MuDak-WRM

MuDak-WRM: Multidisciplinary data acquisition as the key for a globally applicable water resource management
© Scheer | SANEPAR

Summary

The core objective of MuDak-WRM is to develop as simple a model as possible for predicting mid- to long-term changes in the water quality of reservoirs. A key aspect will be to simplify the underlying research approaches and data required for the future model so that it can be used with minimal effort and in a meaningful way, particularly in regions with limited data availability. The research project will investigate two example reservoirs – the Grosse Dhünntalsperre reservoir in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, and the Passauna reservoir in the state of Paraná in Brazil – and their drainage basins. The results will then be transferred to a third reservoir in Brazil. MuDak-WRM will use innovative remote-sensing techniques to produce key input and validation data. A real-time data network (Sensor Web) will allow the research partners to view the project's progress at any time and make direct use of the collected data and results.
Priorities
  • Simplify the model approaches and corresponding data requirements
  • Establish key parameters to describe the characteristics of basins and bodies of water using globally available remote-sensing datasets
  • Develop methods for highly efficient, minimum on-site monitoring tailored to the task
  • Develop tailored strategies for implementing the model and measures with the future (local) users
  • Develop suitable dissemination strategies

Relevance

Reservoirs provide people with drinking water in many parts of the world. However, these bodies of water are also sinks for sediments, nutrients and pollutants that impair water quality. One direct consequence of this is eutrophication. Rapid growth of algae and cyanobacteria significantly restricts reservoir use, especially in terms of drinking water production. Climate change is exacerbating water stress due to the increasingly unequal distribution of water resources. At the same time, more intensive agriculture and forestry and increasing settlement activity are adding to the pressure on water resources in drainage basins, which leads to conflicts between different user groups and sectors. Although suitable models for reservoir management exist, their use is severely limited in many regions of the world because input and validation data are lacking. This means the models lose their regional connection and the resolution needed to establish management strategies.

More information about the joint research project is available here.

News

30/03/2021 | MuDaK-WRM looks back on three and a half years of applied research to better assess water quality in reservoirs
Between 2017 and 2021, the German-Brazilian MuDaK-WRM project consortium led by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) examined how the water quality in reservoirs in regions with little data can be monitored and evaluated in an easier and more efficient way. The project results include the development of user-friendly, globally applicable monitoring approaches, models and measurement techniques as well as the identification of urgent challenges with regard to effects of climate change.
Complete article
 
13/03/2020 | Successful final workshop of the MuDak-WRM project in Curitiba
The final workshop of MuDak-WRM took place on March 3, 2020, in the Tarumá area in Curitiba, Brazil. Around 90 project-internal and external participants came together on the premises of the Brazilian industrial partner and water supplier SANEPAR to discuss the latest findings within the project’s different working areas.
Complete article
 
18/02/2020 | MuDak-WRM closing workshop: Multidisciplinary Data Acquisition as Key for Globally Applicable Water Resource Management
From March 2 to 6, 2020, various actors from science, the private sector and politics will come together in Curitiba, Brazil, for the final workshop of the GRoW project MuDak-WRM.
Complete article