Streamflow and Water Availability Forecasts - Exploring the Needs of Water Managers and the Community

The Bureau of Meteorology has statutory responsibilities for water forecasting services under the Water Act 2007. Forecasts from days to seasons to multi-decades will be developed over the next few years and will complement the Bureau's existing flood warning, weather and climate services. Key to the development of all of the Bureau's services is the need to actively engage stakeholders in the process. Improving community safety, maximising opportunities and reducing risks for water managers and users will require a focus on how decisions are made. Other challenges will include ensuring that: - products and services are of a high quality, well designed and usable - forecasts are integrated with other services, especially for weather and climate - forecasts are consistent across different time and space scales - performance information and methods presented are easily understood and transparent, for example, forecast skill - comprehensive supporting information is available, including explaining probabilities and Uncertainties.