Member Article

Innovative Hertfordshire firms keeps watch on flood defences

As the nation looks forward to warmer and drier months, one Hertfordshire based business is firmly focused on helping to protect homes and businesses from the threat of future flood events, thanks to its innovative engineering talent.

Amidst increased pressure on Government budgets, Meteor Communications, located in St Albans, is fast becoming a major force in the field of environmental monitoring and is looking to grow its team of six engineers this year. The company has designed and developed a unique, maintenance-free remote camera system, from scratch, that’s already been deployed by the Environment Agency (EA) at more than 50 high flood risk sites across Southern England.

In partnership with the EA and county councils, Meteor expects to install more than 100 cameras during 2015 at sites across the South West, Kent and stretches of the Thames from West London to Reading, which suffered serious flooding during the winter of 2013/14. By using cameras to keep tabs on its network of storm grilles and trash screens on waterways in flood prone regions, the EA has eliminated the need for unnecessary, costly inspection visits, whilst reducing its own carbon footprint at the same time.

Utilising GPRS wireless technology, Meteor’s ‘Nexus’ solar powered cameras can transmit high quality images from areas where there is no power source. The technology is housed in a stainless steel weather-proof pillar, manufactured in Bedford, which can be installed and operational within 30 minutes.

Explaining the reasons for the camera’s development, Matt Dibbs, Managing Director of Meteor Communications, said:

“A reduction in Government resources for flood defence projects has demanded an innovative yet cost-effective means of essential monitoring of the Environment Agency’s remote infrastructure. Methods requiring mains power are expensive to install and maintain and also susceptible to damage but our solar powered, robust units have been designed to achieve 100% autonomous operation, even in the most exposed areas. We expect a very busy year and we’ve also started to get enquiries from overseas.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Blackbird Communications .