Water Quality Technical Note AM-02
January 1998
US Army Corps
of Engineers
Remote Monitoring of Hydroprojects:
Design, Installation, and Verification of
Remote Monitoring Systems
by John W. Lemons, Michael C. Vorwerk, Joe H. Carroll, and William E. Jabour
Purpose
This technical note describes methods for monitoring water quality at hydroprojects. A water
quality manager can apply the techniques described herein to design a site-specific water quality
monitoring system that provides information for water quality problem-solving.
Background
Remote monitoring systems are important tools for lake managers, hydropower operators, and
others concerned with hydroproject-influenced water quality. Remote, automated water quality
monitors provide temporal data sets that are used for determining water quality trends under
various operational and seasonal conditions. Data collected via remote monitors can be used to
identify areas of management concern and are valuable for developing and calibrating predictive
models.
The usefulness of data collected by remote monitors depends on how effectively the sampled
water represents the parameters of concern for the area. Many variables affect the
representativeness of monitoring locations, including lateral, longitudinal, and vertical
heterogeneities in the water; equilibration times of the water quality instruments; and
hydrological, biological, and physicochemical processes within the sample areas.
This technical note describes the processes involved in designing and deploying automated,
remote monitoring systems and analyzing the data they generate. It is not intended as an
exhaustive review of the subject, but highlights the more critical steps in developing monitoring
systems. Where appropriate, case studies are cited.
Although the primary purpose of this technical note is to describe the installation and
maintenance of automated remote monitoring systems, the ideas presented have application to
manual sampling programs as well. The ultimate goal of any monitoring program should be to
collect pertinent, representative data. The flow diagram presented as Figure 1 is a generic
US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station
3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199
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