Several weeks after Hurricane Irene’s path up the East Coast, many water sources in New York State remained affected by flooding and swollen bodies of water, says this article. Municipal water monitoring applications like this one are among the most important uses of telemetry and other data reading and transmitting devices. Early in the article, an official speaks about the “turbidity” of the water. Turbidity refers to the level of impurities in water and other fluids, and cannot usually be gauged by the naked eye.
Monitoring systems like those used by the New York Department of Environmental Protection are critically important to public health. In this case, monitoring systems allowed officials to determine that turbidity was improving but was still at unsafe levels, enabling state health agencies and water providers to inform their customers to boil water before drinking or using. Impurities can range from bacteria to chemicals and beyond, none of which can be safely ingested. The use of advanced monitoring systems here prevented illness and public health problems beyond the damage initially caused by the storm, a service application we couldn’t be happier to be part of.
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