NIWIS – Low Water Information System

The NIWIS Low Water Information System is Germany’s first nationwide information system for recording and assessing low-water situations. The digital platform consolidates hydrological measurement data from various sources and presents it in a standardised, clear and interactive format. This provides public authorities, local authorities, businesses and interested members of the public with a comprehensive overview of the current low water situation and how it is developing.

By intelligently processing complex data, NIWIS creates a reliable basis for fact-based decision-making and supports preparedness measures in the face of the increasing impacts of climate change on water resources.

Nationwide, standardised information for sustainable water management

With increasing periods of drought and falling water levels, there is a growing need for robust information for public administration, business and society. NIWIS was developed to provide this information nationwide for the first time using standardised methods.

The platform visualises current measurement data on water levels, discharge, groundwater levels, spring discharge and precipitation patterns on interactive maps, supplementing this with statistical analyses and historical comparative data. This enables trends to be identified at an early stage and well-informed decisions to be made regarding preventive and adaptation measures.

A key feature of the system is the standardised assessment of measured values. Based on historical data, these are automatically assigned to one of four low-water classes – ranging from ‘no low water’ to ‘extremely low’. This produces a situation overview that is comparable across Germany, enabling both specialist users and the interested public to gain a quick understanding of the situation.

NIWIS was developed as part of the National Water Strategy of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), jointly by the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), the federal and state authorities of the Federal/State Working Group on Water (LAWA) and WPS. The Federal Institute of Hydrology operates the platform and ensures its continuous further development.

Technical implementation by WPS

As a development partner of the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), WPS played a key role in the technical design and implementation of the nationwide low-water information system. The aim was to develop a high-performance, intuitive and future-proof web platform that presents complex hydrological data in an understandable way and makes it accessible to different target groups.

WPS contributed its many years of experience in developing complex specialist applications for public administration – ranging from technical architecture and the development of user-friendly interfaces to the implementation of high-performance data visualisations and interfaces. The result is a scalable and future-proof platform that makes a significant contribution to the digitalisation of water management and the implementation of the National Water Strategy.