Maps of water bodies, flood zones, dam and water-quality monitoring — from an archive or a new survey.
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What the service is used for
Inventory of water bodies
Inventory of reservoirs and water bodies; resource mapping and comparison of evapotranspiration over several years.
Monitoring of hydraulic structures and dams
Continuous observations of dams and hydraulic structures; radar interferometry of surface displacements.
Ecology of water bodies
Assessment of ecological condition, emergency discharges and pollution sources; NDWI, chlorophyll-a, suspended matter.
Floods and inundation
Flood forecasting and operational monitoring, inundation modelling; flood and waterlogging zones.
Hydrology and water reserves
Reserve audit, runoff, groundwater, shallow-water bathymetry, dam-site selection from RS and GIS data.
Need water monitoring?
Describe the basin or water area. A specialist will select the RS archive, optics or SAR and the set of maps.
What you will receive as a result of the work
01
Inventory of water bodies
Inventory of reservoirs and water bodies, resource mapping and comparison of evapotranspiration over several years.
RS data and open geodata of global scale are used for a baseline and a consistent assessment of the past and current state of marine and river basins. Mapping is linked to evapotranspiration of the territory and change over the years; maps of precipitation distribution and snowmelt rhythm are produced.
What you get
- inventory of reservoirs and water bodies for the agreed territory
- thematic maps of water resources and change over the period
- materials for a water-reserve audit and resource management
The layer set, survey dates and coverage depend on the archive, cloud cover and the terms of reference.
02
Monitoring of dams and hydraulic structures
Continuous observations of dams and hydraulic structures, including radar interferometry of displacements.
The source gives a radar-interferometry retrospective: land-surface displacement before the dam breach — 90 mm over three years (2017–2020); after repair — up to 30 mm over two years (May 2020 – June 2022). Critical displacement preceded the breach; satellite monitoring of deformations helps detect hazardous displacements in advance.
What you get
- graphs and maps of surface and dam-body displacements
- retrospective analysis before and after repair of the structure
- materials for preventing accidents at hydraulic facilities
The figures 90 mm and 30 mm are from the source case, not a timeline standard or a guarantee of order accuracy.
03
Floods and inundation zones
Flood forecasting and operational monitoring, modelling of territory inundation, boundaries of flood and waterlogging zones.
From very-high-resolution satellite survey materials, orthophotomaps at scale 1:10 000 are prepared. Flood-zone boundaries for territories at Lake Smolino were set at exceedance probability P=1% (Government Decree of 18 April 2014 No. 360). A hydrogeological model is built from groundwater-level hydroisohypses; groundwater movement is along lines perpendicular to the hydroisohypses.
What you get
- orthophotomaps and a situation plan with boundaries of flood and waterlogging zones
- calculation of water level at 1-percent-probability floods and the water balance
- boundary information for the cadastre: text, graphics and a list of coordinates of characteristic points
Scale 1:10 000 and P=1% are from the Chelyabinsk Region case; the scope of work is fixed in the terms of reference.
04
Water quality and pollution
Assessment of the ecological condition of water bodies: emergency discharges, pollution sources, oil films and water-quality parameters.
From optics and radar, water, NDWI, chlorophyll-a, coloured dissolved organic matter, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen and phosphorus, and total suspended matter are extracted. SAR detects water around the clock in any weather. For oil spills in a bay, vector and raster maps, change statistics and a link to vessel AIS data are compiled.
What you get
- maps of polluted sites and discharge sources
- vector and raster spill layers, volume and drift assessment
- materials for water-quality monitoring and forensic imagery analysis — per the agreed ToR
The set of water-quality parameters and sensors depends on the water area, cloud cover and scene availability.
05
Fishing-ground boundaries
Digital topographic maps and RS materials for fishing-ground boundaries and an audit of water bodies for commercial-fishing potential.
In the KhMAO case, 753 water bodies were vectorised; each was categorised by potential for commercial fishing and fish-resource farming. Projection WGS84 UTM. The electronic map layout includes the plot name, water body, area/length, point coordinates, a scheme on the digital topographic map, the scale and the legend.
What you get
- vector polygons of the plots and boundary reference points
- electronic layouts of geographic maps by district
- a GIS project with layers and a digital topographic map — per the ToR
The figure of 753 objects is from R&D in KhMAO, not the volume of a typical order.
How the work goes
Real projects — real results
We solve complex challenges using advanced technologies and expertise in geospatial data.
Cost and timeline
The cost and timeline of water-management work depend on the basin area, observation period and the set of RS maps.
- area and task: inventory of water bodies, monitoring of dams and hydraulic structures, floods, water quality, bathymetry or fishing grounds
- data type: optics, SAR radar, hyperspectral, UAV; archive or new survey; in the source — SWOT satellite and underwater unmanned systems
- case figures (753 water bodies of KhMAO; orthophotomaps 1:10 000; dam displacement of 90 mm over three years and 30 mm over two years after repair; exceedance probability P=1%) — application examples, not an INNOTER price list
- industry benchmarks: about 2/3 of water-resource solutions in the world community — from RS data; ~7,8 billion population (growth of 307% over seven decades); 4 billion with acute water shortage; surface fresh water ~0,296% of the hydrosphere; more than 20% of the world's freshwater reserves in Russia — not the price of the service
The cost of the work is calculated individually
Timelines depend on the area, survey type and product composition
The final estimate is agreed after the basin and the map set are described
What is needed for a quote
To agree the terms of reference for water management, provide:
- task: inventory of water bodies, monitoring of dams and hydraulic structures, floods, water quality, bathymetry or boundaries of fishing grounds
- area of interest — basin outline, reservoir, water area, shoreline strip or SHP file
- period: operational control, specific event dates or a retrospective
- whether you have your own images or need archival / new satellite imagery, SAR, hyperspectral, UAV
- whether NDWI, orthophotomaps, flood and waterlogging zones, dam displacements or GIS layers are needed
- requirements for the format of maps, coordinate system and layers, if they are already known
If survey parameters have not been set yet, describing the basin and the goal is enough — specialists will propose the RS data composition.
Describe the outline and the task — we will clarify the archive, new survey and the set of maps.
Why Innoter
Prompt access to archives
Suitable archive imagery can be obtained faster when the required area and date are already available from operators.
No aviation clearances
A new satellite survey does not require the flight clearances typical of aerial surveys.
Large and remote areas
A single satellite pass covers large areas and makes it possible to work in hard-to-reach regions.
Direct agreements with operators
Distribution agreements help select archive imagery and order new surveys from different providers.
Software and server infrastructure
Modern software and computing capacity for quality control and processing of large data volumes.
Experienced specialist team
Years of experience on complex projects and specialists in cartography, photogrammetry and remote sensing.
RS data, methods and monitoring scope
The composition depends on the basin, archive or new survey, optics, SAR or UAV and map requirements.
1
Humanity cannot survive for more than 3 days without water. The entire animal and plant world on the Earth's surface cannot live without water — this is the defining characteristic of the importance of water resources.
Demand for water is growing: the world population has reached ~7.8 billion people (307% growth over the last seven decades). Four billion people face severe water shortage. More than one-third of the population (2.1 billion people) live in arid regions. Surface freshwater accounts for only ~0.296% of the total water supply in the hydrosphere.
A critical situation in water-resource expenditure is emerging in North and South Africa, the Middle East and India; in the USA, Western Europe, China and Central Asia the situation is not much better. Two-thirds of water-resource studies and solutions in the global community rely on RS data and RS methods. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is intended for direct assessments of global water-resource change.
2
Natural water resources are seas, oceans, rivers, lakes, swamps, glaciers, groundwater and soil moisture. Artificially created ones are reservoirs. About 120 thousand rivers with a total length of more than 2.3 million km flow across Russia; total river runoff is 10% of the world's. There are more than 2 million lakes and 100 thousand swamps. Among tens of thousands of reservoirs, 325 are the largest, with a total capacity of about 10 million m³. The territory is washed by the waters of 12 seas of all oceans except the Indian Ocean. 1,777 groundwater deposits are in operation. The area of Arctic glaciers is 55.5 thousand km², permafrost glaciers — 11 million km². More than 20% of the world's freshwater reserves are in Russia.
Russia's runoff-layer availability is almost 2 times below the world average. 9/10 of water resources are concentrated in the basins of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, where less than 1/5 of the population lives. Most of the population and economy are in the basins of the Black, Caspian and Baltic seas: less than 10% of river runoff and the most evident deficit.
At state and global levels, addressing hydrosphere pollution includes progressive methods (zero-waste technologies, recirculating systems), complete wastewater treatment and proper waste disposal.
3
Using RS data and software systems, the following are addressed: inventory of reservoirs and water bodies; hydrometeorological monitoring, evapotranspiration, hydrological modelling, land-use change and water-resource management; observations of dams and hydraulic structures; assessment of ecological condition, emergency discharges and pollution sources; channel processes and shallow-water bottom microrelief; flood forecasting and operational monitoring; monitoring of water-protection zones and unauthorised construction; disputes related to water use and the Water Code of the Russian Federation; biological productivity of water bodies and fish-farming tasks.
Also: mapping of water resources and evapotranspiration over several years; maps of precipitation and snow-melt rhythm; water-reserve audit; runoff assessment by slope; flow speed, direction, concentration and time; groundwater, drilling and recharge rhythm, aquifer level.
GIS and active/passive RS: dam-site selection; spatio-temporal dynamics of water bodies; time series and change detection; multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal and radar systems; soil moisture; wetlands; machine learning for water harvesting and change; underwater mapping; satellite bathymetry of shallow water.
4
Proven RS methods for water are satellite survey in known spectral ranges, high-precision thematic aerial photography and UAV; underwater unmanned systems are being added. Hyperspectral sensors, UAVs and artificial intelligence expand the acquisition of water-quality data.
SAR as a microwave sensor detects water day and night in any weather: shorelines, lakes and rivers. Earth-observation data together with local (in situ) data contribute to surface-water cadastres, thematic maps for hydrogeology (soil-vegetation cover, surface geology, lineaments, geomorphology) and biogeophysical parameters (water quality and temperature, soil moisture). Repeat observations provide time series.
Water-extraction methods: threshold, support-vector, decision tree, object-oriented extraction and deep learning; NDWI; radar filtering; texture; combination with DEM. Optics and radar complement each other. Photogrammetry provides quantitative and qualitative information but depends on geodesy and qualified personnel.
5
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra: recommendations on digital topographic maps and RS when determining fishing-ground boundaries; the Yugra territorial information system as a digital platform. Project coordinate system WGS84 UTM (60 zones of 6 degrees). 753 water bodies were vectorised, each categorised by commercial-fishing potential. Electronic layout: plot name, water body, area/length, point coordinates, scheme, scale, legend.
Chelyabinsk Region, lakes Smolino and Isakovo: orthophotomaps at scale 1:10 000 from very-high-resolution satellite imagery; reconnaissance of the shoreline. Flood-zone boundaries — at exceedance probability P=1% (Government Decree of 18 April 2014 No. 360). A model of surface- and groundwater interaction from groundwater-table hydroisohypses. Result: an album of cartographic materials at 1:10 000, residential buildings and economic facilities within the zone boundaries, coordinates of characteristic points for the real-estate cadastre.
6
Dam-breach risk assessment: geodynamic monitoring by radar interferometry. Before the breach (2017–2020) surface displacement was 90 mm over three years; after repair (May 2020 – June 2022) — up to 30 mm over two years. The retrospective showed hazardous displacements long before the breach.
Environmental monitoring of oil pollution of the sea surface: automatic extraction of sites on each image, vector and raster maps, change statistics, vessel identification by AIS, forensic imagery analysis.
Water quality: algorithms for total suspended solids, chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), coloured dissolved organic matter, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen and total phosphorus. Comparison of water-extraction methods (including NDWI) was applied to the Huai River basin in China and Nam Co on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau; the NDWI threshold method was described in the review as more reliable.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to key questions about service parameters, timelines, deliverable formats and workflow. If you did not find what you need — contact us and we will help.
Water management is a set of activities related to the management of water resources, including the collection, storage, distribution, use and protection of water.
It includes the management of reservoirs, dams, canals, irrigation systems, water treatment systems and other facilities designed to provide access to clean drinking water and water for industrial and agricultural uses.
Water management also includes measures to protect water resources from pollution, control water level and quality, and regulate the water balance in regions with different climatic conditions.
In general, water management is important for ensuring the vital activity of mankind, sustainable development and preservation of the natural environment.
Land reclamation and water management are two interrelated areas related to water resources management and land use.
Land reclamation is a complex of land improvement measures aimed at increasing its fertility and efficiency of use, including measures on drainage, irrigation, tillage, erosion control and others.
Water management, in turn, deals with the management of water resources, including reservoirs, canals, irrigation systems, water treatment systems, and other facilities designed to provide access to clean drinking water and water for industrial and agricultural needs.
Reclamation and water management interact with each other, as many reclamation activities require the use of water resources, for example, to irrigate land or to create and maintain reservoirs. In addition, reclamation measures also affect water resources, for example, by lowering the water table or preventing soil erosion, which in turn can improve the quality and quantity of water in a region.
Thus, land reclamation and water management are interrelated areas, and their joint management can achieve more efficient use of water and land resources and ensure sustainable development of the region.
Russia has huge water resources, which are more than 100 thousand rivers, about 2 million lakes, more than 1 million reservoirs and a huge amount of groundwater. Most of these resources are occupied by Siberia and the Far East.
An important direction of water management in Russia is the protection of water resources from pollution and preservation of their ecological purity. For this purpose, measures are taken to treat wastewater, utilize waste and industrial waste, and control emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere and water bodies.
Also important is the creation and maintenance of water supply and wastewater disposal systems that provide access to clean drinking water and prevent emergencies related to floods and dam breaches.
Agriculture and industry are also important sectors that require water resources. Therefore, Russia is working on irrigation, irrigation and water supply systems for agriculture, as well as water supply for industrial enterprises.
Thus, the water sector of Russia plays an important role in ensuring the economic and social development of the country, as well as in preserving the natural environment.
Water management of industrial enterprises is a set of measures aimed at managing water resources in the process of production at industrial facilities. Industrial enterprises, depending on their profile, may consume large volumes of water for production needs.
Water management of industrial enterprises includes measures to provide industrial facilities with water, wastewater treatment, utilization of waste and industrial waste, control of emissions of harmful substances into water bodies and the atmosphere. In addition, an important aspect is the saving of water resources, which is achieved through the introduction of advanced technologies and methods aimed at optimizing production processes and reducing water consumption.
One of the key elements of water management at industrial enterprises is wastewater treatment, which allows to get rid of contaminants and reduce the negative impact on the environment. For this purpose, various treatment methods are used, including mechanical, biological and chemical treatment.
In addition, industrial plants are often a source of water pollution. Various measures are used to combat this, including emission control of harmful substances and regular monitoring of water body quality.
Thus, water management of industrial enterprises is an important element of the economy, which allows to ensure uninterrupted production and maintain environmental safety at the places of work.
Need satellite imagery or help choosing the right data?
Describe your task, area of interest, and desired outcome. We will check data
availability, assess new acquisition options, and propose the optimal solution in terms of timelines, cost,
and quality.
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