Logan snaps up Griffith uni invention to smooth troubled waters

A water testing gadget, made from recycled materials, has been snapped up by Logan City Council.

On a lake and creek catchment system positioned around the Meadowbrook Campus of Griffith University, researchers are using revolutionary water quality monitoring equipment, manufactured in Logan using recycled goods.

The gadget, called SEMAT, has the potential to change the way water quality is monitored worldwide.

The research is a collaboration between Griffith University, the University of Queensland and Kingston’s Substation 33, where it was developed and made.

The aim of the project is to build water quality monitors which display conditions in near real-time intervals. The data is relayed every 15 minutes and records information which predicts changing conditions in a waterway.

The devices have had a test run in Logan waterways and has been so effective Logan City Council has decided to invest in the technology and has stumped up two EnviroGrants for testing on Lake Ellerslie at Griffith University Logan campus and Slacks Creek.

Lake Ellerslie, which was artificially formed from run-off from the campus, nearby properties and the Logan Motorway, provided a unique testing ground for the equipment. Slacks Creek, which is also affected by light industry, will also be a testing site.

Dr Jarrod Trevathan, from the university’s School of Information and Communication Technology, said the beauty of SEMAT was that it uses batteries, solar panels and other components recovered from Logan’s e-waste.

“We’ve built affordable, monitoring equipment where the environmental data can be accessed remotely through the mobile phone network across vast geographical areas – a feat that was almost impossible with other network technologies,” Dr Trevathan said.

“Data is transferred to a cloud-based server, collated and displayed on screen in close to real-time. Users can also set alerts to warn of conditions that may lead to water quality problems before they occur. The applications are unlimited.

“We’ve tested in Bundamba Creek to look at the impact of nearby development and in Deception Bay to monitor algae growth.”

Dr Trevathan said his team hoped to expand the SEMAT trial to other sites in Logan’s waterways as well as continuing work on the Great Barrier Reef.

Queensland University Associate Professor Ron Johnstone, a partner in the project, said Lake Ellerslie was ideal for testing the equipment as it had its own “micro environment”.

“By measuring water temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, light climate and salinity in real-time we can chart and predict the relationship between monitored factors and things like E. coli levels in the waterway,” Prof Johnston said.

“We’re aiming to build a picture of what environmental conditions will lead to, at a microbial level, so organisations responsible for water quality will know with some certainty when they need to test water, rather than doing it regularly and at great expense,” he said.