Integrated Information Management System (IIMS)--an Information and Data Management System for Science Based River Management
Project ID: 165
Principal Investigator: Eric Peterson
Research Topic: Water Resource Data Analysis
Funded Fiscal Years:
2006,
2007,
2008 and
2009
Keywords: None
Research Question
* How can the disparate information required to make river management decisions be brought together and made accessible through one integrated information system?
Reclamation`s Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP) is mandated to implement a science-based approach to river system management that necessitates the collection, analysis, and reporting of large volumes of physical and biological measurements, investing upwards of four million dollars annually. A systematic approach to managing this information is imperative if costs are to be controlled and the maximum potential of the data realized within the tight windows for annual management decisions. As the leading body responsible for managing rivers in the Western United States. Reclamation is in a unique position to implement an integrated river information system readily replicated on multiple river systems.
Need and Benefit
Management of Reclamation dams, rivers, and water resources increasingly requires rigorous scientific analysis of physical and biological responses to management actions. For example, science-based monitoring and analysis frameworks are being developed in the Klamath, Platte, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Trinity River Basins to evaluate ecosystem responses and inform management of these rivers. A science-based approach to river system management necessitates the collection, analysis and reporting of large volumes of physical and biological measurements. In the absence of an integrated information management solution, Reclamation scientists, managers, and policy makers are left to gather together what information they can from various sources; within Reclamation itself, other agencies, organizations, independent scientists, etc.
Much of this information is stored on individual computers or databases that are isolated, remote, and poorly coordinated, leading to poor data provenance, inadequate quality control, data duplication, and territorialism. Several Reclamation initiatives (e.g., Reclamation Geographic Information System [GIS], Geo-Spatial Solutions [GSS], Western Water Information Network [WWIN]) target water resource information, but often focus on regional level data at large spatial scales typically intended for macro level analysis. The need for a centralized database information system to increase the efficiency and productivity of data related activities and designed around river system operational and planning decisionmaking is evident in:
* R&D Output Area DS3: Water Operation Models and Decision Support Systems
* R&D Output Area DS4: Water Resource Data Analysis
* "Science and Technology to Support Fresh Water Availability in the U.S." report by the Executive Office of the President, November 2004.
* Science and technology needs identified at the June 2004 Lower Klamath Basin Science Conference, Sponsored by the Reclamation Science and Technology program.
* Recommendations from the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information.
The TRRP is mandated to implement a science-based approach to river system management, and the TRRP invests roughly four million dollars annually on the collection, analysis, and reporting of physical and biological parameters required to support an informed adaptive management program. A systematic approach to managing this information is imperative if costs are to be controlled and the maximum potential of the data realized within the tight windows for annual management decisions. The IIMS project is one of organizing and leveraging data sources to provide a "go-to" system for supporting scientific analysis and management decisions, and then provide an audit trail of resulting the actions. IIMS will:
* Promote cooperation, exchange of data, and accuracy of the data
* Provide rapid access to the latest data to enable timely decisionmaking and up to date reporting
* Facilitate integration and sharing of baseline data, monitoring data, and analysis
* Enforce standard data collection practices through consistent data formats and import templates designed from the basin specific monitoring plan
The IIMS will track the constraints and limitations on exchanging data in accordance with the Data Sharing Agreements in place at the time that the data were collected:
* Empower users to do more useful analysis than they are currently capable of doing, by avoiding isolated, parochial data initiatives that limit interdisciplinary analyses and the return on investment
* Provide a transparent audit trail of data management decisions
The IIMS is focused on data storage and exchange. It does not lock users into specific models or analyses, like other more integrated systems e.g. Systems Impact Assessment Model (SIAM). By separating models into plug-ins, the IIMS retains flexibility and lets the end users decide which t
Contributing Partners
Engineering, Utah State University
Research Products
Contact the Principal Investigator for information about these documents.
This information was last updated on June 19, 2013
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