| Sumario: | Indus Telemetry was launched in 2017 as a research-for-development initiative in Pakistan, led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in collaboration with the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and provincial irrigation departments. Its purpose was to develop a transparent, automated system for monitoring canal flows and supporting surface water accounting across the Indus Basin Irrigation System in Pakistan. The project concluded in 2025 with the successful transfer of the system to a provincial irrigation department, marking a sustainable handover of both technology and operational capacity.
The initiative supports Pakistan’s National Water Policy 2018, which calls for nationwide telemetry installation to improve real‑time water accounting. Indus Telemetry has been deployed across 11 main canals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, using state-of-the-art instruments, sensors, and data processing methods. This manual document the procedures for setting up a typical telemetry station, emphasizing replicable steps rather than brand‑specific technicalities.
The project emerged in response to longstanding challenges in managing the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS), where water scarcity, climate variability, and disputes over distribution highlight the need for reliable, tamper‑proof data. Telemetry offers significant benefits such as automation, reduced human error, timely adjustments of water supply, and support for making operational decision. However, its implementation is usually hindered by technical, institutional, and financial barriers. Learning from Indus Telemetry experience, this manual offers technical procedure involved in setting up flow telemetry system. The intended audience of this manual is research community, water managers, and development partners.
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