HOBOKEN – With the installation of 15 new flooding monitoring units throughout Hoboken, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said on Wednesday morning that the city will now be able to detect flooding events and gather data in real time.
Fifteen new manhole covers with sensors attached were installed in the city of Hoboken earlier this month, and Zimmer, joined by Luis Montestruque, president of Indiana based EmNet, showed off one new sensor on Garden Street between First and Second. The sensors are installed underneath manholes, and can detect when water is rising in the area in order to determine the flow of the water throughout the city.
Montestruque said the installation couldn’t have come at a better time, as it’s the “beginning of the rain season,” and the city will be able to see the system in action.
The data is monitored by EmNet, and they are working with the city and the North Hudson Sewerage Authority to collect analysis, according to Zimmer.
A similar system has been installed in Manhattan to detect steam, according to Montestruque. The sensors can also be moved if it’s determined that enough data has been gathered in one location.
Zimmer said she hopes to address the flooding solution by “going green,” and sees this as one way to fix the problem.
The plan is to monitor the data for one year, but the hardware is owned by the city.
The City Council unanimously approved funding for the new sensors on June 16, 2010, for $165,525. Professional services by EmNet and analysis for a period of one year with an option to extend were included in the resolution. — Ray Smith
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