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In January 1998, MeteorComm and its partner British Columbia Hydro International
Ltd. (BCHIL) of Vancouver, British Columbia, signed a contract with Panda Energy
International, Inc. to design, supply, install and commission an audible warning
system for the Bhote Koshi Project located downstream of the Lake Zhangzangbo.
The Bhote Koshi Project is a 36 MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plant located
approximately 110 km northeast of Khatmandu and approximately 5 km south of the
friendship bridge on the Sino-Nepal border. The Bhote Koshi river originates in
the Tibet autonomous region of China (generally known as Poi Qu) and is a tributary
to the Sun Koshi river.
The primary source of flow in the Bhote Koshi river is glacial melts in the dry
season and monsoon rain during the wet season. The approximate area of the watershed
is 2,132 square kilometers with
 the major portion located in China. The northern drainage is formed
by the Himalaya mountain range, which is characterized by steep alpine slopes covered
by snow and glaciers at high elevations. This natural characteristic provides an
abundant source of water for hydroelectric power generation, however, it also presents
natural hazards caused by snow and rock avalanches, debris flow and rupture of glacial
lakes.
The glacial lake of major concern is the Zhangzangbo Lake at the end of the Zhangzangbo
Qu. This lake had ruptured in 1964 and 1981 causing heavy damage to the Sun Koshi
power plant approximately 25 km downstream of the Bhote Koshi power plant. To minimize
hazard to human lives and damage to the power plant, a flood warning system was
installed by MCC and BCHIL. The flood warning system will, in the event a flood
is detected, alert workers during construction and operation, and facilitate timely
closing of the intake gates during operation.
 The system was designed, supplied and installed in an accelerated
program in order to have it operational for the 1998 summer monsoon season. The
warning system relies on MCC’s extended line-of-sight VHF radio technology
communications protocols and equipment. BCHIL installed the sensors, warning stations
and other infrastructure.
The warning system was commissioned in June and has successfully operated through
the most severe monsoon season of the past twenty years,
Meteor Communications Corporation based in Kent Washington, USA is the pioneer and
world leader in the design, manufacture and deployment of turnkey meteor burst communications
systems. Since 1975, the company has successfully provided these wireless, packet
switched networks to its customers throughout the world.
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