NovaStar5

The NovaStar5 base station software provides all of the features required to reliably ingest and manage real-time hydrologic data, and generate notifications when conditions exceed user-defined alarm values.  Three levels of password-encrypted security prevent inadvertent and malicious access to the data and administration functions.

NovaStar5 runs on the Linux operating system. The Linux operating system is stable, non-proprietary, well known, and trusted by IT managers for real-time systems.

The NovaStar5 system uses the PostgreSQL database software. PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source, SQL database that can support integration with many tools. The NovaStar5 SQL database allows remote access to the data from third party software. The database tables can be viewed and modified with a web administrative tool.

The NovaStar5 database can be mirrored over a local area network, LAN, on a hot backup server. A LAN failover system maintains redundant databases on two NovaStar5 servers and provides automatic failover if the primary system fails.

NovaStar5 is accessed using web pages to provide a simple and familiar method for users to access the database and system operations. The web interface runs on any internet browser. Local access on the NovaStar5 server, office intranet access, and remote internet access is supported.

 

Technical Specifications

  • Linux 32-bit and 64-bit operating system
  • Data storage, archival and retrieval from PostgreSQL database, the world’s most advanced open source database
  • Mirrored database on hot backup server
  • Web page user interface
  • Three levels of encrypted password protected security
  • Integration with many data sources and third party vendor products

 

Data Collection

  • Manual and scheduled data collection
    • Real-time collection of ALERT and ALERT2
    • Remote station polling via telephone, radio, satellite
    • Data imports from data logger and network files
    • Data imports from radar sources
    • Data imports from web services
  • Manual and scheduled data export to network files
    • Data exports in SHEF format
    • Data exports as xml
    • Data exports as USGS format water-year reports
  • Automatic validation of collected data

 

Alert

  • Alarm checking of validated data
  • Automatic activation of alarm actions including visual and auditory screen displays, text messages, email and twitter, and automatic activation of physical warning systems including sirens and roadway flashers
  • Formulation of If-then-else alarm conditions combining rainfall rates and rising water levels

 

Data Display

  • Tabular data over user-specified intervals
  • Report groups and formats can be user-customized
  • Time series plots display data values over time
  • Map backgrounds with overlaid graphical data
  • Data report or statistical analysis over an interval
  • Highlight background for hydrologic threat score
  • Automatic refresh of a data display
  • Blinking icons to indicate alarm condition
  • Colored icons that change in response to threat levels
  • Standard displays provided with options to integrate client’s website

 

Analysis

  • Rating tables compute discharge or other data
  • Real-time equations
  • Statistical analyses include:
    • Last and closest report
    • Maximum, minimum, mean
    • Variance, standard deviation, skew, coefficient of skew
    • Difference, sum, count
    • Period rainfall, storm rainfall, rainfall intensity
    • Rate of change, runtime, volume
  • USGS format rainfall and streamflow summaries

 

Supervisory Control Commands

  • Control of remote sirens and roadway flashers via radio or two-way telemetry
  • Rule based logic to determine control conditions

 

Hydrological Forecasting with River Routing and Reservoir Operations

NovaStar5 supports river forecasting via built-in functionality and by integrating tools from industry partners. The Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting (SSMA) model is a native component within the NovaStar5 base station software application.  The ALERT monitoring network provides real-time rainfall input to the model.  NovaStar5 can run the SSMA at different time steps ranging from 15 minutes to 6 hours. The SMA is a conceptual, lumped parameter model that provides a simplified representation of the physical runoff process.  The fundamental concept in the SSMA is that the soil column has two soil zones; an upper zone and a lower zone.  The upper zone represents the upper soil layer and interception storage while the lower zone represents the bulk of the soil column and ground-water storage.  Within both zones there is tension water capacity and free water capacity.  Tension water is held tightly to soil particles and can only be depleted as evapotranspiration.  Free water can move both horizontally and vertically through the soil profile.  Free water can be depleted by evapotranspiration or drained as surface runoff, interflow, percolation and ground-water base flow. The SSMA employs a unit hydrograph that converts runoff generated from the model into instantaneous discharges.  Together the SSMA and unit hydrograph models are used to simulate and forecast hydrologic stream conditions. The strategic value of using the SSMA within NovaStar5 include:

  1. It is implemented at very low cost because it is a native component
  2. It is a continuous simulation model that tracks soil moisture conditions through time
  3. Regional parameter sets can be obtained from the National Weather Service (NWS)

The NWS also uses the SSMA to prepare river basin forecasts across the U.S. Additionally NovaStar5 can simulate the operations of a single reservoir and perform stream channel routing. NovaStar5 provides real-time data to streamflow forecasting software operated in both the public sector (HEC, NWS) and private.