August 24, 2001 — Sutron Corporation, a provider of real-time water monitoring systems, has signed a contract with PacifiCorp of Portland, Oregon, to help the utility company comply with Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) licensing regulations.
PacifiCorp operates a network of canals that withdraw water from the North Umpqua River and its tributaries near Toketee Lake. Water in the canals passes through a series of turbines to generate power. On July 19th of 2000 PacifiCorp agreed to monitor the flow in the canals and the flow in the river and its tributaries to assure water rights compliance. PacifiCorp has undertaken a two-phase project to meet the OWRD agreement. In the first phase, a set of four stream gauging stations will be established on the main canals. In the second phase a real-time telemetry network will be established using LOS, line-of-site radio.
Additional monitoring stations will be added on the North Umpqua and its tributaries. Data from all the sites will be brought to PacifiCorp's Toketee Control Center in real time. There the data will be available to system operators. The system will produce daily water usage reports, compare water usage in real time to minimum and maximum allowable flows, and alert operators if violations occur. Sutron has designed the system, will provide all equipment and software for the system, will install the system, and then train PacificCorp employees for maintenance and operation.
The contract for the first phase of the project with PacifiCorp, valued at $190,034, has begun, and the second phase, budgeted at over $500,000, is expected later this year.
Sutron is also a supplier of real-time environmental remote monitoring and control systems for several Federal Agencies, including the US Geological Survey, the National Ocean Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Weather Service.
To learn more about Sutron visit their web site at www.sutron.com.
