Laboratory performance assessment of low-cost water level sensor for field monitoring in the tropics

As Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is a key strategy in integrated urban water management worldwide, there is a need for robust monitoring of WSUD systems. Being economical and flexible for operation and communication, low-cost sensor systems show great potential to mainstream digital water management. Yet, such systems are insufficiently tested, casting doubt on the reliability of their measurements. Here, we document a robust testing approach for a pressure transducer water level low-cost sensor (KIT0139) and a traditional sensor (OTT PLS) in both laboratory and field conditions. We tested six different devices under three temperatures relevant to tropical climate: 25, 30, 35 °C and proposed a field calibration approach. Results reveal that the low-cost sensors were robust as the six individual devices performed consistently under different testing conditions. After calibration, low-cost sensors provided sufficient accuracy (±10mm) and precision for water levels more than 0.05m. While varying water flow direction did not significantly influence the performance, we showed that calibration should be done for individual devices. In addition, large (>5 °C) variations in water temperature and varying wet/dry conditions may also influence the performance of the low-cost sensors. The field calibration approach was validated in a 3-month experiment, confirming that this model of low-cost sensor can effectively replace traditional sensors in the field in tropical climates. Our study confirms that systematic and thorough testing is needed for low-cost sensors systems to realize their full potential for scientific-grade applications. We provide practical recommendations to conduct such testing from the laboratory to the field.