Smart River Monitoring Using Wireless Sensor Networks

TLDR: This work employed the different types of wireless sensor nodes to monitor the water quality in real time at the Weija intake in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana and showed a significant effect on plant and aquatic life.

Abstract: Water quality monitoring (WQM) systems seek to ensure high data precision, data accuracy, timely reporting, easy accessibility of data, and completeness. The conventional monitoring systems are inadequate when used to detect contaminants/pollutants in real time and cannot meet the stringent requirements of high precision for WQM systems. In this work, we employed the different types of wireless sensor nodes to monitor the water quality in real time. Our approach used an energy-efficient data transmission schedule and harvested energy using solar panels to prolong the node lifetime. The study took place at the Weija intake in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The Weija dam intake serves as a significant water source to the Weija treatment plant which supplies treated water to the people of Greater Accra and parts of Central regions of Ghana. Smart water sensors and smart water ion sensor devices from Libelium were deployed at the intake to measure physical and chemical parameters. The sensed data obtained at the central repository revealed a pH value of 7. Conductivity levels rose from 196 S/cm to 225 S/cm. Calcium levels rose to about 3.5 mg/L and dropped to about 0.16 mg/L. The temperature of the river was mainly around 35°C to 36°C. We observed fluoride levels between 1.24 mg/L and 1.9 mg/L. The oxygen content rose from the negative DO to reach 8 mg/L. These results showed a significant effect on plant and aquatic life.