NEW Water was one of the five organizations selected through the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) Coastal Monitoring for funding to deploy three buoys in Lower Green Bay (two new and one upgraded), each equipped with wave and weather monitoring.
The WBAY story is found below. To see the story on WBAY, please visit: New monitoring buoys on the bay of Green Bay give boaters real-time wave information and more | www.wbay.com
New monitoring buoys on the bay of Green Bay give boaters real-time wave information and more
By Sam Goodman | July 2026 | WBAY
New wave-monitoring buoys are coming online in the lower bay of Green Bay, giving boaters a look at real-time conditions.
Out on the bay, conditions can change in minutes.
NEW Water, the brand of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewage District, is adding wave-monitoring buoys so people can check real-time conditions before they head out on the water
They call them their little yellow buoys. One is already deployed, with two more coming online in the next few days.
“With all of these buoys, they’re really exciting because they have wave and weather data, which in this area is something if you’re recreating out on the bay, or even if you’re just curious or trying to forecast, this is data that we just don’t have,” says Sarah Bartlett, a water resources specialist with NEW Water.
Bartlett says this is important because the closest wind readings are often inland, while waves and wind on open water look completely different.
“If you’re not comfortable with being on the water, it’s having this information, especially in real time, available to the public is so valuable. So, safety is number one,” says Bartlett.
The buoys transmit by cellular connection to a public platform called Seagull, hosted by the Great Lakes Observing System. Anyone can pull up the map or app and see the current conditions.
The buoys aren’t just for boaters; they’re part of a long-term monitoring program that tracks what’s happening in the bay near the areas where treated wastewater is released.
The goal is to help researchers understand how wind and waves can move nutrients and affect water quality.
“Our mission at New Water is to protect our most valuable resource, which is the water here,” says Bartlett.
The three buoys are all funded through a Great Lakes Observing System grant, and NEW Water aims to expand coverage so boaters can compare conditions from the Fox River mouth farther out into the bay.
Learn more about this project here >>
Check out water quality data directly on the GLOS Seagull Platform here >>