A solution for the UK’s new National Data Hub’s pollution monitoring data

In May this year, Water UK stated: Water and sewage companies will collaborate on creating, by this time next year, a new independently overseen National Environment Data Hub to provide the public with up-to-date information on the operation of all 15,000 sewage overflows in England. For the first time in the world, any member of the public will be able to get national ‘near real time’ (within the hour) information on what is happening.  This will strengthen accountability, help the public to track progress and empower swimmers and others with the information they need. In addition, as thousands of new river quality monitors come online (planned to be installed from 2025 onwards), this additional data will also be added to the Hub to let people see the real-world impact on rivers.

This formation of the new National Environment Data Hub offers the ideal opportunity for OTT Hydromet to put forward their Aquarius water data management platform, which has already been used successfully for these purposes in many other countries to gather, manage and display data from thousands of measurement points. As Dr. Liam Goodes, from OTT Hydromet, pointed out, “The Aquarius water data management platform would be an ideal candidate for handling the enormous amount of data that will be generated by the event duration and water quality monitors stipulated by the Environment Act 2021.”

The Aquarius enables operators to centralise environmental data from around the country; the data can be organised and analysed so both technical personnel as well as the general public can have access to contextual information that enables them to understand the information provided and compare it to previous measurement readings so they can understand how and if levels of water pollution are rising of falling. The modern dashboard format will enhance access and give the public a grasp of the continuous water quality measurements, if there are significant changes in pollution levels and whether action must be taken. Aquarius makes water quality monitoring and reporting far more accessible and, with its integral, tailor-made QA/QC tools, data visualisation and customisable alarm settings, it eliminates many hours of time-consuming management and administrative work.