Called the Smart Lake Erie Watershed Initiative, it was created by the Cleveland Water Alliance, an Ohio group that protects and improves how the Great Lakes are used. The alliance works with a Cleveland engineering group, Freeboard Technology, to develop and deploy the smart buoys.
According to reporting by Daniel Schoenherr in Great Lakes Echo, the buoys provide information on water conditions, contaminants and nutrients. The information will better prepare the region for harmful algal blooms, oil spills and the consequences of climate change, said Ed Verhamme, president of Freeboard Technology. Eventually it will be available across all of the Great Lakes.
Smart Lake Erie is actually an infrastructure investment. “We really take for granted how easy it is on land to provide [cellular] coverage,” Verhamme says. “With this network, it’s going to be easier and cheaper to monitor the Great Lakes.”
