Droning on about water quality: Project Kingfisher
The water industry is in an exciting phase of exploration as new technologies are trialled in an attempt to meet some of the existing challenges and also safeguard are water resources for the future.
Project Kingfisher is an exciting collaboration between multiple partners that strives to transform how we monitor bathing waters and remote locations. Â It combines the unique and powerful monitoring capacity of a Proteus Instruments multiprobe with a robust drone and a bespoke online data management system.
The Problem
In England, the bathing water season runs from May 15th – September 30th each year. During this period, the 450 water bodies with an official ‘bathing water’ designation are sampled weekly to assess quality, with an emphasis on E. coli and Enterococci bacteria detection. The results of these tests are then used to classify the quality of the location ranging from ‘Poor’ to ‘Excellent’. This is a significant undertaking by the Environment Agency (EA), that requires substantial people power, work hours, and carbon emissions. The bacterial assays typically require overnight incubation, meaning results from the tests are produced 1-2 days after the sample was taken. There are some prominent issues with this current method of monitoring:
- The sample is a discrete measurement with no guarantee that the water chemical and biological profile will be the same even ten minutes later, let alone a day or two when the results come through, nor for the rest of the week until the next sample is taken. There is little scope for arranging sampling with events that may have an impact on the water quality, such as heavy or prolonged rainfall, CSO spills etc.
This severely limits the applicability of the results when deciding whether the water is safe to use for recreation, as it can only provide a snapshot of the quality at the time it was taken. Across the whole season, a total of 20 samples, some patterns may be identified but they are dwarfed by the lack of further data to support or provide context to a pattern identified.
- Not only is this a large undertaking for the workforce but it can be hindered by resources available regarding where and when samples are taken. Adverse weather can completely prevent samples being taken due to safety considerations. Additionally, boat access versus taking samples from an onshore location where, again, the applicability of results depends on the water maintaining at least similar profile throughout different depths and distance from shore.
- It only applies to bodies of water with official ‘Bathing water’ status, which is hardly inclusive of everywhere in England where it is used for recreation. Additionally, it only covers the summer season, whereas recreational users will generally occur all year round. It also insinuates that the water quality is only of concern when it is at its peak use; a narrow perspective given the importance of good water quality goes far beyond human use as oceans are of immense environmental importance.
The Brief:
- Continuous monitoring – finer temporal scales enable monitoring to really understand and identify the specifics of the systems being assessed. They can capture rates of change and the effect of different sources of pollution within the area.
- Wide-spread monitoring – Providing a discrete sample for a single point does not provide useful information beyond whether the water was safe at that time. The result is used to infer water quality across the entire designated bathing water, ignorant of how external factors may be changing water quality at any location. These can include road outfalls, tides, currents and long-shore drift, waste and industry water outfalls amongst others.
- Safe Monitoring – The critical times to gather water quality data are often incompatible with safe working protocol e.g., throughout a rainstorm or other inclement weather conditions. There must be a robust workaround to allow not only to make monitoring safer in critical times but also to get to previous inaccessible locations, potentially even beyond the visual line of sight.
The Solution
A multiparameter water quality drone that uses cutting-edge technology to assess water quality.
The Technology
An all-electric Speedbird aero multi-rotor craft, with the capability to travel up to 12 miles (20 km) on a single battery charge, with a top speed of 45 km/hr. On-board is a specially designed Proteus multiprobe which is lowered via a winch into the target water body. The drone hovers in-place whilst the probe powers up, completes a wipe cycle for data accuracy and takes a reading. The multi-probe has been re-designed to allow for a buoyant element to aid it’s time on the water surface whilst also adhering to a strict payload of < 3 kg. The probe is then taken back to the drone via the winch, and the drone continues to its next location to repeat the process. Currently, the probe has 6 sensors and an integral wiper. All the data, flight information and drone status are transmitted to the online portal in real-time to allow for stronger decision making and data insights.
 The Kingfisher can:
- Be set for both scheduled flights over time and for event-based monitoring.
- Be remotely activated, either by manual or automated based on pre-set conditions e.g. CSO activation.
- Sample multiple points under a single flight, covering more distance than manual sampling can allow; a single charge supports up to 12 miles of drone flight.
- Share data in real-time, accessibly by a wide range of service users.
- Be deployed in adverse weather conditions which are hazardous to human safety.
- Measure temperature, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and ammonium at each sample location.
River Coquet
The Kingfisher set-up has already been put through its paces in the estuary of the River Coquet next to the village of Amble, with a series of regular scheduled flights to do a water quality monitoring sweep of the area throughout the day. This was a proof-of-concept, following on from a successful test flight of an early prototype the previous year. The probe was set up for a flying schedule for several weeks, with multiple flights each day, to fulfil the original criteria of this project phase. The trial period was a great success, with enthusiastic support from not only the partnership working on the project but also the local residents of Amble. The residents had been introduced to the idea of the drone a few weeks prior through an information stall on their market day, with the project represented by NWL, Makutu and Skyports on-hand to talk. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Amble is a fishing village and many of the residents have been in the area for long periods of their lives; they were keen that water quality was monitored so it could be improved where necessary, securing their environment for the future. Makutu also hosted a live event to witness a day of sampling during the trial, with representatives from NWL, Proteus Instruments and Skyports. This was extremely successful in introducing Project Kingfisher to the local Environment Agency, DEFRA and other interested parties, effectively demonstrating just how much Porject Kingfisher had achieved.
A collaborative strategy
With the increasing complexity of water challenges, it highlights how valuable open collaboration can be when leveraged successfully. Regardless of the power of individual players, by engaging in a collaborative partnership you introduce a wealth of experience and expertise in a diverse range of areas. Collaborative efforts can elevate projects ensuring that they meet objectives and often exceed them. For Project Kingfisher, multiple organisations came together to build the next step in continuous water quality monitoring.
The Team
Northumbrian Water
Keen to push the boundaries on water quality monitoring, with a focus on improving the current manual sampling model, back in 2023, Northumbrian enlisted the help of Makutu to explore the possibilities for water quality drones. The following year as the project grew and new partners were attached, ‘Droning on about water quality’ was a popular sprint at the 2024 NWL Innovation Festival, providing thought-provoking ideas from across the water and technology industries. Â
Makutu
A company of cloud data experts who design bespoke data platforms, AI and IoT solutions, harnessing the power of innovation and data. The dedicated team at Makutu are the architects of the data platform supporting the multi-parameter sonde and drone. This detailed interface is truly flexible allowing the display of real-time data, drone and probe communication, including details on flight schedules, drone status, strategic mapping and even weather indications. Additionally, capitalising on their position as a Microsoft® Solutions Partner, experimenting with integrating Microsoft’s Power Apps as part of the IoT end-to-end solution. With the first stage of the project complete, they are looking to implement the use of AI in the next version to drive forward efficiency, decision-making and automation.
Proteus Instruments / RS Hydro
Experts in all things water quality with an industry leading multi-parameter sonde. To integrate into the drone and become deployable, the Proteus multiprobe underwent a radical redesign. Proteus, Makutu and Skyports worked closely to consider all variables from how the probe would be deployed, distance beneath the water surface for sampling, integrating cleaning and reducing the risk of cross contamination. Currently the test specification of the probe fits with the established Environment Act 21: Section 82 parameter requirements, however the next iterations will be enhanced with fluorescence technology for real-time bacteria indications.
Skyports
As the leading provider of infrastructure for the advanced air mobility industry, Skyports designs, builds, owns and operates networks of vertiports for drones across the globe. Skyports provide the drone for the Kingfisher sonde and have worked diligently on designing successful winch mechanisms and assessing the capabilities required for the drone to act as a water quality sampler. The pilots operate the drone from their head office with some ‘spotters’ on-site to keep eyes on the drone. After successful initial campaigns, we await new rulings from the UK aviation authority to open up possibilities of flights ‘beyond the visual line of sight’.
The Next Steps
With a successful Kingfisher drone-sonde-data system now realised, even the sky isn’t the limit!
Project Kingfisher is actively looking at different application environments and parameters. There is scope to adjust the design to allow for a grab sampling system at the same time as the probe is taking measurements; this would then allow for samples to be taken to a laboratory for analysis. Equally, there are developments in regulations that might be opening up more airspace and potentially even BVLOS flying, which would extend the projects capabilities even further.
The achievements made in just a few years are nothing short of phenomenal. To go from concept, to prototype, to a fully functioning product is indicative of what can be achieved through collaboration with innovation. Project Kingfisher has firmly laid the groundwork demonstrating just how much of an asset drones could be in enabling smarter, more efficient and more robust monitoring solutions for our water resources.
