Introducing our Citizen Science dashboard

Sometimes you just need to get your wellies on and get out in the water! High-tech solutions like our in-situ sensors are great, providing real-time water quality data, but low-tech solutions – such as a stick and a bottle – can be the best option. For our coastal communities, water quality on the beaches is of great importance. Our beaches attract holidaymakers from far and wide and are enjoyed all year round by locals for surfing, swimming, and socialising. So, the state of the water at the shoreline is of upmost importance, but difficult to measure using static sensors. This is where our teams of Citizen Scientists come into their own! 

At Combe Martin, a dedicated group of locals is helping us to monitor water quality by testing at the beach. They take samples from the sea, and from the River Umber as it crosses the beach, and measure key parameters using hand-held test kits. Salinity, temperature, pH, phosphate, and nitrate levels are measured, and the data is uploaded to the Smart Biosphere. In addition, the Biosphere team take samples for bacterial analysis, making use of Fluidion Alert One, and Molendotech Bacterisk analysers to track harmful bacteria like E. coli. We are currently testing at Combe Martin and Ilfracombe, but we will be expanding our reach with more CSI teams soon.

The data collected can now be viewed online, using our new Citizen Science Dashboard.