Low-Cost v. Commercial Water Sampler Comparison
Find it on GitHub!
To learn more about the low-cost IoT water sampler, visit this GitHub repository, where you can learn more and even try to build one yourself!
Background and Problem
In Colorado and across the United States, agriculture is being identified as one source of nutrient pollution in State and Federal waters. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus run off farmlands and accumulate in surface waterways, causing water quality issues. Although agricultural nonpoint sources are not currently regulated in Colorado, initiatives are set up to encourage the adoption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) that protect surface water quality. Quantifying BMP impacts on water quality, requires robust, edge-of-field (EoF) monitoring systems that can accurately measure flow and collect water for nutrient and sediment analysis. NRCS EoF standards currently require equipment that is often too costly for pragmatic and scalable research.
Our Solution
To address this need, the Colorado State University Agricultural Water Quality Program (AWQP) has developed a low-cost automated water sampler (LCS) with Internet of Things (IoT) technology for scalable, near-real-time water quality research. This work directly follows deliverables from an awarded NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant titled, “Next Generation Technology for Monitoring Edge-of-Field Water Quality in Organic Agriculture”. A preliminary comparison study performed by the AWQP indicates strong agreement between LCS depth measurements and commercial bubbler units, with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 4.2 mm (n=1099). Additionally, measured analyte concentrations (total suspended solids, NO3, NO2, Total N, Orthophosphate, Total Phosphorous) were similar, but lacked enough sample points to accurately make a comparison.
Study objective
To that end, the objective of this study is to compare/contrast water quality and quantity measurements from 1) commercial-grade EoF equipment, 2) the AWQP-developed LCS IoT apparatus, and 3) manual data collection methods (e.g., grab sampling) at a surface irrigated, long-term conservation tillage study site located in Fort Collins, CO. These data will then be distributed to key stakeholders at NRCS and other entities to create additional opportunities for researchers and practitioners with low-cost, open-source tools.
Results: To be determined!
The AWQP is currently undergoing data collection for this project, and intends to submit results to a peer-reviewed journal for citable referencing for future research using the low-cost water sampler.