Eco Detection’s Ion-Q+ technology is the most advanced and comprehensive water quality monitoring system in the market. Deploying Ion-Q+ in the field enables environmental water quality managers and agricultural operators to:
- Monitor nutrient runoff from agricultural activity in effectively real time
- Gain a greater understanding of the impact of agricultural activities and environmental events
- Drive better operational decision making to optimise water management and quality
- Integrate environmental data i.e., rainfall and flow, with nutrient data for N & P loading
The Challenges
Agricultural operators are facing escalating demands to improve productivity against a backdrop of climate change and increasing population. These demands contribute to agricultural intensification, which can inadvertently contribute to the ongoing degradation of inland rivers and catchments.
Agricultural intensification is a key source of the nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) that result in algal blooms in many watersheds. Eutrophication has far-reaching social and economic consequences, with negative impacts on public health, fishing activities and tourism.
For major food producers, protecting their brand and meeting shareholder expectations for both productivity and environmental responsibility is crucial.
However, despite implementing various management plans – such as reducing stock loads during high runoff periods and optimising wastewater irrigation cycles – monthly water analysis continues to show the long-term degradation of waterways.
Traditional monthly water sampling and laboratory analysis have not been sufficient to fully understand the short-term impacts of farming activities and irregular weather events on water quality.
The Solution
Eco Detection’s Ion-Q+ technology now provides high frequency, in-situ monitoring of water runoff in real-time.
By capturing outflow from land into adjacent rivers and catchments in sync with agricultural operations, Ion-Q+ allows for a more accurate understanding of the immediate impacts of day-to-day activities, such as stock movements, fertiliser application, and irrigation cycles.
Regular capture of all daily agricultural inputs alongside daily water monitoring data, overlaid with all relevant weather event information, finally provides an enriched data series from which clear reconcilable action can be taken by farm operators to improve the environment.
The data provided by Eco Detection’s Ion-Q+ substantiates the change management actions that can be taken by food producers, along their supply chain, to ultimately show tangible improvements in the environment.
With Ion-Q+, food producers can confidently demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and meet both regulatory and consumer demands for environmentally responsible practices.
The Benefits
Real-time monitoring
Providing higher frequency, in-situ data on water runoff, capturing the impact of agricultural farming operations in real-time.
Supports sustainability
Enables food producers to demonstrate environmental responsibility while maintaining productivity.
Improved understanding
Allows agricultural operators to track the short-term effects of daily activities (e.g., stock movements, fertilisation, irrigation) on water quality.
Brand protection
Helps major food production companies protect their brand reputation by ensuring that practices align with environmental stewardship expectations.
Cost-effective
Reduces the need for expensive, resource-intensive and time-consuming manual sampling and laboratory analysis.
Regulatory compliance
Assists in meeting environmental regulations and industry standards for sustainable agricultural practices.
Comprehensive data
Combines daily agricultural inputs with water quality data and weather event information for a complete picture of environmental impact.
Tangible environmental improvements
Tracks measurable changes in water quality over time, showing the effectiveness of corrective actions.
Actionable insights
Helps operators take timely, data-driven actions to reduce nutrient runoff and improve water quality.