Drainage Masterplans are essential in order to dimension and operate municipal drainage systems economically. The European Water Framework Directive requested the identification of the present status of drainage systems. Masterplans thus need to be actualized more frequently.

Presently, water management relies on data which can only be updated every 15 to 20 years using manual, time consuming and thus costly conventional methods. Information on subcatchment definition, slope, and percent of sealed areas are manually collected and recorded. This information is used as basis for hydraulic calculations, for the detection of overloading situations of sewers and drains, and for adaptation of the system to future requirements. Besides the illustrated disadvantages of manual data recording, in particular big cities are often effected by partial fast-growing developments. Thereto, statements of Masterplans can rapidly become obsolete and worthless, respectively are leading into mistaken investments. A quick assimilation to the actual need helps to save expenses.

The goal of the service developed within DRAMA was to demonstrate how an up-to-date Drainage Masterplan can be obtained using EO data, standardized GIS methods and hydraulic modelling tools. The City of Lindau was chosen for the demonstration case study.