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Innovation thrives where challenges meet opportunity. At Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA), we're constantly seeking ways to elevate our Water Accelerator Testbeds, and this year, we’re thrilled to announce a significant expansion to our Smart Lake Erie Watershed Testbed —introducing our newest testbed buoy, deployed in August just offshore from the City of Toledo, Ohio.
This addition is not just a new piece of equipment; it’s a testament to our commitment to providing innovators with real-world environments that challenge their technologies and expand the boundaries of what’s possible. Deploying the buoy in Lake Erie’s western basin was a strategic choice, given the location’s particularly dynamic water and algal-bloom conditions, as well as the wide range of equipment in the area that can serve as benchmarks to innovator device performance. These features present unique opportunities for trialing and demonstrating technologies focused on water quality monitoring and environmental resilience.
CWA’s Accelerator Testbeds are designed to accommodate innovators of all sizes—from startups to multinational corporations—and support deployment across a diverse range of environments—including open water, beachfront, rivers, ponds, creeks, and streams—to evaluate performance in a wide range of real-world conditions. In addition, innovators can benchmark their technologies against CWA’s best-in-class equipment using controlled data from hundreds of sensors already deployed across the Lake Erie Watershed. This allows companies to directly compare the performance of their technologies with established industry standards, ensuring they gather the most accurate and meaningful insights for real-world applications.
When it comes to “smart” and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, CWA testbeds can support interests from sensors, automation, and telemetry to advanced data management, cloud platforms, and predictive analytics, as well as adjacent technologies such as device housings and power packs.
“This expansion isn’t just about adding more sensors or deploying more technology,” said Emily Hamilton. “It’s about creating a space where innovators can gather the critical data they need in the most relevant and challenging conditions. Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a growing phenomenon all over the world, and the history of HABs in the western basin has established the Greater Toledo region as a leader in HABs early warning systems, monitoring, and response. The new Testbed Buoy leverages this legacy to create an ideal site for testing technologies that monitor algae, nutrient activity, and other water quality parameters.”
Many innovators face significant barriers in getting their technologies to market, especially when validating their solutions in real-world environments. CWA’s testbed programming helps break down these barriers by providing the infrastructure, data, and support they need to refine and prove their technologies, making entry into the market much more achievable.
Two companies are utilizing this new buoy—In Situ and LDI—each bringing cutting-edge technology that we’re excited to see in action.
In-Situ is our longstanding partner, and this year, they’ve deployed a seven-sensor sonde called Aqua TROLL on our buoy. This multiparameter instrument can hold and manage more sensors than In Situ’s earlier sonde models, including new algae and nitrate sensors. More sensors means more data points.
“We’ve added sensors to what is a standard In-Situ deployment,” Emily explained. “This allows us to collect additional data points for a more complete assessment of environmental conditions.”
LDI (Laser Diagnostic Instruments), based in Estonia, is deploying its “Remote Optical Watcher” (ROW), a remote, autonomous, non-contact sensor for algal bloom and oil-spill monitoring. This sensor's ability to monitor algae on the water’s surface is particularly interesting, a notable differentiator considering that many existing sensors operate below the waterline.
“If the LDI sensor works in the way we want it to, there’s a real value-add here. It’s a less common technical approach to sensing that can potentially give us information that other sensors may miss,” Emily noted.
The launch of CWA’s new Testbed Buoy is just the beginning. “We have identified five exciting technologies that are a great fit for this new platform,” Emily shared. “We’ve got two of them deployed this summer and look forward to at least three more to kick off the field season next year. I’m excited to see what else comes through our door.”
By expanding our testbed programming, we’re not just adding capacity—we’re making it possible for innovators to trial their technologies with rigor and validation under relevant and diverse conditions. This range of options sets our Water Accelerator Testbeds apart and makes Cleveland Water Alliance a leader in water innovation.
"I'm excited about offering innovators more options for successful deployments," Emily said. "With our expanded buoy capacity, we can provide new opportunities for innovator solutions that are resilient to turbulent waters or that focus on HAB conditions. This is what we do. It’s the value of the testbed itself."
At Cleveland Water Alliance, we’re proud to be at the forefront of technology breakthroughs, providing innovators with the resources and real-world environments they need to succeed. This is just the beginning; we can’t wait to see what’s next.
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