Hunter Region councils are participating in a new program that will utilise digital technologies to build an 'intelligence network' of air quality issues in the region.
The NSW Smart Sensing Network is $2.4 million air quality monitoring research and development program that will position the state as a world leader in the use of low-cost air quality sensing.
The program brings together 16 councils, including Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, and Muswellbrook and small business with a team of multi-disciplinary researchers from the University of Technology, Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of NSW and University of Western Sydney to develop an integrated low-cost air quality sensing network for NSW councils.
The program has received a $1.78 million contribution from the NSW Government through the $45 million Smart Places Acceleration Program, which is part of the Digital Restart Fund.
The project has the following objectives:
- Deploy and use low-cost environmental monitoring in local government areas to inform policy, planning, services, and responses to air quality issues,
- Develop a repeatable methodology and best practice resources that councils can use when developing business cases and procuring sensing strategies,
- Develop pilot environmental data feeds to supplement the state-wide air quality monitoring network
- Build an ongoing community of practice for air quality monitoring that benefits councils, the state government and researchers.
Director of Climate and Atmospheric Science from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment Matthew Riley said a network of almost 100 air quality monitoring stations throughout NSW were used to respond to air quality issues.
"The network conducts long-term trend monitoring, compliance monitoring against national air quality standards and delivers robust air quality data and information that is routinely accessed and used by councils and communities," he said.
"The recent availability of low-cost environmental sensors makes it feasible to collect localised air quality data at urban precincts, busy road intersections and areas where local topography concentrates pollution that can be used to provide additional localised air quality information to the public."
NSW Smart Sensing Network co-director Professor Benjamin Eggleton said the multidisciplinary team of researchers would develop a world-class air quality sensing system to help metropolitan and regional councils collect and use localised air quality data from their local government areas.
"Standardising the data from diverse sensing networks into platforms that provide application and decision-ready information will enable local governments to address environmental issues in their communities more effectively, benefiting urban planners and first responders during bushfires and heatwaves," he said.
Professor Jason Prior from the University of Technology Sydney said: "The project is the first of its kind in Australia, taking localised air quality sensing in air pollution hot spots that is unable to be comprehensively carried out by centralised government authorities, and enabling it to be done by local councils, benefiting both the local residents and larger government agencies.
"The program will ultimately enable governments and all members of local communities from citizen scientists and schools to businesses and aged care centres to collect air quality data. They will be able to use that data to pursue evidence-based solutions to localised environmental issues."
"The initiative is a significant push towards supplementing high-quality state-wide air quality monitoring network and creating a reliable environmental data commons positioning NSW as a global leader in environmental monitoring and data sharing."
The overall aim of the program is to enable councils to positively impact air quality issues in their communities.
