Source, Raw & Drinking Water Monitoring Protection

Source water monitoring solutions can help utilities understand the quality of the raw water by providing information to assist with water treatment optimization and protecting the community.

A Xylem Source Water Solution Can Provide:

  • Long-term continuous and remote monitoring with real-time data access
  • Baseline water quality data to understand the typical water conditions
  • Event alerting with user-selectable thresholds
  • Proactive and early warning intervention

What is Source Water?

Source water, also referred to as raw water, is the pre-treated water in rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and groundwater that provide drinking water to the public. The characteristics of source water depend on its origin and can vary greatly in quality and composition, meaning every environment is unique and presents its own challenges to the drinking water treatment process. Analyzing source water is crucial for pollutant risk assessment and optimizing treatment strategies

At Xylem, we understand the importance of reliable source water monitoring. We offer a wide range of flexible, long-term systems and integration capabilities to develop continuous monitoring for water quality management and proactive intervention. These systems can include a combination of instruments such as water quality sensors, floating and fixed profilers, meteorological sensors, and data collection systems. In addition to instrumentation, we can help design deployment sites and provide field installation and service.

source water monitoring system profiler

Pontoon Vertical Profiler

Combined with an EXO Sonde, the YSI vertical profiling system autonomously collects water quality data throughout a water column.

source water monitoring multiparameter sonde

EXO2 Multiparameter Sonde

Protect your source water by monitoring key water quality indicators like turbidity and algae for early warning detection.

source water data management

HydroSphere

Securely access your data anytime from anywhere with customizable graphs, tables, and dashboards. Never miss an event with user-defined alarms.

source water monitoring protection data buoy

EMM68 Buoy

Deploy an autonomous water quality buoy for real-time, 24/7 monitoring at your intake. Get immediate alerts and integrate data directly into your SCADA network.

source water drinking water analyzer thm

THM 1000 Analyzer

Eliminate off-site analysis and optimize water treatment while monitoring trihalomethane formation in the distribution system with sample purging, VOC separation, and data analysis capabilities.

source water monitoring bathymetric survey

SonTek-M9

Ensure unparalleled data collection for discharge data and bathymetric surveys with an industry-validated ADCP, featuring exceptional durability and flexible bathymetric capabilities.

Why Protect Source Water?

Source water plays a crucial role in providing clean water access to our communities and supporting ecosystems. Still, it is often vulnerable to contamination and pollution, which can harm human and environmental health.

Protecting source water reduces the need for costly water treatment processes later in the water treatment cycle. This translates to lower costs for water utilities and, ultimately, customers. Healthy source water supports diverse habitats and is vital for aquatic life. By safeguarding these ecosystems, the environment can be protected, and public health will be improved.

Regulatory measures also play a role in managing and protecting source water. Governments and other regulatory bodies establish rules and guidelines to prevent pollution and ensure the sustainable use of water resources. These measures often include setting limits on pollutant levels, monitoring and testing water quality, and enforcing penalties for non-compliance.

Customer Highlight: City of Olathe

When the City of Olathe in Kansas was struggling with algal blooms and taste and odor issues in drinking water, YSI installed a Fixed Vertical Profiler equipped with an EXO2 Multiparameter Water Quality Sonde, a data logger, and a satellite radio to provide real-time data collection at operator programmed intervals.

With this Xylem solution, Olathe was able to optimize their treatment operations in response to water composition by monitoring parameters such as specific conductance, pH, water temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, total algae (chlorophyll and phycocyanin), and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).

Read the Full Story

source raw drinking water intake

source water baseline water quality monitoring buoy profiler

Baseline & Water Quality Monitoring

Having baseline data to reference is important when assessing water quality due to its ever-changing nature. It enables characterization, evaluation, comparison, impact measurement, and efficient resource management. Xylem’s most comprehensive monitoring system is a vertical profiler that provides continuous water quality data throughout the water column. When combined with a YSI EXO Multiparameter sonde, the profiler provides a field-ready system with superior anti-fouling and a full suite of sensors for reliable, continuous water quality monitoring, even in the harshest environments.

Buoy Vertical Profiling System

EXO Sonde Platform

Proactive & Adaptive Monitoring

Algal blooms can pose a threat to water quality. Nutrients, light, and temperature conditions dictate algal growth and can shift a stable algae population to an enriched, unhealthy environment. EXO Total Algae sensors for phycocyanin (freshwater) or phycoerythrin (saltwater) in combination with dissolved oxygen sensors allow for early detection of anoxic events for proactive treatment.

Improving operational efficiency and reducing treatment costs is more important than ever. With YSI EXO sondes at a plant’s intake, treatment plants can significantly improve chemical use efficiency, decrease filter run times, and decrease total organic loading while reducing costs and improving water quality. Whether it’s dealing with taste and odor events, reducing by-products in disinfection methods, or comprehensive nutrient monitoring, EXO sensors provide valuable data insights. EXO sensors are proven to be reliable, highly accurate, and low maintenance, even during longer deployments when paired with the Central Wiper for anti-fouling of the sensor faces.

In addition to water monitoring, Xylem offers a wide range of water treatment solutions.

source drinking water protection monitoring

source water combined sewer overflow storms floods

Storms & Floods

Communities must be prepared for large-scale events such as storms and floods. Heavy rainfall or snowmelt can potentially overwhelm pipe capacity where rainwater, industrial wastewater, and domestic sewage are combined (i.e., combined sewer overflow) which threatens to contaminate source water. YSI EXO Multiparameter Sondes and SonTek velocity instruments like the SL Series help characterize water quality and quantity before, during, and after these events quickly and remotely.

Explore Stormwater Solutions

start designing source water monitoring system

build your source water monitoring system

laboratory analysis instruments for drinking water

Additional Products