LPWAN SOLUTIONS
Remote Manhole Water and Wastewater Level Monitoring
Enhancing urban management with efficient manhole water level monitoring
Streamlined wastewater handling with near real-time manhole monitoring
Reliable data through IP68 corrosion-resistant sensors
IoT-driven approach for optimized urban water management
Solution
The Remote Manhole Water and Wastewater Level Monitoring Solution delivers continuous liquid depth tracking, derived flow calculations, historical surcharging trends, and customizable threshold alerts for remote manholes, sewer channels, and wastewater collection networks—eliminating the high cost, safety hazards, and labor of manual sewer inspections. Engineered for rapid field installation, the solution comes pre-configured to seamlessly tran smit encrypted sensor data directly to the Ellenex Software Platform.
This IoT-driven wastewater monitoring solution offers several key advantages:
Zero-Touch Subsurface Deployment: Delivered fully pre-programmed for instant plug-and-play field setup under manhole lids in under 5 minutes without requiring local software configuration, driver setup, or developer programming.
Flexible Dual LPWAN Protocols: Freedom to choose between LoRaWAN® (ideal for private municipal or utility networks with zero ongoing airtime fees) or NB-IoT / LTE-M (for direct-to-tower public cellular connectivity across distributed sewer mains).
Vendor-Agnostic Interoperability: Operates natively with the Ellenex Software Platform straight out of the box, while remaining fully open for connection with third-party LoRaWAN Network Servers (LNS).
80 GHz Non-Contact Precision: Employs narrow-beam 80 GHz millimeter-wave radar signal reflection to deliver millimeter-level accuracy across measurement ranges up to 30 meters without physical fluid contact.
Ruggedized Corrosive-Resistant Build: Built with an IP68 non-contact corrosion-resistant radar sensor head paired with an IP68 UV-stabilized, waterproof transmitter housing designed for harsh subterranean sewer atmospheres.
Low Total Cost of Ownership: Ultra-low-power hardware architecture powered by an internal replaceable 3.6V Lithium battery achieves maintenance-free operational lifespans of up to 10 years.
Fast Capital Return: Accelerates ROI by preventing sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), eliminating manual manhole inspection entries, optimizing jetting schedules, and protecting municipal assets. Learn More
Easy Install
Pre-Configured
Secure
Quick ROI
Rugged Design
Battery Operated
Our Remote Manhole Water and Wastewater Level Monitoring Solution provides a comprehensive approach to efficient wastewater network management and critical infrastructure monitoring. By leveraging cutting-edge technology in 80 GHz non-contact radar level sensors, municipalities and utility providers can track, control, and optimize their collection systems in real time. The result is a future-proof solution that not only addresses current surcharging and environmental challenges but also adapts to the changing demands of urban wastewater management, ultimately protecting public health and natural ecosystems.
Connecting remote sewer channels and manholes to a central digital network transforms static, isolated underground assets into an intelligent infrastructure monitoring network. By feeding continuous sensor data directly to a cloud platform, site managers gain complete control over every manhole on their network while eliminating undetected blockages and surcharges that drive environmental pollution.
Asset Visibility
Continuous telemetry from heavy-duty, corrosive-resistant radar level sensors provides total operational oversight across every manhole location through a single, centralized dashboard. Instead of relying on manual, periodic physical checks that leave long gaps between inspections and expose technicians to confined spaces, teams receive live updates on liquid depth, derived flow rates, and network status. Automated high-level alerts immediately flag sudden rises caused by main line blockages, severe grease build-up, or storm-driven surcharges, allowing teams to respond instantly and dispatch maintenance crews before sewer overflows occur.
Resilient Operation
Continuous telemetry from IP68-rated radar level sensors provides total operational resilience across harsh underground sewer environments through a single, centralized dashboard. Built to endure aggressive hydrogen sulfide gas exposure, corrosive effluents, and temporary total submersion, the system maintains continuous data flow even during severe weather events. Automated threshold notifications instantly alert municipal operators to rising surcharge levels or rapid hydraulic spikes caused by heavy rainfall, allowing teams to execute emergency bypass pumping, redirect influent flows, and mitigate structural washout around the pad before infrastructure damage or public health risks escalate.
Compliance Assurance
Continuous automated logging from radar level sensors establishes an unalterable, audit-ready digital record of wastewater levels, hydraulic capacity, and surcharge events across municipal collection networks. By replacing sporadic manual logs with real-time telemetry delivered directly to the Ellenex Software Platform, utility operators can easily demonstrate environmental compliance with EPA regulations and local discharge standards. Automated high-level alerts provide immediate proof of response times during overflow events, helping authorities mitigate regulatory fines, simplify environmental reporting, and maintain strict adherence to public health guidelines.
Battery-Powered Industrial Radar Level Monitoring With LoRaWAN® Or NB-IoT/LTE-M Connectivity For Remote Manholes, Sewer Channels, And Wastewater Networks.
Core Operational Capabilities
80 GHz Non-Contact Radar Sensing Element
LoRaWAN / NB-IoT / LTE-M
IP68 Weatherproof Sensor
IP68 UV-Protected Enclosure
Up to 10-Year Battery Life
Cloud / API / SCADA Integration
Remote Manhole Water & Wastewater Level Monitoring with Ellenex Radar Level Sensors
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Effective remote monitoring of manhole water and wastewater levels is crucial for maintaining the health and efficiency of urban water infrastructure systems, reducing the risks of overflows and environmental pollution.
Industrial Outdoor LoRaWAN Gateway Specifications
For customers deploying the LoRaWAN package, the high-performance industrial gateway provides complete self-managed coverage. It is pre-configured to forward packet data to the Ellenex Platform.
System Architecture
The integrated Solution telemetry platform is designed around a dual-LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) hardware architecture, giving operators the flexibility to deploy either LoRaWAN or cellular-based (supporting NB-IoT and LTE Cat M1) network configurations depending on local infrastructure and regional topology. Both communication technologies represent the cutting edge of industrial IoT, designed to penetrate challenging physical barriers and achieve multi-kilo meter propagation distances while maintaining extremely low electrical current draws.
The Ellenex telemetry pipeline follows a streamlined 4-step end-to-end data flow designed to give customers total choice over their network infrastructure and software platform:
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Sensor: The single Ellenex battery-powered field device directly measures physical parameters, digitizes analog signals, applies factory calibration parameters, packages telemetry into AES-128 encrypted payloads, and manages low-power sleep modes within a unified unit. Learn More:
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Wireless Infrastructure Options:
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Option A (LoRaWAN Option): Transmits sub-GHz radio packets to an Ellenex Pre-Configured Outdoor Gateway. The gateway acts as a transparent Layer-1/Layer-2 RF-to-IP bridge. Learn More
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Option B (Cellular NB-IoT / LTE-M Option): Transmits encrypted telemetry directly across licensed 3GPP cellular networks to public mobile base station towers. Learn More.
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3. Network Core & Data Routing Layer: Encrypted sub-GHz packets are securely routed from the gateway to the Ellenex Network Server (LNS). The LNS manages crucial network functions—including device authentication, payload decryption, and frame deduplication—ensuring clean, secure sensor data is seamlessly delivered to Ellenex Software Platform.
4. Data Processing & Platform Visualization: All telemetry is ingested, decoded, and visualized seamlessly within the Ellenex Cloud Software Platform. The software transforms raw sensor data into actionable insights through real-time dashboards, historical trend analysis, threshold alerting, and device health management.
Connectivity & Visualisation Platform
With its advanced features and ease of use, Ellenex’s software platform enables effective monitoring and management of remote operations—ensuring efficient, sustainable, and reliable resource management.
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Encrypted ultra-low power communication protocol.
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Advanced device inventory.
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Integration of APIs for enterprise systems.
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Multi-tenant role-based access control.
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Data export and import.
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White-label platform for enterprise runs on private accounts.
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Variable alarm setting for high and low thresholds and multi-channel alerting.
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Sampling and transmission interval configuration.
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Transmission condition configuration.
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Other configurations and customizations available on request.
Ellenex's software platform is a comprehensive, user-friendly solution specifically designed for remote monitoring and management.
The platform offers a robust range of features tailored for off grid, distributed, and critical operations, including:
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Real-Time Data Visualization: Monitor live operational status, levels, and key metrics across all your locations from a centralized dashboard.
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Customizable Alerts & Notifications: Receive instant warnings for threshold breaches, sudden drops, or anomalous activity before minor issues become costly failures.
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Historical Data Analysis & Predictive Analytics: Track consumption patterns, analyze usage trends, and forecast future demand to optimize maintenance and supply schedules.
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Seamless System & API Integration: Easily feed raw or aggregated telemetry into your existing enterprise software, SCADA, or ERP systems using Ellenex’s secure Open API.
Key Benefits
Ellenex Software Platform Dashboard
Individual Device Details & Data Analytics View
Parameter Configuration and GPS Location View
Device Management Interface
Historical Data & Performance Analytics
Remote Command and Downlink Control Log
Ellenex Asset Monitoring App
Custom alert and Notification Setup Interface
Data Export and Reporting Interface
Webhook and Data Forwarding Interface
Sensor Calibration and Formula Configuration
Integration Options
A core competitive advantage of the solution is its complete pre-configured, plug-and-play design. Both the cellular and LoRaWAN (with local gateway) variants arrive fully configured and ready for connection to the Ellenex platform out of the box, eliminating the complexities of local software setup, sensor programming, or manual network registration.
The end-to-end package includes the following integration characteristics:
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Zero Technical Hassles: No extra power tools, driver setup, or developer configurations are required. Deployment is completed in under 5 minutes.
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Pre-Configured Gateway Provisioning: The industrial outdoor gateway is pre-commissioned to automatically bind with the Ellenex LNS stack. Once powered via PoE or DC, it immediately discovers sensors, decrypts the payloads, and relays them directly to the centralized cloud dashboard, seamlessly routing data to the Ellenex Platform.
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Pre-Configured SIM & Connectivity: For NB-IoT deployments, the transmitter is shipped with a pre-configured 4FF Nano-SIM card and active carrier subscription, ready to transmit on regional networks immediately upon power-up.
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Unified Fleet Visualization: Once powered on, both device variants automatically check in and populate their respective live measurement streams to the user’s centralized mobile app or web dashboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Remote Manhole Water and Wastewater Level Monitoring Solution handle signal propagation from deep underground manholes?
The Remote Manhole Water and Wastewater Level Monitoring Solution is designed around a dual-LPWAN hardware architecture that utilizes sub-GHz radio frequencies (LoRaWAN) or licensed cellular LPWAN technologies (NB-IoT/LTE-M) specifically optimized for deep signal penetration. The system couples an IP68-rated, radar level sensor placed at the invert of the manhole with a surface-mounted or sub-surface transmitter enclosure. The LPWAN wireless protocols utilize specialized Chirp Spread Spectrum or extended link budget modes (+20 dB) to easily penetrate heavy cast-iron manhole covers and dense urban roadways, ensuring encrypted telemetry reaches the Ellenex Software Platform reliably without requiring expensive external antenna masts.
How does the system withstand exposure to aggressive gases and corrosive sewage inside wastewater networks?
The entire assembly is engineered using high-grade industrial materials built specifically for harsh, corrosive environments. The radar sensing probe features a heavy-duty, chemical-resistant body with specialized seals, and uses a vented polyurethane cable engineered to resist degradation from oil, hydrogen sulfide, and biological sludge. Furthermore, the electronics housing achieves an IP68 ingress protection rating, making it completely dust-tight and waterproof against continuous immersion during severe surcharge events, guaranteeing that the system remains fully operational and streams data to the Ellenex platform even when completely submerged.
What specific field installation steps are required to get the manhole monitoring hardware up and running?
The solution is built for rapid, zero-touch field deployment that requires no software setup, manual driver installation, or on-site device programming. A field technician simply secures the IP68 transmitter enclosure near the top of the manhole, lowers the pre-calibrated submersible level sensor to the invert channel using the durable cable, and activates the internal power switch. The device immediately connects to the nearest cellular tower or Ellenex LoRaWAN gateway, authenticates automatically, and begins streaming encrypted water depth and temperature metrics directly to the Ellenex Software Platform in less than five minutes.
How does this solution assist municipalities with inflow and infiltration (I&I) analysis during heavy rainfall?
By logging high-frequency liquid depth and derived volumetric flow data over long periods, the solution provides municipal engineers with detailed hydraulic modeling data via the Ellenex Software Platform. During storm events, the software correlates rapid rises in manhole water levels against baseline dry-weather flows, allowing utility operators to pinpoint exact network segments suffering from groundwater infiltration, cracked pipes, or illegal stormwater cross-connections. This enables targeted infrastructure repairs rather than costly, wide-scale pipe replacements.
Can battery life be maintained for up to 10 years in cold or off-grid subterranean conditions?
Yes, the hardware incorporates ultra-low power management firmware combined with a high-capacity, non-rechargeable 3.6V Lithium battery designed for industrial temperature extremes. The device stays in a dormant, ultra-low-current sleep mode for the majority of the time, waking up only at user-configured sampling intervals to take hydrostatic measurements and transmit encrypted payloads to the Ellenex platform. If an anomaly or high-water threshold is breached, the unit automatically alters its transmission rate to provide real-time updates, balancing long-term battery lifespans of up to 10 years with critical event alerting.
