Monitoring

National Hydro-meteorological Network

Monitoring in Solimões River
Raylton Alves / ANA Image Bank

It is made up by a set of stations distributed throughout strategic points nationwide, the National Hydro-meteorological Network is intended for collecting river data (level and flow of rivers, for example) and rainfall statistics (rainfall), subsidizing the decisions-making of water resources managements. With the collected data, information is generated which serve as subsidies to studies and projects that require the knowledge of water availabilities and of water potential of Brazilian watersheds.

Such data and information are strategic for decision-making by public managers for the mitigation of harmful effects of critical hydrological events (such as floods and droughts) and for the electrical industries (such as in the inventory of energy potential and operational management), transport (waterways and construction of bridges), agriculture (mainly in irrigation), as well as for other urban and industrial sectors.

The hydro-meteorological information network under the responsibility of ANA currently has more than 4.5 thousand hydro-meteorological stations in operation. Some of them have telemetry, which makes it possible to track, in a short span of time, the data of rainfall and the level of the rivers in places of greatest interest for water resources management. 

ANA Situation Room and Monitoring of Critical Events

ANA Situation Room monitors the hydrological trends throughout the national territory, using the analysis of rainfall evolution and levels and flows variation in major rivers and reservoirs. The water forecast and the climate prediction are also considered in order to prevent or minimize the effects of extreme hydrologic events. This task is carried out under the National Water Resources Management System, in cooperation with the central body of the National Civil Water Resources Management System, in cooperation with the central body of the National Civil Defense System and in support to the states and municipalities.

ANA Situation Room acts as a management center for critical situations and subsidizes the Board of Directors decision-making. It focuses in monitoring prioritized hydrographic basins, reservoirs systems existing hydrologic warning systems and declarations of Emergency Condition or Public Disaster.

In line with the principle of decentralized water resources management and in order to achieve greater integration, articulation and range of monitoring and prediction of critical hydrological events, ANA has been supporting, since 2011, the implementation of Situation Rooms in every Brazilian federative units, all of them linked to ANA monitoring center in Brasília.

ANA also leads the project called Flood Vulnerability Atlas, which mapped the occurrence and impacts associated to gradual floods in Brazilian main rivers. The Atlas allowed the grouping and consolidation of information spread in State authorities into a single standard, which may assist the formulation of initiatives and public policies for preventing and mitigating negative impacts of these phenomena.

ANA supports some of the Brazilian Hydrologic Warning Systems in compliance with its legal duties to plan and promote prevention and mitigation of droughts and flood. In addition to the existing warning systems, the Situation Room also issues announcements when a critical hydrologic event is detected (both flood and drought) in any monitored river or reservoir. This communication happens through reports, issued by the Situation Room with the frequency the event requires.

National Program of Water Quality Evaluation (PNQA)

The National Program of Water Quality Evaluation (PNQA), developed by the National Water Agency, aims to increase the knowledge about the quality of surface water resources in Brazil, in order to guide the elaboration of public policies for the recovery of environmental quality in water bodies such as inland rivers and reservoirs, thus contributing to the sustainable management of water resources.

The construction of a National Network of Water Quality Monitoring is in progress to be operated by the states with the coordination of ANA. In addition, the Program provides training, quality improvement of laboratories carrying out analysis of water, evaluation and periodic dissemination of the results obtained with the monitoring and standardization of parameters and procedures.