A Remotely-Operated Siphon System for Water Release From Wetlands and Shallow Ponds

Li Qin,Li-Li Dong,Ahmet Yolcu,Lin-Long Bian,Arturo S Leon,Vivek Verma

doi:10.1109/access.2019.2950270

Abstract

The early release from wetlands and shallow ponds could provide extra water storage during heavy rainfall, thus mitigating floods. In this paper, a remotely operated integrated siphon system intended to release water from wetlands/shallow ponds ahead of (a few hours or a few days before) a heavy rainfall that is forecasted to produce flooding is proposed. Siphons work under the pull of gravity and are limited to pond berm heights below about 6 m. An array (e.g. hundreds) of the proposed siphon system can be controlled remotely by an operator or by a Decision Support System. A self-operating and remotely controlled siphon system could open the doors for managing wetlands and shallow ponds for multiple purposes, including flood control and improvement of aquatic habitat. Laboratory tests using 4 and 15 cm-diameter siphons were performed in this study. The results showed that the integrated control system is technically feasible and economically viable.

Highlights

Floods are natural disasters that often cause large economic losses and human suffering [1], [2]
The main objective of this study is to present the architecture of a self-operating and remotely-controlled siphon system to release water from wetlands and shallow ponds ahead of a large rainfall storm that is forecasted to produce flooding
The Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) module is connected to the Virtual Private Network (VPN) router through an Ethernet cable and the VPN router is connected to the StrideLinx platform through the fourth generation (4G) of broadband cellular network mobile communication system

Summary

Introduction

Floods are natural disasters that often cause large economic losses and human suffering [1], [2]. Wetlands and ponds can play an important role in flood mitigation, improving water quality, providing ecological habitats, and creating opportunities for public appreciation and recreation [7]–[10]. Several studies have shown the effectiveness of using wetlands for flood mitigation [11]. Their limited storage capacity limits their effectiveness and the fact that part or all of this capacity may be occupied when a flood is imminent. A way to minimize this problem could be to release part of the water from

Objectives

Methods

Results