AQUAIOT Radar and water quality sensors, installed and supported in the UKRiver monitoring
See the river rising before it reaches your site.
AQUAIOT Radar reads the river level from a bridge or a headwall without touching the water. Water quality sensors in the channel show what the river is carrying. When either one crosses a line you set, the right people hear about it.
- Non-contact radar level
- Water quality sensors
- LoRaWAN or cellular
- Battery powered
- One dashboard
±2 mmAccuracy on still water
Up to 12 mMeasuring range
IP68Sealed housing
Why watch the river
A river can rise overnight while nobody is on the bank to see it.
Rain that falls upstream can take hours to reach your stretch of river. A sensor over the water turns those hours into warning time. A water quality sensor in the channel shows when the river is carrying something it should not.
2.4 million
Properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea.
Source: Environment Agency, NaFRA 2024
8 million
Properties could be in areas at risk from rivers, the sea or surface water by mid-century, about 1 in 4 in England.
Source: Environment Agency, NaFRA 2024
14.3%
Of England’s surface waters reached good ecological status in the 2025 classification.
Source: Environment Agency, August 2026
291,492
Storm overflow spills were recorded in England in 2025, 35% fewer than in 2024.
Source: Environment Agency, March 2026
How it works
The sensor sits above the water and measures down to it.
AQUAIOT Radar is a sealed 60 GHz radar level sensor. Fixed to a bridge, a headwall or a bracket over the channel, it measures the distance down to the water surface, and the dashboard turns that distance into a river level.
We choose the mounting point.
On the site survey we pick a point with a clear view of the water and record its height, so every reading can be turned into a level.
The radar measures the distance to the water.
A narrow 8 degree beam reads the surface from above, so the level sensor never sits in the flow where debris can damage it.
Readings travel over LoRaWAN or cellular.
Each reading goes to the AQUAIOT dashboard at the interval you choose, with no mains power or site Wi-Fi needed.
Your alert levels decide who hears about it.
Each site has its own alert levels. When the river crosses one, the people you name get an SMS or an email.
What you see
You see the level climbing while there is still time to act.
The dashboard plots every reading, so a slow rise after a wet week and a sharp rise after a storm look different at a glance. Alert levels are set for each site, from the point where water causes trouble there first.
- Alert levels set for each site
- Full level history kept
- Data export for your own records
- Level and water quality on one dashboard
Water quality
Water quality sensors show what the river is carrying.
The level tells you how much water is coming. The quality readings tell you what is in it. Sensors placed in the channel report continuously to the same dashboard as the level sensor, so a pollution event and a high flow show up side by side.
| Dissolved oxygen | Whether the river can support fish and other life. It falls when sewage or organic waste enters the water. | SPS-DO sensor |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Warmer water holds less oxygen, so temperature helps explain the oxygen readings. | iSPS-X instrument |
| pH | How acidic or alkaline the water is. A sudden change can point to a discharge. | SPS-pH sensor |
| Turbidity | How cloudy the water is. It rises with runoff, silt and sewage solids. | SPS-T-SC1 sensor |
| Ammonia | A sign of sewage or farm waste in the water, and harmful to fish at higher levels. | iSPS-X instrument |
| Conductivity | The dissolved salts in the water. A change can reveal a discharge or tidal water moving upstream. | SPS-EC sensor |
s141DB
The Environment Act 2021 added section 141DB to the Water Industry Act 1991. It requires sewerage undertakers to monitor water quality continuously upstream and downstream of storm overflows and sewage works, for dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, turbidity and ammonia.Source: Environment Act 2021, section 82
See every parameter on the water quality monitoring page.
Alerts
The right person hears about it, and every reading is kept.
A caretaker might only need a text when the river reaches the car park. A council team might want the first alert at the duty desk and the second to a manager. You decide who is told at each level.
Notify.
An SMS or email reaches the people you name for that site when a level is crossed.
Escalate.
If the river keeps rising to the next level, the alert goes further up the chain.
Record.
Every reading is stored and can be exported, so each event leaves a clear record behind it.
River eventsExample feed
Example feed for illustration. Locations, times and values are not real data.
Where it fits
It suits any site where a river decides the bad days.
The same radar reads any open water surface, so one system can watch a river, the culvert that drains into it and the pond beside it.
Sites beside a river
Schools, hospitals, depots and business parks in a flood zone that need warning before water reaches the yard.
Culverts and trash screens
A blocked screen backs water up quickly. A sensor at the inlet shows the level climbing while there is time to clear it.
Bridges and outfalls
Highway and rail teams who need to know when water is nearing a structure or an outfall is under water.
Reservoirs, lagoons and ponds
Farm lagoons, attenuation ponds and small reservoirs. Read more in the reservoir level guide.
Abstraction and discharge points
Sites that take water from a river or discharge into one, and want a record of level and quality at that point.
Remote and rural sites
Battery power and cellular telemetry suit sites with no mains supply and no Wi-Fi anywhere near the water.
Councils and flood authorities
Teams responsible for ordinary watercourses, culverts and drainage across a whole area, who need to know which ones are rising during a storm.
Not sure where a sensor should go?
Tell us about the river and your site. We will suggest the points that give you the most warning.
Why AQUAIOT
We plan, install and support the whole system.
The sensors come from specialist manufacturing partners. AQUAIOT selects them for your river, installs them, connects them and stays with you after go-live.
Site survey
We walk the river frontage, choose the mounting points and check LoRaWAN or cellular coverage at each one.
Installation
Radar brackets go on the bridge or headwall, and water quality sensors are placed where they stay in the water at low flow.
Telemetry and dashboard
We connect every sensor and set up the dashboard and the alert levels with you.
Training and support
Your team learns the dashboard, and we support the system for as long as it runs.
Want the background first? Read the river level monitoring guide.
AQUAIOT Radar, left, and a water quality probe, right.
The product
AQUAIOT Radar is a sealed level sensor built for outdoor water.
It measures with 60 GHz millimetre-wave radar through a narrow beam and runs on its own battery, so it can sit on a remote structure for years between visits.
- 60 GHz millimetre-wave radar
- ±2 mm on a still surface
- Measuring range up to 12 m
- IP68 sealed housing
- LoRaWAN or LTE Cat-1
- Up to 7 years on LoRaWAN
Questions
These are the questions site teams ask first.
How does AQUAIOT Radar measure river level?
It sends a 60 GHz radar signal down to the water and uses the reflection to find the distance to the surface. The mounting height is recorded at installation, so the dashboard can turn that distance into a river level.
Where can the sensor be mounted?
It can go on a bridge, a headwall, a culvert inlet or a bracket over the channel, anywhere with a clear view of the water surface within 12 metres. We confirm the best point on a site survey.
Does it need mains power or Wi-Fi?
No. It runs on an internal battery and sends its readings over LoRaWAN or LTE Cat-1 cellular. The manufacturer rates the battery at up to 7 years on LoRaWAN and about 5 years on cellular at a 15-minute reading interval, based on laboratory testing.
Can the same system monitor river water quality?
Yes. Sensors for dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, turbidity, ammonia and conductivity can sit in the channel and report to the same dashboard as the level sensor.
Do we still need Environment Agency flood warnings?
Yes, keep them. Flood warnings cover whole communities. A sensor on your own stretch of river watches the exact point where water reaches your site first.
What happens when the river rises?
You set alert levels for each site. When a reading crosses one, the people you choose get an alert, and the dashboard keeps every reading so you can look back at the whole event.
Speak to an expert
Tell us about the river and we will plan the monitoring.
An AQUAIOT engineer will look at where the water comes from, the points that flood first on your site and who needs to be told when it rises.
- Site surveyWe pick the mounting points and check coverage before anything is ordered.
- Installation and commissioningSensors fitted, connected and tested on site.
- One monitoring partnerRiver level and quality alongside your tank, sewer and leak monitoring.
Prefer to talk? Call 02392 233611 or email info@aquaiot.co.uk.
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