Remote sensing tech: Telemetry system installed at PCRWR
Project will serve as flood early-warning system, help gauge water quantity
Nullah Leh near Gawalmandi Bridge. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVAID/EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
In a first, a supervisory control and data acquisition telemetry system has been installed at the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) to monitor real time water flow in Lower Bari Doab Canal -- one of the major canals in Punjab.
Indus Telemetry is a pilot project that will also work as a flood early-warning system and serve as an effective instrument to gauge water quantity being flown to provinces and rivers for improved decision-making.
The system was inaugurated on Wednesday by Federal Minister of Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussian who was later briefed about the one-year performance of the PCRWR.
Pakistan risks running its water resources dry
Talking to The Express Tribune, an official working closely on the project said: “Currently, Pakistan lacks a system that can provide updates on water flow in rivers every second.”
The Indus Telemetry is a collaborative research partnership of the PCRWR, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pakistan and Hydra Consulting Services, said the official. Using the remote sensing technology, he added, the flow of canals could easily be measured at the PCRWR headquarters in Islamabad.
The official said the telemetry system would monitor water flow in the canal every second, helping to gather exact and accurate data.
“Given the pace with which Pakistan has been facing the impact of climate change, there is a dire need to have an upgraded and new technology to monitor weather patterns and water flows in rivers. Therefore, the new system will help the departments concerned to issue early warnings and keep a track of them,” he said.
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More such telemetry systems will be installed on various rivers or even at glaciers to determine the water flow.
“Currently, Pakistan has no proper system to gather or to find out how much amount of water goes into rivers from the melting glaciers,” said the official.
In a first, a supervisory control and data acquisition telemetry system has been installed at the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) to monitor real time water flow in Lower Bari Doab Canal -- one of the major canals in Punjab.
Indus Telemetry is a pilot project that will also work as a flood early-warning system and serve as an effective instrument to gauge water quantity being flown to provinces and rivers for improved decision-making.
The system was inaugurated on Wednesday by Federal Minister of Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussian who was later briefed about the one-year performance of the PCRWR.
Pakistan risks running its water resources dry
Talking to The Express Tribune, an official working closely on the project said: “Currently, Pakistan lacks a system that can provide updates on water flow in rivers every second.”
The Indus Telemetry is a collaborative research partnership of the PCRWR, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pakistan and Hydra Consulting Services, said the official. Using the remote sensing technology, he added, the flow of canals could easily be measured at the PCRWR headquarters in Islamabad.
The official said the telemetry system would monitor water flow in the canal every second, helping to gather exact and accurate data.
“Given the pace with which Pakistan has been facing the impact of climate change, there is a dire need to have an upgraded and new technology to monitor weather patterns and water flows in rivers. Therefore, the new system will help the departments concerned to issue early warnings and keep a track of them,” he said.
Indus Waters Treaty: Held ‘constructive’ talks with Pakistan: WB chief
More such telemetry systems will be installed on various rivers or even at glaciers to determine the water flow.
“Currently, Pakistan has no proper system to gather or to find out how much amount of water goes into rivers from the melting glaciers,” said the official.