Currently in development — prototype build beginning late 2026
Victoria, BC · Vancouver Island

Victoria's water.
Watched in real time.

Solar-powered buoys anchored off Vancouver Island's coast. We're currently in development — follow our progress below.

24/7
No one has to check on it
6
Water quality sensors per buoy
4–25×
Cheaper than the old way
BC's coast has no real-time water monitoring. By the time a bloom gets confirmed, people have already been in the water for days.

BC's coastal water quality monitoring is slow, sparse, and mostly invisible to the public. Samples get taken, sent to a lab, and posted to a government PDF weeks later. Nobody's watching in real time.

This project is built in Victoria, BC. The ocean is just the beginning — the goal is to build open environmental monitoring across BC's coasts, lakes, rivers, and eventually land-based air quality stations. The idea is simple: collect the data that nobody else is collecting, figure out what needs help, and then actually do something about it. Whether that's planting more trees, improving air quality at home, or exploring renewable energy — the data comes first.

Water samples take days to process

By the time a lab result posts, the conditions that caused it have already changed — or gotten worse.

Algal blooms can develop overnight

A combination of warm water, low oxygen, and high chlorophyll is detectable by sensor within minutes. Manual sampling misses the window entirely.

Commercial buoys cost $500,000

So only universities and federal agencies have them, the data stays internal, and the public gets nothing.

Cox Bay, Tofino, Vancouver Island
What each buoy measures, every five minutes

Temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen

The core health indicators — the ones that tell you if something's wrong before anything looks wrong.

Salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll-a

Chlorophyll-a is the early indicator for algal blooms. We cross-reference it with temperature and oxygen in real time.

Weather — wind, pressure, humidity

Conditions at the monitoring site, not from an airport 30 km away.

Camera photo + GPS position

A photo from the buoy every few hours. You can see exactly where it is and what the water looks like.

How it works
Aerial view of Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island
01

The buoy sits in the water

Solar panel on top, Raspberry Pi inside, six sensors dangling below the waterline. No shore power. No maintenance visits. It just runs.

02

Every 5 minutes, it reads everything

Sensors sample the water, the weather station logs conditions, the camera snaps a photo. The Pi packages it up and sends it over LTE.

03

You see it seconds later

Data hits the dashboard in real time. If the readings cross algal bloom thresholds, alerts go out automatically. No lab. No waiting.

Where we are
✓
Concept & research complete
Full technical and business concept documented
✓
Website & dashboard built
Public dashboard, pro access, and admin panel ready
✓
Buoy software written
Python data pipeline ready for Raspberry Pi deployment
→
Business registration
Registering with BC Registry — in progress
→
Grant applications
Applying for youth climate and innovation grants
○
Prototype build
First buoy build — late 2026
○
First deployment
Pilot buoy in Victoria waters — early 2027

Stay in the loop.

We'll send occasional updates as the project moves forward — no spam, just milestones. Be the first to know when we go live.

Say hello.

We're a small team and we read every message. If you're a researcher, a government agency, a potential sponsor, or just someone who cares about the water — we want to hear from you.

We're actively seeking partners, collaborators, and grant opportunities. If you're interested in sponsoring the project or placing a buoy in your area, get in touch.