City of San Rafael.
The City of San Rafael is located in the north Bay Area, north of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. The city is surrounded by steep, bare hills. In wet winter months, rains pose flood and flash flood risks to many neighborhoods if stormwater drainage headwalls become clogged with debris. A clogged headwall can result in flooding within a few minutes or hours.
Eyes on every drainage point, without losing control.
Public works crews needed timely intervention to avoid flooding neighborhoods and homes. The city also operates stormwater pumps with debris screens; when those screens clog, the resulting damming and spillover can cause significant flooding in surrounding neighborhoods. The team needed eyes on every critical drainage point — without physically being there.
Twelve sensors across critical points.
In 2020, the City of San Rafael installed ToltHawk Stormwater Monitoring sensors at each of their 12 critical headwalls and stormwater pump stations. Each location was assigned a flood-level threshold. When breached, city employees receive alerts on their cellphones and via email — allowing the team to proactively monitor flooding from their office or home at any given time.
What changed.
- Active monitoring of 12 critical drainage points without physical site visits
- Reduced after-hours emergency dispatches — crews respond only when needed
- Eliminated sleepless nights and "flood anxiety" for public works personnel
- Sensors are battery-operated with solar charging and run maintenance-free for years
The sensors have been a great tool for us. They really give us insight on what is happening during storm events at key locations without us having to physically be there.
The right sensor for the role.
ToltHawk sensors are battery operated, solar charged, and can run for many months without sunlight. They're self-calibrating, easy to install above the water (no wiring or special engineering required), and at approximately $1,200 per cellular unit, they don't require special procurement processes. Wireless data transmits via cellular or satellite networks.
Ready to Monitor
What Matters?
Get a personalized demo and see how ToltHawk sensors can protect your community.