Global earth observation for integrated water resource assessment

Global water resources are under pressure due to increasing demand from industry, agriculture, energy, tourism and households. At the same time, climate change may shift the balance in many regions of the world. It is still difficult to assess the quality of water resources, and access to those resources, in many regions of the world which lack basic observation and monitoring systems. Deltares is coordinating eartH2Observe, an EU FP7 project that aims to use global water data from models and satellites at the local level in order to support decisions about the management of water resources. This involves combining the results of ten global hydrological and land surface models with large amounts of remote-sensing data. In addition, the results are being verified and refined in a number of case studies around the world (including Bangladesh, Colombia, Australia and Ethiopia) in which local water managers use the data in their region.