Adasa presents the FlowCAT project for predicting flow rates and volumes at the conference “30 Years of the ACA’s SAIH”

 

Is it possible to optimise water management to make it more predictable? We can explore this through the FlowCAT project, which was presented by Adasa at the conference “ACA 30 Years of the SAIH – Analysis and Future Challenges” held in Barcelona.

This professional event served as a focal point for bringing together representatives from all of Spain’s River Basin Authorities and highlighting the analysis of developments in hydrological management support systems, alongside the challenges that will shape the future of the water sector.

Sergio López, Watershed C&M Business Manager at Adasa, delivered the presentation: “FlowCAT: Flow and volume predictions, with a multi-model and multi-horizon approach”, the result of work that is enabling improved flood forecasting, optimised reservoir operation and increased water security for the system.

This technological solution has been developed in a climate context characterised by greater hydrometeorological variability and increasingly severe extreme events, which place ever-greater demands on the operation of water infrastructure. For this reason, anticipation has become a decisive factor in ensuring safer, more efficient and more resilient water management.

Adasa, in a joint venture with Amphos21, transforms meteorological and hydrological data into useful operational insights

FlowCAT is an integrated platform for advanced hydrometeorological forecasting of flow rates and volumes, designed to support decision-making in both regulated and unregulated catchments.

Its main strength lies in the combination of a multi-model and multi-horizon approach, which has enabled progress towards smarter operation of the water system:

1. Multi-model: combines different hydrological modelling tools to better adapt to the diversity of basin behaviours and compare results from complementary approaches.
2. Multi-time-scale: integrates deterministic and probabilistic forecasts to cover different time scales and more realistically represents the uncertainty inherent in such scenarios.

The result is a more reliable and flexible predictive capability, aligned with the needs of actual operational management.

The need for solutions of this type is particularly relevant in Mediterranean environments, where the hydrological response can be rapid and intense, whilst the regulation capacity of some infrastructure is limited. Under these conditions, management can no longer rely solely on real-time monitoring.

For this reason, it is necessary to incorporate tools that enable us to forecast how the system will evolve and to act with sufficient margin for manoeuvre. This is precisely where FlowCAT’s value lies: transforming meteorological and hydrological data into useful operational knowledge to anticipate events and make better decisions.

 

FlowCAT turns forecasting into an integrated management tool

The solution integrates observation, forecasting, simulation and decision support into a single management framework.

Using data from monitoring stations and other sources of information, the platform combines observed and forecast variables to provide a continuous view of the behaviour of the catchment and the regulation system.

On this basis, it enables the simulation of scenarios, the evaluation of flood control strategies and the support of preventive or real-time operations.

This approach has a direct impact on operations. FlowCAT facilitates the generation of adaptive control signals, the analysis of preventive releases and the reduction or deferral of peak flows downstream, thereby helping to minimise risks and improve the overall efficiency of the system. Forecasting ceases to be an isolated analytical exercise and becomes an operational tool integrated into management.

Informed decision-making

From a technological perspective, the platform is structured as a unified web-based environment that allows information to be viewed, validated, analysed and utilised via a single interface. This architecture facilitates access to hydrological and meteorological data and provides analytical support to the teams responsible for management. The aim is not merely to have more information, but to turn it into a solid foundation for more robust and coordinated decision-making.

 

A future open to new possibilities

Beyond technological development, FlowCAT offers a vision for the future of the sector: water management based on data integration, advanced modelling and the ability to anticipate.

Its evolution also opens up new opportunities linked to the continuous improvement of calibration, the incorporation of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, expansion to new catchment areas, and integration with other flood forecasting tools.

Through its participation in this project, Adasa consolidates its position as a leader in hydrology and network management, reinforcing its specialisation in flow and volume forecasting. Its contribution combines expert knowledge, technology and operational insight to deliver more robust, proactive water management that is prepared to respond to current and future challenges.