BasinViewer
Tools Provided by Other Organizations
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The International Joint Commission Red River Task Force has recommended the development of a Red River Basin
Decision Support System (RRBDSS) (Simonovic 1998). The purpose of the RRBDSS is to provide tools for
supporting the decision making process of selected flood management activities.
A decision support system (DSS) is often useful where
problems are poorly structured and where a significant
portion of the effort in making a decision is used to generate
information, leaving precious little time to consider ?big
picture? issues.
A DSS does not replace a decision maker. Rather, it places the decision maker at the center
of the decision-making process so that information and timely assistance can be effectively
utilized. As such, a DSS should allow people to combine personal judgment with the results of analysis.
A DSS typically consists of databases, modeling tools, and documentation on the
decision making process. All of this information is organized according to the needs of the
users within a software application. The resulting DSS may include geographical information
systems (GIS), modeling tools to analyze unique scenarios, artificial intelligence techniques
for accessing information in a timely manner, and decision analysis techniques for assessing
tradeoffs among alternatives.
Decision
support tools are applications or programs that
offer the resources necessary to make a decision. The
tool does NOT make the decision. Instead, a decision
support tool provides the necessary information in a timely
manner so that a person can make a qualified judgment.
Workshops by the IJC and GDIN have investigated the
needs and potential applications for users throughout the
Red River Basin (SAIC 1999). As a result, a number of
target uses have been identified (IJC 1998, Deutschman
and Bender 1999a 1999b):
- Flood forecasting and early warning
- Monitoring and managing a flood event
- Post-flood restoration
- Flood damage mitigation
- Emergency response
- Coordination and communication
- Basin management planning
- Flood risk assessment
- Flood proofing
- Conceptual planning and remediation of flood control measures
- Hydrology of small watersheds
- Real-time reservoir operation
- Real-time status of ice and debris jams
The Project Design Team (PDT) and Project Review Team (PRT)
recently re-prioritized the development of tools in a
table
for the RRBDIN. A requirements document describing how the table
will be implemented is under preparation. These tools are primarily
focused on providing engineers and scientists data and information
necessary for common applications and analysis.
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