Water environment monitoring is a process of regularly or real-time monitoring and analyzing pollutants, water quality indicators, and the ecological environment in water bodies through various technical means such as physics, chemistry, and biology. Its purpose is to evaluate the quality of the water environment, the degree of pollution, and its changing trends, and to provide a scientific basis for water resource protection, pollution control, ecological restoration, and management decision-making.

 

I. Monitoring Content and Technical Means

1. Main Monitoring Objects

    - Surface water, groundwater, and drinking water: It covers conventional indicators such as water temperature, pH value, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen, as well as toxic and harmful substances such as heavy metals and pesticide residues.

    - Marine water quality: It monitors salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, petroleum pollutants, heavy metals, and nutrient salts.

    - Aquaculture waters: It focuses on tracking core parameters such as water temperature, pH value, and dissolved oxygen that affect the health of cultured organisms.

 

2. Application of Advanced Technologies

    - Online monitoring and biosensing: Rapid detection of pollutants is achieved through low-cost and highly responsive biosensing technologies.

    - Remote sensing and the Internet of Things (IoT): Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellite remote sensing technologies are used to obtain data on large-scale water areas. Combined with sensor networks, multi-dimensional indicators are collected in real-time. Machine learning algorithms are used to predict the spread trend of pollution and enhance early warning capabilities.

    - Dynamic monitoring systems: Intelligent sensors, data transmission devices, and cloud platforms are integrated to achieve all-weather collection and analysis of water quality data.

 

II. System Composition and Typical Applications

The monitoring system consists of sampling devices, analytical instruments, transmission equipment, and data processing platforms. For example, a pole-mounted online monitoring station uses multi-parameter water quality sensors to monitor water bodies in real-time and transmits data back to the central platform through the IoT. Typical application scenarios include:

- Rivers, lakes, and reservoirs: Fixed monitoring stations are combined with mobile devices (such as UAVs) to track pollution sources and evaluate water quality.

- Marine and aquaculture areas: Buoy-based monitoring devices are used to track dynamic changes such as tides and salinity to ensure fishery safety.

- Emergency monitoring: Portable devices are quickly deployed in sudden pollution incidents to provide real-time data to support emergency decision-making.

 

III. Development Trends and Policy Drives

1. Directions of Technological Innovation

    - Precision: New technologies such as high-resolution remote sensing and gene sequencing enhance the ability to trace pollutants.

    - Intelligence: AI algorithms optimize data models to achieve water quality prediction and dynamic adjustment of ecological restoration plans.

 

2. Market and Policy Support

    - Industry expansion: With the growing demand for environmental protection, the market scale of monitoring equipment and services continues to expand, presenting a competitive landscape dominated by state-owned enterprises and innovative private enterprises.

    - Standard upgrading: The state implements policies such as full - scale monitoring coverage, data sharing, and new pollutant control. For example, the "Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law" and the "14th Five - Year Plan for Ecological Environment Monitoring" clearly propose to establish a unified water ecological monitoring standard system.

 

3. Deepening of Ecological Assessment

    - Monitoring data is used to evaluate biodiversity, ecological service functions, and the ecological toxic effects of pollutants, guiding major projects such as mangrove restoration and river basin ecological compensation.

 

IV. Typical Cases and Social Value

The ecological monitoring center of a certain province has constructed an "air - space - ground" integrated monitoring network to implement all - weather monitoring of key river basins. It has successfully identified and treated pollution problems at river - entering sewage outlets, ensuring the safety of drinking water sources. In a certain section of the Yellow River Basin, the application of intelligent monitoring modules has achieved real - time tracking of sewage discharge and early warning of over - standard situations, contributing to the continuous compliance of water quality.

 

Water environment monitoring is not only the cornerstone of ecological protection but also an important tool to promote sustainable development. With the continuous iteration of technology and the deepening of policy support, its role in water resource management, pollution prevention and control, and ecological restoration will become more prominent.