EarthSoft’s EQuIS™ data management system has greatly enhanced how Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria produces regular water quality forecasts. These provide the Victorian community with fast and up-to-date information on whether river and beach waters in the Melbourne region are suitable for recreational activities.
The Challenge
For over 20 years, EPA Victoria has issued water quality forecasts based on rain, water quality history, sunlight, regular sampling, and pollution reports for Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay and Yarra River. These forecasts, published on EPA Victoria’s Beach Report and Yarra Watch webpages, demanded meticulous and time-consuming manual data gathering and consolidation by the Recreational Water Quality Team.
The Solution
EarthSoft staff collaborated with EPA Victoria to replace this manual procedure with an automated EQuIS workflow. The new system sources Melbourne Water rain gauge data, and Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) observed rainfall data, BoM cloud cover data, and BoM forecasted rainfall data. This information is then compiled and uploaded into the EQuIS database using EQuIS Live and EQuIS Electronic Data Deliverable (EDD) automation.
The automated EQuIS workflow then generates Beach Report and Yarra Watch spreadsheets, which are reviewed by the Recreational Water Quality Team before publication on the EPA website. The report runs automatically via EQuIS Information Agents (EIAs) three times a day to produce morning, afternoon, and next day forecasts.
EPA Victoria’s Beach Report and Yarra Watch water quality forecast, supported by EQuIS
The Impact
Since going live in May 2024, the automation has streamlined processes and saved the Recreational Water Quality Team an estimated 80 working hours over 3 months. It also enables easier recall of historical forecasts and allows for manual overwriting of reports if needed.
The collaboration between EPA Victoria and EarthSoft has not only improved the efficiency of EPA Victoria’s recreational water quality forecasts but also enhanced the quality of information available to the Victorian community. This partnership showcases the power of technology in supporting public health and community decision-making.
To learn more about this project and its impact, visit the EPA Victoria and EarthSoft websites. Follow EPA Victoria and EarthSoft on LinkedIn for updates and additional resources.