Assessment of the Long Term Reliability of a Water Quality Monitoring System, 1993/1996

This report was produced for the Urban Water Research Association of Australia, a now discontinued research program.

Back to the Urban Water Research Association of Australia catalogue

Report no. UWRAA 32

April 1999

Synopsis

The aims of this project were to continue the R & D which commenced in 1990 with the crucial support of the UWRAA for producing an Automatic Water Quality Analyser (AWQA)suitable for unattended use in rivers and streams.

The following were some of the main outcomes and recommendations of this UWRAA project:

1. More R & D is required to expand the flexibility of this unique water quality monitoring system.

2. Further trials over long periods during the rainy season would consolidate reliability and expose the instrumentation to a wider set of water quality changes and environmental conditions.

3. Measurements could be improved by using two point calibrations for all chemical sensors.

4. Turbidity and conductivity probes needed design improvements.

5. Event triggering to be improved to sense the rate of water level change at the Weir.

6. Telephone two-way link to provide the users with direct communication with the AWQA.

The current UWRAA study was awarded to further develop the AWQA for reliable long term deployment, taking into account the outcomes and recommendations of the previous UWRAA study (UWRAA No 55). The specific objective of the current project was to direct the R & D towards very long term deployment with on-site, two point calibration where possible.

All of the R& D objectives, concerned with improving the software and hardware, providing calibration regimes for chemical analyses, improving the economy of operation and the sensitivities of the sensors, developing a highly interactive communication and data presentation system, were achieved. Quite long term deployment of 30 to 60 days were successful in testing and evaluating new regimes and procedures. However, due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, the main objective of very long term deployments was not achieved.

Back to the Urban Water Research Association of Australia catalogue