Yesterday I revisited the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam โ€” because after the start of a monitoring campaign, itโ€™s always essential to experience the situation on-site during the bathing season (Mayโ€“October).

At microLAN bv, we believe data is only part of the story. Seeing how people actually interact with the water is just as important.

I spoke with several swimmers, including a female athlete training for a half Ironman. She mentioned that the water currently appears a bit more turbid compared to last year. At the same time, the area is clearly evolving: a new beach is under development , and residential buildings are rising around the harbour .

Before installation, we performed comparisons between our enzymatic BACTcontrol Ecoli technology,ย qPCR, and the official MPNย methods for bathing water. Now, with continuous monitoring in place, we are able to provide reliable, real-time insights into microbiological water quality.

Despite the cold water, swimmers told me theyโ€™ll definitely return more often โ€” supported by increased confidence in water quality thanks to continuous monitoring

Whatโ€™s great to see is how City of Rotterdamย is investing inย ๐˜€๐˜„๐—ถ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ,ย ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒย ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ปย ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ, while actively integrating environmental awareness into city development.

Around the corner, I visited the House of Banksyย exhibition. One artwork stood out:

โ€œ๐—ช๐—ฒโ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒย ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—นย ๐—ถ๐—ปย ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒย ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒย ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐˜โ€

A powerful reminder in the context of climate change โ€” a theme Banksy often approaches with sharp, satirical impact.

And donโ€™t miss the view from the Fenixย Museum rooftop. The Tornado โ€” an impressive stainless steel structure โ€” is both an artwork and viewing platform, symbolising migration. A theme that, increasingly, is also connected to global environmental change.

This is exactly where technology, urban development, and public engagement come together.

๐—”๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—ก, ๐˜„๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—•๐—”๐—–๐—ง๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—น..

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