EAM1 - Open Methods in Operational Flood Hydrology (and Hydraulics)

Project overview

Open science principles aim to make science more accessible and available. The Environment Agency widely practices these with the data it collects and creates using the Open Government Licence (OGL), but to date the same principles are not as widely adopted when it comes to methods and models. Whilst the merits of open methods are well established for research, the potential benefits and risks with operational use have not been established.

Delivered by JBA, this project comprehensively reviewed the (potential) use of open methods in flood hydrology from an operational viewpoint, considering aspects including finances, governance, and the unique development histories of current methods. An aspirational vision is presented for how open methods could work in practice, drawing on international case studies. The report, its findings, and its recommendations are informing discussions within the Flood Hydrology Improvements Programme, the Environment Agency, and the hydrology community. The full report can be downloaded from the side bar on the right.

The learning from this project has wider implications than hydrology and could be applied to any operational use of modelling. With this in mind, the project was expanded to hydrology's closest model chain neighbour, hydraulics (flood inundation modelling). Included in the same report is a review of the use of open methods in operational flood hydraulics, acknowledging the different approaches between the modelling fields. This work will inform further conversations and the development of the Environment Agency's Flood Modelling Roadmap.

The project has:

Produced a final report including the following elements:

Frameworks for evaluating the openness of methods in flood hydrology and hydraulics.
A review of the openness of commonly used methods.
Case studies of successful implementations of open methods.
An aspirational vision for future use of open methods and a pathway to achieving it.
Recommendations for the future direction regarding open methods in flood hydrology and hydraulics.

In addition, further contextual information is provided within the appendices including literature reviews, results of the community engagement, and timelines of the development of current methods.

How the project has improved flood hydrology

The project is supporting further and wider conversations regarding using open methods for operational flood hydrology. It has provided a wealth of evidence on the potential benefits and risks, considering many factors including governance, skills, and financing. This evidence and the recommendations are directly feeding into other FHIP projects, including EAM2 Appraising Decision Making for Flooding, EAM4 Benchmarking for Operational Flood Hydrology, and EAM7 New Methods for Operational Flood Hydrology.

How the project has contributed to the UK Flood Hydrology Roadmap

The UK Flood Hydrology Roadmap will be realised through 31 actions grouped into 4 thematic work areas of ways of working, data, methods and scientific understanding. Eight actions have been identified to improve methods in UK flood hydrology related to improving flood hydrology methods, models and systems.

This project has contributed to the methods strand actions:

M3 - Review of strategic and operational flood hydrology models, methods and systems - The project has developed a definition and framework for openness in operational methods and will help us understand where additional openness is desirable and can help drive innovation. Using these, it is reviewing the current position of the methods currently used, which in turn will help guide further developments and improvements whilst mitigating potential risks.