AUTOMATED UNDERGROUND DRAINAGE MONITORING SYSTEM USING

ARDUINO

BENARD GATHAKU MBUGUA

SCT-258-054/2019

This research proposal has been submitted for partial fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of
Science in Instrumentation and Control degree of Multimedia University of Kenya

October 2022
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this proposal is my original work and has not been presented in any
University or institution for the award of any degree, diploma, or certificate.

Benard Gathaku Mbugua

SCT-258-054/2019

……………………………… ……………………….
Signature Date

Supervisors

This proposal has been submitted for examination with the approval of the following
supervisor(s).

Dr. Anthony J. Kiroe

Department of Physics.
Faculty of Physical sciences.
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

………………………………………………. ……………………………..
Signature Date

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1

1.1Background to the Project....................................................................................................1

1.2 Problem Statement..............................................................................................................2

1.3 Justification.........................................................................................................................2

1.4 Objectives...........................................................................................................................2

1.5 Project Scope......................................................................................................................3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................4

CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS.............................................................................6
3.1 Study area and materials.....................................................................................................6
3.2 Research design..................................................................................................................7
3.3 Experimental techniques.....................................................................................................9
3.4 Working principle...............................................................................................................9
3.5 Procedure............................................................................................................................9
3.4 Data analysis and presentation..........................................................................................10
CHAPTER 4: WORK PLAN AND BUDGET.............................................................................11
4.1 Work plan/schedule..........................................................................................................11
4.2 Budget...............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:Study Materials...................................................................................................................6

Table 2: Work Plan for a research project.....................................................................................11

Table 3: Budget for the research project........................................................................................12

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1:Block Diagram of the system............................................................................................8

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 LIST OF ACRONYMS
GSM - Global System for Mobile Communication

GPS - Global Positioning System

LDR - Light Dependent Resistor

IoT - Internet of Things

LCD - Liquid Crystal Display

SMS - Short Message Services

RF - Radio Frequency

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 ABSTRACT
Good maintenance of the underground drainage system is the image of an excellent city.
Nowadays the manhole area of the underground drainage system is the most downside within
sensible cities. Not all areas have observance teams. It ends up in the irregular observance of the
manhole condition. Manual observation in the manhole is more complicated. It needs
knowledge, however, they will solely monitor, terrify finite and maintain a low accuracy. This
influences the blockage of underground pipes and overflows of water that causes health
problems in society. Therefore, an automated drainage monitoring system is proposed to enhance
the operation and monitoring of the drainage system. The focus is on the effectiveness and real-
time monitoring of the drainage system.
The system is comprised of an Arduino Uno microcontroller, gas sensors, Light Dependent
Resistor (LDR) light sensors, and ultrasonic sensors used to manipulate the raw signals. Global
System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and Global Positioning System (GPS) is also used in
the system to send alert messages and the position of the fault to the drainage authorities or
personnel when any manhole crosses the threshold value. The data from the sensors will be
delivered and posted to the Excel tool to be analyzed and presented in form of graphs and tables.
The data will also be stored to make informed decisions when a fault arises. This project is going
to be extremely helpful to the drainage authorities and society in maintaining the underground
drainage systems. Also, it will directly impact the health issues of citizens and reduce the
accidents caused by an exposed manhole.

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 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1Background to the Project

An underground drainage system for any manhole is crucial for the community since it is part of
the infrastructure to keep the place clean and safe. Therefore, the proposed automated drainage
monitoring system aims to reduce the number of accidents and deaths caused by the irregular
manual monitoring of workers by using microcontrollers and sensors. Also, it can consume less
power and ability to decrease manpower for monitoring purposes. Previously, the method for
monitoring any drainage system conditions is not highly technological when the drainage system
is not properly maintained. This is more related to manual monitoring by the workers which
could expose the workers to the hazardous gases in the drainage system. The circumstances
could result from these major problems such as accidents and deaths. Therefore, to avoid serious
consequences to happen, caution and warning on the matters will be acknowledged to the
community.

This automated underground drainage monitoring system uses Arduino as the microcontroller
and related sensors to detect the gas and slurry level inside the manhole and the position of the
manhole cover as well as the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) for sending alert
messages to the authorities and Global Positioning System(GPS) for location identification of the
manhole. Additionally, with various network sensors used in the system, it could also motivate
the workers to easily monitor and detect the fault of the drainage system by using the real-time
method. Therefore, this helps to detect the presence of combustion gases that could result from
overheated materials such as methane, hydrogen, ethylene, and carbon monoxide existed inside
the manholes. These gases are dangerous and could lead to fatality. It was reported in Malay
Mail dated 25th Dec 2020, three men were found dead after inhaling gas while cleaning a
sewage plant in Jalan Pantai Permai, Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur(2021). When there is a
blockage in a particular node, there is variation in the slurry level when it crosses the set value,
an urgent alert message is sent to the drainage authorities. It will also help to notify people who

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are using the roadway and would be exposed to the danger when the manhole cover is suddenly
broken or shifted.

1.2 Problem Statement

The world today is moving very fast along with the rapid flow of technology. People have to
move fast along with it so that they do not miss out on the modern technology in the world today.
Now with changing times, it is the need of an hour to make some application or product that is
very useful for all segments of society irrespective of their status. Currently, underground
drainage monitoring is done manually, hence detection of open manholes and repairing of the
blockage become time-consuming. This has caused problems such as health issues and accidents
that stems from faulty underground drainage systems. Therefore, this project will solve these
problems by designing an automated underground monitoring system that would automatically
notify the current status of slurry and gas level in various underground manholes in the city,
which would have real-time monitoring capabilities.

1.3 Justification.
Using a manual underground drainage monitoring system, it’s difficult to find out the current
status of the underground drainage system. Therefore, an automated underground drainage
monitoring system aims at monitoring the status(slurry overflow, toxic gases level) and
identifying the location of various underground manholes in the city. The system automatically
sends an alert message to the authorities on time. This will solve the citizens’ health issues due to
mosquitoes and accidents resulting from faulty and open drainage systems. Also the system is
energy saving and cheap to install and maintain. and Also, this system will maintain a healthy,
safe and clean environment.

1.4 Objectives

1.4.1 Main Objective

To develop an automated underground drainage monitoring system using Arduino.

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1.4.2 Specific Objectives
(i) To design and fabrication of automated manhole monitoring system.
(ii) To simulate an automated underground drainage monitoring system using Arduino.
(iii) To test an automated underground drainage monitoring system using Arduino

1.5 Project Scope.

To design an automated underground monitoring system within Nairobi city that monitors and
sends an alert message to the drainage authorities about the status(Water level, Gas level, open
manhole lid) of the drainage system. There is a need to solve health issues and accidents that
stem from faulty and open drainage systems within Nairobi city.

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 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Mohd Hussein Z, Saaddin S, et al.(2022) proposed the development of an automated drainage
system that uses a microcontroller Arduino and related sensors to detect the gas level inside the
manhole and the position of the manhole cover as well as the Global system for mobile
communication(GSM) for sending alert messages to the authorities. They concluded that the
system was built to help the underground workers to reduce their trips to the manhole. This
project focuses on using an Ultrasonic sensor together with the Arduino Uno to monitor the
slurry level inside the manhole to avoid overflow and blockage of the underground drainage
system. This will reduce health issues due to mosquitos and contaminated drinking water that
stems from slurry overflow.

Tasin H, Sarkar M, Rahman, et al.(2021) designed and developed an uncapped manhole

detection system for waterlogged roads using Radio Frequency(RF) technology. The system is
Arduino based and some modules are used such as GPS Module, radio transmitter, and receiver.
In this work, radio communication between the manhole and carrier device is used to detect an
uncapped manhole in water clogged street. A box is attached to the manhole lid which can detect
whether the specific manhole is closed or not. If not, then the device is activated and starts
sending radio frequency as well as its GSM module will inform its condition to the nearest
municipal corporation. The advantage of this project it provides a smart system that can monitor
uncapped manholes and easily notify the user as well as a nearby municipal corporation. Also,
commuters can use this system for their safety while traveling through waterlogged roads and the
government can use it for monitoring uncapped manholes. The limitations are high-energy
consumption and it’s not cost-effective due to hardware components. This proposed project
focuses on using GPS and Light Dependent Resistor(LDR) light sensors to identify the location
and uncapped manholes respectively. This system uses low energy and is cost-effective because
of its hardware configuration.

Bhojane, V., Bhosale, A. et al. (2021) proposed underground drainage and manhole monitoring
system for cities based on the internet of things (IoT). This project used ATmega328P
Microcontroller to receive live data collected from different sensors such as water level detection
sensors and gas sensors. The water level and gas detection sensors sense the current states of the

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manholes. Sensors send sensed data to the microcontroller and the output obtained from the
controller is sent to a mobile device or computer using the Blynk server. Its advantage was to
help in reducing the problem of drainage systems with the help of sensors like water level
detection sensors and gas sensors. The disadvantage of this project it assumes the geographical
identification of the fault. In this project, I will consider fault geographical identification as a
critical aspect when solving the problem because it will save on time and cost of the exact
positioning of the fault. This will be archived by using the Global Positioning System (GPS)
module.

Abdulhayan S., Sharma R., et al(2019) designed an underground drainage monitoring system
that describes the need for proper underground drainage infrastructure for the betterment and
cleanliness maintenance in the city. The system makes use of an Arduino ATmega 2560
microcontroller which is the heart of the system as it collects information from all the sensors
that are interfaced with it. The results obtained are sent as early alerts and addressed to the
municipal authority that is handling issues related to the drainage system through the GSM
module which helps in notifying and locating the exact location of the manhole where the fault
might occur. The system also makes use of an overflow sensor which is not necessary as the
level sensor is used to monitor the level of the slurry to avoid overflow. This project focuses on
using the ultrasonic level sensor in place of both the overflow and level sensor because it will
monitor the slurry level, blockage, and overflow without being in contact with the drainage
water, thus reducing circuitry faults that may arise. This will be established by setting a certain
threshold, which if the slurry crosses an urgent message is sent to the drainage authorities. This
will save on maintenance and installation costs.

Ainapur P, Sanjoy Wadakar S., et al.(2019) designed an underground drainage monitoring

system. The system explains various functions that were used to monitor the water level, rate of
flow of water as well as the content of toxic gases. If there is a blockage in the drainage system
and sewage starts overflowing through it then it can be detected by the sensor system which is
interfaced with the microcontroller and this information is sent to the respective authority via
Global System for Mobile communication (GSM). This project focuses on using light dependent
resistor(LDR) light sensor to detect if the manhole is open or closed which is omitted in this

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project. This monitoring aspect is necessary since it will reduce accidents caused by open
manholes during the rainy season.

CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 Study area and materials.
The study will be conducted within the University’s underground drainage system to assess the
status of various manholes. The implementation of this project calls for various materials to be in
place to make the automated underground drainage monitoring system a success as shown in the
table below.
Table 1:Study Materials.

Arduino Uno Light Sensor

LCD Display Ultrasonic Level Sensor
GSM Module Gas Sensor
GPS Module 9v Battery

3.1.1 Arduino Uno Board.

The Arduino Uno is an open-source microcontroller board based on the microchip ATmega328P
microcontroller, the board is equipped with sets of digital and analog input/output (I/O) pins that
may be interfaced to various expansion boards(shields) and other circuits. It can be powered by
the USB cable or by an external 9-volt battery, though it accepts voltages between 7 and 20
volts.

3.1.2 Liquid Crystal Display(LCD).

Liquid crystal Display LCD is a blend of two solid and liquid states of matter. It is an electronic
display module with a 16x2 LCD screen which says that it has 16 characters concerning 2 rows.
LCD uses a crystal liquid to produce a visible image. Such a technique has been used to show a
picture on a laptop or some other computer tool, here we make use of the display to represent the
abnormal events inside and outside the drainage manhole.

3.1.3 GSM Module.

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Global Systems for Mobile communication (GSM) can transmit Voice, SMS, and data
information with low power usage. It is used in the transmission and receiving of messages, here,
we make use of this module to send messages regarding the abnormal events which might have
occurred in the underground drainage system.

3.1.4 GPS Module.

The global positioning System(GPS) Module is a circuit that allows the Arduino, microcontroller
to get the geographical position and altitude value of a subject.GPS Module has relatively tiny
antennas to receive data from satellites moving at relativistic orbital speed.

3.1.5 Light sensor.

The light sensor is used to check whether a manhole is open or closed. When a manhole is
opened light falls on the sensor and crosses the threshold value and sends the data to the
controller. Meanwhile, this sensor sends real-time data to the drainage authorities at regular
intervals.

3.1.6 Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04.

The ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04 uses sonar to calculate the level of the slurry in the manhole. It
gives excellent non-contact range detection with high accuracy and stable readings and it is
available in an easy-to-use package; it can be calculated from 1 inch to 13 feet. This sensor uses
a Power Supply of +5V DC having a Quiescent Current of less than 2mA.

3.1.7 Gas Sensor

A gas sensor is a device that usually as part of a security system detects gas occurrence in a
region. This type of equipment is used to notice gas leakage or other emissions and can interface
with an Arduino microcontroller to automatically send an alert when poisonous gases cross a
threshold value.

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3.2 Research design
Research design is the overall strategy used to integrate the different components of the study
coherently and logically. The block diagram for this underground drainage automated system
provides brief explanations of the system design which is comprised of the hardware parts of the
system as shown below.

Power
Supply

Ultrasonic GSM
Sensor Module

Arduino
Uno Board
Light Sensor

GPS
Gas Sensor Module

LCD
Display

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 Figure 1:Block Diagram of the system.
The block diagram in Figure 1 shows the major component of the automated drainage
monitoring system. This system consists of various types of sensors such as ultrasonic sensors,
light sensors, and gas sensors. These sensors are interfaced with the Arduino Uno
microcontroller. The sensors identify whether the manhole cover is opened or closed, as well as
the slurry level and gas level inside the manhole. A global positioning system (GPS) module is
used to locate the manhole. The related information is transferred through the Global system for
mobile communication (GSM) module with the details and further actions to be taken care of by
the authorities.

3.3 Experimental techniques.

The project uses the experimental approach since much of it is on designing an automated
underground drainage monitoring system. This design is done using an Arduino Uno
microcontroller and sensors such as an Ultrasonic sensor, Light sensor, and gas sensor which will
be used for data collection.

3.4 Working principle

The Arduino Uno microcontroller is powered and it immediately begins to analyze detected
information of any dangerous gas, slurry level, and open manhole. When any of the parameters
change, the system notifies the authorities. The Ultrasonic level sensor monitors the slurry level
in the manhole and sends an early warning if it rises. Then is followed by checking if the slurry
level inside the manhole is within control, and then a light sensor is used to determine if the
manhole is open or closed. If the manhole is open, the light intensity crosses a threshold value
and an alert message is sent to the drainage authorities. Also, if the gas sensor determines there is
dangerous gas above the manhole, an urgent alert will be sent to the corporate office’s authorities
attached with the geographical location of the fault, this will be achieved by the use of GSM and
GPS modules.

3.5 Procedure
The readings of many sensors are taken into consideration in this project, and the manhole is
constantly maintained and checked. The simulation method was carried out using Arduino UNO.
Then all of the values are double-checked, and the procedures are as follows:
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Step 1: The Ultrasonic level sensor determines whether or not the slurry level has risen. If yes, it
sends a message through GSM Module to the authorities’ mobile phone, otherwise, it continues
to monitor.
Step 2: The gas sensor will then check for the presence of gas within the manhole, and if there is
any, it will send an urgent message, otherwise it will continue to monitor.
Step 3: Then light sensor will monitor if the manhole is open or closed, and if it’s opened an
SMS alert message is sent to the authorities, otherwise, it continues to monitor.
Step 4: Lastly, the GPS module allows the Arduino microcontroller to get the exact position and
altitude value of the faulty drainage system.

3.4 Data analysis and presentation

The data collected from various manholes shall be analyzed by use of an excel tool and presented
through graphs and tables. The required calculations will be conducted to assess the major causes
of the health issues and accidents that stem from faulty underground drainage systems either by
slurry overflow, toxic gases, or open manholes. This analysis will help to make informed
protection decisions on time.

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 CHAPTER 4: WORK PLAN AND BUDGET
4.1 Work plan.
DURATION
16 WEEKS 16 WEEKS
ACTIVITIES
SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR
2022 2022 2022 2022 2023 2023 2023 2023
Formulating the J
research problem
Extensive literature
review
Developing the
objectives
Proposal writing
Presentation/defense
of the proposal
Laboratory
experiment
Preparation of the
report
Presentation of
results-formal write-
ups of conclusions
reached

Table 2: Work Plan for a research project.

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4.2 Budget.

Table 3: Budget for the research project

S/No. Item Description Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost

1. Arduino UNO Board 1 1800 1800

2. GSM Module 1 1000 1000

NEO-6M GPS
3. 1 800 800
Module

4. LCD Display 1 450 450

Ultrasonic sensor
5. 1 250 250
HC-SR04

6. Gas sensor 1 400 400

7. LDR Light Sensor 1 250 250

8. 9v Battery 1 400 400

9. Printing 2 250 500

10. Spiral Binding 2 60 120

11. Surfing/Browsing 2 200 200

12. SUBTOTAL 6170

13. Miscellaneous (10 %) 600

14. TOTAL 6770

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REFERENCES
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Development of Automated Drainage System. 2022 IEEE International Conference on
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https://doi.org/10.1109/I2CACIS54679.2022.9815464.
2) Sihombing, J., Jaenul, A., Wilyanti, S., & Putri, N. (2022). Prototype of Drainage Water
Level Monitoring System Using Internet of Things (IoT) Based, SMARTICS, 2:10–16
3) Bhojane, V., Bhosale, A., Sankpal, A., Bhosale, S., & Patil, U. (2021). IoT-Based
Underground Drainage and Manhole Monitoring System for Cities. In International
Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 2,(Issue 7):1-6
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using IoT. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.16-4-2022.2318149
5) Tasin, H. S., Sarkar, M. S., Rahman, M. A., Shara, S. H., & Zishan, M. S. R. (2021).
Design and Development of Uncapped Manhole Detection System for Waterlogged
Roads. International Conference on Robotics, Electrical and Signal Processing
Techniques, 561–566. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICREST51555.2021.9331141
6) D, P. B., Kumar, K. M., R, K. T., Aranha, M., & S, P. K. (2021). Intelligent Human Free
Sewage Alerting and Monitoring System.
7) Tiwari, S., & Bhorkar, M. (2020). Design of Underground Drainage System in Rural
Area UsingSewerGEMS Software. International Research Journal of Engineering and
Technology. www.irjet.net
8) Abdulhayan, S., Sharma, R., Ainapur, P., Sanjay Wadakar, S., & Professor, A. (2019).
Underground Drainage Monitoring System. IJSDR1905040 International Journal of
Scientific Development and Research. www.ijsdr.org
9) Ainapur, P., Sanjay Wadakar, S., Sharma, R., & Abdulhayan, S. (2019). Underground
Drainage Monitoring System. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2590942
10) Viswanadh, K., Rojitha, P., Khadija, S. K., Venkataraju, S. M. S. P. C., Nagamani, P., &
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IOT (Vol. 6). www.jetir.org

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