Visualization and control of the flood protection system for underpasses in Istanbul, Turkey

December 3, 2013 | Reliance SCADA

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey with a population of nearly 14 million. There are over 7.5 million cars registered in Istanbul, which results in many traffic jams. To overcome the traffic problems, 62 underpasses were built on Istanbul's major roads. The underpasses are mostly equipped with a system designed to automatically pump rainwater that leaks into the underpasses during rainy days.

In spring and fall, when Istanbul gets heavy rains, some of the underpasses get flooded. The reasons why the pumping systems fail are electricity problems, jammed pipes, broken pumps, etc. In situations when an underpass is flooded, it can be very dangerous for people in cars to go through it. All this is the result of the fact that there's no system for the remote control and monitoring of the underpasses.

To prevent such disasters from happening, the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (İSKİ) decided to install a remote control and alarm system to all critical underpasses and control them from one place via a dedicated automation system.

A photo of a flooded underpass

The main requirements for the system

Remote control capabilities for motors and pumps
Continuous monitoring of the water level height
Getting security information, such as motor-and-pump room door positions
Capacity to integrate all underpasses into one system
Short response time
Reliability and robustness

Halıcı Elektronik Ltd. Şti., a partner of GEOVAP and a reseller of its products in Turkey, contacted İSKİ to present a solution with Reliance SCADA that fullfills all the requirements and, in addition, is able to:

Send text messages to responsible people when the water height reaches critical levels
Control all equipment in the underpasses using computers and smartphones
View all underpasses on a single visualization window
Integrate IP cameras to monitor the underpasses remotely

After testing the solution, the customer decided to use Reliance and order the remote control system for 3 of their underpasses, the automation system, and Reliance 4 Server.

Halıcı Elektronik Ltd. Şti. was responsible for the manufacture of automation panels that consist of the following parts:

A 3G/GPRS modem with an antenna for communication
A PLC with digital and analog inputs from level meters and switches with the possibility of automatic and remote control
A UPS power supply with 3-hour backup time for the modem and PLC

An automation panel mounted in a control cabinet

The panels were installed in the underpasses after they were manufactured. All level sensors and switches from the rainwater tanks, the motor and pump switches, and the security door switches were connected to the PLC's I/O cards. Meanwhile, the Reliance 4 Server module was installed on a control PC equipped with Windows and connected to the Internet. After testing the functionality of the entire system, wireless communication between the PLC panels and Reliance 4 Server was established via the 3G/GPRS modem. Subsequently, the customer's staff members were trained by Halıcı Elektronik.

The Reliance system allows the operators to display all important data from the underpasses through a detailed single-line diagram. The entire system can work in both automatic and manual mode. The best thing is that each staff member can view the Reliance control screen on any PC or smartphone from anywhere and through a secure connection.

One of the underpasses protected by the Reliance SCADA system

The main advantage of using Reliance is that it allows the customer to monitor and control the current rainwater level in the critical underpasses and to be notified of any dangerous situations by alarm text messages.

So far, the underpass flood protection system has exceeded all expectations of the customer. Since its establishment, several light showers have come through Istanbul, after which one of the underpasses was in danger of flooding. An alarm text message was immediately sent to all operational and security staff, which had enough time to protect the underpass from flooding.

A control and automation project created with the Reliance SCADA system both allows the operator to control an underpass remotely and serves as an alarm and emergency system.