Flood management was the main theme of the FLOODS 2022 conference.

06 Oct Flood management was the main theme of the FLOODS 2022 conference.

Flood management was the main topic of the FLOODS 2022 conference, which showed that Automatic Hydrological Information Systems and their associated Decision Support Systems are an essential and indispensable tool for flood prevention and preparedness. They make it possible to provide hydro-meteorological information in real time (rainfall, level, flow, situation of reservoirs, etc.) and to make hydrological forecasts and forecasts of the extent of floods in the territory, through the application of meteorological, hydrological and hydraulic models, on a continuous basis, avoiding both material and personal damage. In this way, the competent authorities will be able to act in terms of civil protection in good time to avoid them, through the application of their emergency plans.

Thus, both the recent Climate Change and Energy Transition Act and the strategic guidelines on water and climate change approved by the Council of Ministers, such as the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the Ecological Restoration and Resilience Fund, indicate the digitisation of the water cycle as a priority objective.

Thus, the recent PERTE (Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation) for the digitalisation of the water cycle, approved by the Council of Ministers last March, foresees the mobilisation of 3,000 million euros, of which 225 million will be earmarked for the modernisation and promotion of digitalisation in the basin organisations and the Automatic Hydrological Information Systems and their Decision Support Systems, which were discussed in depth at this conference.

At the conference it became clear that:

1. The impact of climate change is a reality that we must face with determination.
2. This hydrological year 2021/2022 is the second driest in the historical series 1980/81-2021/22.
3. If we analyse situations of prolonged drought, we can also observe that they are becoming increasingly frequent and intense, with six periods of prolonged drought having been recorded in our territory so far in the 21st century (in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2017 and this one in 2022, which has not ended) and which looks set to continue in the medium term. However, between 1980 and 2000, they only occurred in 1989 and 1992. All this corroborates the impact of climate change on water resources.
4. The above data show that extreme phenomena due to droughts and floods are going to be increasingly frequent, intense and prolonged.
5. The need to improve and strengthen the Automatic Hydrological Information Systems and their hydrometeorological and hydraulic models, which form part of the Early Warning and Decision Support Systems of the basin organisations as an essential and fundamental tool for the preparation and prevention of damage to people and property due to floods.