Continuous Monitoring for Safe Urban Swimming

Together with the Municipality of Rotterdam, Aquon, KWR and our project partners, we are monitoring the microbiological water quality of the Rijnhaven using advanced rapid testing technologies with the BACTcontrol and water quality sensors. The Rijnhaven is a unique urban water body with brackish water, tidal influence, and high conductivity, which makes traditional analyses more challenging. To ensure safe recreation, we apply innovative methods that provide fast and reliable insights and data are realtime transferred to our cloud platform.

 

Enzymatic Monitoring with the BACTcontrol

Our BACTcontrol system enables continuous and rapid detection of fecal indicator bacteria. This technology is already used worldwide for bathing water safety and allows governments to respond quickly to contamination risks. By generating frequent measurements, it helps bridge the gap between traditional laboratory testing and real-time water quality management.

Comparison with Official Methods

In collaboration with Aquon, we conducted an extensive spike test to compare our rapid methods with the established laboratory standards:

  •  Enzymatic bacteria test (BACTcontrol)
  •  Official MPN method (NEN-EN-ISO 9308-3)
  •  Mobile qPCR analysis

These tests demonstrated strong correlations across the methods, confirming that fast microbiological monitoring can complement and support official bathing water assessments.
More detailed insights can be found in the field update shared by Rick Appels.

Why This Matters

Climate change is increasing pressure on urban water systems: higher temperatures, more intense rainfall events, longer dry periods, and wetter winters all contribute to fluctuations in water quality. Rapid and frequent monitoring is therefore crucial to:

  • detect contamination early
  • protect public health
  • maintain safe recreational waters
  • support timely interventions by water managers
  • increase transparency for residents and visitors
  • better awareness of the WFD and what that means for the residents.

By combining sensor technology, real-time data and modern microbiological methods, we help Rotterdam move towards cleaner, safer and accessible city waters — now and in the future.