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Groundwater is a key strategic resource underpinning water security, and its effective management requires reliable, high-frequency monitoring data. In mountainous regions such as the flysch Carpathians in southern Poland, natural springs are particularly sensitive indicators of aquifer system dynamics. This study analyzes the role of springs in the national groundwater observation and research network and identifies barriers to the implementation of automated monitoring of spring discharge. The research covered 28 springs operating within the regional monitoring network of the Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute in the Carpathian region. Classical hydrogeological spring classifications were applied and complemented with proprietary criteria addressing formal-legal, technical, and environmental conditions affecting the feasibility of automation. The results show that most analyzed springs exhibit high discharge variability and rapid responses to precipitation, indicating that weekly manual measurements are insufficient to capture flow dynamics. The main barriers to telemetry implementation are non-technological and related primarily to ownership, administrative, and environmental constraints. The proposed spring classification framework supports rational planning of monitoring network automation and may be applicable in other mountainous regions with similar hydrogeological conditions.