The Environmental Monitoring System monitoring station network has been completed and a public site visit was held on 30 January 2025. The press tour, which was attended by the Mayor, included a presentation to the press of the first completed Józsa Klastrompart complex monitoring station. The programme then continued at the HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research, where the instruments, equipment and test methods of the air working group were presented.

One of the 50 measures set out in Debrecen's environmental programme, the Green Code, is the establishment of an Environmental Audit Scheme. This Green Sentinel is the only automated information and data collection, analysis and monitoring instrumentation system in the country, designed by professionals, operated and monitored 24 hours a day, monitoring the state of our environment through continuous sampling and analysis.

The construction of the metering stations is progressing well.On 11 November 2024, the Board of Directors was informed about the progress of the works in the immediate vicinity of the Southern Economic Belt. The construction of the metering stations has reached the finishing line and the infrastructures are ready to receive the equipment. The progress of the works was checked by visiting a complex metering station and a surface water metering station.

Baseline monitoring is a prerequisite for monitoring and controlling changes in the environment, i.e. the precise assessment and recording of the baseline condition. Any changes that may occur in the environment can be compared to this. The baseline monitoring involves the assessment of surface water, groundwater, ambient air quality and soil conditions, and the associated baseline environmental assessments using accredited measurements.

How do we test the state of our environment? Complex and automatic samplers, quality control stations, probes and many other instruments support the work. Instruments and sensors provide continuous online data. Some instruments also take samples of our environment (air, aerobic and water samples), which form the basis for laboratory tests. This will be complemented by physical sampling (soil, surface water, groundwater, biodiversity) and laboratory testing by experts in the field. You can find out more on our website.

The Environmental Monitoring System consists of 16 complex monitoring stations and 2 surface water monitoring stations, forming a coherent system covering the whole city. The locations of the monitoring stations have been selected to be representative of larger similar areas. The stations with the highest representativeness are those in residential areas, garden and residential inner city areas and economic zones.

The scientific programme contains details of the assessment of the following environmental elements: air quality, surface water, groundwater, soil and biodiversity. To this end, working groups have been set up to prepare the technical implementation for each environmental element. The work of the scientific working groups is supported by horizontal working groups. The IT working group is responsible for the recording and organisation of the measurement data and the development of the software environment (database, communication interfaces, data description structures, query systems, secure channels, etc.). The Legal-Economic Working Group will support the work of the specialised working groups by synthesising the sectoral proposals for legal regulation coming from the working groups, translating the needs expressed in a scientific manner into legal standardisation and managing the legislative process.

On 17 April 2023, the Preparatory Committee for the Environmental Monitoring System was established. It is chaired by Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs and its scientific chair is Prof. Dr. Péter Nagy. The scientific preparatory work is carried out in working groups organised around the environmental elements: the Air, Water, Soil and Biodiversity Monitoring Working Groups. In addition, two horizontal technical groups support the work: the Information Technology Working Group and the Legal-Economic Working Group.

On April 3, 2023, the University of Debrecen and the City of Debrecen signed a cooperation agreement on the establishment of a continuous environmental monitoring system to protect the environment. The monitoring system will be designed, implemented, operated and supervised by experts with a scientific background. This system will guarantee the safety of the citizens of Debrecen.