Burdekin River

Seasonal and long-term water forecasting and prediction

The Seasonal and Long-Term Water Forecasting and Prediction project is part of the Water Information Research and Development Alliance between CSIRO's Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and the Bureau of Meteorology.

• 14 December 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Project summary
• Objective
• Key research deliverables
• Partner

Project summary

Water scarcity is a major challenge facing Australia. The need to accurately monitor, assess and forecast the availability, condition and use of water resources is now more vital than ever.

A key component of the Water Information Research and Development Alliance is developing new methods to provide reliable seasonal and long-term water forecasts to properly manage Australia’s future water availability.

Objective

Australia has one of the most variable and driest climates on Earth, with most of its water resources fully allocated.

New seasonal and long-term water forecasting methods will provide information for understanding the effects of climate variation on flows and water demand to optimise water management while managing risks, and informing water trading and water futures markets.

New seasonal and long-term water forecasting methods will also assist in understanding the impacts of climate change on water availability for the development of future policy on water supply and use.

Key research deliverables

By 2013, the Seasonal and Long-Term Water Forecasts project will deliver a:

• flexible and robust statistical method for seasonal forecasting of streamflow and runoff
• dynamic modelling approach for seasonal streamflow forecasts.

Partner

The research alliance brings together Water for a Healthy Country’s leading expertise in water and information sciences with the Bureau of Meteorology’s operational role in hydrologic analysis and prediction.

The Bureau of Meteorology is drawing on CSIRO research expertise to improve the information available to Australia’s water industry and increase its capacity to manage our water resources.

Find out more about the Seasonal and Long-term Water Forecasting and Prediction fact sheet project [439 KB, PDF] and the Water Information Research and Development Alliance.