Young Mumbaikars will aim to tackle monsoon flooding with this unique warning system

Itrsquos safe to say that when Mumbairsquos rain gods arrive they bring more than just puddles Drains overflow roads turn into streams and a commute can turn into a nightmare Rian Kothari Aditya Gupta Aarush Gupta and Revant Singhania four 17yearold students from The Cathedral and John Connon Senior School Fort have devised a possible solution Project FloodGuard which is a sensor system placed inside stormwater drains to monitor water flow and use mathematical modelling to predict overflowsA prototype of the deviceThe prototype is set to be submitted to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC on October 9 Following the submission the team plans to test and finetune the system before deploying it in selected stormwater drains across the city where it can be monitored in realworld conditionsldquoOur goal was to design a cheap and efficient tool that would help detect and reduce flooding and protect life in the city while making monsoons more comfortablerdquo says the team The quartet has been working on the project since July They first tested it in a tub of water observing different waterflow levels simulated debris and reverseflow conditionsThe team behind the device from left Aarush Gupta Aditya Gupta Rian Kothari and Revant Singhania Pics courtesyRian KothariThe team also compared Mumbairsquos drainage infrastructure with systems in Singapore and Tokyo Alongside the preparations Aditya handled the Mathematics modelling engineering and coding Revant worked on stakeholder and public relations Aarush focused on green chemistry materials and sustainability and Rian anchored business operations and environmental considerationsThe research examined how water speed affects the turbine In controlled tests the turbine rotated slowly when water moved gently but spun faster as the flow increased Tests with debris also showed that blockages could slow the turbine giving another indication of an obstruction These findings helped establish preliminary thresholds although recalibration will be needed once tested inside actual drainsA closer view of the main circuit board with ESP32 microcontroller and sensorsldquoWersquove not tried it inside drains specifically After the pilot deployment wersquoll try to get some reallife data and then make changes to the prototype to implement it in drains Beyond prediction the machine is also a safety tool as early warnings could allow BMC teams to intervene before drains become dangerously clogged and identify areas at greater risk Through this device we hope to help preempt plans to prevent the floods from actually forming in the first place or reaching the levels they wouldrdquo the team explainsHow FloodGuard worksAt the heart of FloodGuard is a turbine placed inside a stormwater drain As water flows through the drain the turbine spins and an optical sensor records its rotational speed or RPM The system converts this into a measure of water flowAn ESP32 microcontroller a lowcost systemonchip with builtin connectivity processes the readings and compares them with preset thresholds The prototype also monitors inlet and outlet pressure to identify possible blockages These readings feed into an online dashboard showing flow rate pressure blockage and flood probability The mathematical model combines these factors to estimate flood risk and trigger an early warning for authorities