Real-Time Water
Quality Monitoring
Welcome to H2NOW Chicago, an innovative new approach to real-time water quality monitoring in the Chicago rivers, which are a part of the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). Launched by Current in 2021, the H2NOW platform tests leading edge sensing and analytic technologies to measure water quality parameters and communicate them with the public in real-time.
Four probes with embedded sensors collect data at four discrete locations along the Chicago and Calumet rivers, and a range of supporting technologies assist with data collection, transmission, analysis, and communication.
H2NOW aims to grow public understanding about river water quality, providing a foundation for Chicago residents and visitors to be empowered as informed, engaged river users and stewards.
Water Quality Data
Thank you for visiting H2NOW Chicago! Our water quality probes are in the Chicago and Calumet rivers collecting data and displaying the results below. The North Branch probe is under construction so look for readings from that location later this fall.
Reading the Gauges
H2NOW gauges communicate the results of our microbial water quality assessment using the latest sensor readings. The assessment is based on the estimated levels of fecal coliforms - a group of bacteria typically associated with the presence of human pathogens. If fecal coliform levels are below 200 CFU/100 mL, we say that water quality is Good, meaning that it should be safe for people to touch it. If they are above 200 but below 1000 CFU/100 mL, we recommend Low Caution, and if they are above 1000 CFU/100 mL - High Caution.
More on the gauge methodology
Fecal coliform (FC) estimates are produced by a model that takes into account multiple sensor readings, such as tryptophan-like fluorescence (TLF), turbidity, temperature, and specific conductivity. The model was developed using 2021 sensor data and fecal coliform test results, and adjusted during a month-long evaluation period in 2022.
Because the approach we are deploying is not yet proven, Current is collecting and testing river samples on a near-daily basis during the 2022 recreational season. The test data is used to continuously evaluate the FC model’s performance and make changes, if needed. Please read the FAQ section or contact us directly for more details on the water quality assessment approach.
Understanding Water Quality
What is your impression of the water quality of the CAWS? Perhaps you picture a waterway so polluted that you don’t even want to get close to it, let alone touch the water. Or maybe you think the rivers are now safe to swim in because of years of successful regulatory and cleanup efforts.
The reality of the Chicago rivers’ water quality, like many urban rivers, is somewhere in between. Most important: it is constantly changing. Historically, measures of microbial pollutants, such as fecal coliforms, had to be determined in a laboratory, requiring the water samples to be transported to the lab. This process takes time! The lag between sampling and results makes it difficult to know how safe it is to use the river for recreational activities. A new approach developed by Current uses sensor data to generate real-time “weather reports” to help people make better and safer choices.
We have installed a probe with embedded sensors in each branch of the Chicago River and in the Calumet River, along with a range of other technologies to assist with data collection, transmission, and analysis. H2NOW uses the real-time data to estimate fecal coliform numbers in the rivers and suggest the level of caution to be exercised when engaging in activities that put people in direct contact with the water.
An Innovative Partnership
H2NOW streams real-time water quality data that can be used to estimate fecal coliform levels in the CAWS rivers. It is the first real-time water quality monitoring project in the U.S. to measure microbial pollutants in an urban waterway.
This massive urban science project was built with the cooperation of dozens of partners, including our utilities, technology providers, advocacy and community groups, and philanthropic funders. Through the partnership of several organizations, H2NOW Chicago launched in September 2021, the first real-time water quality monitoring project in the U.S. to measure microbial pollutants in an urban waterway.
Follow along at #H2NOWChicago
Impact
By discovering, analyzing, and sharing water quality data, H2NOW Chicago accomplishes the following outcomes (click to expand)
1) H2NOW Chicago provides information to residents and visitors...
on how to interact with our rivers by enabling educated decisions through access to water quality in real-time.
2) H2NOW Chicago fosters a better understanding of recent improvements in water quality...
making the public more likely to be drawn to waterways and their opportunities for recreation, work and relaxation. This can create a positive economic ripple effect by boosting engagement with water-based activities and corresponding business development.
3) H2NOW Chicago leverages growing public interest to foster a more productive CAWS...
that offers an increasing number of opportunities for residents and businesses to have commercial interactions with the rivers up and down their full length, not just in the Main Stem of the Chicago River. Our partnerships with community stakeholders familiar with local development priorities ensure that H2NOW Chicago’s data is disseminated, translated and interpreted as an input to existing and future development plans.
4) H2NOW Chicago improves environmental stewardship of the waterways...
by providing policymakers, water utilities, property developers and industries that use urban waterways with new insights into microbial pollution patterns and how they vary over time and location in the waterway. With this knowledge, the public has a better understanding of the river and how to protect it. Without measurement, there is no improvement.
Next Steps
One of Current’s priorities is accelerating water technologies that have local impact and global significance by de-risking innovative, early-stage water technologies. Launching H2NOW is a critical first step towards expanding these groundbreaking technologies to other urban river and lake communities across the U.S. for greater social, environmental and economic impact.
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Many urban waterways could benefit from water quality monitoring, particularly those with water quality and public health issues. A greater public understanding of water quality could inform solutions to improve it and drive more residents and businesses to engage with it.
We envision H2NOW as an anchor for a national – or even global – open data network of water quality monitoring projects. Our network of partners in Chicago - innovators, researchers, utilities, industrial water users, solution providers and investors - have all spoken to the power of a broader national community of practice on water quality data projects. This would allow urban river communities to share best practices as they relate to data, technology, community outreach, engagement and enabling collaborative policy work for the water sector.