Iowa’s nitrate problem is getting attention from NASA.
The space agency is funding a new project with the University of Iowa and local water facilities to try to predict nitrate concentrations in groundwater and surface water.
Project lead and associate engineering professor Jesus Gomez-Velez hopes if scientists combine satellite images with water quality measurements from monitors across the state, they can create a forecasting tool that predicts when nitrate levels could reach dangerous levels.
“If you have a good forecasting system, you can do a better job at planning where to take water from and essentially use blending without the need of a nitrate removal facility,” Gomez-Velez said. “Or maybe that's not a possibility, but you can better plan how to do that treatment in a more efficient way to meet the demand.”
NASA and the university are partnering with Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, as well as Des Moines Water Works.
“This is not just an academic exercise,” Gomez-Velez said. “[The goal is] that they will actually look at the forecasting and say, 'OK, we can use this forecasting to make a decision about maybe using these other sources of water or maybe do blending for a period of time.'”
Current monitoring methods
The Iowa Water Quality Information System spans the entire state, with monitors intermittently checking nitrates, pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature.
It’s publicly available and color coded, which makes it easy for Iowans to check water quality near them. But a red dot doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t drink your tap water.
“That's giving you a snapshot of the water quality in that particular stream,” Gomez-Velez said. “The water that people are drinking in their communities is going to through a treatment plant.”
The treatment plant is responsible for providing water that meets clean water standards, he said. Right now, plants are often reactive to whatever the most recent measurements are. A forecasting tool would allow treatment plants to be proactive instead, which could improve public health and bottom lines.
“Can we make the operation of the public water supply systems efficient enough to decrease costs at the same time that you're maximizing the safety of the public by making sure that you're delivering the best water drinking water quality possible?” Gomez-Velez asked.
Why NASA?
NASA satellites continually take pictures of Earth’s surface and store them for years. The data is public and very useful for Gomez-Velez’s team.
“Essentially, we're using remote sensing information from NASA to essentially capture some of those variables that explain [water quality] variability — like precipitation, soil moisture, land use,” he said. “There are a lot of different types of remote sensing or satellite images that are provided by NASA that can be used as proxies to explain the variability that we observe in the river system.”
Scientists will feed historic satellite observations and on-the-ground water quality observations into an artificial intelligence model. After analyzing past patterns, they hope it will learn to predict how future nitrate levels will change in the near future based on real-time satellite data.
The monitoring system will also allow scientists to check the accuracy of early versions of the model.
“Like with all these AI models, the more data you have, the better they get, right?” Gomez-Velez said. “The idea is that, once the public water supply systems, ourselves and the developers feel confident that this is a good product, that can be released to the public.”
Gomez-Velez expects it will take at least two years for the tool to become trustworthy. NASA is funding the project for three years.
“We know it's going to be there for the next few years, but we hope there is enough support to maintain it in the long term,” he said. “I think it's critical for the state of Iowa.”
