Monitoring Storm Water Flow via VIPER - presentation
Citation:
Steenbock, J. Monitoring Storm Water Flow via VIPER - presentation. 2021 EPA International Decontamination Research and Development Conference, Cincinnati, OH, November 01 - 05, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
Combining water sensors with remote telemetry can allow for real time updates of current conditions at pre arranged sites. These updates can be used for faster decision making when facing a potential contamination event and great improve the chances for successful mitigation efforts. The continued development of the VIPER program will help benefit ORD users by helping manage data and presenting it in an easy to read format.
Description:
The continued development of real time stormwater monitoring has allowed for faster response as well as better containment and mitigation efforts concerning potential contamination events. The purpose of this experiment is to develop a system of deployable sensor stations that will remotely record various water quality parameters and report these values back to a central server. All data collected was transmitted to the EPA’s data collection and viewing service, known as VIPER. After each rain event the sensor stations will be monitored and evaluated for their accuracy as part of a larger coastal resiliency project. The instruments used include an ISCO autosampler, soil moisture probes, a Parsivel weather sensor, and water velocity, and depth sensors. Each set of sensors were set out at sites chosen for their ability to produce large amounts of runoff during rain events. The sample locations included a telemetry unit that served as a data-logger, communications hub, and power source for the sensor groups. The telemetry units contain a teensy microcontroller and a cellular modem that allow for wireless connection back to the VIPER server. Readings were programmed to report back every five minutes allowing VIPER to create real time graphs of each data point. The ISCO samplers were programmed to accept SMS commands in order to remotely control sampling interval as well as allow for any potential remote troubleshooting. Researchers would use said commands to trigger the ISCO to take samples as often as needed per rain event. Utilizing the EPA’s data collection and online interface, VIPER, we were able to successfully monitor and record samples remotely during rain events in Elizabeth City, NC. The presentation will not only summarize the setup and deployment of the sensors, but describe the use of telemetry using VIPER, which will be helpful for ORD users.