Startup
Wellntel’s service footprint grows
Wellntel co-founders Marian Singer and Nick Hayes started their company to help the world monitor and manage one of the Earth’s most important resources: groundwater.
Launched in 2013, the Milwaukee-based company has developed a Water Information System (WIS) that pairs its proprietary water sensor with data collection and analysis tools.
Unlike most water sensors, which need to be inside the well to monitor water activity, Wellntel’s unique water sensors use sound to measure groundwater activity. The innovative company has two patents in water quantity and quality monitoring.
Wellntel CEO Singer last spoke with MKEStartup.News in July 2022. Since then, the company’s customer list and impact have grown considerably.
Singer recently spoke with MSUN about the company’s growth and its focus on three distinct customer groups.
International
Singer reports that Wellntel has partnered with a distribution company in Greece to introduce its products to the European market. The company’s Water Information System is aligned with the needs of entities that are required to document water usage under the EU’s Water Directive Framework. The environmental program contains legislation that focuses on the use of both groundwater and surface water in the political union’s 27 member countries.
“Greece is a good place to start, because it’s just like California in terms of its Mediterranean climate and it’s got drought,” she said. “The thing that is refreshing for us about going into Europe is the more proactive approach to resource management coupled with the funding to enable it.”
National
The company has narrowed its domestic customer focus to entities that are required to monitor groundwater levels and report water usage.
“Public agencies are charged with monitoring groundwater, as well as Groundwater Conservation Districts. Texas has more than 100 of them. California has more than 200 Sustainability Agencies that are required to monitor water use in order to be able to make decisions about things like growth and permitting, “ Singer said, providing examples of potential customers.
“Additionally, there are groundwater dependent businesses, like agriculture and dairies, food and beverage processing, and mining that are required to track water consumption, as well as rural water utilities,” she continued.
Wellntel’s non-invasive water sensor is being presented as part of a larger Water Information System (WIS) that pairs the company’s sensor data with data from other client sensors, like rainfall sensors and flow sensors using cloud-based technology. The WIS data dashboard also contains analytical tools and automated reporting options for end-users.
“It means that they can enhance their understanding by bringing in other types of data with the goal of building a database that has information that helps you answer questions and make good decisions,” Singer said.
Local
Wellntel remains committed to serving Wisconsin customers.
“We started a program in Wisconsin last year working with a well service company in the Green Bay area who is bringing our groundwater monitoring technology to his dairy client,” Singer explained.
“It is to help them ensure that they have adequate water resources. The thing that’s been really exciting about this is that they are taking the data that is provided with Wellntel sensors and they are using it to improve both the operating system of the dairies they are working on, and they are starting to roll these learnings into new dairies,” she said.
To learn more about Wellntel and the need for groundwater monitoring, connect with the company here.
