Advances in Water Sensor Technologies and Real-Time Water Monitoring

Abstract

Measurements of natural water quality and water quantity are essential to make informed decisions for sustainable management of water resources and ecosystem protection. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, manual or discrete water monitoring techniques were developed and refined for water quality and quantity measurements, and many of these techniques are still used around the world. Discrete water quantity measurements and water quality sampling are conducted at regular time intervals (e.g., monthly) and do not provide sufficient data to capture temporal and spatial changes that occur during episodic events. In recent decades, there have been significant advances in water monitoring technologies that include sensor technologies, remote monitoring technologies, and data transfer technologies. 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 water quantity and quality in a watershed. Furthermore, it allows data collection when it is normally impractical with discrete sampling (e.g., during major storm events, nighttime, remote, and dangerous locations). This chapter presents an overview of advances in water sensor technologies. Topics 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.