Harmoni-CA Synthesis Report on Data Availability and Accessibility
Harmonised Modelling Tools for
Integrated River Basins Management

Synthesis report

Data availability and accessibility

State of the art on existing data required for modelling
for research purposes and for the implementation of the
Water Framework Directive
Jens Christian Refsgaard, Lisbeth Flindt Jørgensen,
Anker Lajer Højberg
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS),
Denmark
Deliverable no. D4-7
August 2007

Data availability and accessibility
State of the art on existing data required for modelling for research purposes and for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive

Synthesis report

Jens Christian Refsgaard; Lisbeth Flindt Jørgensen; Anker Lajer Højberg

Contact: JCR@geus.dk

Developed by: Harmoni-CA

Deliverable number: D4-7

www.harmoni-ca.info/products]

Harmoni-CA is a research project supported by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme and contributing to the implementation of the Key Action "Sustainable Management and Quality of Water" within the Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development. EVK1-CT-2002-20003. www.harmoni-ca.info

Disclaimer:

This report is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not represent the opinion of the European Commission, nor is the European Commission responsible for any use that might be made of the information appearing herein.

Table of Contents
PREFACE1
SUMMARY3
1. DATA FOR MODELLING – WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS?5
1.1 WHY IS MODELLING AN IMPORTANT TOOL IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT.5
1.2 OBJECTIVES AND TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS DOCUMENT5
1.3 WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE - REQUIREMENTS 6
1.4 DO WE HAVE ENOUGH DATA FOR MODELLING?7
1.5 ARE THE EXISTING DATA ACCESSIBLE FOR MODELLING?7
2. DATA REQUIREMENTS – METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 8
2.1 MODELLING CATEGORIES8
2.2 DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR THE WFD IMPLEMENTATION11
2.3 DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR MODELLING12
2.4 HOW AND WHEN IN THE MODELLING PROCESS IS THE NECESSARY AMOUNT OF DATA ASSESSED? 14
2.5 THE RELATION BETWEEN DATA AVAILABILITY AND MODEL PERFORMANCE15
2.6 CONCLUSIONS ON METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING DATA REQUIREMENTS16
3. DATA AVAILABILITY18
3.1 METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS18
3.2 INFORMATION FROM WFD ARTICLE 5 REPORTS (BASIS ANALYSIS)18
3.3 HARMONIRIB RIVER BASIN NETWORK19
3.4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS REGARDING DATA AVAILABILITY IN RIVER BASINS21
4. DATA ACCESSIBILITY27
4.1 ACCESSIBILITY FOR WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT27
4.2 ACCESSIBILITY FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES29
5. DATA QUALITY – UNCERTAINTY30
6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS31
6.1 DATA AVAILABILITY31
6.2 DATA ACCESSIBILITY32
6.3 DATA QUALITY - UNCERTAINTY33
6.4 DATA FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES33
7. REFERENCES34
APPENDIX – HARMONIRIB RIVER BASINS37