Safeswim, Auckland New Zealand

Improving infrastructure to prevent pollution is a long-term goal, but the city required a more immediate fix: people needed to know when and where the water was safe.

Safeswim tells you just that. Information from monitors installed at 10 key points across the wastewater network, combined with real-time tidal, river hydraulics and meteorological data, is fed into Moata, our smart infrastructure platform. Moata analyses the inputs to predict when and where sewer overflows will occur, and which of more than 80 beaches across the area will be affected.

Auckland Council shares up-to-the-minute bulletins and maps with the public via the Safeswim app. It has not only enabled water users to make informed decisions about where to swim; it has strengthened trust and opened dialogue between the council and citizens about where infrastructure improvements should be carried out and how much they will cost.