Making Sense Of Water Quality Data

WRc to hold an Introduction to Water Quality Statistics training course on the 11th November at their office in Swindon.

Effective management of public water supplies and the water environment relies on sound analysis and interpretation of monitoring data, but statistical methods can be confusing and difficult to implement for non-statisticians. This intensive one-day training course has been specially designed to provide water quality professionals with an accessible introduction to important statistical concepts, and to show how appropriate methods can be used to answer common questions such as:

• Is water or effluent quality getting better or worse, or more or less variable?
• What is the risk of non-compliance?
• When have changes occurred and were they gradual or sudden?
• Are we doing enough sampling…or too much?

The course includes training in the use of AARDVARK, WRc’s user-friendly software package, enabling users to quickly and easily visualise and analyse routine environmental, drinking water and effluent monitoring data.

The course covers - Essential statistical concepts - Characterising and quantifying water quality - Dealing with common data quality problems - Measuring uncertainty - Testing for changes in water quality over time - Using the AARDVARK software package - Statistical principles of compliance assessment - Understanding water quality standards - Compliance assessment in theory and practice - Detecting non-compliance - Classifying environmental status.

Benefits

• Upskilled staff with the knowledge and tools to turn existing data into useful information
• Greater productivity by exploiting the power of user-friendly, specialist software
• Evidence to take better informed decisions and improve compliance.