Protecting Water Below Ground: The Role of Borewells and Pressure-Based AWLR in Supporting JIAT

Not every agricultural area is located near a river or connected to a reliable surface irrigation network. In some regions, farmland has strong potential to support food production, yet access to water remains one of the main challenges. In these conditions, borewells can become an important part of agricultural water supply. Through groundwater wells, water can be pumped and used for irrigation, especially in areas that are not adequately served by rivers, primary canals, or technical irrigation networks.

This use of groundwater can form part of a Groundwater Irrigation Network, or Jaringan Irigasi Air Tanah (JIAT). However, constructing a borewell is not the end of the process. Once the well is operating, several important questions arise: How does the groundwater level respond after continuous pumping? Does the water level drop too far? How quickly does it recover after the pump is turned off?

These questions are difficult to answer if monitoring is carried out only occasionally. For that reason, borewell development should ideally be accompanied by a groundwater level monitoring system that can record changes in well conditions over time.

Borewells as a Water Source for Areas Beyond Surface Irrigation

Agricultural conditions vary significantly from one location to another. Some farmland is located close to irrigation canals, while other productive areas may be far from surface water sources. During the dry season, these limitations can become more significant as surface water availability decreases. In such areas, borewells provide access to groundwater that can be pumped and distributed to agricultural land.

The presence of a borewell can therefore be important in opening access to water where surface irrigation is limited. However, groundwater use also needs to be managed based on measurable information. The amount of water available when a well first begins operating may not remain the same over time. Groundwater levels can change due to seasonal conditions, aquifer characteristics, pumping intensity, and groundwater use in surrounding areas. That is why, in addition to developing the well itself, operators also need to understand what is happening below the ground surface.

Why Should Groundwater Levels Be Monitored?

When a pump starts operating, the water level inside a well may decline. This condition is commonly referred to as drawdown. After pumping stops, the water level may gradually rise again. This process is known as recovery. Information on drawdown and recovery can provide useful insight into how a well responds to pumping activity.

The challenge is that these changes cannot always be observed directly from the surface. Manual measurements can still be useful, but they only represent conditions at the moment the measurement is taken. Changes that occur between two manual observations may be missed. This is where automatic monitoring becomes valuable.

Using Pressure-Based AWLR to Monitor Water Levels Inside the Well

One technology that can be used is an Automatic Water Level Recorder (AWLR) equipped with a submersible pressure sensor. The sensor is installed directly inside the well at a predetermined depth. Unlike a radar sensor that measures the water surface from above, a submersible pressure sensor is placed in the water and measures hydrostatic pressure. This pressure is then converted into water level or water depth information. With automatic monitoring, groundwater level changes can be recorded at regular intervals, such as every few minutes, without requiring continuous manual measurements by field personnel.

In a JIAT installation, the sensor can be positioned separately from the submersible pump so that measurements can be taken from a planned monitoring point. The sensor cable is then connected to an AWLR control panel located above ground. The panel may contain a data logger, communication equipment, a power supply, and other supporting components.

From Borewell to Monitoring Dashboard

The sensor data does not have to remain at the well site. Measurements can be collected by the data logger, stored locally, and transmitted through a telemetry network to a server. A simplified system flow can be described as:

Borewell → Submersible Pressure Sensor → Data Logger → Telemetry → Server → Monitoring Dashboard

Through the dashboard, operators can review groundwater conditions without having to visit the site every time they need the latest reading. The system can also store historical data and present it as graphs or time series. From these records, operators can observe how groundwater levels change over time, including during pumping and after pumping has stopped.

Borewells and Monitoring Sensors Should Be Planned as One System

Borewell construction and groundwater monitoring should ideally not be treated as two completely separate activities. The well provides access to water, while the monitoring system provides information on how that water source responds to use. Without monitoring data, operators may know that a pump is still producing water, but they may not have a clear picture of groundwater conditions inside the well.

With continuous monitoring, changes in water level can be observed over time.

The recorded data can support activities such as:

• monitoring groundwater level changes;

• observing drawdown during pump operation;

• identifying recovery patterns after pumping;

• comparing well conditions across different periods;

• supporting the evaluation of pumping operations;

• building historical records of well performance; and

• supporting data-driven management of JIAT systems.

When multiple wells are operated within the same area, each monitoring point can also be integrated into a centralized dashboard.

Every Well Requires a Different Monitoring Design

There is no single monitoring configuration that is suitable for every well. Well depth, pump position, groundwater level, well diameter, hydrogeological conditions, power availability, and communication network quality can differ from one site to another. For this reason, the monitoring system should be designed based on actual field conditions. Several factors need to be considered, including the sensor measurement range, cable length, installation depth, pump position, data logger, communication method, power system, and monitoring dashboard requirements.

Sensor placement should also be planned carefully so that water level measurements can be taken without interfering with the pump or other equipment inside the well. In locations with limited communication coverage, the data logger can also be configured to store measurements locally. Once communication becomes available again, the stored data can be transmitted to the server.

More Than Simply Extracting Water

Groundwater use for agriculture is not only about pumping water from below the surface. For productive agricultural areas without adequate rivers or irrigation networks, borewells can become important infrastructure for supporting food production. But the more important a well becomes to agricultural operations, the more important it is to understand the condition of the water source itself. For this reason, borewell development and groundwater level monitoring should ideally go hand in hand.

A pressure-based AWLR transforms conditions that cannot be seen directly below ground into measurable data. With that data, operators can monitor groundwater level changes, maintain historical well records, and obtain better information to support JIAT management.

Request an AWLR Monitoring System Design for JIAT

Luwes Inovasi Mandiri can support the design of groundwater level monitoring systems for JIAT wells, from the selection of submersible pressure sensors and data loggers to telemetry systems, control panels, and monitoring dashboards.

To prepare an initial configuration, several types of information can be provided, including:

• number and location of borewells;

• depth of each well;

• well diameter;

• position of the submersible pump;

• estimated minimum and maximum groundwater levels;

• available power supply;

• communication network conditions;

• required measurement and transmission intervals; and

• dashboard or API integration requirements.

Build the well to access the water, and equip it with monitoring to understand how that water source changes over time. Request a pressure-based AWLR monitoring design for JIAT that is tailored to the well conditions, field requirements, and monitoring system needs.

PT Luwes Inovasi Mandiri
Industrial IoT & Monitoring Solutions
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