Clemson, South Carolina – The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) is proud to partner with Clemson University to develop and implement an innovative water sensor system as part of the Clemson Intelligent River program. This project will help alert the public and emergency officials to flood events. Currently, the team is undertaking a pilot project to install 125 sensors in the Upper Savannah and Saluda watersheds between May and December 2025.

The Intelligent River BridgeBox™ system consists of small, 5-by-6-inch boxes mounted on bridges and other structures. These devices provide real-time water level information and supplement U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauges, offering a more comprehensive view of flood impacts from extreme weather and water volume estimates during dry periods.

This technology uses internet-connected devices to monitor water levels and stream data to a cloud-based system. The system can determine accurate water levels using a radar sensor. It typically measures water level every 6 minutes, with each box having a battery life of more than 2 years. 

With these instruments providing live data, the team will be able to take measurements during rain events to better understand known flooding issues in the region. 

This project aligns with SCOR’s mission to lessen the impact of disasters on the communities and citizens of South Carolina by enhancing the data used to understand hazard risks. The 2023 Strategic Statewide Resilience and Risk Reduction Plan (Resilience Plan) recommends multiple forms of investment in information infrastructure that will inform and improve water planning, flood forecasting, and flood frequency estimates. For the Intelligent River BridgeBox™ system, SCOR has contributed a $300,000 grant.

SCOR Data Coordination Manager Bryan Rabon explains, “The BridgeBox™ project aligns closely with the Strategic Statewide Resilience and Risk Reduction Plan data recommendations by addressing the need for improved, high-resolution hydrological monitoring across watersheds. By deploying BridgeBox™ units, this initiative enhances the spatial density of water level data, supplementing the existing USGS network and directly supporting the recommendation for expanding data to inform modeling and resilience planning.”

Developed by Christopher Post, Clemson professor of environmental information science, and Syed Mohammad Ovais, Intelligent River head engineer, the sensor systems can, in addition to alerting flood conditions from bridges, be used for road, tidal, and reservoir monitoring. 

“This system is designed to enable the deployment of thousands of water level sensors to support the critical USGS gauge network,” Post says. “The sensors will provide publicly available information on flood events and water levels to inform environmental conservation and economic development.”

Post further elaborates “this data will also help validate flood models and improve understanding of extreme weather impacts.”

Ultimately, this initiative will increase resilience in the area, which SCOR defines as the ability of communities, economies, and ecosystems to anticipate, absorb, recover, and thrive when presented with environmental change and natural hazards. 

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About SCOR: The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) is committed to enhancing the state's ability to anticipate, absorb, recover, and thrive when presented with environmental changes and natural hazards by planning and coordinating statewide resilience, long-term disaster recovery, and hazard mitigation. In addition to serving 3,459 homes in our Disaster Recovery Program, SCOR has 81 active flood mitigation projects, including voluntary buyouts, stormwater infrastructure, and plans and studies, across the State. SCOR continues to implement and maintain the Strategic Statewide Resilience and Risk Reduction Plan, which provides a framework to guide investment in projects, programs, and policies to protect the people and property of South Carolina from the damage and destruction of extreme weather events.