AquaLoop
Smart Water Today, Sustainable Tomorrow
About AquaLoop
Smart Water Today, Sustainable Tomorrow — complete documentation of the concept, system and prototype.
What is AquaLoop?
AquaLoop is a smart water-management system designed to make useful water recovery practical, measurable and easier to operate. The concept focuses on two commonly underused sources: harvested rainwater and reverse-osmosis (RO) reject water.
Instead of treating recovered water as one generic supply, AquaLoop keeps each source in its own loop. Sensors monitor the water and tank conditions, a decision layer evaluates the readings, and the system recommends an appropriate non-potable destination such as irrigation, toilet flushing, cleaning or groundwater recharge where suitable.
The Problem
Rainwater is lost
Rainwater is often allowed to leave a building as runoff instead of being captured and reused.
RO reject is wasted
Domestic RO systems produce reject water that is commonly discharged even though it can have useful non-potable applications.
Reuse is uncertain
Without monitoring, people may not know whether a stored source is appropriate for a particular reuse destination.
The AquaLoop Solution
AquaLoop combines sensing, water-quality evaluation, rule-based decision making and controlled routing in one system. The goal is not simply to collect more water, but to understand what has been collected and use it responsibly.
Capture and store
Rainwater and RO reject water are collected in dedicated tanks with separate plumbing.
Measure continuously
Sensor nodes monitor parameters such as level, pH, TDS, turbidity, flow and leak state.
Evaluate conditions
Readings are compared with configured limits and operational rules to determine which destinations are appropriate.
Route deliberately
The selected destination is communicated to the control layer and recorded so the decision can be reviewed later.
System Architecture
Source Layer
- Rainwater tank
- RO reject tank
- Separate water loops
Sensing Layer
- ESP32 nodes
- pH · TDS · turbidity
- Level · flow · leak
Decision Layer
- Quality evaluation
- Rules + confidence
- Explainable recommendation
The control and actuation layer applies an approved routing decision, while the event layer records what happened for history, analytics and troubleshooting.
Sensors and Measurements
Water level
Tracks available storage and helps prevent routing decisions when a tank is empty or near its operating limit.
pH
Provides an indication of acidity or alkalinity and contributes to the quality assessment.
TDS
Measures total dissolved solids and is particularly important for evaluating RO reject water.
Turbidity and safety state
Turbidity, leak status, sensor health and other interlocks provide additional safeguards before reuse.
Sensor selection and threshold values in a physical implementation must be validated for the actual installation, sensor hardware and intended reuse application.
Water Reuse Destinations
- Irrigation: suitable recovered water can be used for plants and landscaping where the measured quality and local requirements allow it.
- Toilet flushing: non-potable recovered water can reduce the demand for treated drinking water.
- Floor and outdoor cleaning: recovered water can be used for appropriate cleaning tasks instead of potable water.
- Groundwater recharge: this requires appropriate treatment, site assessment and compliance with applicable requirements; the prototype only represents the decision path.
Safety Principles
- • Rainwater and RO reject water remain physically separated.
- • Sensor failures can block automated routing when reliable data is unavailable.
- • High-risk readings should override convenience-based reuse suggestions.
- • A quality score is an operational indicator, not a drinking-water certification.
- • Real installations need validated sensors, treatment, backflow protection and applicable regulatory approval.
How Recommendations Work
- 1A sensor cycle produces a fresh reading set for each water loop.
- 2Readings are checked against configured limits for water quality, tank state and device health.
- 3Blocking conditions such as offline sensors, leaks or unsuitable quality prevent unsafe routing.
- 4Eligible destinations are evaluated using the available water characteristics and operating rules.
- 5The system presents the selected recommendation, confidence and reason so the decision is understandable.
- 6The routing decision is stored in history for later review and analytics.
Operating Modes
Manual
The operator chooses the destination. AquaLoop continues to monitor the system and provide warnings.
Assisted
AquaLoop proposes a destination with supporting information, while the operator confirms before routing.
Autonomous
Configured safe decisions can be applied automatically, with alerts and history providing visibility into what the system did.
Dashboard Documentation
Dashboard
Provides the main operational overview, current water status, system health and important events.
Rainwater Tank
Shows the rainwater loop, tank condition, sensor readings and available reuse information.
RO Reject Tank
Shows RO reject water measurements and the destinations that can be considered based on its condition.
Analytics
Turns recorded telemetry and events into trends that help understand water use and system behaviour.
Recommendations
Explains current reuse suggestions, supporting readings and the reason behind each recommendation.
Alerts
Collects active and historical warnings such as sensor failures, leaks and unsuitable operating conditions.
History
Provides a timeline of important readings, decisions and system events for traceability.
Devices
Shows connected or simulated nodes and their health so sensor problems can be identified quickly.
Maintenance
Provides a place to track maintenance-related actions needed to keep the system reliable.
Settings
Contains configurable system preferences and operating parameters exposed by the prototype.
Prototype vs. Real Deployment
Current prototype
The dashboard uses simulated telemetry to demonstrate the interface, system states, recommendations, alerts, analytics and routing behaviour without requiring a physical installation.
Future physical system
A real deployment would connect calibrated sensors and actuators to ESP32-class controllers, add suitable filtration or treatment where required, implement electrical and plumbing safety controls, and validate every reuse rule for the installation.
Limitations and Future Scope
- • The current telemetry is simulated rather than sourced from physical sensors.
- • Thresholds shown by the prototype are not a substitute for site-specific engineering or water-quality standards.
- • Real actuation requires fail-safe valves, electrical protection and physical isolation between water loops.
- • Future versions can add real-time IoT telemetry, calibration workflows, remote notifications, richer analytics and automated maintenance schedules.
- • A production system should retain auditable event logs and validate every automated decision against the actual installation.
Most Common Questions About AquaLoop
Source and Project
View on GitHubAquaLoop is a prototype concept focused on responsible water recovery, monitoring and explainable reuse decisions.