The State and Future of Telemetry in California | Data for Lunch

Members of the Telemetry Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) discuss their recommendations to the State Water Board on telemetered water monitoring in California. Telemetry, the automatic collection and transmission of data through cellular, radio, or satellite communications, could get water data to decision makers faster and reduce the burden of manual reporting. But telemetered monitoring networks can be costly and technically complex to install and maintain. In this Data for Lunch, TAC members convened by the California Water Data Consortium share what they learned and what the future might hold. This conversation covers: Where telemetry investments could be most critical, effective, and cost-efficient Use cases that show how telemetered data can support real-world water management decisions Why trust, transparency, and data governance shape whether telemetered data are useful at the local level What it took to bring water rights holders, water users, agencies, nonprofits, and researchers to the same table Audience Q&A Featuring Sonya Milonova (California Water Data Consortium), Glen Low (Earth Genome), Stephen Ho (Merced Irrigation District), Lauren Steely (Metropolitan Water District of Southern California), and Alex Biering (California Farm Bureau).