60 - Diagnosing Controls of Hot Spots and Hot Moments of Water Pollution: Leveraging Smart Sensor Networks and Real-Time Data for Process Understanding (SMARTWATER)

The concept of data-informed water management is underpinned by detailed understanding of the mechanisms controlling the activation of pollution sources, connectivity, and transport to vulnerable receptor systems. Yet, most current sensor technologies and monitoring networks are too expensive to maintain or do not capture the space-time dynamic “hot spots” and “hot moments” of contamination required to provide suitable management solutions that promote system resilience. To address this gap, the international collaboration SMARTWATER integrates environmental sensing, network and data science innovations, and computational modeling with stakeholders’ catchment knowledge to transform the way we diagnose, understand, predict, and manage water pollution hotspots and hot moments. This holistic approach to water quality diagnosis and management is established across a network of experimental observatories in rural and urban catchments in the UK and USA. The study catchments have been selected to represent a range of important water quality challenges across a range of environments. Due to the inherent complexity of modeling highly modified catchments, SMARTWATER includes a deliberate focus on hydrological processes and water quality in urban settings. These processes include the role of green infrastructure and restoration initiatives on hot spot mitigation, role of connectivity in contaminant propagation patterns, and impact of pollution dynamics on overall system resilience. This work supports practical and policy relevant interventions to deliver effective water quality management.