If you've ever arrived at a distant paddock to find a bone dry trough and stock in distress, you’ll know the sinking feeling you can get when water infrastructure fails.
Having to check all the tanks and troughs on a large property is an unavoidable job that burns through time, fuel and peace of mind. When you're managing water points across different paddocks, you might not notice a single failed ball valve or slow leak until real damage is done.
The challenge is greater with more paddocks, as there are increased water points, longer check routes and a higher chance of something going wrong between visits. If you’re running rotational grazing or managing stock across dispersed blocks, manual monitoring can be a logistical headache that gets worse with every additional trough.
Remote water level monitoring fixes this situation completely. By putting sensors on tanks and flow meters throughout your water system, you get real-time visibility across your entire operation from a single dashboard. And you can check it from your phone, whether you're in the shed, in town or on the other side of the property.
This article explores how centralised water monitoring saves time, protects livestock welfare and delivers the operational control you need.
Every farmer knows water checks are non-negotiable. But the time you’re spending driving between paddocks, inspecting levels, checking ball valves and looking for leaks adds up quickly. This is especially true when you're running water infrastructure across 10, 15 or 20 separate locations.
For a large operation, you're looking at hours of driving every week just to confirm your water is where it should be. And even then, you might only detect problems after they’ve happened.
Lactating cows typically require more than 100 litres per day in summer and drink between two to six times daily. When supply fails, the consequences are immediate. Water intake affects animal performance more quickly and dramatically than any other nutrient deficiency, something experienced farmers already know.
The manual monitoring burden isn't just about time, it's about the narrow margin for error when problems go undetected.
The further a water point sits from your regular circuit, the greater the chance of undetected failure. A tank servicing a remote grazing block might only receive attention every few days, and in that time, a stuck float valve or underground leak can drain an entire supply.
Studies from Wyoming found that cattle do 77% of their grazing within 365m (1,200 feet) of their water point. When the water point fails, they don’t relocate to another source, but wait near the dry trough while their condition deteriorates.
The animal welfare implications extend beyond immediate distress. Even mild, chronic under-watering affects feed intake, weight gain, reproductive performance and disease resistance. Distance from monitoring amplifies these risks.
Remote water tank monitoring systems work by placing sensors on tanks, troughs and flow meters throughout your water infrastructure. They measure levels and flow rates continuously, transmitting data via cellular connection to a cloud-based platform.
The result is a single dashboard displaying every monitored water point across your operation, and you can see it from any smartphone, tablet or computer.
Rather than driving a circuit and hoping nothing has failed since yesterday, you can confirm status at a glance.
Tank levels appear as percentages so you can immediately see what’s dropping faster than expected, flow rates show whether water is moving normally through supply lines and historical data reveals usage patterns you can plan around.
Most importantly, the system doesn't wait for you to check. Configurable alerts notify you immediately when conditions need your attention.
Low level warnings flag tanks dropping below threshold, high flow rate alerts indicate potential leaks or line breaks and overnight activity monitoring between 11pm and 4am catches unusual usage when consumption should be minimal.
These alerts arrive via push notification, email, or text: whichever combination you prefer.
For operations with multiple staff, shared access ensures everyone who needs visibility has it. Farm managers can monitor from anywhere and workers in the field can check before making decisions about stock movements.
The information becomes a shared resource rather than knowledge held by whoever happened to complete the last check run.
The most immediate benefit of remote water monitoring is saving time. When you can confirm from your phone that all water points are functioning, the daily check run isn’t necessary unless an alert tells you otherwise.
You’ll visit remote paddocks only when you need to, not simply to gather information you could access digitally.
For large operations, the time savings compound. An hour saved daily across a season represents substantial labour you can redirect to tasks that need physical presence and skilled attention.
When the system detects problems in real time, you can address them straight away. A failing ball valve flagged by dropping levels is fixed the same day, not discovered three days later when the trough has been empty for 48 hours.
Milk is 87% water, making adequate supply fundamental to production. Even small limitations in water intake directly reduce feed consumption and milk output. Faster response to supply failures protects productivity. A problem fixed the same day it's detected has far less impact than one discovered 48 hours later.
Remote monitoring reveals consumption patterns that inform operational planning. You'll see how quickly tanks draw down under different stocking rates and weather conditions. This data supports proactive scheduling — running pumps or managing extraction before supplies reach critical levels rather than responding to emergencies.
For operations drawing from bores or other consented sources, visibility into actual consumption also helps manage extraction within consent limits. Planning based on real data beats guesswork every time.
When the entire team can see water status, coordination improves. Staff don't duplicate effort checking the same points and managers can direct attention where it's genuinely needed. The shared visibility creates efficiencies that extend beyond water monitoring itself.
As one Levno customer from Moerangi Station says: "Levno's app is easy for our whole team to use. It helps us work together and creates efficiencies in the team."
This table summarises the key differences between traditional manual water checks and remote monitoring systems:
Levno for Water is designed to scale from a single tank to complex farm-wide infrastructure.
The system accommodates multiple monitoring configurations: tank level sensors show the percentage full, supply flow meters track water down from your source and usage flow meters on lines throughout your distribution network.
You can choose whichever combination matches your operation's needs.
Sensors transmit continuously to the Levno transceiver, which sends data to the cloud. Your dashboard is updated in real time, and the system includes validation checks to ensure data accuracy.
You select the thresholds that matter (low level warnings, high flow rates indicating potential leaks, overnight activity detection) and choose how you receive notifications.
Push notifications, email and SMS options ensure the alerts reach you through whichever channel you monitor most closely. Multiple users can be added to receive alerts so the right people are notified of any issues.
If your operation is subject to water consent requirements, council consent reporting is available as a no-cost add-on to supply monitoring products.
You receive accurate, automated records of water drawn from your source, which support compliance without additional administrative burden.
As one customer from Moerangi Station puts it: "Water for stock is essential, and having Levno has saved us thousands of dollars while giving us the information we need to keep water up to our animals.
“We've got ten 30,000-litre water tanks across the farm, and with Levno we always know exactly how much water is in each one."
Operations already using Levno for milk vat or fuel tank monitoring can add water infrastructure to the same dashboard, creating unified visibility across all critical resources.
Pricing starts from $25 per month per tank, with installation available through the Levno team.
How does remote water level monitoring work?
Sensors installed on tanks and flow meters measure levels and flow rates continuously. This data transmits via cellular connection to a cloud-based platform, where it's accessible through a dashboard on your phone, tablet or computer.
The system operates 24/7, providing real-time visibility without requiring physical checks.
Can I monitor multiple tanks across different paddocks?
Yes. Levno is designed to scale across dispersed infrastructure. Whether you're monitoring three tanks or 30, all data consolidates into a single dashboard.
Each water point displays individually, allowing you to check specific locations or view your entire operation at a glance. Visit the water supply solutions page for more details.
What alerts will I receive?
Alert types include low level warnings when tanks drop below your specified threshold, high flow rate alerts that may indicate leaks or line breaks, and overnight activity alerts for unusual usage between 11pm and 4am.
You configure the parameters and delivery method: push notification, email, text or any combination. Additional users can be added to receive alerts as needed.
Does remote monitoring work in areas with limited connectivity?
Levno uses cellular connectivity to transmit data. Coverage varies by location and network provider. If you're uncertain about connectivity on your property, the Levno team can discuss options and assess suitability. Contact us for an obligation-free conversation about your specific situation.
How quickly can I identify a leak or broken valve?
Real-time monitoring means issues are detected as they occur. A stuck valve causing a tank to drain will show as dropping levels immediately. A burst line will trigger high flow rate alerts within minutes.
This contrasts sharply with manual monitoring, where problems may go undetected for hours or days between physical checks.
Can water monitoring help with compliance reporting?
For operations with water consent requirements, Levno offers council consent reporting as a no-cost add-on to supply monitoring products. The system automatically tracks water drawn from your source, providing accurate records that support compliance without manual record-keeping.
Learn more about water consumption monitoring.
Manually managing dispersed water infrastructure takes up time, creates risk and leaves problems undetected until they become emergencies.
Remote water level monitoring delivers farm-wide visibility from a single dashboard, replacing guesswork with data and reactive firefighting with proactive control.
The benefits include reduced labour hours, quicker responses to problems, better planning for refills, improved staff coordination and protected livestock welfare.
When every water point across your operation is visible in real time, you can focus your attention where it's genuinely needed rather than driving check routes to confirm what you could see from your phone.
Levno's water monitoring system scales from single tanks to complex, multi-point infrastructure. Whether you're managing a handful of troughs or dozens of tanks across dispersed blocks, the platform provides the visibility and alerts that modern operations need.
Ready to stop worrying about water? Get in touch with the Levno team to discuss how remote monitoring can work for your operation.