ALICE: An Effective Tool For Groundwater-level Regulation For Large Vine Growing Areas

The aim of this paper is to describe an effective tool of groundwater-level regulation for large vine growing areas which are mostly situated in drier locations and extreme groundwater-level fluctuations may affect the quality of wine and/or may directly lead to the death of the root system. Vine growing areas are often irrigated, therefore there is a need to monitor the groundwater level which may only occur within certain height limits; a higher decline of the water column leads to drying of the vine, on the contrary, excessive irrigation may lead to rotting of the root systems and again damage to crops. The tool ALICE can also provide the maximum efficiency of water use for irrigation purposes and prevent water wastage, which will lead to significant savings for end users and the release of water for irrigation in other agricultural areas. The paper will first introduce the pilot area in San Juan, Argentina (Valle Pedernal) and describe the technical and socio-economic activities that are planned in the pilot area under the ALICE research from May 2015 till September 2016. Definition of the alert system, analysis of system options in terms of required functions, users, operating activities, monitoring methods and resources will be discussed. The alert system ALICE that warns of extreme groundwater-level declines or rises will be based on sensing the signals from the individual measuring points - sensors located in boreholes in the area concerned, and on radio transmission of these signals to the pre-processing centre and then via the internet to a central database, accessible only to authorized persons with power of decision.