SmartCoast: A Wireless Sensor Network for Water Quality Monitoring

The implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) across the EU, and the growing international emphasis on the management of water quality is giving rise to an expanding market for novel, miniaturized, intelligent monitoring systems for freshwater catchments, transitional and coastal waters. This paper describes the "SmartCoast" multi sensor system for water quality monitoring. This system is aimed at providing a platform capable of meeting the monitoring requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The key parameters under investigation include temperature, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, turbidity and water level. The "plug and play" capabilities enabled by the wireless sensor network (WSN) platform developed at Tyndall allow for integration of sensors as required are described, as well as the custom sensors under development within the project.