Groundwater Department to use digital recorders to record water levels

KOCHI: The Groundwater Department of Kerala in order to keep a check on ground water level will soon install digital water level recorders in observatory wells to capture the real-time movement of groundwater.

Around 150 wells in the state has been selected for the project. The digital recorders will be installed as a part of pilot project in the selected wells. The project will begin in July and recordings from the digital device will be sent to the department network via a probe connected to an equipment outside the well.

J Justin Mohan, IFS, Director of Groundwater Department said, “This will help in measuring the groundwater level at any given time and will throw light on the effect of a potentially water consuming industry in an area and things such as recharge capacity”. In this way, local bodies can be warned against water exploitation in a particular area, he added.

At present, the readings of groundwater level taken manually and processed for a monthly average and there is no real time data available regarding when the groundwater level dips to minimum and when it gets recharged.

The department will set up slim holes solely for monitoring groundwater. Two of them will be dug, in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam civil stations premises.