To effectively monitor water environments and protect the water quality, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has launched Water Quality Internet of Things Program since 2017. The program promoted all-round developments, covering the R＆D of sensor components, field deployment, data analysis, and value-added applications. Based on the completion of related hardware and operational mechanisms in 2019, the EPA launched Pilot Program to Develop and Promote the Application of Water Quality Sensors in Law Enforcement. The water quality sensors developed by the EPA were actually applied in various water environment for law enforcement purposes, and operational guidelines on how to apply water quality sensors in law enforcement were established. In addition, the EPA also promoted Joint Application Program for Water Quality Sensors, encouraging local environmental protection branches to use water quality sensors for related monitoring or law enforcement operations. This project is an extension of the Pilot Program to Develop and Promote the Application of Water Quality Sensors in Law Enforcement and continues to collaborate with the Irrigation Agency, Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Fund Management Board, Bureau of Environmental Inspection- Northern Branch, and local environmental protection branches to apply water quality sensors to irrigation channels and areas around businesses with high-pollution potentials. A total of 67 locations were set up with sensors. During the application period, 187 abnormal water quality events were detected. Two businesses that illegally discharged wastewater into Nankan Canal and Shangsi Lake Branch Canal in Taoyuan City were caught. Through the revision of Mobile Water Quality Sensor Deployment and Application Operating Guidelines, organization of education and training sessions, and video recordings, the execution experience and achievements of this project were shared with relevant units for their reference. In addition, considering the massive amount of data returned by the water quality sensors and to enhance the effects of the project and reduce manual operation time, the project provides automated system services that offer water quality trend analysis, hotspot analysis, geographic information system, environmental analysis, analysis of abnormal water quality events, and notification of abnormal water quality events. Related units can quickly detect suspicious areas and businesses through the automated system services, assisting in relevant inspection operations. In summary, through on-site operations and collaboration with inspection units and automated system services, the project has applied water quality sensors to short-term inspection operations and shared relevant experiences and achievements with related units, thereby expanding the effects of the project. It is recommended that water quality sensors could continuously be applied to a variety of fields in the future, with the goal of achieving comprehensive intelligent water quality monitoring throughout the country.

Water quality sensor, Technology-based law enforcement, Water quality based on internet of things