A Water Quality Forecaster using citizen observatories
Lead Research Organisation:
NERC CEH (Up to 30.11.2019)
Department Name: Rees
Abstract
A Water Quality Forecaster using citizen observatories
The Water Quality Forecaster will build upon the NERC-funded POLLCURB project (www.pollcurb.ceh.ac.uk), emerging technologies and recent developments in citizen observatories. The initial Pathfinder project will explore the mechanisms of support from public, private and NGO partners towards a larger scale programme to improve water quality diagnostics and monitoring of UK rivers, with specific focus on the Lower River Thames. The Pathfinder project will:
1. identify the most pertinent stakeholders for whom outputs from predictive river quality models for an improved and timely information on river water quality would be of value.
2. define the optimal combination of new sensor technologies and community scientist participation to improve model output and build local support for an improved catchment management
3. explore online platforms and new tools to allow stakeholders real-time access to forecasting results and information for decision support.
The project will focus on building support for the ongoing activities of all three partners arising from the POLLCURB project, exploring the impacts of long term changes in urban extent on water flows and quality in the lower Thames catchment. For the Pathfinder, CEH researchers and partners will optimise POLLCURB project products for use by potential private, public and NGO end users. This will require interactions with the partners (workshops), additional data collection through an expanded network and optimisation of sensor and online technologies. The workplan has a 6 month period of execution.
The Water Quality Forecaster will build upon the NERC-funded POLLCURB project (www.pollcurb.ceh.ac.uk), emerging technologies and recent developments in citizen observatories. The initial Pathfinder project will explore the mechanisms of support from public, private and NGO partners towards a larger scale programme to improve water quality diagnostics and monitoring of UK rivers, with specific focus on the Lower River Thames. The Pathfinder project will:
1. identify the most pertinent stakeholders for whom outputs from predictive river quality models for an improved and timely information on river water quality would be of value.
2. define the optimal combination of new sensor technologies and community scientist participation to improve model output and build local support for an improved catchment management
3. explore online platforms and new tools to allow stakeholders real-time access to forecasting results and information for decision support.
The project will focus on building support for the ongoing activities of all three partners arising from the POLLCURB project, exploring the impacts of long term changes in urban extent on water flows and quality in the lower Thames catchment. For the Pathfinder, CEH researchers and partners will optimise POLLCURB project products for use by potential private, public and NGO end users. This will require interactions with the partners (workshops), additional data collection through an expanded network and optimisation of sensor and online technologies. The workplan has a 6 month period of execution.
Planned Impact
A readily-accessible online river forecasting system. This will be of value:
1. For river community end users who want to know if conditions are good for their use of the river. This is particularly valuable for anglers. Fishing generates £3.5 billion per year for the economy.
2. For the water industry who wish to protect their water supply intakes. They also will welcome information on pollution sources, enabling them to undertake mitigation measures.
1. For river community end users who want to know if conditions are good for their use of the river. This is particularly valuable for anglers. Fishing generates £3.5 billion per year for the economy.
2. For the water industry who wish to protect their water supply intakes. They also will welcome information on pollution sources, enabling them to undertake mitigation measures.
Publications
Yan W
(2016)
An Informatics Approach for Smart Evaluation of Water Quality Related Ecosystem Services
in Annals of Data Science
| Description | 1. End-user requirements a. There is active interest from the Environment Agency for real time predictive information on water quality during periods of prolonged algal blooms. b. Evaluating the short-term response of river water quality under extreme weather conditions is valuable if it can be put in context of different levels of end-of-pipe treatment for nutrient pollution (i.e. phosphorus) in wastewaters c. Forecasting tools for water quality would be particularly valuable if they can be integrated with tools for forecasting flooding and covering other issues relating to water demand. 2. Technical issues a. Suitable low cost sensors have been identified for use in combination with more refined higher-cost devices. There is much potential for community participation, particularly in relation to use of low cost equipment b. Sensors quantifying coloured dissolved organic matter are particularly valuable in assessing an diagnosing water quality in urbanised river systems In terms of online data processing and presentation the big challenge is to bring together diverse data from different domains (and different providers, also overcoming IPR issues) and integrate these sources for real time model applications. c. The key flows of data in the internet service platform are three-fold and sequential: from the sensors to mobile smartphone applications to online data storage to online analytics and visualisation |
| Exploitation Route | The key findings above can be taken forward by telecommunications and IT specialists as important specifications for a pilot system. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism |
| Description | The RiverHack event in October 2016 was widely publicised and was attended by many non-academics. The event raised awareness of the value in being able to develop systems which can warn the public about the likelihood of impending poor water quality in rivers. In terms of sensor development and telecommunications needed to support water quality forecasting, opportunities and needs have been identified which may be fulfilled from development of new products. An important consequence of the research is greater awareness of the potential for the QUESTOR river quality model to be used in a forecasting capacity. This has lead to new collaborations with the public-private sector partnerships to develop locally-specific models to support design of engineering solutions for water resources and quality problems. Examples concern flooding and eutrophication. One project is underway in China (Anhui province) funded by a local private sector organisation whereby we will specifically develop a river quality forecasting system to support optimisation of infrastructure related to pollutant removal in a constructed wetland. In the UK we are funded to use the model to inform operational water management under hydrological extremes; for separate initiatives in the Thames and Anglian regions. |
| Sector | Construction,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | Collaborative workshop on river water quality modelling |
| Organisation | Tsinghua University China |
| Department | Department of Hydraulic Engineering |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | One week visit made by M Hutchins and O Hitt to the department comprising: Series of 4 seminars, Hands-on training sessions on use of QUESTOR river quality model. Meetings with academic staff. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Students and staff gave seminars. Participation by 6 PhD students in training sessions. In collaboration with us 2 of the students are applying the model in case studies. |
| Impact | We are making collaborative funding applications. The model applications will result in 2 journal publications. There will be exchange visits on an annual basis. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | RiverHack: connecting people-land-water for healthier rivers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A hackathon focused on finding better ways to forecast water quality and new ways to visualise data, organised by Yan Weigang |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Technical presentation and feedback to a working group at Cardiff University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation by Mike Hutchins and Yan Weigang of the POLLCURB and WQF projects at a meeting to discuss use of wireless sensor technologies |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Technical presentation to British Water |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A presentation by Mike Hutchins on the POLLCURB project and the follow-on pathfinder WQF project to the British Water Innovation Focus group |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Technical presentation to FWR Waste Water Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A presentation by Mike Hutchins and Steven Loiselle covering the POLLCURB and follow-on pathfinder WQF projects. FWR are the Catchment Partners for the CABA in one of the key sub-basins in the Thames. Raising awareness and eliciting support from FWR is very important for the pathfinder |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Workshop with Thames Water |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | A professionally-facilitated workshop, organised by Mike Hutchins, to identify the views of the water industry on what benefits they might wish to gain from a water quality forecasting system in the River Thames. This formed part of the follow-on fund pathfinder WQF project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |