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Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.

Kayakers prepare for launching in a past River Fest in downtown Linden. 

A HyFi sensor is secured at the LeRoy Street bridge over the Shiawassee River in downtown Fenton. The device will provide water depth in real time for users of the river.

The map at shiawasseewatertrail.org/news shows exactly where HyFi sensors are located on the Shiawassee River. Here you can see where three are located in Fenton and Linden with the purple indicators. 

The HyFi sensor on the Shiawassee River at Torrey Road in Fenton on March 23 indicates the water depth is 3.156 feet.

It’s important for users of the Shiawassee River to know water depths and if boating/kayaking conditions are safe.

Kayakers prepare for launching in a past River Fest in downtown Linden. 

A HyFi sensor is secured at the LeRoy Street bridge over the Shiawassee River in downtown Fenton. The device will provide water depth in real time for users of the river.

The map at shiawasseewatertrail.org/news shows exactly where HyFi sensors are located on the Shiawassee River. Here you can see where three are located in Fenton and Linden with the purple indicators. 

The HyFi sensor on the Shiawassee River at Torrey Road in Fenton on March 23 indicates the water depth is 3.156 feet.

It’s important for users of the Shiawassee River to know water depths and if boating/kayaking conditions are safe.

 Are you planning to use the Shiawassee River soon? Check out the shiawasseewatertrail.org/news website, which contains real time information on the water levels. 

 HyFi, a water level reporting agency based out of Ann Arbor, installed mroe than a dozen sensors along the river in September 2020. Users can see the water depth in Fenton at the LeRoy Street bridge or at the Torrey Road bridge in real time. 

 “Perhaps the biggest benefit of real time data is the increased awareness, whether it’s related to paddling during the best river conditions or avoiding commonly flooded roadways on your commute. These devices can instantly report flooding to insurers and city managers while you stay out of harm’s way,” said Brandon Wong, HyFi CEO. 

 Intense storms are becoming more common, and this technology gives them on-the-ground information at their fingertips, which will help them better weather these storms and enjoy the waterways. The sensors use ultrasonic sensors, which are similar to the sensors used in automatic doors. It reports the data as a sea level measurement and it’s exact to a millimeter.

 Wong said even though they grew from one device to more than 20, it’s still a “new frontier.”

 “We quickly found that the data became much more useful once packaged as alerts for flood response, reports for project planning, and visuals for public communications. The input we received from local first responders, stormwater managers, and paddlers has been monumental in helping us further refine this experience for those who live along the river and beyond,” he said. 

 David Lossing, chair of the Shiawassee River Water Trail Coalition, is an avid user of the Shiawassee River and regularly checks this data. 

 “A few weeks ago, due to warm weather, rain, and ice flows, the river had risen in some places to nearly 10 feet deep. That is not a safe time to enter the river, regardless of how experienced a user might be,” he said. “We are thankful to HyFi for selecting the Shiawassee River as the only watershed in Michigan working with their team at this time. The other two watersheds are in Ohio and New York state.”

 HyFi has expanded its network. Its technology now gathers data from more than 150 locations between four states across the Great Lakes. Wong said their low-maintenance design and network of local partners helps ensure the data streams in reliability, and this has allowed them to roll out upgrades in a timely manner as they continue to utilize the latest technologies. 

 HyFi is focusing on working with local organizations and municipalities along the Shiawassee River to foster relationships and determine where on the river these sensors should be placed and how many they need. 

 They have plans to add more. 

 “There has been strong demand to add more devices here along the Shiawassee as well as growing interest to add new networks across the country. The Shiawassee River network has provided us with invaluable experience that has helped us develop a suite of devices and services that we believe will benefit similar communities nationwide,” Wong said. 

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