Real-Time Monitoring and Alternative Sourcing for Qatar’s Potable Water System

This project addresses the resilience of Qatar's water quality against climate change impacts, including extreme heat, variable precipitation, and water scarcity. It aims to develop and deploy an advanced water quality monitoring system with a focus on distributed water networks, desalination plants, and premise-level storage tanks within residential properties. The project will assess pre- and post-chlorination/mineralization water quality and monitor water quality dynamics from treatment to tap. By tracking water quality throughout the full distribution network, including desalination plants, storage tanks, and residential premises, the project will identify where and how water quality declines. Comparisons will be made between networks with and without storage tank maintenance. The integration of this monitoring system into the Education City Living Lab, including residential premise networks and desalination facilities, will involve monitoring specific parameters such as residual chlorine, microbial regrowth, biofilm formation, and water quality deterioration. Data will be collected pre- and post-storage in residential tanks, with comparisons between networks with regular maintenance and those without. Real-time and offline analyses will include pH, turbidity, temperature, Total Organic Carbon (TOC), microbial cell counts using flow cytometry, and inorganic solute concentrations to assess overall water quality performance and resilience.

Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU)