Aquawatch

Mission to deliver a world first ground-to-space water quality monitoring system for Australia.

SmartSat and CSIRO are foundational partners AquaWatch Australia, which will safeguard the health, quality and security of freshwater and coastal resources, and grow Australia’s high-tech space industry through an integrated ground-to-space water quality monitoring system.

The AquaWatch mission will support better water quality management across Australia, with early warning of harmful events such as toxic algal blooms, blackwater and runoff contamination.

• It will increase resilience of Australian communities who depend on water as well as improve outcomes for our precious natural environment, including after events like bushfires and floods.
• These benefits extend to coastal areas, with the ability to monitor bays, coastal wetlands, aquaculture farming, mangrove forests and coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef.
• The system will use an extensive network of Earth observation satellites and ground-based water sensors to monitor the quality of Australia’s rivers and coastal and inland waterways – enabled through working with a range of implementation partners.