Guinea Fish To Monitor Water Quality
Friday, 18th May 2012
Singapore's Public Utility Board (PUB) has developed a new automated system which uses fish as "Guinea Pigs" to monitor water quality.The system uses cameras to monitor the activity of a group of freshwater tiger barbs, which is then analysed to detect signs of distress that could indicate a problem with the water.
There are 20 fish monitored in each system and if half of the fish die, a red alert will be triggered and the system will automatically collect a water sample for further testing. The automated system helps the agency monitor multiple locations at once without the need for much manpower. 42 units are deployed at different places around the island, and the signals are all tied to one control centre. If something happens to the fishes in one of the units, the control centre gets an alert immediately. The number to be increased to 105 units over the next few years. Each units costs about USD20,000 to implement.