Newbury tech startup installs devices to protect Winterbourne residents against flooding

What if there was another way to detect flooding before it strikes?

A technology startup in Newbury may have a solution.

Techncomm Consulting is currently trialing its new flood detection devices in Shaw and Winterbourne – and hopes to eventually install a complete network throughout the district.

It has installed two devices in Winterbourne, located by the bridge and at the entrance to the village, which are now collecting live data monitoring the water levels of the Winterbourne stream and can send flood alerts “within seconds”.

“The issue with flooding is the consequences are a lot more expensive than the prevention,” said Techncomm managing director Bijan Mohandes, adding “you cannot predict something that you’re not monitoring.”

The devices work by shining a laser beam across the surface to detect and measure the changing height of the water overtime.

Device costs vary but can be up to £1,500 per year, including the visual dashboards the company maintains.

Each can operate for several years on battery.

Mr Mohandes, from Shaw, continued: “You can use radars and so on, but we've been using a very simple time of flight sensor, which basically measures a laser bounced off the water and back.

“So, you measure from this laser how far it takes to come back.

“If the water gets above a certain level, it can email you a flood alert, because the sensor is measuring continuously every 15 minutes because it's designed to run off a battery.”

Users can access a dashboard where they can see the rate of change in the flow and height of the river, as well as any warnings about potential flooding.

Techncomm has been developing ‘FloodSense’ for the past six months in Newbury, where it designs and manufactures all its products.

Winterbourne Parish Council dipped into its own funds to purchase the two devices.

Winterbourne flood warden Jill Hoblin, who has lived in the village for more than 14 years, explained the need for the devices: “We can just assess better what we do as a village, if we need to get the council to close the road, or if we need to put some sandbags out.

“The plan is that anybody in the village can look it up at any point in time if they're interested.”

She continued: “It’s very noticeable that the river level doesn’t really drop as much now.

“In the early years we were here, we had a couple of years where the stream was empty.

“We haven’t had that for four or five years now. So, there’s definitely been a change in the way the river’s responding to climate change.”

She added that despite the various defence measures added after the disastrous 2007 floods, some parts of the village are still prone to flooding.

“We do have a bund here, but what it doesn’t do is actually prevent flooding through the village into the road when we have continuous rainfall.

“We still get high levels of water in the Winterbourne stream, which floods into the road.

“The Winterbourne feeds into the Lambourn, but the flood warnings are for the Lambourn Valley and tributaries; they don’t measure the stream levels in Winterbourne.

“So, even though we get those flood alerts, they’re not relevant to what happens in Winterbourne.”

Visit http://www.technocomm-iot.com/fsw to view the live data for Winterbourne.

The Winterbourne stream has also experienced around 261 hours of storm overflow and possible sewage contamination since January 4, according to Thames Water data.

MP for Newbury Lee Dillon called for urgent Government intervention to tackle the rise in sewage pollution incidents caused by the water company earlier this month.

He said: “The rise in sewage pollution is unacceptable, and it’s clear that Thames Water cannot meet its obligations.

“Our chalk streams are unique and essential to the local ecosystem, yet they are being poisoned by raw sewage. Enough is enough.”

Mr Dillon further called for Thames Water to be placed into special administration.