The project began in Jan 2015 and involved the replacement of 22 old hydrometric stations and the construction of new ones at strategic locations in the headwater catchments and along the Ok Tedi and Fly River channels.
These stations will monitor and collect hydrometric information needed to support OTML operations such as shipping and the Bige dredge operation.
They will provide hydrometric data such as rainfall, river level, river flow rates, temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction and solar radiation.
Three additional hydrometric stations have been set up and one of those, Ok Birim, is strategically important to OTML operations in terms of providing flood warning to the dredging operation.
The hydrometric services provided by OTML’s environment department is also expected to provide reliable service for at least seven years, safeguard the future quality of hydrometric data collection and allow data users to access real-time data through the company’s intranet and even the internet.
All data transmission, which were previously operated via radio network are now transmitted instantaneously via satellite telemetry system.
Manager environment Jesse Pile said challenges were encountered during the implementation with logistics, manning constraints, unplanned delays and landowner disagreements.
Next :