Water Level Monitoring and Flood Warning System using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Sensor with Hybrid Renewable Solar-Wind Power

This paper describes the design and implementation of a water level monitoring and flood warning system using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) as a water level sensor. The integration of hybrid solar-wind renewable power supply is also included in this paper. The developed system was installed at Bucayao Bridge in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. The system used a floater object, enclosed in a heavy-duty plastic mat, as a reflector of light pulses from the LiDAR sensor. During a 5-day observation period, in which red rainfall warning was raised at the test site in Calapan City, the water level monitoring system measured a maximum height of water at 4.52 m. Whereas, during good weather conditions, the system water level measurements were only around 0.28 m to 0.44 m. The algorithms were embedded in microcontrollers and made it possible for the system to provide early flood warnings via short message service (SMS) and siren. The maximum output power of the wind turbine was detected at around 6:00 PM with 370 W at a wind speed of 5.56 m/s. While the high output power of the solar panel was recorded from noontime until around 3:00 PM with 290 W to 320 W. The hybrid solar-wind power produced a maximum of 454.97 W when the weather was mostly clear and windy. The combined output power of solar panel and wind turbine met the daily power requirement of the water level monitoring and flood warning system.