Extreme weather events are occurring more and more frequently, with severe consequences for people and the environment. They bring floods, storms, and cause sea levels to rise. Now Deutsche Telekom, together with water data specialist divirod, is offering municipalities and companies digital solutions that provide information and warnings about water risks. For this purpose, digital sensors record water levels in reservoirs and rivers, monitor coastlines, and measure hazardous rain and snow accumulation on roofs. The solutions have already been proven globally: for example, divirod sensors are collecting water data in risk areas such as Florida as a precaution against floods, while they’re also protecting cultural heritage in Venice. In other locations in the US and Europe, essential data is collected to help allocate scarce drinking water in reservoirs and dams.
The cost of water disasters can run into billions of dollars. With the joint solution offered by Deutsche Telekom and divirod, critical infrastructure and assets can be protected, along with the additional safety to human lives. At the same time, resilience – the ability to withstand water disasters – is increased.
“As we have seen very dramatically in Germany this year, water disasters can affect us all. With the digital solution from divirod and Deutsche Telekom, water levels can be tracked continuously, precisely, and completely automatically. The data obtained can be used to visualize the long-term effects of climate change. The technology helps us to think and act with foresight so that, in the best case, disasters can be avoided, or their impacts reduced,” says Dennis Nikles, Managing Director of Deutsche Telekom IoT GmbH.
The Internet of Things helps to protect the climate
Divirod’s sensors collect water data around the world and around the clock. They record water levels, tides, snow, ice and rain. The sensors are equipped with Deutsche Telekom SIM cards that transmit the data via the worldwide Deutsche Telekom network (LTE-M, Long Term Evolution for Machines) to divirod’s cloud. Customers receive local, individual water data, to which they subscribe annually, and according to consumption (Data as a Service, DaaS). There are no investment costs, because divirod operates and maintains its worldwide sensors. Deutsche Telekom now also offers divirod’s services in its solutions portfolio.
LTE-M is specially designed for connectivity for applications on the Internet of Things (IoT) and is 5G-ready. It features low latency, low power consumption and high indoor availability. LTE-M is available in over 17 countries through Deutsche Telekom. With AT&T also in the USA and via NTT DoCoMo in Japan. Deutsche Telekom’s network is continuously being expanded. If connectivity via LTE-M is not possible, 2G or LTE is used.
Resilience against water disasters
Javier Marti, founder and CEO of divirod, commented, “Existing models lack sufficient water data for accurate risk prediction. We are working to build the most complete database of water data. Our satellite-based network provides precise measurement data in real-time. Given the comparability and granularity of the data, we can provide the most up-to-date assessment of any water risk at any time. Our technology is highly scalable, cost-effective and can be deployed globally. We can achieve resilience when we can respond intelligently and sustainably to climate change challenges. Water data is key to rapid response, medium-term decision-making and long-term planning.”
Monitoring water
Conventional methods of measuring water levels are often manual, time-consuming, high-maintenance and costly, and subject to environmental influences. They are comparatively inaccurate to a real-time digitized solution, and therefore do not provide the most reliable data possible. The solution from divirod and Deutsche Telekom can measure and predict water risks of all kinds – an impending river flood, a dangerous reservoir drought, or the collapse of a flat roof under the weight of excessive water or snow. The data can therefore enable highly informed water risk mitigation decisions like never before.
Protecting roofs
The “divirod RoofWatch” was developed for the PropTech, Real Estate industry. It monitors roofs of commercial properties or large warehouses 24 hours a day. The sensor alerts when there is too much water, snow or ice on the roof. This minimizes the risk of collapse and increases building safety. The technology also detects congestion in drains at an early stage. Cost savings and increased safety from replacing manual inspection aside, damage inside and outside the facility can be avoided, and operational risks are reduced.
Monitoring coasts
Tidal waves and global sea level rise threaten coastal areas. The damage to property owners, businesses and critical infrastructure can be severe, as are the economic consequences. With existing technologies, prevention and protection measures are limited. The digital solution monitors coasts and collects data on tidal waves, strong wave activity and possible coastal erosion. Sensors on the coast calculate when a flood will hit the land. This data can be used to implement, prove, and demonstrate asset protection measures to insurance companies, financial institutions and municipalities.
