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City unveils public air-quality dashboard; staff plans automated hourly updates and mobile view
Summary
Environmental Services staff demonstrated a new City of Denton air-quality dashboard built from 12 local low-cost sensors and TCEQ data, and described plans to move from weekly manual uploads to an automated hourly API, add mobile support and analyze localized pollutant trends.
Caitlin Davis, conservation program coordinator in the City of Denton's Environmental Services and Sustainability Department, presented the city's new public air-quality dashboard to the Sustainability Framework Advisory Committee on Aug. 22 and outlined next steps to automate and expand public-facing information.
The dashboard displays readings from 12 city AQ mesh sensors plus the nearby Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulatory monitor and currently presents weekly averages of ozone and particulate matter along with an hourly log and map distribution.
Why it matters: The dashboard supplements regional monitoring with nearer-neighborhood data, offers residents local context for air-pollutant concentrations, and provides a foundation for future analysis, alerts and mobile access.
What the dashboard shows and how it works Davis said the city installed 12 AQ mesh sensors in two phases (phase 2 completed Feb. 2023) at substations and light poles chosen for spatial distribution, DC power availability and minimized tree canopy interference. The sensors are configured to measure ozone, PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and sulfur dioxide.
"These sensors collect air quality data every 15 minutes, and at the top of every hour, it'll average that data and then record that average every hour," Davis said. She noted that at present the team uploads data manually each week and that the dashboard therefore displays weekly averages; staff plans to migrate to an API for automated hourly or rolling-24-hour reporting.
Davis showed the dashboard's landing page with map pins for each sensor and the TCEQ site, an hourly data log for each pollutant and color-coded Air Quality Index (AQI) mapping tied to EPA breakpoints. Four city sensors also include wind speed and wind-direction instrumentation.
Planned improvements and access to raw data Staff told the committee they plan to: implement an API for automated hourly data ingestion and rolling 24-hour averages; add a mobile-friendly display; and conduct deeper analysis of the stored data. Davis said the sensors' non-regulatory raw data are available on request and that staff has been approached by university researchers interested in using the dataset.
Committee feedback and follow-ups Committee members requested mobile support and suggested adding interpretive material linking pollutant concentrations to likely sources and to city initiatives addressing air quality (for example, links to sustainability programs). Davis said the dashboard currently links to EPA pollutant information and the city's Sustainable Denton pages, and that staff can add explanatory and programmatic context.
Ending: Staff will move to an automated hourly feed and a mobile configuration, and the committee asked for a future analysis showing annual or multi-month pollutant trends and local source investigation when data allow.
