Innovative Solution

Water Resources Management, Real Time, Decision Support System (DSS), Real Time System Operational Support, Capacity Building, Skills Transfer

technical

In South Africa, as in many regions of the world, there are operational inefficiencies associated with the operations of large bulk water infrastructure (Dams and transfer schemes). These inefficiencies can result in loss of water that could be used elsewhere in a system. Real time DSS’s can provide timely information to water managers and dam control officers and other stakeholders allowing them to operate the systems more effectively. Operators and stakeholders also require the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively operate and participate, thus the capacity building aspect is an important element in any new introduced technology.

The RTSOS CENTRE is being developed to support the implementation of Real Time Decision Support Systems in South Africa. The Real Time Decision Support Systems have been developed to promote efficient use of water resources, protect the source of water from failing, provide protection against water related risks and empower users to participate in water resources management through providing accurate and timely information. These solutions, if implemented effectively, can reduce wastage associated with operational inefficiencies.

These Real Time Operational DSS’s do provide a benefit when operated effectively. However, they rely heavily on timely validated data and technical expertise. This data and expertise is not always available at a regional level Therefore, the RTSOS CENTRE is being set up as a centre of excellence to monitor the effectiveness of existing implementations and provide expertise and support to ensure the continued maintenance and successful running of these systems at a regional level.

As a proof of concept, one of the existing Real Time DSS’s (Developed to assist in operating the Orange-Fish-Sundays transfer scheme, which is one of the largest transfer schemes in South Africa) has been included into the RTSOS CENTRE.

The RTSOS CENTRE is being under development at Department of Water Affairs head office, under the System Operations Sub Directorate. The Centre is a single national body which aims to oversee the continued successful implementation of RT DSS at regional level in South Africa.

System Operations in Department of Water Affairs in South Africa is implementing the solution with consulting assistance from DHI.

The aim is to implement the solution at a National Level, however the actual systems are operated at a regional level either by the Regional Offices of the National Water Resources Infrastructure Branch or by the Catchment Management Agencies. The successful implementation of the projects ultimately depends heavily on regional stakeholder involvement with water user associations and other local catchment authorities.

These organizations are encouraged to leverage from the technical competence and skills provided at the national level though the centre which will be used to either set up the Real Time Decision Support systems for them, or assist in the implementation and maintenance of their existing systems.

A pilot phase of the solution has been completed. The inclusion of one of the five existing Real Time DSS’s has been incorporated as detailed in the description. It is envisaged that the other four will be included in the future. Any additional systems that are developed thereafter will be directly linked and the processes will be intricately linked with the RTSOS CENTRE.

The next stage of the project will also include technical support and training on each of the existing RT DSS in order to be able to respond to technical and operational queries. It will also provide support in terms of training on the RTSOS CENTRE and the development of support documentation and the awareness creation for the RTSOS CENTER including:
• Training Material.
• Standards and Guidelines for Real Time Systems.
• Awareness campaign.
• Management of software licenses and maintenance agreements.

The next phase will include more staff and associated training to get to the required skills level.

The main outcome of the centre will be:
•  Improved communication and dissemination of operational information to relevant stakeholders
•  Capacity building
•  Reduce water losses arising from operational inefficiencies

DWA is developing several RT DSS that need to be installed on DWA’s system for continuous monitoring, management and maintenance. Such systems are located in Mhlathuze, Letaba, Crocodile (East), Lower Orange and Orange-Fish-Sundays systems. However, all of these systems presently reside on different computers throughout DWA, which creates challenges with regard to ensuring standards and effective application.

The integration of these systems into a single operational centre solution, that could be extended to include future RT developments, would create a single point of access to standard training of these systems. This would create an opportunity to allocate dedicated resources to the implementation of RT DSS in order to ensure their effectiveness and usefulness.

Real time decision support systems can provide timely information to water managers and dam control officers and other stakeholders allowing them to operate the systems more effectively. The effective implementation of such systems will help reduce wastage thus freeing up more water for productive use. The RTSOS CENTRE is designed to support the implementations of such systems.

The RTSOS CENTRE has been set up to monitor the effective implementation of Real Time Decision Support Systems in South Africa. Key monitoring criteria have been developed to monitor the following indicators:

- System Activity (Including: Date of last run, time lapse between last run)
– Data Reliability (Including indicators: Number of reporting stations, average downtime)
– Performance (Including: Observed versus simulated results)
– Stress (Including: Threshold exceedance)
– Query Status (Including: Action follow up)

There is wide application potential for Real-Time Operational DSS’s to assist with many aspects of Water Resources Management. Each of these DSS’s would be tailored to help solve unique problems in the catchments in which they are applied. Therefore, while no two DSS’s are likely to be exactly the same, the concept of the DSS, which is an integration of good data, technology (e.g. hydrological, hydraulic, and system models), and communication between operators and stakeholders is shared throughout all of them. It has been the experience of the those involved in South Africa, that technical expertise and general understanding of implementing these DSS’s is one of the major stumbling blocks in the sustainable use of these DSS’s once they have been implemented. Therefore, the main concept of the RTSOS CENTRE is the centre of excellence to provide guidance on the establishment and successful use of these new types of technologies.

The solution is applicable to any area where improvements in operational management of the bulk water infrastructure will produce tangible benefits. These can be associated with dams supporting large irrigation projects to hydropower implementations.

The solution does require good technical expertise thus at least a good professional engineer or hydrologist with the necessary computing and modelling skills to set up the system. The operator of the system can be a less skilled technician. Good IT infrastructure is required and these solutions are largely dependent on the data available. Thus good measurement and monitoring is required and this information must be effectively communicated to the system either through human operators or automated telemetry to be effectively implemented. The solution is not easily implemented in data poor areas. The benefits will thus mainly accrue to more organised bulk water infrastructure supply schemes.

The solution was inspired by the need for better management of bulk water infrastructure in South Africa. It was realised that improved management of water could result in considerable water saving that improving efficiency and reducing the risk associated with all water users on a system.

National Government and bulk water control facilities need to commit to the solution. These solutions however cannot be effectively implemented without full participation on a regional level. Thus catchment management agencies, local irrigation authorities and other water users need to be engaged in the implementation of these solutions.

There are already a number of implementations that have been set up in South Africa. In these areas the systems have been set up and implemented with the local authorities and in some cases are currently being run by them.

Ms Jenny Pashkin
Department of Water Affairs

Engineer Production
Water Resource Planning Systems – System Operations
Department of Water Affairs – South Africa
Tel:  +27 12 336 8695
Fax: 086 621 2368  / +27 12 336 6731
Mobile: +27 82 804 3143
pashkinj@dwa.gov.za  

Mr Jason Hallowes
DHI South Africa
Tel/Fax: +27 11 704 7877
Direct:  +27 11 704 7877
Mobile:  +27 82 455 3989
jaha@dhigroup.com

Examples of the web sites associated with the running real time implementations at a regional level are:
– http://www.ofs-rt.co.za/dss/
– http://crocdss.inkomaticma.co.za/Website/Obs.River.Reservoir.html
– http://intertest.dwa.gov.za/LOROS_Web/Index.html

The web based system developed as part of the pilot phase for the RTSOS CENTRE, which is the proposed solution, is: http://www6.dwa.gov.za/rtoc/