JKPDC accelerates rollout of Early Warning Systems at its hydroelectric projects

Advanced systems to provide flash floods, GLOFs alerts

*Pending formalities being cleared for contract allotment

Mohinder Verma

JAMMU, Aug 30: In a major push to strengthen disaster preparedness, the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) has accelerated the process for installation of state-of-the-art Flood Early Warning Systems (EWS) at its hydroelectric projects, with project authorities directed to complete all procedural formalities for allotment of contracts at the earliest.

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The move assumes significance as hydroelectric projects located in the upper reaches of hilly and mountainous regions remain particularly vulnerable to sudden natural disasters, including cloudbursts, flash floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), Landslide Lake Outburst Floods (LLOFs), avalanches, landslides, snow slides and rock slides.

The initiative is being pursued in accordance with the guidelines of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and is aimed at ensuring that potentially affected populations downstream receive adequate warning before a disaster turns catastrophic.

Managing Director, JKPDC, Rahul Yadav, when contacted, confirmed that instructions have been issued to the concerned project authorities to complete the pending formalities so that installation of the Early Warning Systems can commence at the earliest.

He informed that the contracts for the systems had been tendered earlier this year and the focus is now on expediting the remaining procedural process and allotment of contracts. Moreover, the Corporation has also recognised the need to upgrade systems at projects where either no early warning mechanism exists or the existing arrangements are not based on advanced technology, the Managing Director added.

According to the officers of hydroelectric projects of JKPDC, the emphasis now is on deploying modern, reliable and technology-driven EWS infrastructure capable of providing real-time information and adequate lead time for response.

Under the proposed system, every dam/project authority will have to undertake a thorough identification and classification of hazards specific to the project. The risk assessment is required to cover GLOF/LLOF, cloudbursts, avalanches, Probable Maximum Flood (PMF), dam break/failure and other potential hazards.

The warning system will have to be designed according to the nature and degree of risk and, crucially, the lead time available for each identified hazard. The design will also take into account the dam’s type and storage capacity, spillway capacity, downstream river-channel capacity, dam-break analysis and inundation maps, downstream population, terrain, communication-network reliability and the distance of vulnerable glacial lakes from the dam.

A key component of the EWS will be the identification of strategic locations upstream of dams and barrages for installation of sensors and communication equipment. The guidelines envisage suitable gauge and discharge sites on rivers and tributaries where equipment can provide at least one to two hours of lead time.

“The system will incorporate redundancy in sensors, ensuring fail-safe transmission of data. In the event of failure of one sensor, a second sensor would automatically take over and the real-time monitoring of the health of instruments, batteries and communication systems would further strengthen reliability”, the officials said.

The proposed architecture also envisages deployment of sensors and CCTV/video cameras at potentially dangerous glacial lakes for continuous monitoring of changes in glaciers and water bodies. Despite the emphasis on advanced technology, the system will not rely entirely on automated sensors.

The guidelines call for manual gauges and weather sites to be established for accurate assessment of significant events and validation of sensor-generated data. Sensor readings would periodically be compared with traditional observations to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the warning network.

“For J&K’s hydropower sector, the initiative could prove particularly important given the terrain and the increasing need for rapid response to extreme weather and mountain hazards”, official sources said.

“An effective EWS can provide the crucial window needed to warn downstream communities, mobilise emergency machinery and initiate evacuation or other protective measures—potentially reducing casualties and damage to human and animal life, property, infrastructure and biodiversity”, they further said, adding “warning systems at hydel projects can no longer remain a technological afterthought, they have to become a first line of defence against sudden mountain disasters”.