USGS scientists and partners have developed and deployed a low-cost, low-power stream gage system that could meet California’s next generation water needs. The system is now in experimental deployment in Sonoma County, addressing post-wildfire runoff threats and is being developed for the Upper Feather River watershed in northern California - a primary source of the state's water supply. This effort represents an enduring partnership between USGS, NASA and Carnegie Mellon University to leverage Silicon Valley’s technology to warn and protect us from floods and drought.
Next Generation Stream Gage Networks for California's Water Needs
Mathieu Marineau, USGS Research Hydrologist with the California Water Science Center and Professor Robert Iannucci with Carnegie Mellon University - Silicon Valley have successfully partnered to develop a low-power, real-time stream gage monitoring and telemetry system using LoRa technology. This technology partnership is the product of a five-year USGS-funded partnership between the California Water Science Center, National Innovation Center, and Carnegie Mellon University of Silicon Valley to leverage technology for early warning of floods and droughts. The low-cost, low-power LoRa telemetry system can deliver real-time stream height, rainfall, and soil moisture data gathered from environmental sensors. The data can be readily analyzed to enhance situational awareness of changes in runoff and soil response in watersheds and support infrastructure modernization of California’s water and drought monitoring networks. The system has two-way communications via the cellular or satellite backhaul, allowing remote reprogramming and adaptive sampling frequency during target events. The advantage of this type of sensor network is that each sensor does not need to have its own cellular or satellite communications equipment, but instead can transmit locally to a central uplink site; a single uplink site can support hundreds of sensors.
Two pilot LoRa-streamgage networks are being tested in California, one at Beale Air Force Base in the Central Valley and another at the Pepperwood Preserve near Santa Rosa. Each streamgage site uses either a SDI-12 vented pressure transducer or a non-contact ultrasonic stage sensor to measure stream height. Data is transmitted using LoRa (patented by Semtech), which encodes data packets using a chirp spread-spectrum technique to transmit for very long distances (~15km in rural areas). Data from streamgages are transmitted to a central "gateways" which relay the data through cellular or Ethernet connection. This alleviates the need to have a cellular modem or GOES transmitter (and supporting infrastructure) at each sensor site. Latency between sensor reading to internet display is typically less than 10 seconds.
The LoRa streamgage enclosure is very compact (slightly smaller than a dictionary), and the internal battery can last for up to a year without solar when sampling at 15-minute intervals. The compact size allows for quicker installation. The device is also capable of 2-way communication which can allow for remotely changing settings such as adjusting sampling intervals and transmissions intervals just before the arrival of a major storm.
The recent Kindcade Fire burned approximately 80,000 acres in Sonoma County, California including portions of the Pepperwood Preserve where the pilot LoRa streamgage networks was already installed. The network, which is now monitoring several small streams in the Pepperwood Preserve burned areas, may be expanded to include additional streams affected by the Kincade Fire. Combining LoRa technology with streamgaging can allow for rapid deployment of streamgage networks with 2-way communication and increase situational awareness during storm events such as post-wildfire flooding.
The USGS is currently in the process of establishing a network of 20 real-time, water-level monitoring sites, 30-45 real-time soil moisture monitoring stations, and 8-10 telemetered uplink sites in the Upper Feather River watershed. The watershed is the main tributary of the Sacramento River, draining nearly 6,200 square miles in rural northeastern California and serving as a predominant contributor to major reservoirs supplying the State Water Project. Nearly 40% of the watershed has been burned by wildfire since 2020. This new partnership between the California Department of Water Resources (CADWR) and the USGS will help scientists to vastly improve their ability to monitor water availability and potential drought impacts. combining in-situ monitoring, two-way communications, and watershed modeling in the Upper Feather River Watershed – a major source of the state’s water supply. Once implemented, scientists will be able to provide more accurate and timely information on water supply variability, delivering actionable intelligence to decisionmakers.
USGS scientists and partners have developed and deployed a low-cost, low-power stream gage system that could meet California’s next generation water needs. The system is now in experimental deployment in Sonoma County, addressing post-wildfire runoff threats and is being developed for the Upper Feather River watershed in northern California - a primary source of the state's water supply. This effort represents an enduring partnership between USGS, NASA and Carnegie Mellon University to leverage Silicon Valley’s technology to warn and protect us from floods and drought.
Next Generation Stream Gage Networks for California's Water Needs
Mathieu Marineau, USGS Research Hydrologist with the California Water Science Center and Professor Robert Iannucci with Carnegie Mellon University - Silicon Valley have successfully partnered to develop a low-power, real-time stream gage monitoring and telemetry system using LoRa technology. This technology partnership is the product of a five-year USGS-funded partnership between the California Water Science Center, National Innovation Center, and Carnegie Mellon University of Silicon Valley to leverage technology for early warning of floods and droughts. The low-cost, low-power LoRa telemetry system can deliver real-time stream height, rainfall, and soil moisture data gathered from environmental sensors. The data can be readily analyzed to enhance situational awareness of changes in runoff and soil response in watersheds and support infrastructure modernization of California’s water and drought monitoring networks. The system has two-way communications via the cellular or satellite backhaul, allowing remote reprogramming and adaptive sampling frequency during target events. The advantage of this type of sensor network is that each sensor does not need to have its own cellular or satellite communications equipment, but instead can transmit locally to a central uplink site; a single uplink site can support hundreds of sensors.
Two pilot LoRa-streamgage networks are being tested in California, one at Beale Air Force Base in the Central Valley and another at the Pepperwood Preserve near Santa Rosa. Each streamgage site uses either a SDI-12 vented pressure transducer or a non-contact ultrasonic stage sensor to measure stream height. Data is transmitted using LoRa (patented by Semtech), which encodes data packets using a chirp spread-spectrum technique to transmit for very long distances (~15km in rural areas). Data from streamgages are transmitted to a central "gateways" which relay the data through cellular or Ethernet connection. This alleviates the need to have a cellular modem or GOES transmitter (and supporting infrastructure) at each sensor site. Latency between sensor reading to internet display is typically less than 10 seconds.
The LoRa streamgage enclosure is very compact (slightly smaller than a dictionary), and the internal battery can last for up to a year without solar when sampling at 15-minute intervals. The compact size allows for quicker installation. The device is also capable of 2-way communication which can allow for remotely changing settings such as adjusting sampling intervals and transmissions intervals just before the arrival of a major storm.
The recent Kindcade Fire burned approximately 80,000 acres in Sonoma County, California including portions of the Pepperwood Preserve where the pilot LoRa streamgage networks was already installed. The network, which is now monitoring several small streams in the Pepperwood Preserve burned areas, may be expanded to include additional streams affected by the Kincade Fire. Combining LoRa technology with streamgaging can allow for rapid deployment of streamgage networks with 2-way communication and increase situational awareness during storm events such as post-wildfire flooding.
The USGS is currently in the process of establishing a network of 20 real-time, water-level monitoring sites, 30-45 real-time soil moisture monitoring stations, and 8-10 telemetered uplink sites in the Upper Feather River watershed. The watershed is the main tributary of the Sacramento River, draining nearly 6,200 square miles in rural northeastern California and serving as a predominant contributor to major reservoirs supplying the State Water Project. Nearly 40% of the watershed has been burned by wildfire since 2020. This new partnership between the California Department of Water Resources (CADWR) and the USGS will help scientists to vastly improve their ability to monitor water availability and potential drought impacts. combining in-situ monitoring, two-way communications, and watershed modeling in the Upper Feather River Watershed – a major source of the state’s water supply. Once implemented, scientists will be able to provide more accurate and timely information on water supply variability, delivering actionable intelligence to decisionmakers.