Flood Warning System Design and Integration

diagram of a combination rain and streamflow gauge

The Flood Warning System uses sensors powered by a solar-powered 12-volt battery. In most cases, the transmitter and data logger are housed in a one-foot diameter, 12-foot tall standpipe. The tipping bucket rain gauge sits on top of the standpipe. If the station also measures stream flow, a conduit runs from the standpipe to the stilling well next to the stream. The pressure transducer is threaded through the conduit to the stilling well, where the stage (depth) of the stream is measured.

Data is transmitted on an "event basis" via a VHF radio signal from the gauges to a repeater site on a hill east of I-25. This location has a clear "line of sight" to all gauges. 

The City operates two base stations: Fort Collins Utilities and the Poudre Fire Authority Training Facility. A remote base station can be set-up in the field to receive data. Multiple base stations provide redundancy, which is important if one station goes off line. Users can access the data from a desktop computer, by dialing-in using a laptop or via web pages. Software programs page emergency management and utility personnel when alarm thresholds are reached. The data is also transmitted to the National Weather Service in Boulder, Colorado.

schematic of how the system hardware is integrated