Piezometers are frequently used to control groundwater behavior and to detect contamination in areas with a potential presence of hydrocarbons such as tank farms, pipelines, loading terminals, refineries, and brownfield sites under remediation. In these environments, manual sampling and periodic laboratory analysis remain common, but they create an operational gap: conditions can change between visits, and early indicators may be missed. When the objective is to confirm the presence of hydrocarbons in groundwater, track a plume boundary, or document that a containment strategy is working, data continuity becomes a technical requirement rather than a convenience.

A practical monitoring architecture must also consider field constraints: remote locations, limited power availability, long cable runs, difficult access, and harsh weather exposure. In addition, the information must remain trustworthy and auditable, because it may be used by operations, environmental teams, and compliance functions. That combination—field constraints plus the need for reliable time-series evidence—often exposes limitations in traditional approaches (manual rounds, data loggers without secure connectivity, or ad-hoc telemetry).

Nasatech provides a replicable product-based solution to instrument piezometers with continuous measurement and secure data delivery, using MQTT-native NTX devices, managed connectivity through Nasatech LINK, and an optional open platform (Nasatech CORE Platform) to visualize, alert, and integrate with customer systems.

What this solution solves

Hydrocarbon detection in piezometers is typically driven by three operational needs. First, early detection: identifying abnormal conditions as close as possible to the moment they occur to reduce response time. Second, trend control: understanding whether hydrocarbon indicators are stable, improving, or worsening across time and across multiple piezometers. Third, evidence continuity: maintaining a traceable record that supports internal decisions and, when required, external reporting.

When monitoring depends mainly on periodic manual sampling, the operation inherits several risks: delayed identification of changes, inconsistent sampling schedules, and limited ability to correlate results with weather events, pumping operations, or nearby process activity. Even when field loggers exist, data is frequently siloed, difficult to integrate, or delivered without an industrial security posture. The net effect is operational uncertainty: teams spend time reconciling datasets rather than acting on them, and the organization may struggle to demonstrate control in a consistent, repeatable way.

This Nasatech solution focuses on turning piezometers into structured, continuously reporting measurement points, aligned with modern architectures and designed to connect cleanly to the customer’s operational and information layers.

How it works

The solution follows a clear end-to-end data path:

Sensor / Instrumentation → NTX device → Nasatech LINK → Nasatech CORE Platform (optional) → Customer integration

At the piezometer, appropriate instrumentation is installed depending on the monitoring objective. Typical signals include hydrocarbon presence indicators (for example, oil-in-water or hydrocarbon-specific probes depending on site practice), water level (pressure/level), temperature, and conductivity. The sensors connect to a field NTX unit that performs signal acquisition, edge validation, timestamping, and secure publishing over MQTT.

The NTX device communicates through Nasatech LINK when managed connectivity is required—commonly low-power cellular for remote or distributed wells. LINK supports operational stability through centralized connectivity management and consistent device-to-cloud communication patterns, reducing the variability of field deployments.

Nasatech CORE Platform is optional and can be used as the operations-facing layer for visualization, alarms, user management, and integrations. CORE is positioned as an open, scalable, and robust platform that can operate as a dedicated monitoring front-end or as a data service feeding the customer’s existing environment.

From an architecture standpoint, the solution maps naturally to Purdue/ISA-95 thinking. Field instruments and the NTX device sit at the sensing/control edge (Levels 0–1). Where a local OT network exists (for example, a site network with industrial firewalls), NTX can publish to a local broker at the OT boundary (Level 2/3) and then forward upstream. When wells are geographically distributed, NTX + LINK provide a secure and standardized path to the information layer (Level 3.5/4), enabling enterprise consumption without blurring OT boundaries. For organizations adopting an Unified Namespace (UNS) approach, the MQTT topic hierarchy and payload structure can be designed to align with site/area/asset naming so that the piezometer becomes a first-class data producer within the UNS.

In potentially classified or hazardous areas, the instrumentation and installation practices must be selected according to site classification and safety requirements. The solution can be engineered to accommodate ATEX-compatible field components where required, subject to project scope and site constraints, without assuming certifications that are not explicitly specified.

Nasatech components

NTX devices (MQTT-native by design)
The field device is a generic NTX unit suitable for remote monitoring: ruggedized, designed for low-power operation, and prepared for standard sensor interfaces used in environmental and process-adjacent measurements. It acquires signals, applies configurable sampling logic, buffers data for intermittent coverage scenarios, and publishes structured messages via MQTT. This enables deterministic integration: the same device model and the same data contract can be replicated across piezometers, areas, or sites.

Nasatech LINK (managed connectivity service)
LINK is used when the deployment benefits from a managed connectivity layer—particularly for dispersed wells where fixed infrastructure is not available. It provides a consistent operational approach to provisioning, monitoring connectivity health, and maintaining communications reliability. The goal is not only “getting data out”, but doing so with predictable behavior and operational control.

Nasatech CORE Platform (optional)
CORE provides a scalable and robust platform for visualization, alarms, dashboards, and integration services. It is designed for openness: it can publish to customer brokers, expose APIs, trigger webhooks, and support structured data models compatible with UNS strategies. CORE can be used as the primary UI for environmental and operations teams, or as an intermediate layer that standardizes data before it is delivered to SCADA, historian, CMMS, or enterprise analytics.

Integration and scalability

The integration model is designed for enterprise alignment without over-customization. MQTT is the core transport, which allows the customer to route data into existing brokers, forward to historians, or standardize naming into a UNS. If the customer already operates a broker at the OT/IT demarcation, NTX can publish to that broker with controlled firewall rules and then bridge upward, preserving segmentation principles.

From an ISA-95 perspective, this supports a clean separation: field measurement remains isolated from enterprise systems, while curated and authenticated telemetry is made available to Level 4/5 applications (compliance tooling, reporting, analytics) through approved interfaces.

Cibersecurity is treated as a design constraint, not an afterthought. The solution supports:

  • IT/OT segmentation using network zoning and controlled conduits (industrial firewall / gateway patterns where applicable).
  • Encryption in transit with TLS for MQTT communications, reducing the risk of interception or tampering over public or shared networks.
  • Access control based on roles and credentials for device and platform access, with audit-friendly event logging in the platform layer where required.

Scalability is obtained through standardization: consistent sensor wiring patterns, a repeatable NTX configuration template, and a predictable topic namespace. This allows expansion from a pilot (a few piezometers) to a site deployment (dozens) and further to multi-site rollouts without changing the underlying architecture.

Operational benefits

Faster response to abnormal conditions
Continuous telemetry and configurable alerts allow teams to react based on data, not on the next scheduled visit. This is especially relevant when conditions can change due to rainfall, groundwater dynamics, pumping activities, or adjacent operations.

Traceability and data continuity
Timestamped time-series data supports audits and internal reviews. The monitoring record becomes easier to interpret and less dependent on manual transcription and fragmented spreadsheets.

Reduced operational uncertainty
By consolidating measurement and connectivity into a predictable flow, the organization reduces the “unknowns” associated with silent data gaps and inconsistent data collection processes.

Structured integration into existing systems
MQTT-centric delivery, optional platform APIs/webhooks, and compatibility with UNS make it feasible to integrate without forcing a replacement of existing SCADA, historian, or enterprise tooling.

Field-ready deployment model
Low-power cellular connectivity and managed service options support remote wells without requiring heavy infrastructure, while maintaining security and operational control.

Application scenarios

1) Tank farm perimeter monitoring
Piezometers placed around storage areas can be instrumented to detect early indicators of hydrocarbon presence and correlate anomalies with operational events such as transfers, maintenance windows, or stormwater episodes.

2) Pipeline corridor groundwater control points
Distributed wells along a corridor often suffer from accessibility and scheduling challenges. NTX + LINK support continuous reporting from remote points, enabling exception-based field visits rather than routine rounds.

3) Remediation performance tracking
Where containment or remediation is in place, time-series monitoring helps validate that conditions are stable or improving. CORE (optional) can present trends per well, area, and depth, and trigger alerts for deviations.

4) Brownfield site requalification support
For sites transitioning to new usage, consistent monitoring evidence supports internal decision gates. The same architecture can be extended with additional sensors (level, conductivity, temperature) to strengthen interpretation.

Request a quote

Nasatech delivers this solution as a repeatable architecture based on NTX devices (MQTT-native), Nasatech LINK for managed connectivity (recommended for remote piezometers), and Nasatech CORE Platform as an optional layer for visualization, alerting, and integrations.

To prepare a technical-commercial proposal, we typically scope: number of piezometers, required measured variables, sensor interface needs, site connectivity constraints, expected sampling frequency, cybersecurity requirements (IT/OT zoning, broker placement, credential management), and the target integrations (Broker MQTT, SCADA, historian, CMMS, ERP, API/Webhooks, UNS).

Request a quote with your site context and instrumentation preferences, and we will propose a standardized bill of materials, deployment approach, and integration pathway aligned with Purdue/ISA-95 and your operational model.