New monitoring milestone with ToxMate sensor deployment in Sant Adrià del Besòs

The UrbanM2O project has reached an important milestone in its sampling campaign in Sant Adrià del Besòs, Spain, with project partners at CSIC successfully installing and activating the ToxMate sensor developed by ViewPoint.

The deployment will strengthen UrbanM2O’s monitoring activities by providing new insights into water quality and the potential biological effects of pollution on aquatic organisms.

Before bringing the sensor into operation, the CSIC team carried out extensive preparations at the monitoring site. More than 20 chloronite containers were relocated from the municipal chemical shelter to a newly acquired metal shelter, creating the necessary space for the installation.

The team then constructed a hydraulic network to supply the pump responsible for extracting water from the tank and installed the corresponding electrical network required to operate the hydraulic pump.

Following these preparations, the ToxMate sensor was successfully installed. All electrical and hydraulic connections were completed and tested, and the living test organisms were placed in their dedicated chambers, allowing the monitoring activities to begin.

ToxMate uses the behaviour of living organisms as an indicator to continuously assess potential changes in water toxicity. Its deployment therefore complements the other monitoring technologies being tested within UrbanM2O, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of pollution and its potential effects on receiving waters.

This latest milestone brings the project another step forward in its efforts to combine innovative sensing technologies, water-quality monitoring and ecotoxicological information to better understand the impacts of urban water pollution.

With the system now operational, the sampling campaign in Sant Adrià del Besòs can generate valuable data to support UrbanM2O’s work towards smarter and more effective monitoring of urban groundwater systems.