Jean-Pierre BRICQUET

Hydrological information systems and Database Management issues

10th WHYCOS International Advisory Group, WMO, Geneva, Switzerland, 10-11 October 2013

Challenges of data management

Many stakeholders involved in various initiatives, programmes and/or projects, produce and/or use water-related data.

Production of the data required for natural resources management is insufficient

Challenges

1.Sustainable capacity building for the production of the data required;

2.Developing procedures, tools and methods to enhance the value of the existing data

Harmonization of databank system: •One bank per country at national level;•Facilitate use and dissemination (one format);•Maintenance and Training are easier;•Reduce the costs of maintenance (one system);•Integration of historical and recent data;•Way to standardization

Some elements of NMHSs on the national level

Main functions of a database

Database designDatabase design

Eliminate data redundancyEliminate data redundancy

Software «Database management system»Software «Database management system»Support for application control modulesSupport for application control modules

Administration facilitated of dataAdministration facilitated of data

Centralize and organize data correctlyCentralize and organize data correctly

Modeling dataModeling data

Establish integrity constraintsEstablish integrity constraints

Querying, coherence, sharing, management of breakdowns, backups, publications etc.Querying, coherence, sharing, management of breakdowns, backups, publications etc.

Management of the rights to access data and functionsManagement of the rights to access data and functions

Database management systems

Most used toolsMost used tools

Web serversWeb servers

Database servers (DBMS)Database servers (DBMS)

Microsoft IIS

Apache

Microsoft IIS

Apache

Ms SqlServerOracleMySql

Ms SqlServerOracleMySql

Design of the database is crucial for efficiency

Database functions

• time series (any type),• discharges (current meter, ADCP…),• measurement conditions,• rating curves, • stations characteristics and history,• equipment maintenance,• location sketches, maps and photos, etc.

A hydrological database must be able to accumulate and manage the target data and provide data services quickly and accurately. It should also permit comprehensive automated reporting. Technology now permits a database to accumulate and manage an infinite quantity of data, for multi-purpose applications

Examples of processes

Administration

Only ONE database:

•Secure system (Oracle, MySQL..);•One Administrator;•Multi users;•Rights per user;•Without annual fee;•Store historical and real time data;•Quality insurance;•Managed backup procedures

The institutional framework for coordination of data management activities must be established;

The Information System should be managed by a permanent and competent staff within the organization;

There should be only a single information system in the agency; each project cannot manage parallel and redundant systems;

To ensure the sustainability of monitoring, internal financing of the agency should not only concern the staff managing the Information System, but also the collection and operating costs of the system itself and its hardware, which may be important.

Common facts

In most of the agenciesNo proper catalogue about available data (metadata)

No set policies for data dissemination•pricing•eligibility•time frame for supply

Historical data largely as paper records•inefficient dissemination and lot of duplication of efforts by various users in computerizing the data and then using the same set.

Data dissemination

Information Systems

Information Systems

It’s an organized set of resources (staff, data, procedures, hardware, software,...) allowing to collect, store, organize and disseminate data and information in the form of texts, images, sounds, or encoded data in organizations...

The SIE or the Environmental Information System is all the computing tools which supports the Environmental Management system (EMS) by operating the eco-data and the eco-functions to perpetuate and share your eco-data (for example the regulations, the aspects, the environmental impacts and the rejections, the emissions issues, the indicators) which are included and maintained in an integrated reference table, assuring an optimal availability of the information.

It’s an organized set of resources (staff, data, procedures, hardware, software,...) allowing to collect, store, organize and disseminate data and information in the form of texts, images, sounds, or encoded data in organizations...

The SIE or the Environmental Information System is all the computing tools which supports the Environmental Management system (EMS) by operating the eco-data and the eco-functions to perpetuate and share your eco-data (for example the regulations, the aspects, the environmental impacts and the rejections, the emissions issues, the indicators) which are included and maintained in an integrated reference table, assuring an optimal availability of the information.

Definition (Wikipedia)Definition (Wikipedia)

Purpose of HIS

• The primary role of a HIS is to provide reliable data sets and information for planning, design and management of water resource and for research activities.

• The system should function in such a manner that it provides the information to users in time and in proper form (different type/level of information according to users.

• Sometimes, the scope of HIS is extended to provide data to users on a real-time basis for short-term forecasting or operational purposes.

Functionalities of HIS

Functions

Integration of data from different sources, archiving and management of data

Data sets documentation (metadata) and access via a catalogue

Visualization (images) and data download

Analysis of data (statistics, information crossing, simple GIS analyses)….

Functionalities of HIS

http://www.chebro.es/

Hydrological Information System

Analysis, Modeling, Hypothesis testing

Hydrologic Database

Some new trends

CUASHI, and Water ML, shared platform

Netview (OTT), data hosted by supplier, on line http://netview.ott.com/demo/

HYDROLOGICAL DATA MANAGEMENT: PRESENT STATE AND TRENDS

OPERATIONAL HYDROLOGY REPORT No. 48 (WMO, 2003)

Remember:Remember:An hydrological database must be managed An hydrological database must be managed separately from the HIS;separately from the HIS;HIS could/should be connected to the baseHIS could/should be connected to the base

THANK YOUTHANK YOU