Over 200 Systems for Accurate Rainfall Level Measurement Installed in Oman

Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Regional Municipalities & Water Resources (MRMWR) has recently installed additional Casella Monitor (UK) Tipping Bucket Rain Gauges (TBRGs) in the Arab country’s more remote mountainous and desert areas.

The MRMWR currently has in excess of 200 Casella Monitor TBRGs installed at a wide range of locations across Oman. The systems, which were originally chosen by the customer for their reliable performance during testing, as well as accurate data and ease of use benefits, have been customised by Casella to cope with the Oman’s harsh environment.

In accordance with the roles assigned to it in Royal Decree No 55/2006, the MRMWR relentlessly strives to provide water and municipal services to communities within the regions of the Sultanate, and establish vital facilities and infrastructure aimed at improving living conditions.

Ahmed Said Al Barwani, Water Resources Expert at the MRMWR comments: “Casella Monitor’s TBRGs are exceptionally user friendly, easy to install and require minimal maintenance. The overall service from the company is excellent and they were particularly quick to react when I requested some further improvements to the systems and hardware to cope with our dry, arid conditions.”

He continues: “They were very co-operative and made the required modifications without hesitation. As a result, the TBRGs continue to perform well in Oman’s harsh environment and provide us with accurate measurements of rainfall. This invaluable data allows the Ministry to fulfil its commitment of harnessing water resources, and making them available to communities, but also ensuring their rationalisation and conservation.”

Specialists in hydrology and rainfall monitoring equipment, Casella Monitor is currently basking in a 30% increase in sales of its high performance TBRG over the past 18 months. The system incorporates new calibration multi-point methodology, which Casella Monitor believes has resulted in one of the best, most cost-effective solutions on the market at present.

TBRGs are sensors for accurately measuring rainfall level and events such as thunderstorms. The Casella Monitor TBRG model is a reliable and extremely robust transducer, designed as a stand-alone sensor for operation within an existing logging system, such as the Casella Monitor Automatic Weather Station.

The unit comprises a divided bucket assembly which is pivoted at the centre. Rain collects in one side of the bucket, which then tips when a predetermined volume of water has been collected. The tipping action discharges the collected water and repositions the opposite side of the bucket under the discharge nozzle ready for filling.

Ahmed Said Al Barwani concludes: “The major advantage is Casella Monitor’s willingness to adapt its equipment to suit our special requirements. In fact, we are now in discussions with the company about the potential inclusion of a telemetry system to our existing TBRGs using GSM/GPS, which will then enable us to receive real time data.”