MONITORING MICROBIAL PARAMETERS IN WATER BODIES USING VIRTUAL SENSORS

Water is one of the main resources that human life needs in order to survive and prosper. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that consuming water daily is vital to our health, and helps our bodies from becoming dehydrated.

Access to water is a human right in South Africa and is written in our Constitution where access to water is determined annually by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) . Due to corruption and poor planning the SAHRC has done a poor job to increase access to piped water whether it be tap inside a house or a communal access point, where only 46.3% of South Africans have access to water inside their homes. This unfortunately effects rural areas where the inhabitants seek alternative sources for water. These are alternative sources unfortunately have a probability of being contaminated and deemed unsafe to consume or use . Water can be contaminated in various ways where the most common being industry and agriculture, human waste (sewage), treatment of water and natural sources [4]. The contaminated water can transmit diseases such cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio where these diseases can become deadly, diarrhea alone kills about 829 000 people every year. Contaminated water not only affects humans but also can affect animals and plants, where increases in Mercury in water results in animals and plants being affected and when consumed by humans can cause extreme health problems. These contaminates can be found and tracked but the methods used can be time consuming, setting up a wireless sensor to track water contaminates is a better alternative.

The perfect situation for wireless sensors would be the recent outbreak of typhoid in South Africa where the water become contaminated but the source still unknown. Traditional laboratory samples are being used for the detection of typhoid. Having sensors can help speed up the process to help detect typhoid in the water and result help find the source as well as help prevent people from becoming sick.

Project Proposal

Water is one of the main resources that human life needs in order to survive and prosper. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that consuming water daily is vital to our health, and helps our bodies from becoming dehydrated.

Access to water is a human right in South Africa and is written in our Constitution where access to water is determined annually by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) . Due to corruption and poor planning the SAHRC has done a poor job to increase access to piped water whether it be tap inside a house or a communal access point, where only 46.3% of South Africans have access to water inside their homes. This unfortunately effects rural areas where the inhabitants seek alternative sources for water. These are alternative sources unfortunately have a probability of being contaminated and deemed unsafe to consume or use . Water can be contaminated in various ways where the most common being industry and agriculture, human waste (sewage), treatment of water and natural sources [4]. The contaminated water can transmit diseases such cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio where these diseases can become deadly, diarrhea alone kills about 829 000 people every year. Contaminated water not only affects humans but also can affect animals and plants, where increases in Mercury in water results in animals and plants being affected and when consumed by humans can cause extreme health problems. These contaminates can be found and tracked but the methods used can be time consuming, setting up a wireless sensor to track water contaminates is a better alternative.

The perfect situation for wireless sensors would be the recent outbreak of typhoid in South Africa where the water become contaminated but the source still unknown. Traditional laboratory samples are being used for the detection of typhoid. Having sensors can help speed up the process to help detect typhoid in the water and result help find the source as well as help prevent people from becoming sick.