WQeMS · Project

Satellite-Powered Early Warning System for Drinking Water Contamination in Lakes

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Imagine the lake that supplies your city's tap water suddenly gets contaminated — maybe a chemical spill, a flood washing in mud, or a toxic algae bloom. Right now, water utilities often find out too late. WQeMS built a monitoring service that uses European Copernicus satellites to watch over lakes in near real-time, spotting contamination events as they develop. Think of it like a security camera system for your drinking water source, with a mobile app that alerts utility operators the moment something goes wrong.

By the numbers

Consortium partners across Europe

Countries where the system was developed and tested

Industry partners in the consortium

58%

Industry partner ratio in consortium

Total project deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

Water utilities that rely on lakes for drinking water face two nightmare scenarios: slow contamination they detect too late (agricultural runoff, underground pollution seeping in) and sudden emergencies (toxic algae blooms, chemical spills, flood debris) that overwhelm their treatment capacity. Traditional monitoring relies on periodic in situ sampling, which means contamination events can go unnoticed for hours or days — putting public health at risk and exposing utilities to regulatory penalties and costly emergency responses.

The solution

What was built

WQeMS delivered an operational water quality monitoring service built on Copernicus Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 satellite data, running on the DIAS ONDA cloud platform. Key deliverables include a mobile alerting application for water utility operators (D4.5), social media data mining tools for detecting water quality events reported by the public, and validated satellite-based monitoring processes calibrated against in situ measurements.

Audience

Who needs this

Municipal drinking water utilities sourcing from lakesPrivate water production companies managing reservoir qualityEnvironmental regulators monitoring surface water contaminationSmart water technology integrators building monitoring platformsInsurance companies assessing water contamination risk for utilities

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Water utilities

enterprise

Target: Municipal or private drinking water production companies

If you are a drinking water utility relying on lake sources and struggling with contamination events that catch you off guard — this project developed an operational monitoring service using Sentinel-2 satellite data that detects both slow-developing pollution (chemical leaching from agriculture) and fast emergencies (algal blooms, flood debris, chemical spills). It includes a mobile alerting app so your operators get warnings before contaminants reach intake pipes. The consortium included 7 industry partners who co-developed the service with real utility needs in mind.

Environmental consulting

SME

Target: Water quality assessment and risk management firms

If you are an environmental consultancy advising clients on water safety plans and risk management — this project built validated processes for satellite-based water quality assessment using Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 data, calibrated against in situ measurements. The alerting module combines satellite data with social media mining and end-user reports to give a fuller picture of water quality events. This could extend your service offering from periodic sampling to continuous satellite-based monitoring across 6 countries where the system was tested.

Smart city infrastructure

mid-size

Target: IoT platform providers for municipal water management

If you are a technology provider building smart water management platforms — this project created a complete stack from satellite data ingestion (via the DIAS ONDA cloud platform) through data processing to a mobile app for end users. The system integrates satellite imagery, in situ sensor data, and social media intelligence into one alerting pipeline. With 12 consortium partners already involved, there is a ready ecosystem for integration partnerships.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this monitoring service for our water utility?

The project data does not include specific pricing or licensing costs. However, the service is built on freely available Copernicus Sentinel satellite data and uses the DIAS ONDA cloud platform, which means the underlying data costs are minimal. Implementation costs would depend on customization, integration with your existing systems, and the number of lakes to monitor.

Can this scale to monitor multiple lakes or large water systems?

Yes. The system was designed to be operational and scalable by using the Copernicus DIAS ONDA cloud infrastructure rather than requiring dedicated local processing hardware. It also links to existing platforms like the Hydrology TEP for flood monitoring and the Food Security TEP for agricultural runoff tracking. The consortium tested across 6 countries, suggesting it handles diverse lake environments.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we license it?

The consortium of 12 partners across 6 countries jointly developed the technology. IP arrangements would follow the Horizon 2020 grant agreement terms, where each partner typically owns the IP they generated. Contact the coordinator (ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS, Greece) for licensing discussions.

Does this meet regulatory requirements for water safety plans?

The project was explicitly designed to support water safety plans and risk management for drinking water utilities. It addresses both slow-developing contamination (geogenic and anthropogenic pollution) and fast emergency events as required by EU Drinking Water Directive monitoring standards. The alerting module was built in cooperation with drinking water production companies.

How quickly does the system detect contamination events?

The system distinguishes between slow-developing phenomena (gradual chemical changes in dissolved substances) and fast-developing events (floods, chemical spills, algal blooms). Sentinel-2 satellite revisit times provide regular monitoring, while the mobile alerting app and social media mining component enable near real-time event detection and notification to utility operators.

How does this integrate with our existing monitoring infrastructure?

The system is designed to complement in situ monitoring, not replace it. Satellite data from Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 is validated against ground-based measurements. The alerting module also ingests data from a mobile app where utility staff can register events, plus social media signals. It runs on the DIAS ONDA cloud platform, reducing local infrastructure requirements.

Consortium

Who built it

The WQeMS consortium is heavily industry-oriented with 7 out of 12 partners (58%) coming from the private sector, plus 4 research organizations and 1 other entity. Spanning 6 countries (Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Spain, Finland, Italy), it covers major European water markets. The coordinator is a Greek national research center (CERTH), which is a well-established technology transfer organization. The presence of 2 SMEs suggests the technology was designed with commercial viability in mind, while the larger industry partners likely represent water utilities and technology providers who served as pilot users. No universities are in the consortium, which is unusual and signals a strong applied-technology focus rather than basic research.

ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXISCoordinator · EL
ETAIRIA HYDREFSIS KAI APOCHETEFSIS THESSALONIKIS AEparticipant · EL
SUOMEN YMPARISTOKESKUSparticipant · FI
EOMAP GMBH & CO KGparticipant · DE
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION ECOLOGICA Y APLICACIONES FORESTALESparticipant · ES
CETAQUA, CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DEL AGUA, FUNDACION PRIVADAparticipant · ES
ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPAparticipant · IT
PHOEBE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION LTDparticipant · CY
AUTORITA' DI BACINO DISTRETTUALE DELLE ALPI ORIENTALIparticipant · IT
SERCO ITALIA SPAparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS (CERTH), Greece — national research and technology center

Order a report on this consortium See ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

SciTransfer can connect you directly with the WQeMS team to discuss licensing, integration, or pilot deployment of the water quality monitoring service for your specific lake sources.

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