In Georgia, the safety of drinking water remains one of the main challenges. The local technical regulations strictly define water quality standards, but ensuring compliance is difficult when relying only on periodic laboratory analyses. At the same time, modern water quality monitoring technologies make it possible to control water parameters in real time.
In this blog, we’ll explain how remote water quality monitoring works and review some of the industry’s best equipment in this field – the instruments from HACH.
Advantages of Remote Monitoring
Detecting changes in parameters such as turbidity or odor is easy with the naked eye, but without laboratory testing it is impossible to determine chlorine concentration, hardness, and other chemical and microbiological indicators. Laboratory testing can take hours, or even days. This makes it difficult to decide how to respond, since water quality may change further before the laboratory results are received.
Remote water quality monitoring tools have existed for a long time, but in the past their implementation was a challenge — the equipment required connection to a power source, which was often unavailable. Today, however, remote monitoring devices no longer need direct connection to the electrical grid and can be placed anywhere within the system. Some operate on batteries, while others are powered by solar panels.
As mentioned earlier, multi-sensor technologies make it possible to measure a wide range of water quality parameters, including those defined by Georgia’s technical regulations on drinking water. Among these are the organoleptic parameters:
- Odor – no more than 2 points
- Taste – no more than 2 points
- Color – no more than 15 degrees
- Turbidity – no more than 3.5 NTU
When organoleptic indicators deteriorate, testing is carried out for the following parameters:
- Sulfates – no more than 250 mg/L
- Chlorides – no more than 250 mg/L
- Total petroleum hydrocarbons – no more than 0.1 mg/L
- Surface-active substances – no more than 0.5 mg/L
- Hardness – no more than 7–10 mg-eq/L
- Calcium – no more than 140 mg/L
- Magnesium – no more than 85 mg/L
- Sodium – no more than 200 mg/L
- Zinc – no more than 3 mg/L
- Iron – no more than 0.3 mg/L
As for the chemical composition of drinking water, the following indicators are measured:
- Hydrogen index (pH) – not less than 6 and not more than 9
- Permanganate oxidizability – no more than 3 mg O₂/L
- Total mineralization – no more than 1000–1500 mg/L
- Inorganic substances, including:
Barium – no more than 0.7 mg/L
Boron – no more than 0.5 mg/L
Arsenic – no more than 0.01 mg/L
Mercury – no more than 0.006 mg/L
Cadmium – no more than 0.003 mg/L
Manganese – no more than 0.4 mg/L
Molybdenum – no more than 0.007 mg/L
Nickel – no more than 0.007 mg/L
Nitrates – no more than 50 mg/L
Nitrites – no more than 0.2 mg/L
Selenium – no more than 0.01 mg/L
Copper – no more than 2 mg/L
Lead – no more than 0.01 mg/L
Fluorides – no more than 0.7 mg/L
Chromium – no more than 0.05 mg/L
Antimony – no more than 0.02 mg/L
Cyanides – no more than 0.07 mg/L - Total pesticide content – no more than 0.05 mg/L
The content of harmful chemical substances used or formed during the water treatment process in the water supply system is also tested.
- Residual free chlorine – no more than 0.3–0.5 mg/L
- Residual combined chlorine – no more than 0.8–1.2 mg/L
- Chloroform – no more than 0.3 mg/L
- Residual ozone – no more than 0.3 mg/L
- Aluminum – no more than 0.1 mg/L
- Formaldehyde – no more than 0.05 mg/L
- Acrylamide – no more than 0.0005 mg/L
- Activated silicic acid – no more than 10 mg/dm³
- Polyphosphates – no more than 3.5 mg/L
With smart sensor technologies, it is possible to quickly detect changes in these parameters within water and wastewater treatment systems and respond accordingly. With the advancement of mobile communication technologies, it is now also possible to receive data from the devices remotely and manage them in a simplified way.
HACH – Chemical Analysis of Water Quality
HACH offers a full range of devices for remote water quality monitoring, setting the industry standard in this field. The company’s online analyzers provide real-time data on water quality while simultaneously measuring multiple parameters.
The EZ series online analyzers provide continuous monitoring of parameters essential for water management in any industry, whether it’s for efficient process control, risk reduction, regulatory compliance, or safety. These online analyzers allow access to data at any time, enabling users to quickly make effective decisions based on highly accurate measurements. Continuous monitoring with the EZ series analyzers also makes it possible to identify trends and potential challenges before they develop into actual problems.
HACH devices measure parameters such as:
- Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
Drinking water: < 1 ng/L (nanogram per liter)
Surface waters: 1–100 ng/L
Polluted waters: > 100 ng/L - Toxicity – measured as survival ability (EC50 – effective concentration, LC50 – lethal concentration) or as a toxicity unit (TU). TU assesses the toxicity of a sample based on EC50 and LC50 results. It indicates how toxic a substance is compared to the concentration affecting 50% of organisms. TU is measured as follows:
0 TU – non-toxic
1–2 TU – moderately toxic
2 TU – toxic - Volatile fatty acids
Low level: < 50 mg/L
Normal: 50–200 mg/L
High: > 300 mg/L - Total alkalinity
Drinking water: 20–200 mg/L
Surface water: 50–400 mg/L - Metal microparticles
Lead: < 10 mg/L
Cadmium: < 3 mg/L
Copper: < 2000 mg/L
Nickel: < 30 mg/L - Organic and inorganic substances
Organic carbon: < 5 mg/L in drinking water
Chemical oxygen demand (COD): < 15 mg/L in drinking water
Inorganic salts: depends on standards, generally < 250 mg/L - Nutrients – main parameters:
Ammonium: < 0.5 mg/L
Nitrite: < 0.1 mg/L
Nitrate: < 50 mg/L
Phosphate: < 0.5 mg/L - Total nitrogen
Drinking water: < 10 mg/L
Surface waters: 0.1–5 mg/L - Total phosphorus
Drinking water: < 0.5 mg/L
Surface waters: 0.02–0.2 mg/L - Manganese
Drinking water: < 0.05 mg/L
Surface waters: < 0.1 mg/L - Iron
Drinking water: < 0.3 mg/L
Surface waters: 0.1–1 mg/L - Fluoride
Drinking water: 0.7–1.5 mg/L - Hardness (measured as CaCO₃ equivalent)
Very soft: < 50 mg/L
Soft: 50–100 mg/L
Medium: 100–200 mg/L
Hard: 200–300 mg/L
Very hard: > 300 mg/L
The analyzers are designed for municipal, wastewater, and industrial applications.
HACH’s OWQM system also provides continuous, real-time delivery of precise data, measuring parameters such as:
- Ammonia
- Chlorine
- Chemical oxygen demand (COD)
- Phosphorus
- Silica (SiO₂)
- Total organic carbon (TOC)
- Turbidity and others
Like the EZ series devices, this system is also used for analyzing municipal, wastewater, and industrial water.
HACH’s NH6000sc ammonia analyzer, using gas-sensing electrode technology along with automatic cleaning, calibration, and self-diagnosis features, requires minimal supervision.
The company’s CL17sc chlorine analyzers provide continuous monitoring of free chlorine in water, operating for 30 days without human intervention. Monthly checks take only a few minutes and do not require any special tools.
The Phosphax sc Analyzer for phosphorus is an ideal device for water quality monitoring in challenging outdoor conditions. It is equipped with a self-cleaning membrane that requires minimal maintenance.
Ultimately, alongside simplified, multi-parameter water quality monitoring, the instruments listed above also help build and maintain users’ trust.
Timely monitoring of data allows you to make effective decisions quickly and continuously track water quality trends, enabling you to detect and address potential problems in advance. HACH devices help ensure regulatory compliance and adapt to constantly changing challenges and requirements.