The ‘UpStream’ project was co-created, co-developed and co-delivered with two active community groups in the UK (Friends of Bradford's Becks) and Taiwan (Taiwan Clean Water Alliance) who both were concerned about water pollution in their local rivers. The project has provided a testbed to achieve the aim of the project of aiding citizen scientists better understand local water quality. This has led to the development and deployment of a cost-effective Continuous Water Quality Monitoring device, the WaterBox, along with methods for transmitting, storing, visualising, and analysing the data collected. Parameters collected include: pH, temperature, conductivity and turbidity. A total of 104 practicalities of continuous water quality monitoring were observed and categorised as either technical, social, economic or wider responsibilities. These have been summarised in a publication that is current;y under review.The UpStream project aims to improve water quality in the UK and Taiwan by working with citizens to gather data, share knowledge and experiences, and develop new technologies. Motivated by environmental issues already identified by the public, this participatory project will increase connectivity and action across a range of organisations and community groups. Both the UK and Taiwan have problems with pollution of rivers. Across Europe, laws state that river water quality should not be impacted by human activity, but latest assessments suggest that just 38% of waters meet this standard. In Taiwan, rapid industrialisation and economic growth have had an impact on water pollution. In 2016, 65% of Taiwanese rivers were classed as moderately polluted. As economic growth stabilises and society evolves, attention is shifting to water quality issues; tighter water quality standards have been set and are incorporated into the government's Forward-looking Infrastructure plan. In both the UK and Taiwan citizens feel strongly about water quality, and have founded local community action groups to instigate improvements. The UpStream project aims to improve water quality in the UK and Taiwan by creating an innovative partnership between these community groups and a range of academic and non-academic organisations to gather data, share knowledge and experiences, and develop new technologies. The project partners from Taiwan (Academia Sinica, NTU and Location Aware Sensing System (LASS)) are experts in creating innovative technology with citizens that leads to real environmental improvements. They have developed low-cost air quality sensors that are now installed in 4,000 locations across Taiwan, and that feed into apps to help citizens avoid air pollution. Our UK partners at Newcastle University, Rain++ and RPS are experts in mobilising citizen science to address water problems. They have worked with the public on water issues in the UK and internationally for over 15 years. Our new and unique partnership will combine Taiwanese expertise in co-creating technology with citizens with UK expertise in water to empower citizens in both countries to improve water quality. Lack of water quality data to identify sources of pollution is a common problem in both countries, and our project aims to fix that. Benefits and direct outputs of the activities planned through the project will include: -Community groups will benefit from technical advice and a new, international support network. -A natural legacy for citizen-led environmental management through the involvement of students and community groups. -The involvement of tech start-ups that can provide insights into water quality, through their inclusion in the project team (LASS, Rain++, FondUS). -Any data or tools created through the project will follow open data protocols, making them accessible to local communities, interested researchers and businesses. The co-production of data (evidence) and tools will empower community groups to manage their local environment alongside relevant organisations after the project has ended. -Policy makers and regulators will have access to the open data collected through our project and will participate in talks through the project, helping to initiate change. -A prototype data visualisation and analysis tool, to aid understanding of water quality issues. -A scope for follow-on work, to continue the work of our unique partnership. Whilst the legislative and societal contexts differ, Taiwan and the UK (and beyond) share common challenges with river pollution. Both have citizens that want to get involved and see change. The UpStream project aims to help by bringing together citizens with academic and industry partners for knowledge-exchange and long-term support.

The WaterBox is a low-cost water quality sensing device. It can monitor water quality parameters continuously and transmits data in near real-time. The basic WaterBox measures three parameters: conductivity, pH and temperature. Additional parameters can be measured by attaching more sensors to it. It was developed in Taiwan by Location Aware Sensing System (LASS), a social enterprise founded in 2015 that develops sensors for and with citizens. Customisation and ‘open’ principles are at the heart of the WaterBox: The WaterBox is fully customisable. LASS and the WaterBox are founded on ‘open’ principles, meaning that the device and its software can be used and modified freely, and its design is publicly accessible.