Localized Remote Sensing Device for Rainfall Precipitation Monitoring

Abstract

Rainwater harvesting is considered a small-scale water resource that generates electricity. Its potential energy for generation is proportional to the volume of rainwater and depends on rainfall. Rainfall precipitation data is also used to forecast the water supply for agricultural purposes. The memorandum circulars (MC #032 and MC #046-A, s. 1974) of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in the Philippines were reiterated in MC #043 and MC #049, s. 2006, which mandates installing a rain gauge at each water source in the agricultural irrigation system. Since no localized rain gauge is installed, precipitation data may be collected from PAGASA. However, data may have discrepancies when applied to irrigation purposes, as it can be heavy rain in one location but not significantly different in intensity at nearby locations, even a few hundred meters away. The variability of rainfall across locations indicates that rainfall data from one place may not apply to nearby locations when assessing the capacity of electrical generation and water supply forecasting. The study develops a rainfall-monitoring device using remote sensing technology to provide realistic, localized monitoring. The device was solar-powered and could provide data in real-time continuously, even without sunlight, for three (3) days. The device's data reading was validated through testing and experiments. The device's measurements were validated and compared with the manual rainfall measurements, which were observed simultaneously. Results show no significant difference between the manual measurement and the device reading.