SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 22, 2016 – In conjunction with the United Nations’ World Water Day, the White House has received a joint commitment from Esri and KISTERS, global leaders in integrated geospatial and time series information systems, respectively, to support the first National Water Model that enhances flood forecasting to reduce the risk of weather-related deaths and loss across the United States. Identifying at-risk populations and helping inform strategic decision-making is the ultimate goal.
KISTERS will integrate flood-relevant data from local and national sources into the model, and launch a pilot later this year. Partnering with Esri will result in managed data-processing and spatial-analysis workflows that advance research in streamflow and flood inundation forecasting for 2.7 million stream reaches and 6,600 sub-basins in the U.S. upon full implementation of the model. The combination of forecasts and other pertinent information will be freely available online and visualized through interactive online-mapping applications.
“Esri and KISTERS share a vision of how our combined technologies can be leveraged to address big water issues and we’re excited about the value this initiative provides to the community,” says Steve Kopp, Software Program Manager at Esri.
The private sector IT firms will collaborate closely with academia and NOAA to build on the success of the National Flood Interoperability Experiment, a project of the Center for Research in Water Resources at the University of Texas at Austin.
“Integration of Esri and KISTERS tools has made my dream a reality,” remarks Dr. David Maidment of UT Austin, “It’s enabled us to synthesize isolated data streams and create an online world of open and accessible water data that is significant for flood emergency management operations.”
Driven by climate change, severe weather events are increasing in number and scope worldwide. Consequently they increase population vulnerability. In particular floods cause much damage and lead to fatalities. Preparedness and situational awareness are crucial to protecting lives.
Matt Ables, COO at KISTERS affirms, “The National Flood Model brings together the foremost experts in hydrological, meteorological, spatial, and temporal analysis to provide a common operating picture to national, regional, and local emergency agencies and first responders.”
About the Summit
The White House Water Summit builds on President Obama’s ongoing efforts to position the U.S. as the leader in tackling climate change both domestically and abroad. This public-private partnership enables the federal government to leverage subject matter expertise, innovative technologies, and expanding capabilities to catalyze ideas and solutions that build a sustainable and secure water future in the nation.
About Esri
Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in geographic information system (GIS) technology, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Visit Esri at esri.com/news.
About KISTERS
KISTERS is a multinational IT company of 500+ worldwide employees who are dedicated to developing leading-edge information systems for sustainable management of water, energy and air. Leveraging more than 50 years of engineering expertise, KISTERS is recognized internationally for professional competence, operational insight and customized solutions. KISTERS supports environmental resource stewardship on six continents via clients who range from small private firms to large governmental authorities. Learn more at kisters.net.