Telemetric Water Level Monitoring System (TWLMS)

A system monitoring the water depth of The Seti River bordering Accham and Doti districts of Western Nepal for analytical purposes in the establishment of the Seti river hydropower plant in an initiative of Environment Resource and Management Consultancy, Nepal (ERMC), the SR-6: Telemetry based Water level Monitoring System perfectly showcases the full capacity of the instrument developed.

Challenge presented

Necessity of a water level monitoring system that is able to make accurate water depth measurements and store it on board as well as upload the same onto the cloud enabling telemetry. The system to be employed for Seti River in Achham.

Solution Delivered

Rooted in the instrument for Community Based Flood Early Warning System (CBFEWS) employed by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the solution is an improvised version of the Telemetry based Water Level Monitoring System (TWLMS v4).

Due to the remote nature and geographical complexity of the area, the device includes improvements in radio and cellular technology within. The TWLMS for SR-6 includes two units: the Data Acquisition (DA) Unit and the Data Upload (DU) Unit. The DA Unit is a very low power unit responsible for measuring water depth as well as recording the timestamped measurements on its onboard data-logger. It is affixed onto a tower on the banks of the Seti and transmits measurements to the Data Upload Unit atop a hill about 3km away close to a settlement where decent CDMA connectivity was available. The Data Upload unit uploads the received data onto the cloud and presents the data measurements on a screen for observations by a local caretaker.

Results

Owing a great deal to the dedication in the instrument design and of the installation team, the system had been fully set up. Since the installation the system has taken timely measurements while successfully uploading the data to the cloud as evident by the data record in the server. The system has diligently performed since the date of installation and showcased the full capabilities of the telemetry based water level monitoring system much to the delight of our team and our partner ERMC.

We appreciate the opportunity presented and ERMC’s trust in us to deliver.