A Low-Cost Lidar Based IoT System for Real-Time Remote Groundwater Level Monitoring: Design, Validation and Field Deployment

Abstract

Groundwater level monitoring is essential for sustainable water management, yet many developing regions lack affordable real-time infrastructure. This study presents the design, construction, and field validation of a low-cost, non-contact groundwater monitoring device integrating a Lidar-Lite v3HP time-of-flight sensor, an Arduino Uno microcontroller, and an ESP8266 Wi-Fi module for telemetry to the ThingSpeak IoT platform. The implemented device was powered by a 20,000mAH, 5V power bank and deployed on two artesian wells in Oghara, Delta State, Nigeria, the prototype was validated against manual tape measurements at depths of 167–739 cm. A linear correction factor derived from regression analysis mitigated systematic bias. Results showed near-perfect correlation (r = 0.99995) between Lidar and tape measurements, with the correction factor reducing root mean square error (RMSE) from 10.28 cm and 13.91 cm to 3.91 cm and 5.36 cm for Wells 1 and 2, respectively. Bland–Altman analysis confirmed a ten and three-fold decrease in bias respectively, while the coefficient of variation remained below 1.21%. With an average upload latency of thirty-three seconds, the system enables sub-minute monitoring, offering a robust, economically viable solution for expanding groundwater networks in resource-constrained regions.