FREEWAT was a HORIZON 2020 project financed by the EU Commission under the call WATER INNOVATION: BOOSTING ITS VALUE FOR EUROPE. The main result of FREEWAT is an open source and public domain GIS integrated modelling environment (the FREEWAT platform) for the simulation of water quantity and quality in surface water and groundwater with an integrated water management and planning module.
As a composite plugin, FREEWAT is designed as a modular ensemble of different tools: some of them can be used independently, while some modules require the preliminary execution of other tools. In this framework, the following tool classifications can be defined:
- Tools for the analysis, interpretation and visualization of hydrogeological and hydrochemical data and quality issues, also focusing on advanced time series analysis, embedded in akvaGIS module.
- Simulation of models related to the hydrological cycle and water resources management: flow models, transport models, crop growth models, management and optimization models (also related to irrigation management and rural issues).
- Tools to perform model calibration, sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantifications.
- Additional tools for general GIS operations to prepare input data, and post-processing functionalities (module OAT – Observation and Analysis Tool).
FREEWAT aims at promoting water resource management by simplifying the application of the Water Framework Directive and other EU water-related Directives.
Specific objectives of the FREEWAT project are:
- to coordinate previous EU and national funded research to integrate existing software modules for water management in a single environment into the GIS-based FREEWAT;
- to support the FREEWAT application in an innovative participatory approach gathering technical staff and relevant stakeholders (in primis policy and decision makers) in designing scenarios for the proper application of water policies.
Further information can be found at:
Funding agency: Horizon2020
Years of activity: 2014-2017
Responsible person: Dr. Laura Foglia, Prof. Dr. Christoph Schüth
