6 December 2010

Joint UrbanFlood & SSG4Env Workshop

Thursday 11 & Friday 12 November 2010 – Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Against a backdrop of storm and rain a truly international group of experts gathered in Amsterdam to look at the future of flood safety: modern sensor techniques, models, real-time monitoring and the Internet. Four themes were discussed: Sensing, ICT, Modelling en Application & Implementation.

For each of the themes several thought-provoking presentations were given. The Dutch LiveDijk and Geobeads were presented, but also examples and experiences from the USA, the UK, France, Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. The (concept) Early Warning System of UrbanFlood was demonstrated to a very interested public.

The presentations are available on video, see workshop 2010.

Available workshop documents: programme (pdf); detailed programme and abstracts (pdf) and list of participants (pdf).

Emerging Markets on the Move

28 October 2010

Source www.siemens.com

An article about UrbanFlood in the latest release of the Siemens journal "Pictures of the Future" The Magazine for Research and innovation, Fall 2010.

Download the English article: Emerging Markets on the Move

Download the German article: Schwellenlaender auf dem Sprung

Waternet first with new method for regular dike monitoring

14 September 2010

Source www.waternet.nl

Waternet has introduced an innovative way of measuring the strength of dikes. Using sensors, in this case Geobeads, Waternet can now monitor dikes in real-time; effects of events like a rainstorm will show up immediately. In the Netherlands this method has been applied before for closer monitoring of short and problematic dike reaches but Waternet intends to use it for the regular dike audit; the method will yield much more detail on the actual condition of the dikes. Several research institutes, working together in the EU-funded UrbanFlood project, have joined Waternet in this undertaking.

Better ‘view’ inside the dike

Waternet carries out the study on behalf of Waterboard Amstel, Gooi en Vecht, which is responsible for safety against flooding in the area surrounding Amsterdam. Waternet will use the data to optimise the auditing and improvement of dikes; it is expected that the dikes are stronger than we now assume. The new method enables Waternet to very accurately measure several parameters and will reduce the uncertainty in calculations. This may mean that fewer dikes need to be improved, or improved is needed less frequently.

The test location is the Stammerdijk in Diemen, where Geobeads were installed on September 8. If the test is successful it will be repeated at other dikes. The first results of the study will be available by the end of 2010.

Partners in research

Up to now sensor systems like Geobeads were used for closer monitoring of short and often problematic dike reaches. Waternet takes this further and intends to use the method to better understand the dike and to use these insights for all dikes under management. Due to this innovative angle research institutes like the University of Amsterdam and STOWA, which work together in the EU funded UrbanFlood project, are joining Waternet in this effort.

Chain of beads

Geobeads look like a necklace of beads. They are placed in the dike and measure without human intervention the water pressure, temperature and movement with a very high accuracy. The measurements now take place in real-time and at frequent intervals, which means that effects of events like a local heavy rainstorm can be monitored. With the traditional method now used for testing dikes this is not possible. The data can be read remotely using mobile data networks.

See website Waternet (Dutch)

See news article in Algemeen Dagblad (Dutch newspaper)

Joint UrbanFlood & SG4E Workshop

September 2010

In July the UrbanFlood project announced its international workshop to be held on 11^th and 12^th November; we are happy to have received a good number of positive reactions already. Experts, researchers and policy makers from Australia, USA, United Kingdom, Poland, Russia and The Netherlands have already registered so it is going to be a truly International workshop.

Meanwhile, discussions with the SG4E project showed that this project has much in common with UrbanFlood while the overlap is limited. The logical conclusion was to combine forces and offer an even more interesting joint workshop on the use of sensors and early warning systems to make us all safer from flooding. Both 7th framework projects are supported by the European Union. … more

Kick-off meeting a success

In December 2009 the first meeting of the UrbanFlood project took place in Groningen, the Netherlands. The aim of the kick-off was to give the project a jumpstart in order to deliver a first version of the EWS technology by the third quarter of 2010. Project Manager Nico Pals: “Imagine: half of the project members have knowledge on the most advanced forms of ICT, they never expected that clay and sand could be such a challenge. The other half knows everything from dikes, dams, embankments and flooding and they never dreamed that artificial intelligence is an issue”. Certainly after the visit to the IJkdijk location (www.ijkdijk.nl) both groups of professional knew that the fusion of ICT with dikes is the road ahead to manage flood risk.

Website ready

The first deadline of the project was to have a website ready by the end of February; this was realised even earlier. On the website you can find details on the objectives of UrbanFlood, get to know the UrbanFlood partners and find relevant news and links. All public reports and other digital ‘deliverables’ will be available as downloads. We cordially invite you to have a look at www.urbanflood.eu

UrbanFlood reports

By early May 2010 two reports were completed: “Early Warning Systems and the Mitigation of Climate Change Induced Disasters”, with the results of the stakeholders analyses, and “Functionality & Architecture of Internet Based EWS and EWS Hosting Platforms”, which describes from a stakeholder (user) point of view, the architecture and functionality of the UrbanFlood Early Warning System (EWS). Mark Morris from HR Wallingford, one of the hydraulic engineers working for UrbanFlood, remarked: “We have investigated the user requirements. One of the methods we employed was questionnaires. UrbanFlood will use the results in the designing of a system that is able to monitor thousands of miles of dikes, even though some of the persons we interviewed never considered monitoring to be a practical and economic option to increase flood safety.” Ludolph Wentholt of STOWA: “The hydraulics world has been very active on the ICT front. But it takes an internet guru to imagine that we can actually monitor the strength of thousands of km of dikes.” The reports are available here on this website.

UrbanFlood project up and running

July 2010

The UrbanFlood partners are all skilled in the use of ICT. But the concept in which UrbanFlood combines cloud computing, internet, enterprise service bus, visualisation and hydraulic software is a genuine innovation. Coordination meetings that were held in Amsterdam and Cracow but especially in Wallingford, UK (24-26 March) were very important in planning the activities in detail, as well as in getting to know each other even better than before. The result is that a basic version of the EWS is constructed.

First International Dike Monitoring and Flood Safety Workshop

July 2010

The first UrbanFlood International Dike Monitoring and Flood Safety Workshop will be held in The Netherlands and is planned for Thursday 11^th and Friday 12^th November 2010. The exact venue will be decided soon.

The goals of the workshop are: Sharing of the UrbanFlood project results; learning from others in the field and exchange of knowledge and experience and looking for possibilities to cooperate. Presentations and discussions are grouped under 4 themes: 1. Sensing; 2. ICT; 3. Modelling; and 4. Trials. The workshop will conclude with a plenary discussion titled Towards European Cooperation on Flood Protection. During the breaks UrbanFlood applications will be demonstrated.

UrbanFlood will invite international researchers and practitioners in the fields of ICT and Flood Early Warning, but also prominent flood defence asset managers at policy level, to share their experiences on on-line EWS and smart dikes and discuss the interim results and plans of UrbanFlood. If you recognize yourself in this description then you are most welcome to participate and even to present your work; for registration for the preliminary programme 2010. 

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