A sophisticated model for rating water quality.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Water Resource Management
• Ecosystem Health

Background:

• Ireland's water quality assessment requires improved tools for transitional and coastal water bodies.
• Existing methods need enhancement to align with Water Framework Directive legislation.
• Environmental regulators require a standardized, reliable index for water pollution abatement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and present the Irish Water Quality Index (IEWQI) model.
• To create a tool for environmental regulators to assess and manage water pollution.
• To improve the assessment of transitional and coastal water quality in Ireland.

Main Methods:

• The IEWQI model integrates five components: indicator selection, sub-index function, indicator weighting, aggregation function, and score interpretation.
• The model was developed using data from Cork Harbour and applied to four Irish coastal water bodies.
• Water quality data from summer and winter seasons of 2021 were used to evaluate model sensitivity and uncertainty.

Main Results:

• The IEWQI model demonstrated high sensitivity across different spatio-temporal scales in four application domains during both summer and winter.
• Analysis indicated that the IEWQI model architecture effectively reduces uncertainty, mitigating issues like model eclipsing and ambiguity.
• The model proved efficient and reliable for assessing water quality in transitional and coastal environments.

Conclusions:

• The IEWQI model provides an efficient and accurate technique for assessing transitional and coastal water quality.
• The model's reliability makes it a valuable tool for environmental regulators in Ireland.
• The IEWQI model can be effectively applied across various geospatial domains for water quality monitoring.