In 2021, the California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) received funding to create a modern geospatial data system capable of receiving telemetry data (UPWARD Project1). The funding also created the Telemetry Research Unit2 (TRU), whose objective is to build institutional knowledge of costs, logistics, and data governance for telemetered water monitoring and to make recommendations about monitoring and reporting processes.
To support these goals, TRU is conducting a Telemetry Pilot Project (Pilot Project). The Pilot Project is a research initiative by the Water Board to explore and refine water monitoring practices using telemetered devices, and includes specific studies like the Russian River Telemetry Study3 (Study). This Study will take place from 2025 to 2027 and evaluate telemetered water monitoring within and around the Russian River watershed4 to understand costs, logistics, and data governance for telemetered water monitoring in a real-world setting. This Study has no regulatory or enforcement component and depends on community members volunteering access to their land and equipment.