Application Examples
Metro Vancouver's Watershed Network: Real-time early warning water quality monitoring
With almost 50 environmental monitoring stations combined within the three watersheds, Metro Vancouver delivers safe drinking water for over 2.1 million people in 22 municipalities. The backbone of this network is a real-time RMX VHF radio telemetry link developed and installed by FTS that provides routine access to critical data from a variety of alpine and valley sites. FTS GOES and GlobalStar satellite telemetry devices, along with telephone modems are used to supplement the network communications. VHF radio telemetry has proven to be much more reliable, lower in power consumption, and much more cost effective than any other telemetry system (including cellular). RMX radio is ideally suited to networks that have a regional cluster of stations. With smart radios and redundant radio links the network has a robust framework in the event of earthquakes.
Monitoring within the watersheds includes fire weather, alpine snow pillows, all weather precipitation, hydrometric, turbidity early warning Scada rafts, sediment monitoring and multisonde water quality monitoring. Combined, these systems provide vital information on the available alpine water budgets, precipitation rates and intensity, fire hazard, real-time water quantity and water quality status, as well as alarm conditions for ongoing watershed management.
Recent installation and expansion of real-time Scada turbidity early warning rafts are enhancing the ability to forecast and prevent potential boil water advisories associated with landslides and high turbidity plumes during extreme rainfall events. Average daily turbidities measured by the DTS-12 turbidity sensor are published in the Vancouver Sun newspaper and on the Metro Vancouver public website. Combined with over twenty years of reliable operational performance and a high level customer service and support, FTS’ network provides the reliable backbone to Metro Vancouver’s water supply.
Capital Region District and City of Cranbrook: Hydromet and water quality monitoring
Both municipalities in British Columbia, Canada, have similar FTS watershed monitoring networks using RMX radio for data communications. Recent RMX upgrades from older cellular telemetry systems provided superior performance and lower operating costs. Stations provide real-time updates on stage, precipitation, turbidity, solar radiation and a wide range of weather parameters including evaporation measurements. Data is automatically collected and analyzed for alarm conditions using StreamTrac data collection and data information management and analysis tools.
Manitoba Hydro, Burntwood River: Early warning suspended sediment load monitoring
Manitoba Hydro has been using RMX radio, dataloggers and turbidity sensors for a number of years as part of an early warning suspended sediment load monitoring system.
Turbidity arrays were deployed from 6 rafts both upstream and downstream of the Burntwood River dam construction site. With virtual real-time data telemetry and analysis, turbidity data is converted to suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) using established sediment rating curves (NTU SSC ratings) developed over several years of monitoring. StreamTrac software provides the automated data collection, processing, normalization, graphing and alarm notification.
Upstream, background SSC is automatically computed and used to normalize downstream monitoring sites. By correcting for background in real time, increased SSC, as a result of construction activities can be immediately detected. Using this early warning detection network, construction activities are optimized to maintain SSC within safe limits for the local ecology.
