The Unseen Line: Watching Irrigation Water Where There’s No Power
Updated: Oct 1
On a farm, the water system stretches for miles. The pump gets watched, and maybe the well meter. But the mainline out to the field, the valves at each pivot or zone, and the filters along the way mostly get checked one way: by driving out to them.
The Drive-By Check
Whether the water is reaching the field the way it should comes down to a truck, a gauge and whoever has time to make the rounds. A loaded filter, a valve left shut, a break in the line: each one gets found on the next pass, or when the crop shows it.
Why the Far End of the Line Has No Sensor
There’s no power at the valve. Getting it there means trenching across a field and an electrician. Battery sensors avoid the trench, but somebody has to come back and swap the batteries, which is the same drive the sensor was supposed to save.
A Valve That Reports
Pressurized irrigation lines are full of valves taking pressure out of the line: pressure-reducing valves ahead of a pivot or a zone, and throttling valves on a lateral or a bypass. ConduitIQ replaces one of those valves on a non-potable line. The node powers itself while the water runs and sends fluid telemetry over wireless, so the line reports instead of waiting for the next drive. It typically has power to spare, so you can add the sensing that spot needs.
Built for the Field
Your own crew fits it, ahead of the season or at a planned shutdown, on a bypass between two isolation valves.
Never tied to power: no trenching and no electrician.
No battery swaps while the water runs regularly.
The existing valve stays as the backup. Close the two isolation valves and the unit comes out without shutting down the line.
Is There a Line You’d Like to See?
Irrigated farms are one of the places we’re looking hardest at for ConduitIQ. The first complete unit is in bench testing now, and pilots are planned for 2027. If you run pressurized irrigation and there’s a line you’d like to see without the drive, tell us how you check it today.
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