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South Korea has developed a homegrown integrated water management platform that uses AI and big data to predict floods and droughts while simultaneously managing dam operations, water quality, aquatic ecosystems and carbon emissions. The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology announced Monday it had developed the Integrated Water Resources Management-Korea platform, or IWRM-K, which consolidates water quantity, water quality, aquatic ecology, floods, droughts and carbon emissions into a single analysis and assessment framework.

Water management in South Korea has traditionally been handled in separate silos — water supply, flood response, water quality improvement and river maintenance each falling under different agencies. But as climate change drives more frequent cycles of flooding and drought, and as water supply challenges become increasingly intertwined with water quality, ecosystems, energy use and carbon emissions, the need to analyze entire river basins as a unified system has grown more pressing.

IWRM-K integrates AI, big data, climate change scenarios, hydrological and hydraulic models, satellite imagery and geographic information systems. The platform uses these tools to comprehensively analyze how water management policies affect water quantity, quality and ecosystems, and to support optimal decision-making.

A research team led by Jeong Il-moon, a senior research fellow at the institute, analyzed 30 years of hydrological data from the Nakdong River basin and applied climate change scenarios to project the future water environment through 2100.

The team also developed an integrated water management index that comprehensively evaluates water supply and demand, river water availability and management conditions. The platform tracks carbon emissions across the entire water cycle — from intake and distribution through end use.

A pilot analysis found that carbon emissions from South Korea’s water cycle in 2030 are projected to equal the annual greenhouse gas output of about 2.5 million passenger vehicles.

The research team also developed AI-based rainfall forecasting and flood management capabilities. When applied to the 2022 Typhoon Hinnamnor case, the technology improved rainfall prediction accuracy from 45 percent to 52 percent.

Using AI simulations to analyze dam discharge volumes and timing, the platform offers guidance on operating dams safely while minimizing flood damage to downstream areas.

The team additionally developed a flow resistance analysis technology that uses satellite imagery and 3D scanning to measure how much riverbank vegetation impedes water flow. Field research in the Gamcheon basin in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, identified future flood level changes and flood-vulnerable sections under climate change scenarios.

Park Seon-gyu, president of the institute, said IWRM-K is “the core foundation for technically implementing the unified water management policy,” adding that the platform’s ability to quantitatively compare and evaluate the effects of policy alternatives “will allow us to respond to the increasingly complex water challenges posed by climate change and urbanization.”

nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com