Last two weeks, the GLOW project held a roadshow through Mozambique, Eswatini, and South Africa presenting the innovative water management solution GLOW to local stakeholders. By combining weather forecasts, hydrological, and water resource modelling, together with visualisation tools, the GLOW service addresses transboundary water challenges, enhances water security, and provides actionable water management advice in the transboundary Maputo and Umbuluzi River Basins.

The GLOW team, composed of FutureWater, Hydrologic, and Emanti Management, recently completed a roadshow to present the progress and advancements of the ‘GLObal Water Availability Forecasting Service to Support Water Security’ (GLOW) project. The roadshow demonstrated how GLOW integrates weather forecasts, hydrological, and water resource modelling, together with visualisation tools to address the challenges of water availability and demand in the transboundary Maputo and Umbuluzi River Basins. Piloted with the support of the Partners for Water programme of RVO and Blue Deal Mozambique, the project focuses on scalable solutions that strengthen regional water security and governance.

GLOW addresses challenges in transboundary water resources management, which are increasingly complicated by climate change-driven droughts, flooding, and rising water demands. By integrating hydrological models such as PCR-GLOBWB and the water allocation model WEAP with meteorological forecasts, GLOW delivers accurate forecasts of water availability and demand. These forecasts, ranging from short-term (10 days) to seasonal (6 months), provide stakeholders, including water managers, dam operators, and decision-makers, with early warnings for droughts, floods, and actionable water allocation advisories. Delivered through the HydroNET platform, GLOW’s forecasts are easily accessible via user-friendly dashboards and reporting tools, helping support both operational and strategic water management across the region. The pilot demonstrates GLOW’s potential to improve water management by simulating a variety of user-defined management scenarios, highlighting the system’s role in supporting transboundary water governance and achieving SDGs 2, 6, and 13. 

From the inception of the project, GLOW has been developed with involvement from the stakeholders in the Maputo and Umbuluzi River Basins, including the Joint River Basin Authorities (JRBA) of Eswatini, Mozambique’s Regional Administration of Waters in the South (ARA-Sul), National Directorate of Water Resources Management (DNGRH) and South Africa’s Inkomati-Usuthu (IUCMA) and Pongola-Umzimkhulu (PUCMA) Catchment Management Agencies. Through user requirements sessions, the varying needs of these authorities were mapped to ensure that GLOW is tailored to their specific challenges. The recent roadshow served as a platform to present the project’s progress, share key findings, and engage in open discussions about further enhancements. This ongoing dialogue is crucial for ensuring its alignment with the needs of water authorities and maximizing its impact in addressing real-world water security challenges. 

FutureWater recently concluded a two-week training program for the Blue Deal partnerships of Mozambique and Eswatini, aimed at enhancing the technical skills of water management professionals from ARA-Sul (Administração Regional de Águas do Sul), ARA-Norte (Administração Regional de Águas do Norte), and the Joint River Basin Authorities (JRBA) from Eswatini. For the training, six water experts travelled to The Netherlands to follow training sessions on a variety of topics related to water management. The collaboration between FutureWater and Blue Deal, funded through the Dutch Water Authorities, was organised to strengthen local capacity in water resource management and transboundary cooperation between the regional institutions.

The training, mostly held at the FutureWater office in Wageningen, focused primarily on applying WEAP (Water Evaluation And Planning), open-source data, tools, and flying sensors for agriculture. Over the past year, multiple WEAP models were co-created by FutureWater together with the local water authorities of Mozambique. For ARA-Norte, a strategic water allocation model for the Monapo River Basin was developed in WEAP. This basin is important for domestic and industrial water supply for Nampula, the third largest city in Mozambique inhabited by close to a million people. The model can be used for long-term planning and decision-making in the basin. For ARA-Sul, two WEAP models were developed. At first, an operational water allocation model was created for the Pequenos Libombos Reservoir, which supplies water to the Maputo City metropolitan and surrounding irrigation schemes. Additionally, a groundwater balance tool was developed for the same area. Both models can be used in assessing requests for water licensing and operational reservoir management and planning. During the training weeks, the water experts were trained in the use of the models and discussions were held on further improvement.

Besides WEAP modelling, the training program featured visits to the Water Boards Rijn & IJssel, and Vallei & Veluwe where firsthand experience was gained in Dutch water management. The training participants visited the control room at the water boards and several hydraulic infrastructure works or projects such as Room for the River. A demonstration day on flying sensors was provided together with our partner HiView providing practical knowledge on the use of drones in mapping floods or agricultural fields. We took the opportunity to hold user validation sessions to further develop the services of the GLObal Water Availability Forecasting Service (GLOW) with Hydrologic. Our collaboration with Blue Deal continues for the coming period.

FutureWater recently completed a visit to Mozambique, collaborating with the regional water authorities in both the north (ARA-Norte) and south (ARA-Sul). The visit was part of the Blue Deal Mozambique program aiming to strengthen the cooperation between the Dutch and Mozambican water authorities. Additionally, the mission supported the GLOW Project funded by the Partners for Water Program.

At ARA-Norte FutureWater delivered WEAP training sessions and held technical discussions on the water system of the Monapo River catchment. The training sessions on the WEAP modelling tool were tailor-made for intermediate and advanced WEAP users. Mapping sessions were held to identify key model components and possible scenarios that would aid the water authorities in designing their strategic water allocation plans. Through collaborative efforts a WEAP model for the Monapo River Basin will be developed in the first trimester of 2024. This will guide the water resource managers from ARA-Norte to develop their own WEAP models in the future.

At ARA-Sul, the visit built on existing cooperation with the local water resource managers to improve their strategic water allocation WEAP model for the Umbeluzi River catchment. Advanced training sessions were provided to the experts, as well as beginner training for the recently graduated professionals. A session was held especially dedicated to the analysis of the groundwater balance around the Pequenos Libombos Reservoir. FutureWater presented a tool to model the changes in groundwater storage resulting from climate change and groundwater exploitation. Both the strategic water allocation WEAP model and the groundwater tool are built from a strategic water resource management perspective, aiming to answer what-if questions for the coming 100 years.

Another important element of our visit was highlighting the progress on the GLOW project, discussing the water availability forecasting results, and improving the information that the dashboard is delivering, based on the user needs of ARA-Sul. Within the GLOW, we are providing information based on medium-range weather information and advanced hydrological models.