Well monitoring and groundwater drawdown

In the course of the new construction of the S7 Fürstenfeld motorway, Burgenland got its first tunnel. From a geological point of view, the soil of clay, silt and sand means a challenge. It is not possible to carry out blasting as is done with solid rock. Metre by metre, excavators dig into the mountain and then the tunnel is sealed with shotcrete. In addition, the groundwater must be constantly monitored and pumped out to enable the tunnel to be driven.

Using technology from Microtronics, cell GmbH and Elektrotechnik Mitterwallner have developed the self-sufficient “Fontano” well station. A well pump, a level probe and a flow sensor are installed in each of the 103 wells along the Rudersdorf tunnel. The networked control of the pumps automatically ensures that the groundwater level is lowered. All pumps and wells can be controlled remotely. In addition, the amount of water withdrawn is logged.

If a pump fails, an alarm is immediately sent by SMS and e-mail. The tunnelling team is thus immediately informed about the accident and can secure the tunnel with shotcrete. Whereas previously a pump attendant had to read all the pumps every 24 hours, the data is now transmitted wirelessly to the central web platform. This enables automated monthly billing according to expenditure.

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