“DAM ALERTS” M-POWERING FARMERS WITH IRRIGATION INFORMATION AND FLOOD ALERTS

Abstract

Background/Objectives: In spite of major achievements in irrigation sector, there is still no dependable alert and dam information system regarding the level of water in dams, weather condition, water quality and early warning flood alerts in the neighbourhood dams and canals. In this paper the authors describes the development of an innovative and low cost dam information and allied water discharge alert system where the backend data updating and information retrieval from the portal is done using the simplicity and ubiquity offered by mobile phones. Methods/Statistical Analysis: A consultative approach was adopted in gathering the details of the dams, like capacity, alert threshold levels etc. from concerned divisions of the water resource department. The system is implemented using three tier architecture and the SMS based services are offered by integrating web services based API which extends the internet services to the mobile platform. Findings: Information can be requested using a mobile on an anytime anywhere basis and the requested information can be received using an ordinary mobile phone thus bridging the digital divide. This system will enable the not so tech savvy farmers also to access water levels in dams without being physically present at the dam site to read the water level display boards and without the need of a computer with Internet facility. Applications/Improvements: The value add this system brings in over the current manual paper register based system is that the data pooled digitally can be churned to derive valuable insights about the water usage pattern, demand-supply gap, seasonal surges and spikes etc thereby ensuring better management of scarce water resources. This system can be enhanced by deploying sensor nodes which enables more and more parameters to be recorded resulting in more accurate prediction capabilities.