Tapping into space technology set to improve quality of water from Scotland’s lochs
Pioneering University of Stirling project will use satellites to monitor potential contamination,
Satellites will be used to monitor the quality of water in Scotland’s lochs as part of a pioneering new project.
Researchers at the University of Stirling are working with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to investigate the feasibility of introducing earth observation technology to its day-to-day operations in a bid to improve the quality and efficiency of water sampling.
The cutting-edge approach uses the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite to identify potential contaminants in bodies of water, such as algal concentrations, harmful algal blooms, and mineral and organic matter.
Water quality is a subject of increasing global importance as communities around the world face uncertain futures due to a lack of readily available access to clean supplies.
Scotland already leads the way in public drinking supplies, with a 2017 report finding that 99.91 per cent of samples passed stringent water quality tests.
A total of 311,560 regulatory tests were carried out on Scotland’s drinking water in 2016.
Of those taken from samples at consumers’ taps, 99.91 per cent met required standards – a similar level to last year, and a significant improvement on 2002, the year Scottish Water was formed, when only 99.28 per cent of tests complied.
Improving water quality also boosts the environment. SEPA reported last year that the Clyde was in “significantly better health” than expected thanks to high levels of investment. Some parts of the river are now graded as “excellent” after recovering from years of pollution.
Stirling currently leads the £2.9m Globolakes project, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which has established the world’s first satellite-based global lake surveillance system.
But this feasibility study will allow scientists to understand how the technology may benefit end users, in this case SEPA, in developing the approach as an operational capability and, in turn, improving their approach to assessing lake water quality.
Dr Claire Neil, who is leading the project with SEPA, said: “This is the first step in implementing satellite remote sensing as a regulatory data resource and will produce a step change in the way we monitor quality in the UK.”
Dr Neil will use reflectance measurements, taken from the satellite, to estimate concentrations of chlorophyll-a in Scottish lochs. The data will then help to assess risk to water quality status and allow SEPA to better target and enhance their sampling efforts.
“Recent scientific achievement through projects such as NERC Globolakes have provided the scientific know-how which allows us to characterise a large range of optical water types with satisfactory accuracy,” Dr Neil said.
“This method of monitoring provides a more detailed and representative view of the whole lake, when compared to current sampling techniques that typically assess water quality in samples taken close to the lake edge.
“As such, measurements obtained from satellite remote sensing will increase our confidence in assigned water quality status and will provide an opportunity to direct sampling efforts.”
Dr David Pirie, SEPA executive director, said: “Utilising data gathered from satellites offers many opportunities in environmental protection and assessment and I am very excited about SEPA’S involvement in this joint venture with the University of Stirling.”
The £70,000 year-long study will begin in February – however, further funding may allow the project to be extended by another two years.