Skip to content
WelcoYour alerts, by text.

Well level alarm text for reservoirs, standpipes and wells

A well level alarm text gives the operator on call the site, the level and the time. A rising standpipe or a falling well gets caught overnight, not on the morning rounds. Your SCADA or telemetry already emails that level alarm. Send it to your Welco address instead of a carrier gateway, with nothing to install at the tank.

Text me my level alarmsBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

  • Nothing to install at the tank
  • Runs on SCADA or telemetry email
  • No per-user fees

Works by email with

  • Tank & well levels
  • Ignition
  • Data loggers

Setup guide for

  • VTScada

A storage tank with a sight gauge and a radar level transmitter: inlet valve FCV-201 closes while the outlet keeps drawing, and the level falls to 22.6 ft, below its HIGH HIGH setpoint of 22 ft. The email reaches Welco and the phone shows: “Welco: [North Reservoir] Standpipe 1 level HIGH, 11.8 m, unacked at 11:36 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Animation: a long Water system SCADA alert email is trimmed into one short text: "Welco: [North Reservoir] Standpipe 1 level HIGH, 11.8 m, unacked at 11:36 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

Level alarms before and after Welco

Level alarms the old way

  • A HIGH level alarm sits on the HMI until someone happens to walk by.
  • Texts went through carrier gateways, and Bell's closed at the end of 2025.
  • One long sentence repeats the point name, the state and the ack status.
  • A level parked on its setpoint buzzes the phone over and over.

Level alarms through Welco

  • The operator on call reads the site, the tank and the level.
  • Alerts-only numbers carry the text, not a carrier gateway.
  • A trim rule keeps the reading and drops the setpoint line.
  • Flood limits cap the texts while you widen the deadband.

Which tank and well level alarms need someone tonight

Level is the alarm municipal water systems watch most, because it moves before anything else goes wrong. Tank batteries in Prairie oil and gas fields raise the same alarms. These are the ones to put on a phone with SCADA alarm text notification.

  • Tank HIGH or overflow. An altitude valve stuck open, or a pump that won't shut off.
  • Tank LOW. Demand is outrunning supply, or a booster upstream has failed.
  • Well LOW LOW. Water is near the pump intake, so the pump should stop before it runs dry.
  • Level transmitter fault. The reading is gone, possibly from a frozen sensing line, so SCADA is guessing.
  • Rate of change. Some systems alarm when a level falls too fast, often a sign of a main break.

A reservoir draining fast on a January morning

Deep frost cracks old cast-iron mains, and a rate-of-change alarm is often the first sign. Here is that hour with Welco.

  1. SCADA sees the standpipe dropping too fast

    NorthRes.Points.ST2_L Alarm State is Rate of Change Alarm occurred 05:20:14 Alarm is Unacknowledged

  2. The rule sends it to two phones

    Rate-of-change alarms go to the standby operator and the chief operator at any hour.

  3. Both phones show the falling level

    Welco: [North Reservoir] Standpipe 2 level FALLING FAST, 7.3 m at 5:20 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.

  4. Standby checks the trends

    The operator opens the level trend from home and sees the high-lift pumps running flat out.

  5. The operator replies with a plan

    Probably a main break on Concession 6. Heading out to isolate

  6. The plan reaches the operations mailbox

    Welco emails each reply to the alarm's sender, so the day crew walks in knowing what happened.

    Reply from the standby phone: Probably a main break on Concession 6. Heading out to isolate

Times are an example. A reply never acknowledges the alarm in SCADA.

Text tank and well level alarms in 4 steps

This works with central SCADA, a telemetry service or a data logger, as long as one of them emails the alarm. Lift stations use the same steps, covered in wet well and pump alarm texts.

  1. Find where level alarms are emailed from

    Most systems send level alarms from the SCADA server. Remote wells may use a cellular telemetry logger or a hosted dashboard that emails on a threshold. Note the From address.

  2. Approve that sender in Welco

    Add the From address to the senders Welco lets through. If a hosted telemetry service sends alarms for many customers, Welco still matches yours to your account.

  3. Add your Welco address and invite operators

    Put your Welco address on the level alarm email. Invite each operator from Welco. They join with their own cellphone and reply YES once.

  4. Shift a setpoint to test

    Lower a HIGH setpoint on a test point, or use a level you know. Check the text, then set the setpoint back.

Get the next level alarm on your phone

Send your level alarm email to Welco and invite the operator on call.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

Text me my level alarmsBook a demo

More level alarm texts

Masked examples from wells, clearwells and reservoirs.

  • Well: Welco: [Pump Station 2] Well 3 level LOW LOW alarm at 1:58 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.
  • Drawdown: Welco: [Well 4] Drawdown LOW, pump stopped at 3:49 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.
  • Clearwell: Welco: [WTP] Clearwell level LOW, 1.9 m at 7:42 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.

A phone showing these alert texts: Well, "Welco: [Pump Station 2] Well 3 level LOW LOW alarm at 1:58 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."; Drawdown, "Welco: [Well 4] Drawdown LOW, pump stopped at 3:49 AM. Reply STOP to opt out."; Clearwell, "Welco: [WTP] Clearwell level LOW, 1.9 m at 7:42 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

Make level texts worth reading

Levels bounce around. A few rules keep that bounce from turning into a stream of texts.

  • Text only the extremes overnight

    Send HIGH HIGH and LOW LOW to the on-call phone after hours, and plain HIGH or LOW to the day crew. Alarm rules and after-hours routing handle both.

  • Fix the deadband first

    A level sitting on its setpoint will alarm and clear again and again. Widen the deadband in SCADA. Welco flood control catches whatever slips through.

  • Two phones for an overflow

    An overflow usually means a cleanup and a report. Send it to the operator on call and the chief operator together.

Frequently asked questions

Can a telemetry logger at a remote well send alarms to Welco?

Yes, if the logger or its hosted service can email an alarm. Some cellular loggers send threshold alarms from a shared service address. Approve that address in Welco and put your Welco address on the alarm. The text then reaches your operator and nobody else on that service.

Does Welco connect to the tank site or our SCADA network?

No. Nothing goes in at the tank, and Welco has no route into SCADA. It only receives the level alarm email once your system sends it.

Should a tank level text include the actual reading?

Yes, when the email carries it. The reading tells the operator how serious things are before the drive out. A standpipe at 11.8 m against an 11.6 m setpoint is one to watch, while one at the overflow is an emergency. Keep the reading and drop the setpoint line to fit one text.

What does a well LOW LOW alarm mean?

The water in the well has fallen to its lowest setpoint, close to the pump intake. Most systems stop the pump there so it doesn't run dry. Someone should check the well, the pump and system demand soon.

Does replying to a level text acknowledge the alarm?

No. The reply is emailed to the alarm's sender for people to read. Acknowledge the level alarm in SCADA the way you do now.

Will I get a text when the level is back to normal?

Only if your system emails the return to normal and you let it through. Some operators like to know a reservoir has recovered, and others prefer quiet. A Welco rule can drop emails that say Normal or Returned and keep the alarm itself.

How much do level alarm texts cost?

Welco charges nothing per user, with no hardware and no setup fee. A short level alarm uses one message credit per phone. Long emails use more unless trimmed, so keep the text to site, level and time. Current plans, priced in US dollars, are on the pricing page.

Know about the next overflow before the neighbors call

Send your level alarm email to Welco so the on-call operator gets the text.

Text me my level alarmsBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing