Going dynamic – the potential of online water monitoring tools

Online tools are capable of assessing water quality with high temporal resolution thus allowing to capture patterns of peak events. Online biomonitoring systems monitor the responses of aquatic organisms in real time, while online chemical monitoring tracks the concentrations of a range of target substances at short intervals. In addition, online flow cytometry allows the composition of the bacterial community to be followed in real time and online sensors monitor various water quality parameters such as pH, conductivity and other abiotic parameters. All of these methods allow a much faster response and action in the event of an incident and are important tools for the water quality monitoring of the future.

An overview of the methods will be followed by presentations of selected case studies for water quality monitoring. In addition, future research needs and perspectives for the application of online monitoring tools in routine water quality surveillance and regulation will be discussed. The second day will be devoted to demonstrations of some of the methods presented.