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Record field monitoring data

Record field monitoring observations — Water Levels, Well Purges, and Field Parameter sessions — for the Locations you monitor. You can enter each record by hand, or load many at once through the import pipeline. Use this guide when you have field sheets or instrument exports to get into Erde.

Each record belongs to a Project. Field parameter sessions are managed under the Field Parameters view of the Location.

Before you start

Record a water level​

A water level is a single static groundwater gauging reading at a Location.

  1. Go to Data Management → Sites, then select a Site.

  2. Select Locations, then select a Location — for example MW-01.

  3. Select Water Levels, then add a new record.

  4. Enter the required fields:

    FieldWhat to enter
    ProjectThe Project this reading belongs to. Fixed after you save.
    Measurement DateWhen you took the reading. A future date is allowed but raises a warning.
    UnitFeet (ft) or Meters (m). Defaults to Feet.

    The Location is set from the page you're on and cannot change after you save. Add a Well only when the reading is at a specific well in a cluster. Then record at least one measurement — typically Depth to Water or Groundwater Elevation. Depth to Water is signed: a negative value records an artesian well. When you genuinely can't record a value — a dry or inaccessible well — supply a Qualifier or Notes, or the record is rejected.

  5. Save the reading. It appears in the Water Levels list for the Location, and read-only under Monitoring → Water Levels at the Site.

Record a well purge​

A well purge records a single purge event before sampling — low-flow, conventional volume-based, or low-yield purge-and-recover. Record a purge only when water was actually purged.

  1. Go to Data Management → Sites, then select a Site.

  2. Select Locations, then select a Location.

  3. Select Well Purges, then add a new record.

  4. Enter the required fields:

    FieldWhat to enter
    ProjectThe Project this purge belongs to.
    Purge StartWhen purging began. A future date is allowed but raises a warning.

    Record the purge details that apply. If you enter a Target Volume or Purged Volume, you must also set a Volume Unit; a Purge Rate needs a Purge Rate Unit, and a Pump Depth needs a Pump Depth Unit. Purged Volume may be 0 for a well that was dry on arrival. Purge End cannot come before Purge Start. If you record no purge detail and the well did not go dry, supply a Qualifier or Notes.

  5. Save the record. It appears in the Well Purges list for the Location, and read-only under Monitoring → Well Purges at the Site.

Record a field parameter session​

A field parameter session captures one in-situ measurement event — probe casts of pH, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, temperature, turbidity, and similar. A session holds one or more time-ordered readings, and each reading holds one measurement per parameter.

  1. Go to Data Management → Sites, then select a Site.

  2. Select Locations, then select a Location.

  3. Select Field Parameters, then add a new session.

  4. Enter the required session fields:

    FieldWhat to enter
    ProjectThe Project this session belongs to.
    Session StartWhen the session began. A future date is allowed but raises a warning.

    Session End must be on or after Session Start. Stabilization is a three-state outcome: leave it unrecorded, set a Stabilized At time, or mark the session Is Unstable — you cannot do both.

  5. Open the saved session and add a reading. Each reading needs a Timestamp (a timestamp outside the session window raises a warning). Erde numbers readings in sequence for you.

  6. For each reading, add one measurement per parameter:

    FieldWhat to enter
    ParameterThe field parameter being measured (from reference data).
    UnitThe unit for the value.

    Enter the Value as the measured number — it is signed, so pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), or dissolved oxygen (DO) readings at or below zero are valid. If you leave the value blank, mark the measurement invalid or add a Qualifier or Notes. You can record only one measurement per parameter in a reading; a duplicate parameter is rejected.

  7. Save. The session appears in the Field Parameters list for the Location, and read-only under Monitoring → Field Parameters at the Site.

Import monitoring data instead​

When you have many records — a season of gauging rounds or an instrument export — load them through the import pipeline rather than typing each one. The importer validates every row before anything is saved, shows errors and warnings for review, and lets you commit or roll back the whole batch. See Importing Data for the full workflow.

Result​

Each saved record shows in its Location list (Water Levels, Well Purges, or Field Parameters) and on the Site's read-only Monitoring overview, where rows click through to the Location to edit them. Saved monitoring data feeds the analysis tools — water levels drive the Hydrograph, and field parameters trend across sessions.

Troubleshooting​

SymptomCauseResolution
"Another water level reading already exists for this well and location at the same date and time."A reading already exists for that Location, Well, and date — recorded as a warning, not a block.Confirm it isn't a duplicate; the save still succeeds if it's intentional.
Save rejected for a reading with no measurement value.The record has no value and is not marked dry.Mark the well dry, or add a Qualifier or Notes.
Save rejected because a value has no unit.A volume, rate, or pump-depth value was entered without its paired unit.Set the matching Volume Unit, Purge Rate Unit, or Pump Depth Unit.
Duplicate parameter rejected in a reading.The reading already has a measurement for that parameter.Edit the existing measurement instead of adding a second one.
Purge End rejected.The end time is before Purge Start.Set an end time on or after the start.