A State‐Of‐The‐Art Approach to Hydrologic Data Management

High-accuracy electronic data acquisition equipment, a solid-state memory, computer interface and software have been developed to provide a complete system for measuring and recording water level changes. A small, stand-alone hydrologic instrument (SE1000) provides the automation and accuracy of solid-state electronics in pump tests, slug tests, and long- and short-term ground water monitoring. The unit is powered by a high-performance battery pack with a minimum life of four years. This instrument can be buried at the monitoring site for protection from vandals, animals and temperature extremes. Ten pre-programmed 949-point data schedules are standard. One schedule is logarithmic with an initial data interval of 0.2 seconds. Nine linear schedules provide data intervals ranging from 15 minutes to 1.5 days and corresponding test durations ranging from 10 days to 46 months. The stored data can be recovered directly via the LCD display or transferred to a computer. Software provides automatic data reduction with hard copy tables and plots. This instrument has been used successfully in various locations in the United States.