Water Quality Management Using GIS and RS Tools

Abstract

Recent advances in remote sensing (RS) approaches have provided the capacity to acquire water quality information at spatial and temporal resolutions beyond the capability of infrequent and point scale in-situ measurement. Through integrating remote sensing data with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), an advanced approach to study water quality issues is possible. Traditional water quality assessment and monitoring techniques are time, data and consequently capital intensive - often beyond the means of developing countries. Utilizing the geospatial capacity of RS and GIS approaches provides a cost-effective and research quality solution to these issues. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated approach utilizing geospatial techniques to address water quality issues under the framework of US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program. A TMDL is the calculated maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive without violating the water quality standard appropriate for its intended use. This paper will demonstrate the usefulness of these technologies by proposing a RS and GIS based water quality predictive model. The future goal of this study is to apply the proposed strategy for developing countries where project budgets are usually very limited to show the usefulness of geospatial technologies in optimizing limited resources of a project without compromising the reliability of outputs - rather more realistic outcomes are expected to be achieved.