The main use for GIS in river management would be flood insurance applications (mapping areas that are most at risk of flooding) and this could be done with high resolution spatial data. With the use of this high resolution data, we would be able to estimate the flood risk for a person, area, or event much easier. The one issue faced by this improvement in technology is that the high resolution typically downgrades the insurability of a client, which is a disincentive for people who want to be insured against floods and natural disasters. This example is just one challenge faced by GIS in the field of hydrology and water management. It faces both technological and social issues in the future, but the hope is that these kinds of problems can be solved by a greater distribution of information and processing power.
Clark, M. J. (1998). Putting water in its place: A perspective on GIS in hydrology and water management. Hydrological Processes, 12(6), 823-834.
How can you prove that with the use of high resolution data, we would be able to estimate the flood risk for a person, area, or event much easier? Have you personally tried this? or is that off of opinion.
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