One of the fastest growing urban water supplies in Massachusetts, the Marshby Water District has grown from a customer base of 200 to nearly 9,000 customers today. As the demand for public water supplies has increased substantially, supply has become a primary concern for the water region of David Abundance.
"As a public water supply, we've come a long way in a very short period of time," Rich explained. "I'm most concerned about my work being able to get additional wells through the state permitting process. In some cases, that process can take five to seven years. We usually have at least one in the permitting process, and over time we've Understand that one of the keys to expediting the approval process is pre-agreed monitoring levels near our wells.”
Rich said level monitoring has become increasingly common in watersheds in Massachusetts, and requires federal definitions to stress basins. Authorization can be handed down to a governing agency, including the Department of Environmental Protection, local conservation, or the administrative office of environmental affairs.
While Mashby is not in the emphasized basin category, the number of wells collecting water level data in the area not only expedites the approval process, but also adheres to certain local environmental requirements. For example, wells in one area were being monitored in response to a request from the Marshby Conservation Council, which was concerned about painting an adjacent spring pool. The conditions of the order indicate that if the good falls below the specified level, the time can be restricted.
Until recently, all level monitoring was performed manually with Mashby, ie the pumping station operator would bring the lower water reference into the well and record the reading level to a log. The operator would later give FE's records, who would take the measurements and enter them into a spreadsheet.
While manual monitoring proves the level of accuracy, the time-consuming nature of the method is problematic as districts scramble to keep up with public demand. "It could take 45 minutes for the field crew to go out, get the water level reading, and log it," Rich said. "And assuming the monitoring isn't too far from the producing well. At one point, I had to think about hiring more staff just to read the levels."
Realizing that the area could benefit from automated monitoring of level activity, Rich and his team evaluated the water level data loggers and ultimately selected HOBO® water level loggers U20-001-01, U20-001-02, U20-001-03, U20 -001-04, KIT-D-U20-01, KIT-D-U20-02, KIT-D-U20-04, U20L-01, U20L-02, U20L-04.
The logger contains built-in micromachining, pressure sensors, and batteries for long-term underwater deployment in a rugged housing design. It can be deployed and left unattended for months, collecting water level data at user-defined intervals and storing it in the digital logger's memory. By operating in a continuous 24/7 monitoring mode, the logger can eliminate many cumbersome manual data collection methods and facilitate simultaneous monitoring of multiple locations.
With conventional water level loggers Water level loggers U20-001-01, U20-001-02, U20-001-03, U20-001-04, KIT-D-U20-01, KIT-D-U20-02, KIT -D-U20-04, U20L-01, U20L-02, U20L-04, relying on cumbersome vent tubes and desiccant packs to operate, the HOBO logger operates as a stand-alone unit. This simplifies deployment and eliminates many of the maintenance issues associated with vent-based loggers.
Water Level Logger U20-001-01, U20-001-02, U20-001-03, U20-001-04, KIT-D-U20-01, KIT-D-U20-02, KIT-D-U20-04 , U20L-01, U20L-02, U20L-04 also facilitate the process of automatically archiving and reporting data. Operators can transfer logger data to an office or laptop computer and create detailed graphs or tables with the click of a mouse button. Diagrams can be easily printed for documentation purposes in electronic data archiving.
"The graph will probably only look at the state every five years, when we update our water management, but it's the data we need to keep," Rich said. "Someone can walk through the door any day and say they want to see the records. The importance of being able to record the level goes without saying, electronic data is not necessarily required, and institutions are generally more familiar with electronic data."
First deployment of logger water level loggers since early 2005 U20-001-01, U20-001-02, U20-001-03, U20-001-04, KIT-D-U20-01, KIT-D-U20 -02, KIT-D-U20-04, U20L-01, U20L-02, U20L-04, Mahsbye also deployed logger production wells. While there is no particular monitoring requirement for this, Rich wants to get a level of clarity when it's running as well as when it's not.
“This is very important to us because with a screen at the bottom, if production exceeds X gallons per minute, it’s only a matter of time before the screen starts clogging. Clogging will result in lower production, which will lead to increased withdrawals. We use the water level logger as a diagnostic tool and it will help us know when the screen needs cleaning."
Rich is currently on the new pump station, and has acquired some new wells, he plans to continue monitoring and data water level loggers U20-001-01, U20-001-02, U20-001-03, U20-001-04, KIT-D- U20-01, KIT-D-U20-02, KIT-D-U20-04, U20L-01, U20L-02, U20L-04. He feels the logger has been a great asset in reducing the workload in the area, as well as increasing the overall accuracy and reliability of the data collected.
He added, "There are a lot of things we need to do in the state, and the town is still blasting the area's public water supply. If we can offload tasks like water level monitoring on the sensors, there's a lot of time and money we can save long-term."
