A flexible, versatile and economical alternative to fixed water quality monitoring stations

Fixed monitoring stations do not always suit site conditions, let alone project budgets, and so a buoy-based monitoring platform is often a far better alternative. As do fixed platforms, these Buoys offer continuous, 24/7 coverage and autonomous monitoring of key water quality parameters – just like the fixed systems.

Xylem recently introduced the DB600 Data Monitoring Buoy Solution, a compact, user-friendly assembly and plug-n-play device. The DB600 can be deployed by a single person, in water depths up to 20 meters and current speeds of up to 4 knots and features everything needed to transmit real-time water quality data direct to a smart device, with industrial field reliability; a global SIM card is included with each buoy.

The DB600 Data Monitoring Buoy Solution is custom-built to be paired with the industry’s best-in-class YSI EXO multiparameter sonde. The EXO sonde supports a suite of water quality sensors, including “the big 5” parameters, algal chlorophyll and accessory pigments -ideal for monitoring for harmful algal blooms and nitrate – among others. The EXO’s highly innovative central wiper, provides the requisite biofouling protection for longer-term deployments, especially tropical climates.

In addition, Aanderaa’s, a Xylem brand, Direct Current Sensor (DCS) can also be fitted to the DB600, ideal if the project needs simultaneous monitoring of surface water speed and direction. For example: monitoring turbidity during dredging operations along with current velocity, provides the operator a way to evaluate the transport (direction and extent) of suspended dredged material.

Real-time data is simple to view on any device by utilising Xylem’s HydroSphere data platform, or Eagle.io, which also offers geofencing to alert operators if the buoy drifts “off-site” due to being unmoored or stolen, and also provides data alarms to alert the user via email or SMS if a parameter’s user-defined threshold (for example: salinity) has been exceeded.

In the Asia Pacific region, Xylem’s DB600 has already been deployed in a variety of different environments, from the Great Barrier Reef to a small bay off St. John’s Island, Singapore. It has been used for monitoring in seaweed farming operations in Indonesia, as well as for municipal drinking water monitoring in southern peninsular of Malaysia.

For more information visit our website.