Advancements in Monitoring Water Quality Based on Various Sensing Methods: A Systematic Review

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-10, Vol.19 (21), p.14080
• Main Authors: Zainurin, Siti Nadhirah, Wan Ismail, Wan Zakiah, Mahamud, Siti Nurul Iman, Ismail, Irneza, Jamaludin, Juliza, Ariffin, Khairul Nabilah Zainul, Wan Ahmad Kamil, Wan Maryam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actuators; Chemical oxygen demand; Cholera; Computer applications; Computers; Cyber-physical systems; Decision making; Embedded sensors; Environmental monitoring; Epidemics; Factories; Fuzzy logic; Groundwater; Internet of Things; Monitoring instruments; Monitoring methods; Monitoring systems; Pollutants; Pollution monitoring; Process control; Quality assessment; Real time; Reliability analysis; Reproducibility of Results; Review; Reviews; Rivers; Sanitation; Sensors; Systematic review; Tropical diseases; User interface; Water Pollution; Water Quality; Water quality assessments; Water quality control; Water quality management; Water quality measurements; Water shortages; Water supply; Waterborne diseases
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114080

Nowadays, water pollution has become a global issue affecting most countries in the world. Water quality should be monitored to alert authorities on water pollution, so that action can be taken quickly. The objective of the review is to study various conventional and modern methods of monitoring water quality to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the methods. The methods include the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual sensing, cyber-physical system (CPS), and optical techniques. In this review, water quality monitoring systems and process control in several countries, such as New Zealand, China, Serbia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and India, are discussed. Conventional and modern methods are compared in terms of parameters, complexity, and reliability. Recent methods of water quality monitoring techniques are also reviewed to study any loopholes in modern methods. We found that CPS is suitable for monitoring water quality due to a good combination of physical and computational algorithms. Its embedded sensors, processors, and actuators can be designed to detect and interact with environments. We believe that conventional methods are costly and complex, whereas modern methods are also expensive but simpler with real-time detection. Traditional approaches are more time-consuming and expensive due to the high maintenance of laboratory facilities, involve chemical materials, and are inefficient for on-site monitoring applications. Apart from that, previous monitoring methods have issues in achieving a reliable measurement of water quality parameters in real time. There are still limitations in instruments for detecting pollutants and producing valuable information on water quality. Thus, the review is important in order to compare previous methods and to improve current water quality assessments in terms of reliability and cost-effectiveness.