Sensor promises fulfilled

In late 2004, Sandia National Laboratories announced that it had signed a multiyear research agreement with Tenix Investments, a partnership that offered the vision of a safer future for water supplies.

The collaboration aspired to develop a method for constantly monitoring water for biological pathogens including biotoxins, bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Now, just two-and-a-half years into the project, Sandia researchers have a working device in place and have demonstrated that the initial dream is, indeed, now a reality.

Sandia’s unattended water sensor (UWS) has successfully undergone testing at a large Bay Area water utility for more than a year and, just recently, has been deployed to a municipal water station in Arizona for additional observation and adjustments. Staff will perform periodic maintenance and troubleshooting on the system, which is expected to further demonstrate the viability of unattended water monitoring.

‘The initial research and development was focused on defining the system, identifying its core capability, and developing a concrete tool that does what we wanted it to do,’ said Chris Macintosh, Tenix Investment’s engineering manager. ‘Having now met those objectives and proven the capability of the technology, the next phase of the design will be to take this knowledge and develop a product suitable for use by the water industry.’