Project Background
The industry of agriculture is one driven by time pressures, supply demands, the environment, weather and optimisation of resources. On a remote sheep farm in the Wheatbelt Region of Western Australia (nearby to Goomalling & Dowerin) water level monitoring of Water Tanks was required because of previous supply issues.
The Water Tanks supply drinking water to downstream livestock feeding troughs and are critical for successful operation of the farm. The Water Tanks are susceptible to leakage and given the remote locality (~1 hour drive from the main farmstead) and minimal phone reception was a significant drain on farm resources and effort.
Solutions
Real-time water level monitoring of the tanks was made possible by installation of the EWS Solar Mount & connected EWS Vented Level Sensor. This device is a purpose built and fully self-contained unit which can be easily installed atop any critical infrastructure.
The Solar Mount was setup to record the tanks water level every 15min and transmit collected data every 12hours via Iridium certified satellite telemetry contained within the unit. All data is then displayed for the customer on the easy-to-use, secure Orion iO dashboard.
Through the Orion iO dashboard alarm levels for “low water level” were then setup to both indicate critical water leakage at the tanks and initiate refill of the Water Tank itself. Alarms and notifications are all fully customisable to the clients specific requirements.
Outcomes & Benefits
Given the huge benefit of low-cost telemetry (cellular and satellite options available) and visibility of real-time water level data the customer has now been able to optimise labour-use and minimise unnecessary downtime through automated monitoring systems. Low level alarms and tank refill automation has improved overall farm operation and ensured livestock drinking water supply.
The self-contained Solar Mount unit has now been rolled-out to further infrastructure given its ease-of-installation and simple pre-programmed, plug & play nature. All equipment is manufactured and produced within Australia and so consistency of supply networks is an added plus for customers.
Related Projects
