- DIY sensors combat sewage pollution.
- Cost-effective water quality monitoring.
- Nationwide implementation possibility.
The Environment Agency will now test ingenious floating do-it-yourself devices created by skilled Citizen activists. These devices can transmit real-time information about the condition of a waterway via an app and were created by Citizen activists at a fraction of the cost of professional equipment.
What can you do with varnish, plywood, a wheelbarrow inner tube, and a solar panel roughly the size of a cell phone?
The remedy, if you are a computer genius Citizen with a conscience, is to fight back against sewage pollution.
John Clifford, a Citizen activist, has developed a system for early warning.
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He stated, “When pollution increases by more than 10 percent, we know something has occurred in the river.”
“When multiple sensors simultaneously report the same information, we know there is a serious issue.”
“The app on my phone will be updated frequently and frequently.”
Mr. Clifford, a Citizen residing in west London, and the kit will float on the River Brent, which is routinely polluted like so many of our rivers.
Together with his Citizen coworkers, he is producing at least 30 of these sensors, which measure TDS, or total dissolvable solids – an abbreviation for faeces, food refuse, and soap residue.
These sensors cost about £100 each, compared to professional equipment that can cost up to £6,000.
These sensors cost about £100 each, compared to professional equipment that can cost up to £6,000.
CURB (Clean Up River Brent), a Citizen-led initiative, was formed after Ben Morris, a local Citizen resident, was incensed by an incident in 2021 that turned the river grey with sewage sludge bordered by soapy white residue and was very smelly.
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They began with Citizen activism and cleanup, but he believes that their devices will have the greatest impact.
Mr. Morris, a Citizen activist, remarked, “Once you know what’s in the river, you can begin to discuss what should be done about it.”
“At this time, there are too many unknowns regarding the sewerage system and the water quality.”
“If something like this goes national, we can really raise public and political awareness, and then we must have that difficult conversation about what to do about it.”
And he has no problem dealing with the filthy end of the stick either.
I join him waist-deep in the River Brent near to a large drainage tube.
The water surrounding us is flecked with bits of toilet paper, and the branches submerged beneath the surface are covered with a flowing beard of filthy paper.
It does stink.
Thankfully, we are wearing waders, but it stinks.
We are installing two distinct sensor varieties.
One is fixed to a stake driven into the riverbed, while the other is a novel design that floats.
It is attached to a paver with a length of rope.
A solar panel sits on top, a box of electronics rests on the inflated inner tube, and the sensors are submerged.
When the river rises due to excessive precipitation, it stays on the surface and is always able to communicate.
This is crucial because pollution is frequently worsened when the sewage system is overloaded by a deluge.
In 2022, there were over 300,000 sewage leaks in England.
The Environment Agency faces accusations of failing to protect our waterways but its budget has been cut by half in the past decade, and Lewis Elmes, the area catchment coordinator, says they will gladly welcome help from talented Citizen activists.
He stated, “It complements what we’re doing because it expands the scope of what we’re able to accomplish by producing a piece of equipment that is so much less costly than our more expensive equipment.
It greatly expands our river observations and outfall monitoring.
‘Q offshoot’ of the River Brent
The Environment Agency will test the novel shed technology from the River Brent “Q branch” next year.
If successful, the concept could be implemented nationwide, providing a much clearer and immediate depiction of water pollution.
In terms of retaliation, knowledge is power.
