Many challenges, often with opposing goals, are presented to hydroelectric water managers.  These often require sophisticated information systems to support their decision-making activities.  Operational Process Modeling, when properly designed, can assist water managers to compile useful information from raw data, documents, personal knowledge, and models to identify and solve problems and make decisions.

Typical information water management applications might gather and present would include: meteorology, hydrology, geology, topography, channel hydraulics, environmental attributes, machine performance characteristics, economics, water use activities or requirements, regulatory requirements, operating limits, etc.

Workshop Objective
To bring hydropower operations managers, engineers and practitioners together with modelers and software developers to further enhance water management tools to meet current and future needs. 

Workshop Themes
1) Experiences in the application of Hydropower Operational Process Modeling for water managers:

• Waters managers have benefited by the use of tools to help manage the challenges of water resource utilization and sale of energy.
• Availability, machine efficiency, pricing, revenue, competing interests, environmental impact, are to name a few of the drivers which can influence water managers decisions.
• At the local level, maximizing the quantity of energy from available water.
• Maximizing the value of energy delivered.
• Incorporating other sources of energy into the system.
• This session will focus on optimization software experiences or case studies.

2) Recent Developments in the water management modeling.  As the need for more knowledgeable and valued decisions increases does the need for improved support technology.  This session will focus on:

• Recent developments in decision support technologies.
• To demonstrate where the technology is moving and some new tools designed to assist water management practitioners to improve knowledge and make valued decisions.
• Developers are encouraged to present case studies.

3) Future Needs of water management optimization technology.

• What water managers feel is necessary to improve water management optimization.
• An opportunity to input your needs to the development of future water management tools.

Join us, November 19-20, 2009 in Atlanta!