PROLIPHYC: a real-time warning, forecasting and monitoring system for receiving waters

As the receiving water quality is a major concern of the European Water Framework Directive, a strong demand in freshwater monitoring systems is rising. For many urban lakes greatly used for recreational activities by the dwellers, real-time monitoring stations would be very useful for helping in water quality restoration and assessment. A main threat for urban lakes consists in phytoplankton blooms triggered by nutrient loading which may be discharged by urban drainage systems. Among the phytoplankton groups, the cyanobacteria are specifically targeted because many species, potentially toxic, can threaten public health and impair the water uses. The monitoring system presented in this paper, primarily aimed at assessing phytoplankton growth, consists in the following items: design of a freshwateradapted measurement buoy, remote transmission of the data (water temperature, Chlorophyll, Oxygen and meteorological data), automated integration of data into predictive modelling, warning procedure development. In order to validate the buoy design and the sensor functioning, a simplified prototype has been launched in July 2007 in Lake Bourget. In this paper, the methodology of the project is outlined; the overview and the implementation of the prototype buoy are described. The analysis of the data collected from July to September 2007 is presented.