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Benidorm Installs Smart Buoys to Improve Coastal Water Quality Monitoring

 

• The project is part of the "Benidorm, a smart and sustainable tourist destination" project, co-financed by the City Council and Red.es.

• With this sensorisation, the City Council reinforces the control and analysis of the municipal laboratory, monitoring different parameters of seawater in real time.  

 

Benidorm has taken another step towards becoming a smart and sustainable destination with the installation of two new smart buoys off Poniente and Levante beaches.

 

The devices, that have been fitted will allow real-time monitoring of seawater quality and provide valuable data to help protect the marine ecosystem. Councillor for Beaches and the Environment, Mónica

 

Gómez, explained:

“The indicators and information these buoys provide will complement and strengthen the regular testing already carried out by the Municipal Laboratory, helping us to detect and respond quickly to any anomalies in our bathing waters.”

 

The smart buoys will continuously track key parameters such as water temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic matter, and the possible presence of hydrocarbons.

 

This new system will enable the City Council to offer citizens and visitors up-to-date daily reports on bathing water quality via both a forthcoming mobile app and the municipal beach website. The data will also feed into Benidorm’s Tourism Intelligence platform, giving local departments access to detailed dashboards to support decision-making.

 

The placement of the buoys was agreed with the Institute of Coastal Ecology to ensure full environmental compatibility. Each buoy, weighing around 360 kg, uses a low-impact anchoring system designed to avoid harming seagrass meadows, with a stable vertical design to guarantee accurate measurement and visibility for vessels.

 

Gómez stressed:

“Our beaches are the city’s most important tourist and environmental asset. With this initiative, we are reinforcing sustainable management and ensuring that residents and visitors have the best possible information at their fingertips in real time.”

 

The project forms part of Benidorm, a Smart and Sustainable Tourist Destination, co-financed by ERDF funds through Red.es and awarded to Telefónica. Its aim is to drive Benidorm’s digital transformation through innovation and technology, ensuring sustainable tourism growth.