Drone technology: modeling water flows in the Limpopo River Basin | IWMI

Environmental flow assessments (e-flows) are essential tools to understand the health, dynamics, and ecology of river systems. They help us assess how best to manage rivers so that they support ecosystems and provide enough water for human needs.

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has partnered with GroundTruth as part of the CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation to develop a technologically innovative and less labour-intensive method of measuring e-flows using drones coupled with boat-mounted sensors. This provides near real-time, highly detailed data from much larger areas.

Hydrological and hydraulic models of river profile, flow dynamics, and habitat-flow relationships for aquatic fauna and flora based on these data are being incorporated into a digital twin of the Limpopo River basin.

Acknowledgements:
• UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/
• Water Research Commission (WRC): https://www.wrc.org.za/
• uMngeni-uThukela Water: https://www.umngeni-uthukela.co.za/
• South African National Biodiversity Institute: https://www.sanbi.org/
• Duzi-uMngeni Conservation Trust (DUCT): https://www.duct.org.za/
• QLands: https://www.qlands.com/
• North-West University (NWU): https://www.nwu.ac.za/
• University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Centre for Water Resources Research (CWRR): https://cwrr.ukzn.ac.za/
• Kartoza: https://kartoza.com/