WATERMARK - a modular IT architecture for integrated water management

WATERMARK is a multi-disciplinary research initiative at the Austrian Research Centers which aims at developing intelligent knowledge-based services and solutions in order to support the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). One of the basic requirements for realizing the requested integrated water management approach is to develop advanced information and data management tools and applications. WATERMARK combines the research expertise of experts in water management, information technologies and environmental planning in order to develop innovative methodologies for comprehensive information management in the field of water resources management. Main objective of the WATERMARK project is to produce additional value out of the environmental data which will become available in the course of WFD implementation, e.g. by supporting the decision making process in companies and public authorities, providing impact and risk assessment tools and performing scenario analyses. In the course of the project a number of case studies of ground water management were defined, ranging from the transport and distribution of pollutants in groundwater bodies to the exploration and sustainable management of groundwater resources. Project architecture defines a loosely coupled system of data stores, modelling components and information retrieval interfaces. A primary requirement for WATERMARK was to build a framework of reusable components that can easily be combined with standard OGC and ISO compliant clients and services. In its basic implementation a WATERMARK application consists of a web based graphic user interface, a business logic component (currently implemented as a web application in Model View Controller architecture), a model access service, and a data access service. First realized business logic component is a decision support tool for tracing of ground water pollutants, originating from punctual events. Where sufficient data and models are available, questions are answered in real-time and provided on a web-interface or forwarded to experts for further processing. Other components in the course of realization will deal with the impact assessment of anthropogenic activities on the environment through selected criteria and indicators. Future development of WATERMARK is directed towards full ORCHESTRA (Open Architecture and Spatial Data Infrastructure for Risk Management) architecture compliance, integration of additional ORCHESTRA services, real-time access to sensor networks, and implementing further environmental management modules.