In the framework of the Deliverable 3.2 “Improved modelling frameworks for better understanding of water resources at the river basin scale”, STARS4Water elaborated on the upgrading of existing and development of new modelling frameworks and processed-based modelling tools to help address the water management needs of the 7 STARS4Water River Basin Hubs (RBHs). Suitable methodologies have been identified for each RBH considering the existing gaps.
The following activities have been included in the STARS4Water workflow:
Drammen River Basin (Norway):
Development of a complete modelling chain characterized by a suite of models including LISFLOOD, HBV, wflow_sbm and RIBASIM, in order to address future extreme events (both floods and droughts) in the basin and their impacts on hydropower production, water availability and demand
East Anglia River Basin (UK):
Development and application of an environmental flows methodology to connect to hydrological/water resources models and hydraulic models and support the practitioners in assessing them
Seine River Basin (France):
Development of a new approach to estimate the inter-catchment groundwater flows in the semi-distributed hydrological model GRSD (based on the lumped GR4J model) to better account for groundwater-surface water interactions and water storage in the upstream reservoirs
Ebro River Basin (Spain):
Update and application of the MODFLOW model for an extension of the current domain, along with improved process understanding and provision of input data via data-driven approaches to better understand groundwater vulnerability to nitrate contamination
Messara River Basin (Greece):
Development and application of the RIBASIM water allocation model as part of an improved disaggregated water resources modelling framework, ensuring the sustainable use of water resources and protecting the aquifer from overexploitation
Rhine River Basin (transboundary):
Development and application of the RIBASIM water allocation model as part of an improved water resources modelling framework ensuring the sustainable use and allocation of water resources
Development and application of an agricultural water demand module in the wflow-RIBASIM modelling framework to improve the assessment of agricultural demands for irrigation (an emerging issue due to increased temperature and decreased summer precipitation)
Danube River Basin (transboundary):
Development and application of the RIBASIM water allocation model as part of an improved water resources modelling framework, in particular to dry seasons, aiming at an overall estimation on the water availability of the Danube river considering the impact of different demands
Within Deliverable 3.2, each of the above developments are described and results of their first application presented. These initial sets of results will be used to further improve the models and their configurations in the RBHs during the next stage of the project and facilitate water availability assessments and the definition of the safe operating space for sustainable water management. Overall, the diverse model developments highlight the range of requirements from stakeholders across the RBHs, but also the innovative approaches put in place to help meet these requirements. The developed tools will not only be applicable for stakeholders in the STARS4Water project, but will also provide methodologies that can be applied in other river basins where improved representation of the hydrological system and equitable water allocation are required.
More information can be found in the following STARS4Water project Deliverable:
Rickards, N.J. & Keller, V.D.J. (eds.) (2024): Improved modelling frameworks for better understanding of water resources at the river basin scale. Deliverable 3.2 (D3.2). Horizon Europe project STARS4Water.
