Microwave reflectometer system for continuous monitoring of water quality

Methods available for measuring the water quality of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc. involve the collection of water samples for these water bodies and subsequent chemical laboratory analysis. These methods and technologies provide accurate measurements and evaluation of water quality for a point in time and space; they are time consuming, expensive and do not provide either the continuous, spatial or temporal view of water quality needed for monitoring, assessing, or managing water quality. In this paper, the measured complex reflection coefficients and complex permittivity (dielectric constant and loss factor) of water using a microwave open-ended rectangular waveguide system called microwave reflectometer system (MRS) is used to monitor the water quality. MRS uses the electromagnetic properties of water to indicate the quality parameters of waste. This system offers the potential of relatively inexpensive, frequent, continuous and synoptic measurements using sensors immersed in the water bodies (reservoirs, rivers, lakes, treatment plant). Dielectric properties of water of different salinity are measured and evaluated.