Wellhead water level sensor

Abstract

A module gathers information about the level of water in a water well and sends the information to a database. A sensor tracks the level of water in the well, how it changes over time, and the pace of recharge including the rate of water replenishment from the groundwater source. The system can be programmed to send alerts to interested parties when certain thresholds are reached.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A well head water level sensing device for use in a water well having a casing pipe and a well head attached to the casing pipe above a ground level, the water well further including a pump for pumping water to the ground level, the device comprising:
 a sensing array positioned on the well head and including a signal generator, tunable listening device, at least one calibration sensor, clock, at least one listening sensor, a memory, at least one communication circuit, and a power source;   wherein the signal generator and tunable listening device determine the resonant frequency of the water well;   wherein the memory stores data collected by the calibration sensor and the listening sensor; and   wherein the at least one communication circuit is in communication with a remote network and is configured to transmit the data stored in the memory to the remote network.   
     
     
         2 . The well head water level sensing device of  claim 1 , wherein the calibration sensor senses temperature and humidity. 
     
     
         3 . The well head water level sensing device of  claim 1  wherein the power source includes a battery. 
     
     
         4 . The well head water level sensing device of  claim 5  wherein the power source further includes at least one photovoltaic cell. 
     
     
         5 . A method of sensing water level in a residential water well having a casing pipe and a well head attached to the casing pipe above a ground level, the water well further including a pump for pumping water to the ground level, the method comprising:
 providing a well head water level sensing array including a signal generator, tunable listening device, at least one calibration sensor, clock, at least one listening sensor, a memory, at least one communication circuit, and a power source;   generating a low amplitude single pulse sine-wave sound inside the water well using the signal generator;   sensing at least one environmental condition inside the water well;   determining the resonant frequency of the water well by listening to and analyzing echoes of the low amplitude singe pulse sine-wave using the tunable listening device;   calculating the depth of water in the water well at regular intervals;   storing the depth of water calculations in the memory as a dataset; and   periodically communicating the dataset over a network.