IoT for Water Quality Categorization

In agricultural water research, the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technology has emerged as a pivotal approach for large-scale data collection. Water availability in the context of water quality is very important, both for domestic and industrial purposes. For domestic purposes, drinking water and bathing water are separated. Meanwhile, for the palm oil industry, boiler filler is differentiated from additional process water (dilution water). Water quality parameters can be assessed from turbidity and Total Dissolve Solid (TDS). Measurements using measuring instruments separately and repeatedly require significant energy, time, and costs. This research was conducted with the primary objective of presenting a novel method for categorizing water quality with the approach of IoT sensor technology. The research methodology entailed the utilization of an integrated IoT water sensors system in conjunction with manual water categorization. The methods consist of (1) system design, (2) design and installation of sensor and IoT-based microcontrollers, and (3) accuracy and precision testing compared with laboratory measurements. The precision of the integrated IoT water sensors was assessed through a dedicated sensor precision test, resulting in an accuracy rate of 94.4% for the turbidity sensor and 97.5% for the TDS sensor. Notably, this approach successfully discriminated drinking water with valid categorization, while other water types, including groundwater, water with tea, and water with coffee, yielded null categorization results.