In January 2020, the consortium formed by NIC Labs, the Department of Electrical Engineering and Geology of the University of Chile, and also external companies, proposed to design and develop an experimental prototype with the aim of having an open multiparameter measurement system, with which the monitoring of both surface and underground water quality can be massified, with the adaptation of low-cost technologies. Scientific research is carried out through funds granted by FONDEF ID1910363.

The system includes both the development of the measurement device and an event detection system to generate alerts and notifications to water resource managers.

What would allow the monitoring of water to be in real-time, is to collect abundant data on physicochemical parameters and levels will help us advance in the modeling of basins and better understand their behavior, including phenomena such as the drought we are experiencing. It also allows the detection of events, such as contamination, unexpected reductions in the water level due to natural effects, or excessive pumping, among many other events, since the problem that motivated this system was the lack of sufficient data on our water sources. Although there are currently monitoring networks, the measurement points are very dispersed, and many are not connected to a system that allows seeing the information in real-time. The lack of massiveness in the measurement derives mainly from the high cost of commercial devices that currently exist.

The system could be used by any entity or person that manages water resources, from public entities such as the DGA, and municipalities, to private entities that carry out water studies for various purposes. The system can be used anywhere in the world, given the importance of caring for water worldwide. However, our first option is to be able to use it in Chile, hopefully through the associates that are already linked to the project, among which is the General Directorate of Water, for which, in addition to exploitation by individuals, the system could have an application as a public good.

This study is possible thanks to FONDEF, the University of Chile and other contributions from four associated institutions: ESVAL, Arcadis Chile, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the DGA.

On the other hand, it also has the support of the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, AC3E, and the Advanced Center for Water Technologies, CAPTA.

The project is directed by Sandra Céspedes and the director alternate Linda Daniele. Working with a team of multidisciplinary researchers formed by: Sandra Céspedes and Doris Sáez from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Linda Daniele from Geology, and Javier Bustos from NICLabs. We also have two postdocs, Francisco Jaramillo and Matias Taucare supporting the research on the project, and a team of two engineers, Rodrigo Muñoz and Matías Macaya, plus several students, memorandum students, and thesis students from NICLabs, DIE, DCC and Geology participated as research assistants.