[Commerce Business Daily: Posted in CBDNet on March 31, 2000]
[Printed Issue Date: April 4, 2000]
From the Commerce Business Daily Online via GPO Access
[cbdnet.access.gpo.gov]

PART: SPECIAL NOTICES
OFFADD: USGS-Technology Enterprise Office, National Center -
  MS 211, 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 20192
SUBJECT: CORRECTED NOTICE - THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SEEKS PARTNERS
  TO COMMERCIALIZE NEW ROBOTIC GROUND WATER MONITORING TECHNOLOGY
DESC: CORRECTED DESC: The US Geological Survey (USGS) is actively
  seeking industrial partners or licensees for the commercialization
  and further development of a recently patented automatic groundwater
  monitoring technology. A USGS research team has developed a
  system and equipment that robotically/automatically pumps a
  groundwater monitoring well, measures the groundwater quality,
  and transmits results to a human supervisor using radio, cellular-phone
  modem or a satellite linkage. The automated system is designed
  to test well water quality using the same techniques that a
  human sampling crew would use. Because the technology places
  the robot at the site of a well cluster - it can monitor water-level
  and water quality much more frequently than human sampling
  teams. The device is programmed to signal a human operator
  when measured conditions have changed sufficiently to indicate
  that local water quality has changed (or to indicate if the
  unit needs service). The USGS has tested six prototype systems,
  and sampled water during all four seasons, under different
  hydrological conditions, well designs and geochemical environments.
  In total the six units have operated reliably for over 1020
  days to produce data that is consistently verifiable when checked
  against manual measurements. The USGS expects that this technology
  will be useful as an early warning system for the protection
  of public supply wells and for site monitoring at known or
  potential sources of contamination such as landfills or industrial
  sites. The technology is described in greater detail at the
  following website: http://ma.water.usgs.gov/automon/.  THIS
  IS NOT A PROCUREMENT NOTICE. Companies interested in working
  with the USGS or in discussing the technology further should
  contact Julia Giller, Technology Enterprise Office, US Geological
  Survey, 211 National Center, Reston, VA, 20192, phone (703)
  648-4403; or fax (703) 648-4408.   
LINKURL: http://ma.water.usgs.gov/automon/.
LINKDESC: click here to obtain additional information on the technology
EMAILADD: 
EMAILDESC: 
  
CITE: (W-091 SN440181)