Developed: Financed:

Water Innovation

e-Buoy
(smart buoy performing in-situ water quality
monitoring and web platform receiving the
information provided by the buoy)
http://freshwater.pt

Short technical description

It is a "smart buoy" that is being developed by the
company Original Solutions at Universidade de Trs-os-
Montes e Alto Douro, financed by the startup Freshwater
(freshwater.pt).
It consists in a water monitoring system that collects and
sends, in real time, data essentially related to the
preventive monitoring of biotoxin production in dams,
promoted by cyanobacterial blooms.
This smart system has the particularity of analyzing, in-
situ (using multi-parameter sensors, such as Chlorophyll
a, Phycocyanin [cyanobacteria], pH, Conductivity and O2),
the water quality throughout all depths, with the
possibility of collecting and preserving water samples
from any depth.

Global objective of the e-Buoy product: to provide entities

managing hydric resources (for hydroelectric production,
irrigation or human consumption) qualified and
preventive information about water quality.
Preventive Controls: Thermal Stratification
and Eutrophication. The latter promotes,
on dams with water for human
consumption, hydroelectric or
irrigation, the large scale
production of biotoxins,
produced by cyanobacteria.
These toxins can cause severe
problems, not only to human
health but also to the surrounding
aquatic ecosystems
 Numeric data graph
The e-Buoy product aims to become a valuable tool for in-situ water
analysis, making the process of monitoring water quality at structures
like dams to become much easier for the entities managing them. It
comprehends two main components:

e-Buoy, that is autonomously installed in the dam, performs in-situ

monitoring of waters quality and sends that information via
GPRS/GSM or via satellite;

web platform, that receives the data sent by the smart buoy and,
after treatment it in backoffice, provides that data almost in real-time
in an online portal with qualified access, accessible via any device
with an Internet connection.
Location

Using various sensors, the e-Buoy performs readings of various physicochemical

parameters, like dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, temperature, redox potential,
total dissolved solids and turbidity. In addition, some biological parameters are
also monitored, with the evaluation of chlorophyll a pigments (which establish a
direct relation with the phytoplanktonic biomass present) and the evaluation of the
concentration of the pigment phycocyanin (which is directly related to the biomass
of cyanobacteria present in the water). Other sensors can be implemented,
according to the needs of the client and the situation.

The monitoring of the physicochemical and biological parameters mentioned above is made throughout
the entire water column, from the surface to the bed. The smart buoy possesses a truly innovative
and automatic system of warning in case of risk for public health, which is activated whenever any
of the physicochemical or biological parameters ascend to previously defined values.

The e-Buoy could be an important and useful tool for the entities related to water quality,
as it constantly and automatically monitors several
physicochemical and biological parameters, important to
assert that quality. In addition, the e-Buoy provides
tools for authorities and entities to define a
strategy based on prevention.

When it comes to the management of

water sources for human consumption,
prevention is key. For example, back
in 2007, an algal bloom in Lake
Tai disrupted the supply of
drinking water in the
Chinese city of Wuxi,
leaving 2 million
people without
access to drinkable
water. This is exactly
the main and overall
objective of the e-Buoy
product: To provide entities
managing hydric resources (for
hydroelectric production, irrigation or
human consumption) qualified and
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6di87Sk1j70
preventive information about water quality.