River level monitoring in Neckarburken

INTRODUCTION

Local heavy rainfall events are repeatedly leading to local flooding. Even during the snow melt, residential and commercial areas in the districts of Neckarelz and Diedesheim in  Mosbach are threatened by the rising floods of the River Elz.

Detectronic GmbH was commissioned to install a sensor on the bridge in Neckarburken to record the water level of the Elz.

OBJECTIVE

• Receive early flood warnings enabling timely pre-emptive flood defence action before flooding events occur.

PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION

The Detectronic MSFM Light with ultrasonic level sensor was selected as the preferred solution. Often used in storage space channels to detect the accumulation and teeing behavior, the MSFM Lite  has a robust and stable battery  which lasts 5 years. This makes the MSFM Light suitable for use in other applications where there is no mains supply, such as river level monitoring.

The MSFM  Light has a modem of the latest generation and is compatible with 2G, 3G, LTE-M and NB-IoT GPRS mobile networks and can be used worldwide.

In cooperation with the communal building yard a mounting device with a stainless steel enclosure for the sensor including logger/modem was manufactured. The device was attached to the bridge and suspended over the River Elz.

RESULTS

The ultrasonic sensor measures the distance between the sensor and the water surface, which corresponds to the water level of the Elz. The collected data is sent every 12 hours to the Internet platform Detecdata. If the previously defined alarm threshold is exceeded in the event of an imminent flood, the data is sent immediately and an alarm is triggered by email/SMS. The relevant bodies can then take further measures in good time such as closing roads or evacuating affected areas.

The graph above shows lower levels during the summer months and rising levels during the winter months. The peaks on the graph indicate rain events throughout the year.