One of the biggest implications of climate change will be an increased risk of fluvial and surface water flooding from rainfall events. Researching existing solutions to flood monitoring devices highlighted the fact that again, there is a high initial cost, complexity in providing power, data network requirements and difficulties in installation with these devices.
Envirowatch has also applied our product principles to the flood monitoring device market to produce the HydroMOTE. The sensor which the HydroMOTE uses for water level readings is a submersible pressure device manufactured by SensorTechnics, which is auto-calibrated for temperature and air pressure fluctuations. This sensor has been trialled and tested across Europe for many years and is widely accepted as giving reliable and robust water level data in critical areas and applications. This is combined with our proprietary low power GPRS router in much the same way as the Noise-MOTE to deliver a reliable stream of data to EnviroView in an application where data delivery is paramount.
HydroMote unit does not require any external power source to be provided. Due to the ultra-low power requirements of the sensor and the communication module, the device can operate for up to 24 months on a single battery pack. This life can be extended by the optional solar package which we offer which extends battery life significantly in areas with sufficient sunlight.
The HydroMote housing designs have been created with the threat of vandalism and ease of installation in mind. Envirowatch has worked to develop a housing solution which allows all sensing, communication and power aspects of the system to be fitted into a standard street bollard design. This allows the unit to be fixed securely in the ground and resistant to impacts or vandalism, but allows quick access to the batteries or sensor if required.