What We Do
Check out some awesome examples of what our equipment can do in this area
Customise a System
In addition to our standard systems available, many of the systems we provide are customised. Tell us what you need, and we’ll help you configure a system that meets your exact needs.
Instrumentation
We offer a variety of products that can be used to create systems for Flood Warning (ALERT). Many of the major components used to create these systems are listed below. Please let us know if we can help you configure a system.
More Details about Our Flood Warning (ALERT) Systems
ALERT Stations
Our ALERT stations support Binary Data Format (BDF) and Enhanced Integrated Flood Observing and Warning Systems (IFLOWS). Contact us for questions or feature requests. Our dataloggers, proven in thousands of applications world-wide, provide multiple types of inputs (pulse, analog, SDI-12, and others), which allows use of almost any type of water level sensor including pressure transducers, shaft encoders, bubblers, and ultrasonic distance sensors. Onboard algorithms can calculate hourly and daily minimums, maximums, averages, totals, flow, or any other statistical value. These values can be stored on-board the station, providing a backup of data. A solar panel can provide continuous charge to the battery for extended unattended monitoring.
Additional sensors to measure soil moisture, water quality, or meteorological conditions can easily be integrated. We can upgrade older stations, even those from other manufacturers, with the latest datalogger and transmitter, often allowing you to use the same sensors and standpipe or enclosure.
Hybrid ALERT Stations
Our hybrid stations consist of an ALERT station integrated with additional sensors and communications peripherals. One or two radio frequencies can be used, depending on your needs. With a single frequency, two-way communications would be avoided during storm events to allow more bandwidth for one-way ALERT communications. However, some customers choose to use two frequencies: one for ALERT and the other for a fully-functional, two-way communications like using a cell phone modem. This provides the following inherent advantages:
- Retries of missed packets
- Diagnostics
- Clock synching
- Re-programming from the base station
- Historical data collection (no holes in the data)
- Interactive control capability
- Voice modem call-out of alarms
The ability to measure additional parameters at an ALERT site, or integrate ALERT capabilities with another type of measurement site can lead to collaboration between organizations that can help keep costs down.
Customized Flood Warning Network Using LoggerNet Software
A flood warning network that uses LoggerNet software takes advantage of two-way RF communications and the latest in network management software. LoggerNet is a client/server software program used for managing large networks of monitoring stations. A LoggerNet-based system is a viable solution to flood warning applications because of the speed with which LoggerNet can poll multiple RF stations and the speed and versatility with which LoggerNet can make the data available to multiple interested parties. For example, DIAD has a client that links DIADvisor to the LoggerNet server.
When a "send data" command is broadcast to a group of remote stations, the stations transmit predefined data to the LoggerNet server in their own time window. Transmission windows can be as short as 100 mS, allowing multiple sites to be polled per second. As the data is collected, LoggerNet clients can access it from LANs or via the Internet, making data available to multiple users/agencies in near real time.
Other Resources and Options
To meet customer needs, other resources and communications options can be combined with flood warning systems. Commonly, local governments will combine resources to obtain the best possible system. In other situations, federal agencies can be involved to increase system coverage and robustness, and even help with the budget.
Case Studies
The Panama Canal was using an outdated water-level system until the Panama Canal Authorities (ACP)......read more
In February of 2015, Campbell Scientific was awarded a bid to supply the Harris County......read more
Flooding is the number one natural cause of fatalities worldwide and was responsible for 6.8......read more
ALERT2 is a modern communication protocol that improves upon 40 years of tradition within the......read more
Inundation from flood waters is an annual occurrence for many living in Far North Queensland.......read more
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Flood Information and Notification System (FINS) consists of over 125 gaging stations spread......read more
The National Weather Service (NWS) operates a network of automated flood-warning stations around Mount St.......read more
Networks using the ALERT protocol are designed to give immediate access to data that indicates......read more