Breaking down barriers in water management with IoT

Why are rivers so important? And what are we doing to protect them? 

Rivers, despite accounting for only 0.49% of the Earth’s surface freshwater (U.S. Geological Survey), have a far-reaching impact. They are home to some of the planet's richest biodiversity, including over half of all fish species, and provide essential resources for human livelihoods. However, these ecosystems are under significant threat, with a projected decrease of up to 75% in freshwater species by 2070 –a reminder of the urgent need for improved management and conservation efforts.

Traditionally, the management of these waterways has long been constrained by technologies that often fall short in collecting data, particularly in challenging high-alpine environments. 

Riverkin, a startup from ETH Zurich led by Jessica Droujko, is leveraging advanced hardware and IoT technology to create an ecosystem for freshwater monitoring.

Jessica checking on an installed sensor

Deploying high-resolution sensors for freshwater monitoring 

Jessica has developed dedicated low-power sensors for Riverkin. These sensors are placed in remote river systems, downstream of glaciers, near agricultural sites, and around hydropower plants to capture detailed spatial resolution data on various water metrics within a catchment. This strategic placement enables Riverkin to gather insights into factors affecting water quality, such as water level, temperature, turbidity, and fine sediment concentration from glacial erosion, agricultural runoff, and mining activities. Understanding these sediments is critical, as they can significantly impact local ecology and hydropower operations.

Riverkin’s high-resolution sensor

Transforming data into actionable insights

The data collected by Riverkin’s sensors is transmitted via LoRaWAN to the akenza IoT platform, where the measurement values are decoded and stored. The LoRaWAN connectivity technology is particularly well suited for this project as it is characterized by low power usage and high transmission range, perfect for remote areas. The data can then be assessed in akenza and forwarded to a third-party data analytics tool to run advanced analytics. In the case of Riverkin, the data is visualized in Grafana, enabling anomalies in the water quality to be rapidly identified. This system transforms raw water data into actionable insights by ingesting, processing, and analyzing the data in the cloud. By providing transparent and accessible data, akenza supports data-driven decision-making for effective river management and long-term sustainability. 

An outlook on the future

As Riverkin continues to expand its projects, the company is gaining deeper insights into our rivers and enhancing their protection for future generations. They are deploying their sensors within key Swiss catchments and aiming to gain more clients on a catchment basis. Riverkin is also committed to continuous innovation of their sensor technology. The goal is to make its sensors fully modular and independent, with a focus on advanced telemetry, extended battery life, and the elimination of calibration requirements. akenza is thrilled to be part of this journey.