An Automated and Remotely Operated Siphon System for Flood Control

The proposed siphon system aims to release water from a wetland before a heavy rainfall that is forecasted to produce flooding. The storage made available by the early release would provide water storage for the heavy rainfall; thus, mitigating flooding. The proposed siphon system can be operated remotely by an operator or automatically using a decision support system (DSS). In an actual implementation, flood managers would operate hundreds or thousands of siphons simultaneously. The proposed system does not require energy except for keeping the siphon pipes full of water and for sensor control/communication. For this small amount of energy, a solar-powered bilge pump is used. Overall, the proposed siphon system may help to mitigate flooding by allowing water release from wetlands and shallow ponds.