Water Quality Monitoring Solutions

The UK Environment Act 2021 mandates hourly water quality data uploads, highlighting the need for robust monitoring solutions to detect and manage pollution events, including those from combined sewage overflows (CSOs). Traditional methods face high costs and logistical challenges, but CSignum’s EM-2 wireless platform offers a groundbreaking solution by enabling reliable, cable-free communication for underwater and underground sensor data.

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Global need for Water quality monitoring

Globally, surface water quality monitoring has become a pressing issue due to increasing pollution levels in rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. Effective monitoring is the first step in implementing quantifiable improvement programs aimed at combating pollution. Continuous data collection is essential for understanding pollution patterns, implementing mitigation strategies, and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. The ability to deploy robust monitoring systems in environmentally sensitive and remote areas is critical to achieving these goals.

The EM-2 Advantage for surface water quality monitoring

Rapid Deployment:
EM-2’s wireless technology enables quick and easy deployment of sensor packages near the riverbed, eliminating the need for extensive riverbank infrastructure
Reliable Communication:
Utilizing electromagnetic field signaling (EMFS), EM-2 ensures dependable data transmission from submerged sensors to topside devices, even through challenging mediums including fresh and salt water, ice, concrete, and rock
Minimal Environmental Impact:
The system is designed to be environmentally friendly and non-disruptive to existing ecosystems
Flexibility:
EM-2 easily integrates with various sensor packs, including multiparameter sondes and security systems. The topside unit can be installed up to 200 meters away, offering significant flexibility in locating the communication relay point.

Water Quality Monitoring applications and benefits

Riverbed Data Harvesting

Suitable for scenarios where real-time data is not required, such as broader environmental monitoring. For efficient data harvesting, an EM-2 communications system connected to a sonde is deployed on the riverbed. Water quality measurements are taken at regular intervals and logged on the EM-2 device. No permanent topside equipment installation is necessary.

Impact on Coastal Waters

Pollution in inland waterways eventually flows into the sea, impacting coastal waters. Effective monitoring of rivers and lakes with EM-2 helps track pollutants from their source and into coastal waters, providing essential data to
mitigate downstream effects on coastal ecosystems.

Wireless Online Water Quality Monitoring

Ideal for applications requiring continuous, real-time
monitoring, such as compliance with the UK Environment Act 2021. CSignum’s EM-2, connected to a multi-parameter sonde, is deployed on the riverbed. The system can be recovered for sensor calibration by remote command from the riverbank inflating a recovery bag. A second EM-2, installed on the riverbank, provides the cellular interface and enables measurements to be published online.

Addressing Combined Sewage Overflow Impacts

The EM-2 system is particularly effective in monitoring the impacts of combined sewage overflows (CSOs). These events, which discharge untreated sewage and stormwater into rivers during heavy rainfall, pose significant environmental risks.

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Monitoring Around Offshore Wind Farms

Offshore wind farms represent a significant aspect of renewable energy development but also necessitate careful environmental monitoring. The construction and operation of wind farms can impact marine ecosystems, including seabed disturbance, noise pollution, oil and toxic material leakages, and potential changes in water quality.

EM-2 INNOVATIVE FEATURES

Electromagnetic Field Signaling (EMFS)
Reliable Communication Through Water
Communication Through Ice and Subterranean Environments
Integration with Widely Used Sensor Systems
Environmental Resilience
Airbag Inflation on Demand

Applications across diverse environments

Rivers, Lakes, and Coastal Waters:
Ideal for environmental monitoring, pollution tracking, and compliance with regulations such as the UK Environment Act 2021.
Offshore Wind Farms:
Ensures continuous monitoring of marine ecosystems around wind farms, helping to mitigate
environmental impacts.
Subsea and Underground:
Supports a wide range of applications from offshore energy infrastructure monitoring to underground mining operations.

Future Plans

The EM-2 Is Only The Beginning

CSignum continues to push the boundaries of underwater and underground data transmission with plans to enhance range, data rate and battery life while providing cellular backhaul and CSignum Cloud data analytical services.