Practical dam monitoring: A scalable cloud-based application to store and monitor dam safety data

Today, many dams still lack adequate dam safety programmes. This jeopardises the safety of the dam and the people living downstream. Instruments are often not read in a structured and periodic manner, readings are not stored reliably and data analysis is manual and dependant on the availability of experts. Software tools can radically resolve these issues, but many are complex and costly or do not allow a gradual adoption, which involves large initial investments. This paper describes the key advantages that a cloud-based software system can bring to the fields of dam monitoring and safety and presents Hydro Cloud as an example of such cost-effective and adaptable systems.