environment magazine

New National Water Quality Instrumentation Service

By Ian Rippin, CEO, National Laboratories 

The Environment Agency (EA) has created a new National Water Quality Instrumentation Service (NWQIS) to improve the quality and efficiency of water quality monitoring in England and Wales. The new service is part of the National Laboratory Service and will fulfil the field monitoring requirements of the EA. However, it will also be available to other Public and Private sector organisations.

Chris Hunter has been appointed to manage the NWQIS. He says: "The new service will centralise the Agency's water quality instrumentation activities to deliver several important benefits. For example, there will be greater commonality amongst both the instruments that we use and the procedures that we use for set up, calibration, operation and service. This will lower costs and improve data accuracy and repeatability."

In recent years, the quality and reliability of water quality measurements has been reinforced through the development of the EA's monitoring certification scheme MCERTS. The scheme is based upon the premise that quality data is dependent upon the proper use of methods, standards, services and equipment, trained and qualified personnel, effective planning, quality assurance and quality control.

Under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) the EA is responsible for monitoring the quality of groundwater and surface waters such as rivers, streams, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters. A wide range of instrumentation is employed for these purposes, including handheld water quality meters such as the YSI 556, logging multiparameter water quality 'sondes' such as the YSI 6600 and complete water quality monitoring stations with communications capability to provide high-intensity, almost real-time data.

Prior to the establishment of the NWQIS, the Agency's water quality instrumentation was purchased and operated by local offices, but now, under the coordination of Frances Houston, all water quality monitoring equipment is purchased and managed centrally. As Frances explains, "This reduces the variety of instruments that we use, which helps in a number of ways. Firstly, it simplifies the stocking of spares and accessories. Secondly, it provides greater availability of spare or replacement monitors, so that we can quickly replace units that are damaged or lost. Thirdly, it helps us to build a closer partnership with suppliers, which means that we are able to influence future product development, and finally, central control enables us to ensure that all staff utilise the most accurate and reliable instruments."

Before the NWQIS could be established it was first necessary to undertake a review of all of the EA's monitoring instrumentation, so most of it was sent to the EA's Reading offices for assessment before either reconditioning or disposal.

In recent years the YSI 556 multiparameter water quality monitor from YSI Hydrodata (EA framework partner) has been the workhorse of the EA's water monitoring teams; Matt Loewenthal reports a typical operational lifetime of over ten years for the 556. However, the Agency is now moving to the newer MCERTS approved YSI Pro Plus multiparameter water quality monitors and a full capital asset replacement programme is under way. Matt says, "This will ensure that our regional staff have access to the latest technology which is provided with our own operating procedures so that we can ensure, for example, that pH is monitored in Penzance in exactly the same way as it is in Carlisle."

As a major user of multiple parameter water quality monitoring instruments, the Environment Agency has been one of many organisations all over the world that has helped drive the new features that have been built into the Pro Plus water quality monitor. For example, the instrument now automatically recognises all cables and sensors from the Pro series and a large number of meters can be configured from one PC using the instrument's Data Manager software. This is a particularly important feature for NWQIS, because it helps ensure that every instrument is set up in the same way and that readings are not affected if a sensor or sonde needs to be changed.

The creation of the NWQIS will also provide greater access to technology such as that which enables real-time web-enabled display of live water quality data and Matt's team has already installed monitoring systems of this nature at sites across the UK. This includes the remote water quality monitoring installations that have been installed as part of Defra's Demonstration Test Catchment (DTC) project on the rivers Eden, Wensum and Avon. The overall aim of this project is to provide the infrastructure from which an evidence base could be assembled to test the hypothesis set by Defra, that it is possible to cost effectively reduce the impact of agricultural diffuse pollution on ecological function while maintaining food security through the implementation of multiple on-farm measures. In other words, the project is seeking to find ways to reduce the impact of agriculture on water quality by changing farm practices. It is anticipated that the project will examine issues such as fertilizer use, slurry/manure management, soil conservation, drainage etc.

NWQIS staff have installed continuous water quality monitoring stations at numerous locations in each of the three river catchments. These monitoring stations measure and record a wide range of water quality parameters, and transmit the data in almost real-time to remote servers that are able to display the data on the project's web sites. (E.g. www.edendtc.org.uk )

The protection and improvement of water quality (ground water, surface water and marine water) is one of the Environment Agency's key priorities, so water quality monitoring has performed a vital role in the detection of diffuse and point source pollution. As a result, Agency staff have accumulated an enormous wealth of experience and expertise in the methods and technologies for accurate and reliable monitoring, and the development and installation of real-time monitoring systems for Defra's DTC project is a good example of the ways in which NWQIS is able to leverage that expertise.

Summarising the benefits of the NWQIS, Chris Hunter says: "EA and NLS staff possess a considerable level of water quality monitoring and data communications experience and expertise, so it makes sense to pull this together in order to share best practice. We believe that this will benefit the EA and other clients, whilst also helping to protect the environment in England and Wales."