The District has automated canal gates for more efficient, reliable, and accurate canal/ditch operation and water delivery.
The Rubicon Slipmeter, which is a completely self-contained automated gate and measuring device, has been installed on main canal turnouts in place of the old manual gates. With the Slipmeter gate, a flow set point can be entered into the control panel and the gate will automatically open and close to maintain the desired flow. The system uses a sophisticated array of acoustic sensors to determine the flow passing through it, resulting in measurement accuracy of +/- 5%. The Slipmeter allow us to more accurately maintain flows and deliveries to waterusers and irrigation laterals. We have installed gates ranging from 18” to 60” achieving positive results.
A more simplified automated gate, a standard steel slide gate with an electric actuator in place of the manual turning wheel, has been installed at wasteways off of main canals and laterals. These gates are not quite as smart as the Rubicon Slipmeter gate; however, they are connected to the existing project SCADA system which allows for automated monitoring of water levels at each site. The SCADA system can then automatically open or close these gates to maintain the desired water levels at these locations.
