Monitoring water levels: an on-going operation

These stations are usually installed on the sides of the road, not far from flowing water and protected by a metal box not much bigger than a container of tools. In some cases, as on des Cageux Street, facing Île Paton, they are integrated into a pumping station.

Their function is simple: measurement of river levels with the use of a pressure logger, placed in rain drains. «The sewer is connected to the river, based on the principle of water displacement», explains Pierre Corbin, geophysicist at Hydro Météo.

The station is in fact linked to a second logger wich measures barometric pressure in order to distinguish atmospheric pressure from that of the water accumulating in the sewers. Each measuring point is equipped with a modem, a lector and batteries wich ensure 24-hour operation.

Other measuring intruments are also used for flood monitoring, such as staff gauges wich complement the information decoded at their offices by experts at Hydro Météo.

These gauges, embedded on river bank soil, are part of the tools at the disposal of the emergency response team, which makes regular fact-finding visits to the various sites.