Experiments of an IoT-based wireless sensor network for flood monitoring in Colima, Mexico

Abstract

Urban flooding is one of the major issues in many parts of the world, and its management is often challenging. One of the challenges highlighted by the hydrology and related communities is the need for more open data and monitoring of floods in space and time. In this paper, we present the development phases and experiments of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based wireless sensor network for hydrometeorological data collection and flood monitoring for the urban area of Colima-Villa de Álvarez in Mexico. The network is designed to collect fluvial water level, soil moisture and weather parameters that are transferred to the server and to a web application in real-time using IoT Message Queuing Telemetry Transport protocol over 3G and Wi-Fi networks. The network is tested during three different events of tropical storms that occurred over the area of Colima during the 2019 tropical cyclones season. The results show the ability of the smart water network to collect real-time hydrometeorological information during extreme events associated with tropical storms. The technology used for data transmission and acquisition made it possible to collect information at critical times for the city. Additionally, the data collected provided essential information for implementing and calibrating hydrological models and hydraulic models to generate flood inundation maps and identify critical infrastructure.

Internet of things based wireless sensor network: a review

“…An IoT-based WSN for hydrometeorological data collecting and flood monitoring for the urban region of Colima-Villa de lvarez in Mexico was developed and tested by Mendoza-Cano et al [76], IoT message queuing telemetry transport protocol is used to transport real-time fluvial water level, soil moisture, and weather data to the server and a web application using 3G and Wi-Fi networks. When tropical storms strike, it is clear that the smart water network is capable of gathering hydrometeorological data in real time.…”

Digitalisation for Water Sustainability: Barriers to Implementing Circular Economy in Smart Water Management

“…Kong, et al [52] have reviewed the major applications of big data in urban sustainability and identified that this technology is mainly applied in resource and environment-related areas, such as urban land use and planning, resources and energy utilization, and environmental sustainability. Mendoza-Cano, et al [15] proposed an IoT-based wireless sensor network to collect real-time data for flood monitoring. Smart water management is expected to solve sustainability challenges such as water overuse, flood and drought, and pollution [17].…”

“…The sludge wastewater treatment process, for example, can be monitored by digital image processing [53]. IoT monitoring can be applied in various scenarios, including real-time river water quality, in-pipe water quality, hydrometeorological and flood data, and water demand data in commercial buildings [13][14][15][16].…”

“…The focus is to build a sustainable smart water management system that helps to reduce leakage, ensure water quality and optimize operation, among other aspects [12]. Real-time river water quality, in-pipe water quality, hydrometeorological and flood data, and water demand data in commercial buildings can all be monitored using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies [13][14][15][16]. A number of countries around the world have invested heavily in developing digitalized water management systems.…”

Facilitating adoption of AI in natural disaster management through collaboration

“…flood 6 and avalanche 7 monitoring. Although satellite-derived imagery has long been used for Earth observations, it is now being used in innovative ways.…”