EU funds for more accurate measurements and better flood protection in Slovenia
Last week the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) presented the new hydro-metric equipment which was purchased in the framework of the project “Upgrade of the system for monitoring and analysing the water environment in Slovenia” (BOBER). The equipment will enable more accurate and safer measurements of river flows. In the past the ARSO employees measured the flow with the help of boats and hydrometric wings which was a time-consuming and dangerous procedure. The Cohesion Fund contribution for the acoustic Doppler metres of the flows for high-water and normal conditions, remote-controlled small boat and the ultrasonic metre amounts to 117,500.00 Euros. The presentation took place in Šentjakob on the river Sava.
The acoustic Doppler flow metres (ADFM) enable more accurate and relatively safe measurements of the flow during high-waters or floods. Until now such measurements were almost unrealizable due to the limitations of the measuring equipment. For the measurements during normal conditions and droughts the ADFM also enhance the quality and the number of measurements and reduce the number of participants in the measuring team. The basic data of the measurements are simultaneously available for further use and analyses. If the river basins are shallow, the speed metres are used.
The remote-controlled small boat is used for the measurements of flows of those rivers which are too wide for the placement of two ropes and the use of manual operation and when there is no suitable bridging near the measuring site. It is also used for measurements on lakes and the sea to determine the depth as well as the direction and size of the water currents. These data are important for the direction of hydrological prognostic and general hydraulic models on rivers, lakes and at sea.
In the framework of the project BOBER, which is co-financed by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund in the amount of 27.7 million Euros, ARSO currently monitors 70% of aquatic environment in Slovenia. You can find more about BOBER in this brochure.
