WaterITech

How are you doing? Would it not be great if you could get a clear answer from a lake or a river, if only they could talk… Well, we got some good news: a new digital twin concept that combines oxygen sensors and advanced computer modelling now gives voice to rivers, and allows you to monitor the health of their ecosystem in real-time. We recently launched this for lakes, and now also launch a version that has been specifically tailored to rivers. This is a good example of how we love transforming research and innovation into practical applications, which can benefit society and people that deal with important water related issues. The concept works in a similar way to an electrocardiogram (ECG) that you may already know from your own smartwatch for monitoring your heart rhythm. By measuring fluctuations in oxygen in high frequency (typically 5-15 minute intervals), we can derive the metabolic activity of a river based on a computer model that reads the oxygen data and calculates key processes that influence this – including the ecosystems primary production and respiration. Metabolism can be a powerful, and very cost-effective indicator of ecosystem health, offering real-time insights as well as long-term trajectories of the ecological balance of rivers, helping us track changes that can signal stress or improvements in water quality. Is the river responding to improved upstream wastewater treatment; can we see any effects of implementing best-management-practices in nearby agriculture; or does restoration of floodplains have the expected benefits for the aquatic ecosystem? These are just some of the questions we can help answer by keeping track of the metabolism. Interested? You can read more about the details of the concept in our hot-off-the-press whitepaper by Dennis Trolle, Anders Nielsen and Christopher N.: https://lnkd.in/gN-uWvFz. We can also help you get started with a complete plug-and-play metabolism station, including all hardware, data communication, and easy data processing and visualizations in the awesome WaterWebTools portal. If you have already collected oxygen data for some time on your own, and would like to get this processed through our advanced metabolism model – no worries, we are happy to assist. We are only an email away. If you have several years of data, we can derive the so-called metabolic fingerprint for each year, and you will be able to see if this has improved or deteriorated through time. Special thanks to Grundfos Foundation | PDJF, who has funded the Lake Stewardship project, and the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), including Darina Botsova and Paolo Bondavalli, who has funded the SMARTLAGOON project - and thereby supported some of our core digital twin research and innovation, making many of these developments possible. Have a nice weekend! 🌍💧 #RiverHealth #SustainableSolutions #EcoInnovation #AquaticScience

A glimpse into our vibrant workspace, where energy and innovation are in full swing today! Nicolas Schnedler-Meyer and Tobias Kuhlmann Andersen from DTU Aqua, and Adrián López-Ballesteros from UCAM Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia are visiting WaterITech, buzzing away and catching up on big and small things in life. All deeply engaged in developing computer models that span a range of vital projects - from simulating fish dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions, as part of the Lake Stewardship project funded by Grundfos Foundation | PDJF, simulating invasive mussels and how they influence underwater light climate in Lake Geneva, in a project funded by Velux Foundation Switzerland, and analyzing watershed dynamics and best management practises in the SMARTLAGOON project, funded by the European Commission. Every model we build is a step forward in understanding and protecting our environment. #Innovation #EnvironmentalModeling #Teamwork #DataScience

✅ Is there any risk of flooding in Murcia in southern Spain during the coming days (https://lnkd.in/dE75EpPD)? ✅ Where can I go right now if I want to do a winter viking swim in the coldest lake in Denmark (https://lnkd.in/dqGQbiG4)? ✅ What is the water quality status right now in Lake Ormstrup, which has just undergone significant restoration efforts (https://lnkd.in/dYgUVbNY)? ✅ Where are the Natura2000 areas, with protected species, closest to me or my nature restoration project (https://lnkd.in/diRs9GGz)? This and much more you can now find in our new generation of the WaterWebTools platform, which we have been working on for a loooooong time, and now proudly release. This latest generation of the platform gives you better and seamless interactions with large GIS maps, advanced QA/QC of real-time sensor data, insights into the metabolism of aquatic ecosystems (as the only operational platform in the world), much easier integration of new models for operational forecasting, and improved and phone-friendly use. The platform is operational on all continents of the planet. If you would like to get a local hydrological forecast, or your own map data, or sensor data into the WaterWebTools platform, we are only an email away. Thanks to SMARTLAGOON, MERLIN and the European Commission, Grundfos Foundation | PDJF, Erhvervsfyrtårn for vandteknologi, WaterITech, Christopher N. (lead architect), Anders Nielsen, Anders Lehmann, Dennis Trolle - and all our great collaborators - to mention just a few activities that have supported some of the recent developments.

Tag godt imod Christopher N.. Christopher er per 1. januar 2025 ansat som data ingeniør og software udvikler ved WaterITech. Vi kender allerede Christopher rigtig godt, da vi igennem de seneste par år har arbejdet med Christopher på forskellige større og mindre projekter, bl.a. som en ekstern konsulent og software udvikler. Det er med en stor portion stolthed, at vi nu får Christopher med på WateriTech holdet i en fuldtidsstilling.   Det betyder at vi nu i endnu større grad kan hjælpe kunder og samarbejdspartnere med sensor-monitering, data analyser, og udvikling af små og store digitale løsninger indenfor vandmiljø, som passer til lige netop deres behov. Christopher er en af hovedarkitekterne bag den nyeste generation af WaterWebTools platformen, som vi bruger til at udstille realtids sensor data, miljødata på kort, samt til vores lokale prognoser for bl.a. oversvømmelse og vandkvalitet. Som noget af det første vil han gøre det endnu nemmere at arbejde med kortdata for beskyttede Natura2000 områder i WaterWebTools - i et projekt med Biology - Aarhus University. Han vil også udvikle på en ny digital løsning til kortlægning og oplandsanalyser ifm. Sydafrikas skridt mod deres version af en grøn trepart, i et projekt med Sydafrikas Department of Water and Sanitation – en løsning som også vil være yderst relevant for Danmark, Jeppe Bruus og Ministeriet for Grøn Trepart. Og så vil han hjælpe med stor-skala udrulning af vores nye løsning til monitering af tilstanden i vandløb, søer og fjorde baseret på vores metabolisme stationer, som vi begynder at installere i danske vandløb allerede i starten af 2025. Christopher er en super dygtig og effektiv software udvikler, så det kommer til at gå stærkt. Derudover er han en rigtig rar og hjælpsom person, som er god til at målrette arbejdet til kundens behov – så tag endelig fat i Christopher (på cn@wateritech.com) hvis du har en ide eller spørgsmål til digitale løsninger indenfor vandmiljø. Varmt velkommen Christopher.

The final dance. This week Anders Nielsen and Dennis Trolle is in Murcia for the final meeting of the SMARTLAGOON project. Here, the final outcomes were presented to key stakeholders, including the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico and also Juan M. Vazquez, Regional Minister of the Environment. The project team presented the final digital twin of Mar Menor and its catchment, where our WaterWebTools forecasting portal is just one of several components. We demonstrated how this is now running 9-day forecasts for hydrology and water quality, including the risk of flooding from rivers, and the risk of hypoxia (low oxygen) in the lagoon. The project has been a great pleasure from beginning to end. Million thanks to Javier Senent Aparicio for leading and coordinating the effort, and also big thanks to all our excellent collaborators from UCAM Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia, Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Uppsala University, The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, photrack AG and Vielca Ingenieros S.A. While it is sad to say goodbye, we are proud of what we have achieved as a team, including putting forward science-based insights into the potentials for achieving a better future for the Mar Menor ecosystem. #MarMenor #Innovation #DigitalTwins

Dejligt at se stor interesse for hvordan man kan måle E.coli bakterier i realtid. På DANVA Dansk Vandkonference i denne uge præsenterede Anders Nielsen et projekt med DIN Forsyning og Esbjerg Kommune, hvor vi tester en ny type sensor, og resultaterne ser meget lovende ud. I praksis samles realtids data fra E.coli sensoren, vandstand, klima mm. i WaterWebTools portalen, hvor vi har forsøgt at målrette udstillingen af data til lige netop det behov de har hos forsyningen og kommunen. Der var mange gode og relevante spørgsmål til Anders og Anders Hestbech fra DIN Forsyning efter oplægget. Hvis du sidder med et godt spørgsmål, som du ikke lige nåede at få svar på, så skriv endelig - vi vil rigtig gerne dele ud af de erfaringer der nu er gjort. Dennis Trolle, Anders Lehmann, Christopher N., Anders Nielsen

"Hvordan går du og har det?" 📣 Det ville være fantastisk med et entydigt svar, hvis en sø altså kunne tale, men det er ikke rigtig tilfældet. Og dog 🧐 Med et nyudviklet databehandlingssystem kan søens metabolisme måles ud fra simpelt måleudstyr, som gør måling af søer og vandløb billigere og mere effektivt 📉 To miljøingeniørere; Dennis Trolle, Ph.d. fra The University of Waikato, New Zealand og Anders Nielsen, ph.d.-grad fra Aarhus Universitet, begge partnere i WaterITech, har skrevet en spændende artikel om målingen af søers metabolisme 🔍 Læs den her: https://lnkd.in/g8yBit5M 📸: WaterITech

On the road again. In Denmark, Autumn = exhibition season. During the past couple of weeks, we have therefore been busy travelling to conferences and exhibitions. As a small and still young company, it is clear that even though you feel you have a unique and superb solution catalogue, which can give actionable insights into critical water issues and save time, money and in some cases lives of livestock and people, the stuff is not automatically and easily taken up by the society and market. Telling the story behind, educating and training people on how to use the technology is super important. Luckily, this aspect is also something we greatly enjoy at WaterITech. We have just been part of a proud sponsor team for the Danish Water & Environment conference #vandmiljøkonferencen during 24-25. October in Vejle, which was co-organized by SEGES Innovation, Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, KL, Velas and Limfjordsrådet. Here, participants could visit our booth and get to know us and our solutions. We then attended the Danish water export day at Grundfos, co-organized by the Danish Export Association, on 28. October in Bjerringbro, sharing our experiences with, and learning from, other large and small water tech companies with focus on exporting our technology to international markets. Then another exhibition together with Grundfos Foundation | PDJF as part of the Grundfos prize expo on 6. November in Bjerringbro, where we showcased our digital twin set up for monitoring and modelling the health of aquatic ecosystems. And yesterday, 8. November, we were part of the Global Youth Climate Summit at Klimatorium - Danmarks Internationale Klimacenter in Lemvig - together with Naturvidenskabernes Hus, GRUNDFOS, Danish Hydraulic Institute and ESA-astronaut Andreas Mogensen. This was a truly inspiring day, where about 500 primary and high-school students attended during the day. We had the pleasure of running hands-on sessions for around 60 high-school students, where they learned how computer models can be used to assess the impacts of future climate change on our aquatic ecosystems. Using our WaterWebTools webplatform, they realized that you do not need to be a tech wizard, or a highly specialized computer scientist, to be able to utilize the latest modelling technology. In fact, they we are able to generate a “future proof” water action plan for a Danish lake, where the nutrient load targets factor in a future warming of 2 degrees. Well done!   If you have not yet had the chance to meet us, you can still catch us at our final major outreach event this year at the Danish Water Conference organized by DANVA during 27-28. November in Kolding. Here, Anders Nielsen will present our ongoing project with DIN Forsyning and Esbjerg Kommune on real-time monitoring of E.coli bacteria – and how this can support management decisions, and ultimately help reduce the amount of beach closure days, thereby generating value for visitors and the local economy.

After months of concept development and coding, we now have a fully operational metabolism model, which can be plugged into our data buoy, and used in lakes, estuaries and rivers. The concept has just been presented in Aktuel Naturvidenskab (https://lnkd.in/g8yBit5M), and demonstrated for Lake Ormstrup, which is currently being restored in a project funded by Grundfos Foundation | PDJF.   Metabolism is a fundamental property of aquatic ecosystems, and describes the turnover of biomass and energy. Why is this relevant for you?   Metabolism is super interesting and highly relevant as it is a good indicator for the overall health of an ecosystem. It can be derived from durable dissolved oxygen sensors – in this case we used OPTOD sensors from Aqualabo (thanks Yoann Fournier for facilitating this). Metabolism is expressed through the overall primary production and respiration of all organisms in the ecosystem, ranging from bacteria and algae to fish and whales. These rates are typically higher in turbid, nutrient rich systems, compared to clear water systems with a higher biodiversity. Following the metabolism of an ecosystem over time can therefore be used to track the health trajectory of the system, and whether this is improving or deteriorating. And we have now made this a lot easier!   Metabolism can be derived from a combination of oxygen data and relatively complex computer modelling. This approach has until now have been limited to small specialist groups within the scientific community. At WaterITech we have now changed this. In fact, making otherwise technical and difficult scientific insights useful and easily applied in real-world applications is one of the core reasons we founded WaterITech and the WaterWebTools Platform in the first place.   We have made the new metabolism model operational via the WaterWebTools Portal. When a new data buoy is launched in the field, we can therefore start deriving metabolism immediately. This will give you real-time insights into the system, as well as the ability to follow the system over longer time – you simply go to the WaterWebTools Portal and get access to processed data and awesome visualizations.   The solution is highly relevant for following effects of management interventions, including f.x. the big landscape changes soon to be initiated in Denmark by Jeppe Bruus and Ministeriet for Grøn Trepart – the metabolism insights can help us understand whether the interventions actually work as planned, which works the best, and why this could be? Interested in getting a metabolism buoy? Check out our website at wateritech.com/data-buoy, and also feel free to reach out to learn more about the solution. You can also use your phone or a laptop to check out a real-life metabolism example for a Danish Lake right here: https://lnkd.in/gSTNPdCk (click on screen icon at right hand side to view metabolism output).

We are looking for SWMM storm water model collaborators… Making real-time data processing and predictive modelling easy, useful and helpful is what the WaterWebTools platform is all about. We are transitioning into using our third generation of the platform, which is already now in use by several of our users. The new platform brings several advances, including the ability to work seamlessly with huge map datasets in the user’s browser, a new scalable cloud-based execution of our data processing and modelling workflows, and a new and much more flexible software pipeline. This makes it much easier for us to integrate new data processing and modelling workflows – including f.x. real-time execution of the open source SWMM model. But as a user you do not need to worry about these technical details – new features and functionalities will simply become available to you on the webplatform. The platform can combine real-time sensor data with predictive hydrological, hydraulics and water quality models. This effectively facilitates the development of digital twins, which can be used in support for predictive maintenance, sewer overflow documentation, flood warning, water quality compliance checks and much more. We are currently looking into real-time execution of the SWMM storm water model, including making this updateable and adjustable by users through the platform. The main idea is to make mandatory yearly overflow reporting much easier and more precise, and also enable real-time surveillance and quality control of IoT storm water sensors. Interested? We are looking for collaborators that could be interested in real-time SWMM modelling. Perhaps you are from a water utility, and already work with the SWMM model. Perhaps you are dealing with time consuming overflow reporting. If you are interested, we would like to have an informal and non-binding conversion with you. Then please get in touch with us by email (dt@wateritech.com) or use our online form right here: https://lnkd.in/dU79hbqc