Hydrology across Disciplines: Organization and Application Experiences of a Public Hydrological Service in Italy

Abstract

Water is a fundamental resource for human life and nature; flood management, water supply systems and water protection policies are a few examples of equally important disciplines across the whole hydrological cycle. The present work focuses on the creation and sharing of hydrological knowledge within public activities, with regard to materials and methods adopted for developing and supplying hydrological information, suitable to different stakeholders needs, throughout different disciplines and sectors of environment, economy, society, as well as research and analysis. The aim of this work is to better understand the market in order to increase the value of hydrological data, products and services, and to reduce potential gaps and overlapping areas. The method we developed is based on the example of the Hydrological Service of Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy. Institutional, legal and territorial frameworks as well as agency organization, materials, methods, instruments, activities, products and results are briefly described, focusing on those supporting civil and environmental protection, water management, infrastructure design, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. We discuss the role of a public Administration in interdisciplinary activities, the links between the general background (e.g., territory, society, rules), organizations, actors, resources, tools, processes and results, by highlighting, where possible, a potential starting point for future research studies. Finally, this paper adopts a novel linguistic style, based on an informal format, in order to explore the set-up and follow-up of the Hydrological Service’s initiatives, with the final aim of sparking curiosity and building awareness, from different sectors and disciplines, which, ultimately, may benefit from the presented approaches.