City of Melbourne manages a network of stormwater drainage assets valued at more than $140 million. This consists of 365 kilometres of underground drains, 22,000 drainage pits, 90 pollutants traps, 8 pump stations and 6 stormwater harvesting systems.

With ageing infrastructure and impacts of climate change, we face challenges on how we maintain this network today and into the future.

We are piloting a stormwater sensing project to help us adapt to changing weather patterns.

This project is a key initiative in our ongoing efforts to optimize the management of our complex drainage network.

Using sensors in our stormwater network can significantly improve asset management and enhance our approach to stormwater management across the city, which in turn leads to a more resilient and sustainable city. For example, data collected from sensors can be used to predict when and where maintenance is needed, reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of infrastructure. Also, accurate and timely data enable better decision-making regarding infrastructure upgrades and resource allocation.

Sensors and data collection are revolutionising how cities handle stormwater. By deploying these tools, we can gain real-time insights into our stormwater systems. This allows:

  • A proactive annual program of drainage upgrades and renewal works supported by real-time data to improve capacity of pipes, drains and pump stations.
  • Understand the behaviour of the drainage infrastructure especially the drains closer to major Rivers or bay by monitoring backwater effect or tidal impact.
  • Optimised maintenance - sensors can pinpoint leaks and areas needing repair, saving time and money on unnecessary inspections.
  • More intelligent resource allocation - data analysis can help us understand how rain moves through the city. This can help targeted infrastructure improvements in the most stressed areas.

News

Timeline

  • Timeline item 1 - complete

    Site prioritisation and sensor selection

    March 2024 to May 2024

  • Timeline item 2 - complete

    Sensor procurement and first round of sensor installation at 10 locations

    May 2024

  • Timeline item 3 - complete

    Second round of sensors installation at 20 additional locations

    July 2024

  • Timeline item 4 - active

    Data collection period

    July 2024

  • Timeline item 5 - incomplete

    Data dashboard published

    August 2024

  • Timeline item 6 - incomplete

    Data analysis and review

How the sensors work

We are trialling different types of sensors to measure water, debris, and sludge levels as well as blocked drains in our stormwater network. The image below shows how these sensors work. For more information, please see “The Technology” tab.

Diagram showing how the stormwater sensors work.

Sensor locations

Select each spot to see an image of the sensor location.

The details

Managing our stormwater assets is crucial for mitigating flood risks, preserving water quality, and maintaining the resilience of urban infrastructure. Traditional stormwater management approaches rely on static infrastructure and manual interventions, which need to be revised to address the challenges of increasingly frequent and intense weather events.

We are leveraging sensors and data analytics to offer a transformative solution and enhancing our stormwater management practices. By using sensors to collect real-time data and derive actionable insights, we can gain unprecedented visibility into our stormwater systems.

Data collected from this project provides insights into issues that:

  • Can enhance flood prediction capabilities through the analysis of stormwater levels.
  • Study blockage and capacity of existing main drainage system.
  • Study the impact of backwater effects on drainage infrastructure from rivers and bay.
  • Understand the functionality of the existing main drainage system in a flood situation.
  • Monitor and proactive maintenance of the drainage system before extreme flood events.
  • Test the functionality of already constructed flood mitigation systems. E.g. Lincoln Square flood mitigation system, pump stations and litter traps.

These sensors are like real-time eyes and ears in our drainage system. They continuously monitor water levels and debris build-up within the system. Early detection of blockages enables us to prepare and mitigate flooding and protect our infrastructure and community.

The results may lead to a change in the type of sensors used or their locations to collect more useful data. These details will be shared here.

Stay tuned and revisit this page as we continue to update it with project details.

The technology

  • Water level in stormwater system
  • Debris level in stormwater system
  • Drainage blockage
  • Sludge level in in stormwater system

Sensors can pinpoint problem areas with excess debris or blockage. This targeted information has many advantages. It allows for prioritising repairs, saving time and resources compared to blanket inspections. Access to accurate and up-to-date stormwater data empowers decision-makers to make informed choices about infrastructure investments, emergency response strategies, and long-term resilience planning. It ensures effective allocation of resources. Sensors can help to better understand the function of the drainage network.

Sensors use low power wide area networks or LoRaWAN to send the data. The data is sent to City of Melbourne’s Azure data lake.

The data is used by City of Melbourne to design, plan and maintain the stormwater system. It will also be used to understand the opportunities and impacts.

This data is stored permanently for any possible future analysis and for records.

Emerging Technology Testbed