Pumps with IoT sensors: How BMC is planning to tackle waterlogging in Mumbai
According to civic officials, it was the non-functionality of a majority of dewatering pumps that led to waterlogging and flooding in Mumbai on May 26.
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This year, the BMC has installed 514 pumps across locations in the island city as well as the suburbs.
(File Photo)With the May 26 flooding serving as a wake-up call, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to install Internet of Things (IoT) sensors on the dewatering pumps being set up in low-lying areas in the island city.
Every year, ahead of the monsoon, the civic body identifies low-lying areas and installs dewatering pumps there.
This year, the BMC has installed 514 pumps across locations in the island city as well as the suburbs.
These pumps channel out the accumulated water from a particular area to the nearby drainage outlets and creeks.
On May 26, following a heavy spell of rain, Mumbai almost came to a standstill due to waterlogging.
Civic officials attributed this to the non-functionality of a majority of the water pumps.
“Last year, in one such incident at Mumbai’s Chunabhatti, we saw that despite pumps being installed in a particular area, there was huge flooding. Later, during our investigation, we found out that the pumps were fully ready, but the contractor responsible for operating the pumps did not turn them on, and this led to severe waterlogging in the area. Therefore, as a preventive measure against such incidents, we are installing sensors in the dewatering pumps,” Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Projects, told The Indian Express.
How will the sensors work?
The IoT sensors will be motion-based and will be installed on the belts of the pumps.
These belts record a high-speed motion whenever a pump is turned on, and the sensors will be able to detect when a pump is switched on from the motion of the belt.
Close to the pump, a receptor will be placed by the civic authorities, which will record the signals sent by the sensor.
This receptor will transmit the recorded data from the sensor, which will have IoT chips in it, and transmit the data to the civic body’s war room.
“The sensors are motion-based devices. They will record the time when the pump is switched on and will transmit information about the entire duration for which the pump operates. So, for example, if rainfall starts at 11 am, we can clearly identify when the operator has switched on the pump and whether he did that on time. Any delay in operation will be caught as a result…these pumps will also increase accountability amongst the contractors,” Bangar added.
Officials said that by the end of this week, sensors will be installed in as many as 100 pumps and by the end of the next few weeks, the numbers will be augmented.
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