Groundwater measurements

Application

Groundwater is water in the saturated zone below the soil surface, that is, in the part of the ground where all cracks and pore spaces are completely filled with water. The groundwater is found in both soil and solid rock. If we dig a well or put down a hollowed pipe to the groundwater, the water will settle to a level we call the groundwater mirror. At this level, the water pressure is equal to the air pressure. Groundwater measurements are important in order to identify, for example, trends (long-term or seasonal), changes related to ground work, or in connection with drinking water sources. As mentioned, the need for groundwater measurements can come from a number of different reasons, and also with different requirements for logging intervals and reporting. Scanmatic has solutions tailored to each case, such as standalone or hydrology stations associated with data collection.

Technology

Based on the requirements, the solution can be from very simple manual water altimeters (eg OTT Contact gauge), small data loggers mounted in the measuring tube itself, with and without data collection, to a pressure sensor or complete hydrology stations, which also incorporates other measurement parameters, or several groundwater measurements spread over one area.

Generally, one will only measure water level and possibly water temperature to groundwater. However, it may also be appropriate to measure other parameters to look at groundwater pollution.