Bodies of water are essential for our recreational activities and tourism environment, ensuring what we have is kept healthy and beautiful. Water is related to our sense of identity and a fundamental part of life for our communities.
As a result of changes in climate and population growth, there’s more pressure on water supply and quality. Water is a resource that can not be wasted as declining water quality has become a reality over the years.
Water quality monitoring is often absent, or we turn a blind eye to the problem, unaware of the ongoing effects. New Zealanders deserve safe and reliable water services that provide good health and support the sustainability of the environment.
Government organisations, local councils, and water management businesses are all facing similar issues regarding the improvement and management of New Zealand’s freshwater quality. Real-time insight, like remotely tracking, sampling and monitoring nutrients and contamination, can help protect fresh and saltwater supply quality.
National organisations, regional councils and water providers are responsible for monitoring, measuring and managing water quality in Aotearoa.
With only 8% of our rivers and 5% of our lakes monitored, sampled averagely once a month, there’s limited information about whether our water is safe to drink, fish from, and swim and how water quality aligns with water standards.
RiverWatch is the next generation of water quality monitoring. The Waka device has the latest remote sensing IoT technology, delivering real-time data to the RiverWatch cloud platform. Our Artificial Intelligence programmes have been developed by water quality scientists, providing real-time data interpretation directly to a desktop or mobile device.
RiverWatch 2.0 leaves room for two more sensors to be added as we extend our range. It’s the perfect fit for industry reporting, citizen science and regulatory compliance monitoring. RiverWatch is enabling everyone to participate in stewardship and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of our water.
We’re helping government organisations, local councils, and water businesses monitor their water quality better.