- Healthy
- Watch
- Alert
- Offline
Alerts
Every time a buoy finds pollution it sends an alert by itself, and a cleanup crew is sent to that exact spot.
A buoy that knows when a river gets sick, and calls for help.
APP stands for Aquatic Pollution Perceiver. It floats in one spot in a river, tests the water all day and all night, and sends an alert the moment something harmful shows up, so a cleanup crew can get there before the pollution spreads downstream.
From dirty water to a cleanup crew
It watches
The probes test the water every two seconds and the buoy compares each result with the safe level for that pollutant.
It warns
When a reading crosses the alert line, the buoy transmits an alert with its GPS position and what it found. No person has to be watching.
People respond
A cleanup crew is sent straight to that spot. The app tracks them from the first call until the water tests clean again.
What the sensors look for
| Sensor | What it measures | Watch level | Alert level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy metals | Lead, mercury and copper from industry, old pipes and road runoff | 10 µg/L | 15 µg/L |
| Sewage | E. coli bacteria, the sign that raw sewage has reached the water | 126 CFU/100 mL | 410 CFU/100 mL |
| Decomposing organisms | Ammonia from rotting algae, plants and fish, which uses up the oxygen fish need | 1 mg/L | 2 mg/L |
| Chemical pollution | Detergents, solvents, fuel and pesticides from spills and dumping | 50 ppb | 100 ppb |
The sewage and heavy metal levels follow U.S. EPA guidance for recreational water and lead. The other two are our team's working numbers for the prototype.
This is a prototype
The buoys on the map are sample data and every reading is simulated, so the demo works anywhere without a real buoy in the water. Anything you add or change is saved only in this browser. Use Demo controls at the top to simulate pollution or to reset everything.
Presenter walkthrough
- Open Demo controls and choose Reset the demo so you start clean.
- On the map, point out the buoys around Los Angeles. Green is healthy, amber means watch, grey is offline. Press All buoys to show the partner rivers around the world.
- Open Dominguez Channel. Show the four readings, the chart, the battery and the solar panel.
- Press Deploy a sensor. Tap a river on the map, search for the buoy, connect to it, name it and deploy.
- With your new buoy open, press Simulate pollution and pick a type. Watch the reading climb, the marker turn red and the alert appear.
- Follow the timeline until the crew is on site, then press Mark cleanup complete and watch the water recover.
- Finish on the Alerts page to show the incident in the log.