Monitoring System Improvements – Pilot Case 2 (Boršt TMF, Žirovski Vrh, Slovenia)

Our partners from ZAG – Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute have successfully implemented several improvements to the monitoring system at Pilot Case 2, aimed at increasing the accuracy, continuity, and availability of key environmental and geodetic data.

To enhance geodetic measurements on the tailings management facility (TMF), which is partly located on an active landslide, low-cost GNSS sensors were installed at two locations. The measurements are calibrated using two stable reference points, improving positional accuracy in all three spatial directions. The GNSS units are solar-powered, allowing continuous long-term data collection without the need for external power supply. Their low cost also creates opportunities for future scaling of the monitoring network and increasing the spatial coverage of displacement detection.

In addition, ZAG has deployed continuous water-level and temperature monitoring in four piezometer boreholes. The data are accessible remotely in real time, enabling efficient tracking of groundwater level changes, especially during periods of heavy precipitation. These data can be integrated with outputs from the nearby remote weather and precipitation station operated by the University of Ljubljana, supporting a more comprehensive assessment of rainfall impacts on groundwater dynamics within the TMF area.