Thurston County, WA

Cellular IoT for water management

Thurston County, located at the southern edge of Washington State’s Puget Sound, is home to 250,000 residents and the state capital, Olympia. Surrounded by lakes, streams, and forest, the county balances the needs of a growing population with the stewardship of valuable natural resources. Outdoor recreation is part of everyday life, with boating, fishing, and other water activities drawing heavily on the county’s 16 lakes, which account for nearly 7% of the land area.

Managing this mix of natural beauty and human activity falls to a relatively small county team responsible for water safety, flood prevention, and environmental monitoring. These responsibilities demand accurate, timely data in order to protect residents and maintain quality of life. Traditional manual inspection methods were time-consuming and expensive, limiting the team’s ability to scale services as demand grew.

To address this, the county began exploring connected solutions that could streamline operations. Cellular IoT emerged as the best path forward, offering real-time visibility into water conditions while reducing reliance on manual site visits. With IoT sensors in place, water management could become more efficient, cost-effective, and transparent for residents.

"The built-in Soracom user console and API made a real difference as the team moved from design and architecture to deployment in field… It would have taken twice as long to get most of our sites up without it."

Nathaniel Kale

Thurston County Water Resource Specialist

Thurston County, WA

Challenge: A big job for a small team

Thurston County’s water resources staff face a daunting mandate. They are responsible for everything from tracking lake levels and groundwater safety to monitoring rainfall, clearing beaver dams, and setting boating restrictions when needed. These tasks require constant vigilance across nearly 1,000 square miles of terrain, much of it rural and difficult to access.

Without remote monitoring, county staff had to drive to individual sites to gather data or assess conditions, a process that was both time-intensive and costly. With limited resources and a small team, fieldwork could only cover so much ground, leaving gaps in the county’s ability to anticipate hazards like flooding or infrastructure damage.

The challenge was clear: how to create a system that could provide county-wide visibility into water conditions, reduce dependence on manual inspections, and ensure residents had reliable, real-time information about their environment.

Solution: Remote monitoring with cellular telemetry

In 2016, Thurston County launched a network of connected sensors designed to automate water monitoring and reduce staff workload. Using cellular telemetry, the county could gather and transmit data on groundwater, lake, and stream levels without requiring in-person site visits. Staff could then log into a centralized dashboard to see conditions in real time and act quickly when intervention was needed.

The initial deployment included five sites reporting hourly data, with expansion to ten additional sites in the first three years. This provided unprecedented visibility into local conditions, helping the county predict flooding, identify hazardous blockages like beaver dams, and coordinate with other jurisdictions on emergency planning. Data collected from the network was also made publicly available through a web dashboard, improving transparency and keeping residents informed.

For residents, this shift translated into faster updates on conditions and more responsive county services. Those living near lakes or flood-prone areas gained access to timely insights that could help protect their homes and families, while the county reduced both the time and cost required to manage water resources.

Why Soracom: Affordable, knowledgeable, and easy to manage

For a sensor network spread across a large and varied geography, cellular IoT was the clear connectivity choice. Early trials with larger operators, however, revealed challenges: higher-than-expected service costs, limited flexibility, and little meaningful support for IoT-specific deployments. Thurston County needed a partner who could provide both affordable service and practical technical expertise.

Soracom quickly proved to be the right fit. Its multicarrier SIMs ensured reliable coverage even in remote or forested areas, while pricing aligned well with the county’s operational needs. More importantly, Soracom worked closely with the county team to troubleshoot equipment from multiple vendors and ensure devices were configured properly. This level of hands-on support was essential in moving the project from design to live deployment.

The Soracom User Console and API also became valuable tools for ongoing management. As Water Resources Specialist Nathaniel Kale notes, “The ability to see a detailed history of connections and the status of each SIM is extremely useful when trying to debug issues with modems and custom hardware. It would have taken twice as long to get most of our sites up without it.”

Future Plans: County-wide coverage

From its initial five pilot sites, Thurston County’s monitoring network has grown steadily. By mid-2019, the number of connected locations tripled, and the county began working toward coverage at more than 90 sites across the region. Each expansion step provided both staff and residents with greater visibility into water resources and environmental safety.

Looking forward, the county sees the connected monitoring network as a foundation for long-term resilience. As extreme weather events grow more frequent and unpredictable, reliable data will be crucial to protecting residents, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Remote monitoring allows the county to anticipate risks, allocate resources more effectively, and reduce costs associated with manual inspection.

More broadly, Thurston County’s work demonstrates how smaller public sector teams can leverage IoT to make a significant impact. By adopting scalable, affordable cellular solutions, local governments can improve transparency, protect public safety, and deliver smarter services to the communities they serve.