Reclamation announced the competition on Oct. 20, and noted that there are two stages: hindcast, which challenges participants to predict past water conditions; as well as forecast, which will challenge them to predict water supply for winter and spring 2024.
David Raff, Chief Engineer of the Reclamation, stressed the significance of seasonal water supply estimates in directing water management and operations in the Western United States. "Improving seasonal forecasts will allow water managers to better meet all of the needs for water including irrigation, hydropower generation, and the environment."
The goal of the competition, which is dubbed the Water Supply Forecast Rodeo, is to provide assistance to water management, particularly in the western portion of the United States, so that they can make the most efficient use of the water supply that is now available. The following is an explanation of the competition that can be found on the website that is officially associated with it: Participants in this challenge will work on improving their ability to forecast water demands throughout the year, developing techniques for communicating forecasts, and quantifying the degree to which forecasts are accurate. There are many potential avenues for advancement, one of which is the incorporation of cutting-edge techniques in machine learning into models in order to better depict the complicated and ever-changing nature of hydrologic processes. Solvers have the capability of incorporating a wide variety of new data sources, some examples of which include observational data, projections of climate conditions, and estimates of basin conditions. Solvers are able to discover or engineer features related to seasonal runoff and changing land cover conditions due to events such as prolonged drought/heat stress, pests (such as the mountain pine beetle), wildfire, land conversion, development, restoration, and land impacts due to climate change.
Participants must register as individuals before they can join a team for this competition, which is accessible to anybody over the age of 18 in the United States.Visit https://www.drivendata.org/competitions/254/reclamation-water-supply-forecast-dev/rules/ to read the rules and learn how to participate in the competition.
