A Decision Support System for the consortium ‘Pianura Di Ferrara’

A Decision Support System (DSS) was developed and implemented for the Consortium PIANURA di FERRARA in the province of Ferrara located at the end of Po Valley near the Adriatic Sea. The DSS is based on our MIKE CUSTOMISED RealTime platform. It provides support to the Consortium technicians in both ordinary and emergency activities related to operating the complex network of irrigation channels in the basin.

The Ferrara basin covers an area of about 2500 km², some of which comprises reclaimed land protected by dikes on the sea side. The area includes 430 km of drainage channels and another 810 km for irrigation purposes, in addition to more than 150 pumping stations.

The Consortium is a public corporation, whose main tasks are related to the hydraulic properties of irrigation and drainage, through the complex network of canals and drainage systems. It also contributes to the design, implementation and management of irrigation works to supply water for multiple uses (primarily the water needed for agriculture).

The DSS based on our MIKE CUSTOMISED RealTime platform continuously simulates the dynamic behaviour of the network and all the irrigation structures. The DSS provides all the synthetic information needed to make operative decisions in the management of predicted hydraulic criticality. Moreover, the platform supports the daily operations of the drainage system and all design activities.