Growing demand for high resolution, real-time water quality monitoring data has prompted Meteor Communications Ltd to invest in a dedicated Water Quality Services Hub near Basingstoke. The new resource has been developed to support the 500+ ESNET monitoring systems that are currently in operation on rivers and at treatment works across the UK.

“The creation of a dedicated service and calibration resource will enable us to expand the ‘Water Quality as a Service’ capability that has been a major driver for growth in our business,” comments Meteor MD, Matt Dibbs.

In recent years, Meteor has worked with government agencies and water companies to develop the ESNET (Environmental Sensor NETwork) autonomous water quality monitoring systems that can be rapidly deployed and require no power or communication infrastructure. Modular and with built-in communications and multiparameter capability, ESNET systems can be deployed within minutes.

The systems are available as a portable monitoring station or as part of a kiosk system for semi-permanent or fixed installations. Each ESNET station employs a multiparameter sonde to measure water quality, and the accuracy of readings is assured by a monthly site visit, during which a member of the Meteor team checks the station and swaps the sonde.

With the new facility in Basingstoke, ESNET customers are able to exploit the many different benefits of high resolution, real-time water quality data.

Following the recent major flood incident at Wainfleet on the River Steeping Meteor technology has been in action to assist with ongoing management of the remediation works. MCE-MRC 3G cameras have been deployed to monitor the breach location whilst three MCE-ESNET2 Water Quality monitoring systems are in place to assess the river and surrounding channels.
With the ability to be deployed quickly to remote locations and return reliable, accurate images and data in real time the systems are proving a valuable tool to the Environment Agency and other stakeholders.

Meteor have recently completed the installation of a MCE-MRC camera network at the Environment Agency’s Flood Alleviation scheme at Clay’s Lake. Six cameras monitor the scheme’s critical infrastructure, returning high quality images in real time. The cameras provide verification that the remote infrastructure is operating correctly, with Flood Defence Officers able to view the images via Meteor’s secure web application or via the Agency’s operational systems, into which the cameras are fully integrated.

To support Meteor’s commitment to Sustainability and renewable energy the offices at Welwyn Garden City have recently been fitted with a 10.5kW Solar PV system. This should generate enough power to keep the offices and workshop powered for over 50% of the year, and will reduce Meteor’s CO2 emissions by over 6 tonnes per year. Thanks to the team at Solinvictus who have provided a superb installation.

Thanks to the team at Atkins for the opportunity to share a stand at the Water Summit held at Moreton-in-March this week and demonstrate the work in progress on the Evenlode Catchment. Led by The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and attended by senior figures from across the sphere of catchment management, including major water utilities and HRH The Prince of Wales the event was to announce that over 50 high profile organisations have signed up to the Catchment Management Declaration. This is a commitment to protect and improve river catchments across the UK and is a significant step in raising Water Quality at an integrated, catchment level.