How California Uses Blockchain And IoT To Tackle Drought Problem?

• Toshendra Kumar Sharma
• March 19, 2019

Blockchain technology is gaining momentum with each passing day. Every day you could hear some news about this technology and innovations related to it. Many companies are using this technology to enhance the efficiency of their business operations. Whenever we talk about Blockchain technology than one of the most common applications that we think about it financial transactions, supply chain management and data security, but did you know that blockchain has a much wider horizon of application. Companies like IBM are exploring the use of Blockchain in the most unconventional manner.

 

When we talk about latest technological development, then we cannot miss the fact that IoT is something which has paved the way to technological revolution and Blockchain is the latest addition to this list. IoT is the latest buzz in the market, it has dramatically transformed how things work, and with the assistance of Blockchain, we are expecting the system to become even more efficient. The latest news in this zone comes from California where  IBM is coming up with a project where Blockchain and IoT will work together to help in real-time tracking of the water level. This sounds amazing !!!, Well, in this blog we will be exploring all the horizons of this latest development.

 

News Overview: TFT or The Freshwater Trust (TFT) is a non-profit organization that is working protecting the freshwater ecosystem. The organization has teamed up with IBM Research and SweetSense Inc. to come with technology which can accurately monitor and track underground water level in California.

 

How Will This Technology Work?

The underground layer that creates the water level is known as an aquifer. It consists of water-bearing rock from where the water can be extracted. This layer has been exploited by the industrialists and farmers for more than a decade which has led to a decrease in the water level. If the situation continues, then the water level will soon decares leading to draught like condition. An important point to note here about the current scenario is that we can track the level of water, but it is not a real-time system. With the help of Blockhead and IoT, this project aims at creating a platform that will help in real-time tracking of water-level, thereby enabling the farmers to use the water more judiciously.

As per the reports published on this project, this project will be making use of IoT sensors. These sensors will transmit water extraction data to the satellites (these satellites are used for detecting weather conditions and rainfalls). All the data received by this satellite will be used to detect rainfall and weather correlations. All these information are stored in the blockchain ledger and smart contact compatible IBM Blockchain.

Since Blockchain functions in real-time, all the information received by satellite will get ultimately stored in the ledger. This ledger will be accessible to all the water consumers like farmers, regulators, financers. They can make use of a web-based dashboard to interact with the Blockchain and helping to monitor the groundwater level. All this information will be stored in real-time. Hence farmers will get the exact details on the water level.

Since this system will have accurate tracking, the system is used to issue groundwater shares. These shares can be purchased and traded by actors in the region.

 

TFT has led to the formation of the Northern Delta Groundwater Sustainability Agency. This agency will further bring together smaller agencies under one umbrella to work towards sustainable groundwater usage.

 

This collaboration aims to help in creating a fair system which makes tracking of water level easy and quantifiable. Since the system will work in real-time, the information will be highly authentic and transparent.

 

Final Thoughts

Well, Blockchain is one technology that has revolutionized the market like never before. IBM is one of the leading names when it comes to Blockchain based development. It has initiated many programs that aim at transforming the current system. This new collaboration with TFT will pave a new way to utilize water optimally. The real-time information tracking will not only work for water-level detection but at the same time, it will help in keeping a check on water level. The blockchain is one technology which is transforming the business operations like never before.