Reservoir Aabach Germany

Project Overview

The Aabach Reservoir plays a vital role in regional infrastructure, supplying drinking water to more than 200,000 people and providing important flood‑protection functions. With a total water volume of approximately 20 million cubic metres, the reservoir is a critical asset that requires reliable, continuous monitoring.

To improve safety, efficiency, and operational visibility, a modern automated monitoring solution was implemented to replace manual inspections and streamline data handling.

Reservoir Data

• Length: approx. 3 km
• Width: max. 1.5 km
• Total volume: approx. 20 million m³

Functions:

• Drinking‑water supply for more than 200,000 people
• Flood protection

The dam itself has a length of 450 m and includes:

• A spillway
• A bottom outlet
• Multiple operational outlets at different heights for controlled water withdrawal

Challenge

In the past, daily on‑site inspections were required to collect measurement data. Personnel had to manually read out instruments and forward data for processing, resulting in:

• High workload and operating costs
• Delayed data availability
• Limited ability to react quickly to critical conditions

The objective was to automate data collection and transmission, enable continuous monitoring, and improve operational safety.

Solution

A comprehensive monitoring system was installed using digital pressure probes OTT PLS, connected via the OTT‑SDI (RS‑485) bus system.

• 56 measurement points record the contact pressure within the dam structure
• Three OTT netDL 1000 dataloggers collect data from separate dam segments
• Data is transmitted via an Ethernet network (TCP/IP) directly to the water board’s data centre

The system continuously generates time series data and automatically triggers alarms when defined threshold values are exceeded, significantly improving safety and response time.

Benefits

The automated monitoring solution delivers:

• Significant reduction in workload and operational costs
• Continuous, reliable monitoring of dam conditions
• Automated generation of time series data
• Integrated alarm management for increased safety
• Reduced installation effort thanks to the OTT‑SDI bus system
• Reliable transmission of up to 10 measured channels per netDL 1000