ENMOhydro FAQ

According to the EEA report“Healthy environment, healthy lives: how the environment influences health and well-being in Europe,” a significant proportion of illnesses in Europe are caused by environmental pollution resulting from human activity.

According to the European Water Framework Directive (EU WFD), EU water bodies must achieve good ecological and chemical status by 2027 at the latest. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) does not explicitly require automated monitoring networks for water monitoring, but it does call for all necessary measures to prevent the release of pollutants, including through the use of early warning systems.

“We’ve been doing that forever.”

Maybe. But how?

“Continuous” means 24/7. It’s hard to imagine monitoring water quality around the clock without the help of automation. That’s why we highly recommend using a system that handles this task for you. 

In addition to the automatic collection of data from monitoring stations, continuous water quality monitoring also enables efficient data analysis that effectively identifies short- and long-term changes in water quality. This allows potential hazards to be detected in a timely manner and automatically reported to users, enabling them to respond promptly.

Essential for meeting environmental goals: Long-term developments can be monitored, trends identified, and the extent and impacts of pollution and changes determined.

The entire measurement process is recorded and documented so that the necessary measures (and their effectiveness) can be planned in a timely and efficient manner.

“‘Automatic’ sounds nice, but how does a computer system know exactly what we want?”

There is no “magic solution” that satisfies everyone. However, an efficient water monitoring system follows a basic logic that enables the mapping of different environmental monitoring workflows. In the system’s master data, you, as the user, define what is measured (parameters/test characteristics) and how this is to be done (test methods), so that various measurement programs can then be formulated.

Example: The following parameters are included in the so-called basic measurement program of ENMO®hydro:

• Oxygen content
• Water temperature
• pH level
• electrical conductivity
• Turbidity.

Examples of the expanded testing program would include:

• UV Absorption Measurement (SAK 254 nm)
• Algal toxin meter
• Daphnia toxin meter
• Oil detectors
• Nutrient analyzers

The software system consists of three components:

• ENMO® Site (connected monitoring stations)
• ENMO® Server
• ENMO® Client

ENMO®hydro continuously collects measurement values as well as status and error messages from the connected measurement systems. The collected data sets are temporarily stored in the measurement stations and then transmitted to the ENMO® server.

The system’s “automatic” operation and continuity require, among other things, the ability to connect various devices, sensors, and other measurement systems via the appropriate interfaces. Any devices can be connected to ENMO®hydro.

In addition, the system comprehensively maps all workflows for operations within the monitoring network, analyzes the data, exports it, and presents it as desired. If necessary, it triggers automatic actions: particularly vulnerable monitoring stations can be equipped with an early warning system capable of detecting toxic substances in the water. Should any of the water samples prove to be abnormal, ENMO®hydro automatically triggers the event sample to be sent for detailed laboratory analysis.

Layered architecture is a commonly used structuring principle for the architecture of software systems. In this approach, individual aspects of the software system are conceptually assigned to a layer. In a layered architecture, the permitted dependency relationships between aspects are restricted such that aspects of a “higher” layer may only use those of “lower” layers (in accordance with the so-called Dependency Inversion Principle).

A layered architecture reduces the complexity of dependencies within the system and makes it easier to understand. ENMO®hydro consists of the following three layers:

• Presentation layer (client tier) – This layer is responsible, among other things, for displaying data and user input.
• Logic layer (application server tier) – This layer contains all processing mechanisms.
• Data-server tier – Thistier contains the database and is responsible for storing and loading data.

Thanks to the concept of multi-tier architecture, the application server and database can reside on a single device, but remain separate entities.

You can monitor individual points as well as set up complex measurement networks. The capabilities of ENMO®hydro extend far beyond the mere collection and storage of measurement data. ENMO®hydro combines instrument/station monitoring and management, data acquisition, data analysis, data visualization, data export, quality assurance, maintenance functions, and a notification and alarm system into a single platform.

• Federal Government / States / Local Governments
• water utility
• Companies responsible for monitoring groundwater, surface water, reservoirs, and lakes, as well as industrial water.
• Wastewater (sewage treatment plants, hospitals, universities) (hospitals and universities often have small preliminary treatment plants)

As a client application (Microsoft), ENMO®hydro can be accessed via the Internet from anywhere in the world, but it is not browser-based.

However, data can be accessed via a web application (in a browser or via an app).

Example: Using Hamburg’s water data app, you can check the water quality of Hamburg’s rivers on your smartphone. Data from the nine automatic monitoring stations on the Alster, Elbe, and Bille rivers is continuously provided in the form of graphs, and current readings are displayed in lists.

Yes. The principle is similar, and the workflows can be adapted to specific requirements. All kinds of devices can be connected to ENMO®hydro, so there are virtually no limitations here either.

No matter how sophisticated an automated water monitoring system may be, it is virtually impossible to implement without human involvement. Professional support, provided by our skilled staff, is essential for you as a user. 

From idea to solution through collaboration:

ENMO®hydro emerged from a combination of the innovative spirit of Blomesystem GmbH and the long-standing expertise of the Institute for Hygiene and Environment in Hamburg, an institution of the Ministry for the Environment, Climate, Energy, and Agriculture. The combined expertise of both parties and their willingness to pioneer the development of a unique solution gave rise to ENMO®hydro.

Authorized users can add or modify components and stations as part of master data maintenance. This allows you to adapt your system to the current situation at any time. The Site Configurator makes this process easy.

ENMO® offers various workflow routines:

1. Once the data from the monitoring stations has been collected by the ENMO®Site software, it is aggregated into 10-minute averages (which can be customized) and transferred to the database.
2. After being uploaded to the ENMO® Server, the 10-minute averages are imported into the ENMO® Server's raw data database. This process is performed automatically on the server every 10 minutes.
3. The new data is then automatically transferred to the finished products database.
4. If thresholds are exceeded and this triggers system actions—such as sending notifications, etc.—these actions are detected here and the corresponding messages are sent.

ENMO®Site stores the data locally (on the respective site computer) and sends it once a new connection is established. As soon as the ENMO®Server confirms receipt of the data to ENMO®Site, the data is deleted from the site.

The actions that trigger notifications are defined in the master data under System Events. These system events are linked to the notification system.

Here, you can also specify which recipients receive which notifications. Messages can be sent to individual users or entire user groups.

ENMO®hydro includes a test equipment management module, which is primarily used to manage measuring instruments and sensors. Linking this module to maintenance templates enables a modern workflow.
A maintenance template defines the general procedure for a maintenance task. Initially, this is an abstract description of a maintenance process without a specific reference to a device. Such a maintenance template can be referenced in multiple maintenance schedules for specific devices. A maintenance template contains task definitions and rules that control the sequence of a described maintenance task.

In principle, both options are possible.

However, we recommend that the client procure the equipment. This is standard hardware.

Amid the current pandemic, there is an increasing focus on analyzing wastewater—both directly from the sources at institutions (hospitals, university hospitals) and from the effluent at wastewater treatment plants.