How Satellite Technology Can Transform Access to Safe Water in Remote Australia
22 Jan 2025
Access to clean, safe drinking water is a global issue that affects every corner of the earth. In a nation surrounded by ocean and blessed with abundant natural resources, it’s difficult to believe that access to clean, safe drinking water remains a critical challenge for many Australians. Yet this is the stark reality faced by numerous remote communities across Australia and beyond.
The Invisible Crisis
A paper from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering reported that approximately two million Australians, across 1,200 remote communities face daily uncertainty about the safety of their drinking water. As remote communities expand and develop, secure water management solutions are increasingly more urgent. Remote Australians often have to cope with water contaminated by regional mining operations, with alarming levels of uranium, arsenic, fluoride, and other pollutants exceeding Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Across Australia, groundwater is an essential natural resource, accounting for around one-third of water use nationally. Poorly maintained bores and other groundwater sources compromised by livestock lead to pathogens in the water which pose immediate health risks to these remote communities.
Globally, barriers to solving these challenges include vast distances between wells and safe water sources, infrastructure complexities and lack of scaling solutions, preventing the transfer of urban water management innovations to these remote areas. But without regular, transparent reporting of water quality data, communities and authorities are operating in the dark. How can we effectively address a problem that we can’t monitor?
Benefits of Continuous Water Monitoring
Water quality is dynamic and constantly subject to fluctuation due to land use changes, business activities, weather patterns, and different environmental factors. These changes make continuous water monitoring essential, yet many communities struggle with implementing effective surveillance systems. Remote areas face severe challenges, traditional monitoring approaches cost thousands of dollars to set up infrastructure and maintenance fees alone can be very expensive.
Water quality monitoring is a fundamental way of ensuring safe drinking water for communities in underserved areas. Regular monitoring and testing helps protect public health from harmful chemicals, bacteria, and other pathogens. Regular surveillance also helps identify contamination points so that communities can take measures to prevent contamination from happening. This can further hold businesses that impact water sources, such as mining, accountable for any runoff or seepage that is deteriorating water quality. Satellite IoT is an effective way of monitoring remote water sources, ensuring that communities have access to crucial water quality data, helping them make informed decisions about water consumption and usage.
Bridging the Gap with Satellite IoT
Traditionally, water monitoring has always come with significant costs – installing cellular towers, regular visits for data collection and maintenance, and complex networking equipment. For remote areas, these expenses can make diligent water quality monitoring seem out of reach.
Myriota-enabled solutions require only a sky-view and AA batteries to transmit data, eliminating the need for traditional infrastructure such as towers or an external power source. Myriota’s connectivity makes low-cost monitoring in remote locations possible. Our low-power satellite IoT technology can last in the field for 10+ years before needing a battery replacement, making advanced water management accessible and easily deliverable to all communities, regardless of their location or resources. Remote sensing allows issues to be addressed quickly and at large distances from the water source.
Whether you’re monitoring a single location or managing multiple water sources across a vast area, our solutions scale cost-effectively while providing reliable, continuous monitoring.
Making Progress Measurable
Our partnership with Globalsat across the Americas demonstrates how satellite IoT technology can transform water security and management in remote communities. Through Globalsat’s deployment of our technology in waterways across Latin America, the scope of uninterrupted monitoring of water quality and consumption patterns is made possible – critical data that was previously impossible to collect consistently.
The impact is significant: communities where water contamination and overconsumption were previously undetected now have reliable, consistent visibility of their water sources. Globalsat’s integration of Myriota’s technology has enabled data collection from challenging terrains and helped utilities manage water resources more effectively, all while keeping costs manageable.
The Way Forward In Water Management
The path forward requires a multi-faceted approach, with reliable and affordable IoT monitoring playing an important role. With these solutions deployed remote communities that face recurring contamination risks due to delayed detection can respond proactively to water quality changes, helping to reduce contamination risks.
Public health will greatly benefit from investment in accessible water management solutions, and a commitment to transparent reporting. The technology exists, the solutions are proven, and the time for action to safeguard water resources for the future is now.
