Wireless water butt tech helps to limit flood risk

Water butts using wireless tech have been rolled out to businesses in Shropshire to help mitigate the risk of flooding.

Shropshire Council is backing the project, The River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR), which it says uses the devices to manage heavy rainfall.

The tanks monitor how much water is stored inside them and can be emptied gradually ahead of downpours to allow for more storage when needed.

A smart water butt capable of holding 10,000 litres of rainwater was recently installed at a defence engineering company in Telford.

"The tanks will collect and store rainwater off the roof at Rheinmetall BAE Systems for industrial use on site and are programmed to release it into the drainage system just ahead of a rainfall event so there is capacity to take pressure off the river when needed," the project's programme manager, Matt Smith, said.

Adrian Stones, from the company, said a recent expansion had encouraged it to understand how "resilient it is to climate change" including flooding risk.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the River Severn Partnership and Shropshire Council for helping RBSL tackle flood risk and to assist with preventing flooding beyond our site."

The council received £4m from the government to fund wireless innovation in Shropshire. Mr Smith's team is also working with local farmers to see how the tech could protect against floods in rural communities.

"By extending the project to include the smart water butts to businesses in the catchment area we are able to demonstrate how a similar principle could be applied to manufacturing as well as to agriculture," he said.

Mr Smith said he was looking to work with other businesses in the Telford area that had large roof spaces needed for the water collection.