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posted by cmn32480 on Monday February 27 2017, @08:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the goooood-gooooood-gooooood dept.

In 2012 the Oxford research team started a trial in Kenya where hand pumps in 60 villages were fitted with data transmitters. The idea was they would monitor the motion of the pump and the amount of water extracted on an hourly basis - if the pump wasn't working, a message was sent to a repair company and workers were dispatched to fix the problem.

Now the scientists have found another way to interpret the data from the accelerometers fitted to the pump handles. They discovered that when the water is being drawn from a deep aquifer, it produces different vibrations than when the liquid comes from a shallow one.

"It's quite a simple and elegant solution to estimating groundwater and how it varies over time," co-author Dr Rob Hope from Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment told BBC News.

Farah E. Colchester et al, Accidental infrastructure for groundwater monitoring in Africa. Environmental Modelling & Software. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815216308325


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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday February 28 2017, @04:54AM (2 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 28 2017, @04:54AM (#472671) Journal

    On what basis have you decided that they couldn't afford it?

    The only reason they installed a manual water pump must be that they really want to preserve some sort of traditional authenticity, to attract tourists, right? Right???

    Otherwise, all the other necessities are solved; the only problem for them still remaining is their participation into agricultural futures exchange through SAFEX/AMD [wikipedia.org], for which they certainly need mobiles.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @03:19PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @03:19PM (#472803)

    The only reason they installed a manual water pump must be that they really want to preserve some sort of traditional authenticity, to attract tourists, right? Right???

    Simplicity means less failure modes. If a manual pump gets the job done with the fewest problems, that's not a cost-savings choice, its an effectiveness choice.

    But you go ahead and assume the stupidest interpretation that supports your preconceived biases rather than make a rational evaluation. You're just as good at it as VLM, mighty butthead, runaway, etc...

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday February 28 2017, @03:41PM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 28 2017, @03:41PM (#472810) Journal

      So if they could afford it, it probably would be a lot better.

      If a manual pump gets the job done with the fewest problems

      I see you relish living with hypotheticals. Every man to his taste, who am I to object.

      its an effectiveness choice.

      And having a sensor+wireless modem+small solar panel for less than $20-$30/pump to measure the water table level over a large area is a waste, right?

      You're just as good at it as VLM, mighty butthead, runaway, etc...

      Thanks, I'm striving, nice to see I'm getting recognition from an AC (grin)

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