Automatic water quality monitoring stations will be established in the Yangtze River basin; demand for instruments and equipment is increasing

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At the executive meeting of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held on September 28, the \"Measures for Monitoring and Early Warning of Water Environment Quality in the Yangtze River Basin (Trial)\」 were reviewed and approved in principle. 　　The Yangtze River basin is vast in area and rich in water resources; it serves as an important strategic water source, a base for hydroelectric power generation, a vital waterway, and a treasure house of biodiversity in China. The basin covers 19 provincial-level administrative regions, has numerous provincial boundaries, and experiences high levels of waste discharge. However, after the 1980s, due to the increasing discharge of wastewater, pollution zones of varying degrees appeared along the Yangtze River, especially in its urban sections. 　　The meeting emphasized the need to aim for the full implementation of automatic monitoring and early warning systems for water quality, to accelerate the construction of such stations in the Yangtze River basin, to continuously improve the management and technical frameworks for automatic monitoring, and to enhance the timeliness and accuracy of monitoring and early warning regarding water quality in that basin. It is necessary to scientifically establish early-warning classification standards for water environment quality in the Yangtze River basin, emphasizing relevance, feasibility, and effectiveness, so as to encourage city-level authorities in this basin to take timely measures to continuously improve water environment quality. 　　With the advancement of science and technology, technologies such as online automatic water quality monitors are also constantly improving. Water quality monitoring has evolved from intermittent monitoring to continuous monitoring, with various techniques such as satellite remote sensing being employed to ensure efficient and accurate monitoring. 　　The meeting held that, based on the monitoring and evaluation results from the state-controlled surface water monitoring stations in the Yangtze River basin, it is important to promptly inform local authorities of the status of water quality and to issue early warning messages; this is crucial for helping local authorities fulfill their responsibilities regarding water pollution control and for improving water quality. 　　The monitoring of water environments and the establishment of automatic water quality monitoring stations both rely on the use of water quality analysis instruments. As China places increasing emphasis on its water environment, the demand for water quality monitoring instruments has continued to grow, resulting in an unprecedentedly rapid development trend in the country’s water quality monitoring market. According to experts’ predictions, by 2020, the market size for water quality monitoring in China is expected to exceed 9.5 billion yuan. In the future, the growth rate of this market will be above 20%, and the use of various specialized water quality monitoring instruments as well as automated ones will see accelerated adoption.