subject: Water Data Collection - Slow In Advancement [print this page] Water data collection is an important part in the water and wastewater industries. Collecting data from different sites during different times of the year requires a person to physically get the readings. The data has been recorded using a pencil and paper. The paper logs get boxed up so the company or state agency can have these readings to assist with decision making in a time of need. However, to fumble through boxes and boxes of paper and data in a time of need is never what anyone desires to do or has time to do. As with any industry, decisions have to be made quickly during critical times and not having information readily available can hurt the effectiveness and timeliness of decisions.
Keeping records on paper is what every industry relied on years ago, but as soon as technological advances were being introduced many converted their paper records into computer files. Now many industries do not use paper to account for anything; instead they have software and hand-held devices that do the work they used to rely on paper for. Besides not having an abundance of files, it's a great advantage to be able to pull up exactly what is needed from the storage devices. Water data collection and monitoring has been left behind the times still using the old ways of recording.
Water data monitoring has been essential for our health and research for many years but today has become even more important. With more people concentrating on living green and taking care of our bodies of water, the data collected from monitoring is used to help find the areas that work needs to be concentrated around. Conducting these important water data collections and water data monitoring assists in learning about pollution, floods, spills, and identify trends so we know what to look out for in the future. Wastewater monitoring is also essential for monitoring downstream river from waste plants, to monitor groundwater quality, and to ensure industrial plants are in compliance with their standards. Due to our ever changing environment it's more important than ever to collect information about water.
The water industry has been left behind the advances of technology for many years. However, today some changes are being made and many water collection and wastewater monitoring agencies and companies are jumping on the 21st century band wagon. There are more advanced ways to collect this data and there are devices to record the data, including even cell phones. To look into an economical and more advanced way to collect water data, it's time to start doing more research on this subject.
