River Sentry Project RIVER SHIELD GUADALUPE commences! (Part Nine)

-

Over the holidays, River Sentry formally committed to installing 100 flood warning towers along the Guadalupe in Kerr County before campers return this summer. The project is privately funded by donors and an association of youth camps that is represented by Camp Mystic.

River Shield will encompass both the North Fork, South Fork, Honey Creek, and Turtle Creek with the goal of providing localized flood warning protection for all youth camps in the area. After the installation is complete, River Sentry will also build a mobile app that will allow the public, including camp parents, to see the location and status of all sensors located along the rivers. This is expected to be launched later this year.

“This is to build trust” River Sentry Founder and CEO Ian Cunningham explains. “We are building the most advanced and capable collection of flood warning systems that exists anywhere. We want people to see it, understand it, and if desired, interact with it.”

The River Sentry design is unique in the flood warning space. The plan includes enveloping “at-risk” camps with a perimeter layer of water detection coupled with audio and light warning systems. These towers will also emit wireless signals to alert downstream towers of impending danger. We utilize only storm-resilient technologies that do not rely on cellular, internet, or the power grid as a primary warning solution. Additionally, we remain hyper-focused on effectively rousing people from their sleep through fire alarm-like sirens, should danger strike in the middle of the night.

Project River Sheld is also unique in that it involves private installations that serve the greater public good. The technology installed at each camp emits wireless warning signals for miles downriver. River Sentry has designed residential warning devices to provide alarms to downstream homes and businesses. These will also be available later this year.

“The current goal is to complete all tower installations and deploy a controller mobile application by April 30th. This is purposeful in that we want it here and providing protection before the summer campers arrive” Ian further explains.

The installations have already begun, with ongoing progress at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, Camp La Junta and the Vistas Camps on the South Fork. MoRanch, Camp Stewart, Heart of the Hills, and Camp Waldemar are soon to follow on the North Fork, along with Camp Honey Creek for Girls. You may learn more about the sites and ongoing installation plans here: https://riversentry.com/sites.html.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

River Sentry: Will the New Sirens Work? (Part Two)

-
Image
The new Texas SB3 legislation calls for installation of sirens. What is their purpose? Flood tragedies and nighttime have a deadly relationship. Approximately 75% of the flood deaths happen at night. Exclude low water crossings and this jumps to 80%. Like a volatile fire triangle, flood tragedies feature a three-ingredient chain: sleep, proximity, and rising water. To prevent the horrors, we must break the chain.   Mother nature owns rising water, and proximity cannot be affected if one is resting so you must attack sleep first. Will the sirens do it? Commercial Fire Code NFPA 72 Section 18.4.5.1 requires an alarm minimum of 75 Decibels (dB) in each sleeping space. A typical city siren produces around 130 dB. Only 500 feet away, heavy rain absorption, loss over distance, and structure insulation lower the level toward 58 dB, far lower than fire code and unlikely to wake anybody. The new legislation defined these as outdoor sirens so perhaps that’s expected but if so, where is t...
Read more

River Sentry: Fire Code in the Flood Domain (Part One)

-
Image
It’s 2 AM. You are sound asleep on the fifth floor of your hotel when a fire breaks out. The danger is immediate. The escape window is limited. How do we solve for alerting in this time critical scenario? Do we utilize distant city sirens unlikely to generate sufficient decibel levels to wake up those indoors? How about SMS text warnings to guest phones that may be silenced? Fire code dismisses any such remedies. Loud alarms are required in each room as are lighted egress paths. It makes sense, one must be awake and moving to escape. Before that escape can occur, timely detection of the danger must quickly and accurately occur. Fire alarms use smoke and heat detection to autonomously activate. How do we bring such autonomy to flash flood warning?   River Sentry philosophy utilizes perimeter warning sensors to detect rising water as it approaches. The sensor methodology differs but the desired effect is the same. Get up and get out! We can further examine the flood warning chall...
Read more