DSS Development for Complex Water Management Issues

Abstract

Integrated water ressource management has to balance spring protection requirements with a variety of demands for land-use activities. This complex issue can be supported by Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), which integrate data from various sources and help to make decision processes more effective and transparent. Successful application of a SDSS depends on its acceptability by stakeholders, which can be improved by integrating a broad range of practical experiences of stakeholders with formal knowledge of experts in a knowledge base. As example of SDSS implementation the trans-national Interreg project KATER will be presented, including the methodological approach and the SDSS in working examples. Main project objective was the development of a SDSS to handle the main tasks of water management: administration, crisis management and planning. The results of KATER project cover a wide range of land-use conflicts and different pre-conditions for decision making (national legislations, spatial dimension, data availability). As technological basis for SDSS development a GIS and database based approach was choosen and complemented with a knowledge base, defined as ontology, in order to support decision work-flows.