Hydroinformatics is a branch of informatics which concentrates on the application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in addressing the increasingly serious problems of the equitable and efficient use of water for many different purposes. Hydroinformatics is the application or adaptation of information technology to hydrology and water resources studies or applications. It addresses the increasingly serious problems of the equitable and efficient use of water for many different purposes. Hydroinformatics integrates hydraulics, hydrology, environmental engineering and many other disciplines. Hydroinformatics uses simulation modelling and information and communication technology to help in solving problems of hydraulics, hydrology and environmental engineering for better management of water-based systems. It sees application at all points in the water cycle from atmosphere to ocean, and in artificial interventions in that cycle such as urban drainage and water supply systems. Hydroinformatics recognises the inherently social nature of the problems of water management and of decision making processes, and strives to understand the social processes by which technologies are brought into use. Since the problems of water management are most severe in the majority world, while the resources to obtain and develop technological solutions are concentrated in the hands of the minority, the need to examine these social processes are particularly acute. It provides support for decision making at all levels from governance and policy through management to operations. The main purpose of Hydroinformatics concentrates on the numerical simulations of water flows and related processes which focus on the technology but on its application in a social context. The main application areas of Hydroinformatics are flood and river basin management, urban and coastal systems