CSIRO leads world-first water monitoring project

A world-first ground-to-space water quality monitoring system is being developed by the CSIRO in collaboration with SmartSat CRC and partners, for the Australian and international market.

AquaWatch, described as a predictive weather service for water quality and management, is being infused with a co-investment of $83 million for design and development aligning industry, research and government.

The system uses an extensive network of Earth observation satellites and ground-based water sensors, to provide near real-time updates to support water quality management with early warnings on toxicity changes and improved environmental outcomes after events such as bushfires and floods.

"The ingenuity behind AquaWatch is it integrates Earth observation with other science capabilities like in-situ sensing, ecosystem modelling, engineering, data science and artificial intelligence,” CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said.

Space technology represents the core leverage for AquaWatch’s success in developing the accuracy required said Adelaide's SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre chief executive Andy Koronios.

“This collaborative effort to harness the data gathered from satellites will play an essential role in safeguarding our future water supply and improving our natural environments,” he said.

Data from both sensor networks in the water and on the satellites will then be integrated at a central data hub where CSIRO’s capability in data analysis and AI can provide forecasts a few days ahead.

AquaWatch has six pilot sites set up around the country to test the system for several uses such as monitoring toxic blue-green algae blooms at Lake Tuggeranong in Canberra and how sediment flow from the Fitzroy River out to the Great Barrier Reef affects water quality.

“Overseas, in places where people still face the risk of unsafe water for basic needs like drinking and sanitation, such a service could be a game-changer,” Marshall said.

International collaborators on the project include CSIRO Chile, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, University of California, Davis, University of California, Merced, Vietnam’s National Centre for Water Resources and Investigation.

Additional pilots already established overseas aim to demonstrate how AquaWatch can be used to monitor water quality for drinking, sanitation, species conservation, hydroelectricity and carbon sequestration in mangrove forests.

The AquaWatch Mission represents a significant cross agency and cross industry collaboration.

This is through a network of organisations, including national state government support from Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development sectors, South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), BiOceanOr, Hunter Water, universities and research organisations.