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Optimizing Water Quality Measurements within an ALERT2 Network Barbra Utley, PhD. Water Resources Application Specialist
Optimizing Water Quality Measurements within an ALERT2 Network
Barbra Utley, PhD. Water Resources Application Specialist
Outline Why do we care about Water Quality What measurements are most likely to interest cooperative funding – Intro to basic measurements – Why are stakeholders interested – Cost
How will transmitting these values impact the communication spec – General sensor report – Multi-sensor report
Why do we care about Water Quality?
Magnitude!
http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/clipart/runoff.25.htm
Loss of ecological function has been related to threshold levels of suspended sediment.
Frequency! Duration!
Restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters…
What measurements are most likely to interest cooperative funding?
Why are cooperators interested? – Regulations
• Municipal Separate Storm Sewer (MS4)
• 303d Listing • Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDL) – Designated Uses
• Public drinking water supply • Recreation • Protection and propagation of fish,
shellfish, & wildlife • Agricultural, industrial, navigational
In-situ vs Laboratory – In-situ
• Dissolved Oxygen • Turbidity • Conductivity • Temperature • pH • Stage
– Laboratory • Bacteria • Nutrients (TN&TP)
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is a molecule of O2 that is dissolved in the water.
Even a small change in DO concentration can affect the composition of aquatic communities. DO concentration can also affect other chemicals in the water. Factors that influence DO: – Aquatic Life – Elevation – Salinity – Temperature – Vegetation
http://www.fondriest.com/environmental-measurements/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/240x480xdissolvedoxygen_levels-fresh.jpg.pagespeed.ic.n7BsNYaUE2.jpg
https://water.usgs.gov/nwsum/sal/figure38a.gif https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-12/documents/gawqs.pdf http://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/whats-in-your-water/do/>
Utah DO standard Warm water fish min DO: 5.5 mg/L Cold water fish min DO: 6.5 mg/L
Georgia DO standard Warm water fish min DO: 4.0 mg/L Cold water fish min DO: 5.0 mg/L
The degree to which light penetration is blocked by suspended solids is referred to as turbidity.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=imgres&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi1s7PAvO7LAhXsn4MKHVnyDoMQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterontheweb.org%2Funder%2Fwaterquality%2Fsediment.html&psig=AFQjCNGR27635EojXkGh2b7EQWrYaNeuoQ&ust=1459635607067180 https://www.wbdg.org/ccb/ARMYCOE/PWTB/pwtb_200_1_136.pdf
Utah Turbidity standard Max increase = 10 NTU Georgia Turbidity standard Warm water fish = 25 NTU Stream Trout = 10 NTU
Conductivity is a measure of water’s capability to pass electrical flow.
Conductivity increases with increasing quantity of dissolved electrolyte ions in the water.
Conductivity (µS/cm) DI water 0.5-3 Melted Snow 2-42 Tap Water 50-800 Potable Water in the US 30-1,500 Freshwater Streams 100-2,000 Industrial wastewater 10,000 Seawater 55,000
Water temperature greatly affects the metabolism of aquatic organisms.
If the temperature changes too drastically, their metabolisms may not function as well, decreasing their ability to reproduce and survive.
Utah Temperature Standard Warm water fish max temp = 27°C Cold water fish max temp = 20°C
Most natural environments have a pH between 4 - 9.
pH of seawater = 7.5 - 8.4. pH of fresh water = 6.5 - 8.5 Utah pH standard: 6.5-9.0
http://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/whats-in-your-water/ph
Cost of adding water quality measurements to an ALERT2 station
Hardware – Multi-parameter
sonde:$7,600-14,000 • pH • DO • Turb • Conductivity • Temp • Depth
– Plus calibration buffers and replacement sensors
Maintenance – Weekly, monthly, or
quarterly calibration checks/visits depending on site conditions.
Annual cost ~ $15K for typical level site ~ $30K for WQ and Level site ~ $50K for automated sampler, WQ, and Level
When to transmit? How to transmit?
15 minute data would be great 60 minute data is common Hourly data with stats would be great Transmit GSR as a IEEE754 standard for 4 byte floating point number
Warning!!
Remote Station
Repeater
Receiver / Base Station
ALERT2 data types
Parameter Range Resolution GSR Type MSR Type
pH 0-14 0.1 34 11
DO 0-14 0.1 34 11
Turbidity 0-10,000 0.1 34 34 or 13
Water Temp 23-95 0.01 34 22
Conductivity 0-35,000 1 34 34 or 13
Possible MSR ideas? 8 value report – pH – DO (mg/L & %sat) – Turbidity – Water temperature – Conductivity and Salinity – Stage
16 value report could provide more diagnostic values. Examples: – Battery Voltage – Nitrate (available on a
few sondes) – Automated sampler
status • Bottle • Sample number • Sampler Voltage • Response Code
– Stats for Turbidity • Minimum • Mean • Maximum
Questions?
