Civil Engineering June 2021 | Vol 29 No 5

12 June 2021 Civil Engineering potential using the devel- oped frameworks is only a first order estimate to encourage further inves- tigation into hydropower feasibility and provide more reliable data during that process. Q Q Case studies on existing hydropower evaluation methods were assessed, specifically focussing on the developed methodolo- gies and how each study handled challenges due to data limitations. Q Q Initial frameworks and criteria were developed based on the evaluation methodologies developed in the assessed case studies and assumptions based on engineering knowledge where litera- ture was limited. Q Q The initial selected criteria were validated using data from existing hydropower installations in South Africa. A min- imum allowable variance between the estimated and actual hydropower parameters was used in the criteria validation process to ensure that the first order estimate of the hydropower potential is as reliable as possible. DESCRIPTION OF THE ONLINE ATLAS The University of Pretoria’s Department of Civil Engineering, in collaboration with the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology (under the guidance of Dr Christel Hansen), is creating a web- based hydropower atlas to serve as a geospatial database of the existing hydropower plants and hydropower opportunities in South Africa. The key function of the atlas is to provide a visualisation of the data related both directly and indirectly to the hydropower potential available in the country. Platform to host the SAHA A suitable platform to host the online atlas was selected using the process of elimina- tion based on set criteria. The criteria for selecting the most suitable platform included the required functionality of the platform based on the functionality that existing online atlases provide. Additionally, the criteria include features, ease of use, and suitability based on the Figure 2 Example of SAHA functionality – Bookmark (F), Print (G), Share (H), Add data (I), Base map gallery (J), Switch to full screen (K), Attribute table for data layers (L), Show map overview (M) Figure 3 SAHA functionality examples – Data layer list (N), Analysis function (O), Select (P), Query (Q), Measurement tool (R) Figure 4 Layout of web-based SAHA