The Flemish Brabant municipality of Ternat is going to use sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) to combat flooding. Sensors in streams and ditches will be installed to measure water levels. Soon artificial intelligence will analyse the data from the sensors to predict where there is a chance of flooding or drought.
Ternat is cooperating on the project with Sumaqua, an engineering firm from Leuven (Flemish Brabant) that has developed the system and now wants to test it in several municipalities in Flemish Brabant.
Sumaqua’s Tim Franken told VRT News that “Currently numerical data regarding water levels is often spread over different sources of that aren’t all of the same quality. It takes a long time to correlate and analyse the figures. This means that in emergency situations, valuable time is lost”.
AI quickly spots when data is abnormal
Sumaqua is now installing sensors at several location in Flemish Brabant, including Ternat. These sensors will continuously measure the water level in streams and ditches. Artificial intelligence will be used to analyse the figures. This will allow the system to quickly spot when a figure deviates from the norm. The system can be used to warn of floods and droughts.
Alderman Geert De Feyter (local list) is responsible for environmental policy in Ternat. He told VRT News that “Ternat has not been spared from flooding in recent years. We are very happy to be a partner in this project. The idea is to be able to warn residents when there is a chance of flooding. That way they can prepare themselves more quickly”.
The provincial authorities have provided 200,000 euro in financial support for the project. They will examine whether the system can be widely used in the future to deal with water management more efficiently.