The Centre for Research on the Alpine Environment (CREALP) notes a significant drop in the water table in the Rhône plain during frost control episodes, particularly in April 2017. This phenomenon can lead to problems such as settling, displacement of pollutants or land subsidence. It is therefore important to be able to monitor the use of the 1600 or so agricultural wells that draw directly on the groundwater in the region between Sierre and Vernayaz. To address this issue, CREALP called on the expertise of the Icare Institute and Swisscom. In the context of agricultural pumping installations that are often isolated, the solution should make it possible to be applied to objects (agricultural wells) without access to the Internet and not equipped with sensors. The first prototypes will be developed using LORA and 5G communication technologies. In the long term, the information provided in real time should allow an overall view of the structures and the monitoring of their activities.
