Cardinia Shire Council has installed a DipStik Flood Alert system to help manage a problematic flooding issue in the area surrounding the Beaconsfield railway station.
The Beaconsfield location has a low lying section that dips down and passes under a rail bridge right beside Cardina Creek.
This area has a notorious reputation for flooding and becoming impassable as the water levels in Cardina Creek rise. In severe situations, flood levels in this area have been reported to be as high as several meters.
Due to the frequency of flooding in this area, Cardinia Shire Council employees spend a great deal of time throughout the year monitoring this area via “drive bys” and subsequently coordinating road closures to protect the public.
Beaconsfield Avenue carries a considerable level of traffic during the day and night. Vehicles have been known to become stranded when trying to cross through the flood waters, when the road has not been closed in a timely manner. Access to this area during flood times presents a significant public safety risk.
Information from the DipStik unit, combined with other available stream gauge data from other locations and sources, enables shire council staff to make prompt decisions about the timely closure and subsequent reopening of the road.
The high frequency of flooding in the area has resulted in permanent road closure gates being installed either side of the rail bridge. These are managed directly by Shire Council staff.
Frustration by Shire Council staff in managing this situation (frequent site visits were previously required during flood events) has resulted in them deciding to employ cost effective technology to help with the task. Tuftec’s DipStik flood monitor/alert system presented an effective solution to the problem.
The harsh nature of the location is ideally suited to the “concrete free” ground anchor base used as the footing for the Dipstik unit. Not only does it enable rapid installation ( less than 2 hours for the entire system) but also enables the unit to be mounted close to the natural water level in the creek, thereby providing the earliest possible indication of rising flood waters.
This particular DipStik installation also incorporates graduated markings on the mounting/water level measuring post, for easy identification of water depth by the passing public, allowing the unit to replace an aging roadside flood height indicator.
To provide a clear indication to approaching vehicles and pedestrians, the DipStik unit is installed with a high intensity, flashing, LED warning beacon. This warning beacon can be configured by Shire Council staff to commence flashing at a predetermined flood water height to suit the local environment and is particularly suitable for night use.
The DipStik unit is configured to provide remote notification to Shire Council staff/managers of potential flood issues. It continually monitors the area for potential flood conditions (rising water levels) using hydrostatic level measurement technology and sends alert messages, via the mobile phone network, when an event trigger point is reached.
DipStik alerts council workers when there is a need to close the road for public safety reasons. It also advises them when it is once again safe to reopen the road, when flood levels have dropped to a safe level. This saves significant time and cost associated with using staff to physically monitor the area during periods of potential high flood risk.
Alert messages are sent over the mobile phone network as regular, human readable, text messages that can be received on a mobile phone.
This significantly reduces the cost of ownership for Cardinia Shire Council and enables them to allocate the event management function to just about any individual. There are no complex computers or backend servers required to provide an effective service.
During a flood event, Cardinia Shire Council can configure DipStik to periodically send level update messages so that event managers can remotely keep a watchful eye on the flood conditions.
The DipStik unit maintains a record of maximum flood heights and rate of rise of water levels to help with hydrology analysis and future flood mitigation planning.
The installed DipStik unit has proved to be a valuable tool in significantly reducing the costs associated with flood management in the area as well as providing an improved level of notification and quicker response times to protect the safety of the public.
