The project Rede InfoAmazonia has developed a prototype of an inexpensive monitoring system to analyze the quality of water for human consumption, and establish a monitoring network in partnership with communities in the Brazilian Amazon.
The hardware, called "Mãe d´Água", can be installed in water tanks, tanks and of smaller surface water springs. With it is possible to detect possible changes in water characteristics from inadequate disposal of household waste, industrial and heavy metals. The results help distinguish the drinking water from contaminated water.
The development of sensors was carried out in partnership with the start-up Dev Technologia, a company incubated at the University of São Paulo, and with the help of the international network of citizen science Public Lab.
The implementation of 18 pilot sensor network happened in the Brazilian Amazon in October 2015 with the support and participation of the NGO Saúde e Alegria, who operates in conservation and community units along the Tapajos River. The project also had the support of the Laboratory of Electronic Media of the Federal University of Westen Pará and Environment Secretariats of the municipalities of Santarém and Belterra.
The project was one of the winners of the Google Social Impact Challenge in 2014, along with 9 other ideas presented by NGOs from all over Brazil. A report of what was done in the scope of the funding can be found here.