Van Essen Instruments recently won a tender for long term monitoring of groundwater levels in Gelderland, the largest province of the Netherlands.
The monitoring network, consisting of over 850 monitoring points, will be equipped with telemetric data loggers. This creates a continuous data flow of near real-time groundwater data which is used by the province in decision-making and policy outlining.
Main source
In Gelderland, the groundwater reservoir is the main source of good quality drinking water and irrigation. Together with the national government, the municipalities, the water boards and the drinking water companies, the province is responsible for water management policies. As the Netherlands is exposed to flooding from both the ocean and the rivers, governmental bodies have a serious responsibility in managing water levels. This has led to the Netherlands being a frontrunner in (geo)hydrologic monitoring. This provincial network plays a critical role in assessing the availability of groundwater within the province and analyzing long-term trends.
Automated validation protocol
Within this project Van Essen Instruments is responsible for collecting groundwater level data and ensuring the quality of the data. For this purpose, an automated validation protocol has been developed. Additionally, an alarm notification system is designed which directly detects data anomalies and outliers. This allows for quick field visits when necessary. The validated groundwater levels are sent daily to the national groundwater database and are then directly available for all stakeholders.
