Water Resources Information System Software

The software for the EBID WRIS system was developed by RCM Enterprises, LLC of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Known as the Telemetry Tool Chest, the software consists of several different modules, all written in Visual Basic .NET:

Review & Certification Tool

1) The Base Station module polls the RTUs 24 hours a day in 30 minute intervals. It is a console program which does not rely on any type of database connection, or even the EBID central office network. Base Station writes the data to text files on the local hard drive of the polling server and requires only that the polling server and the radio be functioning properly. Base Station is designed to depend upon very little in the way of computer resources in order to do it's job and keep on doing that job.

2) The Archiver module is constantly looking for new Base Station output files, which it quickly scans, moving the harvested data into MS SQL Server tables. Archiver also performs all of the many calculations needed to render flow from the raw values of the RTU sensors. Archiver can process a poll cycle for all 250 of EBID's remote sites in approximately 8-10 minutes, meaning web visitors should be seeing data from the RTUs that is usually no more than 30 minutes old.

3) The SysMonitor module is constantly monitoring Base Station to make sure it is up and running. Should Base Station ever fail SysMonitor will alert personnel in the Hydrology Department so that immediate action can be taken.

4) The Alarms module scans the data in the MS-SQL server tables for data values which fall either above or below AlarmHigh or AlarmLow settings specified by the Hydrology Department. The most common alarms are triggered by low battery conditions, but high alarms can detect sudden influx of water into the system which may mean flooding is either imminent or already occurring.

5) The Desktop module is an extremely sophisticated workstation interface which allows Hydrology personnel to quickly add new sites, set alarms, enter calculation formulas and factors, flag which information is to be displayed on the web, and view data. It also contains a wide range of diagnostic reports which quickly highlight non-performing RTUs so that measures may be taken to get them quickly up and running again.

Perhaps most importantly, Desktop contains a comprehensive suite of review and correction tools which enable EBID to human review and adjust, if necessary, over 2 million data values monthly. The correction tools employ both tabular and graphical display of the raw data. When values are adjusted, original values are always preserved, and a strict audit trail is maintained for all changes -- including the reason for the correction, who made the correction, and when. Desktop will export this entire correction history upon demand in .CSV format across any date range, ready to email in just a few seconds. All of the factors and formulas used in each calculation are shown along with the correction history.

Only transparency regarding the sequence of observations, the precise factors and formulas used in calculations, and a complete audit trail of any changes made to original data can ensure defensibility. Moreover, this information should be available at the touch of the button any time flow calculations are questioned. The ToolChest was designed first and foremost to address that need for any organization monitoring flow in an open or closed channel system.

A more detailed look at the Telemetry Tool chest may be found on the RCM Enterprises web site.