Real-time monitoring of water level at low-cost for naturebased stormwater solutions asset management

International audience ; Traditional underground drainage infrastructure (i.e. pipe networks) offers the benefit of conveying excess rainwater from urban centres quickly, but with negative impacts for receiving waters. Consequently, many cities are introducing stormwater control measures (SCMs) to retain and infiltrate excess stormwater, reducing the peaks that can overwhelm networks. Most common SCMs include swales, trenches, infiltration basins, green roofs and porous pavements. Until recently, research often focussed on the design of such systems, with less focus on long term performance and maintenance. Given the scarce data available, monitoring is a priority for Operation & Maintenance (O&M) activities, and to gather the necessary knowledge for asset management. Real-time low-cost monitoring provides an opportunity to meet this need. This communication presents an open-source water level monitoring system which is already deployed in the field. The paper also discusses key elements of design related to low-cost monitoring systems.