Imec, the Belgian semiconductor giant, and four partners, unveiled an intelligent system to manage and monitor the quantity and quality of potable water in Flanders, Belgium, including soil water, groundwater, surface water and purified sewage water.
This initiative - the Internet of Water - will enable Flanders, a highly populated region of Belgium, to confront the growing threat of water scarcity and water pollution. The five partners in this project - Vito, De Watergroep, Aquafin, Imec and Vlakwa - have the ambition to turn Flanders into an international beacon in smart water management through the application of innovative digital technologies.
The project aims to roll-out a large-scale permanent sensor network to map available water reserves and monitor water demand at the same time. The network will consist in the deployment of more than 1,000 small, wireless, low-power water quality sensors spread around Flanders.
Water sensor. Source: Imec
Imec announced the first step when Flanders’ Minister-President Geert Bourgeois activated the first sensor, close to the Blankaart Nature Reserve in Diksmuide.
“Our water is scarce and needs to be treated in a sustainable way. An efficient water management is necessary so that all users in Flanders can count on sufficient water supply. I am pleased that companies, knowledge centers and authorities join together to turn Flanders into a world leader in innovation in the water sector with a unique intelligent water management system,” Bourgeois states.
After many years in the development stage, the special water sensors, designed by Imec, were used today for the first time.
“After several years of intensive research, Imec has succeeded to develop a very small sensor that can measure, acidity and conductivity, as well as quantify diverse dissolved substances in the water. Until now this required a combination of different sensors that could cost up to thousands of euros each,” said Marcel Zevenbergen from Imec.
Piet Seuntjens, innovation manager at Vito, the Flemish independent research organization in the area of cleantech and sustainable development, adds, “Innovative self-learning algorithms will process the large amounts of data from the sensors for the permanent and real-time monitoring of water quality and quantity, and also to feed the models that predict future evolutions. Through the VITO dashboards, users will be connected directly to the 'Water brain' for optimum use of available water.”
This project can be reproduced in parts of the world that suffer from a scarcity of water.
