Real-Time Flow Monitoring in a Large Scale Water Management System

This paper presents the linkages between three essential components of real time flow monitoring in south Florida: the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, the hydrodynamic model used to estimate discharge (FLOW), and the corporate database for archiving hydrologic data (DBHYDRO). Water resource assessment in South Florida involves flow computation at more than 400 major water control structures consisting of spillways, weirs, pumps, culverts and combination structures. The water control structures are spread over an area of about 46,600 square kilometers (18,000 square miles) in 16 counties, extending from south of Orlando to the Florida Keys. A network of canals and levees, with a total length of about 2,896 kilometers (1,800 miles), control surface water flow that is characterized by reversals of hydraulic gradient and direction due to low and flat relief. FLOW determines magnitude and direction of discharge through control structures and open channels, incorporating real time hydrodynamic data from remote sites and static parameters extracted from DBHYDRO. Daily flows, archived in DBHYDRO, provide historical records for decision making on flood control, water quality enhancement, water supply planning, and ecosystem restoration. Flow values in one- to fifteen-minute intervals provide vital information for real-time operation of major control structures and the regional water storage system. Instantaneous data are also used for real-time, automatic flow-proportional water quality sampling. A data quality improvement process is in place, involving discharge-rating evaluation, field data collection, and calibration of flow equations. The reliability of flow data has improved significantly as a result of the process.