Data requirements for WRA
According to the WMO/UNESCO International Glossary of Hydrology (2012), Water Resources Assessment (WRA) is the "determination of the sources, extent, dependability and quality of water resources for their utilization and control." WRA is a dynamic process, that requires both historical and (near) real time data in order to contribute to the generation of information and knowledge necessary for sustainable and integrated water resources management.
Under this wide approach it is evident that data requirement spans from the purely hydrological variables (both quantitative and qualitative, covering the whole water cycle, precipitations, surface and groundwater,) to other environmental variables (geomorphological, biochemical, ecological, etc.) and to socio-economic ones (land use, land cover, demography, water demand, etc.). For all these data it is essential to assess the quality, comparability and uncertainty of the measure, their discoverability, availability and accessibility, the length and completeness of the historical series.
Materials
WMO (2010). Manual on Stream Gauging, Vol. I Fieldwork. WMO No. 1044
WMO (2010). Manual on Stream Gauging, Vol. II Computation of discharge. WMO No. 1044