WELLNTEL IS SUPPORTING RESEARCH BY TRANSFORMING GROUNDWATER DATA CROWDSOURCING

The challenge to growing and deepening groundwater information databases available for research has always been the cost of bringing the next monitoring point into the network. Wellntel completely changes that dynamic by introducing simple, but accurate, consumer-priced groundwater level sensors, and a cloud based information system providing new insight at fractions of a cent per reading. Wellntel customers - domestic well owners, farmers, ranchers, consultants, and well contractors - can participate in citizen science by giving Wellntel permission to share their data with scientists. In doing so, Wellntel is transforming the way crowdsourcing can support research by not only expanding the geographic reach and temporal frequency of groundwater level measurements, but also by maintaining data quality assurance and quality control using the cloud. Wellntel also partners with research, education, and groundwater management organizations with the goal of producing rich, cutting edge data and confirming Wellntel as an effective resource for science. Research conducted as part of these partnerships is demonstrating that data collected with the Wellntel system are useful for a variety of applications such as validating groundwater models, providing early warning systems, and for guiding or enriching costly groundwater monitoring efforts.