BridgeBox System helps track flooding in real time

Clemson University and the South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) are working to launch a new system to track floods and monitor water levels in real time.

The system uses sensors called BridgeBoxes. These sensors give instant updates during storms and dry weather. They work with the U.S. Geological Survey to give a clear view of flood risks.

Each BridgeBox is about 5 inches by 6 inches and is placed on bridges and other structures. The devices measure water levels every six minutes using radar. They send the data to a cloud system that public agencies can access. Each box runs on a battery that lasts more than two years.

The BridgeBoxes are part of the University’s Intelligent River program. The team is installing 125 boxes in the Upper Savannah River and Upper Saluda River watersheds.

“These sensors will help fill the gaps in flood data and give the public and emergency workers better information,” said project co-developer Christopher Post, a Clemson professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation.

Post worked on the project with Syed Mohammad Ovais, the lead engineer for the Intelligent River program. These sensors can help track water on roads, in reservoirs and in tidal areas.

A $300,000 grant from SCOR funds this project. It supports the Office’s goal to reduce the harm disasters cause to people and communities in South Carolina by improving the data used to understand risks from natural hazards.

SCOR’s South Carolina 2023 Strategic Statewide Resilience and Risk Reduction Plan suggests using better tools and systems to help with water planning, flood forecasting and estimating how often floods might happen.

“This project helps improve water level tracking across watersheds,” said Bryan Rabon, SCOR’s data coordination manager. “It strengthens our ability to plan for floods and protect communities.”

The project aligns with SCOR’s mission: “To lessen the impact of disasters on the communities and citizens of South Carolina by enhancing the data used to understand hazard risks.”

The developers said the BridgeBox system is one step toward helping South Carolina prepare for extreme weather and build stronger, more resilient communities. Resilience, as defined by SCOR, is “…the ability of communities, economies and ecosystems to anticipate, absorb, recover and thrive when presented with environmental change and natural hazards.”

-END-