 |
|
|
NEW SATELLITE
SYSTEM GETS FASTER FLOOD, CLIMATE DATA |
|
VICTORIA – The B.C. government has purchased a new domestic satellite data retrieval system (DOMSAT) that will greatly reduce the time needed to retrieve critical weather, snow and river data used to warn British Columbians about potential flooding, Environment Minister Barry Penner announced today.
Penner was joined by Public Safety Minister John van Dongen at the Provincial Emergency Program’s new headquarters in Saanichton, where the $30,000 DOMSAT data retrieval system has been installed.
“The new DOMSAT system provides real-time data from remote stations across the province, which means the River Forecast Centre will have access to critical weather and water information in seconds, instead of hours,” said Penner. “This technology gives us the ability to respond faster and more accurately to a range of conditions – everything from snowmelt and swollen streams to more subtle changes in our climate.”
The DOMSAT data retrieval system consists of a satellite dish, receiver and a dedicated server. The system provides access to the AMC-4 satellite to get real-time information from the provincial Automated Snow Pillow (ASP) network of 57 stations located atop mountains throughout B.C. and approximately 250 river level and discharge stations operated by the Water Survey of Canada.
“Past flood
events have shown us having accurate and timely information about water levels
and weather conditions is critical to determining where we need to mobilize
provincial resources such as sandbags, portable diking and emergency
personnel,” said van Dongen. “The new DOMSAT system will enable us to make
these decisions faster and more efficiently.”
The real-time ASP network and Water
Survey of Canada network provide the basic data used by the River Forecast
Centre to issue high stream flow and flood advisories to communities and
residents of B.C. Designed for 24/7
operation, the DOMSAT system will provide information one to six hours faster
than the currently available systems.
The DOMSAT system was funded through government’s
2008 budget commitment of $49 million over four years to improve B.C.’s ability
to adapt to the effects of climate change. Improvements include upgrades to
provincial climate and hydrometric networks, including work completed last
month in the
-30-
|
contact: |
Manager, Media Relations 250 953-4577 |
|
|
|
||
|
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
||
