In the fight against environmental crime, protecting our water sources is of vital importance. Within the PERIVALLON project, one of the pilot use cases explores how satellite data can help detect, assess, and respond to pollution incidents affecting water bodies. De Watergroep, the largest drinking water company in Flanders (Belgium), plays a key role in this effort.
Who is ‘De Watergroep’?
De Watergroep is responsible for delivering clean drinking water to approximately 3.3 million customers and hundreds of businesses across 167 municipalities in West and East Flanders, Flemish Brabant, and Limburg. More than 1,600 employees work daily to deliver water through a network of over 34,000 kilometres of pipelines. About 25% of the produced drinking water comes from surface water, while 75% originates from groundwater. Ensuring the quality of drinking water is a constant challenge. That is why De Watergroep continuously invests in technologies and processes to monitor and improve water quality. We face factors such as emerging contaminants, climate change, extreme summers and winters, salinization, aging infrastructure, and illegal dumping and incidents that lead to water source contamination.
How illegal dumpings and incidents are currently handled
De Watergroep has an extensive water production and distribution system. Each year, De Watergroep faces several incidents (~3 to 5 per year) where illegal dumpings or discharges are reported. These incidents are reported to the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM), the regulatory authority of the Flemish government in environmental management. The VMM sends inspectors on-site to assess the situation, take samples, and prepares a report.
Proper registration of such incidents and identifying those responsible require time and detailed documentation, such as analyses and visual material. Moreover, early detection and impact registration are crucial for water management to prevent contaminated raw water from entering the drinking water system.
Pilot Use Case 2 in PERIVALLON
De Watergroep possesses a dataset of historical incidents that can be linked to satellite images to explore the usability of satellite visualisation for identification and follow-up. If the method proves effective, the follow-up of incidents becomes possible. Artificial intelligence can be used to perform a risk assessment during follow-up. Moreover, hot spots or high risk zones might even be identified for increased monitoring activities. This is investigated in pilot use case 2B of the PERIVALLON project, which specifically focuses on water-related incidents.
Looking Ahead
If the PERIVALLON platform is implemented in the future, we aim to achieve the following:
Incident monitoring
Mapping the migration of an incident in a water body over time and space to get a clear idea of the behaviour of the incident is essential for a good risk assessment of the situation. Moreover, it can help in assessing the effectivity of mitigation measures.
Assigning priority to the incident
High-priority incidents require swift action, whereas low-impact incidents might be controlled. Accurate and high resolution imagery can help in assessing the risk for the environment and the drinking water system.
Analysis of historical incidents
Data analysis of historical incidents can reveal patterns or spatial clues that might help in risk assessment or pattern recognition for future incidents.
Final Thoughts
As environmental challenges grow in complexity, cross-sector collaboration and technological innovation are more important than ever. De Watergroep’s engagement in PERIVALLON highlights the importance of integrating practical expertise with cutting-edge research to co-create impactful solutions.
Written by Dries Borloo
De Watergroep