Remote monitoring of water wells without power supply

Abstraction wells are subject to ageing processes. Ochre sedimentation caused by iron and manganese ore deposits can have a severe impact on the efficiency of water abstraction. Thus, efficient groundwater management involving long-term well monitoring is key to sustainable water supply. This allows well operators to plan for, water well maintenance ahead of time and optimize well rehabilitation.

For monitoring of groundwater abstraction wells, KROHNE offers a tailored energy self-sufficient measurement solution with wireless communication. The solution perfectly fits the existing infrastructure, which in most cases involves vacuum wells without power supply. The measurement solution combines a battery-powered water meter with a pressure transmitter and a hydrostatic level probe. Pressure and level devices are both loop-powered by a battery-operated data logger with integrated GSM/GPRS module.

The most important parameters like flow rate of abstracted water, negative pressure and groundwater level are wirelessly transmitted to the control room. The time interval of data transfer is freely adjustable. Using this solution enables operators to monitor the efficiency of water abstraction and water well ageing on an ongoing basis.

The solution can also provide additional information about the status of each installation – e.g. the status of the power supply or a battery change due for the water meter and antenna are indicated. Possible errors, critical battery levels and preset thresholds trigger an alarm in the control room via SMS or email.