Monday, July 30, 2012

The Versatility of Water Temperature Monitors

Summer is in full swing, a time to visit our favorite beach to picnic and enjoy a day of fun in the sun.  No trip to the beach is complete without a swim, and this year, the folks taking advantage of Chicago’s lakeside beaches will certainly have more time in the water. According to a recent article,  Chicago beach managers have instituted a predicative analysis method to make more accurate assessments of water quality and reduce the incidence of beach closures.

Previously, officials closed beaches to swimmers when bacteria counts were above a certain threshold. But since testing took 18 hours, they were faced with a predicament one public health researcher compared to flipping a coin – do you issue a swim advisory today that actually applied to those who swam yesterday?  Not having complete, real-time information was a source of frustration to both beach managers and swimmers alike.

This year, the Park District will employ a new high-tech system that uses statistical models, along with water temperature monitors and other equipment such as wave action buoys and sunlight monitors, to give real-time predictions of bacteria counts. Officials will post the data for would-be swimmers, allowing them the make the decision on whether to enter the water.

Water temperature is a key factor to bacterial growth rates, and monitoring it in conjunction with other factors has made it much easier for officials to issue accurate assessments of water conditions. Devar, a leading supplier of water temperature monitoring equipment, understands how important the quality and reliability of these instruments are to the public health, and we are proud to be a manufacturer of the most precise, dependable instruments available today.