--- title: "Groundwater and aquifers monitoring | Nexus Observatory" description: "Aquifers supply drinking water, farms and industry, and they change slowly until they change for good. Levels, salinity and abstraction measured in wells…" url: https://observatory.global/industries/water/groundwater/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-11-02 --- [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) / [Water](https://observatory.global/industries/water/) / [Specialized fields](https://observatory.global/industries/water/fields/) / **Groundwater and aquifers** # Groundwater, measured where no one can see it. Aquifers supply drinking water, farms and industry, and they change slowly until they change for good. Levels, salinity and abstraction measured in wells across an aquifer show how it responds to pumping, drought and recharge. Battery endpoints and LoRaWAN make dense networks affordable, and one record serves the agency that licenses and the users who pump. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) How it works [Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) **Industry**: Water **Measurements**: 5 **Sources cited**: 4 1. Water · Groundwater and aquifers An aquifer changes slowly, then for good Aquifers respond to pumping, drought and recharge over seasons and years, out of sight. By the time a well runs dry or turns salty, the damage is done. Dense, continuous measurement across an aquifer shows the change early enough for agencies and users to act. 2. What is measured Level, salinity and abstraction Level and conductivity sensors in monitoring wells follow the aquifer; meters on production wells record abstraction; weather stations over the recharge area record rainfall. Laboratory chemistry from sampled wells remains the measurement of record and joins the same series. Each reading carries its well. InstrumentsLevel · Conductivity · Abstraction meters · Rain gauges · Laboratory samples 3. The base node An endpoint in the well cap A battery endpoint in each well cap reads its sensor, stamps and signs each value with the well's identity and sends short messages to a gateway. Gateways check for steps and drift, so a moved sensor or a failing battery is flagged before data is lost. 4. Radio and links LoRaWAN across the aquifer Wells are many, scattered and unpowered, so battery endpoints report over LoRaWAN to a few gateways on high points. Gateways use cellular backhaul near towns and satellite IoT where nothing else reaches. Each gateway's coverage is measured in the survey, so no well is left out of reach. LinksLoRaWAN · Public cellular · Satellite 5. How it works From a well to a licence decision A level reading leaves the well cap over LoRaWAN, reaches the gateway, crosses the cellular network and lands in the agency's database with its well identity and quality code. There it joins abstraction and rainfall, and drought or licence triggers are evaluated against it. 6. From order to operation · Order Scope the aquifer and its questions The scope reads the agency's monitoring programme, the licences in force and the questions that matter: drought, salinity, contamination or subsidence. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a well and gateway plan, the data workflow and a price per well and per service. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) 7. From order to operation · Survey Check every well Crews visit each well with the hydrogeologist: depth, casing, existing loggers, access and security. They measure radio coverage at the wellhead, choose gateway sites and record each well's reference point and coordinates. Wells that cannot be secured or reached in every season are noted, and alternatives are found before the design is fixed. 8. From order to operation · Permits Access and data agreements Wells on private land need the owner's consent, and production well metering follows the licence conditions. Agreements set which data goes to the agency, which stays with the user and which is published. Each agreement is kept with the well it covers, so the next crew knows the conditions before arriving. 9. From order to operation · Build Build endpoints for well caps Sensors, cables cut to depth and endpoints are prepared per well, tested and enrolled with their identities and the well they belong to. Gateways are configured with their coverage area and backhaul. Each sensor's cable length is recorded, so depths stay correct when sensors are exchanged years later. [Open the Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) 10. From order to operation · Install Install and reference Gateways go up first, then each sensor is lowered to its depth, the endpoint fitted in the cap and the first reading checked against a manual dip. Every well is photographed and its reference point recorded. Wells are locked and caps sealed against surface water. 11. From order to operation · Commission Commission against manual dips Each endpoint proves its identity, then level and conductivity are compared with a manual dip and a field meter. Data flows are tested to the agency's database and the user's dashboard. Any difference from the manual dip is recorded as the sensor's offset, so the series starts on the well's own reference. 12. From order to operation · Operate Watch the aquifer respond Hydrogeologists see levels and salinity across the aquifer beside abstraction and rainfall; drought and licence triggers are shown against agreed levels; users see their own wells. Every alert and decision is logged. Users see their own wells beside the aquifer's trend, so decisions about pumping are made on the same evidence the agency uses. 13. From order to operation · Maintain Decades of consistent data Manual dips continue on schedule to check sensors, batteries are replaced before they fail and sensors are recalibrated. Every change is recorded, so long series stay comparable for planning and licensing. Wells that fall silent are visited first, because gaps in long series are hardest to fill. [Book field services](https://observatory.global/contact/field-service/) 14. Data products For agencies, users and planners Hydrogeologists and agencies receive level and salinity series; licensing teams see abstraction against licences; water managers see drought triggers; users see their own wells; planners and the public receive aquifer status reports. Each product carries its quality codes. Each comes from the same record. [See the data products](https://observatory.global/data-products/) 15. Evidence Evidence for licensing and planning Reference points, manual dips, calibrations, every alert and every change are signed and kept. Monitoring follows hydrological practice and the river basin planning framework, and series are exchanged through open water data standards, so every licence decision can be traced to its readings. Drawn againstDirective 2000/60/EC · WMO-No. 168 · OGC WaterML 16. What you get Hydrometeorological and flood observing networks Stream gauges, rain gauges, weather radar and automatic weather stations built to WMO practice, reporting through WIS 2.0 where the agency requires it. Delivered as hardware + software, managed service and build-operate-transfer, for national meteorological and hydrological services, river-basin agencies, utilities. [Talk to sales](https://observatory.global/contact/sales-enquiry/) 17. Next step Plan groundwater and aquifers with us Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for groundwater and aquifers. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) [Open the Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) [Open the Studio](https://observatory.global/studio/) **01** The place and its hazards ## Where it runs, and what can go wrong. Operating contextGroundwater is managed by agencies that license abstraction, protect quality and plan for drought, and used by utilities, farms and industry. Monitoring wells measure water levels and quality over decades; production wells report abstraction. Coastal aquifers are threatened by saline intrusion, and over-pumping lowers levels and can make land subside. Hazards - Declining levels from abstraction beyond recharge - Saline intrusion in coastal aquifers - Contamination from land use and industry - Land subsidence over depleted aquifers - Data gaps from failed or unvisited loggers **02** What must be measured ## What, where, how often, and under which rules. Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below. | Measurement | Where | Cadence | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Groundwater level | Monitoring wells across the aquifer and near major abstractions | Continuous, logged at the interval the programme sets | 12 | | Conductivity and temperature | Monitoring wells, especially near coasts | Continuous | 2 | | Abstraction volume | Production wells, by meters | Continuous | 2 | | Laboratory chemistry | Monitoring wells on the programme's schedule | As the monitoring programme sets | 23 | | Rainfall for recharge | Weather stations over the recharge area | Continuous | 4 | **03** The observation stack ## From one base unit to a network. The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol. 1. **01** Base unit A wellhead endpoint: a level and conductivity sensor read by a battery LPWAN device in the well cap. [Build a station →](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) 2. **02** Site An aquifer zone: monitoring and production wells, a rain gauge and LoRaWAN gateways on high points. [Plan a site →](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) 3. **03** Fleet Every well of an agency or a utility run as one fleet, with one quality process and one record. [Managed offers →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/) 4. **04** Network Agencies, utilities and irrigators share federated records, each with the access the licence and agreements give them. [The open protocol →](https://observatory.global/protocol/) - **01** Water level gauge - **02** Water quality sonde - **03** LPWAN endpoint - **04** LoRaWAN gateway - **05** Cellular modem/router - **06** Solar array - **07** Pole Radio and links ### LoRaWAN Wells are spread widely and unpowered; battery endpoints in the well cap report through a few gateways. Radio and links ### Public cellular Gateways and wells near towns use cellular backhaul. Radio and links ### Satellite Remote gateways and wells use satellite IoT where nothing else reaches. Edge computeGateways check readings for steps and drift, so a moved sensor or a failing battery is flagged before months of data are lost. PowerEndpoints run on batteries for long periods between visits; gateways run on small solar panels. **04** How it works ## From the instrument to the product. One observation's path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks. Groundwater and aquifers: data path – of 07 01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Field radio 03 Gateway 04 Backhaul 05 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 06 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 07 Products OGC WaterML 2.0OGC SensorThings APILoRaWAN 08 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC to the field equipment 01 Water level gauge SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 Water quality sonde SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 03 LPWAN endpoint Analogue I/O · SDI-12 · RS-485 04 LoRaWAN gateway Ethernet · RF · GNSS antenna 05 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Groundwater level and salinity series Abstraction against licence Drought and trigger status Aquifer status reports 06 Solar array RS-485 07 Pole SDI-12 SDI-12 LoRaWAN Ethernet LTE/NR From the instrument to the published product: each band is a tier, each connector names its interface, and the numbers match the bill of materials. Hover or focus a block to trace its path; scroll or step to follow one observation. | Item | Equipment | Data ports | Protocols | Power in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 01 | **Water level gauge** Radar, pressure or float gauge for river, lake, reservoir or tide level. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC | | 02 | **Water quality sonde** Multi-parameter sonde for temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC | | 03 | **LPWAN endpoint** Battery-powered endpoint on LoRaWAN, NB-IoT or LTE-M that carries one or more sensors. | Analogue I/OSDI-12RS-485 | LoRaWAN, OMA LwM2M, CoAP | Internal battery, Energy harvesting | | 04 | **LoRaWAN gateway** Multi-channel LoRaWAN gateway that forwards uplinks to a network server and schedules downlinks within duty limits. | EthernetRFGNSS antenna | LoRaWAN, MQTT 5 | PoE, 12 V DC | | 05 | **Cellular modem/router** LTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul. | EthernetUSBRS-232 | 3GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE | | 06 | **Solar array** PV modules with charge controller sized to the site's load and climate. | RS-485 | Modbus | — | | 07 | **Pole** Utility, street or dedicated pole with clamp positions. | — | — | — | How it scales 01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces. SITE Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality. CLUSTER ×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites. FLEET Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts. TRUST DOMAIN TRUST DOMAIN TRUST DOMAIN ×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange The smallest deployable unit is one node; the same unit is replicated to meet the demand. Nodes form a site, sites may form a cluster, sites and clusters are coordinated as a fleet, and fleets exchange across independently administered trust domains. Each plane is a separate channel with its own open binding. **Data in the field**: MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses. **Telemetry**: OpenTelemetry OTLP. **Control**: TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2. **Data upstream**: At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links. **Evidence**: DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts. **Events**: Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3. **Exchange**: OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0. **05** From order to operation ## Every step, from the first call to a running site. The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance. 1. 01 Order Scope the aquifer and its questions The scope reads the agency's monitoring programme, the licences in force and the questions that matter: drought, salinity, contamination or subsidence. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a well and gateway plan, the data workflow and a price per well and per service. 2 2. 02 Survey Check every well Crews visit each well with the hydrogeologist: depth, casing, existing loggers, access and security. They measure radio coverage at the wellhead, choose gateway sites and record each well's reference point and coordinates. Wells that cannot be secured or reached in every season are noted, and alternatives are found before the design is fixed. 3. 03 Permits Access and data agreements Wells on private land need the owner's consent, and production well metering follows the licence conditions. Agreements set which data goes to the agency, which stays with the user and which is published. Each agreement is kept with the well it covers, so the next crew knows the conditions before arriving. 4. 04 Build Build endpoints for well caps Sensors, cables cut to depth and endpoints are prepared per well, tested and enrolled with their identities and the well they belong to. Gateways are configured with their coverage area and backhaul. Each sensor's cable length is recorded, so depths stay correct when sensors are exchanged years later. 5. 05 Install Install and reference Gateways go up first, then each sensor is lowered to its depth, the endpoint fitted in the cap and the first reading checked against a manual dip. Every well is photographed and its reference point recorded. Wells are locked and caps sealed against surface water. 6. 06 Commission Commission against manual dips Each endpoint proves its identity, then level and conductivity are compared with a manual dip and a field meter. Data flows are tested to the agency's database and the user's dashboard. Any difference from the manual dip is recorded as the sensor's offset, so the series starts on the well's own reference. 7. 07 Operate Watch the aquifer respond Hydrogeologists see levels and salinity across the aquifer beside abstraction and rainfall; drought and licence triggers are shown against agreed levels; users see their own wells. Every alert and decision is logged. Users see their own wells beside the aquifer's trend, so decisions about pumping are made on the same evidence the agency uses. 8. 08 Maintain Decades of consistent data Manual dips continue on schedule to check sensors, batteries are replaced before they fail and sensors are recalibrated. Every change is recorded, so long series stay comparable for planning and licensing. Wells that fall silent are visited first, because gaps in long series are hardest to fill. **06** Data products and integration ## What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems. Data products - **Groundwater level and salinity series** Hydrogeologists and agencies - **Abstraction against licence** Licensing teams and water users - **Drought and trigger status** Water managers - **Aquifer status reports** Planners and the public Integration - **Groundwater database** Series move through OGC WaterML and SensorThings into the agency's database. - **Licensing system** Metered abstraction is matched to each licence. - **Laboratory system** Sample results are joined to wells with their chain of custody. Exchanged through OGC WaterML 2.0, OGC SensorThings API, LoRaWAN. **07** Questions buyers ask ## Before you scope it. Can we reuse existing loggers? Often yes. Loggers with standard outputs can be read by endpoints; otherwise sensors are replaced well by well. How long do batteries last? It depends on the reporting interval and radio conditions; the plan states the expected interval between visits for your settings. Do sensors replace sampling? No. Laboratory chemistry remains the measurement of record; sensors show change between samples. Can water users see their own data? Yes, under the agreements set at the start. **08** Resources ## The sources behind this page. Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does. 1. **1** [Guide to Hydrological Practices (WMO-No. 168)](https://library.wmo.int/) World Meteorological Organization 2. **2** [Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2000/60/oj) European Union · 2000 3. **3** [Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, and water safety plans](https://www.who.int/) World Health Organization 4. **4** [Guide to Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO-No. 8)](https://library.wmo.int/) World Meteorological Organization **09** Related ## Use cases and solutions. [Use case Agromet cooperative networkCompact weather stations and soil probes on farms, feeding irrigation, frost and disease models for a cooperative or an insurer.The full use case →](https://observatory.global/use-cases/agromet-cooperative/) [Solution Hydrometeorological and flood observing networksStream gauges, rain gauges, weather radar and automatic weather stations built to WMO practice, reporting through WIS 2.0 where the agency requires it.Solutions for water →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/#hydromet-networks) [Solution Agricultural field observatoriesSoil moisture profiles, micro-weather and evapotranspiration with irrigation thresholds per field.Solutions for water →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/#agri-field-observatories) **10** Water: specialized fields ## Other fields of this industry. [Specialized field Rivers and flood warningRiver level and flow, rainfall and cameras at gauging stations, flood forecasts and warnings issued by the authority, on links that keep working when the river rises.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/rivers-floods/) [Specialized field Drinking water treatment and networksWater quality from source to tap, pressure and flow by district, acoustic leak detection and treatment plant monitoring, on secure networks kept apart from plant control.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/drinking-water/) [Specialized field Wastewater and sewer networksSewer levels and overflow events, pumping station status, treatment plant effluent and receiving water quality, to cut overflows and prove compliance.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/wastewater/) [Specialized field Lakes and reservoirsBuoys and profilers for temperature, oxygen and algae, inflow and level, satellite views of blooms, so water suppliers and lake managers act before a bloom closes a source or a beach.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/lakes-reservoirs/) ### Bring us the site. 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