Eco Detection’s Founder and Executive Director, Jefferson Harcourt, highlighted the importance of real-time data for water quality monitoring in the July/August edition of Inside Water Magazine.
Eco Detection, a Melbourne-based startup, is changing that with real-time water quality monitoring driven by rugged field equipment and capillary electrophoresis.
“We’re about taking the laboratory into the field,” Harcourt said. “There’s no point having lab data that’s a week old. Whatever’s happened has happened. We’re about providing information quickly so people can act and avert problems.”
Lab-grade analysis in the field
At the heart of Eco Detection’s innovation is an on-site nutrient analyser capable of producing laboratory-accurate data in real time. Instead of relying on grab samples or low-fidelity sensors, the device uses capillary electrophoresis – a trusted separation technique that isolates ions in water and measures them with precision.
The unit draws in a water sample, separates ions using an electric field and thermochemistry, and doses each sample with a calibration reference. This enables consistent, traceable results even months after deployment.
“Because it self-calibrates and has a lab pedigree, it stays within our accuracy tolerance for up to six months in the field,” Harcourt said.
