A UK university spinout behind a rapid bacterial water testing kit is planning to launch live water quality maps, as scores of beachgoers report falling ill after swimming.
Molendotech, a spinout from the University of Plymouth, sells a portable test that detects E coli and other bacteria in water and delivers results on the spot, without waiting for days to get laboratory results.
Molendotech is now working on an app that will map water quality across Britain and the US, collating data from daily water tests with rain flow and tidal flows and using artificial intelligence to create predictive models. A launch is planned in the UK and US in October.
There have been increasing calls for the government to step up water testing, amid numerous incidents of water pollution and sewage spills in recent years that have contaminated rivers and sea waters in popular locations.
