Smart sensors have been installed in a number of drains around Enfield that will help to monitor their condition and provide instant warnings of sharp rises in water levels.
Enfield Council is one of the first local authorities in England to trial the smart drainage scheme, that uses in-built sensor technology and 2G and 4G communications to help identify and tackle the issue of overflowing gullies.
Working with UK-based DMSLive, Enfield Council has focused on drains that may be particularly vulnerable to overflowing areas of the borough.
Enfield Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Ian Barnes, said: “The initiative works hand-in-hand with the Council’s wide-ranging Climate Action Strategy, which aims to address the issue of flooding and commits to proactive flood alleviation work to protect homes, buildings and infrastructure. More extreme weather patterns have highlighted significant flood risks in Enfield and we have a responsibility to look at all kinds of solutions to protect our borough and its inhabitants.”
The Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability, Cllr Guney Dogan, added: “Enfield has recently suffered significant flooding, including from overflowing gullies. The Enfield Council Highways Team is determined to use the latest technology to tackle this issue and to find a fast-response solution to allow us to react quickly and efficiently, thus saving time and money.”
The Enfield Highways Team is now able to monitor the status of gullies at key sites. The system’s online portal shows the water depth under the gulley, a blockage indicator and a grid temperature (useful for gritting decisions in the winter months). Alerts are triggered whenever the water level in a gulley exceeds the top of the outflow pipe, giving a chance to react before any property damage occurs.
This innovative approach will be evaluated over the coming winter and, if successful, the technology will be rolled out to cover additional flood hot spots.
DMSLive Managing Director, Andrew Brooksbank, said: "Enfield Council's proactive approach to flood prevention, and its desire to work very closely with us on this project has allowed us to put this technology to best use, and deploy the devices where the need is greatest. The devices are built to last for 10 years and we are fully committed to supporting Enfield over that time to reduce flooding and the impact of flooding across the borough."