Eyes on the System: Monitoring and Measurement Tools for Civil and Electromechanical Applications

In this 2-part seminar, attendees will hear from subject matter experts in the field of monitoring and measuring.

Jump to a section:
Part 1: Monitoring Tools and Approaches for Civil-Related Applications
Part 2: Monitoring Tools and Approaches for Electromechanical-Related Applications

The first hour focuses on civil-related applications of monitoring tools and technology; the second hour moves to electromechanical-related applications.

The objective of the seminar is to showcase examples of how various monitoring and measuring tools can be applied to reduce risk, save money, and allow staff to work smarter.

Part 1: Monitoring Tools and Approaches for Civil-Related Applications

Proactive Risk Assessment for Dams: Practical Satellite-Based Deformation Monitoring for Modern Hydropower and Dam Safety
Presented by Luciano Rocca, EO59

This presentation is a practical, operator-focused walkthrough of how satellite deformation analytics can strengthen real-world dam safety decision making. Using actual examples from hydropower sites, the presentation demonstrates how to read deformation maps, how to identify meaningful changes versus harmless seasonal variation, and how to support risk reduction, maintenance planning, and compliance reporting. Seminar participants will leave the presentation able to interpret InSAR results confidently and apply them immediately.
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Resilience in Real Time: Rapid Deployment of Intelligent Dam Monitoring Systems during Record Sierra Snowmelt
Presented by Kate Melberg, Worldsensing

This case study shows how monitoring data and imagery was collected and then synchronized, for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to use to enhance its situational awareness during a high-risk hydrological event. Because of this, the dam owner was able to strengthen its management of risks, improve operational efficiency, and expand monitoring coverage beyond the limits of manual inspection.
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Part 2: Monitoring Tools and Approaches for Electromechanical-Related Applications

How Continuous Monitoring of Generator Performance Can Uncover Problems to Solve before Catastrophe
Presented by Aaron Doyle, Iris Power - Qualitrol

During a 2025 outage of the 83.3-MW <<NAME OF PLANT>>, owned and operated by Hydro Quebec in the province of Quebec in Canada, a continuous monitor was installed to measure partial discharge and shaft voltage/current. The monitor captured an instance of very high current in the turbine guide bearing shaft. The next day, a shunt resistor measuring the shaft current burned.
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Cost-Effective Turbine Performance Testing for Low Head Units Using Multipath Ultrasonic Transit-Time Flow Measurement
Presented by Albert Mikhail, KGS Group

This presentation provides case studies from two hydro projects where multipath ultrasonic transit-time flow measurement has been applied at the intake of the facilities. Results from these applications illustrate how performance testing for low-head configurations can be practical and cost effective.
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Reference: Details about Each Presentation

Proactive Risk Assessment for Dams: Practical Satellite-Based Deformation Monitoring for Modern Hydropower and Dam Safety

Specifics on the Presentation
The faculty will show how modern InSAR workflows eliminate gaps found in public or low resolution datasets, providing continuous, high-precision observations that remain reliable even around challenging environments such as vegetation, water bodies, remote corridors, or complex geologic settings.

The faculty also will highlight new visualization tools (being introduced by EO59 in 2026) — including improved clustering of deformation zones, clearer measurement footprints, and simplified time series exploration designed specifically for dam safety professionals.

Participants Will Learn:
- Why hydropower operators increasingly rely on satellite-based deformation monitoring
- What InSAR actually measures and how to interpret integrating with your technical expertise
- Real examples from dam and hydropower projects (embankments, spillways, abutments, intakes)
- How to distinguish significant deformation from routine changes caused by seasons or environmental factors
- New EO59 visualization tools that make interpretation faster and clearer

Background/Need for How to Effectively Use Data
Hydropower operators face a growing challenge: how to maintain safe, resilient infrastructure while dealing with aging assets, changing environmental conditions, and the high cost of field-based inspections. Satellite-based deformation monitoring, particularly InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar), is rapidly becoming an essential tool — yet many operators still struggle to understand what the data means and how to use it confidently.

Understanding the Faculty's Organization
EO59 is an earth observation firm specializing in radar analytics for infrastructure safety. Its work spans embankment dams, spillways, intakes, tunnels, penstocks, and wide area ground conditions that influence hydropower operations. Using millimeter accurate satellite measurements, EO59 provides operators with a clear, accessible picture of how their assets are moving over time. EO59's goal is to demystify InSAR for hydropower teams, enabling operators, engineers, and safety managers to integrate satellite observations directly into everyday workflows — improving safety, reducing uncertainty, and supporting long term infrastructure resilience.

Resilience in Real Time: Rapid Deployment of Intelligent Dam Monitoring Systems during Record Sierra Snowmelt

Details/Background
During the winter of 2022–2023, record snowfall in the Eastern Sierra Nevada generated unprecedented snowmelt volumes that threatened water infrastructure in Owens Valley. Anticipating runoff levels beyond the design capacity of existing collection systems, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) initiated an accelerated real-time monitoring program for three critical dams: South Haiwee Reservoir, Tinemaha Reservoir, and Long Valley Reservoir.

A multidisciplinary project team rapidly designed and deployed an integrated monitoring system prior to peak melt conditions. The installed solution included field cameras, gateways for long-range communication, tiltmeters for deformation detection, and vibrating wire loggers connected to turbidity sensors and piezometers. These instruments continuously tracked reservoir levels, weir flows, pore water pressures, and structural movement, with data visualized in real time via a centralized digital platform.

Results
The system delivered synchronized, hourly monitoring data and imagery across remote sites, significantly enhancing situational awareness during a high-risk hydrological event. By enabling early detection of abnormal water levels or structural deformation, the solution strengthened risk management, improved operational efficiency, and expanded monitoring coverage beyond the limits of manual inspection. This rapid deployment demonstrated the value of integrated, real-time instrumentation in safeguarding critical dam infrastructure under extreme environmental loading conditions.

Case of Improper Proximity Sensor Installation Discovered by Shaft Current Monitoring

Background/Details
A continuous monitor was installed to measure partial discharge and shaft voltage/current during an outage in 2025. The unit in which the monitor was installed had these characteristics: 13.8 kV, 83.34 MW, 128.6 rpm, 56-pole hydro generator rewound in 2024. Two sets of carbon brushes and resistive shunts were installed at 90° to each other on top of the turbine bearing to measure the shaft current. The monitor captured an instance of very high shaft current of 83 A peak-to-peak at both current channels. One of the shunt resistors was found to be burnt one day later.

Findings and Confirmation
A proximity sensor was improperly installed at the upper guide bearing. It was in contact with the shaft and was not insulated. This formed a current loop with the shaft and therefore caused a high current as well as occasional sparking. The high current has not been recorded again by the monitor after the sensor was removed.

Cost-Effective Turbine Performance Testing for Low Head Units Using Multipath Ultrasonic Transit-Time Flow Measurement

Background
Low head hydro units are often compact, embedded in short waterways, and built without a conventional penstock. These circumstances make these units notoriously difficult and expensive to performance test. Yet owners still need defensible "as-installed" efficiency and output data to (1) confirm contractual guarantees after upgrades, (2) tune operating setpoints for dispatch and water use, and (3) establish a baseline for unit performance. In this segment of the market, the barrier is rarely intent – instead, it's the cost and site disruption of traditional absolute (primary) flow measurements.

Details of the Presentation
This presentation shares a field proven approach that makes prototype performance testing practical for low head configurations: a multipath ultrasonic transit-time flow measurement application installed at the intake. The method uses 6–12 acoustic chord paths to characterize the velocity profile and determine discharge with an expected uncertainty in the ±2.0% to ±2.75% range, positioning it slightly above typical index testing cost, but significantly below conventional absolute test campaigns. The procedure was deliberately enhanced to handle unusual unit configurations.

The faculty will present test setup, test equipment, test results and lessons learned from two recent Canadian applications: Fort Frances Generating Station and Kenora Generating Station. The presentation will focus on what owners, operators, and consultants can replicate: selecting measurement sections, practical mounting and alignment, managing acoustic path coverage, and its impacts on testing uncertainty. The methodology leverages established ultrasonic transit-time principles and is aligned with accepted performance test code expectations for flow measurement (as applicable to the unit configuration and contract requirements).

Key Takeaways for Attendees
- How multipath ultrasonic transit-time measurement can be a credible alternative to typical higher cost absolute methods for low head units.
- How to design the path layout and installation to reduce overall cost.
- A pragmatic uncertainty approach (what drives it, what you can control, and what to document for guarantees).
- How to turn test results into actionable outputs: verified guarantees, updated operating setpoints, and a baseline for ongoing optimization.

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