Global water quality monitoring equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of just over 6 percent to reach USD 6.78 Billion by 2021.
The increasing demand for industrial wastewater treatment is expected to be a major driver of the market through the forecast period.
With rapidly advancing urbanization and industrialization, the need for clean water is higher than ever, which is leading to the production of high qualities of wastewater. The mixing of wastewater with the main water supply channels is putting added pressure on the water resources, which is pushing for increased adoption of wastewater treatment systems.
The top three revenue-generating application segments in the global water quality monitoring equipment market include groundwater, drinking water and wastewater.
Of all the available water sources, groundwater is the most precious as it is the primary source of drinking water for humans, and about half the world’s population depend on groundwater, for both drinking and agricultural purposes. Apart from stress caused due to overuse of groundwater and surface water, the increasing industrialization, increased use of agricultural land, and contamination by municipal drainage is causing additional stress.
“It has become imperative to check the reliability of water supplies, which has led to the introduction of meters which can record multiple readings simultaneously for different parameters using the water quality equipment. Water quality sensors from firms like YSI are used to check the quality of water regarding conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, temperature, total dissolved solids, and turbidity. Water quality sensors also detect events like algal blooms, fish kills, sediment plumes, and flood among others,” says Thanikachalam Chandrasekaran, one of the lead analysts at Technavio for smart grid research.
Water quality measuring instruments are used in drinking water application segment in two ways. The more popular one is quality check instruments, which are used for collecting samples, baseline data, and profiling the sample, which is required to ensure a better understanding of the characteristics of the source of the water supply. Monitoring drinking water sources such as wells and groundwater reservoirs on a long-term basis help assess the effects of human interaction on the groundwater over an extended period.
The other emerging application of the water quality sensors is the real-time monitoring of the water quality throughout the supply systems. A major part of the demand for water quality sensors for drinking water application is driven by the continuous online monitoring of source water and supply network. As smart cities are being developed, it is also leading to the development of smart water management systems, which has encouraged the use of analytics through the readings obtained from water quality sensors, to make data-driven decisions.
“The wastewater segment is mainly driven by industrial waste discharge into the water streams. In developing countries, governments are encouraging in-house wastewater treatment and offering support to startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. Thus, most of the wastewater from industries is treated, and its quality is assured by using water quality sensors before it is mixed with natural water sources,” says Thanikachalam.
Wastewater management is covered under the US EPA’s Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) regarding wastewater discharge for publicly owned treatment works as well as surface water. With the upgrade to the new technology, industries can improve their process efficiencies and reduce operational costs. Firms, such as RS Hydro, offer a collection of water quality systems that can monitor pre-treatment and post-treatment processes, which greatly aids in meeting water quality standards while reducing the cost of the water treatment processes.
The top vendors highlighted by Technavio’s research analysts are: GE Water & Process Technologies, HORIBA, In-Situ, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and YSI.