Telemetry Solar Pack enables internal drainage boards to expand their management of water levels

Trial Success.
Whittlesey IDB has completed a trial of the Micro Solar Pack, monitoring an irrigation channel near Easton Farm. The trial was deemed a success and WIDB will be looking to roll out the Micro Remote Terminal Units (RTU's) across their network. WIDB has widely distributed assets, sharing its water network with the Environment Agency, Anglian Water and other internal Drainage Boards. Remote monitoring is essential to WIDB as time can be limited when needing to react to changes in water levels. 

Mr Richard Price, Project Manager, Whittlesey Internal Drainage Board said that “MICRO SOLAR PACKS (MSPs) are ideal for remote locations where the cost of obtaining a new electricity supply is not feasible. We will be using them to monitor water levels for irrigation in the summer and drainage in the winter; this will provide a more detailed and animated view of our network. During the irrigation season, the MSP will enable us to monitor stakeholder activity and maintain a high-water table whilst abstraction takes place. It will also provide levels at various controls, so inlets can be altered accordingly to compensate. The generated alerts let us know which sites need attention before the first man arrives at work. We will no longer need to visit all downstream controls in a circular as a matter of course.” 

Product Rollout.
South Holland IDB have Micro Solar Packs reporting to their web based Sitewatch™ Pump Station Application. The MSPs are installed at tidal outfall sluices that are a great distance from the nearest mains power supply.

Mr Karl Vines, Catchment Engineer, South Holland Internal Drainage Board explained, "We had a requirement to monitor inland water levels at outfall sluices on the Lutton Leam and Holbeach River but could not justify the excessive costs associated with the provision of structures and services in support of AC powered solutions. The Micro Solar Pack enabled us to monitor our sluices at an affordable cost, providing us with regular water level updates throughout the year for a fraction of the cost. The Micro Solar Pack uses the cellular networks to report water levels at 15-minute intervals, 96 water level updates per day providing us with a service all year long.”