Smart Buoy Technology and the Future of Water Monitoring: How White Lake Is Leading a New Wave of Environmental Stewardship

White Lake, located in western Michigan, is a glacial lake steeped in history, both geological and cultural. Its name originates from the Indigenous term Wabish-Sippe, which means “river of white clay.” The lake has long played a defining role in the development of its surrounding communities, particularly the twin towns of Whitehall and Montague that sit along its shores. For generations, the lake has supported local livelihoods—initially through the booming logging industry, later through manufacturing and tourism, and more recently, through environmental education and recreation.

Yet beneath the lake’s serene surface lies a legacy of pollution that dates back decades. In 1987, White Lake was designated as an Area of Concern (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement due to extensive chemical contamination from local industrial activity. Sediment sampling, fish tissue analysis, and shoreline degradation all painted a grim picture. That same year, local residents mobilized to form the White Lake Association (WLA), a grassroots organization aimed at restoring and protecting the lake’s ecological health.

Over the years, WLA volunteers established a systematic water sampling program. Every summer, they manually collected data on temperature, clarity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient levels—including phosphorus and chlorophyll-a—to track trends and guide management decisions. These efforts, sustained for decades, contributed to White Lake’s eventual delisting as an AOC in 2014. But while the chemical pollution was largely remediated, non-point source pollution—especially runoff from agricultural and urban areas—remains a persistent threat to the lake’s long-term health.

For Jim DeBoer, the White Lake Association’s Chief Science Officer and a Michigan native, environmental protection is both a professional pursuit and a personal passion. Trained as an aerospace engineer, DeBoer applies his technical expertise to environmental monitoring, bridging the gap between engineering precision and ecological stewardship. In recent years, he has led the charge in modernizing WLA’s monitoring capabilities. DeBoer acknowledges that traditional, volunteer-based water sampling—while invaluable—has limitations, particularly in frequency, consistency, and timeliness.

Manual sampling, even when done diligently, typically yields data points only once every two weeks during summer months. More infrequent samples are collected in the spring and fall. These measurements, though accurate, are sparse and delayed. Samples must be shipped to laboratories, tested, processed, and finally summarized into reports—often weeks or months after the data were initially collected. This process, while scientifically valid, creates a significant time lag between environmental changes and community awareness or response. In the context of emerging challenges like harmful algal blooms or shifting thermocline layers, that time lag can be critical.

Recognizing the need for a more responsive and data-rich monitoring approach, DeBoer and the WLA secured a $40,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to purchase and deploy an advanced water monitoring system. On June 5, 2025, the NexSens XB-200 Smart Buoy was installed at the deepest point of White Lake. This high-tech system marks a dramatic step forward in how inland lakes are monitored—not just in Michigan, but nationwide.

The buoy is equipped with an X3 data logger that collects and transmits sensor readings every 10 minutes via a 4G cellular connection. A weather station atop the buoy captures real-time information about wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity, and air temperature. Beneath the water surface, a thermistor string monitors temperature at 5-foot intervals down to the lakebed, which sits about 70 feet deep. A YSI EXO3s sonde records key biological and chemical parameters including dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, and phycocyanin, the latter being a marker of potentially harmful blue-green algae. At the bottom, an RDO BLUE optical sensor delivers precise dissolved oxygen and temperature readings in near-anaerobic zones.

The buoy’s deployment represents more than a technological upgrade—it signals a philosophical shift in how lake health is managed. With data updated every 10 minutes, the WLA and broader public no longer need to wait weeks or months to understand changes in water quality. Instead, they can watch trends unfold in real time. Spikes in chlorophyll-a or phycocyanin can now be detected as they happen, allowing the community to issue swimming or fishing advisories more proactively. Likewise, vertical temperature profiles can reveal the development of thermal stratification, which may influence both recreational use and aquatic ecosystem dynamics.

The WLA has also upgraded its subscription to WQData LIVE, a cloud-based data portal that powers the smart buoy’s dashboard. Through this system, the public can now access an interactive website that displays up-to-date graphs, summaries, and even downloadable data reports. This digital transparency enables residents, tourists, educators, and policymakers to make informed decisions based on current environmental conditions. For instance, fishermen can use temperature profiles to identify likely thermocline zones, while boaters can check wind and weather data before heading out.

Importantly, the data isn’t just for experts. Teachers in local schools are beginning to incorporate live lake data into science lessons. Community groups are using the information for workshops and public forums. And local governments are exploring ways to align real-time environmental data with emergency response systems. By placing robust, actionable data into the hands of everyday citizens, the buoy has become a catalyst for what DeBoer describes as “data-driven community stewardship.”

Despite the new technology, traditional sampling has not been abandoned. WLA continues to collect water samples manually at two designated monitoring sites on the lake. This hybrid approach allows for cross-validation of automated readings and provides a continuity of historical datasets. Encouragingly, the automated buoy data has shown strong agreement with lab-based sample results. Moreover, the continuous monitoring has already revealed short-term fluctuations in chlorophyll levels that might have been missed with monthly sampling. This points to a crucial benefit of high-frequency monitoring: the ability to capture transient, yet ecologically significant, events.

Encouraged by early successes, DeBoer and his team are already looking to the future. A new “Smart Buoy Upgrade” grant from EGLE will allow WLA to expand the sensor suite in coming months. Candidate additions include conductivity probes (to measure dissolved salts and pollutants), turbidity sensors (to assess sediment and microplastic loads), and pH monitors (to track water acidity and potential chemical shifts). These additions will enhance the lake’s “environmental fingerprint,” providing even greater insight into its evolving health.

In parallel, WLA is exploring partnerships with local universities and environmental researchers to analyze long-term trends using advanced analytics. The ultimate goal is to develop predictive models that can forecast bloom conditions, thermal instability, or dissolved oxygen crashes. By applying machine learning to years of data, these models could offer early warnings and policy recommendations—enabling preventive action rather than reactive response.

White Lake’s smart buoy initiative is not happening in isolation. Across Michigan, over 300 inland lakes are now involved in some form of water quality monitoring, many supported by volunteer organizations. As more communities recognize the risks posed by climate change, nutrient loading, and land development, demand for real-time, automated monitoring systems is rapidly rising. Smart buoys like the XB-200 offer several advantages over traditional methods: lower long-term operational costs, better temporal resolution, customizable sensor arrays, and wider public access to actionable data.

Indeed, the White Lake project illustrates how environmental technology, when thoughtfully deployed, can amplify—not replace—the efforts of committed local volunteers. It also underscores the importance of sustained public investment in ecological infrastructure. A single buoy, when embedded within a network of community trust, scientific rigor, and transparent communication, can serve as both sentinel and storyteller.

Ultimately, the deployment of White Lake’s smart buoy reflects a broader transformation in the philosophy of environmental protection. Where monitoring was once the domain of clipboard-wielding scientists and periodic laboratory reports, it is now a living, streaming process accessible to anyone with a smartphone or computer. This transition is not just about efficiency—it’s about inclusion, empowerment, and shared responsibility.

Jim DeBoer puts it best: “Technology won’t save the lake by itself. But it gives us the information we need to act—and it gives the community the power to care.”

As lakes and rivers across North America—and indeed the world—grapple with growing ecological stress, the lessons from White Lake are clear: real-time data isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. And when technology meets community, stewardship becomes not just possible, but powerful.