Rhondda Flood Monitoring System
Meteor have recently completed a project to provide a comprehensive system for flood monitoring on behalf of Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council (RCT). This consists of 10 sites in the Pontypridd area monitoring water levels, rainfall, overflow channels and trash screens.
Historically the geography results in rapid water level increases after rainfall events, causing large scale flooding. Signficant investment has been made to improve the flood defence infrastructure over recent years following major flood events and installation of the monitoring system is the final step in these works.
Meteor developed a cost effective, comprehensive solution using MCC-972XS GPRS telemetry and MCE-Nexus GPRS cameras integrated into a single web portal for simple, intuitive management of the flood defence system. Meteor worked closely with RCT to ensure that the system would meet their requirement to provide accurate, instant information to enable them to react appropriately to situations on site.
The system was retro fitted to existing structures and required no civil engineering works on site, enabling all 10 sites to be fitted in 5 days. Due to the exposed, sensitive locations of the sites in publicly accessible locations the sensors and equipment are designed to be discreet and robust. Maintenance is also kept to a minimum, and performed by Council operational staff so is extremely cost effective.
Readings are taken every 15 minutes and sent in real time to the web portal. Alarms are setup to warn users of:
- High Water Levels
- High rainfall
- Screen blockages
- Overflow channel operation
Once an alert has been received the user can access the system using any web enabled device, and request immediate images from the cameras on site to verify the current status. This allows proactive management of operational staff to deal with blockages and potential flood risks before they occur
From initial order to equipment installation Meteor provided a complete service:
- Advice on monitoring equipment and location
- Site survey and report prior to installation
- Installation and commissioning of system
- Setup of web portal and alarms
For further information regarding the flood defence scheme civil engineering works there is some excellent information on the RCTCBC website
