Monitoring of Water Availability

Using Automated Real-time

Monitoring System (ARMS) To
Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque
Dams Cascade in Luzon Island,
Philippines
Monjardin, Cris Edward F; Uy, Francis Aldrine A.; Tan, Fibor J.; Cruz, Febus Reidj G.
School of Civil, Environmental and Geological Engineering
Mapua University
cefmonjardin@mapua.edu.ph; faauy@mapua.edu.ph; fjtan@mapua.edu.ph;
frgcruz@mapua.edu.ph
Overview
The impacts of the climate change to the
hydrological variability and seasonality have
effects on the storage and management of
reservoirs. Accordingly, effective operation and
management of dams and reservoirs require
reliable real-time estimates of the available water
which can provide valuable information for smart
decision making.
Overview
Constant vigilance, in particular to EXTREME
WEATHER EVENTS such as droughts and
floods, is important as these events are
threat to efficiency to supply water to
various stakeholders.
Measurement of parameters affecting dam
operation such as rainfall, reservoir water
level, inflows and water usage becomes all
the more crucial.
Introduction
The current set-up indicates that
these parameters are measured in
real time by the dam operators.
As efficient as it may appear, these measurements, however, are
manually transmitted in the form of daily measurement to NWRB
and on a quarterly basis. Accordingly, situations particularly
requiring immediate evaluation and decision by the NWRB are not
effectively addressed.
The absence of effective monitoring
could lead to mismanagement.
Possible scenarios/consequences

Dam reaching critical level

Flooding in areas downstream

Dam breach
Objective of The Study
The overall objective of the Project is to provide an automated real-
time monitoring system of measured hydrological and operational
parameters at the dam/reservoir for an accurate assessment of
situation and time critical in decisions during emergency and crisis
management.

Direct beneficiary of the output is NWRB for their effective and

efficient monitoring of the dams and reservoirs in the Philippines for
a sustainable water supply for every Filipino
PROJECT LOCATION
PROJECT LOCATION Ambuklao Dam
Year of Operation: 1956
Purpose: power generation
Installed Capacity: 75MW – updated
105MW

Binga Dam
Year of Operation: 1960
Purpose: power generation
Installed Capacity: 140MW

San Roque Dam

Year of Operation: 2003
Purpose: power generation, irrigation,
flood control
Installed Capacity: 345MW
1st largest in SE Asia
3rd largest in Asia
12th largest in the world
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

To assess and evaluate existing hydrologic

monitoring devices, systems, and monitoring policies
and guidelines of NWRB.

To create hydrological model of the Agno River watershed

considering the three (3) cascading dams.

To design a real-time monitoring system (ARMS) of

wireless sensor network for hydrological parameters

To design and incorporate a data archiving system to

ARMS.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

To recommend improvements in the monitoring

guidelines of NWRB.

To mainstream the system and methodology to the

stakeholders.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Dam Sensor Network Wireless
Reservoir
Water Level Network
Environment
Rain Moisture
Rainfall Gauges Sensors
Evaporation Inflow
Humidity Thermal Pressure
Water Level
Temperature Sensors Sensors Base
Hydrologic
Flow Meter Station
Model
Atmospheric Water Water
Pressure Outflow Level Flow
Data Data
Sensors Sensors
Soil Water Level Storage Visualization
Moisture Flow Meter
 Reservoir Environment
Rainfall Humidity
Temperature Atmospheric
Base
Soil Moisture Pressure Station
Hydrology
Model
Reservoir Reservoir
Remote Remote Data Data
Sensor Sensor SMS/ISP Storage Visualization
Telecommunication
Network
Reservoir Reservoir
Remote Remote
Sensor Sensor

Inflow Dam Outflow

Water Level Water Level Water Level
Flow Meter Flow Meter

Inflow Inflow Dam Dam Outflow Outflow

Remote Remote Remote Remote Remote Remote
Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor

Inflow Inflow Dam Dam Outflow Outflow

Remote Remote Remote Remote Remote Remote
Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor
 RG

RG RG

RG

RG

WLS
WLS

RG

RG

RG
RG

WLS

ARMS
In
NWRB
 METHODOLOGY
1. Literature Review and Assessment of Existing Setup based on World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) guidelines.

2. Development of Automated Real-time Monitoring System

a. Development of the Hydrologic Model in HEC-HMS
i. watershed model
ii. Calibration
iii. Validation
b. Development of Sensors
i. Precipitation Sensors, other sensors (e.g. temperature)
ii. Water level sensors for stream gauge height and for reservoir level
iii. Outflow sensors for the sluice gate, spillway, and power plant discharge intake
METHODOLOGY
2. Development of Automated Real-time Monitoring System (cont’n)
c. Design of sensor network
d. Design of Database archiving system

3. Dam Break Simulation in HEC-RAS

4. Writing of report, policy recommendations and training module.

5. Training of personnel from partner agencies.

EXPECTED OUTPUT

Final output is a more cost-effective Filipino-designed

automated real-time monitoring system that interlinks
wirelessly networks of sensors that are controlled in a
graphical user interface model of the hydrological parameters
of the riverbasin and operational parameters of the
dam/reservoir.
Data to be used
• Rain fall and Water Level Data data
• noah.dost.gov.ph
• fmon.asti.gov.ph
Data to be used
•LiDAR Portal for Archiving and
Distribution (LiPAD)
Data to be used
• LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging
• It has an accuracy of:
• Vertical – 20 cm
• Horizontal – 50 cm
• Pixel size – 1m by 1m
Data to be used
• For Dam Break Scenarios Simulation
• Digital Surface Model
Data to be used
• For Dam Break Scenarios Simulation
• Digital Terrain Model
Wireless Sensor
Network System
 Reservoir Environment
Rainfall Humidity
Temperature Atmospheric
Pressure Base
Soil Moisture Hydrology
Station Model
Reservoir
Remote Reservoir Data Storage Data Visualization
Sensor Remote
Sensor Radio Frequency
Reservoir
Remote Reservoir
Sensor Remote
Sensor

Inflow Dam Outflow

Water Level Water Level Water Level
Flow Meter Flow Meter

Inflow Dam Outflow

Remote Inflow Remote Dam Remote Outflow
Sensor Remote Sensor Remote Sensor Remote
Sensor Sensor Sensor
Inflow Dam Outflow
Remote Inflow Remote Dam Remote Outflow
Sensor Remote Sensor Remote Sensor Remote
Sensor Sensor Sensor
 Reservoir Environment
Rainfall Humidity
Temperature Atmospheric
Pressure Base
Soil Moisture Hydrology
Station
Model
Reservoir Reservoir
Remote Remote Data Storage Data Visualization
Sensor Sensor Radio Frequency

Reservoir Reservoir
Remote Remote
Sensor Sensor

Inflow Dam Outflow

Water Level Water Level Water Level
Flow Meter Flow Meter

Inflow Inflow Dam Dam Outflow Outflow

Remote Remote Remote Remote Remote Remote
Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor

Inflow Inflow Dam Dam Outflow Outflow

Remote Remote Remote Remote Remote Remote
Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor Sensor
Location of ARMS Sensors
Location of ARMS Sensors
Site Network Topology
Hardware Design

All components of these sensor

nodes undergone certification to
ensure the efficiency of the data
gathered and to calibrate it based on
Philippine weather condition. PAG-
ASA a government agency which
offers certification of hydrologic
sensors.
Installed ARMS sensor nodes
NWRB (National Water Resources Board)

Monitoring of water usage is the mandate of NWRB which is

responsible for managing all water resources in the Philippines.
They control and issue permits to different water consumer groups
that aim to use water for economic purposes including dam
operations. Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque dams are all
hydropower plants subjected to monitoring of NWRB.
 All the data on that report
Monitoring Report came from the dam
operators and NWRB as
the monitoring agency
doesn’t have any means to
validate the data.

With the study, having

sensors on site that
transmits data to NWRB
real-time greatly helps
them in monitoring the
water usage in reservoirs.
ARMS Monitoring
ARMS Monitoring
ARMS Monitoring
ARMS Monitoring
Level I access Level II access
ARMS Monitoring NWRB can access and download these data.
Level III access
But all of these can be accessed through the
internet by the public at different restriction
levels. The team provided different levels of
access to categorize the usage of data. For
level 1 access which is for public, all data
shown here are average value of all the
parameters collected on site while for level 2
access is for viewing the data for each sensor
node installed in the area and lastly for the
level 3 access all data could be downloaded
and printed. NWRB decides the level of
access and data distribution
ARMS Monitoring
Hydrologic Models
HEC-HMS model of Ambuklao Watershed
HEC-HMS model of Binga Watershed
HEC-HMS model of San Roque Watershed
Hydraulic Models
Generated XS lines of Ambuklao Watershed
HEC-RAS GIS Geometry data of Ambuklao Watershed
HEC-RAS GIS Geometry data of Ambuklao Watershed
Generated XS lines of Binga Watershed
HEC-RAS GIS Geometry data of Binga Watershed
HEC-RAS GIS Geometry data of Binga Watershed
HEC-RAS GIS Geometry data of Binga Watershed
Sample Run of Dam breach at Ambuklao Dam
Conclusion
• In this study, the researchers came up with a system that can be used
for the monitoring of different hydrologic parameters such as
rainfall, temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, soil moisture
and evaporation. These data are very important in determining
accurately the water availability on site.

• There were ten sensor nodes installed along the Agno watershed.
Data collected by these sensor nodes are very important to NWRB
for them to accurately monitor water usage in the three cascading
dams - Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque - whose main purpose is
hydropower.
Conclusion
• The final output is a more cost-effective Filipino-designed automated real-time monitoring
system that interlinks wirelessly networks of sensors that are controlled in a graphical user
interface model of the hydrological parameters of the riverbasin and operational parameters of
the dam/reservoir.

• Having a real-time data is very important in terms of preparation to whatever effects climate
change might bring, it can help people to adapt to these changes.

• Each quarter, dam operators submit report to NWRB and with ARMS they can validate these
reports and can compare the data written there to the readings of the sensors. With ARMS,
NWRB now monitors remotely the water usage on-site for efficient management of the water
resources.
Reference
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Special Thanks to:
DOST
DOST-PCIEERD
NWRB
Thank You