Les francornithorynques

INNOVATION PROJECT

What We Know

Water is the basis for all life on Earth. Our oceans hold 97% of Earth’s total water supply, but saltwater is undrinkable without considerable cost and energy expense. Only 3% of Earth’s water is freshwater, with most of it locked up permanently in the ice caps and less than 1% of it available as surface water. As the world’s population continues to increase, and as our planet continues to warm, protecting our freshwater is even more important and more challenging than ever! 

Problem Statement

The Earth’s freshwater ecosystems are experiencing high levels of stress and disturbance due to pollution, overuse, climate change, hydroelectric development and more. Lakes around the world are warming faster than expected, and at a rate higher than either the oceans or the air. While our rivers and lakes contain less than 1% of all the water on Earth, they are extremely important to our economy, health and survival.

Canada is home to one fifth of the world’s freshwater. However, our watersheds are in trouble! For decades, Canada has failed to collect information on a national scale on the health of our freshwater ecosystems. Today, water quality is deteriorating, harmful algae blooms are becoming more persistent, and many of our communities live under drinking water advisories.

How can we use the technology available today to help solve the problem of missing or incomplete water quality data in Canada and worldwide? With more consistent and reliable water quality data, communities, governments and other decision-makers will have the information they need to better protect the health of the watersheds on which we all depend. 

Solution Statement

We have a responsibility to monitor and protect our freshwater ecosystems for the wildlife and people that rely on them. In order to address the important problem of insufficient water quality data, we have created an autonomous, low-cost, durable, reliable and multi-parameter water quality measurement system, deployable in most freshwater bodies around the world. By making data collection easier, more widespread and more reliable, we hope to drive the data-to-policy cycle, empower smart, evidence-based decision making, and revolutionize our global approach to water quality monitoring and freshwater stewardship. 

MODEL DEVELOPMENT - Introducing the Sentry226!

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