7 Limitations
Despite significant advances in technologies discussed in this chapter, not all water
quality parameters of interest can be accurately and reliably measured with in situ
sensor technology. In fact, most of the water quality parameters of interest still need
to be analyzed in the laboratory from collected and processed water samples.
There are some instruments available that are a hybrid between in situ sensors
and laboratory analyses. These instruments bring the laboratory to the field. Micro
volumes of whole water samples are collected by these analyzers via pumps, and
then the sample is mixed with analyte-specific reagents to induce a chemical
reaction. A colorimetric measurement is then made by the analyzer to determine
the concentration of the analyte in the water sample. These instruments are available from a handful of manufacturers to measure phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, silicates, total phosphorous, total nitrogen, total dissolved iron, and sulfide.
Many of these instruments measure only one parameter; however, some of these
instruments can measure up to four parameters sequentially. The two largest
drawbacks to these instruments are sample processing time and the necessity to
deal with chemical reagents and wastes. For these reasons, these instruments have
not been as widely accepted into monitoring programs as sensor technologies.
While this chapter covers advances in water monitoring technologies, it does not
address topics such as which monitoring techniques are most appropriate for data
collection needs or how to deploy and maintain monitoring technologies in the
field. There are many resources available on these topics, particularly from sensor
manufactures, state and federal monitoring organizations, and independent
workgroups. One particularly useful resource is the Field Deployment Guide
developed by the Aquatic Sensor Workgroup (ASW) which is part of the Advisory
Committee on Water Information’s (ACWI) Methods and Data Comparability
Board [28].
8 Conclusions
This chapter provides an overview of advanced in water sensor and real-time
monitoring technologies and associated applications. Technologies discussed
include various types of sensors for water quantity and water quality measurements,
examples of commercially available water quantity and water quality monitoring
devices, data collection and transport platforms, and data management and quality
assurance/quality control for water monitoring. These technologies allow water
resource managers and researchers to capture real-time water quantity and quality
data during episodic events such as major storms. Real-time and continuous water
monitoring can capture temporal changes and provides broader spatial coverage of
Advances in Water Sensor Technologies and Real-Time Water Monitoring
201
Despite significant advances in technologies discussed in this chapter, not all water
quality parameters of interest can be accurately and reliably measured with in situ
sensor technology. In fact, most of the water quality parameters of interest still need
to be analyzed in the laboratory from collected and processed water samples.
There are some instruments available that are a hybrid between in situ sensors
and laboratory analyses. These instruments bring the laboratory to the field. Micro
volumes of whole water samples are collected by these analyzers via pumps, and
then the sample is mixed with analyte-specific reagents to induce a chemical
reaction. A colorimetric measurement is then made by the analyzer to determine
the concentration of the analyte in the water sample. These instruments are available from a handful of manufacturers to measure phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, silicates, total phosphorous, total nitrogen, total dissolved iron, and sulfide.
Many of these instruments measure only one parameter; however, some of these
instruments can measure up to four parameters sequentially. The two largest
drawbacks to these instruments are sample processing time and the necessity to
deal with chemical reagents and wastes. For these reasons, these instruments have
not been as widely accepted into monitoring programs as sensor technologies.
While this chapter covers advances in water monitoring technologies, it does not
address topics such as which monitoring techniques are most appropriate for data
collection needs or how to deploy and maintain monitoring technologies in the
field. There are many resources available on these topics, particularly from sensor
manufactures, state and federal monitoring organizations, and independent
workgroups. One particularly useful resource is the Field Deployment Guide
developed by the Aquatic Sensor Workgroup (ASW) which is part of the Advisory
Committee on Water Information’s (ACWI) Methods and Data Comparability
Board [28].
8 Conclusions
This chapter provides an overview of advanced in water sensor and real-time
monitoring technologies and associated applications. Technologies discussed
include various types of sensors for water quantity and water quality measurements,
examples of commercially available water quantity and water quality monitoring
devices, data collection and transport platforms, and data management and quality
assurance/quality control for water monitoring. These technologies allow water
resource managers and researchers to capture real-time water quantity and quality
data during episodic events such as major storms. Real-time and continuous water
monitoring can capture temporal changes and provides broader spatial coverage of
Advances in Water Sensor Technologies and Real-Time Water Monitoring
201