Early flood alert system developed by researchers

Researchers at DCU are in the course of developing vital technology that will be used as an early flood-warning system. The technology will ensure that local authorities are alerted by text message and email when the threat of flooding exists.

The sensors have already been used to produce and analyse data from The river Lee during the recent flooding that caused millions of euro worth of damage across the country. The DEPLOY project is lead by Dr Fiona Regan of DCU’s National Centre for Sensor Research.

The project was initially set up to develop an environmental system that could provide data to councils and health authorities about the quality of the water. The technology is partially deployed since last March in the River Lee. During the flooding, the system was shown to have much wider uses by providing instant information about the river.

The technology uses a series of sensors at various points in The River Lee that collects data, including water-depth measurements, every fifteen minutes. Once the technology is fully deployed it can help give much earlier warnings of rising levels.

According to Dr Regan: “In response to the immediate emergency in Cork, the DEPLOY water quality monitoring system has demonstrated that it can reliably deliver real-time data on water quality… In future scenarios, decisions which are informed by timely accurate data will always be better decisions. It is likely that these types of systems could help to mitigate against the risk of serious flood damage in the longer term.”