Blue Water Satellite says its algorithmically enhanced satellite imagery gives industrial plants and power plants a less costly way to demonstrate Clean Water Act 316(a) compliance, compared to physical sampling/temperature model building approaches, and also provides a more accurate picture of water temperatures across a larger area of the water body.

The image technology allows users to view water temperature data on a very granular level. Temperatures are provided for each pixel in the image, with one pixel equivalent to 1/5 of an acre. In addition, a viewer interface is provided allowing users to “zoom in” on specific GPS coordinates of the water body to gain more understanding of the effects of the discharge.

The company says it also allows users to derive temperature readings from satellite images. Blue Water Satellite has optimized the temperature algorithm for water and improved the accuracy of handbook methods to ± 1º C.