IBM announced the launch of Digital Delta: stakes and opportunities around flood control and water system.

Belonging to IBM portfolio for sustain sustainable development, Digital Delta program, lands in Netherlands with the final goal to
harness insights from ‘’Big’’ Data to transform flood control and the management of the entire Dutch water system.

In collaboration with Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Ministry for Water), local Water Authority Delfland, Deltares Science Institute and the University of Delft, Digital Delta according to the terms of agreement, will investigate how to integrate and analyze water data from a wide range of existing data sources.  

This means harness : ‘’precipitation measurements, water level and water quality monitors, levee sensors, radar data, model predictions as well current and historic maintenance data from sluices, pumping stations, locks and dams.’’

In addition, we also learn that, together, ‘’Rijkswaterstaat, local Water Authority Delfland, Deltares Science Institute, the University of Delft and IBM will combine data and technology from several new and existing water management projects:

• Delft University of Technology will use IBM’s Intelligent Water Software to access weather predictions, real-time sensor data, topography and information about asset service history to make more informed and timely decisions on maintenance schedules to save costs while preventing flooding of tunnels, buildings and streets.  
• Rijkswaterstaat and local water authorities will manage water balance data and share the information centrally through the Digital Delta platform, making it possible for the Dutch water system to optimize the discharge of water and improve the containment of water during dry periods, and prevent damage to agriculture.
• HydroLogic Research and IBM together with the Delfland Water Board will develop a scalable early flood warning method, through integration of a large amount of real-time measurement data from the water system as well as weather information and water system simulation models.
• Next Generation Hydro Software facilitates the numerical modeling of rivers, seas and deltas, but requires access to large volumes of data found in multiple formats. The Digital Delta initiative will solve this problem by maintaining a catalogue of frequently used data and converting data formats to a standardized form, providing a unified view of the data needed to make more accurate predictions.

Digital Delta will explore the potential for sharing and managing water data in new ways, using the latest technology and deep industry expertise.’

 “Aggregating, integrating and analyzing data on weather conditions, tides, levee integrity, run off and more, will provide the Dutch government with detailed information that better prepares it to protect Dutch citizens and business, as well as homes, livestock and infrastructure.” Said Jan Hendrik Dronkers, Director General of Rijkswaterstaat.

"The implications for this work are global as cities around the world move swiftly to adopt smarter solutions to better manage the water cycle.” said Michael J Dixon, general manager, Global Smarter Cities, IBM.