Implementation of Machine Learning Methods for Monitoring and Predicting Water Quality Parameters

Abstract

The importance of good water quality for human use and consumption can never be underestimated, and its quality is determined through effective monitoring of the water quality index. Different approaches have been employed in the treatment and monitoring of water quality parameters (WQP). Presently, water quality is carried out through laboratory experiments, which requires costly reagents, skilled labor, and consumes time. Thereby making it necessary to search for an alternative method. Recently, machine learning tools have been successfully implemented in the monitoring, estimation, and predictions of river water quality index to provide an alternative solution to the limitations of laboratory analytical methods. In this study, the potentials of one of the machine learning tools (artificial neural network) were explored in the predictions and estimation of the Kelantan River basin. Water quality data collected from the 14 stations of the River basin was used for modeling and predicting (WQP). As for WQP analysis, the results obtained from this study show that the best prediction was obtained from the prediction of pH. The low kurtosis values of pH indicate that the appearance of outliers give a negative impact on the performance. As for WQP analysis for each station, we found that the WQP prediction in station 1, 2, and 3 give the good results. This is related to the available data of those stations that are more than the available data in other stations, except station 8.