IOT News

As safety operation requirements for reservoir dams in China continue to rise, the traditional safety monitoring model—largely reliant on manual inspections—can no longer meet the needs of modern reservoir management. On one hand, there are approximately 95,000 reservoir dams of various types across the country, most of which have entered an aging phase. Hidden hazards such as seepage and deformation in dam bodies are difficult to detect with the naked eye. On the other hand, reservoir management generally faces common challenges: wide geographic distribution, scattered sites, long patrol lines, and limited staffing. Manual inspections are physically demanding, provide incomplete coverage, and become particularly difficult under extreme weather conditions, making it impossible to achieve round‑the‑clock, all‑weather safety monitoring.

To address these challenges, WideIOT offers a reservoir dam remote monitoring and automatic alarm system solution based on hydrologic and hydrographic gateways (RTUs). This solution helps shift the management model from "passive response" to "proactive prevention," and from "experience‑based judgment" to "data‑driven decision‑making."

The solution deploys hydrologic gateway (RTU) devices that connect to key monitoring instruments installed at critical dam locations—such as piezometers, extensometers, joint meters, strain gauges, water level sensors, GNSS displacement monitoring stations, and video cameras. The gateways collect real‑time data on seepage, deformation, displacement, water level, and video images, and transmit this data to a central monitoring and management platform. The platform provides core functions including remote monitoring, automatic alerting, data analytics, and maintenance management, establishing a closed‑loop management system that spans the entire chain: sensing → transmission → analysis → early warning → response.

Key Features

1. The gateway offers abundant RS485/RS232 serial ports, Ethernet ports, and I/O interfaces, enabling seamless integration with internal dam monitoring instruments such as piezometers, extensometers, joint meters, and unidirectional strain gauges, as well as external sensing devices like water level gauges, rain gauges, GNSS displacement monitoring stations, and video cameras—allowing for fully automated data collection.

2. The gateway supports mainstream protocol parsing used in the hydrologic sector, efficiently collecting core safety indicators including seepage pressure, seepage flow, displacement and deformation, tilt and vibration, reservoir water level, and rainfall. Equipped with edge computing capabilities, it can filter, calibrate, and standardize raw data, laying a solid data foundation for remote monitoring and safety assessment.

3. The gateway features store‑and‑forward (data caching during network interruptions), multi‑network backup, and automatic reconnection functionality. It supports multiple communication methods including 5G, 4G, Wi‑Fi, and Ethernet. When the primary network fails, it automatically switches to a backup communication link. If the network is temporarily disconnected, data is cached locally and automatically retransmitted once connectivity is restored, ensuring zero data loss.

4. The management system uses a GIS electronic map as its base layer, providing an intuitive visual display of real‑time data and historical trend curves for all monitoring points at each reservoir dam, covering key indicators such as seepage, deformation, displacement, water level, and rainfall. The platform supports a multi‑tier uation framework—from individual measuring points, to projects, to structural sections, and finally to the entire dam object. When monitoring data triggers preset alarm thresholds, the system automatically identifies the location of the potential hazard and issues graded alerts.

5. The system supports customizable alarm strategies and multi‑level thresholds. When critical conditions are detected—such as excessive dam displacement, abnormal seepage, or water levels exceeding warning limits—the system automatically sends alarm notifications to responsible personnel via SMS, WeChat, email, and other channels. This enables a shift from "reactive emergency repair" to "proactive early warning." Alert messages are delivered directly to managers' mobile devices, ensuring rapid response and timely action.

6. The system features a one‑to‑many data distribution capability. Based on standard hydrologic communication protocols, it can automatically and periodically report analyzed monitoring data to provincial, municipal, and county‑level water resource regulatory platforms. This supports a wide range of operational needs, including dam safety reporting, operational status assessment, flood control emergency decision‑making, and law enforcement evidence collection, thereby providing robust data support and decision‑making foundations for the entire lifecycle safety management of reservoir dams.