Current Announces H2NOW x Virridy Sensor Pilot in Calumet River for 2025 Season
Pilot of sensor technology supports H2NOW’s mission of bringing real-time water quality data to the public — and marks a key step toward more efficient detection of E. coli to protect public health
Chicago, IL, and Boulder, CO April 29, 2025 – Current, Chicago’s nonprofit water innovation hub, announces a partnership with Virridy to deploy Virridy’s Lume sensor in Current’s H2NOW open-water testbed in the Calumet River for the 2025 season.
The deployment is the first pilot of the Lume sensor in an urban river system, a key step toward commercialization of a lower-cost, more efficient solution for detection of E. coli than existing technologies, which will benefit public health. E. coli, which are bacteria found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, are used as a risk indicator for fecal pollution in water.
Virridy’s Lume sensor is a compact, autonomous, internet-connected sensor that estimates E. coli levels using tryptophan-like fluorescence and machine learning. Lume’s advantages include continuous monitoring, no need for frequent calibration or cleaning, and quantitative results. If successful, this pilot can lead the way for future deployments in urban or rural waterways worldwide, contributing to cleaner, safer water systems.
Now entering its fifth season, H2NOW pioneered public-facing, real-time water quality monitoring in the Chicago and Calumet Rivers. As an open-water testbed, H2NOW offers startups, researchers and companies the opportunity to pilot emerging water technologies like the Lume sensor. Its real-time, accessible data demonstrates the power of cutting-edge water quality monitoring for public agencies, utilities and communities.
Current, which leads H2NOW, also anchors Great Lakes ReNEW, which in January 2024 was awarded up to $160 million over 10 years from the U.S. National Science Foundation to develop and grow a water-based regional innovation engine. The H2NOW x Virridy pilot exemplifies the innovation and tech translation that ReNEW champions, advancing commercialization of a technology that will contribute to clean water and healthy watersheds.
“Core to Current’s mission are partnerships like H2NOW x Virridy,” said Dr. Melissa Pierce, Technical Program Director of Current. “These enable us to accelerate water innovation and bring to market promising technologies for cleaner, safer waterways and water systems. We’re looking forward to a successful pilot with Lume this season.”
“We’re thrilled to pilot Lume in the Calumet River,” said Evan Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Virridy. “Knowing whether you’re drinking or swimming in clean water is key to public health, and with Current’s H2NOW team, we’ll be able to apply our technical know-how to the real-world environment to bring Lume one step closer to commercialization.”
H2NOW’s 2025 season launches in late May and will run through late fall. For more information, visit h2nowchicago.org.
About Virridy
Virridy’s mission is to improve the management of environmental resources. Virridy develops and deploys technologies to manage water, energy and agricultural resources in remote, off-grid environments. Visit virridy.com for more information.
About Current
Current is an independent nonprofit water innovation hub, founded in Chicago in 2016. Our mission is to grow an inclusive Blue Economy, accelerate innovation and solve pressing water challenges. We bring together corporations, advocates, researchers and governments to develop water management policies and test new technologies—projects that would be too risky or even impossible without sustained collaboration. Current has helped to raise more than $58 million to support water innovation and inclusive economic development in the region; launched the first real-time water quality monitoring tool for Chicago waterways; drafted a blueprint to build a thriving Blue Economy in Illinois and supported the commercialization of more than 40 water startups. Learn more.