Groundwater monitoring to go real time in dist soon
Aswin J Kumar | tnn | Apr 5, 2019, 04:02 IST
Thiruvananthapuram: Open wells, which have been relied upon to record fluctuations, in groundwater levels are set to make way for advanced real-time monitoring in the district.
The groundwater department has completed setting up of a pilot system involving fully penetrated ‘slim holes’ enabled with piezometers, which are placed in boreholes to monitor the pressure or depth of groundwater. The system will have digital water level recorders connected to telemetry -- an automated communication process by which measurements and data are collected at remote points and transmitted to receiving equipment for monitoring.
“We will replace the open wells in each block using the new system,” said an official associated with the department.
The system is being introduced under the phase-3 of national hydrology project. Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram were chosen for implementing the system. The pilot system has come up at Collectorate campus in Kudappanakunnu. Tenders for enabling networking process will be floated soon. The slim holes will have a diameter of 6.5 inches and will reach the bedrock through ribbed pipes.
In the present system, monitoring is done once in a month. Under real-time data collection, readings are made four times a day. “The plan is to replace one well in each block with the advanced real-time monitoring system. We will have 151 such systems across the state,” the official said.
The officials said that data collection is now done manually in open wells and the new system will be fully automated. Even while real-time automated monitoring will be introduced in the district, the manual collection of data from open wells is expected to continue for another five years, the officials said.
As per the latest data compiled from borewells and open wells (monitoring wells of groundwater department), extreme drought has been reported at Kallikkadu. The water level in the monitoring well at Kallikkadu had dipped from 18.68m in March 2018 to 22.01m in March 2019.
A major number of places in the district currently experience normal drought while Keezharoor has also recorded a dip from 7.61m in March 2018 to 7.99m in March 2019. The district has 31 open wells and 33 borewells which are used for monitoring water levels.
The groundwater department has completed setting up of a pilot system involving fully penetrated ‘slim holes’ enabled with piezometers, which are placed in boreholes to monitor the pressure or depth of groundwater. The system will have digital water level recorders connected to telemetry -- an automated communication process by which measurements and data are collected at remote points and transmitted to receiving equipment for monitoring.
“We will replace the open wells in each block using the new system,” said an official associated with the department.
The system is being introduced under the phase-3 of national hydrology project. Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram were chosen for implementing the system. The pilot system has come up at Collectorate campus in Kudappanakunnu. Tenders for enabling networking process will be floated soon. The slim holes will have a diameter of 6.5 inches and will reach the bedrock through ribbed pipes.
In the present system, monitoring is done once in a month. Under real-time data collection, readings are made four times a day. “The plan is to replace one well in each block with the advanced real-time monitoring system. We will have 151 such systems across the state,” the official said.
The officials said that data collection is now done manually in open wells and the new system will be fully automated. Even while real-time automated monitoring will be introduced in the district, the manual collection of data from open wells is expected to continue for another five years, the officials said.
As per the latest data compiled from borewells and open wells (monitoring wells of groundwater department), extreme drought has been reported at Kallikkadu. The water level in the monitoring well at Kallikkadu had dipped from 18.68m in March 2018 to 22.01m in March 2019.
A major number of places in the district currently experience normal drought while Keezharoor has also recorded a dip from 7.61m in March 2018 to 7.99m in March 2019. The district has 31 open wells and 33 borewells which are used for monitoring water levels.
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