Eco Detection at the International Freshwater Sciences Conference

On Tuesday, 6 June at 3.30pm, CTO, Phil Fox and Derwent Estuary Program Catchment Scientist, Bernadette Proemse are presenting at the Society for Freshwater Sciences Conference in Brisbane. In this presentation they will demonstrate the latest results from the DEP project, and in particular show the outcomes of a field validation exercise that has been used to assess the performance of the systems. We will also discuss the potential opportunities for this innovative technology in other applications of water management.

Professor Stuart Bunn, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University & Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee said, “We are delighted to host the 2023 joint meeting of the Society for Freshwater Science and the Australian and New Zealand Freshwater Science societies here in Brisbane. This will be the first time the Society for Freshwater Science has held its annual conference outside of North America and presents an opportunity to broaden ‘north-south’ collaborations and explore solutions to the many challenges facing our freshwater ecosystems. We hope that you can join us in our river city for this exciting event.”

Water is one of our most precious and critical resources, and the management of water quality is a shared responsibility between a range of stakeholders. And while there are many dimensions to the challenge of maintaining and improving water quality, there is no doubt that accurate and timely measurement of water quality parameters is an essential part of the solution.

Eco Detection, working with leading Melbourne based technology company Grey Innovation and in collaboration with the University of Tasmania, has developed a world-first system for high quality in-situ water quality monitoring. Our system is based on capillary electrophoresis, a well-established analytical technique that we have optimised for the high-frequency measurement of dissolved inorganics in water and developed into a robust field-deployable device for fully autonomous monitoring. The detailed physiochemistry data provided by the Eco Detection system can be complemented with existing bulk water parameter sensors to provide an integrated data set that can enhance the understanding of complex processes occurring in the water body.

In partnership with the Derwent Estuary Program (DEP), a network of Eco Detection’s water quality monitoring systems has been deployed at key locations in the River Derwent catchment that represent a variety of water uses and applications, including grazing lands, dairy, industrial, and wastewater treatment. These systems have been in operation for over a year, providing an unprecedented dimension of data availability to DEP and its stakeholders.

Find out more about the conference here: https://www.freshwaterdownunder2023.org/