Automated Real-time Monitoring System (ARMS) of hydrological parameters for Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque dams cascade in Luzon Island, Philippines

Abstract

Water usage monitoring has been the main function of National Water Resources Board (NWRB), it covers all the activity in the country that makes use of water. They are the ones implementing rules and regulation on the usage of water for water supply, irrigation and especially for power generation. Agno river basin is one of the largest watershed here in the Philippines, inside the watershed are the three cascading dams namely: Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque with the main purpose of electricity generation. Monitoring of dams is a challenging task to NWRB since they cannot visit the area every time they just rely on the report submitted by the dam operators quarterly but they do not have any basis how accurate the data in the report was. And in terms of disaster management, concerned agencies such as National Power Corporation (NPC) and Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) lack data to assess more effectively potential scenarios since data gathered on-site were not enough to predict the amount of water that might enter the reservoir. With these problems, Automated Real-time Monitoring System (ARMS) of hydrological parameters, which is an integrated watershed management approach using smart technologies was developed to install wireless sensors along the Agno river basin to monitor water availability in reservoir which is the mandate of NWRB. Wireless sensors composed of hydrologic parameters such as rainfall, temperature, atmospheric pressure, soil moisture, wind speed and evaporation were installed in the area of Agno with data transmitted in real-time to the office of NWRB for monitoring. These data helped the NWRB and dam operators in making smart decisions regarding dam operation specifically in the utilization of water. And with respect to disaster management, NPC and PAGASA now have concrete basis for every decisions they are making because of these gathered data in real-time. Also with this, NWRB could update their monitoring procedures/protocols for a more efficient operation of the dams. These sensors are locally developed to ensure cost-effective ARMS for watersheds in the Philippines.