Automated Flood Gate System

Project number: 
21101
Sponsor: 
Bard Water District
Academic year: 
2020-2021
Project Goal: Develop an automated irrigation gate system for Bard Water District that adjusts irrigation flood gates remotely via a website and hardware components, providing the ability to cover more than 14,000 acres in crops and millions of dollars in product generation.

Bard Water District employees operate flood gates by hand on site using either an electric motor or by cranking the floodgate open with a lever. Manual floodgate operation creates extra workload. Furthermore, when irrigators close and open their turnout gates without notifying the Bard Water District, it can cause spillage into suburban areas and a lack of water for other irrigators.

In this design, an automated system adjusts floodgates and sends live data to Bard Water District. A group of encoder sensors delivers water-level and gate-position information via a tape, weight and float mechanism. The gate position is adjusted based on processor input with a DC electric motor wired through a series of motor starters. Remote terminal unit processors and VHF radio modems allow the control and transmission of system data.

All of the system’s components are powered with solar energy.

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