Address:
AUTORITA’ DI BACINO DEI FIUMI ISONZO TAGLIAMENTO LIVENZA PIAVE BRENTA BACCHIGLIONE (AAWA)
Palazzo Michiel Dalle Colonne – Cannaregio 4314,
30121 Venice (IT)
AAWA
About AAWA
The Eastern Alps Hydrographic District (AAWA) is a Public Body responsible for the management of the rivers flowing into the Northern Adriatic Sea, namely Isonzo, Tagliamento, Livenza, Piave, Brenta-Bacchiglione and Adige. The AAWA is in charge of the catchment planning, including remedial measures to reduce hydraulic and geological risks, as well as for the protection and the sustainable use of water resources. It coordinates the activities to be implemented on a basin scale such as safeguarding the quality and quantity of water resources, attain the best possible balance among the contrasting water uses, study the schemes necessary to prevent, in particular, disastrous events (droughts and floods). According to the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC and Floods Directive 2007/60/EC, the AAWA promotes Basin Plans which indicate the objectives of water resources and flood risk management in the North East Italy, and the measures aimed to achieve these objectives.
AAWA has a technical staff highly qualified in software applications for planning hydrological and hydraulic issues and has access to thousands of hydro-meteorological sensors, weather reports, maps and forecasts, and uses them to model flood risk and support emergency services. In particular AAWA has already access to a set of high-quality wireless sensors (radio transmission) of various type installed at fixed locations in the Brenta watershed. Moreover AAWA is equipped with mobile and web apps in order to monitor volunteers of the civil protection agency and citizens that provide information about emergency situations related to floods.
Other AAWA’s relevant activities are:
- training courses to hydrologists and other personnel working in regional offices involved in hydrological and hydraulic modelling, included data assimilation and flood forecasting. AAWA provides courses on hydrological and hydraulic data management related to support system for water risk management to Regional Civil Protection and different stakeholders related to the WFD 2007/60/CE application;
- the supply of a range of algorithms along with several thematic areas including but not limited to Disaster risk management systems, Early warning system for flood defence, Fluvial and Coast Hazard Evaluator and Risk mapping;
- educational activities to introduce the concept of Citizen Observatory and Flood Risk and River Basin Management Plans to high school teachers and students and civil protection volunteers.
AAWA is the responsible for the implementation of the “Citizen Observatory on Water” in the Eastern Alps Hydrographic District as flood risk mitigation measure according to the Eastern Alps Hydrographic District Flood Risk Management Plan (2007/60/EC).
Main Role in the Project
AAWA’s main tasks are in showcasing their successful Citizen Observatory in a series of roadshows and other relevant WeObserve events. AAWA will also strengthen ties with the National Association of Italian Municipalities, the Vicenza Municipality, the Province of Vicenza, and the Italian Ministries of Environment and Education, University and Research and help promote WeObserve events. These efforts will extend work from the WeSenseIt project to maintain and enhance the existing citizen observatory on water.
The technologies, knowledge, and lessons learned from the WeSenseIt experience will be included in WeObserve to build a best practice and foster more citizen science and participatory monitoring. AAWA is also the organizer of the COWM International Conference (Citizen Observatories for natural hazards and Water Management), a biennial event about the role and opportunities for active participation of citizens in monitoring and environmental policies and will contribute to the Communities of Practice (CoPs) and to the development of the CO ‘Cookbook’, supporting WeObserve dissemination and communication channels.