The Canadian Region of Waterloo and eleven-x are partnering to test the real-time automated data collection from the region’s water supply production and monitoring wells. eleven-x’s next generation network – utilizing a LoRaWAN™ based carrier grade network that enables low cost connectivity and data communications for IoT applications – could provide the region with real-time communication of the status of key parameters for managing the region’s primary water supply sources.
About 75% of the water supply for the egion is derived from groundwater through a system of 132 large production wells extracting water from local aquifers. The region automatically captures data from a network of 585 monitoring wells to assess any impacts and provide information to manage its water supply sources. Currently, the data is only collected manually several times a year which results in information delays that restrict the decision-making ability of the region in terms of managing its water supply sources. The new network will allow data to be collected and communicated automatically on an hourly basis, and will include the capability of event-driven real-time alerts based on pre-determined parameters, such as significant level fluctuations.
“The value we gain in having well water data at our finger tips is tremendous for us in terms of decision-making. The technology may allow us to connect our wells directly with our water operations management system and give us the ability to advance the way we monitor and manage this crucial resource,” stated Eric Hodgins, manager, Hydrogeology and Source Water at Region of Waterloo.
Dan Mathers, Chairman and Co-Founder of eleven-x, said, “IoT applications have the potential to help organizations with getting accurate and timely data while greatly improving the costs associated with capturing that data. For the Region of Waterloo, the connectivity our network enables for real-time well water data collection could have an immensely positive impact for them.”
