Database

[michelk]

Hi

This is exciting work.

• Are there any plans to compile the data in a unified relational database from which (maybe also real-time) data could be retrieved?
• Are there any plans to integrate Switzerland?

[kratzert]

Hi @michelk,

Thanks for asking. But no, there are currently no plans to combine this into one database that we host or provide at some place. The sole purpose for the moment is to provide unified access to different data portals and to save the data in a homogeneous way.

While in theory making the data directly available makes 100% more sense, the problem is often the license of the data. Not always, the license allows redistribution of the data. At some point in the future, we can see which countries would allow redistribution and then we could eventually publish it, but for the moment that is not a near term goal.

Note that this project started just last week.

And yes, Switzerland is definitely on the agenda. Good that @thiagovmdon is planning to contribute to this package, who should where data in Switzerland can be accessed :)

[thiagovmdon]

Hi

This is exciting work.

• Are there any plans to compile the data in a unified relational database from which (maybe also real-time) data could be retrieved?

• Are there any plans to integrate Switzerland?

Hi Michel. Somehow I missed this message. As Freddy said, Switzerland is definitely in the plans. We do not have yet a harmonized federal platform with all the historical data (yet), but at least at the Kanton level (some kantons) yes. Hence, the possibility of linking the package to most of Switzerland is completely feasible! Stay in touch to see the updates and thanks for the support!

[thiagovmdon]

Hi

This is exciting work.

• Are there any plans to compile the data in a unified relational database from which (maybe also real-time) data could be retrieved?
• Are there any plans to integrate Switzerland?

Hi @michelk ,
The good news is that very soon we will have Switzerland integrated via their recent API! Feel free to keep an eye on our latest versions!

Cheers.

[michelk]

Hi @thiagovmdon

Very cool, thank you. I'm very much looking forward to this.

[R1Xhard-35789]

I just wanted to jump in and say a massive thank you for building this package.

After experiencing another local flood event earlier this year here in Queensland, Australia (original prototype: https://caring4change.au/tools/River_Tracker-Burnett_River.html), I worked on piecing together my national gauge endpoints into a cohesive live map at https://map.riverlevels.site/.

I really wanted to scale it globally, but as @kratzert rightly pointed out, pulling and hosting international data often hits a wall when it comes to redistribution licenses.

Currently, I've bulk-ingested endpoints for countries that explicitly allow it under frameworks like U.S. Public Domain, OGL v3.0, or CC BY 4.0 (USA, UK, Canada, Germany, and Ireland). You can see the prototype test-bed here: https://map.riverlevels.site/international.html.

However, to solve the strict licensing issue for the rest of the world, I am using RivRetrieve to power a "hybrid" approach. Instead of pre-storing the data in a unified relational database on my server, my map uses RivRetrieve as an on-demand background bridge. When a user clicks a gauge for a restricted or un-cached country (like Japan or the Czech Republic), the server dynamically spins up the Python fetcher and renders the telemetry live, only ever caching and not storing the data.

It provides a great educational and informational tool for users to view these gauges without violating redistribution rules.

Thanks again for the fantastic work.

[CooperBigFoot]

Stay tuned, we're about to release a major update. You'll be hearing about it on linkedin soon. And thanks for taking the time to leave a comment of appreciation :)