Hold your freeboard. Catch the overflow before it's a violation.
For a small wastewater system, an overtopped lagoon or a flooded lift station isn't just a mess — it's a permit violation and a sanitary sewer overflow. Meterra puts a wireless level sensor on a lagoon or wet well and sends a high-level alarm before water reaches the top, so a thinly staffed utility gets warning in time to act, without the cost of full SCADA.
A thin-staffed utility can’t watch the berm all night
Small wastewater systems run lean, often with one or two operators covering everything. The two places that turn into a violation overnight are the lagoon berm and the lift-station wet well. A lagoon creeps up on inflow and rain until freeboard is gone; a wet well surcharges when pumps fall behind — and either becomes a sanitary sewer overflow before the next round.
Remote monitoring buys back the hours between rounds. A sensor watches the level continuously and raises a high-level alarm with margin to spare, so the operator gets a call while there’s still time to draw down, start a pump, or get on site — instead of finding it after.
What Meterra watches
- Stabilization lagoons — a submerged pressure sensor reads the level and trend, with a high-level alarm that protects freeboard.
- Lift-station wet wells — a non-contact ultrasonic sensor reads the wet well and alarms on a high level when pumps fall behind.
- Storage and equalization basins — confirm the buffer in the system is where it should be.
Everything reports to one dashboard with trend history, CSV export, and multi-user alarms.
Monitoring without the SCADA bill
Meterra stands alone on a lagoon or wet well that has nothing today — battery or solar power, Verizon’s NB-IoT low-power cellular network (LEO satellite where there’s no coverage), no field wiring, and a 15-minute install. It’s the affordable middle ground between a clipboard and a full SCADA system.
A note on what this is — and isn’t
Meterra is a monitoring and alerting aid. It does not replace your NPDES permit monitoring, sampling, certified operators, or pump controls, and it doesn’t control equipment. It gives a small utility early warning and a clean record — confirm your specific obligations with your permit and regulator.
Getting started
Start with the lagoon or lift station most likely to surprise you. Tell us the site and coverage, and we’ll set the sensor and the high-level alarm threshold with you.
The hardware for this job
Every device reports to the same Meterra dashboard and app.
Tell us about your operation and we'll map the right sensors and coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Why monitor a lagoon's level?
Stabilization lagoons have to keep freeboard — a margin between the water and the top of the berm — and overtopping is both an environmental problem and a permit violation. A level sensor reports the lagoon level continuously and alarms before freeboard is lost, so a rising trend from rain, inflow, or a stuck transfer gets caught while there's still time to draw down or move water. It supports the operator; it doesn't replace permit monitoring or sampling.
What about lift stations?
A lift-station wet well is where an overflow becomes imminent fast. A non-contact ultrasonic sensor reads the wet-well level and sends a high-level alarm if the pumps fall behind or quit — the early warning a small system needs when no one is on site. It's a monitoring and alerting layer that complements your pump controls, not a replacement for them.
Is this a SCADA system?
No, and that's the point for a small utility. Meterra is affordable remote monitoring and alerting — level, trend, history, and alarms to one dashboard — without the cost and infrastructure of a full SCADA build. It can stand alone on a lagoon or wet well that has nothing today, and it doesn't control your pumps or gates.
Will it work where there's no power or comms?
Yes. Sensors are battery or solar powered and report over Verizon's NB-IoT low-power cellular network, with LEO satellite where there's no coverage. No mains power and no field network needed — coverage confirmed for the specific site first.
What does it cost?
In our US rollout, sensors start at $299 for the Tank Level Sensor and $499 for the Dam Level Monitor, each including three months of connectivity and full app access; connectivity is then from $10/month per device, with discounts on annual subscriptions. Tell us your lagoons and stations and we'll size it. Every sensor is backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee and a one-year warranty.
Related Meterra pages
- Water Districts — storage and infrastructure monitoring for small systems.
- Water Level Monitoring — how remote level sensing works.
- Dam Level Monitor — the submerged pressure sensor for lagoons and ponds.
- Tank Level Sensor — the non-contact ultrasonic sensor for wet wells and tanks.
- Pond & Dam Monitoring — open-water level sensing and high-water alarms.