Overview of National Water Services, Data Sources &

Information NeedsBelize

Rudolph Williams Jr.Hydrologist

Hydrology UnitNational Meteorological Service - Belize

LIMA Water Cycle Capacity Building WorkshopNovember 30 – December 4 2009

BelizeLocation : northernmost Central American country.

South of MexicoEast & North of GuatemalaBounded on east by the Caribbean Sea.

Area 8,867 mi2

( 22,965 km2)

Population ≈350,000 (mid 2008 est.)

•Belize has 4 Hydrological Regions 39 Identifiable

watersheds18 Classified as major

watersheds5 Transboundary

watersheds• Rio Hondo•Rio Mopan•Moho River•Temash River•Sarstoon River

6 Groundwater Provinces

Water Services/ActivitiesWater classification for Potable, Agriculture,

Industrial and Commercial waterFlood ForecastsDrought Monitoring & ReportingGeneral water quantity & quality assessmentsProtection and Conservation of waterGroundwater AssessmentRegulation of water abstractionsResolution of water conflictsClimate Change impacts on water resources

Sources of DataMeteorological

Monitoring Network

32 weather stations

• 29 monitoring & reporting every 24hours via telephone

• 2 monitoring every 15 minutes & reporting hourly via Satellite & NESDIS

• 1 Synoptic weather station hourly monitoring & reporting via WMO GTS & internet

Sources of DataHydrological

Monitoring Network

29 River level monitoring stations 24 staff gaugesmonitor every 12 hours & report every 72 hours via telephone

5 hydrological stations monitoring every 10 minutes and reporting hourly via satellite & NESDIS

Sources of DataRadar Observations

DATA SOURCESForecast Model Results

GFS

UKMET

NAM

MFEWS01-06/12 2009

CAFFG

Data Sources - Satellite Imagery

GOES-FLOATER RAINBOW IR CH4 Oct 15 2008 Tropical Depression 16 2008

DATA NEEDSFlood Forecasts/Drought Monitoring & Reporting

Greater station density in the hydro-meteorological networks (more data needed – limited or no river level data in some

watersheds)Real or near real time reporting of rainfall and river levels

(Reporting frequency in some watersheds is greater than time of concentration)

Algorithms to automatically convert models forecasts and radar observations to spatially referenced data for routine modeling

(lumped watershed QPF, temperature, Eto, soil moisture, etc.)Construction, refinement or replacement of hydrologic models(Coarse or no hydrologic models for some watersheds)Construction of Hydraulic models ( no river channel models)

DATA NEEDSGround Water AssessmentsRapid assessment of the extent and capacity of the

Groundwater Provinces – satellite image Analyses?(Increasing groundwater demand; very little knowledge, no

comprehensive scientific studies conducted)Water Quality AssessmentsComprehensive program for the monitoring and reporting

of surface and groundwater quality.(ad hoc program in place)Climate Change impact on Water ResourcesReconstruction of Historical datasets(Difficult to establish baselines due lack of historical data

sets)

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTIONQUESTIONS?

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