The World Economic Forum has ranked the Global Risks for 2018. With the single exception of cyber-security, water is a key factor in the seven other top-ranked high-impact and high-likelihood risks.
Hydrology Corner Blog: Water data management software
It’s All About the Data – Illuminating Our Water Options
The droughts that are occurring in California, Puerto Rico, North Korea, Sao Paolo, and India are climatologically driven events, but the droughts of recent times have almost certainly been aggravated by water over-use, mis-use, and abuse. An attractive alternative to the scenarios that are currently playing out around the world is one in which monitoring…
Agile Development – Progress or Buzzword?
It’s all over the news these days: Agile this, Lean that. It seems like another round of business process lingo is having its day in the sun. Remember “Synergies” anyone? But maybe this time there’s really something to it. In fact the whole Agile fad started in the software industry and we software types think it’s a pretty big…
Award-Winning Culture
On the heels of receiving an EBJ Business Achievement Award, I’m excited to share that Aquatic Informatics was recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for 2014 and 2015! Now entering its 2nd year, Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers is a national Mediacorp competition that recognizes the small and medium enterprises that offer the best…
Virtue Versus Temptation in Water Data Management
Tad Slawecki, Senior Engineer at Limnotech, provided a very interesting and entertaining ‘lightning talk’ at the Open Water Data Initiative session of the AWRA 2014 conference. Against a backdrop of increasing momentum toward ‘big data,’ which is often conceived as primarily ‘virtual’ data derived from distributed models, Tad argues that we need to restore our…
Shared Data, Complete with Discoverable Provenance, Have Unbounded Value
The extensive discussion triggered by my question about the value of an incremental investment in data quality led to the statement that is the title of this post. This conclusion can be re-stated as a mathematical solution for Potential Value: potential value = (data x quality) ^ sharing.
Too Little, Too Much or in the Wrong Place
The opening plenary at the AWRA 2014 conference by Kathryn Sullivan explained the emerging role for Environmental Intelligence for handling the need to respond to the increasingly fickle nature of water availability and quality. Dr. Sullivan used several recent examples of unprecedented extreme events to make the point that the world’s attention is focused on the nexus of water security, food security and energy security.
Zen and the Art of Stream Gauging
Those who work closely with data recognize the value of incremental investment in data quality; however, there is despair that this value can be quantized in terms that are meaningful to the bean-counters who control and allocate funding for monitoring programs. The discussion prompted by ‘Economics of Data Quality’ remind me of aspects of the novel ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ by Robert Pirsig. The story is about many things but it is mostly about a search for quality.
Game Changers – Continuous Water Quality Monitoring
Surrounded by hydrologists on a day-to-day basis, I most certainly talk about discharge and rating curves a lot. I find discussions about hydrometrics fascinating (actually I find any discussions about water and data management inspiring, but that is a whole other issue). But alas, I’m a self-professed “Water Quality Nerd” and a Water Quality Professional by trade.
Hidden Data – The Ownership Gap in Hydrometry
A globally diverse group of hydrometric practitioners is forming for an open discussion around the question of hidden hydrometric data. If you would like to be part of this conversation please sign up on the post ‘Closing the Gap in Hydrometric Data.’
New AQUARIUS Certified Integrator Program – Being Truly Global
Aquatic Informatics has been growing rapidly. We doubled in size last year and we now serve over 400 customers in 37 countries. Our Client Services department is proud to offer the best customer support and service in the industry, and we are committed to customer success. However, we also need to meet the needs of our customers who require additional services, such as integrating AQUARIUS Time-Series Server with their existing systems. To provide our customers with a local option, we are excited to add certified partners to our global offering.
Bruno Tassone’s Invisible Legacy
Stu Hamilton, Vic Neimela, Bruno Tassone, Gord Tofte, and Lynne Campo at Bruno’s Retirement Lunch … this small group has over 178 years of hydrometric program management experience spanning more than half a century. I recently had the pleasure of joining my colleagues, young and old, to congratulate Bruno Tassone on his retirement after 35…
AQUARIUS Time-Series 3.6 Is Now Available – Featuring Blended Rating Curves!
Over the past year, we have continued to invest in enhancing the AQUARIUS software suite, and we are pleased to announce the release of AQUARIUS Time Series 3.6. AQUARIUS 3.6 includes a number of enhancements, including the addition of blended rating curves and improvements to Hotfolders.
Hydrometric Grammar – Is Data Singular? Are Datum Plural?
Good stream hydrography requires careful attention to technical detail. We care deeply about the precision of our data. So why would we be tolerant in the precision with which we define data? At issue is matching a verb with the noun. According to Wikipedia, “the word data is the traditional plural form of the now-archaic…
2014 NWQMC Takeaway – The Industry is Moving to Continuous Monitoring
Day 2 of the National Water Quality Monitoring Conference in Cincinnati, OH was an interesting day of presentations. The rest of the week appears to be just as fascinating. It has been great reconnecting with old peers, making new connections, and listening to the presentations on some very thought-provoking projects. The passion for water resources…