News

Flood monitoring - early warning systems for flood risk reduction

February 25, 2025
Products Images Contacts
Flood monitoring - early warning systems for flood risk reduction-0

Last year, Latvia experienced exceptionally heavy rainfall. We recall the floods in Jelgava municipality, where precipitation levels significantly exceeded previous records, even those dating back to 1945. Similarly, the Jēkabpils floods in 2023 served as a crucial indicator of the need to implement or modernize contemporary monitoring systems capable of early warning about potential flood threats and protecting properties.

Table of Contents

This year, as spring approaches, the issues of heavy rainfall, rising groundwater levels, and flooding risks in building basements become increasingly pertinent. Buildings with insufficient waterproofing are at a higher risk of damage, which can lead to costly repairs and even impact human safety.

To avoid unforeseen losses and ensure timely response, solutions involving flood monitoring systems that utilize sensors and automatic signal transmitters are recommended.

Contact, Signal, Action

A flood monitoring system is fundamentally composed of three main elements:

  1. Sensors that detect the presence of liquid or rising levels
  2. Relay that registers the sensor's activation
  3. Actuator that responds to the relay's signal.

ZTF Lāsma's product range includes various types of sensors, control relays, and actuators, allowing for the implementation of such solutions in different ways and approaches. Let's consider two simple examples.

Building Spaces

In building spaces prone to flooding, electrodes are installed. They can be placed on the floor or mounted on the wall at floor level. If the floor is sloped, the electrodes should be positioned at the lowest point to detect the presence of liquid as quickly as possible. When liquid appears, a contact circuit forms between the electrodes, triggering the level relay, which sends a signal to subsequent system devices—informative and responsive. Informative system elements can include an alarm sound/light signaling device or a GSM device that sends an alert notification to a phone via SMS or email, or a combination of these devices. The essential aspect is that the person is informed about the sensor's activation. The responsive system can be based on, for example, a water pump that activates when the level relay triggers, or a contactor that disconnects power supply to prevent a short circuit.

Industrial Facilities

In industrial facilities with multiple control points, the system can be made more complex by compiling data into a SCADA system, enhancing the monitoring system with, for instance, relative humidity sensors. Such solutions can also be used in warehouses or production areas where liquids are stored in tanks or containers, providing timely warnings about leaks and reducing product losses.

Households

A simpler solution for households is the leak detection tool available in Lāsma's product range—the Lascar Wireless Alert Leak Detector. Its operating principle is identical to the aforementioned: liquid creates a signal circuit between the electrodes, sending a signal to the device. The Lascar leak detector is a device that connects to the home Wi-Fi network and is powered by two 1.5V batteries. In the event of a leak, a notification is received from the Lascar cloud service FilesThruTheAir about the sensor's activation. Since receiving email notifications on a phone is easily configurable nowadays, response to notifications can be as swift as in the case of SMS.


Flood monitoring systems are tools that help protect property by preventing unforeseen losses. The described solutions outline methods of how modern technologies can effectively prevent water leaks and ensure timely response in critical situations.

Learn more about specific solutions that suit your facility and requirements by contacting our engineers.

Products
HRH5
Code: HRH5
In stock: 5+ pcs In stock: 0 (on request)
36.25 EUR (w/o VAT)
SHR2
Code: SHR2
In stock: 5+ pcs In stock: 0 (on request)
8.40 EUR (w/o VAT)
ALERTLD
Code: ALERTLD
In stock: 5 pcs In stock: 0 (on request)
42.50 EUR (w/o VAT)
MY2SR0MG
Code: MY2SR0MG
In stock: 2 pcs In stock: 0 (on request)
340.00 EUR (w/o VAT)
MY2BR0MB
Code: MY2BR0MB
In stock: 1 pcs In stock: 0 (on request)
300.00 EUR (w/o VAT)
BALARM
Code: BALARM
In stock: 1 pcs In stock: 0 (on request)
180.00 EUR (w/o VAT)
Contact the manager
Juris Vuškāns
Juris Vuškāns
Industrial Sensor Specialist
+371 2411 0541
juris@lasma.eu
Links

FilesThruTheAir App

Images