Department Urban Water Management

Our project aims to establish a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) metadata standard called WaterML-UD for observation data from urban drainage systems. By improving the availability, interpretability, and reusability of open research data (ORD) in the field of urban hydrology and urban drainage, we strive to foster a culture of open collaboration and innovation. Through the development of a prototype standard and interactive data exploration tools, we aim to lower the barriers for researchers to access and use existing data. The project is part of the larger Co-UDLabs initiative, which aims to build a collaborative European Urban Drainage innovation community.

Motivation

Urban drainage systems are crucial and expensive urban infrastructures, but their performance is often not adequately assessed with monitoring data. Limited availability and lack of interpretability of research datasets hinder their reusability and broader analyses. By establishing a FAIR metadata standard, we can unlock the potential of existing datasets, promote cross-disciplinary research, assess model structures, and facilitate data-driven solutions in urban hydrology and drainage.

Main Goals 

• Develop a prototype metadata standard (WaterML-UD) that effectively describes and interprets observation data from urban drainage systems.
• Create interactive visualizations for urban drainage data, enhancing data exploration and interpretation.
• Promote open collaboration and data sharing within the Co-UDLabs community and beyond, facilitating a more inclusive and efficient research and innovation environment.

Impact 

• Advancing ORD field: The project introduces a comprehensive metadata standard for urban drainage observations, developing the way datasets are made publicly available in the field.
• Addressing critical problems: Improved interpretability and data quality assessment will significantly enhance compliance assessment in urban drainage systems, impacting wastewater infrastructure operations in Europe and Switzerland.
• Sustainability within ETH Domain: Collaborations with ETHZ:SIS, EnviDat, and GCW Data Portal ensure long-term sustainability and integration into existing FAIR repositories.
• Knowledge transfer: The developed concepts and tools will have a sustained impact on research data management within the ETH Domain and benefit other research infrastructures.
• Collaboration and added value: The project embraces a collaborative approach, building on existing standards and expertise while fostering synergies with other initiatives and projects in the ORD field.

For more detailed information about the ETH Domain Open Research Data Program (ORD) please visit https://ethrat.ch/en/eth-domain/open-research-data/.