With over 10 million US Residents living along Lake Erie shores, and countless fisheries, utilities, and other industries relying on the lake for their livelihoods, the ever-changing maritime and weather conditions have a significant impact on the day to day lives of many people.
The Smart Lake Erie Watershed initiative is a project of Cleveland Water Alliance that has established over 6,500 square miles of telecommunications network coverage across the Lake Erie Watershed, connecting Smart Buoys equipped with sensors that transmit real-time weather and maritime conditions data for public use.
Select data can be accessed through a new CWA data viewer (launching Spring 2024) or through the Text A Buoy program, owned and operated by CWA Partners at LimnoTech. The Text A Buoy program is the only program like this in the world, and works with any 5-digit buoy anywhere in the world that's listed on the NOAA site.
Cleveland Water Alliance has successfully deployed two new sensor stations in downtown Cleveland, adding to its digitally connected, data-driven network in the Smart Lake Erie Watershed. At the juncture of two of Cleveland’s most iconic lakefront locations, the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, CWA’s technology and partnerships are visible above and below the surface. Through collaborations with companies like Ohio-based Freeboard Technologies, smart sensors measuring water quality and other environmental parameters have made their home near these Great Lakes landmarks. Like the data the sensors seamlessly collect, their impact tells the story of real-world implications that flow beyond the numbers.
Visit this special dashboard for more detailed data from these sensors.
Look up a buoy of interest here or find one while roaming around on Lake Erie and text the 5-digit buoy-ID number to (866) 218-9973, and you'll receive wind, wave and temperature conditions at the buoy's location.
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