<p>Poster/Demonstration Presentation</p><p>New York’s Near-Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring Network</p><p>Steven W. Effler1, David M. O’Donnell1, Susan M. Doerr O’Donnell1, Christopher J. Owen2</p><p>Abstract New technologies in remote robotic computer driven monitoring and probe/sensor measurements provide increased capabilities to meet contemporary challenges of protecting water quality, and offer rare opportunities for research and education. The challenges and opportunities in New York are particularly great, because of the richness of the state’s aquatic resources and the acute demands on their quality. New York’s emerging robotic monitoring network is described, that by the end of 2002 will include 15 robotic monitoring units, located on: Lake George (1 unit), the Finger Lakes (3 units; Otisco, Skaneateles, and Cayuga), Onondaga Lake and its tributaries (3 units), Seneca River (3 units), and reservoirs and tributaries of New York City’s water supply (5 units). There are two types of monitoring units, profiling buoys (lakes, reservoirs and rivers), and stream monitors that make measurements on water withdrawn from the stream. The array of robotic measurements presently made within the New York network is presented. In all cases, robotic measurements are being delivered in near-real-time to data centers accessible by water quality managers, and in some cases data are posted in engaging formats in near-real-time at dedicated web sites to engage communities in their local environments. Examples of robotic monitoring data are presented that depict an array of phenomena and impacts. Demonstrations accessing near-real-time water quality monitoring data from multiple sites will be made. Programs are underway to integrate the near-real-monitoring capabilities of portions of the network with existing and evolving mathematical models to provide powerful near-real-time modeling capabilities.</p><p>1 Upstate Freshwater Institute, Inc., Syracuse, NY 2 Apprise Technologies, Inc., Duluth, MN</p><p>Contact Information: S. W. Effler Director of Research Upstate Freshwater Institute P.O. Box 506 Syracuse, NY 13214 e-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.upstatefreshwater.org www.ourlake.org Related manuscript Effler, S.W., D.M. O’Donnell, and Christopher J. Owen. 2002. America’s most polluted lake: Monitoring rehabilitation efforts with robotic buoys. Journal of Urban Technology (in press).</p>