the number of simulation runs required in the numerical model considerably, thus making the optimisation and statistical analysis of computationally intensive simulation models viable.

Operational flood forecasting systems have an established role in mitigating damage due to flooding through provision of timely flood warnings. Such forecasting systems are at the interface between developing modelling techniques, and practical use of these technologies, and therefore hold a clear challenge to hydroinformatics. Despite this challenge and significant attention from the hydroinformatics research community, adaptation of forecasting systems to new techniques is slow. This is partly due to most forecasting systems resulting from bespoke development of an operational environment around an existing model or set of models. Once established, adapting the system to changing needs is difficult both technically and organisationally. As an alternative to the model centred bespoke development, an open approach to integration of models is proposed. In this data centred approach, an operational flood forecasting shell is applied to provide both the operational setting of the forecasting system and an open framework through which models can be easily integrated. The decoupling of the models employed and the organisational setting facilitates adaptation of the forecasting system to both changing needs and integration of new modelling techniques and data sources.

This chapter describes the current status of neural network hydrological modelling. Neural network modelling is now a regular feature in most peer-reviewed hydrological and water resource publications. The number of reported operational models is, nevertheless, restricted to a small handful of diverse implementations located in different parts of the world. The social and institutional reasons for this fundamental mismatch are discussed, and a requirement for stronger scientific rigour in modelling and reporting is highlighted. Eight potential guidelines for the development of a stronger scientific foundation are provided.

CD-ROM, Nutrient enrichment is a key factor for habitat degradation due to strong stimulation of opportunistic macroalgae growth, with the consequent occurrence of algal blooms. Residence time is broadly recognised as a key parameter to assess estuarine eutrophication vulnerability and it is related to the eutrophication gradients observed in estuarine systems. In the last two decades, the southern arm of the Portuguese river Mondego estuary was stressed by an eutrophication process due to massive nutrient loading from urbanised areas, intensively agricultural land runoff and sensitive changes on estuarine hydrodynamics induced by the silting up in its upstream area. The aims of this work were the development of a hydroinformatic tool − the MONDEST model − coupling hydrodynamics, water quality and TempResid modules, and its application to calculate residence time values, at different simulated hydrodynamic scenarios and nutrients loading characteristics. The results obtained for this estuary allow us to assess the influence of freshwater inflows and nutrient discharge characteristics on residence time spatial distribution. This work shows that the MONDEST model constitutes a powerful tool for enhancing systems eutrophication vulnerability assessment in order to establish the best water quality management practices for the environmental sustainability of this complex ecosystem.

Hydroinformatics is concerned with the application of information and communication technologies for the planning, management, and conservation of the aquatic environment. With the rapidly increasing capabilities of computer-based systems, considerable advances were made during the past decade or more. Some historic developments are outlined in this article and the development of hydroinformatics as a sociotechnology is explained. The transition from computation to communication is illustrated by examples from present day flood simulation and flood early warning systems; emerging applications of data-mining and evolutionary computing are demonstrated for the fields of ecohydraulics and ecohydrology. The impact of hydroinformatics on the future role of hydrology in a multiuser environment is discussed. The contours of a next (fifth) generation software systems making use of agent-based communication over a network of computers and developers are outlined. The scope and content of all subsequent articles within this chapter are presented; these can be broadly grouped into areas of (i) physics-based numerical modeling; (ii) data-driven modeling and evolutionary computing; and (iii) design and decision support systems. Keywords: hydroinformatics; computer-based modelling; flood early warning systems; data-mining; evolutionary computing; agent-based software development

This section provides an introduction to the theme of rainfall-runoff modeling in hydrology. It provides a summary of the purposes of rainfall-runoff modeling; a classification of rainfall-runoff models; a brief account of process descriptions in rainfall-runoff models; and a short history of rainfall-runoff modeling. It also discusses the problem of model choice from the wide range of possibilities available, and the important question of model calibration using different types of observational data before considering the prediction of the effects of future change (when no observations are possible). Finally, a guide is given to the future of rainfall-runoff modeling. Reference to the other sections in this article are given throughout, as well as to relevant available texts. Keywords: hydrological models; uncertainty estimation; history; climate change; GRID computing; hydroinformatics

Provision of early warning is an effective strategy in reducing flood damage and loss of life due to flooding. Flood forecasting and warning systems are important instruments in supporting relevant authorities issuing appropriate warnings. With the advent of computer-based simulation techniques, computer-based data processing capabilities, and computer-based communication facilities, the impact of hydroinformatics on flood forecasting in support of flood warning is manifest. In this article, an overview is given of flood forecasting systems for providing warnings in hydrological catchments. This overview is given from the perspective of the position of flood forecasting within the process of detection, forecasting, warning, and response. A categorization of flood forecasting systems is introduced, and the elements of a flood forecasting system are discussed. Keywords: flood early warning systems; flood forecasting; flood warning; computer-based modeling; hydrologic and hydraulic modeling systems; real-time data acquisition; data assimilation; uncertainty analysis