Wireless Water Quality Monitoring Solutions
Environmental monitoring is crucial in combating pollution in surface water such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal waters.
Global initiatives, such as the UK Environment Act 2021, are highlighting the need for robust monitoring solutions to detect and manage pollution events, including those from Combined Sewage Overflows (CSOs), agriculture, industrial spills and flood events. CSignum’s EM-2Q wireless system offers a groundbreaking solution for wireless water quality monitoring enabling cable-free communication for underwater sensors.
Global need for Wireless 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.
Resilient Wireless Communications
Breaking Through the Barriers – CSignum’s EM-2 solution uses patented electromagnetic field signaling (EMFS) for wireless communication, uniquely capable of transmitting data from the seabed to the shore, from a ship’s hull and propulsion systems to the deck, and from riverbed to riverbank. This technology can transfer data without reflection at the water-to-air interface, a common issue with acoustic systems.
CSignum’s EM-2 supports bidirectional sensor data transfers at distances up to 200m enabling the successful deployment and operation of Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) monitoring devices. The CSignum electromagnetic field based communications method can also be used to communicate underground and pass data through rock, concrete and soil.
The EM-2Q Advantage for surface water quality monitoring
Water Quality Monitoring applications and benefits
Continuous Water Quality Monitoring
Many applications require continuous, real-time monitoring, such as compliance with the UK Environment Act 2021. CSignum’s EM-2Q, connects to multi-parameter sondes from leading vendors and may be deployed on the riverbed. The system can be recovered for sensor calibration by remote command from the riverbank inflating a recovery bag. By placing sensors directly on the riverbed and using remote-controlled recovery mechanisms like the airbag system, the EM-2Q system eliminates the need for permanent, visible infrastructure on the riverbank, significantly reducing the risk of theft or vandalism. The EM-2 gateway, discretely installed in
locations up to 100m from the EM-2Q, provides the cellular interface and enables measurements to be published online.
Manual Data Harvesting
Suitable for scenarios where real time data is not required, such as
broader environmental monitoring. For efficient data harvesting, an
EM-2Q communications system connected to a sonde is deployed on
the riverbed. Water quality measurements are taken at regular intervals and logged on the EM-2Q device. No permanent topside equipment installation is necessary. When required, an operator, standing on the riverbank or shore, carrying an EM-2 gateway device,
requests upload of logged time series data from the riverbed system. The absence of fixed topside installations minimizes exposure to tampering. The system allows for secure, on-demand data retrieval using portable EM-2 gateways, ensuring no equipment is left unattended and vulnerable on-site.
Drone Data recovery
The EM-2Q solution is ideal for situations where data retrieval via drones is the most efficient option. Multiple sensor-equipped EM-2Q devices can be submerged along a river, providing continuous data logs that reveal when and where pollution events occur. Drones equipped with the EM-2 gateway device automatically retrieve data from the EM-2Qs, eliminating reliance on exposed equipment.
This approach not only protects against theft or
vandalism but also provides precise, tamper-proof data to deter polluters and support regulatory enforcement, and drive environmental improvements.
CSignum’s EM-2Q solution combines concealment, remote operability, and innovative recovery methods to safeguard equipment while delivering robust water
quality monitoring capabilities.
The system offers the following benefits:
Addressing Combined Sewage Overflow Impacts
The EM-2Q system is particularly effective in monitoring the impacts of CSOs. These events, which discharge untreated sewage and stormwater into rivers during heavy rainfall, pose significant environmental risks. By deploying one combined EM-2Q and sensor system upstream from the discharge pipe and a second system downstream, continuous sensor monitoring can detect the timing and location of CSO events and seamlessly relay the captured data to a single topside EM-2 gateway which publishes the measurements online. This data is crucial for compliance with environmental regulations and for implementing timely mitigation strategies.
Impact on Reservoirs,
Estuaries and Coastal Waters
Pollution in inland waterways eventually flows into the sea, impacting coastal waters and estuaries. Effective monitoring of rivers and lakes with an EM-2Q system helps track pollutants from their source and
into these coastal waters, providing essential data to mitigate
downstream effects on coastal ecosystems.
Reservoir pollution arises from agricultural and urban runoff, industrial discharges, sewage, mining activities, and natural events like erosion or floods. Recreational use and atmospheric deposition also contribute contaminants such as nutrients, heavy metals, pathogens, and sediment. The EM-2Q offers transformative benefits for reservoir monitoring by enabling wireless, accurate, and continuous data collection without the need for permanent infrastructure providing vital data to ensure water safety, ecosystem health, and regulatory compliance.
CSignum wireless water quality monitoring systems are equally applicable to monitoring the littoral zone along the seashore. The EM-2Q can be interfaced with water quality sensors or multi-parameter sondes on the seabed
communicating measurements directly to the EM-2 gateway on the shore. This holistic approach ensures that both inland and coastal waters are protected, improving overall water quality, and safeguarding both marine and
human life.
The EM-2Q system provides a robust solution for monitoring these impacts, offering several key advantages:
EM-2 INNOVATIVE FEATURES
Applications across diverse environments
Conclusion
Designed to overcome the limitations of traditional wired and wireless communication methods, the EM-2Q utilizes innovative electromagnetic field signaling (EMFS) to transmit data through challenging mediums, ensuring reliable and efficient communication. Its robust features enable the deployment of numerous sensors with minimal environmental impact, offering continuous, real-time data that is critical for identifying pollution events and implementing effective mitigation strategies.
By proactively complying with regulatory initiatives, such as the UK Environment Act 2021, and effectively addressing the impacts of CSOs, the EM-2Q system ensures the protection of both inland and coastal waters, promoting a sustainable future for our planet.
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.