Real Time Water Quality Monitoring System (RTWQMS) for Surface Water Quality: Water Quality of River Ganga and Variation Analysis of Important Water Quality Parameters

Abstract: The research paper has presented an overview of the online Real Time Water Quality Monitoring Stations (RTWQMS) of River Ganga and an analysis of the important water quality parameters. The data analysis is based on large and validated datasets from 18 RTWQM stations set up on River Ganga in 2016. The data were analysed for five most important surface water quality parameters for nearly three years and compared with the notified primary water quality criteria for bathing in surface waters, which revealed progressive improvement in the water quality of River Ganga. A comparison of RTWQM data in comparison to the laboratory analysed values was also done for some of the important parameters to determine variation in the RTWQMS. The variation of RTWQM data was found to be parameter-specific. The least variation was observed for Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and the highest variation was observed for Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD). The RTWQMS could be a good supplementary mechanism for monitoring of surface waters for parameters such as pH, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Turbidity, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), and Nitrate, etc. However, it is not a replacement of the laboratory-based monitoring mechanism, and there are several impediments such as theft and vandalism, disruptions due to floods and low water, and high monitoring costs, which should be factored into planning for it.