Hikvision AIoT technologies facilitate hydrological governance and flood prevention

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Zhijiang Hydrological Station is situated on the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Like all rivers this needs to be carefully monitored to make sure its levels are maintained, and that timely flood warnings can be issued to keep communities living by the river safe.

The challenge – Safe real-time river level monitoring

Hydrological engineer Jiajian Shao has worked there for 10 years. He has developed an occupational habit — whether it is on weekend or at night, as long as it rains, questions flow through his mind. Is the water level rising? How much faster is the flow rate? How long will it rain? Heavy rains magnify his concerns, as they can lead to floods.

"Hydrological research here is like taking the pulse of a river. Changes in metrics like water level, flow velocity, and rate are the beats," said Shao. He added that only by keeping up with the latest hydrological development in real time, can the safety and security of people living by the river guaranteed when the water rises or falls. Work done here will also help accumulate data that can help decision makers manage the river estuary, protecting and developing local water resources.

Fortunately, Shao has helpers — the devices and the platform that are becoming increasingly intelligent. In 2019, the Hydrological Management Center of Zhejiang Province created a joint lab in collaboration with Hikvision. This modernized the station, making it more information-based and intelligent.

Subject to the gravitational forces of the sun and the moon, the tides in the Qiantang River rise and fall twice a day, with the tidal range even greater at the beginning and in the middle of a lunar month. It is at these times that more efforts are required to "feel the pulse", and Shao and his colleagues take to the river to measure streamflow.

The route of the measurement spans the two sides of the river, covering 900 meters. It usually takes them two rounds by boat to complete the measurement. In the Dragon Boat Festival of 2022, heavy rains struck the upper stream of the river and lots of tree branches and foreign objects washed downstream as a result, floating on the surface. This meant the team had to be careful when measuring the streamflow and one roundtrip nearly cost them 40 minutes, while they avoided the floating objects. In flood season, data needs to be reported to the provincial hydrological center more frequently, so researchers need to measure real-time streamflow with more efficient processes.

The Solution - Remote devices increase efficiency

Thanks to the remote monitoring devices, keeping track of the pulse beat of the river 24/7 is now a reality. The data is collected and sent directly to the management system, making the hydrological examination more efficient. Other technologies, such as the water level camera and the algorithm for water level recognition in the backend, not only identify the level changes and collect the data, but also save on-site pictures to facilitate the subsequent data validation.

Now when it rains, Shao just needs to turn on the computer screen and access the information including water level, flow rate, and rainfall, as well as operational management status such as completion status of inspection tasks and materials inventory.

Number crunching 576 sets of data

It is a routine for Shao and his colleagues every morning to check data concerning a series of indicators like the water level, rainfall, and flow rate before they share the flood information with provincial hydrological center. If the data is hugely different from the normal level, or the trend shown in the data indicates any exception, they need to investigate and find out the cause in person.

The data check is a test for patience. The two remote monitoring devices, amounted on the water level observing stations on the two sides of the river, output a set of data every five minutes on average. In total, there are 576 sets of data from the two devices every day. Considering that the automatic rain gauge, instrumented buoy and other devices also generate data, checking it all is a huge task.

With all the different hydrological data accessed, the Daily Tasks And Work Management App automatically records and calculates the numbers, and differences are displayed directly. The app has substantially helped the researchers, as they can see from the screen the highest and lowest levels of a day and the corresponding time when those levels arrived. They can then easily compare these latest numbers to the historical records to see the size of any gap. The system automatically calculates the difference between the data collected by the primary and secondary monitoring devices. When the difference becomes too large or if there is any data missing, the system reminds the operators to make a correction.

An app that streamlines inspections

Through the Hydrological Inspection Management App, a manager can also allocate tasks like water level measurement, or leakage check for doors, windows or walls, and follow the status of task handling.

One of the two water level observing stations is 900 meters away on the opposite side of the river, which makes it troublesome to perform daily inspections. However, with the inspection engine-based technical capabilities in the app, both efficiency and quality of inspection work is improved.

Holographic display visualizes the data and smart alert sounds the timely alarm

The application of AR brings visibility to a series of hydrological data that ranges from soil moisture, evaporation, and rainfall to the status of equipment. It enables a holographic display of all this information in real time, effectively helping researchers monitor changes of those hydrological indicators.

When one indicator value rises above its corresponding preset threshold, the smart alert system will be triggered to quickly identify the cause and warn operators through a flashing signal. Current and past video footage, and data records are presented at the same time to facilitate the response of researchers, and guide them to sound timely alarms to prevent natural disasters.

"Those modern technological means have really improved our examination methods and made the hydrological work more standard and regulated," said Shao.

Every year during the flood season, the monitoring carried out by the hydrological station plays a crucial role in flood control and prevention. By providing devices for contactless hydrological elements monitoring, such as the hyperspectral water quality monitor to enable the all types of hydrological data access, together with its holographic technology for comprehensive analysis, Hikvision has utilized its real-time intelligent IoT capabilities to upgrade operations and researches in the hydrological station. Going forward, Hikvision will continue to work with its partner to contribute to protecting the safety and security for the people living along the river.