The newly founded Junior Research Group “INOWAS” at TU Dresden has started its activity. The researchers of the Institute of Waste Management and Contaminated Site Treatment develop a scientifically based decision support system (DSS) for planning, design and management of applications in the water sector. The climatic change poses an increasing threat to water resources worldwide. One solution for the minimization of the impact is the compensation of deficits with sustainable management strategies. The research project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research with a budget of 1.7 million Euros for the duration of four years (May 2014 – April 2018), with the possible prolongation for one more year.

The focus of the project lies on the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the managed groundwater reservoirs by means of scenario analysis, prognosis and risk assessment and with regard to the influencing climatic and anthropogenic factors. The multi-component DSS will be developed on an interactive web-based platform that combines a comprehensive knowledge base with complex scenario analysis tools. Different environmental scenarios can be simulated by the integration of Geographic Information Systems and CAD-based management tools. In addition to computer-based simulations, laboratory and test-field scale infiltration units will be installed at the institute in Pirna for the prediction of the efficiency of managed groundwater recharge under different process and site-specific conditions. The effect of boundary condi-tions will be investigated by conducting experiments both in natural and controlled (lab) environment. The computer-based simulations will be then verified and validated in several locations worldwide.

The research group led by Dr. Catalin Stefan and mentored by Prof. Peter-Wolfgang Gräber and Prof. Rudolf Liedl has seven members: beside the group leader and one project assistant, five PhD students will conduct their research in the project, with another four research assistants providing additional support. The group will conduct its activity at the Institute of Waste Management and Contaminated Site Treatment in close collaboration with the Institute of Groundwater Management, both under the Department of Hydro Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences of TU Dresden.

For more information about the project „Innovative web-based Decision Support System for Water Sustainability under a Changing Climate (INOWAS)” visit www.tu-dresden.de/uw/inowas. 

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Information for journalists:
Dr. Catalin Stefan
Phone: +49 3501 530044