Right now, we are in the middle of Tropical Storm Debby, and I wanted to share with you a crucial benefit of having the Tide Gauges. 

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Having the ability to measure the tide surges gives us a great deal of understanding as to why certain areas are not draining as normal throughout the island.

At the Hilton Head Tide Gauge, we measured 2’ higher than tidecast at low tide. The average was very similar for all our gauges and Fort Pulaski. 

Having this information will allow us to set new standards with regards to elevations, not only to combat Sea Level Rise, but to adjust for tide surges as well. 

The Hohonu mobile app is a capability multiplier for me, providing all critical factors in storm decision-making. ​During Debby, which coincided with king tides and days of heavy rain, it allowed me to track conditions across multiple inlets and river systems without toggling between separate sources. 

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The data informed evacuations, employee safety, and stormwater pumping, while also helping to anticipate impacts on short-term rental revenue. Even after the storm, the data guided responses to offshore swells from Ernesto to prevent beach erosion.

“What this provides for our first responders is more accessibility and ability to actually respond in real time. We see this directly. We see the impact of what climate change is actually doing to our community.

There was a complete lack of data in the South Sound during King Tide events. Our main concern was issuing warnings that turned out to be non-events and losing public confidence.​

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With continued data analysis and working with the Hohonu team, we developed a good understanding of how to use real-time data to support emergency communications and planning.​

The monitor has been a great addition to campus, with nearly everyone who uses the waterfront consulting the tide app frequently.

I have a student who would like to use the raw data in a computer science class—this is exactly what I was hoping for when we installed the monitor.

For the first time, we are starting to get data that helps us understand how the water moves and impacts our community during storms.

This is the first time we have had data with any degree of granularity — data which will lead to more resilient and better prepared communities, from the barrier islands to neighborhoods along our inland waterways. 

We are proud to partner with Hohonu and their team to deploy this first set of devices in Florida. Many more to come!

One data gap that we had on the island was a lack of any real-time water level monitoring. We wanted to gather this information to better forecast flooding and keep residents informed.​

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A tropical event struck the island about a week after installation. A competitors' sensor lost connection to both cellular and satellite services, while the Hohonu unit remained reporting throughout the event.​​

Really excited about this work and what Hohonu is already doing, and how we might have pathways to expand the network.

We had issues with competitors’ instrumentation - difficulty accessing data, limits on the sonic cone, etc.

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Hohonu’s simplified design, installation, and GUI made it very easy and extremely beneficial to our overall data acquisition program.

The biggest impact has been for boaters, who now know when Citadel Creek is navigable. I also plan to have students use the data to better understand flood risk.

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Hohonu’s platform is easy to use, and their customer service is excellent. It’s an easy way to understand water levels for a variety of purposes.