Changing climatic conditions pose extra challenges for hydropower plant operators.
This allows reliable predictions of water scarcity over a period of up to three weeks.
Massimiliano Zappa of WSL, who heads the project, explains the advantage of such forecasts: "With climate change, dry spells will become more frequent and intensive, and will last longer."
This information is particularly useful for operators of reservoir power stations.
"But up to now, forecasts have generally not been made over such long periods because of the high complexity and enormous amounts of data," says Zappa.
Drought is easier to predict than precipitation, which can only be reliably forecasted up to five days at most.
Previously, Switzerland had no system capable of monitoring these local variables efficiently.
Making optimal use of available water Long-range forecasts of inflow and outflow in the catchment areas of hydropower stations can be combined with predictions of price developments on the energy market to optimise operation and profitability.
This is very important for the hydropower industry, which has come under pressure," says Frédéric Jordan, CEO of Hydrique Ingéniers, the industrial partner responsible for the economic calculations.
It is in society’s interest that hydropower plants be able to predict the availability of water and convert the stored water into electricity when market demand is high.