TU Delft researchers are developing a new approach to improve the long-term reliability of digital water-quality monitoring within the ToDrinQ framework. The work represents an important step towards turning real-time data and modelling tools into dependable resources for drinking water operators.
Coordinated by TU Delft Professor Luuk Rietveld, ToDrinQ is developing and testing monitoring technologies, treatment systems and decision-support tools designed to protect drinking water quality. The project responds to a growing need for faster and more detailed information about risks such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, pathogenic microorganisms and disinfection by-products.
Managing soft sensors as digital assets and preparing monitoring systems for changing conditions
Soft sensors combine available measurements with algorithms or models to estimate water-quality parameters that are difficult, expensive or slow to monitor continuously. Meaning these could provide operators with more frequent information, support the early identification of unusual conditions and complement measurements from physical sensors and laboratory analysis.
The growing effects of climate change on drinking water management also play a crucial role in the project’s development. Drought, intense rainfall and higher temperatures can alter source-water quality, while changing pollution patterns may affect the types and concentrations of contaminants entering water sources.
These conditions introduce additional uncertainty for drinking water operators. Monitoring systems must therefore be able to perform not only under current circumstances, but also as environmental conditions and water-quality risks evolve.
