Sensors Prevent Flooding Of City Streets

By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels February 21, 2023 2 minutes

The Israeli Police saving citizens from the destruction of flash floods in 2020. Courtesy Israel Police

An Israeli city is installing wireless sensors in its drainage systems to prevent flash floods.

They track the water level and send an alert if there’s a blockage or danger of flooding.

The sensors are providing the municipality of Herzliya, in central Israel, with constant updates on what’s happening in its underground drainage system.

The wireless network was established by SMBIT, a communications technology company that serves Israeli businesses, municipalities and educational systems. Until now, the technology has only been tested in New York.

A photo of the advanced sensors. Courtesy SMBIT

“Herzliya is a smart city, and is among the leading cities in Israel,” said Moshe Padlon, the mayor of the city.

“The municipality invests many resources in technology and computing, and we are continuing to take steps to improve the quality of life of the residents.

“The sensor initiative for monitoring the level of the drainage in the city is another layer to improve the quality of life of the residents, and has not been done before in the country.”

Israel experiences a number of flash floods every winter, and at present has few resources to prevent them from happening.

In January 2020, Tel Aviv experienced 74mm of rainfall within two hours – around 20 percent of its annual rainfall – and two people drowned after heavy rain flooded the elevator in their apartment building.

And in 2018, 10 Israeli teens died in a flash flood while hiking in the Judean Desert during a school trip.

The director of Herzliya’ information systems department, Amir Ziv, said: “This is another innovative and unique project in Israel and in the world, which adds value to the municipal operating system, to improving service to residents and branding Herzliya as a particularly sophisticated and innovative city.”