NHR is sharing a smart manhole-monitoring application in Brunei, where LoRaWAN-connected H01-LW radar level sensors help the local drainage operation detect rising water and abnormal cover movement earlier during heavy rain.
Seeing the trend before the rain escalates
Brunei's equatorial climate brings short, intense downpours, and with manholes spread across roads and lanes, water levels surge faster than patrols can track — the first sign of trouble was often a flooding report after streets were already inundated. A cover lifted or shifted by storm pressure poses an immediate hazard to vehicles and pedestrians.
H01-LW sensors were installed under covers at flood-prone sections and trunk-line nodes, measuring water level with non-contact radar while the same device detects cover opening and displacement. Readings travel through G09 industrial gateways to the cloud, where the platform maps each manhole's level and cover status and raises an immediate alarm on threshold crossings.
Moving the response cycle earlier
Awareness of abnormal events has shifted from passive reporting to real-time system alerts, letting the duty team position crews and pumping equipment by actual water-level trends before conditions deteriorate. Routine patrol hours fell by roughly a third, with effort concentrated on alerted locations and high-risk sections.
Each manhole's water-level history also forms a continuous record for the first time — the basis for identifying blockage-prone segments and planning desilting schedules.