--- title: "Water and hydrology | Nexus Observatory" description: "Stream gauges and rain networks, groundwater and water-quality sensing, flood observing for utilities and basin authorities…" url: https://observatory.global/industries/water/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-11-02 --- Water: every catchment gauged: the site at a glance. [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) / **Water** # Every catchment, gauged. Stream gauges and rain networks, groundwater and water-quality sensing, flood observing for utilities and basin authorities, and Earth observation of reservoirs, snow and inundation, delivered with the completeness a hydrologist checks first. [Plan with us](https://observatory.global/industries/water/contact/) [Use cases](https://observatory.global/industries/water/use-cases/) Reference design, drawn to scale · drag to turn **01** In the field ## River basin Water-level gauges along a river valley floor, a weather station and an edge node: the red isoline is the ground that lies within a few metres of the lowest point of the reach. [Open the tour](https://observatory.global/environments/river-basin/) [Farm](https://observatory.global/environments/farm/) **02** Stories ## How it works, in place. Interactive stories with figures drawn to scale and every claim referenced. [All stories](https://observatory.global/stories/) [Place: Farmland **Field to forecast** A farm observes water: in the soil, in the crop and in the air above it. Crop water use is computed from weather with a method agronomists have shared for…](https://observatory.global/stories/farmland/) [Place: River basin and floods **Rising water, counted in metres** A flood map is a sentence about the future: this ground lies below that level. Gauges along the valley, a weather station and a terrain model turn the…](https://observatory.global/stories/river-floods/) [System: LPWAN and mesh **Kilometres on a coin cell** Most environmental sensors send a few bytes a few times an hour. Low-power wide-area networks trade bandwidth for range and battery life; mesh networks…](https://observatory.global/stories/lpwan-mesh/) **03** What it needs to observe ## What this industry has to measure. Measurement, reporting and verification for methane, carbon, biodiversity and water quality. **01** River level and discharge **02** Rainfall and snow **03** Groundwater **04** Water quality **05** Inundation extent **04** Use cases ## Where it is deployed. Deployment scenarios from the sector research and the use-case library. Use case · low complexity ### Street flood observatory Ultrasonic depth sensors on poles report street-level water depth as open data and alerts. **Who**: Cities, emergency management agencies and universities. **Data**: Street-level water depth time series; Open data feed and alerts to emergency management and 311 OGC SensorThings API 1.1 Municipal open-data terms [The full use case →](https://observatory.global/use-cases/street-flood/) Use case · low to medium complexity ### Hybrid air-quality observatory A few reference analysers and many low-cost nodes, with co-location calibration and an open-data feed. **Who**: Cities, public-health units, school districts. **Data**: Air-quality index and hyperlocal maps, labelled supplementary; Calibrated time series with quality flags; Publication route to an open air-quality aggregator EU Directive 2024/2881 (ambient air quality) CEN/TS 17660 (sensor systems) US EPA FEM/FRM reference methods [The full use case →](https://observatory.global/use-cases/hybrid-air-quality/) Use case · high complexity ### GBON gap-filler station A WMO-grade surface station, optional upper-air ground station and a WIS 2.0 node, built to report reliably where the global basic observing network has gaps. **Who**: National meteorological and hydrological services, through their implementing entities. **Data**: Hourly and sub-hourly BUFR observations to WIS 2.0; National open data and verification feeds; Reporting-uptime evidence WMO-No. 8 (CIMO Guide) WMO-No. 1160 (Manual on WIGOS, GBON) WMO WIS 2.0 WMO-No. 306 (BUFR) [The full use case →](https://observatory.global/use-cases/gbon-gap-filler/) Environment and climate ### Methane fenceline and site-level continuous monitoring Regulatory cadences in the EU and reporting levels in voluntary frameworks. Environment and climate ### Biodiversity measurement with acoustics and camera traps Acoustic baselines as a biodiversity data source; no registry methodology accepting acoustic data was found. Environment and climate ### Wildfire smoke and particulate health networks Overlaps with cities and public safety. [Every use case](https://observatory.global/industries/water/use-cases/) **05** Solutions ## What we deliver. Each offer is designed, deployed and run on the open protocol by Nexus Observatory Inc. managed service, data licence ### Sensing as a Service Observation networks designed, installed, operated and maintained for a monthly fee: weather, hydromet, air, seismic and environmental stations, with data delivered under a licence. [How we deliver it →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/#sensing-service) hardware + software, managed service, build-operate-transfer ### 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. [How we deliver it →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/#hydromet-networks) data licence, professional services ### Earth observation tasking, processing and change detection SAR and optical acquisition planning, analysis-ready processing and change detection checked against field truth, delivered as STAC and COG. [How we deliver it →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/#eo-services) managed service, data licence ### Structural and ground-movement monitoring GNSS, InSAR, tilt, strain and fibre sensing on bridges, dams, slopes, tailings and pipelines, with alert thresholds set by the owner. [How we deliver it →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/#infrastructure-monitoring) managed service, data licence ### Environmental and permit monitoring Emissions, water quality, noise and dust monitoring for permit conditions, with traceable calibration and evidence bundles. [How we deliver it →](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/#environmental-compliance) **06** Service platforms ## The platforms behind it. 6 of the network's service platforms build the systems this industry runs on. [Service platform Sensors & instrumentsMeasurements that carry their own proof.](https://observatory.global/sensors/) [Service platform Field servicesSurvey to decommission, one accountable crew.](https://observatory.global/field-services/) [Service platform ConnectivityPrivate 5G, AI-RAN and orbit, on site.](https://observatory.global/connectivity/) [Service platform Data & licensingGrid data, licensed for your use.](https://observatory.global/data-products/) [Service platform Earth observation & GeoAIThe ground, measured and modelled.](https://observatory.global/earth-observation/) [Service platform Digital twins and simulationModel the site before you build it.](https://observatory.global/digital-twins/) **07** Open and community ## Open by default. Built with the people who use it. Open data, open methods and the open protocol, with the people who use them. Open projects this community builds on - OpenAQ - Safecast - AudioMoth - FLUXNET and ICOS tools - Global Forest Watch - FloodNet NYC open hardware - UCAR 3D-PAWS - Open CAP editors - WIS2 reference nodes (wis2box) - Sensor.Community Take part - [Join the community, one account for the whole network](https://observatory.global/industries/water/community/) - [Use the open methods and templates](https://observatory.global/industries/water/open/) - [Follow a learning path](https://observatory.global/industries/water/resources/) - [Read the country notes](https://observatory.global/industries/water/countries/) **08** Earth and environment ## Neighbouring industries. [Industry ClimateThe atmosphere, observed to the standard science needs.](https://observatory.global/industries/climate/) [Industry NatureHabitat, measured without disturbing it.](https://observatory.global/industries/nature/) [Industry OceansFrom the coastline to the open ocean.](https://observatory.global/industries/oceans/) [Industry AgricultureFarm decisions on measured ground.](https://observatory.global/industries/agriculture/) ## Bring us the site. Survey, design, deployment and operation for water. The form names who receives your details. [Talk to us](https://observatory.global/contact/) [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) [Home](https://observatory.global/industries/water/) [Use cases](https://observatory.global/industries/water/use-cases/) [Solutions](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/) [Systems and technologies](https://observatory.global/industries/water/systems/) [Frontier](https://observatory.global/industries/water/frontier/) [Open](https://observatory.global/industries/water/open/) [Community](https://observatory.global/industries/water/community/) [Countries](https://observatory.global/industries/water/countries/) [Resources](https://observatory.global/industries/water/resources/) [Contact](https://observatory.global/industries/water/contact/) [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/)**Water and hydrology** . Every catchment, gauged.[Talk to us](https://observatory.global/industries/water/contact/) Water - [Use cases](https://observatory.global/industries/water/use-cases/) - [Solutions](https://observatory.global/industries/water/solutions/) - [Systems and technologies](https://observatory.global/industries/water/systems/) - [Frontier](https://observatory.global/industries/water/frontier/) - [Open](https://observatory.global/industries/water/open/) - [Community](https://observatory.global/industries/water/community/) - [Countries](https://observatory.global/industries/water/countries/) Platforms - [Sensors & instruments](https://observatory.global/sensors/) - [Field services](https://observatory.global/field-services/) - [Connectivity](https://observatory.global/connectivity/) - [Data & licensing](https://observatory.global/data-products/) - [Earth observation & GeoAI](https://observatory.global/earth-observation/) - [Digital twins and simulation](https://observatory.global/digital-twins/) Earth and environment - [Climate](https://observatory.global/industries/climate/) - [Nature](https://observatory.global/industries/nature/) - [Oceans](https://observatory.global/industries/oceans/) - [Agriculture](https://observatory.global/industries/agriculture/) Open - [Protocol](https://observatory.global/protocol/) - [Technologies](https://observatory.global/technologies/) - [Industries](https://observatory.global/industries/) - [Countries](https://observatory.global/countries/) © 2026 Nexus Observatory Inc. 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