Advances in Hydrologic Forecasting and their Impact on Water Management

Recent advances in technology used to produce hydrologic forecasts have resulted in a number of useful applications for water management. The advances range from improved flood warning systems to new methods being used to produce long-range probabilistic hydrologic forecasts. The focus of this paper is to describe impacts of advanced forecast technology on water management applications such as hydropower, water supply, recreation, and flood warning and control. The use of improved forecasts provides water managers with new information for saving lives, minimizing destruction, providing an adequate and safe supply of water, and balancing competing uses of water.