THE USE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR MONITORING WATER QUALITY IN KAINJI LAKE

Abstract

Monitoring of water quality in lakes to meet the requirement of the water framework directive poses a significant financial burden using conventional sampling and laboratory based techniques. This observed situation prompted the development of this locally made low cost multi-parameter monitoring system based on wireless network to achieve remote real-time monitoring of water quality in order to improve the quality of lakes, dams and rivers.The developed monitoring system consisted of five units: data monitoring nodes, data base station, remote monitoring center, power supply unit and display unit. The power supply unit consisted of solar cells and lithium cells. The dissolved oxygen sensor, pH electrode, temperature sensor, turbidity sensor, conductivity sensor and depth sensor present in data monitoring mode were used to measure and monitor the water quality parameters on Kanji Lake in Nigeria. A microcontroller chip was used for processing data collected,GPRS modules were also used for data transmission to the remote monitoring center; where the data were stored and displayed on the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) unit. Various parameters of the lake such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, turbidity and depth were successfully logged into the memory card and sent through GSM module for auto-monitoring.The water pH was found to range from 7.1 to 7.43 with a mean temperature range of 27.3°C to 29.8°C.Other physicochemical parameters values monitored did not exceed the recommended values for surface water quality. The comparison between the physicochemical parameters studied in Kanji Lake and the standard values showed that all the parameters exhibited positive relationship. Experimental results obtained using this locally developed low cost multi-parameter monitoring system showed that the system is more reliable for large scale deployments on water quality in lakes. The cost ($23,423= #8,409,622) of imported ones is 30 times in price compared with the cost ($708.33= #255,000) of locally made multi-parameter monitoring system. It is recommended that locally made multi-parameter should be used by water researchers instead of the imported ones so as to reduce and avoid unnecessary financial burden due to conventional sampling and laboratory based techniques.