The Cleveland Water Alliance has deployed smart buoys for the fourth year across Ohio’s Lake Erie coast, including one outside of the Ashtabula Harbor. These buoys track and communicate water information, including wave height, water temperature, wind speed and water quality. CWA Director of Communications and Engagement Samantha Martin said the organization has at least one smart buoy in each Ohio county on Lake Erie. Nearby smart buoys are stationed in Fairport Harbor, Euclid and Cleveland.

Martin said the smart buoys are used by a variety of organizations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to Aqua Ohio. Utility companies rely on the data the smart buoys provide on pH and conductivity to figure out how to treat the water, Martin said. “They know exactly in that moment how to treat the water,” she said.

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