Water Quality Monitoring

Application Background

Water quality measurements are performed for water in streams, rivers, lakes and in groundwater systems. There are different parameters that can be measured and used as indicators of water quality, for example electro conductivity (EC), acidity or alkalinity of a solution (pH) or dissolved oxygen (DO). Water depth, flow and temperature can add valuable insight into water quality. For that purpose 6542 hydrostatics depth probe or 6526 Starflow instrument can be added to a water quality measurement station.

Application Detail

Unidata supplies a wide range of water quality systems. In the example shown in the illustration, water conductivity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and water depth are measured and data stored and wirelessly transmitted by a Neon Remote Logger.

The water conductivity probe 6536P-2 is connected to the 6536E Water Electro Conductivity instrument via an SDI-12 bus. The 6536E Conductivity instrument runs local scheme to collect conductivity reading every 5 minutes. Neon Remote Logger is set up to collect / log readings from conductivity instrument, pH probe, dissolved oxygen probe and hydrostatic depth probe every hour and to transmit this data to central Neon server every 4 hours.

Ultra-low-power consumption of this system set up is ideal for remote, unattended operation. These instruments and logger will operate for up to 2 years using a small lithium battery package. Installing the Neon Remote Logger enables you to monitor and modify / change data acquisition and check the health of the site, all from a remote location using a web browser anywhere in the world.

The choice of telemetry option would be based on cellular coverage in the measurement area and costs associated with reporting the data back. Satellite services for these applications have reduced in price over the last 5 years, so satellite services are a reasonable option for such measurement stations.

The systems can be powered using lithium battery packs, or a small solar panel and battery. Like all Unidata systems you can connect many other sensors to the standard system. If water quality measurements are done in relatively shallow waters, 6542 hydrostatic water depth probe can be replaced by 6526 Starflow instrument. Starflow will measure depth of water as well as velocity and rate of flow.

Typical Configuration

Options for Application Specific Instruments / InputsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Four Electrode Conductivity Instrument6536E4EL Water Conductivity Instrument
Four Electrode Water Conductivity Probe6536P-2-10/20/30/504EL Water Conductivity Probe with 10m, 20m, 30m or 50m of cable
Hydrostatic Water Depth Probe6542D-A / B / CPT12 Pressure / Temperature Sensor SDI-12 3.5m, 10m or 20m
Hydrostatic Water Depth Probe - Titanium6542D-T-A / B / CPT12 Pressure / Temperature Sensor SDI-12 3.5m, 10m or 20m
Double Junction Teflon-pH Probe6528CpH Probe
Dissolved Oxygen Probe7422AO2 Probe

Options for Neon Telemetry - NRL / NRT / RTU / Field UnitsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 16 Channels3016Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Ethernet, Inmarsat, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 8 Channels3008Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Ethernet, Inmarsat, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 4 Channels3004/3006Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Neon Remote Logger (Polycarbonate Enc) 4 Channels M Series3004M/3006MOptions Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Microsatellite, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Equatorial Orbit Satellite - Inmarsat2018F-AB0-1 or 3NRT Ethernet with single or triple Ethernet Ports with three Li Batteries
NRT Field Termination Strip2103F2018F and 2022 NRT FTS
NRT Firmware Option2303A-8M8M Extended Memory Option
NRT Firmware Option2303A-8M-CAM8M Extended Memory & Serial Camera Option
NRT Firmware Option2303A-CAMSerial Camera Option

Options for Neon Application Software - Customer ServerUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Application Software2302ANeon Server Software Licence Incl 5 NAL
Neon Application Software2302A-10Additional 10 NRT Access Licences
Neon Application Software2302A-20Additional 20 NRT Access Licences
Neon Application Software2302A-50Additional 50 NRT Access Licences

Options for Neon Application Software - Unidata ServerUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Application Software2301ANeon Data Initial Subscription Setup Fee
Neon Hosting Service2301A-01Neon Data Service Fee for 1-50 NRTs
Neon Hosting Service2301A-02Neon Data Service Fee for 51-100 NRTs
Neon Hosting Service2301A-10Neon Data Service Fee Metering

Options for Conventional Dataloggers / Field UnitsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Remote Logger 16 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3016-00016 Ch NRL (Superseded Prologger 7001D)
Neon Remote Logger 8 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3008-0008 Ch NRL (Superseded Stalogger 6004D)
Neon Remote Logger 4 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3004M-0004 Ch NRL (Superseded Micrologger 8010C)
Starlog V4 Management Software6308A-AUEStarlog V4 Full Licence Key