Using Control Charts to Monitor Water Quality with Minitab

Using the Ohio River as a case study, this Minitab article demonstrates how their software integrates data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) API to track key waster quality parameters like temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and pH.  Despite the abundance of data available for rivers, tracking and monitoring these quality parameters remains a complex and challenging task. 

By better analyzing trends in water flow, pollution levels, and ecological health, organizations can proactively address potential issues, such as flooding risks, contamination, or habitat loss.

The new system creates interactive dashboards visualizing this data, including control charts that trigger alerts when values exceed predefined thresholds.

For example, if the daily average specific conductance goes above 400 μS/cm, an immediate alert is sent out, which may indicate poor water quality due to high levels of dissolved solids, chemicals, and minerals. If the river’s daily average pH falls outside of the 6.5 – 8.0 range, another immediate alert is issued, which may indicate that the biodiversity is physiologically stressed which can result in reproductive decline.

This facilitates proactive responses to potential environmental issues and improves decision-making in environmental management and public policy. The system highlights efficiency gains over traditional monitoring methods, advocating for a more integrated data handling approach.

Read the entire article at https://blog.minitab.com/en/real-time-monitoring-of-water-quality-parameters-using-minitab-connect