Sponge city – water for the future
Data monitoring for rain recycling
In 2024, the city of Schaffhausen began a modern "sponge city" project on the playground of the Kreuzgut school. The concept involves sustainable rainwater management, using the right combinations of soil, vegetation, and construction to absorb rainwater and hold it like a sponge.
Sponge city area at a schoolyard in Schaffhausen
The result
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The city of Schaffhausen can now analyze the effects of soil structure and plant selection on the infiltration of rainwater, with the measurements continuously transmitted to Netilion.
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Best of all, remote access to the data reduces disruption of school operations at the site.
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With data monitoring, everyone involved can evaluate the success of this project and make a significant contribution to the planning of future sponge city projects in Switzerland and abroad.
"With the smart measurement solution together with Netilion, we can analyze infiltration behavior remotely and draw conclusions for future sponge city projects."
HOLINGER AG
The challenge
Grün Schaffhausen and HOLINGER AG set up a data monitoring pilot project to measure water retention, soil moisture, and air temperature on the school grounds.
For the planning, the city collaborated with landscape architect Daniel Bösch and the engineering company HOLINGER AG. Bösch oversaw the implementation, and the Frei Thayngen AG construction company built it. Mobiliar Insurance, along with the smart city project of the city of Schaffhausen, provided an important part of the funding.
The solution
Endress+Hauser presented the optimal solution with the Netilion IIoT ecosystem. For water sampling, the level probes were embedded in pipes in the ground, with the sensors monitoring the values and enabling secure access via smartphone, tablet, or PC. The control cabinet contains components that locally capture, store, and visualize the data and also establish a secure connection to the Netilion IIoT ecosystem. Users can view the measurement values on any device and export them if needed.
Waterpilot FMX11 is a hydrostatic level probe.
Trime PICO 64 is a moisture probe for heterogeneous soils from the manufacturer IMKO.
TST434 is a thermometer to monitor the ambient temperature.
Ecograph T RSG35 is a graphic data manager that serves as a local display of all measurement values.
Field Edge SGC500 is an edge device for data transfer to Netilion.
Netilion Value is a digital monitoring service.
A modem and a SIM card provided by the customer.