Water Level Monitoring Case Study

Water level monitoring is crucial for managing water resources, preventing flooding, and understanding environmental changes. The Levelogger is an advanced tool used for continuous water level and pressure monitoring. This case study explores the application of Leveloggers in a UK coastal wetland area to track water levels, understand tidal variations, and study ecosystem health.

Objective

The objective of this project was to:

• Continuously monitor water levels in a wetland area affected by tidal changes.
• Measure water pressure to understand groundwater interactions.

Methodology

• Location: Coastal Wetland Area, located near an estuary.
• Instruments Used:
  • LTC Leveloggers: Logs water level, temperature, and conductivity. It combines a datalogger, 8-year battery, Hastelloy® pressure sensor, temperature detector, and conductivity sensor within a small waterproof housing. A baked-on coating using polymerization technology protects the body against corrosion, abrasion, and high temperatures.
  • Barologger: Set above high water level in one location on site. One Barologger can be used to compensate all Leveloggers in a 30 km (20 mile) radius and/or with every 300 m (1000 ft.) change in elevation.
  • Biofoul Screen: Designed to reduce unwanted buildup of microorganisms, plants, algae, or organisms such as barnacles and mussels on the sensors.

Installation

• Site Selection: Sites were chosen near tidal inlets and freshwater sources to understand variation in water levels.
• Deployment: Leveloggers were installed at varying depths, recording data every hour.
• Calibration: Each Levelogger was calibrated against known reference points for accuracy. More details can be found in the user guide or in the LTC Calibration Video on YouTube.
• Biofoul Screen Fitted: The Biofoul Screen consists of a Delrin sleeve wrapped with copper wire, using copper's natural anti-fouling properties to extend deployment time.

Results

• Data Analysis:
  • Water Level Fluctuations: The Leveloggers showed clear patterns of water level fluctuations corresponding to tidal changes.
  • Pressure and Groundwater Correlation: Water pressure data indicated potential groundwater inflow near freshwater sources.
  • Temperature Trends: Seasonal trends in water temperature affected aquatic species behavior.
• Impact on Ecosystem: Researchers identified critical periods where low water levels could affect biodiversity.
• Flood Prediction: Water level and pressure data improved flood forecasting models.

Discussion

• Advantages of Using Leveloggers:
  • Continuous monitoring captures transient events like rapid tides or flash floods.
  • High-accuracy measurements in both freshwater and saltwater environments.
• Challenges:
  • Corrosion in saltwater environments.
  • Battery life: LTC Leveloggers have an 8-year battery life (1 reading every 5 minutes).
  • Data overload: LTC loggers store up to 150,000 data sets, requiring significant storage and processing.

Conclusion

The use of Leveloggers in the coastal wetland area proved to be an effective method for continuous water level monitoring. By analyzing water level and pressure data, researchers gained insights into tidal variations, groundwater interactions, and ecosystem health. However, equipment maintenance and managing large datasets remain important considerations.

Recommendations

• Enhance data processing with automated systems for timely analysis.
• Prioritize regular calibration and maintenance of equipment.
• Use collected data to improve flood prediction models and wetland conservation strategies.