28
www.utilityweek.co.uk/fLeX
C O M M U N I T Y
Water companies are
increasingly calling on
volunteers to help scope out
issues with water pollution
or water quality in rivers and
tributaries as a precursor to
more targeted research and
mitigation campaigns. Having
large numbers of people on the
ground makes it possible to
extend the spatial and temporal
resolution of data, compared
with using just a few in-house
scientists. It can also improve
C
itizen science
promises to make
scientists of us all
by giving people the
tools to measure
e n v ir o n m e n t a l
impacts in their local
communities. It's growing
popularity is being driven by
the widespread availability
of low-cost digital devices,
particularly smartphones, which
make it much simpler to perform
data collection and analysis.
Water companies are mobilising an army
of 'citizen scientists' to monitor water
quality issues and enhance community
engagement. But what are the concrete
benefits and is the data reliable?
By Stephen Cousins
D o e s i t
m e a s u r e
u p ?
