In an Expert Focus article for WaterBriefing, Steven Roberts, Principle data scientist & Hydrologist, KISTERS discusses why water quality monitoring is the next frontier for water utilities.

Steven Roberts: For generations, the water sector has focused on one core promise: that the water reaching homes, businesses, and the environment is safe, clean, and reliable. But as new contaminants emerge, public expectations shift, and regulations tighten, this promise is being tested in new ways.

The question is no longer just about delivering water. It’s about demonstrating, in real time, what’s in it.

At KISTERS, we’ve seen how these pressures are reshaping the priorities of utilities and regulators alike, pushing water quality monitoring to the top of the agenda. Water quality monitoring is fast becoming the next frontier for utilities, and with it comes both challenge and opportunity.

Rising expectations and regulatory pressure

Across the UK and globally, drinking water and wastewater utilities are facing growing scrutiny. Headlines about microplastics, PFAS (forever chemicals), pharmaceuticals, and nitrates have fuelled public concern. Communities want greater transparency about what’s in their water, and they want faster, clearer communication when things go wrong.

At the same time, regulators are raising the bar. AMP8 and the Environment Act 2021 have sharpened the focus on environmental outcomes, storm overflow discharges, and river health.

Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate are all pushing utilities to invest in better monitoring and reporting and to prove that they are acting on what the data tells them.

What’s changing isn’t just the regulatory framework. It’s the fact that issues that might once have gone unnoticed are now in the public eye within hours, thanks to social media and data sharing. The sector’s social licence to operate increasingly depends on trust and trust depends on demonstrating water quality with clarity and confidence.

Why traditional monitoring isn’t enough

For many years, water quality monitoring has relied on scheduled sampling and laboratory analysis. These methods remain vital for detecting pathogens, metals, and chemical contaminants at precise levels. But they are slow, expensive, and can’t provide the continuous, real-time insight needed to manage today’s dynamic risks.

Take storm overflows. A grab sample collected after a discharge incident might tell us what happened, but by then, the damage may have been done. Similarly, emerging contaminants like PFAS require utilities to look beyond the traditional suite of indicators and track pollutants that were never on the radar when older monitoring systems were designed.

To meet these challenges, utilities need a different approach: one that combines high-frequency, in-situ monitoring with smarter data integration and analytics.

The technologies transforming water quality monitoring

Photo: KISTERS iRIS 150FX Multi-Parameter Datalogger

Recent advances in sensor technology and digital platforms are helping utilities shift from reactive to proactive management of water quality.

Multi-parameter sensors, capable of measuring variables like turbidity, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, etc, are becoming more affordable and easier to deploy across networks.

Optical and fluorescence-based sensors are improving the detection of organic pollutants and algal blooms in source waters. Meanwhile, micro-sensors and lab-on-a-chip technologies are beginning to make it feasible to monitor trace contaminants in near-real time.

What makes these technologies powerful is not just the sensors themselves, but how they integrate into a wider monitoring ecosystem. Modern data platforms can bring together continuous sensor feeds, lab results, meteorological data and hydraulic models, providing operators with a holistic view of water quality across their networks. With the right analytics and alerting systems, this allows faster response to pollution events, better protection of source waters, and clearer communication with regulators and the public.

From compliance to trust

Water quality monitoring has traditionally been seen as a compliance issue, a way of satisfying statutory requirements and ticking regulatory boxes. But in today’s landscape, it’s also a matter of public trust and social responsibility.

Transparency is key. Utilities that invest in continuous monitoring and data sharing are better positioned to engage with communities, demonstrate accountability, and build confidence. We are already seeing examples of this in the UK, where companies have started publishing near-real-time data on storm overflows and bathing water quality.

This shift brings new responsibilities. Data that is open and accessible must also be reliable and meaningful. Utilities need to ensure that monitoring systems are properly maintained, that data is validated, and that information provided to the public is accurate and timely.

Of course, the path to smarter water quality monitoring is not without obstacles. Deploying and maintaining high-frequency sensors across vast and sometimes remote networks is technically challenging. Ensuring data quality and managing large volumes of information require new skills and tools.

There are still technological gaps: while we’ve made great strides in monitoring conventional parameters, cost-effective real-time detection of certain micropollutants remains a work in progress.

Investment is needed. Not only in equipment, but in the digital infrastructure and human capability to make sense of the data and act on it. There is also a cultural shift required: moving from a mindset of periodic reporting to one of continuous, transparent performance management.

The road ahead

What’s clear is that water quality monitoring is no longer just about meeting minimum standards. It’s about building resilient, adaptive networks that can protect health and the environment in the face of changing risks. It’s about earning and keeping public trust in an age of instant communication and heightened awareness.

 It’s about using technology to make invisible threats visible and to take action before they cause harm.

 As utilities look ahead to AMP8, AMP9 and beyond, the challenge is to embed smarter water quality monitoring not as an add-on, but as a core part of how networks are managed. The technologies are here. The expectation from regulators and the public is clear.

 The next frontier is to bring it all together and deliver water quality that is not only safe, but seen to be safe.

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