Recap of CWRA NASH Workshop
June 5, 2012
Hydrographers working group discusses common data access within Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA).
KISTERS ended a successful week at the CWRA national conference in Banff, Alberta. The firm participated in workshops and presented on topics related to hydrologic data management.
The North American Stream Hydrographers (NASH) hosted a workshop on Common Data Access within the CWRA. The NASH working group asked, “Are we ready for a quantum leap in hydrometric data availability?” They will develop a community-led initiative on hydrometric data sharing in Canada. Subtopics include establishing a common vocabulary among participants, advocating for data reciprocity, and reporting to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Complexities to Data Exchange
Participants discussed hydrological data sharing. Obstacles include the number of organizations, systems, and formats. An all-encompassing “big tent” approach to centralize data may be difficult to achieve. File formats like WaterOneFlow and WaterML 2.0 represent consistent, standardized methods for exchanging hydrological data. To date, hydrologists and water resources professionals often encounter hurdles. They said finding data and efficiently retrieving data are difficult. Others added that translating formats is a hurdle. Some remarked that assessing fitness for purpose was a challenge.
Diversity of Data Users
A panel discussed the main barriers to data sharing. Speakers reflected the Foothills Research Institute, National Research Council of Canada, Water Survey of Canada, University of Saskatchewan, and BC Hydro. The perspectives ranged from academic to corporate. The comments also represented data consumers versus data providers. Many points were raised. However, the common concern was the lack of consistent data sharing policies among organizations. They achieved consensus on two points: data should be valued, and quality should be measured consistently across all organizations.
Due to KISTERS long-term involvement in the OGC Hydro Domain Working Group (HDWG) and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI), KISTERS provided insight on topics of standardization, data QA/QC, and data sharing. Central Texas Hub and World Water Online web portals prove that web services are the only commercial solution available for filling data gaps through open access to shared hydrological data in multiple standardized formats.
KISTERS WISKI clients have been able to ingest data in standard formats for almost two years. With the addition of web services to Hydstra or WISKI, data from any KISTERS customers around the world are able to share data with the global hydrologic community.