river flow measurement technology - wskep

River flow measurement technology Working with monitoring teams to improve efficiency and data

quality........

Nick Everard – Technical Adviser, Hydro-Acoustics

Environment Agency, United Kingdom

nick.everard@environment-agency.gov.uk

Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, October 11th 2013

• 26 years experience working in

Hydrometry

• 6 years with Head Office team

• Leader on hydro-acoustic

technologies and techniques

“Improving river flow

measurement through”:

• Training and guidance

• Technical standards

• Equipment testing and

development

• Software testing and

development

• Liaison with manufacturers

• International liaison

Nick Everard

Water security

If you don’t know how much water

you have, you can’t plan what to

do with it

River discharge and Water Security

River flow gauging

transformed...

From this..........

From current meters to ADCPs

To this..........

..in just 15 years

15 years ago, river gauging was tough.....

…It takes a long time.

I’m cold and wet and I

don’t know the results

until I’ve finished

And its scary

standing here over

the water …..

Gauging required many

people and took a long time

Caused obstruction to

pedestrians….

And river users…..

Cable

across river

And it wasn’t much better

on big rivers…….

Often, only one site gauged

in a day, with 4-5 people

Acoustic

Doppler

Current

Profiler

Then came ADCPs!

Efficiency much improved:

• 4-6 sites in a day

• 2 or 3 people Environment Agency

Gauging was safer,

easier and nicer

Introduced to Environment

Agency in 2002

• Pulses of sound measure

water speed and depth

• Now we have a complete

picture of flows in river

• Quicker (10 minutes!)

• Safer

• More accurate

• Fewer people required

And put people at risk,

on the water…….

This had disadvantages:

• Transporting boat (trailer)

• Boat driver training

• Trailer driver training

But often we still had to use

manned boats

.........and.......

• Boat servicing

• Trailer servicing

• Launching boat……

A collaboration between the

EA and HR Wallingford.

Optimised to Environment

Agency needs.

So we developed a remote control

ADCP boat..... The ARC-Boat

20 now is use, in

all EA regions Now selling

around the world

RC boats benefits

• Quicker

• Safer

• Reduced manpower

• Improved data

• Gauge where you want to,

not just where the bridge is

****Save you money****

Opens up new applications for

your ADCPs (the big growth

area for ADCP use....?)

Weirpool survey, River

Thames near Oxford

Goes where we don’t want to.....

Post-flood survey, Cumbria

Nasty, foamy mess, Nottingham

A field

Get measurements you couldn’t

get before.......

The river

RC boat cruised

across river and field.

Highest ever

gauging at this site

20% of total flow

not in river.

Move away from just ‘what is the

flow?’

to

‘What does that flow look like? How

does it influence morphology and

ecology? Will it support fish?’

More than just discharge

Surveys for:

• Fish passage

• Hydro-power

• Water Framework Directive

• Dredging (navigation)

• Reservoir Act

• River channel enhancements

• Flow measurement sites

(Index velocity, transit time)

A survey solution

ADCP

+ remote control boat

+ high accuracy GPS

=

A great solution for

bathymetry and velocity

surveys

• Information exchanges

• Training

• Instrumentation testing

• Software tools

• RC Boats

• Discussion groups (e-mail) We can all learn from

each other.......

Working with ADCPs:

Collaborating nationally

and internationally A strong community of

expertise, in the EA

and internationally

Started 2011.

Developing expert users in all regions...

....and sharing with other agencies • Training workshops

• Equipment and software

testing

• Local guidance and leadership

• Managing the equipment

(service, repair, updates etc)

ADCP Technical leads

• 50 ADCP systems tested

• Staff from all Environment Agency

regions

• Co-ordinated by Head Office

ADCP Performance Testing:

ADCP Regatta

Also, invited guests from:

• SEPA (Scotland)

• OPW (Ireland)

• SMHI (Sweden)

• NVE (Norway)

Making sure the instruments report flow correctly

Even the ADCP

manufacturers attend.

A great opportunity to

influence.

ADCP Performance Testing

Even the ADCP manufacturers

attend.

A great opportunity to influence.

Jim Rogers, head of Water Resources

products, Teledyne RD Instruments, USA

Soon after the event, changes

made to software –

communications with ADCPs

much improved.

Hydro-Logic, UK

NVE, Norway

SMHI, Sweden

RDI, USA

OPW, Ireland

SEPA, Scotland

ADCP Performance Test 2012

A truly international event.......

And 30 Environment Agency

ADCP experts

Training for

• EA Hydrometry staff

and overseas agencies:

• Norway

• Sweden

• Ireland

• Scotland

ADCP Training SMHI, Sweden 2011

Internal training delivery:

• Saves money

• Develops staff

• Boosts EA reputation

• Earns money (?!)

River Wharfe, Yorkshire

Velocities in excess of 3

metres/second

Any questions?

Environment Agency