Is Wellintel Another Flow Meter?
Wellintel APP Prototype Screen Shot
No. Wellintel is much smarter.
Flow meters abound. Every home connected to city water has one. It’s how we’re billed for the water we use from the utility.
In rural or groundwater-sourced places, there often hasn’t been a need for flow metering, since the water used is a transaction between the user and the land they own. The only billing that occurs is for the electricity used to power the pump.
But we’re learning more about the links between weather, development, surface and underground water sources. Groundwater isn’t static. The water under your land may have been under your neighbor’s land last week. Groundwater sources can renew, given time to do so and a plan to let it happen. But in many parts of the country, sources are not renewing quickly enough.
In response, states are beginning to write new rules, sometimes mandating flow meters to measure gallons extracted from the aquifer, especially in situations when consumption is high, as in irrigation or mining. However, measuring the amount of water consumed without understanding the amount of water available is like exercising to burn calories without also thinking about your diet.
Flow meters measure gallons without telling anyone if the amount matters. They can’t signal overdrawing or sustainability. They can’t tell us about the health of aquifer or the water table.
The information from flow meters isn’t generally used by the person consuming the water, but by the overseer. In the context of land value, flow meters gather irrelevant, or at least incomplete data.
Wellintel is designed to put power in the hands of the people who depend on groundwater to protect it. It does this by transforming a well into a water information system. With Wellintel, a well owner will know more about the water in and around their land and how their own water use impacts the groundwater system. They’ll be able to see how weather and development matters to groundwater, so they can make their own decisions about using more or less.
Finally, with Wellintel, a person can choose to share information about the water resource with others.
One Response to “Is Wellintel Another Flow Meter?”
I am very interesting in your technology. I’ve had many problems with my well, and I suspect they have been caused by the water table, not the equipment. Please email with details about how to buy.